Cinnamon Brown Sugar Christmas Cookies

Instead of doing the Christmas cookie mass bake this year, we are inviting the residents in the neighborhood to join us for a cookie decorating session at church!

We decided on adding cinnamon to my default brown sugar cookie recipe that I have used for years (as not everyone like the gingerbread spice mix) to make the cookies more festive. I have updated the royal icing recipe with the addition of light corn syrup to soften the bite of the icing when it is hardened too.

You may see the reel over here for the decoration process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRt-h3GEsKo/?igsh=MTl5YTh6NWlsaGh0cA==

Christmas Iced Cookies

(Makes about eighty 5-6cm cookies)

Feel free to adjust the spice mix type/proportion & amount according to taste. You may downsize the portion if you are not making so many cookies.

Brown sugar cookie
420g plain flour
1.25 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon powder (or spice mix of choice)
135g unsalted butter, cubed
160g brown sugar
1 large egg (about 60-65g with shell on)
100g golden syrup
2.5 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
1/2 tsp fine salt

Steps:
1. Sift together flour, baking soda & cinnamon into a large bowl

2. Rub butter into 1. until mixture resembles fine breadcumbs

3. Add sugar & mix until well distributed

4. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, golden syrup, vanilla & salt until homogenous & salt is dissolved. Pour into 3. & mix until a ball of dough forms

5. Divide dough into a few portions. Roll each portion between parchment paper until 5mm thick. Freeze until firm, at least 30 min. You may prepare the dough in advance

6. Cut shapes using cookie cutter of choice. Place cutouts on lined tray, at least 2cm apart. Chill cutouts while preheating oven to 165C fan/175C

7. Bake for 12-15 min or until done, rotating the tray halfway through baking

8. Cool completely before storing in airtight container. The cookies are still good for consumption after one month of storage at cool room temperature in airtight condition

Additional tips:

This cookie recipe is really versatile and you can churn out crisp or soft chewy cookies from the same dough simply by adjusting some parameters. For crispy cookies, roll the dough thinner (2-3mm) and bake at a lower temperature for a longer time to ensure the cookie is thoroughly dried out without burning. For soft chewy cookies, roll the dough to 5-6mm thick and bake at a higher temperature for a shorter time. I went for somewhere in between for iced cookies as the moisture from the royal icing will soften the cookies a little. These cookies taste better with storage too as the flavour deepens with time!

Royal icing
500g icing sugar (more as needed to thicken)
36g meringue powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
90g drinking-safe warm water (more as needed to thin)
20g light corn syrup
Gel food colouring as needed

Steps:
1. Whisk together icing sugar, meringue powder & salt together in standmixer bowl

2. Add water, light corn syrup & vanilla (if using)

3. Beat on medium-low speed for 3-5 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl with spatula now & then. The consistency of the icing should be thick, glossy & able to form firm peaks when sufficiently mixed by the standmixer

4. Divide the icing & colour with gel food colouring. To thin the icing, add a few drops at a time & mix well. The consistency should be such that any peaks disappear in 15 secs for flooding consistency. To thicken the icing, add icing sugar 1 tsp at a time until desired stiffness of peak 

5. Transfer into piping bags, cut a hole in the bag & decorate the cookies. Always keep unused icing in airtight condition with cling wrap in contact with the icing to prevent it from crusting over. Store in the fridge for up to a month. Stir/mix thoroughly before using after storage. Dry iced cookies in the open overnight or for several hours before storing in airtighr container. Alternatively, use a dehydrator to speed things up or oven-dry for 15-20min at 60C fan/70C before drying in the open for a couple of hours

with love,

Phay Shing

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Ruan Mei Caramel Coffee Biscoff Ice-Cream Cake

My elder boy gave me this brief for his birthday bake this year:

Ruan Mei from Honkai: Star Rail (just because she's an expert in biological sciences), microscope, bee, DNA, leaves, caramel, coffee, ice-cream cake

I could drop any detail if I wished. This was what I came up with!

