#baking

A true classic, Marzipans are a Christmas staple. Often enjoyed as a festive dessert, our twist on this sweet treat makes it deliciously bite-sized - creating perfect Christmas gifts for your friends and loved ones. Made with freeze-dried raspberries and dipped in indulgent chocolate, these delightful one-bite marzipan drops are sure to be a family favourite.

Craving for something warm and spicy when this time of the year rolls around? How about a flavourful gingerbread cake slathered with cream cheese icing, topped with a drizzle of coffee syrup! It might sound like a mishmash of flavours, but trust us, it works perfectly. Rich cream cheese pairs beautifully with the spices of the gingerbread cake (like Gingerbread Cheesecake) — and the coffee syrup gives a final touch of flavour. Check out also: Basque Burnt Cheesecake Recipe if you're feeling a little experimental! This gingerbread cake recipe makes a hefty four-layered cake though, and your Kenwood Titanium Chef XL will come in handy as you beat these ingredients together. If you want to go the extra mile, we included a little extra portion to create adorable green Christmas trees as toppers for the cake, but you don't have to do it if you're short on time! OPTIONAL: Directions for tree decorations 200g white chocolate with a few drops of green food dye, melted 15 milk chocolate twigs - you can use Pocky sticks or any sort of chocolate-coated thin biscuits Assorted sprinkles (optional) 1 x silver edible glitter spray (optional) Coconut flakes and desiccated coconut

• Melt white baking chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat the process, placing a few drops of green food dye until fully melted.
• Put the finished icing into a piping bag
• Place different lengths of chocolate twigs on baking trays, lined with baking parchment, and space out allowing enough space for the piping.
• Cut a small hole in the end of the piping bag, and working in a zigzag movement f

What's not to love about this crispy tea time snack? This local snack is easy to make, bursts with flavour, and can be completed in a little over an hour. Perfect for a little teatime indulgence or an appetiser to whet your appetite before going heavy on the mains. In this National Day Special, we are happy to have Chef Roland Lim from Spice N Pans share his Crispy Prawn Roll recipe with us. Let's get started!

A theme park staple, caramel apples are the perfect nostalgic childhood treat. A winning pairing of juicy apple with fragrant caramel, this cupcake takes inspiration from the Autumn treat and is a perfect dessert for Halloween parties. This Homemade Caramel Cupcake recipe is great for gifting neighbours during the "spooktober" season or as a sweet treat to end off your meal with. Try this out with your kids for some baking fun! You'll probably need to use a good stand mixer for this, too. Looking for more cupcake recipes? We've got a classic vanilla cupcake recipe, caramel banana coffee cake recipe & a banana-coffee-oat recipe here for your sheer indulgence. Tell us how it turns out! Without further ado, let's get started! :D

It looks like we are not out of the Covid-19 woods yet, and we can’t quite let our hair down and enjoy the festivities like we used to. With social distancing regulations limiting only 8 people for Lunar New Year gatherings, this year’s celebrations will be muted and minimalist. But to some, it can be a refreshing change from the yearly toiling in the kitchens, just to cook up a multi-course feast for guests who can’t finish their food. Snacks and small bites that can be easily prepared for a low-key crowd are key to keeping the festive spirit alive, especially in these challenging times. Here is a list of easy to make snacks that can be whipped up in an hour or less.

Quick pineapple tarts

Instead of making the pineapple paste from scratch, you could get ready-made from baking supplies shops such as Phoon Huat. *Makes 40 Ingredients for pastry dough:

• 200g of all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon of water
• 100g of butter
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Instructions:

1. Rub the butter into the flour. Add egg, salt and water. Mix well to create a smooth dough ball.
2. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and leave the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. You could prepare the dough the night before and c

Whenever Chinese New Year is around the corner, homemade fortune cookies are one of the best ways to welcome the festive season. This recipe isn't only easy; the most fun part lies in unfolding your “secret” fortune inside the fortune cookie! To make the baking process more enjoyable (as if it already isn't), invite a friend or your children to this DIY session. Fun fact: Did you know that the fortune cookie is not a Chinese invention? In fact, its origins can be traced back to Japan! The cookie was subsequently popularised in the United States by Japanese immigrants.

