Daring Bakers - Challenge ONE!

The challenge for month of May is ... *drum roll* ... Opéra Cake!!

For ya'll who don't know, I joined an online baking community called The Daring Bakers and every month we are set a challenge to bake something, and this was my first challenge! I was meant to reveal it on the 28th but I'M SO LAME AND EXAMS SUCK AND LIFE SUCKS so I forgot, and did it 2 days later.

Sorry guys!!

Anyway, traditionally the Opéra is a beautiful cake made of layers of almond sponge (a.k.a. joconde), filled with coffee buttercream and covered with a dark chocolate glaze and/or ganache. However, for a lovely little twist (and lots of PAIN) this month's theme was White Opera, so no dark ingredients!! Vanilla buttercream and white chocolate only!!

Now, I will slowly guide you through this amazing journey to create magical cake, even though I'm supposed to be studying for my first semester finals. Joy!

First up, ingredients!

Yolks! (I'm quite tired, so don't expect much talking :P)

Egg whites! At soft-peak level!

Egg-whites! With sugar, at stiff-peak level!

Almonds! I blanched myself!

Almond meal!

Fluffy ingredients! Pre-folding/mixing!

Ingredients! Folded/mixed!

Joconde! Being BAKED in my shitty oven!

Then in between that lots of crap happened I can't be bothered talking about (SORRY I'm so damn tired! Uni is stress!) like I made buttercream (super new cool type with sugar syrup and EVERYTHING) and ganache (I hate white chocolate. Bleh.) and mixed them all together, and tasty free! Amen!

This was the first end result:

A "meh" result. I didn't really put much effort into decorating it, and the layers were SO bad. It tasted nice though. I made a second attempt where I made it nicer, and I used the technique of piping lines of buttercream then smoothing with a palette knife for a more even result, and it turned out heaps prettier but I took photos which somehow got deleted and hence I'm angry, but too tired to care, so you'll just have to enjoy this.

Ah well. Here's to better future DB challenges!

Amazing biomimicry...

Watch this video of a flying machine (it's not computer graphics it's real) modelled on a jellyfish's structure and tentacle movements. Apparently biomimicry tends to result in very efficient designs, as natural selection removes inefficiencies from gene pools. Or watever other reason you want to believe.

I just think it's very beautiful.

[via EcoGeek]

BSG - S04E07

Latest Battlestar Galactica episode is just SO good.

!! SPOILERS !!

Gaeta really needs to STFU. Honestly! Your voice sucks! Your singing is not good! Bald president is so effing hilarious! HAHA. The dying leader will make-out with the bald lady in the opera house! The threes are getting unboxed!! I CAN'T WAIT!! LEE REALLY NEEDS A HAIRCUT!

I can't believe Athena killed Natalie! WTF!? Everyone's gone totally schizo, including the hybrid, who joyfully jumped everyone across the universe. My favouritest random thing to do now is scream "JUMP!" and moan like crazy in the hope that I'll fly somewhere magical. Not.

*Looks for good screenshots...*

Delayed Mother's Day Post ...

Mother's Day. A few days late, I know. Ah well, a celebration is a celebration. Spread the love for mum's all round! Cheer cheer! And plus, I made a tasty cheesecake for my mum and I just had to show off HAHA :P. Here's a few pics:

Doesn't it look so tasty? YES. EAT ME!

A slice. With passionfruit sauce dripping off. Yum...

WHAT? Leftovers?!? Back in the fridge you go! Yes! Next to all the creepy preserved things, pita bread and millions of bottles of chilli sauce.

For anyone out there who wants to have a go at making baked cheesecake, here's the really good recipe I used. It's quite fool-proof. Turned out normal even in my shitty oven. LuLz!

Fool's Baked Cheesecake!

For fools if you're foolish enough to make it you're sure to GET FAT!

INGREDIENTS:

200g of your favourite biscuits (MUST BE TASTY!!)
100g butter, melted

500g cream cheese (no low-fat crap please)
120g white sugar
50g butter, room temperature
50g flour
4 eggs (1 whole, 3 separated. Shut up and do it.)
150g yogurt

Pinch of salt

MY SPECIAL METHOD!

Firstly, the most important step in making a cheesecake, let out all your rage at everything that annoys you and at how much your life sucks and crush those GODDAMN biscuits until they turn to powder!! ARGHH!! (Or use a food processor for a more even result.) How fine the biscuits get is up to you. Melt the butter (first 100g) and pour it in, stir till you get happy and dump the whole thing into a springform pan (9-inch, not that anyone actually cares) and press it out till it's as flat as my stomach (HAHA) and plomp it in the fridge for some party times.

Next, using an electric mixer (paddle attachment, not whisk. Most cheesecake recipes try not to incorporate air into the mix, but this one incorporates a shit-load so dance for me madame!) cream together the cream cheese, butter (50g now) and just 50g of the sugar. Let it get light and fluffy, scrape down the sides with a spatula, mix it some more, dance to Madonna, then chuck in the flour, ONE egg and THREE egg YOLKS. Mix, mix, then chuck in the yogurt (I didn't have yogurt so I used white chocolate. HAHA talk about weird substitutes.)

In a NEW (preferably metal and shiny bowl) chuck in the egg whites. Whip to soft peaks, chuck in 70g sugar and the pinch of salt and whip it till you get stiff, oops I mean till it gets stiff.

Now fold the egg whites into the original cheese mixture until well combined. Take out the pan from the fridge, spray the sides, pour in the shit, bake for 60 minutes at 160 degrees celsius in a water bath (I could use a bath) and voila! Bob's your uncle, Jeanette is your dead sister, we all get cheesecake and EVERYONE is happy!

Cheer!

