Monday, July 2, 2007

Weekends

Weekends are the days for the busy office workers to withdraw from the strugglings of the corporate lifestyle and retreat for some tranquility. But weekends forever seem so short to me.

Saturday was spent on tuition with the boys. They weren't particular cooperative, really gave me hell of a headache this weekend, A power nap ensued and soon I was out on a jog with Kianyong. Much to our surprise, we met Mad on a bike which she refuses to dismount from to jog with us!! How unsporting.

Sunday mornings are to be spent accompanying my grandmother. I spent the morning to afternoon chasing after her, feeding her and folding+unfolding+folding again clothes with her. Everything irritates her....tough times. Rushed home and embarked on a baking adventure. My oven had never worked as hard as yesterday for its duration in my household.

Began the ambitious drive to bake 2 things:
  1. Creme Bulee

  2. Chocolate Chip Cookies


Creme Bulee(Recipe courtesy of LC's recommendation)

Baking accomplished, out came 4 jiggly custards. Can't eat it yet but the aroma is overwhelming!


A close-up shot of the most successful custard. Anyway, the blackened areas are not overcooked, they're just caramelised. Sweet tasting, no where near those cancerous stuff.


The process of making the caramel layer. I don't own a fancy butane torch, so let's just improvise by using the griller. But apparently I was getting much of the heat too. Watch those brown sugar bubbling like hot lava.

Presenting to you....Creme Bulee!!

The freshly-made caramel layer was crispy and really blends in well with the custard below. Can be consumed both warm or cold. Word of advise though, the elderly might find it a tat too sweet. I took ~10mins to caramelise 1 of this, my mother took less than 3 secs to scrape, scoop and sling a big chunk of the caramel layer into the bin!!


Smooth and silky. Simply melts in your mouth.

Chocolate Chip Cookies(Recipe courtesy of my boss' friend)


Everything blended in and ready for baking!
On the cookie sheet, the pioneer batch awaits.
Tonnes of deliciously baked cookies!
This is for grandma and relatives taking care of her.
These are for me!!! I never knew cookies could taste so nice.


Till then...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

what does creme brulee taste like? milky? other than sweet la. i've never eaten it i think

Weixin said...

how should i describe the taste?? hmm...it's made of egg yolks and fresh cream in general. The texture's a bit like the beancurd tofu dessert. Taste-wise, maybe a marvellously made egg tart is the nearest distinctive match? I've still got half a bowl if you are interested.

Anonymous said...

lol i dont want a stale creme brulee. that sounds nasty. egg tart ka? usually it's the tart part i like. ha ha. i cant imagine eating a whole bowl of the custard part.. but im interested in the layer on top

KT said...

hola :3
let me tell u what's a crème brûlée! traditionally it has a custardy texture. xinxin is right that it's made of egg yolks and fresh cream, usually scented with vanilla. some people use fresh milk, some even use condensed milk. but fresh cream works best for texture. it's not so much like an egg tart which is more egg, less cream; firmer and less custardy; more fragrant and less sweet. conventionally egg tarts are snacks and crème brûlée is supposed to be a dessert. so there's a distinction.

and on top of crème brûlée is a layer of caramelised raw sugar. well done ones should be rather hard to crack, offering a very distinctive difference in the texture in a single bite: hard caramel layer on top and soft custard of egg below. furthermore they're often matched with fresh fruits to neutralise the taste.

texture aside, its taste is rather milky and sweet. it might be a little uninteresting for the new-age diner so some people add a twist to it by flavouring it with food additives or even fresh ingredients. but i personally prefer the traditional version.

KT said...

anyway xinxin, I WANT TO TRY YOUR VERSION OF THIS FANTABULOUS DESSERT! it's my all-time favourite, really. heeee. i can't make it at home cos i don't have a blow torch... -_-

Anonymous said...

thx for the explanation keke.. now im sure that im interested in the caramelised layer heheh :D

Weixin said...

ya, kt's more accurate. Too bad the nearest taste to that is within common knowledge is the egg part of the egg tart. The creme bulee is definitely way better tasting anytime.

And kt, not everything needs to be blown! Look at my video, i used the griller, it works real fine. In fact, I think it gives a more even caramel effect than the torch. If you are lacking an oven with a griller, try the over toaster grill. Make it super red-hot and put ur custard with sugar icing under the grill. You'll be amazed at the effects.

Snort, not everyone can take the sweetness. Can get real intense for some, so it's really up to your own preference. Like what I mentioned, my mum scraped a large chunk into the bin. And ya, the thick and crispy layer. You can even knock on it with the spoon. Got to crack and dig through to the bottom. Mine gives a slight crispy feel in the mouth but melts soon making the combination a great blend.

I've read a blog where the person used liquor for the topping. She used bailey's to make a thick syrup sort of thing.