5 desserts you can make with puff pastry

I.have.cheated.

If my explosive declaration above has not caught your eye, at least, I trust that the title of this post did.

Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Sometimes, the itch to bake comes suddenly and the battle between the mind and body begins. My psychically tired and lazy body refuses to do move but my mind is working overtime with the numerous recipes I want to try.

This recipe was born out of my mind-body conflict. All you need is a big bowl and a sturdy spoon/spatula/whisk. Mix, bake, and wash – all completed in an hour flat. Out of sheer laziness, I used Skippy chocolate peanut butter but you can always use a combination of peanut butter and cocoa powder or melted chocolate. If you like, throw in a dash of chocolate chips for some bite.

Brownie Cream Cheese Butter Cake Recipe

Can't decide whether you want a brownie, butter cake or cheese cake? Try this Brownie cream cheese butter cake. A mouthful isn't it but this combination is surprisingly good.

Apple Cream Cheese Cupcake Recipe

It's one of those lazy days where I didn't have a particular recipe I wanted to try out and neither was I craving for something specific. But I do know I have an odd block of cream cheese lying around in my fridge and basic cake ingredients on hand so...

Soft baked Chewy Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Cookies Recipe

Ever since I discovered soft baked cookies, I never looked back. I remember trying them when I was younger and was bemused by their texture. My mother used to say that those were "lau-hong" biscuits aka crispy biscuits left out for too long that they lose their bite.

Carbonara Recipe

I have a special fondness for carbs, especially noodles but pasta in Singapore restaurants are often a tad pricey for my liking - the portions are either too small/not filling or the sauce is too sour/creamy for my liking. The best part of replicating your fav pasta dishes at home is that you can adjust the flavour to your taste.

The Carbonara recipe I am sharing may not be the most authentic but the mix of the following ingredients resulted in a lovely dish which was happily devoured in minutes by the family. It is simple and good.

Cornflakes Cranberry Cookies Recipe

One of these days you may be looking to clear out your pantry. If you have some lingering cornflakes and dried fruit, be it cranberry, raisins, etc., mix them together and create delicious cookies using this easy recipe. Once you tried these, you probably won't ever have a chance of these "leftovers" idling around any more...

Special post: Happy Valentine's Day

The biggest day for companies to bank on is coming...Valentine's Day! Pardon my sarcasm, but despite the fact that it is a highly commercialised occasion, I do believe that we should celebrate it in one way or another and spend some quality time with our loved ones - family or your other halves.

The big V-day can be made extra-special with a personal touch through d-i-y gifts, and what better way to express your love than through homemade sweets. Here's a round-up of some desserts which you can easily replicate at own home, at a fraction of the cost you need to pay outside.

For the laz- erm I mean time-sapped people. Difficulty level: Novice

Almond Cookies Recipe

A few more days to CNY and the frantic baking starts... Ok not really, this recipe is so easy that you can yield lovely cookies in an 1h flat.

Pineapple Tarts Recipe

*cue festive music, the most traditional of them all...

Dong dong dong chiang, dong dong dong chiang, dong dong dong chiang dong chiang dong chiang

Now that I have set the scene, you probably realise that this is a post related to Chinese New Year. And yes, it is coming and to be more exact, there are 8 more days to go.

To me CNY is all about the food. This is the only time in the year where I forget my waist-line and just eat (and eat and eat and eat). There is your traditional steamboat, Pen Cai (盆菜)... and definitely plenty of baked treats. Pineapple tarts, almond biscuits, peanut biscuits, etc.

The festive cheer is here and as an avid baker, I should be elated, excited, over the moon! Well, truth is, not quite...

Banana Cupcakes Recipe

There are some recipes which you would constantly to refine to achieve a better taste or one that is to your liking. This is one of them - banana cake recipe.

Sweet Potato Latte (Goguma Latte) Recipe

In my trip to Korea early last year, I chanced upon Sweet Potato Latte (Goguma Latte) at Hollys. It is the company’s signature drink, a 445-kcal hot drink made with milk, sweet potatoes and almonds. The weather was still chilly then and the tasty drink made me all warm and fuzzy.

I miss Hollys, I miss my goguma latte and I want a Hollys franchise! Or someone else bring Hollys to Singapore. But since I don't know when that might be and with my craving chewing me inside out, the only way left is to recreate the drink.

Chinese Chives and Pork Dumplings (Jiaozi) Recipe

BACKLOG!! Ok, that exclamation has zero relation to this post on Chinese dumplings. With the year drawing to a close, one would expect things to wind down but quite the contrary, I am swamped.

There are many things to settle and close before 2013 is over and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. As the apt saying goes, 先苦后甜 "bitterness first, sweetness after", I am eagerly anticipating my gush of "sweetness" after all this crazy work is over!

I love Chinese dumplings ever since staying in Beijing for a couple months. There are many flavours available and people eat them as a main. You can dip them in simple black vinegar or mixed with some sesame oil and chilli oil. It's a great dish to make during these rainy months and it's a fun activity for the whole family to just gather around and make dumplings.

Mocha Oreo Cheesecake Recipe

I am on a no-bake cheesecake spree ever since my last trip to Phoon Huat (local baking store). This is a result of buying cream cheese and diary whipping cream in bulk - think 1kg of cream cheese and 1L of whipping cream. To be fair, I couldn't resist the cream cheese. The one I bought comes from Australia in a tubular form and has a light creamy taste which I absolutely adore. I don't like cheese with a strong "cheesey" taste (it's ironic I know) and this affordable option ($12-ish for 1kg) is for those who want to make cheesecakes but find Philadelphia (250g for $5-ish) a tad pricey.

Checkered Cake Recipe

I love basics - a sponge cake when done well is utterly delicious. Which is also why I am always on a search for the perfect sponge cake recipe. There are many recipes out there but the key is finding what works best for you both in terms of methodology and taste.

Bacon Onion Quiche Recipe

It was Sunday brunch and I wanted to make something beyond the usual scrambled eggs or pancakes. I wanted something savoury, easy and quick. That's when I remember an easy Cowboy Quiche recipe from Zoe, Bake for Happy Kids.

"I have been using a fuss-free and fail-proof quiche recipe which is 200ml cream + 3 eggs + 1 cup cheese for a deep 23 cm pie dish"

THIS is exactly what I need. Fuss-free, fail-proof. The most comforting words to one who has never baked a quiche before. 

The results?... Drool-worthy.

Strawberry Jellyhearts Cheesecake Recipe

I'm sure we all love our strawberries, jellies and cheesecake. But how do they taste when used together in the same dish...? Awesome.

Japanese Chestnut Cake (Mont Blanc) Recipe

Yes, Mont Blanc is a luxury brand and no, I am not referring to that. Today's post is on a less-known cake but utterly delicious - Mont Blanc.

Mont Blanc is a dessert of puréed, sweetened chestnuts and whipped cream. This name is derived from the mountain, Mont Blanc, meaning "White Mountain". This dessert resembles a snow-capped mountain, which explains the squiggly lines on top the cake (and please don't tell me they look like worms or Medusa's hair...)

Fruit Tart Recipe

Fruit tarts are easy to put together and one of the healthier desserts. You can use any seasonal fruit available and berries are often used, strawberries, blueberries, etc. Colourful fruits are packed with vitamins and they brighten up the whole tart. Not only is a fruit tart good to look at, it is also delicious - buttery tart crust paired with sweet custard and many pieces of layered fruit.

Kimchi Pancake Recipe

If you are looking for a fuss-free meal, kimchi pancake is a quick fix. All you need is kimchi, flour, water.