ivan always complains that i dont ever upload enough pictures, so here are pretty processes just for you!

due to sheer carelessness i have misplaced my thumbdrive with pictures of the choux puffs when they came out of the oven but there above are the choux puffs when i was preparing them. that's the cream after it's been whipped - i personally dont like whipped cream, but there's something about how cream and a tad of sugar combines so nicely into a thick malleable substance. sheer genius, baking is.

a choux puff in the middle after being crammed full of whipped cream using a makeshift piping bag. have to say that i dont really mind using this instead of the conventional metal tip since it doesnt quite matter as long as you cut a small hole to fit the bag into. double your ziploc bag though, because the whipped cream is really thick and can tear the first ziploc, like mine did.

and all them laid out after being filled. i think i made over 30 choux puffs in total, with about 21 going into the 'cake'. and just for context, i had made this for my friend joyce's birthday. a little bored of the conventional round confectionary, so i went with stacked profiteroles because she likes them. i made the choux puffs the day before and chilled them in double-wrapped ziplocs, and made the cream and assembled just before serving.

jenny was really nice to help me out with the decoration of the tower. we dipped the top half in a simple ganache of cream and chocolate and let it chill in a fridge for about half an hour before drizzling more chocolate and dusting icing sugar over the top.

this went down a blast!
and here's the birthday girl (:



i made zucchini cake as well, but that doesnt photograph too well. and it just leads me to say that seriously, our mental incapabilities mean a lot. some people just can't take green stuff in cake even though they cant taste it in there. somehow saying it's like carrot cake (which it really is like) doesnt help. hmmmm. have to try and fix this somehow. there's a whole world of vegetable cakes out there!

and for father's day, i baked my dad sweet nuts. it's supposed to be spicy as well, but i dont really get that. they are VERY VERY addictive though -.- i think im in trouble if i keep them here! and why does saying sweet nuts make me giggle. immaturity really!



no processes for this one though, i was just baking for fun, really.

recipes to follow when im up to it!

Recipe:

1 2/3 cup self-rising flour
1 pinch baking powder
1 egg, slightly beaten
2/3 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup choc chips/broken choc bar
1 cup crushed nuts (of any kind!)

1. Mix dry ingredients, and rub in butter
2. Put in the egg and vanilla essence
3. Fold in the chips and nuts.
4. Bake for 8-10mins in a preheated oven at 350F until just set. Let it cool before eating.



Packaging:

Cut paper into a flower shape (a square iwth semicircles on each side): an outer sheet that can be anything, and an inner lining of wax paper/parchment paper.
Cut out two strips of plastic (cellophane, whatever). The width of the plastic is the width of the square of the paper base.
Place two cookies in square. Fold up sides.
Position the rectangular strips of plastic in a X shape, put the paper package where they intersect.
Draw up the plastic sides, and use a string/ribbon to tie the plastic together.

Give them away to as many people as you can find!!