Friday, March 26, 2010

Ajaran songsang...so to speak :)

I've never made cupcakes ever in my whole life. Never. Ever.

Errr, MAYBE once during SRT lesson during my secondary school lah, kot? But, I seriously can't recall making them. So, maybe memang never ever, kot? (Hmmmm...It's so damn obvious that I was never paying attention during SRT classes, huh? Hehehe...)

And I had never ever had the urge, or even any intention of making cupcakes. Baking and me - we just don't gel that well. So, I never knew what actually goes in a cupcake mix. But, I do love looking at those lovely pics of cuppies, cakes, and the likes - posted in blogs and also on FB by all my kitchen diva friends. It is just amazing to see how creative and how patient they are to have been able to come up with all those works of art! And looking at their masterpieces, lagilah rasa macam tak payahlah I even try making them. You know what I mean?

But, today - the IMPULSIVE me did another impulsive thing.

I had planned to just make some Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner tonight. I was just going through my kitchen larder to see if I had everything that I might need for the dish when I realized that we had run out of canned button mushrooms (I normally put these AND also some aubergines in the sauce to make a wholesome campak-campak all-in-one meal for the family).

Anyway, as I had already mentioned to Hilman this morning that I was making Spaghetti Bolognaise for tonight, I decided to ask Zaidi to divert to Grand Union - the local mini (or more like 'midi') market before heading back home after work. And it was JUST to get the canned button mushroom. And I promised the kids, "Yes, I only have ONE item to buy, while you guys can go and choose one DVD each upstairs".

But like all women out there who get rambang mata when they shop, my mata also got rambang....(Pretty bad, huh? Kat mini/midi markat also can tak hengat dunia...)


Just as I was reaching out to get the canned mushrooms, my eyes lingered alsewhere and kapaaawww!!! There they were - all the baking ingredients arranged so neatly and nicely on the opposite shelves.

And I just didn't know what got over me, and suddenly I had this brilliant (NOT! More like "CRAZY"!) idea of making cupcakes with the kids this weekend! And I started taking some of the items which I THINK I MIGHT need to make cuppies, off the shelves.

And my shopping basket which started off with just a can of button mushrooms, ended up with -

2 packets of Anchor Butter
1 box of Blue Key Superfine-Superwhite Flour
1 packet of Tepung Gandum Cap Wau (I also bought this, just in case that THAT was the only flour I need and not that fancy Blue Key stuff)
1 box of Van Houten Pure Soluble Cocoa (you can never go wrong with Van Houten, right? I grew up WATCHING my Mom used it in most of her baking anyway!)
1 box of Silver Bird Chocolate Chips
1 box of Bunga Raya brand White Chocolate Chips
1 bar of Van Houten Baking Chocolate
1 small can of Royal Baking Powder
1 small container of that colourful thingies you just sprinkle on biscuits and cuppies tu? (God... I don't even know what people call it!) Oh...I just went down to check. They're called "colour strands" :)
2 packets of castor sugar
1 packet of icing sugar
1 packet of soft brown sugar
1 dozen eggs
1 packet of those paper cupcake mould
1 cupcake aluminium tray

I think the kids got pretty excited jugak with the idea. But, I could see it clearly on Hanna's face when I told her my weekend plan. Her face just screamed out "Biar betul mak aku ni..." HAHAHAHA!

Anyway, with all the stuff kept in the boot, and as Zaidi started driving us home, it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't have a mixer at home! I mean, I THINK I might still have the hand mixer which I used 14 years ago to mash up the potatoes and carrots to feed Hanna when she first started on solids. But, for the life of me, I really didn't have any idea where exactly I've stored that damn thing.

And it also dawned on me there and then that I also didn't have a proper oven at home to BAKE the cuppies. Crazy tak? I mean I do have my Microwave Oven which I normally use to defrost and reheat stuff, and also to cook my Honeyed Chicken Casserole, but, I'm not sure if the microwave actually has a specific mode/function for baking cookies! (Or do I just use the Convection Oven + Grill function to bake the cuppies? And before anyone asks - Nope, I don't know where the manual for the Microwave is. Someone, please help!!!)

And it also dawned on me that I didn't even know how to START making the cuppies. Aiyaiyai!!!

Ajaran songsang betul.

Normal people would normally find the recipes first, and then would make sure they have the oven AND the mixer at home first before getting the ingredients and attempting to bake, right? NOT the other way round?

I guess I'm NOT normal then.

