#thebakerwhocooks

Comfort comfort comfort - the buzzword floating around these seemingly grey pandemic days and especially in the McAlea household. I’ve been comfort snacking like crazy (think 🍪, 🍦, 🍫, 🍰) to stay sane but there’s just one niggling craving that I haven’t managed to satiate - superb chocolate chip cookies. So I decided this morning to just bake some. This best chocolate chip cookie recipe by @bonappetitmag was my go-to simply because I saw @adith1801’s beautiful cookie babies this week and was intrigued at the beurre noisette (brown butter) 🧈 requirement! I was initially scared to attempt this as I’ve tried making beurre noisette before but failed terribly (ended with beurre noir instead 🤪). But you know what, I’m up for a good challenge and today I am glad to report I succeeded! With the beurre noisette mastered, the rest was easy, the usual sugar, eggs, flour (phew thank god I had leftovers from before) and my go-to @ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. Wham, bam, 10 mins in the oven at 150 degrees celcius and these chewy centered yummies were ready to be devoured. #CiaranMcAlea got first dibs and he went all Cookie Monster. I’m glad he approved. If you’re looking for a kick-ass choco-chip cookie that tastes like outdoors (think a warm stroll around the garden, with lemonade or milk in hand). #thebakerwhocooks #cookies #chocolatechip #foodforlife #comfortfood #cookiemonsterapproves https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ZtlMiHsyN/?igshid=ly73rsmcnq1x

Last week, I decided to delve deep into my Peranakan roots by diving straight into one of my much loved spicy 🌶 noodle dish - #laksa. The recipe I chose was from @adamliaw and he makes it look so simple. Granted that most of the prep work is in the rempah (spice paste) foundation, it would have been less painful if I hadn’t gone gloveless when deseeding the chillies 💥! Other than that, it was a glorious experience, from the culmination of my rempah; a sum of many aromatic parts to the alchemy of that thick coconutty broth which makes or breaks the laksa. The outcome was a well-nuanced success, thanks to an extra step of adding the fried prawn shells back into the broth with the prawn oil. Without that, it would just be a whole hit of spice. I’’ so pleased with this recipe I’m going to cook it for my family this coming Chinese New Year 🧧. #homecooking #thebakerwhocooks #peranakan #nyonya #southeastasianfood #spice #foodforthesoul https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Y9ikXHCir/?igshid=1e2whrw90tb94

Second attempt at #sugeecake a success! Moist and light crumb. Pretty happy with it. Way better than pound cake. Late night baking is therapeutic. #ciaranmcalea loves it too. #cake #thebakerwhocooks #homemade #brandy #semolina #wednesdaybakeday #baking #instafood #foodforsoul

Whipped up another warm batch of cinnamon rolls yesterday when #ciaranmcalea was napping. Used a recipe from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and loved the result. Soft fluffy rolls coated with delightful cinnamon sugar and pecans. Gave away most to my family 😋💕 Happy Wednesday all! #thebakerwhocooks #homemade #cinnamonrolls #baking

The sweltering heat has got me into an ice cream making frenzy. We had bought a no frills @kenwoodworld ice cream machine and I have since whipped up earl grey tea and summer berry #icecream. Last week’s cold treat was #matcha ice cream and it turned out really good. Used a recipe from @seriouseats and wham, creamy green deliciousness as good as store-bought ones. #thebakerwhocooks #homemade

What else to whip up when you’ve got extra egg whites left over from making ice cream but chocolate soufflé. Arms are tired from beating the whites but super stoked at the result! #thebakerwhocooks #souffle #greenandblackschocolate #chocolate #baking #homebaked

All done! Brown, buttery and beautiful. They don’t need no glaze. Smells divine. Nothing beats the air of #cinnamon and sugar 💕 #cinnamonrolls #thebakerwhocooks #baking

Nothing like cinnamon rolls to warm up to on a rainy day. Can’t wait to gobble these up! #thebakerwhocooks #homebaked #cinnamonrolls #instafood #baking #ilovecinnamon