Birthday Chocolate Carrot Cake

 

During my kids' birthdays, I usually make it a point to at least bake them a cake. It is more of my birthday gift for them. But sometimes it is a little bit of a dilemma for me on what kind of cake to bake. Why? Because I usually have my own idea of what cake I like to bake and how I will decorate the frosting. But it is not my birthday! That is what I usually forget, lol. They have their own preference on what kind of cake they want. So my "selfish" personal ideas are thrown out of the window, lol. 

Anyway, what matters most is them. What they want and what they like. After all, it is their birthday! So this time, it was my son's birthday. (this post was late) I asked him what he wanted and he told me specifically to bake a Chocolate Carrot Cake! 

At first I thought, does chocolate go well with carrots? I tried to discouraged him but to no avail. He searched the net and found some recipes. Ha! I would not have known there is such thing as chocolate carrot cake, lol. 

Finally, I found one recipe online and tried baking it. I was skeptical that maybe it won't taste that good. I thought, " Here we go! Another experiment." But I was surprised how it turned out. Everybody liked the cake! I was amazed, too, how moist and good the cake was.  Another experiment gone great. This will be one of my fave cakes to bake from now on.

(Cake was frosted with milk chocolate cream cheese frosting. Decorated with chocolate bits on the side and some chopped walnuts.)

My First-ever Blueberry Cheesecake!

Conquer your fears! That's the motto that came to my mind today after I've tasted my first-ever baked blueberry cheesecake. I've been wanting to bake a cheesecake for more than a year now, but my fear of not making it right stopped me from doing it before yesterday. All I could think of was that, what if I mess it up, the ingredients will be wasted. I have also the tendency to get discouraged right away, so if I don't make it right the first time chances are I won't be motivated to do it again. So I've planned to do it and then chickened out, so it was postponed and postponed until this week I decided to try it out, no matter what the outcome is.
So yesterday, I finally had the guts to do it. I researched on various sites on cheesecake recipes and got my cookbook to get some tips on how to bake a great cheesecake. I combined the different ideas I read and put it into fruition in my recipe.
Being a first-timer, I had some mishaps along the way,Lol! I forgot to grease the pan with a cooking spray before putting the crust mixture. I already tried pressing the crust on the pan when I read on my cookbook to at least spray the pan first so when you take out the crust it will be easy and the cake won't stick. So I have to take out the crust mixture from the pan and do it all over again. Sprayed the pan and then put the crust mixture and pressed it into the pan,voila! Done with the first part, a little problem but I'm learning along the way.
I was a little worried at first with my mixer because I have only a hand mixer. I didn't know if it could handle mixing a thick mixture like the cream cheese. Because I remembered with my previous hand mixer it overheated,LOL! Well what did I expect with a $10 dollar mixer,lol. Anyway, it fared well to my surprise, I guess becuase it has more power than the previous one,thank God. So another worry solved.
Everything went well with the cream cheese mixture and the crusy so I started baking it. I was so excited about it that I keep opening the oven. I was afraid it might get burnt. But later on I realized my mistake. Opening the oven a lot will make the top of the cake crack, from what I've read. Another lesson learned for a first timer, so I made a mental note to make
research on how to prevent cracks on my cheesecake next time. but it wasn't such a major issue though, I got lucky I was planning on a blueberry topping, so the topping covered the cracks. So my cheesecake seemed perfect to look at with the topping on it:-)
The hardest part in baking your cheesecake for the first time is the waiting. I had to wait overnight before I'll be able to know how my cheesecake taste like. the reason for the long wait is because I have to refrigerate the cheesecake first. But the wait was all worth it, my husband said. This morning when we tasted it, it was very good. It came out really well, was very creamy.I was so happy it turned out as I expected it to be. It may not be visually perfect but the taste was divine. It goes well with coffee!:-)
So I guess, I conquered my fear and made the right decision. And now I can't wait for my next cheesecake adventure!
Here are a couple of photos of my masterpiece. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake with Choco Glaze

I made this chocolate cake for New Year's Eve. It is a two-layer chocolate cake with caramel in the middle of the layers. Then I pour fudge chocolate glaze on the cakes. And lastly, decorated it on top with chocolate-dipped strawberries. Yummy! The family liked this fudge glaze better than the usual buttercream frosting.  

Japanese Cheesecake for Hubby's Birthday

I read a lot of buzz about Japanese cheesecake. I read reviews on how tasty and good it is. It is light and fluffy with cheesecake goodness. I saw a lot of pictures of it on Pinterest. So I thought, why not try to make it.

