Hello lovelies! This announcement comes quite late but I hope not too late… I bet most of you have made great plans for the weekend like attending the Public Garden Market… but I hope you might be able to squeeze in some time in the morning to drop by the Farmers’ Market at The Pantry Loewen Gardens. Amanda and I will be there from 9am-1pm selling our bakes with some old favourites - elderflower cake, cinnamon rolls and some new ones - assorted tarts and bread (a more wholesome selection of sorts).

The table is going to look more awesome with the new baskets, tablecloth and other gorgeous
accessories I bought from Tokyo. I’ve just changed the design of the namecards and stamped all the paperbags! Excited excited excited!

And if you’re wondering what this (ab0ve) gorgeous illustration of a cake has anything to do with anything…. It was done by my good friend, Dawn Tan exclusively for Sadie Rose! And we are giving a print to each customer who spends more than $10! We only have 20 pieces so do come early! Hope to see you there! xx

Sakura
at Chidorigafuchi Park

The colors were totally unedited. Film is a beautiful thing is it not? There’s something naturally soft and dreamy about film photographs that you can’t really achieve in digital without heavy editing.

xx

The reason why I love looking at the shelf above my desktop. hehe.

Good morning lovelies!

Having had quite a bad night last night with no sleep at all, I did what I knew would cheer me up - Bake! I did my first attempt of a swiss roll since learning to make it in Japan, but edited the recipe to make the flavor more localized. I’m sure most of you have heard of the Rich and Good Cake Shop which sell the most fantastic pandan-kaya swiss rolls? I decided to give it a go and make some myself. I have to admit, rolling the roll was still as terrifying as the first time I did it. And as you can see, I applied a little too much force and squeezed quite a lot of the cream out. Hahahaha…. But maybe that was a good thing cause I’m not a fan of cream anyways. By the way, can you spy the layer of kaya that I spread on the inside of the roll. It needs more!!

I know self-praise is no praise, but it really tasted pretty damn good. Then again, anything with kaya always tastes awesome. Now just like the crepe cake, I just have to work hard at presentation!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD Y’ALL! xx

Pizzettes I made for lunch.
Still trying to work out some minor kinks in the crispiness, but I think I’m getting there!

HAPPY SATURDAY EVERYONE! xx

Hello hello! If you’re thinking.. this photo looks vaguely familiar… It’s not the same but quite similar to the one in this post of my crepe-tastic breakfast. Instead of just a whole stack of crepes, I made it into a crepe cake with the addition of a large number of fruits and good serving of homemade crème patisserie stacked in between the layers. It was made for my mum’s friends, for their weekly-thursday-get-together. I’m always quite stressed when Thursday comes along cause they are a tough crowd to please. Thank goodness they loved this one and I heard, even had seconds. Phew.

The “insides” of the cake with assorted fruits and 14 pieces of crepe. I wasn’t able to get kiwis this morning, so I had to settle for strawberries, bananas and melons.

Since I got the flavor profile down, my ultimate goal is to have the cake look like the one from HARBS! Hopefully I’ll be able to figure it out better next time.
xx

I just tried out the Carrot Cake from Rose Bakery’s book and wanted to share this lovely recipe with you. Unlike most carrot cakes, this cake doesn’t require any butter (except for the frosting, but even that can have a higher ratio of cream cheese to butter if it suits your cheese-loving tastebuds) Amanda and I think this carrot cake tastes very healthy and light compared to its butter-made counterparts, but still yummy! Let me know what you think!

ROSE BAKERY CARROT CAKE
Serves 8

• Unsalted Butter, for greasing
• 4 Eggs
• 225g caster sugar
• 300ml sunflower oil
• 4-5 medium carrots, finely grated
• 300g plain flour, sifted
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 rounded tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 150g finely chopped walnuts
• For the Icing
  • 125g unsalted butter, softened
  • 250g cream cheese
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 50-75g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter a 23cm cake tin and line its base with parchment paper. (For me, I used 4 small loaf tins instead to cause I wanted them in squares) Beat the eggs and caster sugar until they are light and fluffy but not too white and meringue-like. Pour in the oil and beat for a few more minutes. Fold in the carrots and then the flour with cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Finally fold in the walnuts. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.

To make icing, beat butter with cream cheese for a few minutes till the mixture is smooth. Add vanilla and icing sugar and beat until smooth. Wait until cake has cooled and slather on your yummy frosting and take a big bite!! ENJOY!

xx

Hello everyone! If you don’t know yet, I am a huge fan of SKII. The SKII Cellumination Essence is my best friend. To spread my love for the brand, I’m going to give away a 250ml bottle of SKII Facial Treatment Essence worth $229 to a lucky reader!

To win, leave a comment telling me why you should receive this awesome product! While usually I would pick a comment at random to win, this time I will choose the best comment as the winner! For example, how it might benefit you by including it into your daily skin care routine. Hint: It might be a good idea to do a little bit of reading up on SKII products and its benefits and the SKII Transformation.

