Friday, July 4, 2025

No-Recipe Chocolate Banana Popsicles (Vegan & Naturally Sweetened)


Some recipes start with hunger. Others, nostalgia.

This one started with a photo of watermelon popsicles on Pinterest, from some stranger who so kindly shared and inspired, and a random question:

Why haven’t I ever made these?

I’ve made frozen banana ice cream before. But never popsicles. And lately I’ve needed something snacky—cool, light, not too sweet, yet rich enough to indulge with. So this just... happened.

Didn’t follow any recipe. Just instinct and whatever was in my kitchen.

I threw in:

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Frozen Granola Bars - No Mixer, No Oven, No Guilt



When granola started gaining popularity in Indonesia a few years ago, I got curious. Everyone claimed it was a healthy snack—rolled oats, raw honey, dried fruits. But then I realized: most of it was baked. Meaning, those beautiful enzymes in raw honey—gone. Antioxidants from dried fruit—toasted into oblivion. You’re mostly left with sugar and fiber. Store-bought versions didn’t help either—often packed with brown sugar, additives, even trans fat disguised behind a wholesome label. Oh, dear.

Then one slow scroll on Pinterest led me to this frozen granola bar recipe by Love & Lemons—and the rest is history. I’d never even imagined that granola bars could be frozen instead of baked. But here it was: simple, no pretension, truly healthy, and incredibly easy to make. Best part of it: No oven. No mixer. No drama.

Is it good?

It is uh-may-zing! Sweet, salty, nutty, chewy. Think caramel chocolate bars, but with oats and crushed peanuts—soft, satisfying, and kind to your tummy. I snacked on them on a beautiful, purply, slow afternoon... and again late at night before bed. Zero guilt. In fact—ahem—it helped digestion the next morning. 😌

Why I love this recipe

I’ve been baking since I was 6 years old, and believe me, I’ve seen how “healthy” snacks can be loaded with the not-so-healthy. So I made a few intentional tweaks to keep this one clean and honest:

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Yorkshire Pudding: the Secret is NOT in the Recipe


Finally, success!

The failed one :D

Long, long time ago, I baked Yorkshire pudding once. Mekar seadanya, tarok di blog biar bisa ikutan event online World Bread Day: After Hours Party. Lumayan happening kala itu di kalangan foodblogger Gen X. Ahemmmm...

Beberapa tahun yang lalu sering bikin adonannya, tapi digoreng! And you know, it's delicious! Minyak memang enak 😄

Now the triumph finally arrived! Akhirnya bikin lagi properly — ngembang maksimal, dry crunchy on the outside, kopong tapi ada lelembutannya di dalam. Gurih, eggy, enak.


My Personal Review

Tekstur mirip kulit kue sus, tapi ngaret kayak roti. Maybe because I used a blender to mix the batter? I don’t know. I figured, kalau disiram gravy memang bakalan enak banget.
But nevertheless, tetep enak, nyenengin, gampang bikinnya, seru ngeliat mekarnya di oven. Therapeutic, even.


The Real Secret

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Now Perfected.


Photo mat by Ria Nirwana

The chewy chocolate chips cookies recipe was perfected! Alhamdulillah..
It uses bread flour to produce to chewy texture, but it tends to dry quickly after a few days. So the best way is to bake fresh, to finish in like 2 days. You can stock the dough in the fridge and bake fresh each time.

Secrets:

  • Bread flour
  • Store dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight
  • Good vanilla
  • Do not omit the salt
  • Use real butter, not margarine, not butter substitute, not butter blend, not recombined butter
  • Use real chocolate chips. The one with cocoa butter. Not palm compound.

I hope you like it like I do. Trust me, it's perfect :)

Friday, December 26, 2014

Ka'ak. Nigella sativa Cookies.


Dalam Ash-Shohihain diriwayatkan hadist dari Ummu Salamah dari Abu Hurairah R.A, bahwa Rasulullah SAW bersabda:  
“Hendaklah kalian mengkonsumsi Habbatus Sauda’, karena didalamnya terdapat kesembuhan dari setiap penyakit, kecuali saam. Sedangkan saam artinya kematian.”  
Imam Bukhori juga meriwayatkan hadist dari Aisyah R.A bahwasanya ia mendengar Nabi SAW bersabda; ”Sesungguhnya Habbatus Sauda’ ini merupakan obat bagi setiap penyakit, kecuali saam. Aku bertanya, “Apakah saam itu?” Beliau menjawab, “Kematian.” 
Dalam riwayat Muslim: “Tidak ada suatu penyakit, kecuali penyembuhannya ada didalam Habbatus Sauda.”

So happy this morning, finding out Photoscape X was just released. Alhamdulillah. :*

These are middle-eastern cookies called Ka'ak, made by Nadrah Shahab. It has habatussauda (Nigella sativa), cardamom, spikuk spices (mix spices), and canarium nuts. If I was to make it, in syaa Allah, I will add cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg and omit spikuk spices. Just a personal preference.

I love that habatussauda brings heat and intensity, and loads of health benefit, which beautifully characterized the rather sweet and crumbly cookies. The specks of black seeds here and there created pretty sight, too.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

PennyLane Chocolate Fudge Cookies



The first post of this cookie was back in 2008. I have nothing to say except that I never bake chocolate cookies any other way anymore. Crackly outside, fudgy inside. Strong chocolate, vanilla, coffee. Lavished with almond and canarium nuts. A keeper ever-since.

I sell these on mood basis :). Masya Allah, the whole batch was usually sold out even when they're still in the oven. I never escalated the price per piece since 2008 and one of my customers now already suggested me to do so. Masya Allah, it is THAT good :)

I hope the recipe can benefit you too, and if it puts a smile on your face, my smile will be wider than yours :)

Sunday, December 21, 2014

PennyLane Brownies


I've been baking since I was little. My first memory of baking was in the kitchen with my mom, messing up her cake tin with brush and margarine all over. My Mom always had confidence in me, giving me real tasks, like greasing the tins or cookie sheets, sifting the flour, separating the eggs. Real serious tasks. I always had great times with her in the kitchen.

My first big project as a kid was when I was in 2nd grade, about 8 year old, my Mom asked me to bake 6 cakes for a family event, without her supervision whatsoever because she was gone the whole day helping the host to cook everything for the event. Bi idznillah, I delivered well, then she bragged about it to all our relatives the next day, haha. I love you, Mama.