Anyway, small matter. So, the first thing that I did when we reached home was to google up "Cupcakes Recipes" and of course, the one that caught my eyes were "EASY Cupcakes" - which, after reading the recipes, didn't seem "EASY" to make at all! Well, at least for my standard lah, kan?

And God!!! I learnt something new today, too. I didn't know that "Baking Powder" was NOT the same as "Baking Soda"! Did you guys know this?!

And for crying out loud, what exactly IS "Shortening", people???!!

I was just reading the recipes, and had not even started baking any cuppies, and I was already having palpitations. So, after 10 minutes, I started googling up recipes for Brownies instead.

Brownies seem easier and simpler to make. But, then again - with me doing the baking, anything can happen...(OR CAN'T happen).

Anyway, one thing for sure - IF I actually go ahead with this baking plan of mine this weekend, please do not expect any pictures of our experiment, okay?

I takut nanti ada yang put off langsung from eating cupcakes untuk selama-lamanya ;)

Wish me luck, y'all!! ;)

AN UPDATE - After reading a comment from my friend Azlina on Facebook advising me to follow the recipe to a 'T' and use the exact measurements given, AND that even if I didn't have a mixer, I could still do it using my hand, I've since, come to realize that I also don't have any measuring cups, spoons or kitchen scales at home. OR a proper mixing bowl for that matter...Hahaha!

19 comments:

ibu,mommy,mom... said...

hello there,
Ha ha I had to laugh at your entry.I think i should bake cuppies too this weekend:)

Mrs. Bee said...

That is what I call "impulsive", woman!!! Hehehehe....

zaitgha said...

what you bought tuh enough for abt 100 pcs butter cake cupcakes...brownie is easy and muffins pun.....you google "All recipes" site, they hve simple yet tasty muffins.....

Naz in Norway said...

ROFL
Shana,
Are you sure you didn't snatch my shopping trolley? I too went out with two things to buy but ended up with a whole trolley, thanks to a creative mind (yg still in denial that diri tak tau masak!)

Love this post! :)

Formerly known as Superwomanwannabe! said...

You can do anything you set out to do !! One amazing woman!

D.N.A.S said...

Kak Shana,
I started baking after an impulsive grocery shopping macam ni jugak...
Guess what, IKEA plastic cup yang colorful tu actually equals to 1 cup punya measurement. So, no need to buy all those measurement jar/cup pun.
After my first attempt, which was quite successful, I turned to allrecipes website and did a few more experiments. It's fun. Your colleagues will love you more. hahahaha.

anom said...

K. Shana, this is hilarious.. Please do update us on how it all turn up! Tak sabar ni nak dengar/tengok the outcome..;)

Amy said...

Haha Kak Shana ni! Amy pun kalau pegi groceries shopping , sure ada 'ter'beli mende2 yg Zul akan geleng kepala sbb dia tahu Amy ni hangat2 tahi ayam.. soemtimes beli limau nipis banyak2 nanti konon nak buat lemonade or konon2 nak letak dlm maskakan, end up limau tu sampai berair2 dlm plastik sbb dah baper minggu beli tak consume. Timun pun! Kadang2 beli sbb pikir kalau malas buat sayur, bleh buat jadi ulam or pecal je.. last2 buang bila dah berair. Haih..

Tapi bahan2 kak shana beli tu tahan lama kut..(I still have cocoa powder in my store, lebihan dari cubaan buat choc cake 2 kali yg tak menjadi :P)

Kmar said...

Shana,

Sakit perut I dok ketawa kat you (sorry la ye...) because you sound like me!!! I ni kalau bab buat pastry.. (kek dan sewaktu-waktu dengannya... )... mesti I jadi tak tentu hala. Masa tu ´rajin´ nak refer resipi books, internet and by the time tengok list ingredientsnya.. mula laa pening kepala.. :))

My trick of making cup cakes (intention nak buat cup cakes)... is buat aje bancuhan kek biasa. Lepas tu bubuh dalam paper cups and it WORKS!!!... decorate sikit-sikit kat atasnya.. coklat or something... ha.ha..

My in-laws pernah comment. Dia kata my cup cakes taste good but why do they ´taste´ more like normal cakes??.. ha.ha.ha.ha.. I kata.. ini resepi dari Malaysia laa.. shhhhh....

Desert Rose said...

Tengah jenguk2 pos laju van kot2 ada kiriman cuppies hmmmm

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

So Shana, did the plan materialise or not? How did you manage to bake without a proper oven?

However it was done, I hope the cuppies turned out well. Well done for effort!

MAMAMIA said...

