Gelare @ The e-Curve

A friend of mine recommended Gelare for an authentic American waffle and I was glad I took his advice. Instead of cheap RM 3.00 waffles that you can get it from the stalls, this was an exceptional all American waffle. Located in The e-Curve, same row as Espresso Lab. it is a small shop decorated in black and settings.

Gelare serves an array of waffles with several type of ice cream and also coffee. It makes a good place for dessert, dates and meet up.

Original Waffle with Cookie and Cream Ice Cream 

The epitome of orgasmic waffle is here! The original flavored waffle was just as good. It was thick, crispy on the exterior and soft on the interior. The rich drizzle of maple syrup together with the rich creaminess of the cookie and cream ice cream is divine. It was so worth my RM 18! It was just that good, I'm not going to have waffles any other way anymore!

-thevanillapudding-

Harrods Cafe, KLCC

This visit was honestly a disaster. I mistaken Harrods Cafe a Harrods Restaurant when I had actually booked Harrods Restaurant instead! I didn't realize that there were two Harrods in KLCC and it was practically a bad day after that with the amount disaster happening.

The food at Harrods Cafe was another greatest disappointment. I've read reviews raving about both Harrods and clearly Harrods Cafe does not fit into the list. Perhaps its the name of Harrods that brings it to the top of the list, but I can tell the number of things that are disappointing.

The first and foremost, despite the ambience of a classic cafe in UK, Harrods's interiors were terribly stuffy and hot. It bored down to me if the air-conditioned was really on. I was sweating although I was wearing a sleeveless dress!

Chocolate Mint Brownie

The chocolate mint brownie was average in terms of taste. The brownie tasted a little dry to my liking. Despite the small piece, I found it hard to even eat through half of it!

Scones

Harrods scones were dimmed to die for and I beg to differ. I had tried better ones and this was clearly not what I had in mind. The SmokeHouse up in Cameron Highlands serves up a pretty damn good scones and the ones I had in Sydney Teahouse was another great one. These scones were hard and not as fluffy it should be. It was warm to touch and taste but failed badly in creating a memorable taste. It was served with jam and cream.

Fruit Flan

The Fruit Flan was the cake of the day and it wasn't a pleaser. It was a simple sponge cake with fruits and cream. Once again, its taste was mediocre and none of it was memorable.

Perhaps I am too picky but I was expecting something better, something memorable and something that would make me die to come back for round 2. But none of it done a great deal impressing me or my family.  

-thevanillapudding-

Chocolate Lava Cake/Moltan Cake

I've been posting so much review on restaurant and coffeehouse that I think I should drop a few post on my own baking adventures. I'm no professional in baking, most of my baking experiences are based on online recipes and trial and errors.

So today, I'll be posting about my all time favorite recipe! Chocolate lava cake, a oh-so-sinful dessert that just melts in your mouth. This desert has a solid but firm texture on the outside, but when you cut into the centre, rich velvety chocolate oozes out. With a spoonful of pure vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate oozing out from the cake, what you get is a lustful bite of haven.

I've made it a couple of time and I've never receive any lashback from it, so I suppose its good enough for everyone. A fine delicate dessert but its just so simple that amateur wouldn't have an issue preparing it!

My first attempt at it

My third attempt at it 

The two pictures above, I prepared it during a Christmas party at my friend's place and I was too busy working in the kitchen till I forgotten to snap a picture of it, these were taken by my friend's iPhone. I apologize for the bad resolution. But the whole plate was worthy of a five star hotel dessert, so don't fret about something so simple!

Prep Time : 20 mins
Cook Time : 10/15 mins
Serves : 4 ramekins

Ingredients :
Good quality dark baking chocolate - 113g
Butter - 113g
Eggs - 2
Sugar - 35g
All purpose flour - 40g
Coffee powder - a pinch (optional, my preference to enhance the chocolate taste)
Cocoa powder - to coat the ramekin after buttering (optional)
Butter - to coat the ramekin
Chopped walnuts, icing sugar and mint leaf for garnishing

Steps :
1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. (Place a heatproof bowl/pyrex bowl over a pot of boiling water. Reduce the heat to low once place the bowl on top. Add chopped chocolates and stir till smooth)
2. In a mixer, beat eggs and sugar till fluffy and light.
3. Once the chocolate are fully melted, add in the butter. (Usually the heat in the chocolate will melt the butter, if the chocolate had cool, put it over the pot to help melt the butter)
4. Add chocolate butter mixture in sugar and eggs and add the flour. 
5. Add a pinch of coffee powder to enhance the chocolate taste. Mix well till fully incorporated, don't overmix.
6. Butter the ramekins and coat it with a layer of cocoa powder to give it a richer cocoa flavor.
7. Fill it with the mixture at least 3/4 of the ramekin.
8. Bake it in a preheated oven of 180C for 10 minutes to have gooey center or 15 to have solid center.
9. Serve it with vanilla ice cream, sprinkles of icing sugar and chopped walnuts and garnish with mint leaf.