It’s 2021, and while we can’t wait to bid 2020 goodbye with a little too much enthusiasm, it has been the year where you, your oven and your kitchen grew that little bit closer. While you stayed home and missed the opportunity to travel the world, visit friends and families, and savour delicious baked goods from around the world, it sure didn’t dampen your make the best of the situation and become that skilful home baker you were always destined to be. So don’t go thinking: just how much flour did I go through this year? (The answer is: a lot) Instead, with the upcoming year full of quality time to spend with your kitchen again, think of what you loved to bake, what you want to make this year, and whether you have a community of people celebrating just the same recipes as you. Here are the top 5 recipes our readers just loved in 2020.

Sourdough Loaf

Ah, the good old classic. Sourdough is the ultimate form of bread making. It takes a lot of patience, planning in advance, and many attempts for the perfect loaf. But that also makes the result that much more satisfying for novice home bakers. What are you waiting for? Get started on a starter now!

Puteri Ayu Pandan

Working from home during those warm tropical afternoons definitely gets you restless and craving a yummy snack now and then. It’s no wonder this fragrant pandan-infused mini sponge cakes made the list! Easy to make, perfect for snacking, and a nostalgic favourite of Ramadan bazaar lovers.

Kuih Tapak Kuda

Chocolate-y, fluffy, and delicious. This all-time favourite Raya treat was a hit with our home bakers in 2020. It’s no wonder, when you can switch up the chocolate filling for hazelnut cream, coco

This cake or loaf (if you want to call it that) has delicate orange notes, a warm nutty pistachio flavour and a moist crumb structure. It's delicious with a slab of cold butter and paired with warm tea. A few things to note:

• Beat your butter and sugar using a creaming beater until it is pale and fluffy. Creaming is a proper baking technique that is crucially important in baking cakes. Properly creamed butter and sugar will be pale yellow in color, but not white. Creaming incorporates the maximum amount of air bubbles created by dry sugar mixed with solid fat (butter), so a recipe will rise in the oven and be light in texture when baked.
• If orange flower water is difficult to get, use orange zest or orange juice.
• You can grind pistachios up in your Food Processor - just make sure that the skins are peeled off the pistachios.
• If mascarpone if tough to procure, replace it with a blend of softened cream cheese and butter. Alternatively, you can simply mix powdered caster sugar and orange juice for a thinner, more drippy type of frosting. It should cool and harden with time.
• Lastly, it's very important to let the loaf cool in the tin before popping it out - you don't want to risk the loaf crumbling. Cooling is just as important as any other step in baking!

Love lemon-y recipes? Try these: Classic lemon tart or a Lemon Cheescake.  

Looking for a simple homemade gift to give out this festive season? Here's a simple recipe of ginger marmalade that you can pack into glass jars, tie with a little bit of brown string and baby's breath, ready to go. First off, ginger marmalade you ask? Well, yes. This recipe uses a simple jam-making formula that you can apply to any kind of fruit you like, so if you're not feeling the fiery warmth of ginger, feel free to substitute with strawberries, oranges, or anything else you fancy. Ginger marmalade is special because it combines the spicy warmth of the root cooked down with a sweet hit of sugar. This goes great on fruit-and-nut loaves, sourdough bread, or even on the side of a savoury dish (like lamb or chicken). It's super versatile. Tips on choosing the right ginger for this recipe:

• The fibrous, stringy parts of ginger root won’t soften as much while cooking, so be careful to use new, fresh ginger.
• Once you reach the tough fibrous parts, stop shredding the ginger so they don't end up in your jam

Second, if you're new to jam making, you'll notice a mysterious ingredient in the list. Pectin! What is that? Pectin is a gelling agent routinely used in marmalades, jams, and jellies, because when it's cooked at a high temperature with acid and sugar, it creates a nice gelatinous texture. Once you've got this recipe down pat, go crazy! Add basil, honey, lemon zest, peaches - all these are great condiments to pair with the kick of ginger.