Basic Vanilla Custard Pudding + another two flavours to cheer me up.

Sometimes in life there are some people who makes your life miserable no matter who they are. Also in our life, we'll be disappointed at things that we'd never expect.
That's the bitterness of life...we must taste it at least once, you can't just walking around without even knowing what kind of flavour bitter is.

Bitterness makes us a better person. Bitterness can teach us about what to do next, it's like planning a war strategy after all. The war with the bitterness itselfs.
I've swallowed bitterness more than i could take, sometimes i failed (and cried a lot and got angry), sometimes i succeed and move to another step, get on with life. All of these lessons makes me grateful, i thank God that i survived, and realized that i actually have an amazing life.

Yeah but sometimes it's okay to punch people who underestimate you in da face hahahahahahaha, no i'm just kidding, i can't even punch someone in the face when i get mad.
So.....finish with my wise words, i'm not really good at it right?
Two days ago i made the most amazing thing in the world to cheer me up from disappointment. I loveeee Vanilla (actually it's like third my most fav.ingredients) and poor me i can't use Vanilla extract in most of my baking activities (alcohol reason). Then i found an instagram account that i told you on my birthday cake post. They sell vanilla bean, real vanilla bean and i loooove it. I used two of the vanilla bean already, and thank God never at once they disappoint me.

I made a vanilla custard pudding, used it as the basic and add some flavours to it, i made two additional flavs. Chocolate and Matcha (so nowadays hehehehehe)!

Let's get started then, remember to write it on your paper and then you must go to your kitchen, get the ingredients (buy it first if you don't have any) and make the recipe with your heart!

Basic Vanilla Custard Pudding : (makes about 4 small bowls)
2 cup of Milk
1/2 cup of sugar plus 2 tablespoon (if you like more sweet)
3 Tbs of Cornstarch
a pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod, scrape the beans, you can use 1 Tbs of Vanilla extract/essence if you don't have any.
a knob of unsalted butter.

Directions :

1. In a sauce pan, whisk together sugar, salt, cornstarch to make sure there are no lumps.
2. Add the egg yolk and whisk again until combine.
3. Then turn on the heat, medium heat and gradually add the milk and the vanilla bean, whisk constantly (DO NOT STOP!) until the mixture thickens and is bubbling. It's circa 8-10 minutes.
4. Remove pan from heat and pour mixture through sieve into bowl. Stir in butter  (if you use vanilla extract/essence, add it at this stage with the butter, because if you add it while heating it, the vanilla flavour will disappear) until combined.
5. Press plastic wrap directly against surface of pudding to prevent skin from forming and refrigerate 3 hours (up to 3 days).
6. If you want to serve it, make sure you stir it a lil bit and gently with spatula.

If you prefer like warm custard, you can eat it right away, and also if you like it creamier (like i do), you can just regrigerate it for an hour.

So Allysa, how'd you add the flavour to the Basic vanilla custard?

WELL IT'S EASY. I have 2 additional flavours here, Chocolate and Matcha.

If you want to add flavour to your basic custard, right after the butter has melted....take at least a small bowl of the mixture and then add the flavours.

For the chocolate i used 2 tablespoon of Cocoa Powder, shifted and then add to the small bowl, stir until fully combine with spatula.

I added toasted almond dusted some cocoa powder on top.

For the Matcha, i used pure green tea powder that i bought online. I added half tablespoon, shifted, and then add it to the mixture in another small bowl, stir until fully combine with spatula. For the matcha, you can add a drop of green food coloring!

But if you wanted to make a specific flavour, like chocolate without the basic vanilla custard, of course you can!

You just add the flavour directly with the other dry ingredient, for example Chocolate flav. Add the cocoa powder with the cornstarch, sugar, salt.

SO EASY RIGHT?

I bet you can make these sweetness dessert to fight against the bitterness of your life ;)

Sometimes we need an extra weapon to fight right?And guarantee, Custard Pudding is the extra weapon >.<

All pictures taken by Me

LOVE

and Sweet

ALLYSA

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookie Skillet

Geeeeeeeeeeeez, mid test is coming, i repeat mid test is coming, prepare yourself or die!!!
I'm sorry, i'm so nervous about my (hopefully) last mid test ever. I must survive, i need to get a good score, i need to graduate and get a job as a food writer (AMEEEEN!!!).

So, to reduce my anxiety, i decided to make a very delicious cookie skillet. Made it from my leftover baking ingredients....Seriously easy and delicious and nooooooow i'm drowning in drools.

