• Baking Recipes,  Cookies,  Reinventions of classics

    A moment for Boston, and the world while we’re at it

    There was a time when I aspired to run a marathon in Boston. It was around the time I had just begun to gain confidence in my ability to go the distance in my running. Despite all the splinters and the post-run sores, running gave me such a wonderful release. I would be on an adrenaline high hours after the run. The feeling of running down an open road is unparalleled: the sky above you, a seemingly endless expanse of land before you, the wind on your face… It’s a little piece of freedom we very rarely get to enjoy leading such busy lives. And then there’s crossing the finish-line,…

  • At home,  Baking Recipes,  Choux pastry,  Experiments & experiences

    Dear Daddy Eclairs with divine Mocha Pastry Cream

    I made these éclairs, and much like everything else that I make, with the intention of sharing it with my family so that they may enjoy it. Even though I make things for them all the time, there was a special occasion to be celebrated for one of the most important people in my life. In the end I decided it called for a slightly more special treat. Unfortunately, these didn’t turn out the way that I would have wanted. Bluntly put, I burnt my éclairs to a tragic crisp. But thank goodness the mocha pastry cream was there to salvage it. (Boy, that pastry cream is the bomb!) Because…

  • Baking Recipes,  Choux pastry,  Experiments & experiences

    The very long and winding road to cream puffs

    Oh boy. So I’ve been wanting to learn how to make pate a choux for a while, not because they are my favourites (although of course they are yummy too!) but I find the process of making them interesting. Everyone keeps saying making choux pastry is easy, and now that I have figured out how to make them successfully, this is the conclusion I’ve arrived at as well. Based on the photo below, you can see that it took me so many tries before I attained success! (I’m sharing the recipe at the end of this post.) As troublesome as it all seems, I’m glad all those failed attempts did…