Tips :
*The mixture can be kept overnight if you intend to bake it other times.
*This can be made advanced and if you intend to bake it a month later, put it in the freezer; if you plan to bake it 2 days later, the fridge would be fine.
*Check the chocolate lava cake when placed in the oven to ensure you don't over bake it. The moment, you see its solid on the outside, take it out and serve immediately, NEVER leave it in the oven or you'll overbake it.
*Use a kitchen knife to go around the edges to ensure easy flipping when you flip it over the plate.
*BE CAREFUL as the ramekins are very hot.

Original recipe adapted from Molten Lava Cake.

-thevanillapudding-

Whisk Outpost or Whisk Espresso Bar+Bake Shop

I've been to Whisk Outpost a couple of times with friends and family. So this would be a post for all those past experiences. However, some pictures are of bad resolution and lighting as they were taken from my iPhone, so pardon me for that.

Whisk Outpost was the brain child of some young adult who may be slightly older than I am and I must say it is a growing success till this very day. The coffee scene in Malaysia has been expanding with various coffeehouse popping up in the neighbourhood. 

Whisk Outpost has no lavish interior, they used mostly stool, wooden panel and tile floor to give a rustic feeling to their customers. When you stepped into the coffeeplace, you'll get a cosy feeling, away from those hectic busy days or the clicking of laptops like those you hear in Starbucks. Its like a good ole place where you hang out with friends with some good coffee and cakes.

This shows the interior of Whisk Outpost in Empire Shopping Mall. See what I meant about the rustic and cosy feeling? 

Rose Cake @ RM 11 (I think thats the price)

The rose cake deemed to be one of their best seller. I had this at their Subang outlet and it was just way too sweet for me. It tasted like rose which obviously meant they used rose flavor coloring - the taste was very refreshing and flora like. However, their sugar level was crazy! It is definitely something for the sweet tooth, not for me!

Granny Cake @ RM 11

This cake was good and makes it to my must have list. Don't shy away from this beauty that is so simple in terms of name and looks but tasted like a million bucks. Its basically a simple cake with apple bits and butterscotch cream. It wasn't very sweet, but moist and rich enough to taste the apple bit. The butterscotch cream compliments the cake very well, rich, thick, sweet and slightly buttery to compliment the cake's bland taste. It was pure bliss!

Hazelnut Hot Chocolate @ RM 13

My mate ordered the hazelnut hot chocolate to compliment the cake. Well, I'm never a fan of hazelnut honestly, I'm more almond or cashewnut. Haha. The chocolate taste was rich with hazelnut taste, however, it was a little dilute to my liking. Oh, they even forgotten to add the hazelnut in when they served the drink and we had to return it for them to add hazelnut! 

Chocolate Mud Cake @ RM 11

We had this at their One Utama outlet, located near Candylicious. It was one of my favorite, to be honest. It was super moist and rich in chocolate. So sinfully delicious that I didn't mind ordering a second one! If you love chocolate, this is good without too much cream to satisfy your taste bud!

Red Velvet Cake @ RM 14 ( I think)

Had this at the One Utama outlet. Just like the rose cake, it was too sweet for me. The cake itself is a mixture of cocoa and sugar and was overly sweet to my liking. And here comes the cream cheese which is again sweet and creamy on its own. That's like triple dose of sugar! It was moist nonetheless.

Hot Chocolate

My mate ordered this and I didn't bother trying because I am not a fan of hot chocolate either. I prefer my milo to hot chocolate. Haha.

On a side note, I've tried their pour over and also their cafe latte. The pour over was basically the barista pouring hot water in a controlled hand movement over the grinded beans to generate pure long black or just pure coffee. It was a tad too sour, it was some beans from Singapore, named Nylon. The cafe latte was too milky for my liking, some liked it milky, however, I prefer my latte to have slightly stronger taste of the coffee and less milky taste.

