Red Velvet Cupcakes!

So on this rainy Friday, with some free time on my hands, I decided to try my hands on baking red velvet cupcakes. Been wanting to bake them since forever but I keep postponing it. In fact, I have a very long To-Bake List which I've not fulfilled yet. Slowly but surely I hope, especially since the holidays are drawing near.

Here's the link to the recipe.
Red Velvet Cupcakes

However, I didn't use the frosting recipe from the above website. Instead, I used one from this.
Cream Cheese Frosting

The cake turned out super moist, it was too yummy! So have a go at making these too! :)

Oh! And if you don't have buttermilk, or if you find that they're too costly, here's how you can make your own buttermilk. All you have to do is to add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Leave that to stand for 30minutes and there you have it, home-made buttermilk!

Enjoy!

That's A Wrap!

So we had our last textiles lesson just yesterday. I must say, I've learnt quite a bit, improving my skills and learning more techniques that I would never have imagined myself doing. So many DIY projects that Ive learnt to do that I think I would have to think twice before purchasing items again. If you can make it yourself, why buy it right?

Some of the things Ive learnt included the napkin technique, embroidery and appliqué. It was really interesting to learn how to use the sewing machine in the textile room. Honestly, I used to get so frustrated easily with the machines in the beginning since it would not do what I want it to do. Having to do unpicking numerous of times made me feel like I was just wasting time doing nothing in class, especially for the competency profiles.

However, I think it just takes time to get used to the machines in school. The machine is just too chim for us I guess! In the end, I fell in love with the embroidery function and was in awe of what the machine can really do for us.

So here's some pictures to mark my journey during DCX131. Not many though, since I always forget to take pictures of my work!

A Mug of Goodness

Ever felt hungry in the middle of the night while doing your assignments and you just need a dose of sugar rush to perk you up? How about some good ol yummy fudge brownie? All that minus the tedious baking process, what more can you ask for right?

Check this out! It's simply divine!!! *drools*

Two Minute Brownie

Yum yum yum!

Happy Feet!

Yet another cute dessert that I loveeeee~

Not at all easy to make! I've failed quite a number of times cause the feet does not appear.

Here's my first successful attempt on it!

Cake Pops!

Something really cute to share. I love reading Bakerella's blog and she always has great ideas for desserts. She is also the creator of Cake Pops! I really hope to make these one day soon. I've even bought the lollipop sticks already! Heh heh~

Cookies!

So I attempted the Chewy Dark Chocolate and Orange Cookie Recipe from Wilton's the other day, as recommended by Ms Chin and Ms Soo. But The turnout was rather... bleargh? Okay, the taste was awesome and rich and yummy, with a tinge of orange. So that definitely wasn't the issue. However, it was more of the external outcome of the cookie itself.

It turned out too soft and cake-like instead of firm like a cookie's supposed to be. I wonder what could be wrong. Could it have been my creaming? Had I creamed it improperly? Could it be the proportions of my ingredients? Did I convert correctly? Or could it be too fast a baking time? Or! Was the cookie even supposed to be like that in the first place? I wonder and panic at the same time, thinking I might have the same troubles again if unresolved soon! :(

So let me get this straight, we learnt in school (TP) that 1 cup = 250g, no? For this batch, I used 250g as a basis of 1 cup. Before posting this post however, I searched online and they actually have variations to it which falls around ~225g. That's 25g of a difference! Doesn't that count as a significant difference that may have implications to the science behind the baking?

Chewy Dark Chocolate and Orange Cookie by Wilton
http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Chewy-Dark-Chocolate-and-Orange-Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel or finely chopped candied orange peel
• vegetable pan spray

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 375° F.

2) Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. On low speed beat in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in orange peel.
3) Spray cookie scoop with vegetable pan spray and drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool on wire rack.

Picture 1: Look how nicely it rose! Nice dome-shaped cookies!

 Picture 2: It deflated once out of the oven.

Something is definitely wrong somewhere.

Could it have been due to a lack of cooking time?

Could it be how I creamed the batter?

Picture 3: This was taken after being cooled for ~15minutes.

