Chestnut Loaf Cake

Winter is the time for chestnuts.

The lovely smell of chestnut, the rich & moist texture, the sophisticated note of rum all give to subtle & nutty flavours.

It's great on its own or as an accompanied to a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Also, a great way to celebrate winter.

Wish you all have a merry Christmas & happy New Year.

Belated Birthday Cake + Giveaway

I was expecting snow over the weekend when I was back to Basildon.

But I was disappointed as there was no sign of snowing even it's freezing cold.

As I usually do when I'm home, I spent sometimes in the kitchen baking.

I never mention that I've subscribed epapers from PChome which is a chinese website from Taiwan.

There's a great selection of free epapers you can subscribe, that's how I got the recipe from.

When I read the epaper, I was so tempted to try that.

It's also the perfect time now as it's the season of chestnut, plus it can be my belated birthday cake.

The recipe uses Grand Marnier to increase the depth & favours.

I didn't follow the recipe fully as I didn't have the chestnut sauce directly translated from chinese.

I think it's not the same as chestnut puree so I decided to take the caramel apple but use another recipe for the chestnut mousse.

I was absolutely satisfied with it.

Chestnut is earthy & rich but the caramel apricot & apple is fruity & tangy, so the combo gives a subtle & intense favour.

Matcha Mont Blanc

I wanted to join the Matcha Madness held by Catty, so I made these Matcha Mont Blanc.

Matcha Mont Blanc is the one I always like to try, I have to say I need more practice with my icing kit as I made a mess with the chestnut puree.

I realised my family don't fancy matcha flavoured desserts after I made these.

Although we drink green tea every day, I think we prefer matcha for beverage only.

It's rich in chestnut & azuki bean flavour, & also a subtle sense of matcha blended nicely with chestnut.

Sister's Birthday - Chestnut Mousse Cake

Last Sunday was my sister's birthday.

I made her a birthday cake, a chestnut mousse cake.

I wasn't happy with the decoration so no picture of the birthday cake was taken.

The cake is delicious with an intense aroma of chestnut, & the texture is very smooth.

To satisfy myself, I made a few petit ones & also try out the new silicone mould I bought a while ago.

I really love making petit ones, much easier to decorate with.

In Love with Chestnut III ~ Chestnut & Coffee Cake

My 3rd part of chestnut desserts.

I should have made this cake earlier because I think it is for winter.

Although it is still chilly outside, I think it should be spring now & cakes should be of lighter taste.

The cake is soft, spongy & rich in taste.

Enjoy!

In Love with Chestnut II ~ Baked Chestnut Cheesecake

2nd part of chestnut desserts!

Another cheesecake! I'm addicted to cheesecake recently.

In the past, I wasn't fancy about cheesecake, but my mum loves cheesecake, so when I got my hands on cakes I tried to make her some nice cheesecakes.

It turns out that I quite like cheesecake.

Last time I made a chilled chestnut cheesecake, I tried another recipe from this blog (Chinese).

I prefer this baked cheesecake, it's smoother & richer.

In Love with Chestnut I ~ Chestnut Cheesecake

Tonight is Chinese New Year's Eve.

The tradition is to have dinner with the family in this day, I almost forgot this tradition. I haven't celebrated Chinese New Year since I came to England.

I can still remember the festival in Malaysia, red lanterns being hanged up in the streets & people coming back to the little village I used to live from the cities.

Then, on the New Year day, I used to go out with my friends to get some 'red envelopes'.

It was the most happiest day for me as a child, since I got money just by greeting the elders ^__^

As I said in my last post, I made these chestnut cheesecakes this afternoon.

Just in time for desserts after the dinner.

Wish everyone a prosperous & happy Chinese New Year.