My 4th Bloggers Meetup

I was casually checking my e-mails when one particular one caught my attention. To my pleasant surprise, I was invited to a Bloggers Meetup by Jasmine. Jasmine had just joined the blogging scene a few months back and I must admire her courage in reaching out to us bloggers and organizing a meetup. So last Saturday evening, 8 of us met up at Edith’s place for a potluck party. The bloggers were:

1. Jasmine from the sweetylicious
2. Edith from Precious Moments
3. Josephine from Sugar & Everything Nice
4. Cathy from Cathy's Joy
5. Jess from Jess's Kitchen
6. Jean from Noms I Must
7. Wendy from Wen's Delight
8. Zhuoyuan (Me)

Maybe you wouldn't believe it, but I never had a potluck party until I attended my first Bloggers Meetup. Even if I was keen in the idea of a potluck party back then, I couldn't even bake or cook for nuts. Things are different now, for I have learnt to bake and churn out bakes presentable enough to bring to a potluck party.

Similar to my previous meetups, this is another potluck party where each of us bloggers would volunteer to cook and bake a dish or two. Sweet lovers would definitely find this potluck party particularly inviting as it promises a spectacular line-up of of sweet treats including mango swiss rolls, mango cheesecake, mango chiffon cake, brownies, lemon bars, lemon meringue tarts, macarons and three differently flavoured frosted cupcakes. As a sweets lover and a highly sweet-toothed guy, I am more than welcome to embrace them and satisfy my palate.

Chocolate macarons with lemon curd by Cathy

Dulce De Leche cupcakes by Cathy

Chocolate madeleines by Cathy

Lemon cream cheese cupcakes with honey lemon buttercream (Swiss meringue). Recipe for buttercream at end of post.

Rich fudgy brownies. I have to confess that this batch of brownies are less fudgy and firmer than the ones I previously made.

Mango cheesecake by Jasmine

Nian gao sweet potato rolls by Jasmine

Jelly heart cheesecake slice by Jasmine

Durian chiffon cake by Wendy

Durian swiss rolls by Wendy. Have I ever mentioned that I am a durian lover?

Lemon curd meringue tarts by Edith

Chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes with caramel butterscotch buttercream by Edith

Lemon bars by Jess

savoury meatballs by Jean

thai style pomelo salad by Josephine

Saturday evening was thus spent fulfillingly with a group of wonderful and talented ladies. With good food and the right company, what more can I ask for? Thanks to Jasmine for initiating and coordinating this meetup. I shall be looking forward to my next meetup. 

Honey Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream (recipe adapted from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan) 

Serving size: enough to frost 15 small sized cupcakes

Taste and texture: sweet and tangy, velvety smooth

Equipment and Materials:

1) Handheld mixer/ Standing mixer

2) Heat proof bowl

3) Wire whisk

Ingredients:

65g sugar

60g egg whites

150g unsalted butter, cubed and slightly softened but still cold

3 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice, strained

honey, add to taste

1/2 tsp vanilla extact

Making the buttercream:

Dissolve sugar in egg whites - Place egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl sitting over a pan of slightly simmering water without the base of the bowl in contact with the water (double-boiler). Whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves completely. Rub the egg white mixture with your fingers to check if it is still gritty to test if the sugar has fully dissolved. Egg white mixture should be warm to the touch. Remove bowl from the heat.

Beating egg whites - Beat egg whites with an electric beater on medium high speed until whites are very stiff and glossy. Egg whites should form stiff upright peaks and will not budge when bowl is overturned. 

Incorporating butter - Add in butter to beaten egg whites in 3 additions and beat on medium speed. The mixture may become watery as butter is being incorporated. After the third addition, beat the mixture it becomes fluffy and firm, like creamed butter.   

Flavouring the buttercream - Add lemon juice and vanilla extract to buttercream and beat well to mix. Add in honey by the tablespoon to taste.  

Note:

1) When piping the buttercream for frosting, heat from your palms may cause the last portion of buttercream in the piping bag to soften and separate/ melt. Simply chill the softened/ separated buttercream and beat it until fluffy. 

2) Buttercream can hold its shape well unrefrigerated. 

3) Make sure water is on low simmer and stir constantly, else the egg may coagulate.   

4) Do not omit the vanilla in the buttercream. It adds a depth of flavour and contrasts the lemony tang.  

5) Make 2.5 x buttercream recipe to make enough for frosting a 3 layered cake.