glazed lemon & thyme greek yogurt bundt cake.

I like baking but I'm also a lazy baker. I lack patience, which is absolutely essential in Singapore's heat. I don't bake in an air conditioned room which means that whenever I make cupcake frosting or roll out short crust pastry, I have to either a) frost or roll super quickly and do a mediocre job or b) frost a few cupcakes and stick the frosting back into the fridge.

And umm.. I don't have the time or patience for either.

Which is why nowadays I'm trying to go back to basics and relook at simple recipes that are delicious and fuss free without the embellishing them with complicated and overly sweet frosting. 

easy strawberry cake

Cakes should taste good without having too many ingredients in them. This strawberry cake is simple enough to make but it requires a whole lot of patience because of the long baking time. During this time, you'll be able to smell the aroma of strawberries and sugar bubbling in the oven like jam. 

This cake is hardly the prettiest one around but it's great when you need a go to recipe for a potluck you didn't plan for. It is also adaptable for any other kind of berries as well. I always like to add in a dash of lemon or orange zest with a teaspoon of mint, this gives the cake that extra kick from the zest and mint. With that your batter would be good to go and you can then patiently wait to get a taste of that freshly baked moist cake, just lightly sweetened with fresh strawberries, coming straight out from the oven.

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Strawberry Cake recipe: here

Although best with fresh cream, I served this one with honey and greek yogurt instead which works as a healthier option.

Red Wine Velvet Cake with Whipped Mascarpone Filling.

Red velvet cake has long been a favourite of mine.

However I've always disliked how I had to put in tons of artificial coloring to get it to look really red because once you add in chocolate powder, it just looks like chocolate cake.

When I saw this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, I just had to try it. I hate red wine, I would never drink it but I have an abundance supply of red wine which were all gifts over the years. This recipe would allow me to bake something I disliked into something I loved.

The cake turned out moist, with the light fragrance from the wine and a faint hint of cinnamon. The mascarpone filling was perfect as it was sweet and light.

This is the perfect birthday cake for adults.

Lemon Meringue Tart.

I'm a big fan of lemony anything, citrusy anything. I think the tartness of a citrus fruit offsets the sweetness from desserts so well.

Previously I've made lemon squares before and it turned out really well, so this time I wanted to attempt a lemon meringue pie because I love the pretty cloudy swirls on top of the pie. I got too excited to make this that I forgot to get a can of gas for the blow torch, but I ended up browning the top in the oven. It works as well but it doesn't turn out as pretty.

For this tart, I've used a Donna Hay recipe here. To be honest, this isn't one of my favourites. I loved the crust but I felt that the filling was a little too thick, and having just a small slice would be too much for one dessert. Recently I came across a no bake lemon meringue recipe (always a plus for lazy people like me!), I'll be sure to try it in the next few weeks!

Lavender Cupcakes.

My parents are finally back from their 3 week cruise in Greece, one of the souvenirs they brought back for me was a bag of dried lavender leaves. My mum suggested that I should use it as potpourri, but I thought that it would be such a waste not to use to bake something because ingredients like these are so rare in Singapore.

For these cupcakes, I’ve gone back to the Hummingbird Bakery recipe here.

The taste of the lavender in the cake is subtle, but it works so well as that hint of flavour in the moist and buttery cake. 

As this was my first time making these, I decided to stay true to the recipe, but I reduced the amount of lavender in the milk by half because I did not want the taste to be overpowering. Next time, I’ll be sure to try  these with an earl grey buttercream instead!