Strawberry Ice-Cream

Singapore's weather is getting crazy nowadays. It was cold, windy and rainy yesterday (flooding in some areas) and today the sun is blazing hot outside!

Well, the weather's perfect for the strawberry ice-cream that I've just made :)
Maybe I'm missing a strawberry in the bowl...

And I still made the ice-cream without an ice-cream maker.
Maybe I don't need one after all...

How to make simple Strawberry Ice-cream without Ice-cream maker

More Longan & Strawberries Cakes

Went to visit 2 friends I've not seen for a few years, now happily married with a 17-month toddler. I decided to bake them a cake. And of course, since the longan & strawberry cake was a hit last Friday. I decided to make another one two :) One for my friends and another one for my dear hubby who had complained that I didn't make 1 for him last week.

It was great to meet up with my friends again after so long... Life's been good and well, all of us put on a little weight since the last time we met... There was a lot of catching up to do and I do hope to meet up again soon, maybe during the next school holiday?

They had a slice of cake each and remarked that I should take orders for the cake :)
Well, I'm just a home baker, baking just for fun :) but glad that they've enjoyed the cake.

Longan & Strawberry Fruit Flan Cake

Longan & Strawberry Fruit Flan Cakes

Strawberry & Longan Fruit Cake

Made this cake for a friend's birthday. It is an improved version of the logan & lychee fruit cake I've made last Sunday. See how strawberries brighten up and add colour to the entire cake? Well, red and white also happen to be Singapore's national colours. So for a birthday's celebration that's so close to National Day (9th August),  this cake is just right.

I'm pleased with how it looked and tasted. The birthday gal couldn't believe I could create such a cake. She remarked, "No wonder your husband keeps you at home..." 

Longan & Lychee Fruit Cake

This was another 'production' for the Goh family gathering for tea on Sunday. Baked a sponge cake on Saturday night and was ready to decorate it with fresh cream and strawberries but I have forgotten to buy the strawberries and I was so busy doing & baking other stuff to make another trip to the supermarket to buy it. So I looked inside the cupboard and found a can of lychees and a can of longans. And I decided to try something new... Longan & Lychee Fruit Cake! Was keeping my fingers crossed as I didn't know how it might eventually taste. 

It didn't look spectacular, really kind of plain. Fortunately, the taste was its saving grace. My mum-in-law was praising it. Jerome said it was the best cake I've made so far. He seemed to be saying this all the time :P Jerome had 2 slices and I wished I had too... 

How to Make a Fruit Jelly Top Cake/ Fruit Flan Cake?

1) Bake a traditional sponge cake. Allow to cool & chill , then cut it horizontally into halves.

2) Whipped up some fresh cream (whipped topping cream).

3) Spread some fresh cream on half the cake. Place cut lychee chunks generously over the fresh cream. Spread more fresh cream to cover the lychees. 

4) Place the other half of the cake on top. Cover the entire cake with fresh cream. Chill.

5) Prepare the jelly mixture. Boil the syrup from the can of logans with additional 100ml of water. Add 20g of instant jelly powder. Stir until solution is clear and remove from heat. Allow to cool, but not solidify.

6) Place an adjustable cake ring around the cake and arrange the longans or other fruits on the cake. 

7) Slowly and gently pour the jelly mixture over the cake and fruits. 

8) Chill in the fridge till the jelly set. Remove the cake ring. 

9) You might want to add baked almond slices around the sides of the cake.

10) Enjoy the cake chilled :)

Going Bananas

I've started buying bananas regularly just recently. Jerome likes bananas. We have a bunch hanging in the kitchen almost every week. I've heard some people saying that pregnant women should avoid eating Del Monte bananas are they are cooling/'liang'. Not that I'm pregnant now, but I avoided buying Del Monte and bought Dole instead. I wonder if it makes any difference. I wonder if what I heard about the Del Monte bananas is really true. Is it just a myth? Hence, I decided to find out more about this fruit that we're now having regularly. You are what you eat...

What I've found out so far from the net:

First, the benefits about bananas. They're better than apples. So it's time to say "A banana a day keeps the doctor away."? Great! I'll continue to buy bananas regularly.

Then I read on other sites about 'banana wars' and 'blood bananas'...

The land, environment and workers at the banana plantations are 'poisoned' by the mass chemical pesticide used in growing these bananas.  See here and here. And quite a bit of bad press regarding Del Monte's exploitation of its workers and workers being murdered.

So no Del Monte bananas for me.

What about Dole bananas then?
"Bananas! The Shocking Film that Dole Doesn't Want You To See"

So no more Del Monte or Dole bananas for me until I know the situation has improved.

I know I'm going to see the bananas in a different light...