Whipping sponge....

This is my first time doing a proper Tiramisu....my usual one, is a simple make-shift thingy. Use to make it during college time when money was tight....kekekeke.

Simple Tiramisu - Cheap and Tasty

You'll need Jacob's Cracker or my mom used to buy Ping Pong Brand Crackers (yes, its called Ping Pong...), 500ml whipping cream, egg yolks, caster sugar (about 4-5 tablespoon), Nescafe Special Blend...and a sponge cake that you can buy from a neighbourhood bakery (comes in vanilla or pandan flavour, you can find them in Pasar Malam too).

First whipped whipping cream till stiff....take care not to overwhipped or you'll get lumpy bits. I usually add 2 tbsp of caster sugar and a tsp of vanilla essence, coz I dun like the smell and taste of cream/milk. Keep it in the fridge for chilling.

Then crack and separate about 4-6 eggs, and use only the egg yolks. Put them in a bowl, mixed with 2 tbsp of caster sugar, and beat it with a whisk/mixer until the colour turn light yellow (mustard like colour), and put the bowl in a double boiler, and stir continuously until the mixture is thick and gooey. Let cool...

Make 2 large cup of dark coffee with 1-2 tbsp of sugar, and if you want, can add some kahlua/rum.

By now, the egg mixture should be cool enuff.....and this in when u fold the whipped cream into the egg mixture. Don't pour all the egg mixture into the whipped cream, in case its still too hot...coz then, the whipped cream will turn watery (at worst), or it'll deflate. Add in a tub of 250g mascarpone if you are feeling rich.....

When all these are done, you can start assembling your tiramisu.

Cut the sponge cake across and line a round baking tin with the sponge cake. Stuff the hole in the middle (the sponge cake is baked using a Bundt tin..so there'll be a hole) with some sponge cake. Spread a layer of the whipped cream mixture.

Soak a piece of cracker into the coffee mixture and line it on top of the layer of cream...taking care not to have a soggy cracker. The cracker should still retain a certain level of crunchiness. Filled up the whole layer with coffee-soaked crackers. Then spread another layer of cream...you can sprinkle some chocolate shavings, choc chips and etc then stuff another layer of sponge, then layer with cream, and layer with crackers until you are out of ingredients. Chill it in the fridge overnight (at least 6 hours to set).

For me, the look is not important..coz I'll be stuffing myself with this...coz I know it'll taste really good...I like the crunch of the crackers........if you are out of cream to cover the top of your tiramisu, just drizzle the top with Hershey Chocolate Syrup.....slurp...slurp...

For the proper tiramisu as shown in the picture....its really damn easy. Just check out this YouTube link - Tiramisu Recipe.

I substitute the Marsala wine with brandy...coz I can't find Marsala wine......and I'm too lazy to shave the chocolate...so I used Hershey Chocolate Chips and some choc sprinkles....

I love the mascarpone cream layer....its really spongy. Its not really clear from this pic, but I added a layer of biscuit base (made from Digestive biscuits, I throw in some butter shortbread too....and drizzle the crushed biscuits with about 2 tbsp melted butter, and baked it in the oven 180 degrees from about 3-5 mins, or until brown).

The side view is quite ugly rite....the sponge fingers with peeling skin.....eeekss...

Top view, proof of my laziness...you can see bits of choc shavings from the dark choc block...where I gave up half way coz its already 11pm, and I'm lazy to shave the choc block until it covers the whole cake!!! Choc sprinkles is much faster....kekekeek

My brekkie the next morning.....quite a big slice rite???

What cup are you??

My firstday ....as an unemployed --> 18.08.2008

First time....since my graduation on Dec 2003.

Been working, working and working.....non-stop....the odd 1-2 weeks break here and there...just to utilised the Annual Leaves and Overtime that've accumulated.....doesn't even qualify as a break at all....why so ? The horrors of being an auditor....as much as it is enriching, it has also ate my youth and life away......

And I think, its about time to discover life again ? ...yup...a lil passed my quarter century mark....I think its good time to think about what I want in life!

So....it happened that its Nicholas' Birthday.....our Crooner, Mr Sexy Eyes....and yeah, the undisputable T.A.N (Tight Ass Nic)....bitch of the bitch to Julian (King of Bitches)....and...yeah , alright...I'm the vice president of his fan club, so I had to do something , don't I?? I'm sucker for guys who can sing..."Apologise"...perfect pitch...to the dot......He does melt your heart with his singing (do i sound a lil bias????....)

Anyhow....after attending Winnie's bday on 08.08.08, and I saw these gorgeous lil' devils...

They are actually tiny lil cupcakes...cute as a button, something of size of ...erm...the cupsize of a....well, if you put in cupsize, this will be like AA cup...the most delicate above all.....yup, its really tiny. Cake in a casing of , those lil casing they put a choc truffle? Bite-size....lick of the cream and you fill your mouth with the whole thing....

Well, I've also came across a blog entry from one of my fav food blog, Lyrical Lemongrass, she called herself, which I suspect, is also a deranged accountant with a flair for writing...she once featured these luvly lil devils...

So, I'm inspired. I'll bake cupcakes for Nic and the gang in Sunway. They are slaving their life still (yeah..audit life), and I supposed a tray of cupcakes will cheer my comrades well.....and I do miss them (we are all loonies working together...and I'm missing out on all the looney stuff tat we do).

The baking process :

1st, I start of with making the buttercream......if you want to die early, you should take 2 spoonfull of these stuff, religiously everyday. I'm sure your veins , aorta, whatever you call it...will clot in no time. To quicken the process.....you can choose not to exercise at all, sleep 12-15 hours a day...yeah, that'll help to. Side effects - unavoidable obesity.

But it taste decadently delicious, no matter what...so I supposed you popped one, and worked out in the gym for 2 hours, you should be alright......

Vanilla cupcake batter....my favourite. I should put a note to reduce the sugar level down another notch.....together with the buttercream, its really a tad to sweet for my liking.....

Devils' Food Cake....mini version, in cupcake case. By the way, this is what we call C-Cup size!!! LoL......in SenShih's dictionary , C = Cukup. (A = Apa pun tak ada, B= Besar, D= Dah Cukup!, E- Ekstrem, F= Fu yoooh)

The making of C-Cup...in vanilla flavour.....kekekekeke

The final outcome !!! Yeah...the writing is crap..but..but..its the thoughts that counts rite??

Anyhow...that's the best I can do la! I don't have proper piping nozzle and piping bag...

On the same week, I've got an order from my friend, Jadelyn....to make these cupcakes for her friend. Not looking too good...but I really like the choc buttercream this time. Using better cocoa powder really makes a big diff!! You can smell the choc from afar!!