Got my mum a choccy goodie bag too.

I know! I'm so nice!

Another random day at uni...

On Friday, after an oh-so-boring Maths1151 lecture (with oh-so-exciting calculus and algebra) which I got to 15 minutes late cos my brother slept in instead of sending me by car (I usually take public transport, mind you) a guy I kind of know, well talked to once, invited me back to his room (he lives on campus) so I was like cool, ok! Fair enough. Later, as in today, I told this to my school friend over MSN:

Him:

hi

Me:

helloo

[mandatory awkward silence I feel obliged to fill-in.]

i went to this guys room
he lives in campus
it was so small loll

Him:

lol
y would u go
maybe he wanted to molest u

Me:

lmaoo
thats wat i was thinking later
i dunno he said come
and i said ok
LOL! i don't even know him very well

Him:

lol

Me:

wow.
it's kinda weird
now that I think about it.

Him:

someone likes u :D

Me:

......

As weird as my friend may have thought it would be, it was actually quite fun. This guy had the most awesomest computer EVER. I played Crysis on it at almost maximum graphics, would should get you computer-game obsessed people all wet and sloppy. Then I disgraced all my Asian browders by totally failing at the game (did I tell you I totally suck at all computer games? WTF? I fail as a geek.) Then we went with other peeps and practised accounting and using MATLAB.

Overall it was ok, but painful bits were when we went to play tennis (he invited me; cos earlier I said I played tennis) and then we went to the courts and there was only one free one without a net and BASICALLY he was so good and I sucked MAJOR wang and it was just so embarrasing. *Shamed*. Well he plays for his college so like it wasn't that much disgrace but still. Sigh. Then he invited me to go to the gym with him and I was like cool I'll check it out but after being disgraced at tennis (HAHA i'm so melodramatic) I wasn't in the mood for anymore action so I said I'll call it a day.

He's a nice guy. White as. LOL!! Is that racist to point out? There's apparently a less proportion of white people at my uni then the other unis in Sydney, and especially with commerce, it's a very Asian dominated course (Chinese, Indonesians, Indians, etc.) so I never really interact with many white people. There's this one guy I did talk to (besides dorm-guy). He's such a dick. Gah. But he's smart. Super GAH.

Anyway, I really want to join the gym, I want to get healthier! I'm such a fat-ass. OK FINE I CONFESS I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT HEALTH I JUST WANNA BE FREAKIN' HOT HOT HOT! *Ahem*. But it's intimidating, a little bit I guess. Time to jump into the deep end isn't it?

Soccer

I joined a soccer club! Woohoo! Joy joy cheer cheer dance around the fire. I never thought I'd ever join a sport team. I've never thought of myself as a team person (no matter how much I try to fake it in my resume LOLOL :P) but it's actually heaps of much fun.

My team are the Chullora Wolves. No website up yet, but should be up there soon. Now that I think about it, chances are this post will end up to the top of a Google search for anyone searching Chullora Wolves. Ah well. Honestly is my policy (not).

Actually, there is a site. Kind of.

Anyway, I think I suck (at soccer) but sometimes I think I really am not so bad, but just think I suck and hence I suck even more. Do you gets? Don't worry I don't get it either. I'm like the guy everyone is always giving advice too. Haha. I don't mind, really. I need all the advice I can get!

It's good exercise. Which I need. Fatty. Asthma flares up all the time at training. Gah. I seem to be injuring people a lot though. Mostly people on my own team. Hmm...

A lot of my brother's friends from high-school are in the team. They're so good. Especially one guy. Insanely good. He's like our trump card. WIN.

Will keep ya'll posted.

In the meantime, I need to find out what sorts of exercise equipment is good for home. And kick out nicely ask my brothers to move out so I can have my own room...

Ispahan...NOT!!!

After reading this post on FXcuisine.com I was so inspired by all the pretty pastries that I thought I'd try my hand at French macaroons. As in the incredibly beautiful kind made famous by Ladureé and Pierre Hermé. YES. I AM INSANE. And totally out of my league. I thought I'd try making rose flavoured macaroons, as rose is tasty (in my opinion anyway).

Aged egg-whites.

Triple-sifted, homemade white almond powder.

Made from FREAKIN almonds I had to blanch myself.

Expensive rosewater.

All labouriously combined in such a way as to create a thing of beauty.

What I was expecting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ISPAHAN.jpg

What I made:

Too embarrasing to be publicly revealed.

My back hurts.

Baking sucks.

My legs hurt.

Fuck.

Uni. Co-op. Joy.

Have I ever mentioned how joyful life is? I DON'T THINK I WILL ANYTIME SOON. BAHAHAHA. Clearly I am going insane. This is what uni does to ppl. Honestly. Especially lazy people like me who can't be bothered studying at all, but are on scholarships that require distinction averages.

*Sigh*.

My economics lecturer singled out me and 2 of my friends in front of the entire lecture hall. OMG how embarrasing. Just cos we were sitting up the back and talking. Bit deal. She never shuts up herself. Skank.

All people wanna do is drink. That kinda cuts me out of most of their social activities doesn't it? Ah well. I'll just dance around at home. I'm gonna drop out of uni soon and go enrol at the Sydney Institute of the Culinary Arts. I don't think that exists but if I did I would so go and join.

To add to my dramas, now 2nd round Co-op offers are now open, so basically I am honour-bound to apply again and get rejected again. Which would lead to me slitting my wrists and flavouring the earth with my blood.

Tasty.

Here is a little timeline of my relationship with Co-op.

Not pretty.

Now all I have to think of is something creative I've done, a time I've been a leader, a time I've overcome hardship, why I want to fondle my cats, and why God hates me.

Joy.

[via icanhascheezburger?]