It was still very soft, very cake-like, very fragile. It did not firm up. 

Look at the interior, it looks more cake-like than it does a cookie.

The air cells? Zilch. Or atleast very very minute and tiny.

---

What could have gone wrong!? Please advice! Thank you lovely people~

3 Learning Points of Critiquing Lesson Plans

1) When we critique lesson plans, we can identify certain formats which different people use in their individual lesson plans. These may or may not be useful in terms of whether or not a certain input makes a lesson plan more wholesome and detailed which we can learn from.

2) Having to critique lesson plans, we learn that we may sometimes be too critical that we critique even the nitty grittiest things. This may be good and bad as we may not be able to live up to our own critiques and maintain the high standards that we had for other people's lesson plans.

3) As student teachers, critiquing lesson plans expose us to the various forms of lesson plans that there are. We can learn from there as we are inexperienced in doing these plans. Being exposed to different types of lesson plans help us identify a good and a bad one and we can learn how to make our own by looking at all the "must have" formats that has to be included into one.

In conclusion, critiquing lesson plans is a way of exposing us to many forms of good and bad lesson plans which we can greatly learn from.

E- Learning Assignment by Azyan

Consumer Review: Love, Bonito

Love, Bonito is a local online retail fashion store. When it first started out 5 years ago, it was using the livejournal platform and was named BonitoChico. As years went by, this online blogshop grew and became more successful and they then ventured on into their own brand and domain, now called lovebonito.com just a year ago. Love, Bonito sells a wide selection of fashion apparels which also includes accessories and bags that caters to both the youth as well as young working adults. Love, Bonito also has lines of its own which they manufacture themselves such as Covet by Love Bonito as well as Basics by Love Bonito. Love, Bonito is now very successful that it has also been dubbed Asia's Largest Online Shopping Site.

Shopping is easy at this online retail outlet as shoppers only have to register once with all their mailing info and particulars before choosing items to be put into the cart. Once done with shopping, shoppers can check out and proceed with choosing their payment options. Love, Bonito accepts a wide range of payment options such as credit, paypal, ATM transfer as well as ibanking. Shoppers can also choose the type of mailing they want, be it Normal Mail or Registered Mail which is essentially a more secure option.

Love, Bonito also has various platforms where it connects with their loyal buyers such as through twitter and facebook and their blog. Through this, they are constantly interacting with their buyers. Previews are also shown on their facebook page a few days before a new collection is up. This helps a potential buyer to be able to think and consider their options before confirming their purchase. As it is such a popular site, items on the shop may sometimes be sold out in a matter of minutes into the opening of the collection. Therefore, this preview helps a buyer decide and think about their potential purchase beforehand. Their blog also provides updates on recent happenings and look books which can help buyers be able to visualise and mix and match their outfits with other things. Also, they provide fashion advices and information on how we can wear their clothes.

What I like about this site is that so far, it has never failed me and I have been receiving all my purchases in good conditions. Their service is top notch and prompt as well. They are also somewhat constant with their collection updates and launch times so that their shoppers know when to expect a new collection from them. Their owners are also very down to earth people as I met them during their exclusive warehouse sale recently.

This site can also be used to teach Clothing & Textile lessons as their clothes provide descriptions which include the material that it is made of as well as the measurements. From this, students can identify the different types of materials and make comparisons with the pricings of the clothes. They can infer whether or not clothes are worth the price stated and why the prices were stated that way. Knowing the different materials and its characteristics would help consumers as a whole make the right choice in buying clothes as they would know whether or not a certain material is suitable for a certain climate or function. Students can also learn money management skills as well as consumer rights. As the world becomes more IT savvy, online shopping is also on the rise. Students should know the risks involved in purchasing online and how to avoid disappointment and from being cheated.

Bibiliography
LoveBonito.(NA).Love,Bonito.Retrieved on 22nd August 2011 from http://www.lovebonito.com/
Clicknetwork.tv.(2011). Hot Seat: Love, Bonito.Retrieved on 22nd August 2011 from http://www.clicknetwork.tv/watch.aspx?c=5&p=29&v=548