[Baking] Decadent treats: Pandan chiffon cake and custard cream

If you read my blog regularly, you will notice that I hardly ever visit any cafe.

Cafe culture might be all the rage here but if you could whip up cafe offerings easily at home...........why bother wasting time and money to visit one.

Now if you could whip up a plate of fry-ups for breakfast or brunch in the time you take to drive out or walk to the cafe. Why waste time and petrol?

And if you could cook the stuff for say fry-ups (2 sausages, 2 bacon, hash brown, 2 eggs and 2 pieces of toast, grilled tomatoes) for less than $5, how is it justified paying around $16 for it in a cafe? Not guaranteeing you will even get gourmet sausages, free-range eggs, heritage tomatoes, nice streaky bacon and sourdough toast.

Not to mention the super cheap and fast pancakes you can make at home but in a cafe you will have to fork out around $13 for just a stack of maybe 3 pancakes with some sauce and maybe ice-cream.

It's all very well if people go out to cafe to chill-out, take a break from hectic work week. But I am a stay at home mum and I love to do cooking/baking. So naturally, cafe is just not an attractive option when I go out for food.

I was supposed to be talking about cakes and cookies but I digress.

There are always baked goodies at home; cheesecake, chiffon cake, devilish chocolate cakes, chocolate cookies, melting moments.

And especially when you have merlo coffee, Mariage Freres tea, Lupicia tea and my all time favourite Lipton intense in your cupboard (I don't profess to be a coffee or tea connoisseur, it's just a matter of taste like and dislike for me) , all the less reason to venture out of the house for breakfast, morning or afternoon tea.

But I still have my weakness for beautifully baked goodies from Chouquette and the awesome wood-fired grains and nut sourdough from Banneton Bakery and the macarons from Twist n Roll.

Pictured pandan chiffon cake was made with Leslie from ieat's fantastic recipe. I am still on the lookout for the perfect recipe for I feel the cake's texture could be softer like the result I get from my 4 eggs recipe. I have yet to adapt that recipe for a pandan version.

Custard creams which commonly known as melting moments is one of those thing you can't stop popping into your mouth. You just have to reach for another one after the last one. I got the recipe from a friend, S and the result was delicious and light eventhough there is no cornflour in the recipe, widely regarded as the reason for the lightness in melting moments.

Custard creams

160g butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup custard powder

1. Beat butter and sugar till pale and flufy.

2. Sith flour and custard powder togther.

3. Gradually add to butter till mixed to a stiff paste.

4. Roll into balls, press flat. If desired, press with a fork for pattern.

5. Cook in preheated oven at 160 degree celcius (fan-forced) fo 10 to 15 minutes.

Icing

25g butter, softened

1/2 tsp finely grated orange/lemon rind

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1/3 cup icing sugar

2 tsp custard powder

Happy baking!