It was my hubby's birthday, so I thought it would be a perfect time to bake the Japanese cheesecake. I searched for the recipe. I found one that was easy to follow. The ingredients were readily available except for the caster sugar. I was lucky to find it at Walmart this time. Usually they do not have it. I've looked for it before when I was planning to make macarons but did not find it. Anyway, I was able to gather all the ingredients and baked it the day before hubby's birthday. My Japanese cheesecake did not rise up as I expected it to be. So I have to make two batches, two round pans. Then, I made a light whipped cream frosting to put in between the cakes and to decorate the top. Finally it was done and looked presentable.

I was so excited about this cheesecake. I am not so crazy about the American cheesecake because it is just too sweet for me and too heavy. I know I'm crazy, lol,  I don't have the sweet tooth. Anyway, because of the rave reviews that this is fluffy and light, I couldn't wait to taste it.

Hubby's birthday came and finally the judgment day for the Japanese cheesecake. My husband liked it because it reminded him of a Hungarian cake he used to eat when he was young. But for me, it was a little exotic. It required lemon juice for the ingredients, and it came out a little sour for me. I should have followed one of the reviewers that said to lessen the lemon juice. Anyway, overall it was a pretty good cake. Like they said it was fluffy and light. It is not too sweet. It is like a combination of the regular cheesecake and a chiffon cake. So if you are not fond of the heavy and dense cheesecake this is a great alternative. I just need to tweak the recipe I found a little bit, to fit my taste or find another recipe to try, and hopefully this will be one of my fave cakes in the future. I am just glad my husband liked it.

Ube Cupcakes!

 

Hello, guys! I have not written anything on my blog for months now. I am back! lol. Just checked my blog again today and felt like blogging again. Hopefully I will have time for it again from time to time.

Anyway, my blog post for today is about my homemade Ube Cupcakes! I have been wanting to bake some ube cupcakes or cake these past few months. But I was not so lucky to find an ube flavoring. It is very hard to find an ube flavoring here where I live. The Asian stores here do not have it always. Maybe if they do, it goes away pretty fast because it is not available all the time. I tried to find it online, found one in Amazon but it was too expensive for such a little amount. It is almost $10 for a 20 ml bottle. And I need to use at least two bottles in each recipe. It is not worth it, lol, I am on a budget.

Finally I found some ube flavoring two weeks ago at the Asian store. I got lucky! I bought two bottles ( did not read the recipe yet prior to buying). I thought the two bottles was more than enough. I regretted it. I should have bought all the four bottles. Because I later found out that the recipe calls for the two bottles to be used. Oh well! Lesson learned. I have to wait again for it to be available at the Asian store, lol. I should have been smarter. By the way, the price for each bottle at the store was just $3 each, big difference from the online price. 

So finally, I was able to bake some cupcakes. Primarily, I wanted to bake a cake, but I thought, if we do not finish the whole cake fast it will be wasted. So I decided to just bake the cupcakes. That way, I will just frost enough number of it that we can eat easily. And then I froze the rest for next time.

By the way, for those who do not know what "UBE" is, it is a root crop. Sometimes it is called purple yam, maybe because it is purplish in color. It is a tuberous root vegetable. It is different from the purple sweet potatoes though which is more common here in the US. In the Philippines, it is very common. You can find ube jams, ube ice cream, and of course ube cake/cupcakes.

Back to my baking. The recipe I followed was pretty good. But not what I was expecting. I was looking for the spongy type cupcake. The one I made was more dense. But it was still good, it was pretty moist. Though a little oily for my liking. But overall, the cupcakes were good and the ube taste did come out pretty well.

I will try to find another recipe next time and experiment. Hopefully I will find the recipe I am looking for. Until next post!:)

Special Turon (Ripe Banana Wrapped in Egg Roll Wraps)

I had some very ripe plantains at home today. I didn't know what to do with it. It is such a waste if I will throw it again, since a plantain is .75 cents per piece. I had three pieces left, so that would be $2.25. In this economy, we should try our best to save in any way we can.

So that made my brain worked, hehe. I looked in the freezer and found some egg roll wrappers. It made me think of turon. "Turon" is a favorite Filipino snack in the Philippines. It looks like egg rolls but instead of the meat or veggies inside, it has sweet banana and other sweet ingredients. It is more like a dessert type of food and also good by itself for snacks. Anyway, going back to this morning, I took out the wrappers to thaw and checked in the pantry for some jackfruit in a can and found one. Seems like I'm lucky today. I had a leftover purple sweet potato that I boiled in the morning for my breakfast, so I thought why not make use of it,too. Instead if using purple yam or ube, I used my sweet purple potato. It has the same color and texture.

So I got all my ingredients ready after my egg roll wrapper thawed. I had the wrappers, julienned jackfruit, mashed sweet potato with sugar, and the sliced plantains.

I just put all the ingredients together in the middle of the egg roll wrapper and then wrapped it burrito style but sealing it at the end with water.

