Tinkerbell Cake - A Super Rush Work

December 1st was my son's birthday. I was not supposed to accept any orders for the next day as I was expecting I'd be so tired. I had one order lined up already. That should have been enough. But here goes this close friend who we are indebted too much who wants a birthday cake for her daughter. I just cannot say no. They gave me freehand on what to make but gave me a tip that her daughter likes Tinkerbell. I started decorating the cake an hour before they'll start the dinner celebration. I told my husband I'd like to play dead (LOL) to give me an excuse not to finish the cake. I was already too tired. Three hours of sleep the previous night, cleaned a big party left-over-mess , finished the cake, cupcake and bars for another customer...blah, blah, blah! So this is what I came up with in an hour. 

Arg, the image wasn't even centered on the cake. Oh well, the face was. I put the face first and made the mistake of putting it in the center, not considering the hair at all.

The cake was 9x3 Moist Chocolate cake filled and frosted with Boiled Icing. The Tink face was cut from my usual 50-50 mixture of gumpaste and classic rolled fondant. To make a flesh colored paste, add a very little red, a little yellow and very little green to your paste. Add a little more of each color to attain the perfect flesh color you like. 

To make the Tinkerbell face, print out a Tink face on a thick (board) paper. Cut out the face and the hair separately. Roll out the flesh gumpaste to your desired thickness then lay the cut out face and cut using a sharp blade. I use a scalpel with # 11 blade. When cutting the top part of the face cut it past the pattern so that the hair will have something to lay down on. I hope you get what I mean.

Color some paste yellowish brown for the hair. Roll it and cut using the cut out hair pattern. Do the same for the eyes using a white paste. For the eyes, I roll a little blue ball then flatten it with my finger and did the same for the black part. Paint the eyebrows and lashes with a very small paint brush and gel colors mixed with a little gin/alcohol.

To make lips I outlined it first using the scalpel then scrape out the gumpaste to make a small indentation.This makes forming out the lips easier.  Rolled out very little pink gumpaste and filled the indentation. That's it. No special tool was used on this one. I'd be glad to make more like this one. Just not rushed please!

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Hello Kitty Cake

Let me just share with you one of my latest project, this Hello Kitty cake.

I never thought I would be happy with the result of this cake. First of all I was frustrated with the pink airbrush color. I did not airbrush this though. I just used a paint brush to apply the color. If you look closely the pink color was uneven (blame it on the airbrush color, I should have never used it) but seeing the overall effect of the cake, it doesn't seem to matter anymore. Then the kitty head. I was to use rice crispy treats on it but there were none available at the only store that sells them here so I baked a 6" cake for this one. I was scared the cake would crumble so what I did was coat the cake first with melted white chocolate instead of the usual buttercream. That served well as the binder.

Overall, I was happy that both the Mom and her daughter loved the cake. By the way, this wasn't an original idea. The design was inspired by a photo sent by the Mom.

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This Makes Me Nervous

I will be doing a 5-tier wedding cake on December 28 and just the thought of it makes me both excited and nervous. Why?

1. It would be my first time to do a super huge cake. The biggest I have done is a three-tier cake. I accepted the order because if I won't I would never have this "first time".

2. My oven is small and can only accommodate a max of 14" cake which means I will be baking several sheet cakes to be assembled for the cakes bigger than 14". Help me God!

3. Rolling a huge fondant, my golly wow! What if the weather does not cooperate? Oh, please!

4. The travel. It is going to travel (unstacked, of course) to Dakak Beach Resort, an hour drive with uphills and downhills and partly bumpy road. I am wishing that by then the concreting of the road is fully done. Oh, please! The travel would be the biggest ordeal.

When the party planner inquired about the cake one thing that was running through my mind... I hope she won't order from me hahaha. Gosh, gives me butterflies...

For now, I will set that aside... When that day comes, let's see what happens.

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Black Forest Cake

Black Forest Cake is a cake of German origin. It is said that the addition of cherry liquor gives the cake its authentic taste. However, to make the cake suitable even for my kids, I omit the liquor and replace it with cherry syrup instead. I simply use the syrup from either the cherry pie filling or from the bottled whole cherries. This recipe is an adaptation of the Black Forest Cake from my favorite (for now) recipe book. If you read my previous post, you will know what it is.

The cake is made by first baking the chocolate chiffon cake then assembled with whipped cream frosting and cherries. Hubby once asked why I don't use our famous chocolate cake as the base. To me, the moist chocolate cake is too dense for such cake. The lightness of the chiffon cake is just perfect for this type of dessert.

Chocolate Chiffon Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup – 2TBSP all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp coffee
• 1/4 cup cocoa

• 1/4 cup oil
• 4 eggyolks
• 1/3 cup water

• 4 eggwhites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line the bottom of 2 8x2 round pan with greaseproof paper. Do not grease.
2. Measure, sift and mix the first set of dry ingredients above then make a well in the center. Add in order the oil, eggyolks and water.
3. Mix with a wire whip or wooden spoon until there are no lumps. Do not overmix. It usually just take me about a minute or two to do this. Set aside.
4. Beat the eggwhites with the cream of tartar until frothy then gradually add the sugar and beat on high until stiff but still glossy.
5. Mix 1/3 of the beaten eggwhites to the cake batter and fold gently until fully incorporated. Fold in the remaining eggwhites.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. After removing from the oven, cool the cake in an upside down position in a wire rack.