Mmmm... macam ada bau cupcakes aje ni.. Is that coming from yr new oven???

wanshana said...

Ibu, Mommy, Mom...

Tak per... Ramai yang gelakkan I because of this! Hehehe!

So, was it a cuppies weekend for you, too? ;)

----------------------

Mrs. Bee,

Hehehe! It's just me - memang impulsive. Beli properties pun impulsive - and hubby's impulsive, too, in that department!) Bahaya betul...

-----------------------

Zai,

You are one of my kitchen diva friends. See? Tengok ingredients ajer dah tau for how many cupcakes. I think you tutup mata pun boleh bake AND decorate all of them under 1 hour kot? Tabiiiikkk!!!

Brownies and muffins MAY BE our next weekend project :)

A few have suggested the "All Recipes" site. I'll do so soon, insya Allah. Thanks :)

wanshana said...

Naz,

Hehehe! Thanks :)

Hi-5! It is ALWAYS like that, kan? List of things to buy consists of 10 items, and we end up buying 30 (at least!) - and some of them bukannya necessary pun... But, I just like to see my larder and fridge penuh :)

But this cupcake thing ni, memang crazy. It only came to me when I saw the stuff on the shelves, and suddenly nak try buat (even when I knew how I suck at baking!) :)

------------------------

Shila,

Hehehe...Thanks :)

You know what? We actually did it!! Nanti I post an entry on our experiment, insya Allah. Watch this space!

--------------------------

Dayang,

Thanks for the tips. We memang have the IKEA cups at home, but, you actually inspired me to go to IKEA last weekend and borong some baking utensils - including a mixing bowl, a few different kinds of spatulas, that egg brush thingy, a biscuit cutter, a couple of cake pans, and a cupcake tray!

Sikit lagi nak TERbeli their digital kitchen scale which costs RM99/=. Nasib baik the sensible me took control. Kalau tak, sure dapat jelingan manja from Abg Haizal. Hahaha!

Ada chance I'll get hooked on baking like you nih... ;)

wanshana said...

Anom,

Hehehe...Bila ingat-ingatkan balik, akak pun tergelak, Anom :)

But, we actually went ahead with the project. Hasilnya - not bad for our first attempt. Cupcakes ada keras sikit, but still edible. Takyah balik kat dinding. Hahaha! Masih jauh lagi perjalanan nak sampai level Kak Yan :)

Nanti I post an entry and pics here, okay? ;)

---------------------------

Amy,

Kita serupa! A few times my cucumbers tarpaksa menjadi ahli tong sampah :( (and tomatoes, and other veges, too!) Sometimes tepung sampai dah ada ulat bubuk...

But, we never learn, do we? Hehehe!

Cocoa powder tu, can make hot chocolate before tido at night :)

-------------------------

Kmar,

You ketawakan I, ya?! Hehehe!

At least you taulah jugak recipe nak buat kek, Kmar ooiiiii... I ni, cake knowledge and yang sewaktu dengannya memang hancus!

Next time kalau nak jamu your in-laws with Malaysian cakes yang original, kena letak belacan sikit... Hahaha!

wanshana said...

Eja,

Don't hold your breath... Pos Laju tak sanggup nak carry out service manghantar cupcakes I.

(Akak rasa Alam Flora sanggup kot?! HAHAHAHA!)

-------------------------

Gina,

Thanks! Yes, it did - through a concerted effort amongst the kids and their Mommy. Boleh lah tahan for first attempt :)

Apparently, my Microwave Oven DO have other functions (besides re-heat and de-frost!) and I used the convection mode to bake the cuppies. First time baking after we bought it in 2004!

-------------------------

Kak Yeanny,

If my impulsive streak were to continue over the weekend, MEMANG sebijik oven baru sudah berada di rumahku... Hehehe! Thank God I realized that my Microwave Oven could also do the job :)

Berbaloi jugak I beli Microwave ni. Dah nak masuk 6 tahun, and finally the baking mode was used!

So, if I could do it, ANYONE can, too. Percayalah... Hehehe!

Mimie said...

Kak shana,

Ni satu lagi ajaran sonsang! Just buy the cuppies mixed, cuma letak telur ngan minyak jer.Some mixture tak yah guna mixer pun! Try Nona punya.Better if you could find at bakery shop! Easy ma..

wanshana said...

Mimie,

I loike...Hehehe!

Next mission - to get those pre-mix thingies ;)

ibu,mommy,mom... said...

He he I didnt bake cuppies that weekend...malas came over me:)