While I love to cook, I rarely bake.
When I cook, I sieve through a stack of recipes, scrutinise the ingredients and method, and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Then I’d put something together, usually a mish-mash of the different recipes, throw in some of my favourite ingredients — I have a tendency to add mushrooms or cherry tomatoes to everything — and then taste and adjust everything as I go along. That’s the way I operate. But I know that when it comes to baking, I just can’t do that. As a friend who is an excellent baker herself said recently, “Baking is precise.” It certainly is, and precise, I am not.
Besides, my husband is rather wary of all the baking equipment I would want NEED if I was to bake!
But that doesn’t mean I don’t harbour dreams of churning out homebaked treats from my kitchen. So when the Singapore Mom Bloggers (SMB) organised a baking session with Munch Ministry recently in celebration of their first anniversary, I seized the opportunity and put myself on the list. I’ve been interested for a while in Munch Ministry’s very popular baking classes but never had the chance to attend one. To be able to participate in a class as well as meet some of the Moms I’ve been interacting with online? I knew it would be a good morning.
Oh, and did I mention that we would be making Hokkaido Chiffon Cakes? Yum.
It’s one thing to read a recipe, but it’s quite something else to attend a class and have a recipe demonstrated for you. Our instructors for the day were Pauline and Louisa, and they patiently took us through the recipe, step by step.
Baking with Munch Ministry!
Pauline prepping the egg yolk mixture.
Rachel whisking together the egg yolk mixture. This was hard work and she did it really quickly!
Ladies who whisk — 
After beating the egg whites into soft peaks, here I am combining the egg whites with the egg yolk mixture. Gingerly.
Egg yolk and egg white mostly incorporated!
After diving the batter into cupcake portions, we popped them in the oven, and when they were ready, took them out to cool. This was the result! In case you’re wondering, they ARE supposed to sink like that, so that they create the holes to be filled with yummy cream. For this reason, this is a very forgiving cake to make. While we waited for our freshly baked cakes to cool, Louisa showed us how to for and custard-cream for the cakes.
Whizzing up the cream and custard. These mixers make baking such a breeze!
Our 师父 Louisa showing how the cream is to be piped.
My turn! I must admit that poking the nozzle into the cakes and filling them up with cream was a lot of fun!
Rachel and I with our completed batch go cupcakes! Yeah!The cakes were, as promised, delicious. I’m glad I glad a couple for myself before I brought them home because the kids just cleaned them out! I’m looking forward to making these again — and attending baking classes with Munch Ministry when the opportunity arises!
Now to convince my husband that I really should be getting that Kitchenaid…
You really should get a KitchenAid! It makes baking a breeze, and washing it up isn't that bad too. Promise your husband yummy baked goods on a monthly basis, in exchange for the KitchenAid? 😉
I really really want one! Probably didn't need the encouragement. Haha. I'm convinced I'l bake more too, with the right equipment!