I would still go back for my cuppa. Maybe try a different thing, the cakes were decent and it has a good atmosphere for you to lie back and read a book or chat with your friends. They may not have the best coffee in town, but its a good start for an indie cafe like them. 

Whisk Espresso Bar/Whisk Outpost

Empire Shopping Mall, Subang

One Utama Shopping Mall

-thevanillapudding-

KTZ, SS2

Introducing a popular dessert house among people in Petaling Jaya - KTZ which stands for "Kei Tak Zek" in Cantonese which also means Remember To Eat. This eatery is not only popular for dessert, but also for their main courses. They're among the few long surviving eateries till this very day and their customers ain't decreasing by the day. 

If you reached here at 8.30 or 9p.m, you might just have to wait to be seated since it will be jam packed with families or youngsters. What's their draw? Reasonable priced food which taste pretty decent too. Not to mention a whole variety of cold and warm desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth cravings.

They are the ancestors to shaved ice offered by Snow Flakes, maybe without the yam balls and pearls. One of their must have will be their shaved ice with fruits. Nothing beats that cold dessert melting in your mouth. 

Their fried rice with salted fish was just on borderline and nothing to rave about. I ordered it because I was hungry and that seems like the most decent thing to have. The rice was fried till fragrance no doubt, but somehow, I felt the chicken dice - some tasted half cooked while the salted fish was really a disappointment. Instead of real salted fish, this tasted like the low quality salted fish and I dreaded having it. 

The black glutinous rice dessert. Warm and rich in texture. I can't comment much as I didn't tried it. But I can tell their warm desserts are usually pretty good in taste. So no harm taking a gamble on it.

This is the peanut dessert - rich in texture and taste. If you love peanut, you've got to try it, however, be sure to have some drink on standby, too much of it makes you feel thirsty and occasionally, feeling sick of it. So, it's recommended to share it with a friend.

Glutinous rice ball in sugar syrup. I would not recommend this at all. It was a disappointment to me. The sugar syrup was bland and I was expecting it to be spicy and more savory. I am used to having spicy syrup with strong pandan smell and a rich amount of dates and ginger, which unfortunately they don't have it. The glutinous rice ball itself felt like those purchased from the supermarket. 

From top - the mango, kiwi and honeydew shaved ice. This dessert is a must order when you're here. Not only their ice is smooth, it is delicious and rich in taste with real fruits to go well with it. The ice has the flavor of the fruits you order and when a spoonful of it goes down your throat, it feels like haven. It is fruity sweet, but nothing too overpowering. Among all, my favorite was the honeydew. Must try!

This is among the shops that I come back to every now and then. Their desserts are oh-so-worth it. There is the black sesame  warm dessert that is my favorite, but sadly, I do not have a picture of it. Try it if you love black sesame. Nothing as sinful as gulping a spoonful of warm black sesame dessert. 

Ratings : 4.0/5

KTZ, SS2

66 & 68, Jalan SS2/67, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor 
Malaysia 
03-7877-8499

-thevanillapudding-

Almond Cookies

Another cookie that is a favorite during the Chinese New Year festival. Cookies that are rich in flavor and savory in taste. Ingredients for this cookie is relative simple, and no you don't have to ground your own almond meal since its available in supermarkets and specialty store.

It doesn't have the melt in your mouth texture, but I can promise you it's almond flavor is enough to tantalize your taste bud! And the process? So simple that you just need to rely on your mixer and oven to do the work.

Before going into the burning oven of 180*C. Look at those yellow little dough coated with a rich mixture of egg yolks.

Pretty little crumbly almond cookies.Sinful but oh so delicious. After one piece, you'll ask for more.

Recipe :

Ingredients:

- 120g ground almond (super fine)

- 75g caster sugar       

- 1/4 tsp salt         

- 180g plain flour 

- 1 tsp baking powder  

- 1 tsp baking soda    

- 122ml cooking oil

- 1 egg yolk (beaten plus mixed with a few drops of oil) for glazing

Steps :

1. Preheat oven at 180*C

2. Mix all dry ingredients.

3. Combine cooking oil and dry ingredients in a mixer to form a dough (about 30sec to 1 min).

4. Roll them into bite size balls. Arrange each ball on lined baking trays and glaze the top surfaces.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180*C for 18mins or until lightly browned. 