Prepare the soaking syrup:

SYRUP:

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 TBSP CHERRY brandy

Boil the sugar and water and let simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and add in the cherry brandy.
Spoon or brush this syrup over the surface of the unmolded cake.

For the Fillng & Frosting:

2 cups chilled whipped cream
1/2 c sifted powdered sugar
1 bar Cream Cheese (optional)
Cherry pie filling
Shaved chocolate


First some notes about the frosting:

1. The original recipe calls for 2/3 cup sugar. To me 1/2 cup is enough. The sweetness of the cake, the syrup and the chocolate shavings will make up for that part.

2. Most Black Forest Cake recipe don't call for cream cheese but I tell you the cream cheese will make it the best BFC you've ever had. I divide my BFC cakes into two categories: Regular and Premium. The cream cheese is added to the latter.

3. Whipped cream must be chilled overnight or at least 3 hours but I now use Bakersfield Whippit non-dairy cream so I do not have to chill it.

4. If you are in the Philippines and find the imported "whipping" cream expensive or live in a place where there are no whipping cream (like here, ugh), do not worry, the Alaska All-Purpose Creamer can do the job. I find it better smelling than Nestle. Do I sound like I'm endorsing?

To make the frosting, whip your chilled cream with the powdered sugar using an electric beater until it doubles in volume. In a separate bowl beat the creamcheese until light and fluffy. Fold this into the whipped cream.

If you want a more stable whipped cream frosting, you can add gelatin to it. Do this as your first step. Sprinkle a tablespoon (1 packet Knox) to 4 tablespoons cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Microwave at half power for 10-30 seconds to melt the gelatin or you can melt it using the double boiler method. Let cool but do not allow it to set. Add this after the cream has attained the necessary volume and continue beating the cream until soft peaks are formed.

To assemble the cake, fill it with the whipped cream frosting, spoon cherry pie filling over the whipped cream. I process my cherry pie filling in the food processor because I do not want whole cherries in the filling. Top the iced layer with the second cake. Frost the entire cake. Pipe some rosettes on top of the cake, spoon some more pie filling on top. Garnish with whole cherries and chocolate shavings.

More notes:

For the garnish, I buy the whole cherries with stem. For the chocolate shavings, I use a thin knife if I want to make curls and run it over a chocolate bar. When I am lazy, I use a peeler.

If you want a four-layer BFC, double the cake recipe and bake it in 2 9" pan then just torte each cake to make 4 layers.

After discovering Bakersfield Whippit, I feel in love with it. It is a very stable whipped cream. I just have to add water to the paste and whip it. It whips beautifully. Heaven. It is very stable and doesn't melt. It gives very beautiful result. When using Whippit, I omit the sugar because it is already slightly sweetened.

Hope you like it. Enjoy!

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Sans Rival

Sans Rival literally translated as "no rival" is a meringue cake layered with cashew (or any other nut) nuts and french buttercream. Why french buttercream? It's because it is the way to use up the eggyolks from the meringue. The recipe is very simple. I got this from my ever favorite baking book, "Dorothy's Cooking School Cookbook 1". I have adapted the recipe and procedure.

Meringue Layer:

1 cup eggwhites (I used 9 eggwhites)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup ground cashew nuts (I toasted it before grounding)

French Buttercream:

4.5 oz (or 9 Tablespoons) water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
9 eggyolks
1 1/2 cups butter
4 tsps dark rum (optional)

Garnishings:
1 cup coarsely chopped cashew nuts

Note:

For the ground cashew nuts, I used a food processor to grind it. You can use a blender, too.

For the garnishing, I ran the food processor for a few seconds to chop the nuts. Makes the job so much easier.

I halved the recipe for the meringue and made it in two batches because my oven is small and can only accommodate two small cookie sheets.

Note that the colored text below is my adaptation.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 300 deg F. Line the underside of 3 8x12x2 pan with aluminum foil. Set aside

(I used two jelly roll pans, lined it with parchment paper (not waxed paper) and outlined it using 9x13 pan (that's the only one I have).

Beat the eggwhites with the cream of tartar until frothy. At medium speed, gradually add the sugar. Once all the sugar is added, beat at high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the vanilla and ground nuts.

Divide the mixture equally among the baking pans and spread it evenly. I used the outline of the pan on the parchment as guide. Do not spread it too thick. The second batch I made was too thick and went soggy after cooling down because the inner part of the meringue wasn't yet thoroughly baked. Do not spread it too thin either.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour or until meringue is evenly colored. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing the paper.

Prepare your frosting:

Combine water, sugar and cream of tartar in a small saucepan. Let it boil on low-med heat until it spins a thread. While sugar is boiling, beat the eggyolks using an electric mixer until thick and lemon colored. As soon as the sugar spins a thread, add the syrup in thin streams to the beaten eggyolks.

