Thursday 18 December 2008

Cake of the week

I wonder whether it is because of the holiday seasons, I have been making cakes after cakes instead of the usual bread and buns which I much prefer. It could also due to the fact that we are not at home most of the time. Even if we were to spend the entire day at home, I would be caught up doing thousand and one thing...except bread making! I guess I have to wait till the new school term before I can spend some quiet moments sinking my fingers into a lump of pillowy soft bread dough.


Here's my bake for the past week...a Walnut Crumble Cake. This is something which I have made once, and have since been wanting to bake again and again, and yet, every time, I would put the thought aside. According to my standard, this cake uses way too much butter! Yet, it was such a delicious cake that I have to fight off my constant craving for it! Lady luck came, when a close one came visiting. I jumped on the opportunity and baked the cake right away and merrily gave away half of it!


The only difference from the earlier version is that I managed to use walnuts for the crumbles. Besides the chopped and toasted walnuts, the crumbles was made by mixing some melted butter, instant coffee power and crushed digestive biscuits. The crumbles looks so promising just by looking at the list of ingredients, don't you think so?


I didn't regret making this simple and yet very delicious cake again. The cake looks dense but it is surprisingly very light and moist. It has got very fine crumbs and I simply adore its soft, smooth and velvety texture. The layers of nutty and crunchy crumbles sandwiched between the cake batter created a lovely contrast...making one slice of it such an enjoyable treat :)

Incidentally, I was very delighted to know that the photo of this cake was voted 3rd place on this flickr group for the best pictures of the week :D


While I was checking my inbox two days ago, I was very happy to hear that my blog posting of the Santa Clause cake I made last year, has been featured in the photo gallery of decorative Christmas food under Channel 4's food website. Channel 4 is a UK tv channel which transmits across the whole of UK. It is a great honour to be featured in their website!!


Another good news I received on the same day, was an email from the Savannah Children's Choir. I have earlier agreed to let this organisation use my photo on their website and poster for one of their fund raising events: "Let Them Eat Cake!" I am so pleased to hear that the event has helped the choir raised over a thousand dollars. Although I did not contribute in anyway to the success of the event, still I feel so honoured to be able to be 'involved' in one way or another.

I hope I don't sound like I am bragging too much here!! It has never ever occurred to me that this humble little blog of mine could reach so far beyond our little sunny island. It's really amazing how blogging has bring a world much much closer! All those wonderful food blogs and professional food websites out there have certainly widen my horizon, especially for a culinary idiot like me ;')

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great photos!

I have kept this recipe with me since I first saw your posting, I always want to make this cake because it looks so delicious but I keep delaying the action .

I tot this cake is best consumed within the same day because of the crumble. Did you try to keep it till next day and how it taste?

I think I shall do it for the coming festive holidays. :)

Mandy said...

wow! congrats on the features! You deserve them. :) And no, you are definitely not a culinary idiot.

Anonymous said...

Well Done! Congratulations!

Florence

Anonymous said...

Your recipe is definitely a keeper, thank you. I have made the cake several times with rave reviews from friends. I have used a different kind of nuts each time: pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts.

Passionate About Baking said...

Hi HHB,
Congrats, for everything that you have done, directly or indirectly! It was really a pleasant surprise for you. As "countrymen", I'm so proud of your achievements! Like what Mandy said, you're definitely not a "culinary idiot". Keep up your good bakings/cookings! :) Good job!

CY said...

Well done HHB! You deserve all the attention as your blog is truly inspirational to home bakers like me!

Congratulations and Merry Christmas to you and your family!

God Bless
CY

Bakertan said...

hi Happy homebaker,

your walnut crumble cake looks absolutely mouth watering. yummy!

the pictures are well taken and your bakes certainly deserved to be featured. hmm, maybe i should learn to take up photography so that my bakes look nicer, lol. Pictures really speak a thousand word.

zy

Anonymous said...

Congrats, SH! Hope to see more lovely bakes from you :)

martina said...

Hi HHB,
I'm glad to know your blog is rewarded so much! You deserve this attention! From the beginning I find out your blog I felt a particular connection with you and your way of cooking... I explain myself you have so much in common with me: craving al the time :)D , worried about fat and calories, but not so much! and interested to know something good and healthy for the whole family. Then I learnt of your love for California, my next destination for life (US government and credit crunch permitted)... now I know my first impression is right and your blog is worldwide officially recognized like superb like it is, too!! From the rainy island to the sunny one... merry christmas! Martina

Anonymous said...

Hi!

