Cherry Cheesecake

I made this Cherry Cheesecake for my mother in-law's birthday.  It had some little flaws while I was baking it.  It turned out that my cheesecake pan was smaller for the required ingredients.  The filling overflowed while baking. So I just took out the hanging crust on the sides of the pan,  lol.  I went to Walmart and saw these red beautiful sugar rose decors and the pearls.  I bought it and decorated the edges of the cake,  so it would not be so obvious that the edges of the crust were gone,  lol.  The taste of the cake turned out pretty good and was not affected by the little flaw.

So I am still learning all the time,  lol.  I do not bake cheesecake always,  so every time I bake it,  it seems like I am doing it for the first time all over again.  I should bake it from time to time so I can get the techniques embedded in my memory, lol.

Anyway,  until next baking! :)

Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting Photo

Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting

I was supposed to just buy our favorite cake from Whole Foods for my son's birthday. But the night before his birthday celebration, he told me he wants a mocha cake.

It was already past 7 in the evening when he asked. I didn't take out some butter and eggs. I thought, "Oh my! This is gonna be a long night." Butter and eggs should be in room temperature when baking a cake. I was going back and forth, if I'll bake it or I'll just buy one. My husband told me to just buy one. But I don't want my son to tell me later on when he will be a teenager that he felt disappointed when he asked me to bake a cake and I didn't. So I decided to bake a Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting. Luckily, I have all the ingredients needed. Well, I'm wrong, I actually didn't have the espresso for the mocha frosting. Good thing I found out a substitute for it.

Anyway, how did I let the butter and eggs be in room temperature? The eggs, I put them in lukewarm water for a few minutes. But the butter, I had a hard time. Because I just had one stick left from the refrigerator. I had to get a frozen one from the freezer. Now that took a long time to thaw. So I tried a trick I saw online. Get a bowl and put some water in it. Microwave the water for at least 3 minutes or until hot. Then pour the water, and cover the butter until it becomes soft. But it wasn't easy. I had frozen butters. I tried it maybe 3 times, putting the water in the microwave, heating it up and cover the butter. But it was getting late. So...I cheated, lol! I just put the butter in the microwave and heat it in 5 second intervals, lol. Oh well, it still worked. Though part of it melted. What can I do? Lol!

So fast forward, thank God, I was able to make the cake my son wanted. I was happy that the kids and my friends liked the cake. And super glad that my son was happy on his birthday!