Composition:

- Coffee patterned and painted chiffon sponge

- Caramel coffee homemade no-churn ice-cream 

- Crunchy Biscoff spread

I took the liberty of including the crunchy Biscoff to give a light crunch in the texture as well as including something complementary in flavour to caramel and coffee.

Here's a peek at a slice!

I had enough ingredients to make a simple non-patterned version too!

The detailed recipe and video of the process can be found in the reel here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRehyHOkuDf/?igsh=MXV3M2NjcmQ0OG1tYw==

I will share the ingredient list for your convenience in this post.

Caramel Coffee Biscoff Ice-Cream Cake

(makes about two 4" ice-cream cakes)

Coffee Chiffon Sponge (10x12" tray):

30g oil

45g concentrated coffee/coffee milk*

1/2 tsp vanilla extracr

54g cake flour, sifted

1/8 tsp salt

3 large eggs (about 65g with shell), separated

1/4 tsp cream of tartar/lemon juice

45g caster sugar

* You may brew concentrated coffee/espresso for this or do what I did, dissolve 2g instant coffee granules in 43g hot milk. I used Mount Hagen instant coffee as it tastes great.

Caramel Coffee Ice-Cream (no-churn):

100g caster/granulated sugar

10g light corn syrup

20g water 

3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

120g milk

1/8 tsp kosher or 1/16 tsp fine salt

180g whipping cream of choice*

30g strong coffee/espresso**, chilled 

3-5g gelatin***

* I used 60g non-dairy mixed with 120g heavy cream.

** I dissolved 3g instant coffee in 27g hot water before chilling it.

*** You may omit if you wish, especially if you have an ice-cream maker to churn. Adding gelatin without the ice-cream maker helps to prevent the ice-cream from becoming icy and rock hard when frozen, as well as prevents the ice-cream from melting into a puddle quickly in tropical Singapore.

I know many no-churn ice-cream recipes make use of condensed milk as an essential ingredient. Personally I don't like to use it as the condensed milk flavour and sweetness comes through too strongly for me. I prefer the taste of old-fashioned custard based formulations where the intended ice-cream flavours take the center stage.

Here are some photos of the process...

Patterned coffee chiffon sponge before adding in the details 

Painted chiffon sponge. I cut this smaller to fit the 4" cake ring after painting

The birthday boy loved the cake, both for it's looks and taste!

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Christmas Bear Macarons (new decorating technique!)

 This is one of those things I wonder why I didn't think of it earlier and why isn't it already mainstream! These charming Christmas bear macarons are actually beginner-friendly although they look impressive because of a simple hack!

This is a kids' baking class material for December that makes use of edible cookie dough for decorating all the details. The macaron bake becomes beginner-friendly because of that, at least for the heads-only version of the bears. I included the full-body version as well for those who would like to challenge themselves. Edible cookie dough is much yummier and contains much less sugar than fondant or royal icing, which have been the mainstream medium for decorating macarons. Some bakers use macaron batter to include all the details to cut out the additional sugar but using something playdoh-ish makes it so much easier but the end product still looks impressive! The cookie dough sticks by itself onto the macaron shell without needing a glue so it's really handy.

See this reel to see what I mean by it being beginner-friendly!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ6eq8bEgH1/?igsh=MWlvMXIwOWplYXRzdg==

What's on the menu:

- Chocolate macaron shells filled with dark chocolate Nutella filling

- Brown sugar cinnamon macaron shells filled with Biscoff filling

- ALL decorations are made of Strawberry or Vanilla edible cookie dough. No fondant, marzipan or royal icing is used at all so overall sugar load is less!

with love,

Phay Shing

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Blue China Cheongsam Cake

 My mum suggested making a blue china themed birthday cake for my Grandma's 90th and Aunt's 70th combined birthday celebration, modelled after what I made for her last year over here. I took it a step further to incorporate the cheongsam style as well!