Deadline for entries: 14th May 2012

THANK YOU SKII for your generosity!
xx

The first cake I’ve made since I’ve been back. Japan has taught me that the little delicate garnishing makes a world of a difference.
Hope you’ve had a great weekend!
xx

p.s SKII giveaway tomorrow so do check back ladies!

On the first morning I arrived back, my mum left a bottle of BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken for me on the kitchen table. And with all the things I had to get done, I was extremely thankful. And since then, I’ve been having it every morning.

I don’t know if it’s how everyone has it, but in my house, we would place a bottle of BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken into a mug of hot water and wait for the label to peel off, which would be a sign that it was warm enough and ready to be drank. I know it doesn’t necessarily have to drank warm, but that’s how my family has been drinking it in my house for as long as I can remember. Speaking of which, my first memory of BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken was being given a bottle during a Primary school exam. I suppose most of you share the same first memory. I don’t know about you, but I loved it the moment I took my first gulp, which in my opinion, tasted like chicken soup and soy sauce. Love. Ever since then, I have never sat for another exam without it.

The fact that BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken is a trusted health brand that has proven its efficacy in mental alertness, is very well known. It is the reason why it’s been the preferred choice of supplement by parents for their children during tests, exams and any other minor or major events in their scholastic lives.

But do you know….

BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken contains no artificial flavoring, coloring or preservations and is the only essence of chicken with active compound ProBeptigen^® which helps to increase the motivation to learn and boosts both learning and memory. Another active peptide found in BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken, Carnosine, helps to combat age-associated neurodegeneration.

So this is why, BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken can and should be taken by anyone and everyone on a daily basis. Instead of overdosing on coffee to stay alert or chugging down those ten pill supplements why not choose BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken! It is a much better and healthier choice with its short term benefits of helping your daily mental concentration but also its long term benefits in improving your brain’s health and fitness.

Include BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken into your daily breakfast menu and feel the difference! Just one small bottle of BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken a day, everyday, can go a long way by helping you stay “Switched On”, staying alert and mentally prepared for each day.

During the times when I wasn’t “Switched On”, I ended up putting in the wrong type or quantity of ingredients into my batter. In baking, the exact measurement, down to a single gram, is very crucial. Getting your ingredients right is even more important. I found out there’s a big difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour, the hard way. Also, the countless times I put the oven on the wrong setting, still haunts me greatly.

Drinking BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken has become a daily aspect of my life, because it helps me stay ‘Switched On’ through the long day. I start my mornings at 6am to bake my first batch of bread. Because baking is such a meticulous process, it is important I am energized and well-focused right after getting out of bed. Thanks to the wonders of BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken, I have been able to be more organized and more focused and make bread such as the ones in the photo without making a mistake or extra fuss, saving me time and energy so that I can get more things done during the day!

But not only can BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken aid you in keeping up with with daily going-ons but also help you to make the best of life’s everyday opportunities. It helps you “Stay Switched On and Stay Open to Opportunities”.

With our hectic lives and the gazillion things we have to get done every day, sometimes the smallest and seemingly insignificant details are overlooked, causing us to miss out on very substantial or even, life-changing opportunities.

I’m sure everyone has probably missed out or even deleted, one or two vital emails in our folly due to simply not being “Switched On”. I remember missing out on an email that offered me an design internship in London and not too long ago, other emails that were big orders from potential customers who wanted my cakes.

Also for a avid photographer like myself, it’s essential to stay “Switched On” because the difference between getting a great shot and a mundane one takes only a mere moment. I managed to sneak a quick photo of this couple sharing a tiny bench right before they got up to walk away. If I was wasn’t “Switched On”, I would have missed the opportunity completely to take one of my most favorite photos!

Just the other day, I was on one of my usual supermarket visits and was able to spot a few deals and pick up some rare finds that somehow managed to catch my eye. Sabaton Chestnut paste on sale at 50% off. Seriously?! I’m a real auntie when it comes to supermarket shopping, so staying “Switched On” is so important in keeping a look out for uber deals!

Drinking BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken daily will help you stay more open to any opportunity that life puts your way! You’ll be ever ready for an impromptu over-the-phone job interview, able to grab the dress that you and all your friends were eyeing just before they do or  whipping up a special meal to impress the future-in-laws who sprung a surprise visit. You’ll always be able to seize the opportunity no matter how big or small and amaze everyone.

And to reward its consumers, the BRAND’S^® “ Stay Switched On, Stay Open to Opportunities” Campaign will give you a chance to win over S$30,000 worth of cash and attractive prizes just by spotting and sending in the 8-digit code on the promotion pack. It’s that easy! Hurry and grab this awesome opportunity! Campaign only lasts till 31 May 2012!

The BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken “Stay Switched On, Stay Open to Opportunities” 2012 Promotion Pack retails at S$18.95 and is available in a pack of 6×68ml bottles at leading supermarkets, hypermarkets, personal care stores and major pharmacies and all general retailers.

Also, do LIKE the BRAND’S^® Blur or Not Facebook Page for more updates, promotions, giveaways and fun activities!

Some opportunities should never be missed and won’t ever be again, thanks to BRAND’S^® Essence of Chicken!
xx