INGREDIENTS :
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup Palm Sugar (because i can't find brown sugar, but you can use brown sugar with the same ratio)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence / extract
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate ganache
5 Tbs of Peanut butter
For this recipe i added 1/4 cup of cream cheese, it balances the sweetness, but you can leave it if you want.

DIRECTIONS :

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars with a wooden spoon. Stir in egg,vanilla, peanut butter, ganache, and cream cheese, mix it well. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Transfer to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet; smooth top.
• Bake until cookie is golden brown and just set in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.

Serve it while warm. You can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top (add some caramel sauce) or dunk it into a cold milk. YES DELICIOUS, SO DELICIOUS YOU'RE GOIN' TO DIE. (Just kidding!)

Hhhhhaaah, now i must study..wish me luck folks!!

Love

Allysa

Pocky Cake Recipe and The Day I Turned Into a 21 Years Old Person

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! Well technically my birthday was a few days ago, 28th march, i shared birthday with Lady Gaga, isn't it awesome?
I love my birthday, because it's the time when my family and friends, all of suddens, texting me, calling me, even giving me surprises! I looove surprises, well who doesn't?

My 21st Birthday wasn't as awesome as my 16-17-18-19 birthdays, still i love it because i realized that imma grown ass person. One more step to be at the gate of real life. Maturity and stuff, although i don't like that fact, but i have to face it because i can't run forever.
The day i turned into 21, i started to think about few things like what am i gonna do with my life?Do i wanna get married?Do i wanna have kids?Will i graduate with a good GPA?Can i survive another years?
I'm telling you these stuff are so confusing!!!Plus it's getting hard when you realized that the clock is ticking...now you don't wanna talk about it, but the next day you wake up in another birthday. Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, getting old sucks!!

20 was perhaps the last age of me doing stupid things (i can't promise you that) so i celebrated it and made myself a birthday cake. Maybe the cutiest birthday cake i've ever had.
It's Pocky Cake everyone~ It's so hipster but i love it hahaha.
Basically it's only a vanilla cake, cream cheese frosting, slices of fresh strawberries, and Pockys.
Well if you have no idea what pocky is, let me explain it to you. Pocky is a snack from Japan, sort of biscuit sticks, dipped in flavored chocolate. It comes out in many different flavours, You'll like it, trust me!

So pretty right?

Vanilla Cake's ingredients :

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 ⅓ cup sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 vanilla pod*
• 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk*, room temperature

Cream Cheese Frosting's and Strawberries ingredients :

• 450 gr of Cream Cheese, room temperature (i used Milkana)
• 1 cup of Icing Sugar*
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla
• 2 tbs of Milk
• 5 tbs of Unsalted Butter, room temperature
• 1 cups of strawberries
• 1/4 cup of strawberry jam
• 2 tbs of lemon juice

and you need 5 pckgs of Strawberry Pocky.

Directions :
Cake

1. For the cake preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and then flour the sides of the pans, tapping out any excess.

2. Beat the butter for a minute until it soft and gradually add the sugar, beat until fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then open the vanilla pod, scrap the beans and add it to the batter.

3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add this alternately with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour and mixing well after each addition. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans.

4. Bake the cakes for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 20 minutes in their pans, then carefully turn out to cool completely on a rack.

Frosting

1. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese til soft, then add the icing sugar, beat well til blended.

2. After the consistency is fluffy enough, add the soften butter, vanilla essence and milk. Beat well.

3. Refrigerate the frosting before you use it, at least for an hour.

4. Meanwhile, slice your strawberries (depends on your fav, kind of slices) and put it in a bowl.

5. Heat the strawberry jam with the lemon juice for a minute then cool it off.

6. Add the strawberry jam mixture into the bowl of strawberries, mix it well.

Now you frost the cake with the cream cheese frosting. It doesn't have to be fancy because the Pockys will cover it anyway ;p

How do you stick the pockys to the cake?Easy peesy, just stick it one by one, close to each other. Takes time but it's worth the fight ;)

Notes :

*If you can't find vanilla pod or too lazy to scrap it, just use 2 tsp of vanilla essence/extract.

*You can make your own buttermilk. Yes you do know that. 1 tablespoon of lemon juice/vinegar+1 cup of milk, stir and leave it for 5 minutes, there you have your own buttermilk.

