Baking expedition at my house!

Carrot Cake/ Cupcakes:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup apple sauce
2 3/4 cups shredded carrots
8 oz canned crushed pineapple, drained
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees celsius. Grease and flour baking pan.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, chopped nuts and flaked coconut.
4. Pour into pan. Bake about 35-40 minutes.

Comments: We forgot to buy apple sauce! Ended up making it ourselves by stewing 200g apple in 2 tablespoon of water + 50g sugar. Took a long time and in the end, we threw the apple mixture into the blender to do the job! Crushed pineapple was not available as well - so we bought canned sliced pineapple and blended it! :D Blended is so useful. Although the batter mixture was rather watery after mixing in everything, the resulting cake/ cupcakes tasted not too bad! (Considering all the substitutes and stuff.) Decided to make second round to give to friends, and this time all of us were 'anyhow doing'. Just use the leftovers (so some ingredients weren't enough). Turn out well too. :)

Betty Crocker's chocolate chip cookies:

Cookie mix with chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg

1. Preheat oven at 175 degree celsius.
2. Mix the soften butter and the egg together.
3. Pour the flour mixture into the butter and egg, mixing it to become a dough.
4. Scoop teaspoons of cookie mixture and drop it on cookie tray, leaving 2 inches gaps. Bake.

Comments: Fool proof recipe - everyone can do this! Really simple and the cookies taste great! (wow- I sound like an advertisement.)

Scottish Shortbread:

1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectionary sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Slowly add flour and salt, mixing well.
4. Roll out dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4 inches thick.
5. Cut with cookie cutters, place on cookie sheet and prick with a fork.
6. Bake for about 5-8 minutes, or until light brown at edges.

Comments: Instruction no. 4 - roll out dough. Roll my foot man! The dough was so soft, it couldn't be rolled at all lah! Ended up plopping them on the baking tray and just sent it to the oven. The result cookies did have the 'melt-in-your-mouth' effect though..quite interesting.

My own cookies:

500g plain flour
250g butter
250g sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Cornflakes (any amount)

1. Preheat oven at 175 degrees celsius.
2. Rub fat into flour.
3. Add sugar and cornflakes. Mix.
4. Add eggs and vanilla essence. Knead into dough.
5. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Lay on cookie tray and bake.

Comments: The cookies were so damn hard last night! But after one night, they taste better..more like the normal rock buns that I'm very used to making.

Oh gosh, I hardly bake so much in one trip! Had a lot of fun with Nat and her cousins, as well as Princess who kept appearing in the kitchen. : Luckily we didn't bake it by mistake. Trying new recipes is fun! Next up, Nat and I have decided to have a go at strawberry shortcake..when we have time.