i had wanted a kitchen aid but they are costly, big and heavy-weight, though they would look super gorgeous in those pretty colors.   so i finally decided on one made by Bosch.  this one i got is also not one of their most powderful (in terms of watts) within the line because i do not think i would be making lots of bread or cakes in large quantity.  when it was deboxed, i was happy that it fitted perfectly at the corner of the kitchen counter.

while researching on an alternative to the victoria sponge (which i explained here), i found a recipe of lemon and olive oil cake in one of my baking books tucked away in my book shelf at home (i am starting to re-visit many of my books and siu momo would follow me - sometimes grab one of my books, sit down comfortably on the couch, and say “let’s read together, ma-mi!”.  and you would already know that i’d be feeling all sweet and soft inside, and delighted to talk about recipes and comment on cake and cookie pictures with my precious little girl) and then i bumped into this recipe and noted the similarity between the two – both being chiffon cakes.  so i tweaked the recipes here and there and made my own version of lemon poppyseed olive oil cake.  it was moist, light and yummy! 

only that when i was cleaning up while the cake was baking in the oven, i noticed that the lemon juice was still sitting in the cup.  so it turned out to be poppyseed olive oil cake with lemon peel only.  but it was good enough and i was thrilled at the result.

to make it more attractive to siu momo (that was the whole point, right?), i whipped up a simple cream cheese frosting and iced the top only (otherwise mr candlelight would complain about too much cream) and decorated slightly with some sprinkles…

the cake remained moist and light after a day put out at room temperature, when we ate it as breakfast in the morning.  that was my best cake ever i must say!

now i am much more confident on making a good cake for siu momo’s birthday.  she said she wants a hello kitty cake this year, with a hello kitty toy on top of the cake which she says will be pink and purple in color.