*i only used 1 cup of icing sugar because i don't like my frosting too sweet, i want it taste like cheese cake. But if you guys not sure about that, you can use 2 cups or more...just do whatever your heart wants ;)

Oh and by the way i buy the vanilla pod from a shop in Instagram called Good Food Grocery, check their instagram, they sell a lot of cool stuff >.<

L.O.V.E

the 21 ALLYSA

"You Give Me the Kind of Feelings People Write Books About"

I'm that kind of person who is actually romantic yet so skeptical about the whole relationship things. Maybe it's because traumatic, fears, and my anxiety. Since years ago i have been in love with a few boys. I love a boy, for a very long time, till my heart hurt so bad. For example i've loved someone since i was 7 years old, and he didn't like me back.

Then i loved someone, he liked me, but then we're just fallen apart, he didn't even ask me to be his girlfriend whatsoever and we ended up having relationships with other people.

That give me a conclution = I'M THE MASTER OF RELATIONSHIP'S IDIOT!

Years of my love life were awful, i'm terrible, but it's so weird that i still believe in the old fairytale such as True Love and Soulmate.

My friends keeps telling me that i'm an idiot for believing that stupid fairytale, but i can't lie, i always (do) believe in every stupid things, that's who i am.

True love/Soulmate to me is the same as your favorite book. Even you have read a lot of books, you'll always come back to that one book you love the most. You read it countless times, you keep it no matter what happen. You keep it good even though you know the color of the papers will change, one of the page will be torn. I will keep torturing myself with this idea, until i find one.

Random Picture from Instagram

And i think i've found my soulmate.

I like this guy since the first time we've met. I eventually love his appearance, love the way he talks, love the way he puts his smile to the others. I memorized his phone number (i was a creepy stalker back then) through the data that we (we were in an organization) wrote on the paper, and i started to talk to his bestfriend, digged some informations, but he was so cold back then. Then i gave up and tried to forget him.

Yeah you know where it goes...i can't. Even i figured it out that he actually kinda into me. But we were both had our own relationships.

I still have feelings for him. I do love him even it hurts to wake up knowing that me and him = never gonna happen.

I believe he is my soulmate, even i'm not sure that he'll be 'The One', but he is my SOULMATE. He give me the kind of feelings people write books about. When i'm around him, it feels like home, it's familiar, so comfy, no anxiety, no fears.

If Soulmate is a lot of pressure, well then maybe he is my Spaghetti. I like it no matter how many plate that i've been emptied.

Hahahahaha, but maybe it's for the best that we just keep being friends. Maybe i will bump into someone who happens to love me.  Alright, another day dreaming, just wish me luck to find that unlucky guy :)

Picture taken by me

Finding a Job and Getting Serious with the whole Photography Things

Yes, my tittle is so long, no, i'm not sorry for it!
The truth is i'm just finding a job like crazy for like a month....oh yeah....i'm sure you're all thinking "What the hell?Just a month?I've been finding a job for like years!!!" Heheheh so now i'm sorry...unless you are an employee oh well NOT SORRY FOR YOU!

The thing is, it is so hard to find a job that is match for my passion. You know how much i love to write about culinary, something funny, sometimes sarcasm. Here in my world, many of those huge companies are seeking for fresh graduate economic students, or a graphic designer, or a business man or any of those fancy majors...I wish i was an economic student T.T

Never mind, it just an opening line...or pharagraphs, whateeeevs~
So at this momentooooos, i'm doing great with the whole Photography things, just food...Food photography. I'm not saying that i'm GOOD at it, but it's better than capturing every food picture with bad colors and it's actually a pie but people thinking it's a chicken cutlet....a burnt chicken cutlet!!!! (Chicken cutlet actually remind me of Nicki Minaj)

I really loooooooooooooooove uploading my photographs to Instagram !! Well, before i got my own smartphone (i used a very old fashioned phone for like years) i used to be that girl who mocked people who uploaded their food into instagram or so...yeah yeah you can judge me...i don't mind. Being a foodies (a person who taking pictures of their food and then end up eating a cold food instead) is so much fun....F.U.N!!!
At first i knew nothing about food photography, and now i know one two things like "DAMN IT ALLYSA, SHOOT IT ON 7-9 IN THE MORNING OR 3-4 IN THE NOON OR NO GOOD LIGHTS FOR YOUR DELICIOUS HOMEMADE COOKS!"

