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PerryMade >> Salted Chunky Chocolate Cookies


In late September, Mr. Pear and I made a life changing decision... We bought our first ever Thermomix!!! Woohoo~ I seriously cannot believe it as we have been thinking whether we should buy it... As we all know, the price is just too scary. Luckily, our dear friend Lianne told us 24 months interest free special promotion is on and Mr. Pear just gave a green light for me to buy my dream kitchen gadget (I still want a Kitchen Aid stand mixer though...).

As soon as we have got the machine, we named it Perry, just to give it a bit of personality and it is not just a kitchen gadget but more like a family :) I know we will have so much time to spend together in the kitchen~ hehe

Though we did make a vegetable stock paste in the delivery demo. However, I would still consider this yummy cookies the first thing I made with Perry :D

If you have a Thermomix or are considering to have one, follow us closely in this space or head to our new facebook page "PERRY The TMX". Happy Thermomixing :D

{ Recipes } Black Forest Cake




This is a kids friendly version of black forest cake. I made it for our connect Christmas party last year (plus a surprise cake for my dear friend). Since there are few kids and two pregnant ladies in the party, I decided to make a non-alcohol version of this cake.

I don't usually make the same thing more than once, because I like to try different things. If I ever make it again, it is either I really really love it (mango sago, which I will post later) or I really really want to conquer it (e.g. macaron). Nothing in between.

Sometimes, I don't know where I got this braveness from, but I always try to make new thing if I am going to a bring-a-plate party. It is not because I am so confident in my skill, this is only simply because I have a reason to make new and more complicated things. It is more a motivation to challenge myself, as I know I will only have one chance, otherwise, I am totally screwed and got nothing to share on the day (my plan B is always take away pizza lol).

Before Christmas, I bought a box of nice cherries from Garden City. To be honest, I know I am not going to finish it before it got rotten. I had to think a way to finish it before it happened. Then, black forest cake came across my mind. I wanted to make this for a long time and I know Mr. Pear like to eat chocolate cake. So, it was a win-win situation.

As I said, I was brave enough to make the cake on the day right before the party for the very first time. I would not have the luxury to redo if it stuffed. Therefore, I paid extra attention to every single step of the recipe. After the cake was out from the oven, I was not very happy as it looked so dry.

However, I really did not have time to make another one, so I still put the cake together and bought it over to the party.

Surprisingly, the cake came out very moist and it tasted just as nice as the store bought cake! I seldom say my food is good, as I was taught from young that this is not humble. But, I just can't help myself after the first bite of the cake... "It is so yummy!!!" I said that with an unbelievable tone, as I knew how it looked like before it got assemble. The result was brilliant and most of my friends liked it! Success! Yes! :D 

{ Recipe } Orange Madeleines



I have heard madeleine for a long long time. It is a shame to tell you now... Actually, I have never had one before! Yes, please don't laugh at me... This little elegant looking cake is the best to have in any high tea gathering with friends.

I bought a madeleine tin for over a year, but I have yet to bake any until I saw this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. This is not difficult to make (only 4 steps!) and the smell of the orange is so attractive and addictive!

My first attempt was quite successful and I was surprised I got order straight away after I posted the pictures on my facebook page!

The pictures that shows in this post are the quantity for 4 batches of madeleines, but the measurement in the ingredient section is for 1 batch which is 12 madeleines. Therefore, please do not compare the amount in the pictures to the one that you make if you are using the quantity in the ingredient section.

{ Recipe } Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake (GF)


It has been while since last post. How have you been? It is almost end of the year. Can you believe it? I am pretty happy with what I have done earlier this year. But lately, my mind is full of many questions that I can't find the answers which makes me really stressed and unease. I seem to forget the basic of happiness.  

Anyway, I made this cake back in August for a morning tea at work. This is my first time baking a gluten-free cake. I have to admit I have the impression that flourless cake must taste boring and the texture is very dense. But! This cake completely changed my mind! It was soft and tasty! The smell of almond was so strong when I took out the cake from the oven. It was absolutely amazing.

{ Recipe } New York Vanilla Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce


I never have a sweet tooth and I am never fond of cheesecake. It sounds very weird that this comes from a person who bakes a lot of desserts. Having said that, every now and then, I will suddenly have a craving for some sweet stuff. 

 This time, I want to make a cheesecake and I have my reasons... another way not to waste food! :D

 1. There are two blocks of cream cheese close to expiry date. (lesson learn: do not buy anything because it is on sale) 
2. There is a pack of girl guide biscuit sitting in the pantry for over 10 months. (lesson learn: do not try to make all the little girls happy by buying all their biscuits on hand... but... I just want to encourage them!!) 
3. There is a box of frozen blueberry in the freezer. 

