has it been 3 months already? my apologies for the lack of posts, guys, and happy new year! i've had a few concerned emails asking if i was ok, and whether i still intend to blog. yes, and yes! its just that there were lots of stuff to keep me occupy during the year end - my birthday, christmas, hubby's birthday and new year celebrations so i forgot about my blog momentarily.

anyway i made baumkuchen (read : bum-ku-hen)! this is a cake of german origin but apparently very popular in japan. i knew about it when i first started buying japanese cookbooks. recipes for baumkuchen are everywhere on those books! soon after i chanced upon juchheim, a japanese shop selling baumkuchen at takashimaya but i didnt buy it cuz it was rather expensive. i did try the one from MUJI though, it was good albeit a little too oily for my liking.

probably one of the rare occasions i'm baking. i find myself cooking more often nowadays and i make it an effort to cook everyday. i really enjoy experimenting with the different cuisines. baking, not so much. the thought of having to stuff myself with all these sugar-laden treats every single day like in the past just don't appeal to me anymore. i try and not use white refined sugar so much and if i do bake, i try and limit the amount of sugar to 50g or less per attempt. which is to say i find american style desserts like brownies that uses 1 cup sugar or frosting that uses 4 cups powdered sugar very, very shocking. not that i'll actually attempt making those. or even the traditional japanese red bean paste. just saying.

anyway i'm following cotta and cuoca on facebook. both are japanese baking supplies/packaging stores that also have plenty of recipes on their sites. their facebook pages are updated everyday and i always look forward to seeing new recipes and pics! cotta posted this recipe recently and i knew i had to make this soon. it just sounded really good and its been a while since i made madeleines.

i bought some freeze-dried raspberries from iherb.com and thought it would be a great addition to a batch of granola. matcha granola seems to be a hit these days and for a matcha fanatic like me, this was not to be missed. i came across this recipe from a japanese website and honestly, i haven't made much granola to know whether it was good or not. my first and last granola recipe was from joyofbaking and it was soooo good i just stuck with it all these years.