Not all of em were good, i still have those bad picts, bad presentations, and sometimes bad lights because i still have no idea how to use a white box or something with alumunium foil for good light effect or so...ahh i don't know, i still have more things to learn and i ain't gonna stop.

Like some random picture i found on google to make me feel better says

  "The only way to do great work is to love what you do!"

Great isn't?
Yeah that words are hanging around my head for days, makes me want to write another post to interpret it, but noooo...i'm no good at it even i go to literature college, it's no fun there OKAY!

Sooo, since i became a foodies, there are some people who...hmmm let's just say give me compliments or critiques, one of them was GORDON RAMSAY. That mean chef but i considered myself to go outside and find a husband like him....but younger.
Okay that happened a few months ago....when i uploaded my pie picture on twitter and mentioned him and he replied that fast said "Pastry uneven but not bad!"

Well i know he might be said that because he felt bad about my ugly pie crust but who cares???? It's just so good to have your fav. chef all time criticize you even maybe when he sees my pie crust directly he'll throw it on my face but once again, WHO CARES?
Oh yeah i recently got a compliment from famous Food Blogger from Brunei, Thanis Lim.

The best part is all the compliments and critique from my friends, makes me happy and wanting to learn more. I can't stop...I will never stop :D

Maybe soon i'll get a job in my field, so i could work happily, no pressure, enjoy it like i enjoy picking my nose >.< ok that's disgusting.

Oh well i will post another recipe next time...i wish it'll be tomorrow, because i just can't wait to start to write another interesting post.

See you and have a great weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vanilla Cake with Fudgy Frosting

January will be over in a day pals. How's this month so far?
I think i've done nothing special in this month, but i gained my skills on Photography which is NICE.

I'm going to work my ass off for my last term start from 9th February, then i'll be graduate, and i have no idea what am i going to do in the future?

For the past days, i've been thinking about, what kind of job that i should get latter?Well you know in my Resolutions list i wanted a job in Culinary field (i can't be a chef though), maybe as a food writer or a food critic, a very good and awesome food blogger with a better camera and a better lightning and experiences?Maybe someday i can be a food photographer. I want it so bad....and i wish to get a job like that.

But i don't know.....let's just see.... :D

Soooooo, you guys surely know the Youtube kitchen Princess Laura Vitale right?She's so amazing and i've been watching her channel for like....5 years!
Her recipes are simple and she's constantly giving you substitutes if one of the ingredients are hardly to be found or if you don't like it, etc.

I love her recipe of Vanilla cake and been baking with her recipe for a few times. It's so moist not too sweet, and absolutely delicious :9 you can put any frosting but mine was the simple Chocolate Fudgy Frosting.

Vanilla Cake by Laura Vitale :

Ingredients:

¾ of a Cup of Unsalted Butter at Room Temperature
3 Eggs
2 ½ Cups of All Purpose Flour
2 ½ tsp of Baking Powder
½ tsp of Salt
1 ¾ Cup of Sugar
1 ½ tsp of vanilla extract (i used Vanilla Essence, because it's halal)
¼ Cup of Sour Cream (i used buttermilk instead)
1 Cup of Whole Milk

Directions :
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, add the eggs, vanilla, sour cream and milk and mix until all the wet ingredients are well incorporated.

3. Add the flour, salt & baking powder and mix it just enough to incorporate the dry ingredients but don’t (NEVER EVER EVER) over mix the batter.

4. Pour batter into the prepared pan, use your spatula to spread it evenly.

5. Bake it for 25 to 30 minutes and let it cool completely before frosting it.

Chocolate Fudgy Frosting :

Ingredients :

300 ml whipping cream
325 gr Dark Chocolate Chopped into tiny pieces
a pinch of salt

Directions :
1. Heat the whipping cream in a medium heat.

2. After the whipping cream is simmering, turn off the heat and pour the cream into the chopped chocolate in a bowl then add a pinch of salt.

3. let it set for about 1 minute. Don't stir it!

4. After a minute, stir the chocolate mixture slowly, until all the chocolate melt completely.

5. Let it set in a room temperature and chill it in the fridge until the mixture is thicken (like mud) then spread your cake with the frosting.

Yes, it's delicious...yes you'll addicted to it....yes you must try this recipe at home!!!