The easier way to do this is to add a little sugar to the eggyolks, beat a little, add a little, beat a little until all the sugar has been added. It prevents the sugar from splattering around your bowl. I got this tip from this site.

When all the sugar is added, beat at high speed until mixture has thickened. Refrigerate to cool down completely.

What I do is NOT refrigerate but beat the mixture is at room temperature. I test this by touching the mixing bowl. If it is lukewarm I start adding the butter. (If using a heavy duty mixer, switch to paddle attachment before adding the butter. I use a handheld mixer all throughout and the result is just perfect). Make sure the butter is not very cold but not melted either. I use a still cold but soft butter. Add it a little at a time. If you don't let the mixture cool down, it will become soupy when you add the butter. When all the butter has been added, beat at high speed for a few minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the cold eggyolk mixture to the butter while beating at medium speed.Wait for the butter to absorb the eggyolk mixture before adding the next spoonful.

To assemble, position a layer of meringue on a serving plate. Spread buttercream and sprinkle with chopped cashew nuts. Continue the layering process. Cover the top and sides and garnish with more chopped nuts. Refrigerate or freeze to allow the buttercream to firm up.

Eat moderately. Take note that you are like eating 80% sugar and butter and eggs. 

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Frozen Bananas

Frozen bananas are the simplest to make or so I thought. I desperately wanted to make one as soon as the word hit me, but it took me two weeks to finally make it because of busy schedules. Once I got the chance, I hastily cut up some lakatan (cavendish) bananas in half, stuck popsicle sticks on the cut up sides, froze it for an hour.

As I was too excited, right before the timer rung, started to prepare for the chocolate coating. That's when I scrambled to look for the recipe that I found online. One that would not get crispy once frozen. All attempts were in vain. "The next time, bookmark it", I told myself. So I just made it with the most common frosting for frozen bananas. That is by melting chocolate and butter together. I used two tablespoons of butter for 150grams of bittersweet chocolate.

Was I successful? I wouldn't ask it if I was. Okay, okay, for that part only. The chocolate sizzled. I think it was because some condensation from the butter wrapper got into my hand and eventually into the butter. That is how sensitive the chocolate is which is why when melting chocolates, make sure that not even a teeny tiny drop of water gets in contact with it. To not put the chocolate into waste, I heated up a little cream and melted the chocolate again. I ended up coating the frozen bananas with ganache. Allowed to cool and thicken a bit, it made a perfect coating.

I coated a few pieces with sprinkles which gave a good crunch to it.

Wait, the story doesn't end here. Let me continue for you will learn something especially if it is the first time you will make it. Read on.

Freezing bananas for an hour doesn't harden it. Just not yet. Frozen delights are hard. Yet it was harder for me to imagine biting a hard banana so I ate one stick after the chocolate coating had set. Yummy. Soft. Then I went to sleep.

The first thing I thought and uhm, did upon waking, was to eat one. That was the real frozen banana. Hard. Cold. Very cold. Yummy? No, it was superbly yummy. It tasted like frozen banana ice cream with chocolate coating. Heaven. Really. At least for me. I lied when I said I ate one. I ate two. Promise, just two. My housemates ate the rest. In short, bitin ako. Still the story does not end there.

Three days after, I made a new batch. I decided to freeze the bananas for two hours to allow it to harden. I had my reasons. I wanted to immediately eat a literally frozen banana right after I coat it with chocolate. Epic fail. I forgot to stuck some popsicle sticks before freezing them and I could not do it anymore without breaking the bananas. Arg. I ate them using a fork.

Learn from it. Peel and cut the bananas. Stick the sticks. Freeze. Coat with melted chocolate and roll in some sprinkles or nuts or leave 'em plain. I still have a lot to write about this heavenly dessert but I am too sleepy to do it. This post will probably have a part two. Goodnight for now. I will dream of FROZEN BANANAS.

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Bloody S'Mores

I am trying to get rid of half a kilo of red and half a kilo of white chocolate that I couldn't get to melt. The red one was perfect to make these S'mores. Aint they bloody?This was adapted from the S'more's recipe of Joy of Baking and just substituted the chocolate part with some red chocolate I have on hand. Make sure to brush your teeth after eating these or you will look like you just came from a vampire initiation.

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Buizel, Pokemon Cake

This was an old project. When my son was at the same age as Hallel, the recipient of the cake below, he was madly fond of Pocket Monsters (Pokemon) too. When I asked him to identify the figure I was making, without thinking, said it's Buizel, a water Pokemon. Joji (my aunt's classmate and mom's officemate) specifically wanted Buizel in folded hands for the cake. That was what Hallel requested, so be it!

Making it was a breeze. Tinted portions of marshmallow fondant (this time I used plain marshmallow fondant, not gumpaste-fondant mixture) for the colors I needed. Rolled the body into oval shape and allowed it to dry lying down, else the weight of the fondant will accumulate at the bottom. Shaped the head,put on a thin strip of yellow fondant on the body and on the chin separately, then the folded hands and finally the facial details. Voila, I was done that fast. Just before delivery my son said there was something missing, something important. The gills on the arms!!!

