House of batter

Hi again, the above (mini pavlovas) are one of the latest prettiest things I’ve ever baked!! So I think it deserves a post by itself 😀

What do you think? I think maybe it’s the colour that enhanced the picture. By the way, this was my first attempt and I must say, they turned out quite well? I’m 70% contented. Points lost because my fruits were soggy no matter how much I tried to dry them on kitchen towels. Another point was a few of my pavlova shells weren’t big enough for the fruits to fit in. Lastly, a mint leaf would have made presentation much better!!

Since it was my first time making them, I watched videos on how to pipe them as well as remembering some tips from the demo I went to at ‘Recipes’ by Shatec. I compared other online recipes with the one I had too.

This is also the first time I’ve used so many egg whites at one shot! I used 9!!! I thought macarons required more than enough egg whites, what more pavlova!! Come to think of it, this ultra sweet treat requires very few ingredients, mainly egg whites and sugar! Then it depends on your technical skills, how well you whisk them etc. Time also plays a critical part. If you mix too much or too little, the outcome would be definitely wrong. With that said, it reminds me of my first attempt at making chocolate macarons. It turned out completely FLAT!!! I was obviously disheartened, disappointed and all kinds of sadness. But that didn’t stop me from trying again. This time I tried another recipe and SUCCESS!! I have a picture of my strawberries and cream macarons in my first post.

Okay I digressed a bit. So back to pavlova…I overcame the whisking challenge. Yay. I still need to buck up on my piping skills. Some of my shells were good, some bad so consistency has to be better. Besides that, I now must remember to remind myself to only fill the pavlova shells just before serving if not..=soggy!!

Eventually, I realised I overestimated the quantity and underestimated my time. I had more than 40 pavlova shells?! The shells that were filled with fruits can’t be stored so I ended up giving away to my neighbours and received good feedback which I did not expect so it totally made my day!! (: With all these positive comments from both my family, friends and neighbours, it takes away the negativity or the stress or whatever negative emotions you’re feeling. Yes I know, I’m someone who needs a lot of encouragement and social support. Who doesn’t? Anyway bottom line is baking to me in a way is therapeutic?! Instead of shopping, try baking! It just gives me that sense of accomplishment like ‘I’m capable of doing/creating this’. Never knew what ‘art’ my hands could do till I started baking! Maybe one day I’ll share about how my interest in baking grew! (:

So if you’re in the mood to bake and time is on your side, try this mini pavlova recipe!!

Pavlova shell

– 9 Egg Whites

– 250g Caster sugar

– 375 Icing sugar (sifted)

– 1 tbsp Vanilla Essence

– 2 drops Pink Colouring

Method:

1) Preheat your oven to 100 deg C.

2) Whisk egg whites at medium to high speed and reduce once soft peaks form.

3) Add in the sugar and increase the speed till stiff peaks are formed.

4) Divide the mixture into half.

5) Add in the pink colouring and fold in using a spatula.

6) Transfer the mixture into each piping bag and pipe about 5cm in diameter.

7) Bake the piped shells in the oven at 100 deg C for 1 hr and let them dry.

Custard cream

– 250ml Cold Water

– 170g Instant Custard Mix

– 200ml Whipped Topping Cream

Method:

1) With the custard mix in a bowl, pour the cold water into the bowl while whisking till a soft paste is formed.

2) Whip the topping cream till it droops slightly from the ends of the beater.

3) Carefully fold in the whipped cream into the custard cream.

4) Then transfer into a piping bag.

Fruits

– 250g Strawberries (chopped)

– 2 medium mangoes (chopped)

– 4 kiwis (chopped)

To assemble:

1) Take each empty shell and fill it up with prepared custard cream.

2) Add in the fruits.

3) Serve immediately.

Notes:

– Ensure egg whites are at room temperature.

– Ensure no egg yolk bits.

– Add in sugar when the egg whites are foamy and still watery.

– Egg whites have to be used immediately in order not to lose air bubbles.

– When piping shells, pipe from center then down. Avoid slanting the piping bag.

– Ensure your whipping cream and water are cold.

– Heavy whipping cream is used best.

– If instant custard powder can’t be found in NTUC, try Phoon Huat outlets.

Feel free to leave a comment!! Happy baking!! Hope yours turns out superb!

Love, D

Goooood afternoon all readers!!

Well, after much persuasion from both my family and friends and contemplating from myself, I have finally decided to start this blog of mine displaying my baked goodies!

I will try my utmost best to take good solid shots of my future baked treats(:

Besides pictures, I will be sharing my experience, thoughts etc during and after the baking process especially my first attempt for some. You can probably look forward to pictures of desserts taken elsewhere besides my crib for example, I’ll be heading to Holland Village tomorrow! They have many ‘hidden’ cafes with good baked stuff! I’m sure I’ll find one.

For now, I’ll be uploading my previous sweets I’ve baked before. Some go 1, 2 years ago! And please bear with the poor quality pictures of some.