Love




Allysa

Chocolate Cinnamon Pie with Cinnamon Crumbs Ice Cream

Oaaaaaaah *cleaning up the dust*

Sorry for another "what day is today?" post...took so long for me to gathered my blog's writing mood, teehee.
I'm still in the Mood  of Holiday (also called Lazy Disorder), even though i'm absolutely doing nothing but complaining about my life ;p Nooo...i'm just kidding. I'm doing things that i used to love like reading books (i'm doing a reading challenge with my Friend and My Professor...yeah one of my prof from University...she's so friendly, nice, and cool, and young) , cooking like almost everyday, and writing another novel (God, please let me finish this novel, i don't want this project stop in the middle of nowhere again and again and again), Photographing, and exercising (MUFFIN TOP TUMMY PLEASE GO AWAY!!).
Those activities are awesome and so far my depression isn't that complicated anymore, and i become happier, a lil bit healthier, and postiver (is this word even exist?)

Soooo, like i've told you on my last post, i baked a new year's eve dessert called Chocolate Cinnamon pie with Cinnamon Crumbs Ice Cream, it was delicious not too sweet not too bitter, just perfectly delicious. I've shared the picture on my Path and Instagram, so if you ever accidently seeing my instagram, you'll know.

So here's the recipes :

Chocolate Cinnamon Pie :

For the Crust :

12 Digestive Biscuits (I used McVities from England, but you can use whatever biscuits you want, like graham cracker, or marie regal, or milk biscuits, or even vanilla waffer)
1/2 tsp of Cinnamon Ground
1 Tbs of Granulated Sugar
50 gr Unsalted butter melted

For the Pie Filling
250 ml Whipping Cream
290 gr Dark Chocolate chopped
a pinch of salt
1 tsp of Cinnamon Ground

Directions :
Break the biscuits into tiny pieces like sand (you can put it in a zipper bag and crush it with rolling pin, or you can use food processor)

If you're using food processor, after the biscuits mixture is like sand, you can add the rest of the ingredients and mix it until well blended. But if you don't, pour the biscuits mixture into a bowl and add the cinnamon ground and sugar, mix it well, and then add the melted butter, and mix it with a wooden spoon or a fork until well blended.

After that, pour the mixture into a 20 or 23cm (8 or 9') pie tin / tart tin (the glass one is good!) and press it evenly, until there's no more hole (if you have a leftover of the biscuits, save it in a container and you can keep it for any urgent situation like hungry or anything else, hehehe). Bake it in a preheated oven (180'c) for 10-15 minutes or until the colour turn brown.

Cool the crust completely then put it in the fridge until the filling is ready.

Now for the pie filling which is the fun part of this recipe hehehe.
Heat the cream in a sauce pan (medium heat) until the little bubbly come out on the edge. You just want a little bubble, not boiling it okay, so keep your eyes on it!!!
Then add the chocolate, make sure you chopped it, other wise it'll make a lil lumpy like dandruff after that. Gently stir it with a wooden spoon til all the chocolate melt away, then add the salt and the cinnamon ground, stir it again for 30 seconds.

Turn off the heat, stir it again for a minute. Now you can take out the crust, pour the chocolate filling, and put it back on the fridge for like an hour or overnight!

Serve it with whipped cream, or ice cream. I added my Homemade Cinnamon Crumbs Ice Cream (No machine needed).

Homemade Cinnamon Crumbs Ice Cream :

So, this Ice Cream without Machine recipe is from Gemma Stafford Youtube Channel, it's so easy and delicious and awesome at the same time. Check the Video recipe here !!

Ice Cream Base Ingredients :

14 ounces (1 can/ 400ml) sweetened condensed milk (fat-free or regular) cold
2 cups (16oz/450 ml ) whipping cream, cold


DIRECTIONS:

Beat cold heavy cream on medium in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer) until stiff peaks form.
Turn down the speed a little and pour the condensed milk into the whipped cream. (Stir in vanilla extract/essence if you want). 
aaaand VOILA you have your ice cream base and you can add any flavor you want!! So since this recipe is for Cinnamon Crumbs, here we gooooo...

If you have the leftover biscuits crumb mixture (definetly have) then add it into the ice cream base mixture and add more pinch of cinnamon ground. Then place in a large resealable container and freeze at least 6 hours or overnight before eating.

Now you have the Ice Cream, now place a scoop of the ice cream and place it on top of a slice of the chocolate cinnamon pie!!
HMMM DELICIOUS!!

TRY THIS, YOU'LL NEVER REGRET!!!



Love


Allysa

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015 GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish you guys will have a better and a good life...This year will be awesome i promise you!

Keep smiling....Keep shining :)

XOXO

Allysa