Anyway, the celebrant and the mom loved it. It was a simple cake for they wanted just a chocolate cake with the Pokemon character on top.

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Palitaw

I would presume that the word Palitaw is derived from the Tagalog word "litaw" which means to show up. This is exactly what happens when you cook one. I love this pinoy merienda. To me it is a local rendition of the Chinese Tikoy. While tikoy is cooked by steaming (I'm guessing here), Palitaw is cooked by dropping glutinous rice balls (rather discs) in water and these discs float or make "litaw" when it is done. Palitaw is very easy to make especially that nowadays one can easily buy powdered malagkit or glutinous rice flour in the grocery. The recipe is simple.

You need:

• glutinous rice flour 
• water
• grated coconut - no exact amount
• some sugar mixed with roasted sesame seeds

The ratio is 2:1. For every 2 cups of malagkit rice you mix 1 cup of water until if forms a sticky dough. You can add more water but I tell you, it's gonna be difficult to handle. You may lessen the water to make the dough more manageable. You don't need a mixer to mix them if you're making a small batch. A spoon would do.

But wait. The procedure should actually start with boiling a half-full pot of water. Then as soon as it is boiling, get a spoonful of the sticky mixture, shape into a ball, flatten to a disc and start dropping them in the boiling water one by one. Do not overcrowd them. (And oh, I put a little vegetable oil on my palm as the dough tends to stick to my hands). As soon as the disc floats, scoop them out and drain them. Roll the finished Palitaw in your grated coconut then on the sugar-sesame mixture. Yuuuuum. Enjoy your palitaw.

This one has no grated coconut.

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Dora Cakes

Okay, before I get busy in my new, little business, let me just post my latest cake creations. Not really something unusual and uncommon.

Well, sometimes it makes me glad that people here in Dipolog are not as particular as those in Manila who really would prefer hand-molded toppers over ready made, ceramic toppers. Of course, with the big price difference, I'm happy to see people who would rather be practical than fancy. It makes the job a lot easier.

And notice my cake on top? I did not even bother to make my own flowers (except the tiny ribbon roses). I just bought them. The trick is just to make the cake not so much like the old-school looking cakes hehehe. Oopps, pardon my frankness this time.

How many times do I have to insist that Dora and Mickey are indeed best of friends? They are, I swear. The trees above were hand-painted using a brush. Both cakes were my Moist Chocolate Cake filled and frosted with Boiled Icing from my recipe collection.

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New Bus(y)ness

I've been absent again. A business opportunity unexpectedly came. A vacant cafeteria (foodcourt style) stall in front of a school was offered to us and we simply did not let the opportunity pass by because the starting capital didn't require much. The foodcourt was already equipped with common tables and chairs, and each stall has its own wash area, kitchen, food counter, chiller for softdrinks, shelves, etc, all we need were cooking utensils, some plates and other kitchen ware to start. Although classes hasn't started yet, we had set up the store and made a dry run for a week to see how things would go and that's when I really got busy. During the last days of summer when I would supposedly grab all opportunity to wake up late, hubby and I had to wake up early to do some marketing and start cooking early. In the afternoon, we usually made last minute shopping for additional equipment. We concocted recipes for merienda which included fruit shakes, halo-halo, banana turon and the likes. Having have no experience in commercial cooking we adjusted recipes, brainstormed on the menu, argued, fought and yelled at each other at times hahaha. Then simultaneously I received 5 successive orders of cakes. Thank God they didn't require hand-molded toppers (well, except for one).

I think I am now starting to shift from being a baker to being a cook. Oh, heaven forbids. I hate cooking. Too much heat, but it looks like it's what awaits me. For now, it's hubby who does the cooking. We are not hiring a cook yet, though we are planning to do so. Hubby's plan is not to become my hired cook forever. He's just waiting for another opportunity to leave me (and the kids) again hehehe. I know I can cook. I can cook. I can cook. I don't often cook but as much as I can bake (which requires exact science), I can cook.

I only have problem when it comes to cooking. I don't know how to choose meats so I always end up buying meat from the grocery meat shops than from the market. That's one thing I have to learn a great deal. I know I can cope up with it. So I think you know where my blogpost will be heading to soon. Please bear with me.

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Ang Pinoy Talaga

Taken a week before the May 10 polls

Do they look like they're waiting for a motorcade? Certainly not. They're waiting for the road to clear up from....

Take a look at the riders on the top photo. They're motorists with either no helmets or no driver's license and they were lined up just a few meters from the LTO/Comelec check point waiting for them to end their days work.

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Bridal Shower Cake

Okay, here is the full top view of the teaser I posted two weeks ago.

If not for the title, I bet you would have a hard time figuring out what this cake was about. With a puzzled look, my son said the girl is riding a surf board (????), my sister couldn't comprehend the design either until I told her it was for a bridal shower.

My sister-in-law's officemate requested for a much naughtier cake. I refuse to do so with the presence of kids in the house. This is what we compromised to do. Do you get it now?

