there she goes

never thought that baking macarons can be very technical.

last year i went to a macarons class and was so overwhelming once i tasted the scrumptious and pretty looking macarons after the class finished. up until that time, the only macarons that i usually bought was from whisk empire as i rarely buy online. even aaqilah and natalia love macarons from whisk. i once bought from a kiosk in klcc and sadly, they're quite disappointing. i've tried once from a kiosk in metrojaya mid valley, and they're also not really satisfying although looked promising. so i thought, why it's such a big hit?

since i'm not a patissier and have not much experience with macarons, my opinions are solely based on my personal taste and what i think is good. to me, a perfect macarons should have this crispiness on a thin layer of skin but won't easily break when you have a bite. the softness inside the shell holds the sandwiched macarons but it's not soggy. surprisingly, a chocolate lover like myself prefers salted caramel filling macarons over chocolate ganache, but i think chocolate praline filling is one of the best i've ever tasted.

my first attempt with macarons was like a week or two after the class. based on my performance in the class, i was confident that it could work. nah, i was wrong and demotivated just after 1/3 of the process. my meringue wasn't consistent as it should have been, and as i suspected, most of them were flat and took so long to cook. i guessed i was clueless at how long it takes time to cook perfectly and the experiment was quite a disaster. but what i've started must be completed not matter what was the end result, hence sandwiched the shells with ganache fillings, and put them neatly in container. my spirit was lifted a bit as my sister told me it tasted quite good contrary to the looks.

so i had another go last 2 weeks. i prepared the raspberry jam filling the night before and went quite smooth. i thought ok, this is a good indication. the process went smoother, the meringue was quite a success with the extra help from sister, the part-time baker. even when i piped the macarons, they all looked good and i was quite confident that finally i've started to conquer my fear over previous attempt.

wait until they're in the oven when i've started seeing something went wrong. macarons are not like cakes so basically they're not supposed to rise during baking, that's what i thought to myself. pray hard, i really hoped that at least i could get enough for cake decoration.


oh my god, look at these. couldn't say that they're a failure but it's more to something that wasn't work out as expected. however, they're tasted as good as the cute ones, see the following ;)


what went wrong during the first round was basically due to my less experience with macarons. although i did performed well during the class, never forget that it was conducted by a very experienced chef and we were taught in the heart of a fine dining restaurant. the atmosphere, equipment, everything was in a right place.

hence, i had better prepared myself as i knew what should and should not do. i managed better in a more timely manner, and technical aspects were improved too. so why did most of macarons become fluffy was quizzical to me, but i think every techniques applied must be precise. i'll let you know once i have become better next time.

so, back to the test kitchen to achieve perfection!

Although it might be a bit late, introducing to you guys these 2 special instagram accounts, @cupsters   and the latter @projekshawl.

@cupsters
Our humble online baking business which I've founded many many years ago with the chocolate cake as the beginning. It's not really huge but manageable and we're proud of our homemade products ;) Highly recommended - Red Velvet cake/cupcake with creamy cheese cream frosting and always my favourite, Devils Food cupcake with chocolate ganache.

Feel free to follow @cupsters and to like our page too Cupsters.Monsters



@projekshawl
Due to my petite built, I've always had problems finding my perfect shawl. If the width is ok, I've had issues with the length and vice versa. Sometimes I've had issues with the materials's opaqueness and material itself. When I see others wearing cute shawls, I always wonder where did they get theirs and one day I thought why not do it myself ones. So that's how it began, a small side project by yours truly. But who knows where this step might lead me to, amen.. Psss, just let me know if you like any of these..

Anyway, there're still many rooms for improvements and a lot for me to learn. It's exciting, challenging and yet could be rewarding. So please, your supports are very much appreciated..

Follow @projekshawl and like the page projekshawl

Following my previous entry, the next day was another class which was a donut class. the chef is someone whom aja is quite familiar with, part of the chef bakery's team at bangi.

learning donuts is quite fun, but you gotta be ready for the long period of making the donut. fermentation proses itself took at least 2 hours, after that further kneading and flattening the dough. we learned more than 5 types of donuts that are possible as the end products. personally i like sardine donut more than i could expected ;)

well, enjoy the photos.

it's been a while.

saturday

all of a sudden my recent weekend has become quite hectic after a long dormant periods. a last minute substitution wasn't that bad. now i know how it's possible to design your polka dot apam the way you like, just be creative. to think out of the box and you may get unexpected results. ladybug is achievable and very cutesy, seriously.

kek gula hangus is quite easy, plus i've learned the right techniques and good tips.

shocking pink. one of the cupsters' project.

i know we're not that active. but if you'd like to know us better, just pop an email or give us a ping.

bigger and even better this year, ameen

** the above image is courtesy of pn nurul's 

the power of blogging

an event which held at kementerian perumahan dan kerajaan tempatan, putrajaya was such a simple one. mainly i attended to support my good friend's event (she's the chairperson), but the event itself was successful, personally i thought.

the 2 invited speakers are en shahabudeen jalil, a wholesale business consultant and pn suraya of lunatots ( i am more familiar with her when i heard of lunatots). maybe it's because i myself a working mom so i strongly felt that the latter is much more relatable. Her spirits and motivations in running her business and managing her kids impress me a lot. whenever i heard or read about moms who work really hard for the best of their kids, i kinda feel a pang inside. shame on you, hasniza =|

useful and helpful, particularly to bloggers in the making and beginners. like myself, it's more on the knowledge sharing and an exposure to cupsters. a good one i hope ;)

a comel cupsters's chocolate cake sponsored by yours truly.