I followed the floral and berry flavour profiles of the cake that I made for my mum except that this wasn't sugar-free since it's for the the whole extended family clan to eat after a sumptuous meal together.

Cake composition:

- Lavender rose chiffon sponge (7 layers + 1 wrapping around the stack + all external decorative pieces except the wafer paper butterflies)

- Vanilla rose diplomat cream (6 layers between the hidden sponge stack)

- Fresh strawberries (in the cream layers)

- Raspberry reduction (brushed on all hidden sponge layers)

I omitted egg yolks when making the sponges to reduce the use of food colouring to achieve the white and blue colours. You may refer to my reel to see the recipe and process. The method is in the comments of the reel.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQodDA1krAg/?igsh=MWpnZGh3NTl4am16Zw==

 I will share the ingredient list here for your convenience.

Lavender rose chiffon sponge:

This quantity is good for a 7" round pan which I used for the hidden sponge stack. The sponge can be sliced half horizontally for a thinner layer. I used a total of 7x this portion for the whole cake including decorative cutout parts

15g oil

40g floral milk tea*

35g cake flour, sifted

pinches of salt

2 egg whites (about 75g)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

30g sugar 

* Heat 120 milk with 6g Moroccan rosebuds & 1 tsp dried lavender flowers. Steep for 30min. Strain. 

Vanilla rose diplomat cream:

Feel free to scale up the portion as needed. I used 3x for the whole cake.

1 egg yolk

10-20g sugar

Pinches of salt

8g cornstarch 

110g rose milk tea*

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

7g butter 

100g whipping cream of choice**

2-3g gelatin (depending on serving ambient temperature and preferred firmness of cream, optional)

* Heat 140g milk with 6g Moroccan rosebuds. Steep for 30min. Strain. 

** I used a mix of double cream (45% fat) & non-dairy whipping cream in 3:2 ratio. You may use gelatin to stabilize if you wish. I omitted as I used a higher fat percentage dairy cream. Sweeten with sugar of choice, adjust according to taste & whether pre-sweetened non-dairy cream is used. I omitted as the non-dairy cream is pre-sweetened

Raspberry reduction:

100g raspberry puree, sieved

10g sugar 

4g lemon juice

Some useful tips about making this cake:

- I used melted bloomed gelatin as glue to glue the decorative pieces to each other or the main sponge

- The strawberries were sliced to the same thickness as the sponge layers to ensure even layers of sponge and cream with fruit.

Here are some photos of the process...

Tracing the mirror imaged pattern with edible marker on parchment paper

Painted sponge using cake paint

small decorative pieces made of blue chiffon sponge

Assembling the cake

Unfortunately I don't have a good photo of the much anticipated cross section slice because the waitresses whisked the cake away before I could get my hands on it and sliced the cake vertically AND horizontally 🤦🏻‍♀️.

This was one of the neater slices. The cake was really soft and moist so I imagine it was a challenge to slice it. You will have to imagine what you see x6 vertically with the strawberry slices intact. At least you can catch a glimpse of the cake crumb and even layers of sponge and cream

Everyone enjoyed the cake and the celebration was a blast!

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Monchhichi and Friends Lemon Vanilla Marshmallows on Chiffon Cake

 My friend requested for Monchhichi marshmallow as cake topper, along with two girl dolls representing her daughters!

The girls are both fans of Monchhichi 

I took the chance to put together a systematic compilation of marshmallow piping techniques as Monchhichi is a very good subject where many techniques can be demonstrated.

Please refer to this Instagram post with a carousel of short videos for the various techniques:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPzwZkREvDO/?igsh=MWYwbDBpYnppajlrdg==

You may refer to this reel for the piping tutorial of the girl dollies:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQBqZJ7iddo/?igsh=ZjhweXp5MGo2dDd5

Here are some pictures of the marshmallows before dusting them...

I make duplicates in case of accidental uglification 🤭.