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Why I Wasn't Baking

Due to the almost unbearable summer heat and our 6-hour rotating brownout the past two months, I haven't been baking much. I mean I haven't been baking at all. I can't remember except for the few orders that came in. Who would want to bake at an already 36°C temperature. Even if I have an airconditioned kitchen I wouldn't want to turn it on either with the new price hike the electric companies are charging consumers. During periods of no brownouts, we often took the opportunity to do the laundry and house cleaning. And our brownout schedule: 2-6PM then 8-10PM. It ain't funny at all. Three days before the May 10 election up until today there were no more power interruptions and I am crossing my fingers, with the onset of the rainy season, that there will be no more brownouts, pleaseeee! I want to try more new recipes soon and want to mold figures without sweat dripping down my forehead.

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Figure This Out

Done as requested....no offense to those who find this offensive:)

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McQueen Cake

Not my first time to do a "Cars" cake, but I found this one a little bit of a challenge.

Here's why and how I did it.

I haven't really done a tiered cake, you know like the one that uses a tall pillar in between, like this before. When I learned I'll be making this type of cake, my mind was running through different ways to do it. How am I gonna make the pillar? Shall I use cake dummies? Then I badly need a hot wire cutter as there are really no cake dummies sold in this side of the planet. and I really hate cutting through styro sheets using a regular cutter. Shall I just ask Manong Jimmy (a carpenter neighbor) to cut for me a one-inch tubular wood? Then perhaps stick the tube right through the cake and then what? No, not the way I want to do it. Let's get back to the styro option. As hubby and I were discussing how to do our own hot wire cutter, I suddenly remembered that I have two Wilton separator plates and a set of crystal pillar. Weirdly, I only have a 10" and 8" plate and just 4 crystal pillars. I thought I've gotten a set. I suddenly jumped out of bed and was so joyous. Problem solved.

I wrapped around the four pillars some board then printed black and white checkered on paper and wrapped it around the board.Well, I tried to shortcut it at first and printed directly on the board but my dear, old, grumpy printer beat Oscar the Grouch for being so grouchy that time it just refused to digest the thick board.

This cake was made from our Moist Chocolate Cake recipe and filled and frosted with Boiled Icing. I had already made my vow that I will ice-perfect (so what when it falls short, just near perfect would do) all the boiled the icing that I'll do, that is to ice the cake really smooth (hoping that one day I will be able to make my first "fondant-look" cake).  To achieve that, I dipped the spatula in hot water then smooth it over the cake. 

 I was happy with how it turned out. 

The McQueen topper was provided by the mom of the celebrant while all other toppers and decors were made from fondant. For the checkered flags, I scribed squares into the flaglets then painted the boxes with black gel paste mixed with a little gin (alcohol). The stop sign was painted red, the white "stop" text was written using a paint brush and white gel paste. To not get the car topper dirty (I mean sweetly and deliciously dirty) with icing, I set it atop a cake board. To conceal the edge of the cake board, grasses were piped all around it.

Thank you Mommy Muff for the complement and for giving me an opportunity to be part of Pacey's first birthday celebration.

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Catching Up

I miss you my dear blog. I don't even know if you still have readers out there. But hey buddy, I'm still here. I'm back from both vacation and work. First there were a few orders I worked on and then there was break time. We thought it would be great to visit a dearly, old place and puff, we were in Cebu last week. It was a great opportunity for me to buy the baking supplies I ever need (aside from reunite with friends)that I wish were readily available here in Dipolog City. I got two bulky luggage of styros and a super heavy box filled with cake drums, cake boards, boxes, airbrush colors, dragees, sprinkles, playdough (yes, kids play clay),and baking pans. Oh, how my wallet cried out, depressed over my over spending but I wasn't. No trace of regret at all. It could have been more if their Wilton impression mat wasn't overpriced.

Now that I'm back and a looming list of orders, I will try to catch up. I still have that little fondant molding tutorial to post. I was suppose to start it a few weeks ago but was overcame wit embarrassment. How dare me to post tutorials of stuff that can be easily found in YouTube and some other part of the net done by experts? Yes, that was stopping me from doing it. But nope, now, the heck, I don't care. Yes, I will soon dare post my own tutorial whether it will benefit no one. Comes the time when I am too old to remember, I have something to go back to.

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Fondant Molding

When I started decorating cake, I was right away into fondant molding simply because I flunk in piping due to my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). I cannot keep my hand steady for a long time which is needed when piping decorations. I can even hardly pipe straight lines because of this condition. On the contrary, decorating with fondant, with the help of cutters can be made easier.

I will soon be posting easy tutorials on how to mold fondant figures, just basic figures that even children can learn. Looking back at my projects, let me tell you that many people were amazed at what I have done and can do. To tell you honestly, and I have mentioned this in my older posts, I wasn't artistic nor creative (still am not) but God created me with a right brain that I can use if only I choose to. I did not take any formal class in molding or cake decorating though I'm dying to go through these classes in the future. I started decorating equipped with nothing but GUTS. Everytime I was/am asked to do something new, I give my yes based on gut feel. With the help of the internet and some basic tools, I am able to create the figures needed.

There are many information and tutorial available on the net. Some for free, some wtih fee. To pay forward the learning that I got for free, I will soon be posting a tutorial of my own. I will also share some tips and techniques that I've learned from this trade.

