rara avis

hello! i just came back from a very long day! but first let me write about last sunday's outing with mr lee.

i was baking a cookies and cream cake to bring to mr lee's lunch at sakae sushi, and i think i shall share the recipe for bakers to try! i tried pairing the cake with a cream cheese icing, but didn't put it on the cake because i thought it would be weird. and jia en doesn't like cheese. instead, i kept it in a separate container. the verdict? mr lee thought the cake was nice, and jia en used the cream cheese icing!

this cake recipe is adapted from my cupcakes recipe book. it makes enough for two 7-inch round pans, so you might want to half the recipe on your first try.

cookies and cream cake

225g unsalted cold butter, diced
225g castor sugar
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
10 oreo cookies, broken
5 oreo cookies, pulsed to powder

1. preheat the oven to 175°C. grease and line two 7-inch round pans.
2. sift the self-raising flour with the baking powder.
3. cream the butter and sugar with a mixer on high for ten minutes.
4. still on high, add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla essence.
5. turn the mixer to low, and add in the flour, then the powdered cookies.
6. fold in the broken cookies.
7. fill the batter into two 7-inch round pans.
8. bake for forty minutes. cover with aluminium foil if necessary. yes i think this cake takes unusually long to bake, and i haven't figured out why =(
9. remove the pans from the oven and turn out the cakes.
10. cool the cakes completely on a wire rack before frosting.

cream cheese icing/glaze

200g cream cheese (i used philadelphia light cream cheese spread and got a fluid end product, which i suppose can be used as a glaze instead of an icing.)
175g icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. using the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese until it is soft and smooth.
2. add the icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.
3. beat until smooth and well-combined.

this is the cake without the cream cheese glaze. the heart is made with just icing sugar. i think the cookies and cream flavour is very subtle, brought out only once in a while when one gets close to the cookie bits; the tangy glaze wakes the taste buds up! this cake is a little too oily though.

anyway, meeting with mr lee was so fun, because we talked so much about recent developments in our lives.i wish i had the time and money to do what i want to do as well!

for now, i'll think of a cake with quavers and semiquavers. because success without purpose is life without meaning.

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i wish to bump into you, if the fates allow.