A belated entry from aaqilah's birthday last.. month hahah!!

Aku tidur pukul 4 pagi, and it's totally worth the next morning's doziness and dizziness. Baked nearly 140s red velvet cupcakes which I topped with vanilla buttercream. Maklumlah budak-budak tak semua sukakan cheese cream, and mentioning about cheese cream I think I could come up with a good entry of cupcakes frosting ;)

So, from the bottom of maa's heart, I wished you dear happy birthday (this is past hasniza ok), loves u much, dan doa yang terbaik dan terindah untuk aaqilah.. amin =)

Sebelah petangnya lepas balik sekolah, other half belikan aaqilah kek aiskrim. mujur strawberi tadelah aku bitter sangat. aku tade time tu, tak sempat nak kejar ke shah alam. oh i was stucked in a meeting..



p/s: cupcakes 100 biji dan sebiji kek, itulah hadiahnya hehehehe priceless!!

many apologizes for my late entry on the busy weekend.

friday i was in bangi for 1nita bengkel. last minit punya persetujuan untuk pergi, jadi aku worked around bengkel punya jadual yang mengisi jadual aku yang sedia padat ini kononnya. yelah petang jumaat tu aku ada interview plak kat cyberjaya. tapi sebab habis awal dengan baik hatinya aku patah balik ke bangi dan habiskan sesi syarahan untuk hari jumaat. awal-awal lagi aku dah cakap, sabtu saya takde, adik saya konvo.

hari sabtu kiterang ke shah alam untuk konvo aja. lawa tak aku bergaya dengan baju kurung moden yang akhirnya tak dapat masuk dewan seri budiman tu pon. kalaulah aku bijak sikit, selamba je aku dah pakai pants. siap ada heels lagi ye. takperla aja punya pasal saya sanggup bergaya cantik-cantik hehe. maklang dan pijah pun cantik, memang sesuai untuk majlis rasmi. sayangnya bila petang, hujan turun sangat lebat siap dengan angin kencang, jadi tak dapatlah nak bergambar di bawah sinaran matahari. kalau tak aku rasa lagi cantik dapat gambar outdoor yang terang dan sangat kontras. untuk meraikan kejayaan aja dan kawannya, kiterang celebrate makan bes sket. sayang gak korum tak cukup, tapi sapa yang ada itu pun tetap bermakna.

ahad aku sambung dengan bengkel 1nita. bengkel ni untuk usahawan dan bakal usahawan memanfaatkan online shops, as we were given brief trainings on web development using wordpress. sempatlah aku present cupsters kat dalam kelas, dan balik dengan sekeping certificate. oh ya bengkel 1nita ni free, kepada sesapa yang berminat silalah menghadirkan diri ke u.k.m bangi jumaat ni untuk another bengkel sebelum mereka-mereka ini ke terengganu pulak. for more information read here

hasil dari bengkel 1nita, proudly presenting to you people - Cupsters

nampaknya aku kena work harder, more sites to maintain =)

dari mata turun ke hati,
dari mulut turun ke perut.

saya jatuh cinta berkali-kali

mehla cuba, for details here

Oklah, entri ni macam iklan pulak.

rasa macam lama je entri takde gambar. apalagi aku takde kamera, sedih pulak rasanya. seriously, gambar yang datang dari aku mostly from iphone atau nikon compact kamera belongs to adik aku. sob sob.. kiterang memang macam takde semangat. nevertheless, passion aku terhadap foodtography or sebenanya food photography tetap ada. especially bila browse blogs dengan gambar yang super canteks, rasa bersemangat gitu.. terus rasa nak pergi beli hahaha (tapi duit tade)

sabtu yang lepas, alhamdulillah kenduri doa selamat/aqiqah dapat dilaksanakan dalam suasana yang kecil dan meriah. terima kasih pada kawan-kawan yang sudi drive sampai nun semenyih di sana. dan tak lupa juga saguhati untuk natalia, on behalf of natalia aku nak ucapkan many thanks for that. menu yang ala-ala kampung dan semuanya bukan dimasak sendiri hihi. ops, chocolate cake adalah sponsor dari cupsters of course.

• nasi minyak, nasi putih - katering
• kari kambing, sup kambing - bro asrar yang masak untuk hakim punya kenduri last time
• ayam goreng berempah - katering
• ikan keli goreng sambal - lenggeng
• gulai nangka - lenggeng
• kuih muih such as kuih bakar, koci, talam cendol, talam keladi
• cupsters's kek coklat 

walaupun pada mulanya aku nak launch cupster's new project, due to time limitation the project got to be axed at the very last minute and was substituted with our signature chocolate cake. saya upset tau. review mengenai kek memuaskan dan menggembirakan. rata-rata cakap sedap, aku sendiri pun cakap sedap hehehehe.. oklah, kurang aci sebab aku big boss tapi i'm quite picky to be honest.

so friends, how about give it a try? =)