Watch out for it!

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Billy's Vanilla Cupcake

I have long been searching for a white cake recipe to be used in my white cupcakes. I have tried a few recipes from my mom's cookbook including chiffon cake and some butter cakes from a famous membership site. My search now seem to have come to an end when I discovered Billy's Vanilla cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart's site. I always go for recipes that have ingredients that are easy to find and are easy to prepare yet turns out really moist and yummy and this one's perfect for it. I love it with the Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream frosting

If you watch the video of Billy Reece doing the demo, you might get confused as he added two tablespoons of baking powder while the written recipe writes only one tablespoon. I went with the latter and never had problems. This is my second time to try this recipe and the result is the same, a smooth, delicate, moist vanilla cupcake that is just what I wanted.

Billy Reece's Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Makes about 30 cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour
 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost with desired frosting.

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Chocolate Meringue Buttercream

Last week, I made an incidental experiment when I ran out of butter while making Italian Meringue Buttercream (IMBC). It shouldn't have happened. I thought all along that I have plenty of butter when all I had was just one and my meringue was waiting. Uh, oh, I did not panic, it wasn't a paid order anyway, I was just trying to perfect IMBC. With just one butter at hand, I though a cup of chocolate would be a good substitute and holah, perfect, perfect, perfect. My chocolate meringue buttercream tasted like mousse, so light, so yummy, still so fattening.

By the way, I used my Boiled Icing recipe for the meringue. You can use the standard Italian Meringue recipe if you wish.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

(Kate's Incidental Version)

Ingredients:

4 eggwhites
2 cups sugar
2/3 cups water
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup butter
150 grams unsweetened baking chocolate
100 grams semi-sweet baking chocolate

Procedure:

1. Cut the chocolates into small chunks. On a microwave safe or heatproof bowl, melt chocolate at 50% power for 45 seconds or over a double boiler until chocolate is melted. Let cool.

I use part unsweetened to cut down the sweetness of the icing.

2. While allowing the chocolate to cool, prepare the meringue. See the procedure for making here.

After pouring the syrup to the beaten eggwhites, continue beating on medium high until the mixer bowl is warm to the touch. It takes long especially if you live in the Philippines and on a very hot weather (pati ako malapit na matunaw), about 10 minutes or even longer.

3. Take out your butter from the fridge and cut it into an inch cube and drop one at at time to the meringue while running the beater on high. Two things could happen here.

One, it will become soupy, like my case, because my bowl was still a bit hot (not warm)when I added the butter, or if butter is not cold enough. Don't panic, just refrigerate your bowl for a few minutes (20-30) and re-whip.

Two, it will curdle. Still don't panic, you're on the right track.

Continue beating until the icing will become smooth. Slowly add the melted and cooled chocolate to the mixture and beat until combined.

Here you have a to-die-for frosting perfect for the vanilla cupcake I will be posting later. 

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I'm Changing my Look, bear with me

The current theme takes longer to load, I am looking for a simpler theme. Please bear with me while I do this, okay.

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Fudgy Brownies, Simply Chocolate Goodness

I sure found a keeper in this new Fudgy Brownies recipe I discovered from Allrecipes.com. A friend asked if I make chocolate brownies. Of course I do, but since she would resell it, I tried to find in my collection the one that can be sold at an affordable price. I thought of making the old Thick and Fudgy Brownies recipe I posted before but I am not very much a fan of that one (well, probably because the first and only time I tried it I was using self-rising flour which made the big difference in it's texture). I searched Allrecipes.com for fudgy brownies with the highest rating in terms of reviews and found the recipe from a lady named Celeste. I adapted my own procedure in this one, if you want the original recipe just click here.

FUDGY BROWNIES with FROSTING

8 squares (8 oz) unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped walnuts

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup heavy cream
5 squares (5 oz) unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

First of all, my notes:

1. I did not realize until just NOW, that I may have gotten the Frosting part all wrong. I believe that I had just used 1oz of chocolate. Wait a minute... arrrgg, I really am not sure but even if I got it wrongly, it still taste really good, and oh, well, it will have been too sweet. Heck, chocolate bars in the Philippines are not sold in squares, that's why. Anyway, I have included the necessary conversion in the recipe above, you may need a weighing scale for this. I bought a digital weighing scale for just Php500 here in Dipolog City, way cheaper than the one I saw at Serendra before which was sold at two grand. Ooops, out of topic. 
2. Second, I omitted the nuts, my Josh doesn't like them in his brownies. 
3. Third, a light cream will do for the frosting.
4. Lastly, the directions below has been altered and that's how I exactly did it.