Tips :

- To get the little dot on the top of cookie, use a chopstick to gently press into the cookie to form a little hole.

Original recipe from MySweetHut.

Voila! You made your own almond cookies. Almond cookies are selling about RM 25 but it's way cheaper to make yourself and the process itself is fast and simple. So why not?

-thevanillapudding-

Peanutbutter Cookies

With the Chinese New Year festival just around the corner, it's hard to not get into the mood of celebration. Instead of decorating the house like usual, I've decided to go on a crazy baking spree for cookies. Not the healthiest option but hello, its food. 

What could be more sinful than those melt in your mouth peanut butter cookies? Most people mistaken these cookies for peanut cookies but in actual fact, its purely peanut butter. That is the simplified version, I rather not go through the hassle of roasting and grinding peanuts. 

This recipe is very simple and you can hardly go wrong with the right recipe.

The original cookie recipe makes about 3 containers but I've modified it to only yield a tray since my family has a control diet of food like cookies and desserts. 

In the preparation of CNY cookies, the most delicious ones uses pork lard - very sinful and oh so artery-clogging. But this recipe uses vegetable oil instead of lard, and the texture its good enough for me. 

Recipe :

Ingredients:

• 250grams Chunky Peanut Butter (any brand, get the ones with peanut bits)
• 225 grams plain flour, sifted
• 100 grams vegetable oil
• 70 grams pure icing sugar, sifted
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk (mixed with a few drip of water and oil) - for glazing cookies

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 180*c

2. Mix all ingredients except the egg yolks till it forms a dough

3. Form the dough into small balls of 2-3 cm, do not make it too huge, bite size is good enough.

4. Line it on a greased baking tray and bake it for 15-20 minutes till brown

Tips :

- Do check on your cookies by the 15 minute to prevent over browning

- You can reduce the amount sugar based on your liking as peanut butter itself is quite rich in flavor

- If you're like me, try the batter, it won't do you harm, if the batter taste good, your cookies are going to taste just like that!

- Its soft and crumbles easily, so be extra careful when you're removing it from the tray.

Original recipe from Dinewithleny.

And now, you have your very own peanut butter cookies! Its definitely cheaper than purchasing it from vendors and the best part? You control what you put into the cookies! Speaking about healthier options. 

Would I make it for the second round? Definitely! Its simple but oh so sinful.

-thevanillapudding-

Meringue

I baked a lot and it's unfortunate that I only decided to start an official food blog now. Today, I decided to try my hands on making meringue. Oh, yes, those egg whites with sugar whipped till stiff peak and baked at low temperature.

It was a good attempt, it wasn't perfect, neither was it a complete failure. Apart from it sticking to the parchment paper and being less marshmellow like internally, it's quite delicious. Kids, will love it with its marshmellow-cotton-candy like texture.

My brother has downed 4 pieces in one go and he refuses to let me bring the remaining meringue for my friends. 

Recipe :

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (you can substitute with salt or lemon juice)

3/4 cup (150 grams) caster sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30-60 seconds in a food processor)

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish:

1/4 cup shaved Almonds

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 95*C and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks.

Note: Soft peaks are when the egg whites are froty white but it stills ribbony like when you flip the spatula upside down, it doesn't hold onto the spatula.

3. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.  

Note: Stiff peaks is when the egg whites are froty and it holds onto the whisk.spatula when you flipped it upside down. It just holds its form and its not liquid. The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.

4. Before placing the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding.  

5. Alternatively, spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the prepared sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a few shaved almonds, if desired.

6. Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/2 to1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. 

7. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. (The meringues will release easily from the parchment paper.)

8. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours or overnight.The meringues can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days.

Makes about 10 - 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) meringues.

Original recipe from JoyofBaking-Meringue.

Tips :

- Do use eggs at room temperature, mine were cold and it took a fair bit of time to froth.

- Always always check on your meringue to avoid burning.

- Use a parchment paper, I tried doing it without and it stuck so badly to the tray.

- Your mixer should be dry and clean of grease!

- Don't worry when your eggs doesn't froth, it takes a while, I panicked because my egg whites weren't reaching their peaks till I cranked up the speed till real high. 

Would I attempt it again? Maybe, it taste pretty good but the process is daunting for an amateur like me. 

-thevanillapudding-