Thank God both cake and marshmallows were very well received! The cake is just a plain vanilla chiffon cake with some pandan water mixed in for that extra natural fragrance. I omitted egg yolks in the chiffon cake to minimize the food colouring added as I don't have to compensate for the natural yellow colour from the yolks to achieve the pastel blue.

with love,

Phay Shing

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Boosheen S'mores (Marshmallow piping technique demonstration!)

 For the length of time I have been teaching character marshmallows in my classes, one thing I observed is the tendency for beginners to pipe a certain way, such that the resulting character doesn't have a smooth surface. I decide to use Boosheen as the subject matter to demonstrate this common mistake.

When piped correctly with the tip of piping bag within pool of piped marshmallow, the swirl lines shouldn't be too visible on the surface like the smiley Boosheens. When piped with the tip of piping bag above pool of marshmallow, you get The Mummy version of Boosheen as shown by those with an open "O" for their mouths, with the swirl lines clearly visible.

It's easier to understand what I mean by watching the video:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQWbgDdEvvX/?igsh=MXM2NWVzaWF2eTV5Zg==

A peek at some of the marshmallows before dusting!

S'mores were the reason I fell in love with marshmallows because before that, I thought they were just one-dimensional tasting candies. Turn up the volume for the ASMR of Boosheen S'mores over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQMISuJCfhF/?igsh=MXhwOWJjcTdkNzE2

Recipe for the vanilla marshmallow, chocolate layer and cookie, as well as instructions for toasting homemade marshmallows can be found in my Deco Marshmallows book.

with love,

Phay Shing

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Lavender Honey Vanilla Red Panda Marshmallows

 Piping character marshmallows with many details can seem intimidating but there's a hack to simplify it! I made the apples that the red pandas are holding with royal icing transfers to cut down the number of piping steps and colours of marshmallow batter that I have to make from seven to five.

Watch how I made use of royal icing transfers in this reel:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPLweoSCcFn/?igsh=NTc2c2Y3OHFidGcz

Here's the piped marshmallows before dusting!

I use this royal icing transfer hack for character macarons and iced cookies too. Very handy!

with love,

Phay Shing

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马蹄酥(Ma-Ti-Su) Seal

 My younger boy wanted his favourite Chinese Pastry, beh teh soh/heong piah (马蹄酥) as his early birthday treat from me this year so I made them into the likeness of the newest addition of plushie in our family --- seal with a disapproving look! 

Here's a closer look at the bite-cross-section!

I adapted the recipe from Yeo Min's Chinese Pastry School cookbook.

You may find a video of the process and the full recipe over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPdx9tOiU_x/?igsh=czhwZnQzdmY5bWV4

I will just share the ingredient list over here for your convenience but so check out the reel for the method.

I accidentally used 4-5g more oil for the water dough so it was much softer than the oil dough. It still turned out well but don't make the same mistake as me!

马蹄酥 (Ma Ti Su) Seal

(Makes about 12 seals)

Filling:

70g sugar (caster or light brown)

110g maltose

1 tbs toasted white sesame seeds

20g shallot oil

2g salt

30g cooked glutinous rice flour

Oil dough:

100g plain flour

50g vegetable shortening 

Water dough:

140g plain flour

20g sugar

16g neutral oil

8g shallot oil

70g warm water

10g maltose

1/8 tsp salt

Maltose wash (may replace with egg wash):

1/2 tsp maltose

1/2 tsp instant coffee (optional, to add slight brown naturally)

10g hot water

1 drop brown gel colouring 

Glue:

1 tsp plain flour

2 tsp water

Other:

Dark brown non pareils/ chocolate Crispearls 

Black edible marker

Here's how the assembled pastries look before baking...

... and after baking with the eyes drawn in

Thank God the boy gave his seal of approval 🤭! These are yummy when eaten warm after re-toasting to get the filling oozy and crust crisp again.

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Sugar-Free Tiramisu Parfait

 These are the Tiramisu parfaits that the sugar-free Pochacco marshmallows went on!

