Active Dry Vs Instant

March school holidays had just ended. No holidays will be fulfilling to me without me baking some goodies. I searched my pantry for what I could find and I found an almost expiring bread flour. It's been a while since I made some bread and I have been pretty discouraged to make bread with the results I keep getting. Hard and not so pretty looking. 

Nevertheless, I recently bought active dry yeast while grocery shopping last week too. Adding to that, I wanted to make some special breakfast for my in laws when they come back from their 10 days travel/pilgrimage to Madina and Mecca. Hence, it was like a calling for ma to make bread. I've been craving for some Cinnamon Roll with some cream cream cheese frosting. 

Before I start on the recipe, I will talk elaborate more about the different type of yeast. Yeast is a leavening agent where it converts fermentable sugars inside a dough into carbon dioxide and ethanol. Typically, normal home bakers will use Instant Yeast or Active Dry Yeast. Most commonly found in the supermarket here like NTUC Fairprice is Instant Yeast. Active Dry Yeast can be found at most Cold Storage and selected Fairprice. There's a slight difference between these two yeast. 

Active Dry Yeast
Active Dry Yeast needs to be proofed and rehydrated before using. The yeast granule is longer and coarser. To rehydrate the yeast, you have to soak them in warm water (41-46 deg C) with sugar. Let it stand for 10 minutes til it is bubbly and looks creamy. 

Instant Yeast
Instant Yeast looks almost the same as active dry yeast. However, the granules are smaller. Because it is smaller than active dry, it absorbs water liquid faster because it has a larger surface area. Unlike active dry yeast, instant yeast does not need rehydration. Thus, you can directly add the yeast to the dry ingredients. In cases where you need to substitute active dry yeast with instant yeast, just lessen it by 20% because instant yeast is more potent. However, make sure you add the same amount of water as the recipe require when using active dry yeast. 

I've been keeping this recipe for over a year now. I fell in love with the picture in one of my go-to blog. She has the one of the nicest pictures and one of the most creative young bakers out there. The recipe can be found in the link above too. I did change a bit of the cream cheese frosting. I want a more cream cheese taste in the frosting.

It was also the first bread recipe that I left in the fridge to proof overnight. It turned out to be the most successful bread. Soft and fluffy and delicious. It was also easier to handle after the first proofing. I assume it can be the cause of 2 factors - 1)Active Dry Yeast 2)Proofing in the fridge. I can't tell just yet because I need more experimentation on it. But I'd go with no. 2. :)

Cream Cheese Frosting 
(my adjustments in red)

3 oz (85 g) cream cheese, room temp (I use 100g)
1/4 c (50 g) butter, room temp
1 1/2 c (234 g) confectioners' sugar (may need more or less depending on desired consistency)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbls maple syrup (optional - my addition) (omit)  

Refreshing New Year

Happy New Year to all!! This new year is quite special to me. I'm starting this year as a wife, I'm starting a new job which is a total switch to my previous job and last of all, I'm hoping for a new outlook on everything.

To start this new year, I wanted to share with you guys a refreshing cupcake recipe. It is refreshing to me because of 2 reasons. 1)It uses citrus. 2)It is the first cupcake/cake recipe that I made using heavy cream instead of the normal milk or buttermilk.

I'm actually staying at my husband's place while waiting for our own house to be ready which will be in the next 2 years. The best thing is, my lovely mother-in-law has the same interest as me which is baking. She shared with me her Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book.It has a lot of awesome pictures of cupcakes and interesting recipes. One that caught my eyes was the Orange-Vanilla Bean Cupcakes. I always thought that it was a waste of money to buy the book as all her recipes are actually on her website. BUUUT.. It's totally different when you have the book. The pictures in the books are better for one thing. However the recipes and steps are easier to see in the book. ANND there are some information in the book that is not on the website. Hence, I still think it is a great buy. 

I was deeply curious about how the cupcake would turn out like or taste like with heavy cream as a liquid medium. I've tried using milk, buttermilk and sour cream but never heavy cream. I assume that it would be more moist and dense. The thought of the orange and vanilla just lingered in my mind the whole day. I knew I had to try it. 

I'm a fan of citrus recipes. I love vanilla and vanilla beans. And I simply adore Swiss Meringue Buttercream. So, this cupcake was awesome to me. The buttercream complemented the moist yet light tasting cupcake. It was not too dense but was just nice. And as you bite, you can see the speckles of vanilla bean in the cake which is so pretty and heart-warming to me. It was also my first try making the candied orange. I learnt a lot in the process. So, I heart heart heart the cupcakes. The recipe can be found here.

~A new year is unfolding – like a blossom with petals curled
tightly concealing the beauty within~

Vibrant Scallops Project

My latest project. The design is inspired from a book I just bought (I will update what book when I get hold of it). This is one of the designs that I fell in love with. I am just happy my customer liked the design too. 

I was intimidated to do this design, the usual feeling that I get everytime I start a new project. It's also been ages since I made gumpaste gerberas. I think the last time I made gerberas was when I was learning it in class. I was really excited that she wanted a gerbera. It is one of my favourite flowers. But the challenge was to figure how to make it without wires. The hard part was doing the centre shorter petals, to make it stand. It was hard to dry it as I was not able to hang the flower upside down with the help of wires. I was pretty successful eventually. But I know I can make a better, more realistic looking gerberas. 

Decorating the sides of the cake was scary at first. The most important tool was a ruler. Without a ruler, you will never get the correct overlapping size. After a while, I got the hang of it. Truth be told, it was quite fun. Then I had to the the words. I am still trying to improve a lot on my wordings. Hence, this is my first hand custom made fondant words. I made strings of fondant with the claygun and free form the letters. The white dots are made from Royal Icing. Dots and Royal Icing are my forte. The most important tip for dots is to use PME tips. I use PME No. 1 tip. 

The new project received quite a number of compliments from my family members and I really love it a lot. It's e type of design I like. I like contemporary designs, vibrant colours. And the flexibility of this design is quite commendable. I can imagining some colour schemes that will give it a vintage look.