Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake - March '11 DB

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

This challenge had perfect timing. We had just come back from our vacation and I was itching to bake something. I saw the recipe and got excited since I had all the ingredients I needed.

This coffee cake is actually a sweet yeast dough that I filled with meringue, cinnamon sugar and chocolate chips (I omitted the nuts). You can make different variations for the filling. You can flavor the meringue and add fruits as a filling instead. You can also dust it with cocoa powder instead of powdered sugar, or leave it plain - whatever you like!

Coffee Buns (aka Roti Buns)

Coffee Bun from Roti Mum

SM Mall of Asia in the Philippines is the biggest mall I've ever been to. It's crazy. Walking around the mall will make you tired and hungry. And then I smelled something really good. I followed it and found this store which had a sign: "Singapore's Best Coffee Buns". Roti Mum coffee buns. It is a butter bun with a filling that reminds me of Spanish Bread coated with a crisp, coffee-flavored sugar topping.

I was hooked. The combination of sweet (sugar), salty (butter) and bitter (coffee) struck a balance in my tongue. I knew I just had to learn how to make it on my own once we get back to the states.

One Year Baker [Custom Apron Give-away]

My son who got me interested in baking and caking for his 1st birthday, turned 2 years old last week. That meant I just spent my first anniversary as a baker! Wow! Who knew I can stick to something for that long? Although I've kept our oven busy for at least once a week, I'm still a stranger to our stove. So, I'm not calling myself a kitchen diva just yet. I still think of myself as a beginner.

I still have the first bakeware I received from my friend, Jean. So, I have to thank her for giving me my first tools. And I also have to thank her for making me my first ever apron.

She has a gift for fashion and sewing. She has her own blog called, FaSEWnably Chic. And I would like to help her in promoting her page and celebrating my anniversary by giving away one of her custom aprons which she sells for $30. It's perfect for yourself or as gift to a friend.

HOW TO ENTER? All you need to do is leave a comment describing the custom apron you'd like to get. Check out her Facebook Photo Album for ideas.

Want more entries?  Of course, you do. Hehehe. Do any of the following and leave a comment telling me what you did. Each is worth one entry unless otherwise noted. Your comment is your entry so please leave the appropriate number of comments for each extra entry.

• Like FaSEWnably Chic on Facebook.
• Like Baking and Caking for Beginners on Facebook.
• Follow Baking and Caking for Beginners on Twitter and tweet about this give-away.

This contest will end on 03/31/11 at 11:59 pm PST. U.S. residents only.The winner will be drawn via random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification email before I draw another winner. No substitutions or transfer of prizes allowed.