I made these for my hubby's super early birthday treat!

You may refer to the reel for the recipe and video of assembling:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN5W_8o0gHB/?igsh=MWhvenpnMHZ2OTc5cw==

But for your convenience, I will put the ingredient list here.

You may replace all the ingredients marked "*" with caster sugar for the regular sugar version.

Vanilla sponge:

Yolk batter:

2 egg yolks

10g Lakanto* (Erythritol with Monk fruit extract)

10g Maltitol*

55g cake flour, sifted (may be replaced partly with almond flour to further lower the GI)

Pinch of salt 

15g water

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

Meringue:

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

10g prebiotic soluble fibres* (I used Alchemy Fibre)

20g Maltitol*

Cream filling:

2 egg yolks (or half of a large egg)

13g Maltitol*

A pinch of salt

180g whipping cream (35% fat)

170g mascarpone, softened at room temperature 

1 tsp Kahlua coffee liqueur (optional)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Other ingredients:

60g concentrated coffee or espresso

120g sugar-free Oreo cookies without cream, crushed (I used Gullon's no sugar added cocoa sandwich cookies without the cream. You may replace it with sugar-free grated chocolate or cocoa powder, or omit)

Just to share some photos of the process...

Soaking sugar-free sponge with concentrated coffee

Piping sugar-free mascarpone cream

Adding crushed sugar-free oreo cookie crumbs

If I didn't tell you this is sugar-free, you wouldn't know because it's yummy!

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Sugar-Free Pochacco Coffee Lavender Marshmallows

 The end of the year looks set to be busy so I decided to make the birthday bake for hubby really early while I have the inspiration 🤭. I made some sugar-free marshmallows as decorative toppers for another sugar-free bake. Presenting my coffee lavender sugar-free Pochacco marshmallows!

Here is the video of the piping process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN5W94R0r8G/?igsh=MTZ6NzQ0bWhrYXYyOA==

I am not able to share the recipe as it's a class material. I added some prebiotic soluble fibres as well to further lower the overall GI of the confection, and add dome benefits for gut health and cholesterol management.

 You may also see my book Deco Marshmallows for another sugar-free marshmallow recipe that produces the fluffiest and bounciest marshmallows but I decided to switch to another sugar replacement that is more easily available and doesn't have a strong aftertaste. 

Here are some works-in-progress pictures:

I couldn't resist taking the following shot just to show how tiny the little chick friends are!

Stay tuned for the sugar-free Tiramisu that these sugar-free marshmallows are supposed to go with! 

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Mao Shan Wang Durian Ice-Cream Cake

 This was the birthday cake I made for my dad this year --- the ultimate durian ice-cream cake, complete with "the most durian" durian ice-cream creampuffs as cake decorations!

Please refer to my previous post for the durian creampuffs.

I share the video of the process and recipe for the ice-cream cake in my reel below:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOdaLbAkmek/?igsh=bDFpczd1Zm4ybzJw

For your convenience, I will include the ingredient list for the cake in this blog post.

Pandan chiffon sponge:

(12x12" tray)

Egg yolk batter:

4 egg yolks

40g oil

60g pandan juice concentrate*

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

72g cake flour, sifted

Meringue:

4 egg whites 

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

50g caster sugar

10g prebiotic soluble fibres* (omit or replace with sugar)

Durian puree:

100g durian puree

10g cold water

2g gelatin*

Durian ice-cream 

175g durian puree 

100g whipping cream of choice*

4g gelatin*

20g cold water/milk

* Special notes for ingredients:

🔸Pandan juice concentrate: Blend one or two bundles of fresh pandan leaves with cool boiled water (I didn't count the number of leaves). Sieve the extracted juice through a very fine mesh sieve into a container/bowl/jar. Refrigerate covered for 3 days undisturbed. The juice will separate into a clear layer on top and dark green layer below. Use only the dark green layer, which is the pandan juice concentrate, for making the sponge. If there is not enough, you may top up with some liquid from the top clear layer.