 I have got most of the ingredients, all I need to do is putting them together. Simple as that!

 If you want something refreshing and not too rich, this is the cheesecake you will love to try!  

{ Recipe } Dark Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting


This actually happened in August last year. Yes, after that I was pretty occupied with different things and that is why I have been MIA… and I didn't think about this until now - making a good use of my commuting time on the bus. Do I get motion sickness? Not really, otherwise I will be really bored on the bus... haha.

Anyway, in early June (of course last year), a close friend of mine asked if I could bake some cupcakes for her wedding. She would like to have chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting and vanilla cupcake with strawberry buttercream. I know what you are thinking, you must think I must be very good at baking and friends keep asking me to bake for their special occasions.

I can honestly tell you that I am nowhere close to good, but I am persistent and determined. I like to challenge myself and try my best to achieve result. However, it only happens when I am interested. Heh~

I had not been baking back then as my oven was a bit old and the heat sneaks out from the oven. How can I bake a good cake with this oven? Plus, I have never decorated a cupcake! Can you believe it? So me being me, I was freaking out. Therefore, I started to practise with the RSPCA cupcake day and the result was amazingly good. 

This cupcake is rich like brownies together with the peanut butter frosting. Tell me, who can resist such a perfect combination? 

* Sorry, I was too concentrated to make this mini cupcakes, so I forgot to take the step by step photos. 

{ Recipe } Orange Flavour Macaron with Passionfruit Buttercream


This is one of the two flavours for a church friend's wedding. I love the vibrant orange! This is my first time to make such a bright colour mac, but they look really nice with the wedding theme colour (orange and cream, yes, the other flavour is in creamy colour).

If you read my last post, you should know I am not a fan of macaron, mainly because of the sweetness. However, this one tastes so good and I am so addicted to it. The sourness from the passionfruit balanced just right with the sweetness of the mac. Plus the orange flavour in the shell which makes it a perfect summery dessert.

WARNING: it is very delicious and addictive. Please bear in mind the buttercream is mainly made from butter, so if you don't want to have a serious work out after this, make sure you know where to stop :P

{ Recipe } Plain Macaron Shell (Italian Meringue)


Happy New Year everyone!!! How was your new year eve like? Mine was a quiet and relaxing one with Mr. Pear. He prepared a beautiful dinner and we shared a glass of champagne. It was wonderful :D

I am sorry for the lack of post for such a long time. I was meant to post this before Christmas. However, my computer was playing up, so I needed to get Mr. Pear to fix it... and now it is up and running again! Yay!

Not long ago Two months ago, my dear friend Jade referred her friend to me as her friend wanted to have some macarons for her wedding. To be honest, I was really happy on one hand, coz someone trusted me and recommended me to their friends. How cool is that~

But on the other hand, I was a bit freaking out, as I haven't baked macs since 2010 after Jade's wedding. A good three year without making any, and now I have to bake for someone's wedding again?! How can I not freak out?!

So, the macaron madness begins...

I know I may shock you a bit if I tell you I am actually not a macaron fan but what makes me so fascinated about macaron is the unlimited combinations you can have with the shell flavours and the fillings.

If you follow my facebook page, you sure know how often I bake macs for the past few a couple of weeks. It has been an ups-and-downs journey. And it was so good to see the macs getting beta each time.

Of cause, every now and then accident happened, especially when trying new stuff.... haha...Yes, please do not expect to get it right at the first time. This recipe is a guide line for you to practise and the key steps are mostly followed from Adriano Zumbo's book, Zumbo with a little modification according to my personal experience and preference. However, please be aware that the outcome may vary due to different circumstances which will also be shown as we go through the process. It is gonna be a long post, but it records all I have come across these few weeks, so you know what to expect and what may happen :)

Once you have got the idea of how to make it and it is just a matter of time before you nailed it :) So, "Never Give Up" is the first and the main ingredient that you must have.

So, are you ready?

{ Recipe } Green Tea Chess Cookies


I want to make this little cookies for long. Just purely because they look really pretty. Read through the recipe, I was surprised that it is actually easy to make than I thought. It just need to take more steps to make the pattern.

There are quite a few thing I can definitely do better next time when I make it again. First, I should not do it in a rush. I remember on the day Mr. Pear and I had to go to his parents place. So I was like running around the kitchen and tried to make this happen. Second, all because of the first reason, I did not harden the dough enough which made it too soft to cut it straight and nice. Therefore, some of the cookies still had the gap in the middle.

Overall, despite the shape doesn't look what it supposed to look like and a little bit bitter, but it was close enough and the taste not too sweet too.
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