   1.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 7x11x2 rectangular pan with foil or wax paper. Place 8 ounces of baking chocolate with 1 cup of butter in a saucepan and on medium heat, melt the butter and chocolate together. Stir to mix.
   2. Place the eggs, 3 cups of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on high for about 2 minutes. I was using a Kitchenaid mixer and used my paddle attachment and just beat it on medium (#4). Reduce the mixer speed to low, and beat in the melted butter-chocolate mixture. Beat in the flour until just combined (do not overmix), and stir in the chopped walnuts. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
   3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs, about 30 minutes. To test doneness, insert a stick (toothpick, if you wish but I always use a barbeque stick) and make sure there are still a few crumbs on the stick. Do not wait for the "tester-comes-out-clean" stage. I believe you will have a dry brownies if you do so. Cool in the pan before frosting.
   4. To make frosting, combine 1 1/4 cup of sugar with the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer for 7 minutes without stirring.
   5. Remove the cream mixture from the heat, and stir in 5 ounces of baking chocolate and 1/2 cup butter, stirring to melt and blend the chocolate. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; whisk until smooth. As opposed to letting the frosting cool down, I divided the frosting in half and immediately spread the hot frosting on the brownie pan, allowed it to cool and refrigerated it for an hour before cutting it into bars. You can add sprinkles to decorate it.

Hubby loves the unfrosted brownie better. I love both.

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Preggy but Sexy

Here is the final cake, the Preggy and Sexy Cake for Lloyd's birthday from his loving wife, Meg. Of course, that's with the special participation of her daughter who seemed to get amazed at the ever daring mom :D. At first I was hesitant to do this with the chocolate fudge buttercream frosting as I was a bit scared the figure would sink in the frosting. This is why I have to put a board to support the figure and dowel the part of the cake where the board sits. I used four lollipop sticks to dowel it.

The figure was made from gumpaste-fondant mixture. It was easier to do it this time as I don't need to focus much on the curves of the body LOL. Forgive me if I can't post a tutorial or how to's for my fondant figures as I really have very little time to do that. But I do hope, in the future, I could spare time for this.

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Sexy Preggy - For Tomorrow

After a year of not making cakes, another sexy cake in the making. A preggy wife's birthday cake for her hubby is a sexy cake with her on top. To support the head I have to insert crumpled tissue papers. Hopefully it will be dry by tomorrow. Will post the finish cake soon, I have to put my little boy to sleep so I can make the baby topper to go with her preggy mom. 

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Update on the Dora Run-out Topper Challenge

I made two batches of Royal Icing today, one using Wilton's Meringue Powder and one using eggwhites. I prefer the consistency of the later for piping the outline of the project and the former for the flooding.

I made about four Dora figures but was not satisfied with any of the result. The fifth one was already perfectly done when I accidentally dropped a book over it. Since I already figured out the whole new way to do it, I did not panic and just made another one. I hope to take snapshots when I do it the next time just incase you might want to try the techniques I used.

Let me just finish with this one project and I will be posting pictures of the finished toppers and cakes soon after.

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I'm Taking Up a Challenge, So Help me God!

 

I'm doing Dora toppers the "Run-Out" way today. I have already said before that I am not very good using the Colorflow technique but I am challenging myself today and I believe, fully believe, that I can do it. I do not want to end up in Cake Wrecks, so help me God!

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Chocolate Fudge Buttercream

I know this was not in my list of frosting. I made this for a friend's birthday cake two weeks ago and for now, this is on the top of my list for butter-based icing. So yummy, so chocolate-y, stable and easy to make.

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream

Ingredients:

240 grams (8oz)  unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Melt the chocolate in the microwave at half power for 45 seconds. Stir until chocolate is fully melted. If chocolate hasn't fully melted yet, microwave for 10-20 seconds more. Let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).

This was more than enough to fill and frost this 10x3 cake. I had more than a cup left. 

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Watch out for more upcoming posts

I have been baking too many Chocolate Revel Bars the past days. Infact, as of this writing I have over a hundred slices waiting for pick up. I have some Chocolate Coated polvoron to make but is putting off the job til after lunch.

I promise to post my own version of the revel bar which I have modified to cut the sweetness. I will also post some tips and tricks on how to make cut out cookies a bit easier to make which I promised a friend. Then there's a lot more to do on the kitchen. I think business is picking up slowly this side of the country so I am back to my busy schedule again.

But, I promise, I will be back with more posts. How soon? Ehem, I can't tell.

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Butterscotch Bars

No, these are not the Butterscotch Bars in the picture on my last post. This was the real one, I mean the one that my mom liked :). I got no pictures of the cut bars though.

I remember I was in college when I'd travel to Cebu, I would often drop by a store in Dumaguete just to buy Bacolod's butterscotch bars. I believed they make the best of this kind, well, I still do. They're the gooey, chewy ones so when I made this recipe I was expecting the same. It fell a bit short of my expectation but probably if I made them thinner it would come close.

Butterscotch bars are really sweet and now I don't wonder why. With 2 1/2 cups sugar, these are not for those watching their weights (thank God I am not).

BUTTERSCOTCH BARS

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons sifted baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups dark brown sugar (spoon lightly into cup)
3 whole eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350degF. Line an 8"x12"x2.5" pan with aluminum foil and set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the white and brown sugar and beat until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.

4. Mix the flour using a rubber scraper. Beat until combined only. Do not overmix.

5. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes until toothpick inserted in all four corners come out dry. Do not wait for the center of the cookie to test clean.

6. Cool then cut into squares.

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What The Heck Was This???

