Sesame Seed Brittle

Chinese New Year is today, Monday, January 23, 2012; and it will be the beginning of the year of the Dragon.  I’m pretty excited this year because my parents are here and we get to celebrate it together for the first time after a long time being apart.  This type of celebration is truly felt [...]

1 CommentJan 23, 2012read more
Winter Solstice

Eating sweetened tangyuan or onde-onde (in Bahasa Indonesia) during Chinese Winter Solstice Festival may become a yearly occurrence now. Before my parents moved close to me, I didn’t always remember to make onde-onde in the month of December; or sometimes I was too lazy to make some. But now, my mom is my motivation to [...]

Christmas Almond Truffle Bars

I finally had a time to bake sweets for Christmas…ah, the joy of having two-week break from work.  It gave me a motivation to bake, it prepared me to be ready for Christmas.  Thus the sweet is aptly named Christmas almond truffle bars.  I’ve made this actually years before, don’t remember anymore if I’ve ever [...]

1 CommentDec 17, 2011read more
Bittersweet Truffle Tart

I shared this tart with my Bunco friends a few weeks ago. Rich, chocolaty, and creamy; those three words pretty much summed up the end result. There’s so much to write but I’m still finding the time; it’s been a long week and busy month.  I’ll leave with a recipe to share, though.  Until later. [...]

1 CommentDec 09, 2011read more
Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice

Eating sweetened tangyuan or onde-onde (in Bahasa Indonesia) during Chinese Winter Solstice Festival may become a yearly occurrence now. Before my parents moved close to me, I didn’t always remember to make onde-onde in the month of December; or sometimes I was too lazy to make some. But now, my mom is my motivation to...
Christmas Almond Truffle Bars

Christmas Almond Truffle Bars

I finally had a time to bake sweets for Christmas…ah, the joy of having two-week break from work.  It gave me a motivation to bake, it prepared me to be ready for Christmas.  Thus the sweet is aptly named Christmas almond truffle bars.  I’ve made this actually years before, don’t remember anymore if I’ve ever...
Losing touch

Losing touch

I wasn’t going to complain, but I felt down.  I haven’t been baking for maybe more than a month and I’m afraid I’m going to lose my skills.  The old adage of practice makes perfect should’ve been like a mantra to me, yet I perfectly ignored it.  Yesterday I was making genoise cake for my...
Steamed Nian Gao with Shredded Coconut

Steamed Nian Gao with Shredded Coconut

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year and I feel extra special this year because my parents are here with me.  By some luck,  my mom has her last Indonesian nian gao with her.  Somebody must have brought it with her and gave it to her.  This specialty cake is only available during Chinese New Year and is called...
Ground Cherry Flognarde

Ground Cherry Flognarde

In the midst of everyday life and assignments, I’m hungry for something sweet and quick.  My snack supply from Indonesia has reached the level of near-bottom, and I’m actually quite sad to see those goodies are gone.  If only they could magically reappear in the box, I’ll be happier. Yesterday I brought home a bag-full...
Wine Gelée with Fresh Peaches and Blackberries

Wine Gelée with Fresh Peaches and Blackberries

Here’s an idea to use up summer fruits.  Light, pretty, slightly intoxicating as well, a choice to have when you don’t have time to make an elaborate desserts.  The choice of using white wine, sweet wine, or sparkling wine is really up to you.  Even you can use sparkling juice to make it non-alcoholic if...
Coconut and Pineapple Sundaes

Coconut and Pineapple Sundaes

Why is it that when people think of coconut and pineapple, they’ll think of tropical island? I guess because coconut trees grow along the beach on tropical islands, and the closest tropical island to mainland US is Hawaii where there’s a lot of pineapple grown so people put that two together constantly.  Personally, when I...
Chocolate Bread Parfait

Chocolate Bread Parfait

Would you throw away leftover bread if you’ve known that you could make this heady yet luscious chocolate bread parfait?  I wouldn’t so you shouldn’t either.  I love the idea of using leftover bread which is abundant in Umbrian cuisine; it’s kinda like genoise cake but in a slightly chewy way met chocolate-coffee-rum sauce.  This...
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