Crafts: Crochet Brim Hat

My crochet mentor introduced me to a pretty useful site with lots of free patterns (crochet, knitting, etc). It is Ravelry[1]. All you need to do to be able to download their patterns is to register/sign up an account with them. Signing up for an account is free as well ;)

This brim hat[2] is one of the free patterns which I downloaded from Ravelry :) I managed to finish within one night. Hence, I feel that this is a pretty easy pattern to follow. On top of that, it requires only a few materials - Just yarn, hook, stitch marker and darning needle.

I would consider this a good project for beginners. It would be even better if this project motivated a beginner to learn how to crochet the magic loop. That I feel is a pretty useful crochet skill.

Here is the model QW looking pleased with her new hat ;)

Front view

Side view

Initially, I had wanted a fancier border. Hence, I ended the project off with scallop/shell border:

But, I quickly reverted back to following the pattern as I faced a problem with this pattern. Without fabric stiffener, the brim droops down because this border was too heavy. Hence, I redid the the border and ended off with reverse stitch border as suggested by the pattern.

To end off this blog post, I would like to share a silly mistake which I made for this project :P *Haha~* Well, here it goes:

The pattern called for 4 mm crochet hook. And so, I picked up a hook with a big "4" and crocheted happily. After I crocheted the body and band, I paused as I wanted to see if it fits my model ;)

Well, that is when I realised that... the hat is TOO tiny!!! *LOL!* Take a look:

Do join me in laughing at this silly mistake which I had made!! *HAHAHA*

Wondering what went wrong, I finally took a good look at my crochet hook and saw this:

Have you realised what I finally figured out back then?
No? Take a look at this next photo:

Have you figured out the mistake which I had made? *Lol~*

Yes!!! I took the wrong sized hook *Hahaha!!!*
The "4" was a 2.50 mm hook!!!
I should have been using the "7" which is the 4 mm hook as suggested by the pattern!!!

Such a funny mistake I made (which cost me 1 more night of re-doing this hat)!

Ah well, it was an interesting lesson learnt :) *hah~*

References:
1. Ravelry
2. Ravelry - Ruffled Brim Sunhat

Vegetarianism: Steamed Egg Cake (雞蛋糕)

My sis-in-law had been treating us to delicious cakes (oreo cheese cake, sponge cake, etc). Hence, my sudden the urge to try my hands at making cakes too. But the problem is we do not have the usual baking tools such as oven, mixer, etc. So, baked cakes are out for us.

Since we have a steamer, I googled for steamed cake and decided to try my hands at steamed egg cake[1] (especially after hubby asked whether I have been putting the steamer to good use :p). After tasting, hubby gave it a pretty good score :) Hence, I think I will be making it more often.

The recipe I used is great for us as it did not require baking tools such as mixer, oven, whisk, etc. I did some modification as I did not have condensed milk and all-purpose flour at that point in time. I added 2 more tbsp of sugar and 1 more tbsp of milk as compared to the original recipe, and used rice flour instead. 

Anyway, here are the ingredients I used:
2 eggs
5 tbsp sugar (you can choose to use lesser sugar if you want it to taste less sweet)
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp oil
75g rice flour
2 tsp baking powder

I followed the steps per recipe:

1. First, beat 2 eggs. Next, add in and mix well 5 tbsp sugar. Then, add in and mix well 3 tbsp milk. Finally, add in and mix well 2 tbsp oil.
2. Mix 75g rice flour with 2 tsp baking powder.
3. Stir the egg mixture to the flour mixture. 
4. Steam about 15 minutes.

You can do the toothpick test to test whether the cake requires longer steaming time. Just poke the toothpick where the peak of the cake is. If it comes out fairly clean, the cake is ready.

You may also prepare in bigger or smaller quantity by doing some simple mathematics. For example, if you use 4 eggs, then you will need 10 tbsp sugar, 6 tbsp milk, 4 tbsp oil, 150g flour and 4 tsp baking powder. Just make sure you keep the ingredients in proportion.

If you intend to store it, you can store it in a ziplock bag or container. It will last longer if you store it in the fridge. Just steam it again (or microwave) before consuming. I did not test how many days it can be stored (because hubby ate it within 2 days!). But, I think it should be good for a couple of days. Bon appetit!

PS: If you want the cake to have the crack effect, sprinkle sugar to make a cross[2].

References:

1. YouTube - Easy steamed egg cake recipe
2. Nasi Lemak Lover - Steamed egg cake's crack effect tips