I was about to post a recipe for butterscotch bars until I realized that the photo above was not butterscotch. The recipe has no nuts. Oh nuts, now I couldn't figure out what these are??? Can someone help me guess, hahaha! Oh crap, what can I do, I'm clueless.

Showed this to my mom and she told me this was the mango butterscotch bar I experimented that she didn't like. I think I didn't like it either. So forget about drooling over these. 

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Mango Bars

We have the best variety of mango and we make the best dried mangoes, perfect for making mango bars. This recipe can only be made using dried mangoes (well, for now I do not intend to experiment using fresh ones). When buying dried mangoes, don't choose the ones in candy or bar form, nor use dried mango chips.

This recipe comes from the Dorothy's Cookbook and is just one of the hundreds of recipes from the book I am putting to test. It especially noted that this bar would taste better a day after and yes, there is a great difference in taste because I ate a few slices right after it cooled down and a few a day after. Well, I have a reason to do so, how will I know it right?

MANGO BARS

Crust:
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter

Filling:
100 grams dried mango, chopped coarsely
1 cup well packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 XL eggs
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cashew nuts (or any other nut)
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the dried mangoes in a small saucepan and put water enough to cover it. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes until very soft. Drain.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of a 9x9x1.5" pan with waxed paper (or foil works fine). Set aside.

3. Prepare the crust by combining flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut the butter in small 1/2 inch cubes and add to the flour mixture. The butter must be cold for easy handling. With your fingers combine the ingredients. Chill briefly if it threatens to melt.

4. Transfer the crust into a baking pan and using your fingers press the crust into the bottom of the pan., covering it completely and as evenly as possible. The crust is just a bit thin. If you prefer a thicker crust, you may opt to use an 8x8 pan which I did.

5. Bake the crust for 10 minutes or until it begins to color.

6. To prepare the filling, pour all ingredients in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture at medium speed until blended.

7. Pour the filling over the baked crust and return the pan to the oven and continue to bake for another 20 minutes or until filling is set.

8. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides of the pan and carefully invert the pan to a wire rack to unmold it. Invert it once again, right side up and allow to cool completely.

9. Dust top surface with powdered sugar then cut into bars. Serve the next day to allow the flavors to develop.

I did not dust mine with sugar as I don't want it to get too sweet as it already is.

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Churros

I was introduced to this Spanish doughnut a few years back. I think it was in Enchanted Kingdom that I got to taste it first. That was followed by just one instance this year at Market Market in Global City when a new Churro cart opened. I would say I wasn't impressed. They were bland and oily and the chocolate dip was as unimpressive as the churros. Oopps, this isn't a food review! Anyway, I was browsing my mom's recipe collection when I stumbled upon a Churros recipe which just calls for boiling water and flour.

I was curious and doubtful with its simplicity. I knew it wasn't something that I wanted to make so I searched the net for other versions and found one here. Since I didn't want too much butter on something that is to be eventually fried, I reduced the butter to 1/4 stick the first time I made it. Just this morning I made another batch but this time added more flour. I am rewriting the recipe below with my own version which I find very forgiving. Please read notes at the last part.

CHURROS

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/4 stick butter (1/4 cup)
2 tbps brown sugar
vanilla
2 eggs
1 to 1 1/4 cups flour
oil for frying

Procedures:

In a medium saucepan, boil water, sugar and butter.

Remove from fire and immediately add flour. Start with just one cup. Gradually add the remaining flour if you find it too soft. Mix well.Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

Scope to a piping bag fitted with a big star tip.

Heat oil until very hot. For sure you know how to judge if it already is.

Pipe the batter into the oil directly. Take extra care, this is an excruciating part hehehe. You can cut the batter/dough with scissors if they don't naturally fall off from the decorating tip.

Fry until golden brown.

Roll on sugar or cinnamon sugar.

Serve with coffee or hot chocolate.

Note: The first time I made this I used only one cup of flour. I find it too soft that I had a hard time controlling the piping part. With 1 1/4 cups flour, the batter was firmer and easier to pipe. The only downside, it tore down one of my plastic piping bag. Nonetheless, the taste is the same.

You can also dip churros in melted chocolate or dipping chocolate.

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Sorry for my Absence

I know, it's a shame to have not posted any entry for the past two months.I have not been really busy, I was just trying to be busy. There were lots of plans since we moved back to Dipolog late last year. There was a baking supplies store that never materialized. Then I got busy with some things that could have been put off if I knew how to prioritize. Then there is Facebook (ugh, should I even mention that?) which "status updates" is slowly killing the blogging world.

And was I baking the past two months I was gone? Oh yeah, I got quite a plenty of baking moments. I am consigning cookies and cupcakes to a local school, testing some new recipes, reading more baking forums, editing old baking projects and posting them to Facebook (FB again?) and trying to revive my homebaking business. These don't mean that I have totally abandoned blogging. I read and answer comments regularly. I just missed to post new articles and with that, I am really sorry my dear blog and blog readers.

I won't promise anything I cannot keep but I will try to keep up with posting new recipes I've tried lately. I just have to get over this PMS mode :).

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