Marble cake

The cake I baked always 'explodes' in the center. Some said is the way of beating (after adding the eggs because eggs trap air inside the cake), some said is the heat distribution of the oven.

Tonight I tested again with a Marble cake mix which I bought some time ago.

I used the middle rack in the oven. First I turned on the top and bottom heat mode. After 20 minutes or so, when the cake slightly expanded in the center, I turned the heat mode to bottom only.





And it turns out great! Should experiment with other cakes :)

By the way, the instruction states that divide the batter into half and mix the cocoa powder into 1 halve. I shall make it 1/3 cocoa and 2/3 butter the next time I bake Marble cake, too much cocoa makes the cake too bitter.

How to check on Triangle pose

I've learned this method from a Iyengar class, to check myself in a Triangle pose (Trikonasana).



By gently turning head back to look at the back heel to 'feel' the lower hip is slightly pushed to the front making both hips straight (on top of each other).

Next have to work on elongating both sides of my body.

Fruit juice recipe

Taken at a fruit juice shop. More ideas on making delicious and healthy juices :)

Stepping into yoga studio again

It's been a long time we since we last went to Sri Hartamas, the only thing for us to go there was YZ. Today we drove on the usual highway, stepped into the same studio, but everything has changed.

I showed the free passes I got from KL Yoga to a girl at the reception, she wasn't sure whether the passes were valid. She asked whether I have the original copy (I got the passes through email and printed out) and from which branch did I bought the passes. I told her a detailed story from what is KL Yoga and how I got the passes from the net. Another guy walked out from the office, discussed with her, and finally accepted the passes. They wasn't rude but weren't as friendly compared to previous YZ's staffs. No class cards were given out to people who have registered for the class and no towels provided (we went down to the supermarket to get 2).

We attended Thomas's Hatha 1 class (which was the only pleasant thing that I experienced during this visit). During the class, a few students raised and asked whether they have entered the wrong session. Apparently, the schedule was changed and no one informed the students, and there wasn't a Today's schedule board at the entrance like before.

When we were leaving the place after bath, there wasn't anyone at the reception. No one greet you 'good bye' after class and no one 'pester' you to join membership after a trial class, I wonder that was good or bad.

Maybe it was a day after public holiday so the atmosphere of the place wasn't encouraging and motivating. Not sure about other members (I did see a few ex-members around), but I miss YZ very much.

Free ENERGY Yoga Passes

KL Yoga has been a great source for me to find out new Yoga studios/teachers, Yoga events and great health tips. And now it got even better - giving away free Yoga passes!

No slogans/proof-of-purchases/registrations/photos/videos needed, just do 1 of the 3 simplest thing:
1. Subscribe to KL Yoga OR
2. Spread the word in your blog/website OR
3. Post in Facebook

Act fast as passes are limited! And help spread the word/love around :)

Egg tart - part II

With the correct sugar and new molds (exactly like what Christine used) I bought from Jusco last night , I couldn't wait to try baking egg tarts again, and this time was a success, great improvement!







No wonder the Chinese saying: 工欲善其事,必先利其器 (If a craftsman wants to do a job well, he first has to select a tool well.)

Tea time - egg tarts

Thanks to Christine's recipe, I've learned to make my very own egg tarts. The ingredients and steps are simple and easy to understand. I followed the recipe exactly except for:

Sugar: I used fine sugar (not icing sugar as listed in the recipe) because Giant ran out of icing sugar. I think that's why the crusts ware too crispy, supposed to be firm but soft.

Shaping: I don't have cookie cutter, so I used a jelly cup, traced the round shape on the dough, then cut it out with a Kiwi cutter (the cutter came with a box of Kiwi that I bought some time ago, 'knife' at 1 side, 'spoon' at the other side)


I didn't have toothpick to test whether it's ready. I baked it for the maximum time - 30 mins.
Some had burnt crusts because the egg custard overflown.


Another problem was, I should've mold the dough till the top of the egg-tart-cup, I thought the dough would raise a little so I kept some space, but turned out my egg tarts were all too shallow :p


Anyway, they were delicious. The taste of the crust and custard was good, the correct sweetness that I like. Well done - to me :)