Preheat a deep pan and some oil on it, enough to deep fry the turon. Fry it until the turon is golden brown. My kids enjoyed it!:)

Pancit Canton with Shrimp and Fish Balls

I am cooking some pansit today! What is pansit? Pansit is a Filipino stir-fried noodle. I had some fish balls that I bought from last week's grocery shopping and some frozen shrimps which will go well with the noodles.I  will add some veggies like green peppers, carrots, and mongo sprouts. Green onions would have been great with it but I don't have it. So let us stick with what we have. And finally, here is the photo of my homemade Pansit with lemon wedges on the side.

Mesquite-Rubbed Baby Back Ribs

I like the Smokey Mesquite seasoning because of its natural smoky flavor, saltiness, a little spiciness from the chili and red pepper but not to overwhelming, and a little hint of sweetness. I always use this when we grill, bake or even pan-fry some meat. Yesterday, I tried using it on some baby back ribs. My plan supposed to be was to make the Sweet Baby Back Ribs but then I ran out of time to marinate it, so I looked around in our pantry and there I saw the Smokey Mesquite Seasoning. So I experimented a bit because I haven't tried using it on ribs yet. And sure enough it came out pretty good. You can add or glaze it with your favorite barbecue sauce if you want or a drizzle of honey after, but in this recipe I opted not to put anything and it still came out good. Anyway here it is, have fun biting the ribs!!!:)

SIOMAI OR STEAMED PORK DUMPLINGS

Siomai is a steamed dumpling filled with either ground pork, ground beef, or shrimp and wrapped in wonton wrapper. In the Philippines, it usually dipped in soy sauce with calamansi or calamondin with oily garlicky or ginger flavor.

I love siomai. It is one of my favorite appetizers. I never get tired of eating it. When I came here in the US, this is one of the foods that I missed from the Philippines. So I researched on some recipes and get some ideas how it was made. I vary the ingredients according to my taste.

Most recipes use sesame oil to be mix in the filling, but since I'm not such a fan for sesame oil, I omitted it. But if you like it, you can add it to the ingredients.

CHICKEN CURRY

Philippines has some Indian cuisine influence, this is visible in some of the Filipino dishes which include a curry seasoning. Curry is sometimes used in dishes with chicken, beef, pork and vegetables cooked like a stew. Here is a chicken recipe with curry seasoning and added with coconut milk to make it creamy.

COCONUT MACAROONS

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. 14 oz. unsweetened coconut flakes or approx. 5 1/3 cups
3 eggs
1 can condensed milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.
Mix it very well.
Put into greased paper cups(small) and bake it for at about 15 minutes or until it turns golden brown.


                

PICO DE GALLO

Pico de gallo is a Mexican salad, or sometimes called salsa fresca. It is made of fresh condiments like tomatoes, onions, chilis (jalapeno), and sometimes added with more ingredients like cilantro, lime or lemon juice, cucumber, etc. I really love this salsa, it goes very well with grilled foods, fried foods, hamburgers, and can be use in tacos and fajitas. You should use fresh ingredients because it adds more to the flavor and taste. It just tastes better using fresh ingredients. You can just vary the amount of chile (jalapeno) on it. If you're not into spicy stuff then you can either omit the chile or just add a little bit of it. You can also get the seeds out of the jalapeno, because the seeds add to the level of spiciness. This is just very easy to make and no hassle at all, especially if you like chopping veggies finely, haha.

CLASSIC YEMA or MILK CANDY

 I was craving Yema these past few days. I remember when I
was in elementary and high school, I used to buy Yema from my
classmates. It is so addictive. You can't stop eating it. I don't know what makes it so addictive, must be the milk. My classmates sell it for .50 cents before, ha ha, now I don't know how much one cost. I remember using my whole allowance to buy it. Anyway, that's enough reminiscing, ha ha. So going back to my craving, since I don't know how to make it, I asked my cousin how to make it. She told me the procedure how to do it
 and I made it yesterday. I'm so glad it came out really
good and perfect. Not too hard and not too soft either, just perfect. My son and hubby can't stop eating it. So my craving was satisfied.

Anyway for those who don't know what Yema is, it is a sweet
concoction made of milk and sugar, which is from the classic recipe. But nowadays, yema has already evolved and more ingredients are added. But I still like the classic recipe, which I will be sharing now with you. It is not so complicated to make. It is very easy, and does not need a lot of ingredients. The closest taste you can compare it with are caramel candies. Though, I guess here in the US these are really called caramel candies. The slight difference will be the kind of milk being used. And these are not so dense and as hard as caramels. So for those who are yema lovers, here is a recipe for you. Please leave a comment if you like it. Thanks!

LECHE FLAN RECIPE

Every family gatherings we have in the Philippines wouldn't be complete without this yummy, sweet and jellyish textured dessert, we call "LECHE FLAN" or Filipino custard. It is made from a mixture of eggs, milk, and sugar. One of my favorite Filipino desserts. Here is a recipe: