Hello Again!

We are now know as The Greedy Girls! Thanks for liking us and visiting us! Stay tuned for some exciting news! 

Karen, Sandra & Phillie

The Pandan Project

The pandan chiffon cake has always been one of those cakes all of us love, but none of us have dared to attempt to bake. It may look simple but trust me, it's nowhere close to being simple! (And I know that there are mega factories churning these out but damn! I don't know how these can retail at $2! There's a whole lot of effort that goes into these little things!)

Anyhoos...San, Karen and myself set out to challenge ourselves one weekend. And here's how it went down...

Chopping up the pandan from my very own backyard..

Mucking about with the pandan paste.

And our final product. A beautiful pandan cake which actually tasted pretty decent!! Boy were we proud of ourselves! Our next challenge is to make these into cupcakes. We did try but they didn't turn out too pretty so try, try again!

Till next time...

San, Karen & Phillie

We're so sorry

We haven't blogged in a while...a looooong while. We are still very much alive and baking! And we will try to update more often we promise!

And since we last blogged in June 2011, Happy National Day, Happy Deepavali, Selamat Hari Raya, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai to one and all!

Easter is just around the corner, oh what will we whip up next?? Stay tuned!

Updatelet

It's not that I haven't been baking/cooking/eating. It's just that my old people brain is causing me to forget to take photos!

Let's see...since the last update, I have:

a) baked cupcakes

b) made rumballs

c) baked more stout cakes

d) cooked chilli prawns

e) tried quite a few new beers from all over the world

f) had some awesome crab...twice!

g) managed to convince the TIHWE crew that we NEED to have a BBQ

h) put on about 27 kilos in the process

Fun times!

♡,

Phillie

happy mother's day!!

yes i am a month late. can my excuse be, i was looking for an amazing recipe to make for my mummy? that is not an excuse though. for religious reasons my mum can't eat beef and chicken is boring so when i saw this recipe on "masterchef australia", i knew i found it! sticky BBQ ribs. they were absolutely delicious!!! just like how it looked on TV. hehe... if i should say so myself.

first, if you want to try this recipe, you have to prepare a day before hand, in my opinion that is. i only marinated the ribs for 1 1/2 hours and it tasted so good so the next time i make this, i will marinate the night before. let the marinate soak through...... yums..... i recommand leaving it in the oven for 2 hours. please remove it every half an hour to turn the ribs and spread the juice. it's worth all the trouble. i promise.

as you can tell, i made simple mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and carrots.

ENJOY!!!!!

Ingredients (marinate meat):

1.5kg pork spare ribs, quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
lime cheeks to serve
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbs salt
1 tsp chilli powder (from Green Valley spice $2 for 50g)
1 tsp smoked paprika (from Green Valley spice $2 for 50g)
1 tsp mustard powder (from Green Valley spice $2 for 50g)
1 tsp ground cumin (from Chinese grocery shop $1.70 for 60g)
1 tsp dried oregano leaves (from Aldi $1.7 for 38g)
1/2 brown onion, finely chopped (I replaced with Spanish onion)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Ingredients (Sticky sauce):

1 cup brown sugar
250ml malt vinegar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp hot English mustard powder
2 tbs tomato sauce
2 tbs Dijon mustard
125ml bourbon (I didn’t use this)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 jalapeno chilli finely chopped
1 orange, peeled rind
1 1/2 tsp of salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 180C.

2) Combine marinate meat ingredients in a large bowl. Add ribs to the bowl, using your hands, rub the mixture into the meat to coat completely. Set aside in the fridge for 2-3 hours to marinate.

3) Heat a frying pan over high heat (or char grill if you have one). Drizzle olive oil onto ribs and toss to coat. Place ribs fat-side up and cook for 3-4 minutes each side or until sealed.

4) Use a new sauce pan, place sticky sauce ingredients and 1 1/2 tsp of salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes until thickened slightly.

5) Transfer ribs to a large, non-stick roasting pan and pour over hot marinade. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 1 ½ – 2 hours or until falling off the bone, turning 3-4 times throughout.

6) Serve with lime cheeks.

lemon cupcake with cream cheese frosting

i stole this recipe from this amazing website called my baking addiction. i only made it cause my mum likes lemony things and so does phillie. my verdict? it was a amazing, only thing is i might have put too much zest or the recipe required too much of it cause it has a slightly bitter after taste. also, instead of pure lemon extract, i added lemon juice which turned out not too much of a problem.

i thoroughly enjoyed the frosting process, i only added 1 cup from the required 2lbs of confectionary sugar but it still had soft peaks and at the same time was sweet enough and full of flavour. you have to understand, no buttercream in singapore ever gets to that point of staying in shape unless loads of icing sugar is added, in which point it will be so sweet, you might have to chop your legs off after consuming 2 cupcakes. so this was exciting for me. have fun trying this recipe. her website is amazing too by the way. http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/

makes 24 cupcakes

For the Cake 2 1/4 cups cake flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 4 large egg whites 1 1/2 cups sugar lemon zest from two lemons 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins by using liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

To Make The Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extracts, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Place the batter into the cupcake tins.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting: 2 (8) ounce package cream cheese, softened 1 stick butter, softened 2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract juice of one lemon

Using a mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese together until well combined. Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated. Finally mix in vanilla and lemon juice.

singing the blues for hamburger.

made blue cheese hamburger this weekend, i absolutely loved it. i mean it had, water cress, blue cheese, sauteed mushrooms with onion, what is there not to like? the recipe was something i saw on rachael ray, when i saw her put fried bacon bits into the meat mixture i was sold!

for people who don't really like blue cheese, please stay away from this recipe cause as you know, it's a pretty strong cheese and overpowers the greatness of the pattie a little. i was contemplating between mashed potatoes and french fries and as you can tell from the picture i chose the latter. i used russet potatoes, boiled them with the skin on, cut them after and deep fried them. the seasoning was done with BBQ salt which had a garlic, onion, pepper and salt in it so it was extra delicious. thank you matt.

so enjoy this recipe and let me know what you think!

8 slices bacon, chopped

2 pounds ground sirloin

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced or grated

1/4 cup grated onion, with juice

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

3/4 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup Stilton or other piquant blue cheese, crumbled

4 cups watercress leaves, loosely packed

4 rolls, split, lightly toasted and buttered

PREHeat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high to high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the bacon bits and reserve on a paper towel-lined plate. Remove all but a tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet.

In a large bowl, combine the meat with reserved bacon bits, Worcestershire, garlic, grated onion (grate it over the bowl so the juices fall into the meat), parsley, salt and lots of black pepper. Score the meat into four portions, then form patties out of each portion, making them thinner in the middle. Drizzle the patties with EVOO, then add them to the hot skillet and cook for 10 minutes for rare to medium-rare and up to 16 minutes for medium-well burgers, turning once. Top the burgers in the last minute of cook time with the Stilton cheese and tent with foil to melt.

While the burgers cook, heat a small skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onion, sauté for 8-10 minutes, then add the mushrooms and sauté 8-10 minutes more. If the pan gets dry, add a drizzle of EVOO. Season the cooked onions and mushrooms with salt and pepper.

To serve, pile some watercress on the bun bottoms and top with a burger patty. Pile some of the onions and mushrooms on top and replace the bun caps.