🔸Prebiotic soluble fibres: I used Alchemy Fibre which is a blend of inulin and edible gum. You may use inulin, which is available from health food stores, omit or replace with sugar. I added this to reduce the overall GI of the cake and for its added benefits for gut health and cholesterol management.

🔸 Whipping cream: You may use dairy, non-dairy or a mix of both. If using full dairy, you may add a little icing sugar when whipping it (about 10% by weight of cream). If using non-dairy, you don't have to add sugar if there's already sugar added. I use a combination of both to get the best of stability and taste. Non-dairy cream remains soft when frozen too.

🔸 Gelatin is added to prevent ice crystals from becoming large so the filling stays creamy and not rock hard when frozen. It's also a good stabilizer to prevent the cream from melting too fast when serving in tropical Singapore. You may use any form and bloom strength of gelatin according to preference.

Just to share some works-in-progress photos...

Process of filling the cake!

Looking pretty and inviting even without decorations!

Thank God everyone enjoyed the durian cake and creampuffs!

with love,

Phay Shing

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"The Most Durian" Durian Ice-Cream Creampuffs

 When my dad asked for a durian cake for his birthday this year, I immediately thought of decorating the cake with durian creampuffs that look like mini durians. So glad I managed it!

A closer look at the cross-section...

Although I have durian creampuffs as an entry in my Deco Choux Pastries book, they look more like soursops 😅. I decided to challenge myself to make more realistic durians out of choux pastry batter only and this time, I use a double-baking method to achieve the desired effect.

Here's a look at the choux pastries before the spikes were added.

You may refer to my reel for the video of the process and recipe. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOVrtpMCVVO/?igsh=am51ZTF2a2Vtbm53

I will just include the ingredient list in the blog post for your convenience.

Makes about 12-14 "durians"

Choux Pastry:

20g unsalted butter

20g olive oil

120g water

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp pandan paste

1 drop green gel colouring 

1 drop yellow gel colouring 

45g plain flour + 3g, sifted

15g bread flour, sifted 

100g egg, beaten (may need more or less)

Brown gel colouring or cocoa powder as needed

Durian puree inserts:

(may not use all for filling choux)

100g durian puree (I used Mao Shan Wang)

10g cold water

2g gelatin*

Durian ice-cream:

175g durian puree

100g whipping cream of choice*

4g gelatin*

20g cold water/milk

* You may use dairy, non-dairy or a mix of both. If using full dairy, you may add a little icing sugar when whipping it (about 10% by weight of cream). If using non-dairy, you don't have to add sugar if there's already sugar added. I use a combination of both to get the best of stability and taste. Non-dairy cream remains soft when frozen too.

* Gelatin is added to prevent ice crystals from becoming large so the filling stays creamy and not rock hard when frozen. It's also a good stabilizer to prevent the cream from melting too fast when serving in tropical Singapore. You may use any form and bloom strength of gelatin according to preference.

Don't they look like actual mini durians if you don't look too closely 🤭? It's definitely not AI!

See the durian ice-cream cake that these creampuffs went on top of over here! 

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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How To Create Two Different Fur Textures On Macarons

 There were some textured macaron techniques that I know of but didn't have the motivation to try as I didn't have the right subjects to test them on. When my friend requested for macarons of her two bear plushies, I took the chance to give it a go as they were the perfect subjects! 

A closer look at the feet from the sides.

I filled the macarons with a simple dairy-free dark chocolate ganache

Here are my real-life models!

Piped macaron batter with the two different fur textures: 1. Short velvety fur 2. woolly fur

The facial features and ribbons were added on after baking using royal icing.

You may refer to my reel below for the tutorial. Please read the captions for detailed explanation:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMU10xyJYJe/?igsh=MWs5aXdpOWJyOW4xaQ==

with love,

Phay Shing 

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