Juz dropping a note to say that i really enjoy reading yr yummy posts on baking. M a SAHM too. Will try out one of yr recipes once I feel confident enough to do so as they all look so mouth-watering. Thanks for sharing them and looking forward to yr future posts.

Dee

Baking Fiend said...

congrats HHB!

thecoffeesnob said...

Congrats on all the features!

That Santa cake is really cute- you're one creative mum!

silverrock said...

Oooo I love walnuts, that cake looks divine!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Let's masak, I left the cake overnight (room temperature) and it didnt affect the taste. I also tested by warming one slice (wrap in foil) in the oven, and it tasted just like fresh from the oven.

Thanks Mandy for your forever encouraging words :)

Thanks Florence!

Hi Ange, I have yet to experiement it with pecans or hazelnuts, I am sure it tasted wonderful!

Passionate About Baking, thank you!!

Hi CY, may you have a wonderful Christmas too!

Hi zy, all my photos are point & shoot...I do not know much about photography...I have been wanting to read up more on this!

Thanks Elyn!

Hi Martina, thanks for the lovely comment. I have been trying to access your blog since the first time you left a comment. However, I don't seems to be able to access it via your blogger profile. It looks like we really have a lot in common :) Merry Xmas!

Hi Dee, I hope you will try out some of the recipes posted here, as most of them are very straight forward and easy...I can't handle too complicated ones ;p Hope to hear from you more often.

Thanks Ida!

Hi Laureen, nah, I am not creative at all...I copied the whole thing from the Meiji website ;D

Thanks Silverrock!

Cuisine Paradise said...

Wow...Congratz on your feature, you and your blog deserved it... :) Merry Christmas to you..... :)

said...

What a beautiful cake!! I´m so hungry!!

Kate said...

梅花雪中开,成功苦中来,
花开遍地,冬至悄悄来,冬至吃汤圆,
团圆福贵来。腊月一年满,又是春天来,
祝冬至快乐,圣诞快乐,新年快乐。

Anonymous said...

Congrats HHB! u deserve it. you have very lovely pics and wonderfully created cakes! :)
have a merry xmas and a great new yr ahead.. looking fw to more wonderful recipes!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on all the mentions, sweetie! :) The cake looks very moist; I hope to give this a try soon!

Oh yah, but I always seem to have a problem with my whole cakes being underbaked in the middle. Could you help me with that?

MH said...

Wow! Congrats on your duo achievements! Keep on baking & show us all your beautiful photos! :)

Aimei said...

Congrats HHB! You deserve the award! I enjoyed reading your blog and come to think of it, I've been reading yours for the whole year without fail! :D

jennidy said...

Hello from Santa Barbara, USA!
I love to see your creations. They are so creative and unique :) it's no wonder you have a world-wide following.
I'm glad to see that your efforts have been recognized!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi ovenhaven, did you use the right size pan? the other factor could be the oven temperature. My oven temperature is not stable, as such I always need to bake the cake much longer than the recommended time.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Aimei, I read yous without fail too :D

sherlyn said...

Dear HHB,

Congrats again for the achievements you have made. You really deserved it.

I hope to start baking again soon .. really very busy in the holidays trying to bring both kids around. Its not easy for me to go out with both the kids when school starts cos they both in different sessions so I treasure the holidays. And like you say, when at home, there are thousand and one thing to do and baking is just not one of them.

Its end of the yr again .. so will be seeing xmas stuff and CNY stuff on your blog I guess :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and Happy Lunar New Year.

Anonymous said...

Dear HHB,

Well done & congrats! You deserve it!!

I am a big fan of your blog. I really enjoy reading your yummy & wonderful posting.

I am so happy as finally i own my first oven. I can do baking now, hulala!!!

Thus, immediately i tried this Coffee Walnut Yogurt Cake & The Classic Chocholate Cake/Torte. Both of the cakes turned out well & so delicious. My BF loves it so much especially the Coffee Walnut Yogurt Cake & telling me to drop a Thanks U msg to you.

Once again, thanks HHB. Slowly i will do more baking with your lovely recipe.

Regards
Jessie

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Jessie, thank you & your BF for your kind words! I'm glad to hear that both your cakes turned out so well :) I will love to hear about your baking soon, happy baking!!

Shaheen said...

Just hopped over from Oven haven's blog. This cake is awesome! Bookmarking it right away pretending I can't feel my love handles :P

Sabrina said...

Where is the recipe for this cake?I love the picture, and I'd like to try it!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Sabrina, I have placed the link in Para 2 of this post. Anyway, here's the link to the recipe:
http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2008/02/coffee-yoghurt-cashew-nuts-cake.html