My Favorite Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe

Hiyeeeee!!!!  I am so glad I am writing a blog post today!

I know, I know, I should be doing a better job managing my blog.  No, I think I should be doing a better job managing my time!

Anyway, life is still the same . . . except the kids seem to have grown up over the last few months and that I have more white hair now, haha!  It is true what they say, they grow up so fast!  You know, I miss them being babies (sniff, sniff). . . ahhh and that baby smell!  (As much as I miss these, I don't see a baby anymore in the future! Haha!)

And speaking of things being "fast", I would like to share with you a cake recipe which I tried the other day.  

It was supposed to be a gift for someone but since it was the first time I tried the recipe, I thought I should taste it first, heehee.  (So yes, you can say I owe her a cake!  Haha!)  

Do you know what I love about this recipe?

1. It is a sheet cake --- you just need a pan to bake it.  I always have disposable cake sheet pans (9" X 13") at home because that means no extra dishes to wash for me, haha!  Aaannnd sheet cakes are the best way to go for potlucks or gifts to family and friends.   

2. You just need a bowl and a wire whisk (yep, no need for an electric mixer!) for this recipe.

3. The recipe is easy, fast and tasty!  I love that it may look simple but is a good chocolate cake!

For the recipe, please click on this link to go to Add a Pinch's blog site.

For the original recipe, the author used chocolate buttercream frosting.  I used a chocolate icing recipe  (given to me by my friend, B) because this icing reminds me of a good old fashioned chocolate cake!  Oh and it's easy to make too, haha!

Trivia:  Ever wondered if there is a difference between a frosting and icing?  Here you go. . .

From www.dailymeal.com

The Williams-Sonoma cookbook Cake states that “icing is generally thinner and glossier,” while its counterpart frosting is “a thick, fluffy mixture, used to coat the outside of a cake.”


For the chocolate icing I used, you need the following:

1 can of condensed milk (14 oz)
1 can of all purpose cream (225 ml / 7.6 fl oz)
1/2 cup of cocoa powder (50 grams)
3 tbsp butter

Just mix everything in a double boiler and stir constantly until everything is well combined.  You would notice that the consistency is a little bit thin.  Let it rest for a few minutes because the icing will thicken up.

If you don't have a double boiler, it is okay (I don't)!  I just improvised for one.  This is exactly what I did ( pls. see photo below).  

Image from www.wikihow.com

Fill the pot with water (half full or less, depending on your pot---I just made sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl) and bring it to a boil.  If it does, adjust heat to make it simmer. Also, please make sure you use a heatproof bowl.


For more details about the double boiler method, please click here.

I hope you enjoy your cake!

Happy Baking and Have a great weekend!

You're the man Tyler!

July, you're here!!!! =)  Wow, more than half the year has gone by!  Did someone put it in fast forward?! 

Just as I've been doing for the past few months now, I start the month with a post about the recipes (mostly sweets, teehee) I've tried.  So for this month, I am posting about the Ultimate Cheesecake recipe of Tyler Florence. 

(Trivia:  Did you know that July 8 is National Blueberry Day?  I learned about it from the Princess' summer school)

Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts.  And if you ask what my favorite cheesecake is, I don't have a particular favorite but Blueberry will be up there in the list (and OMG, Cheesecake Factory's GODIVA Chocolate Cheesecake!)

Actually, I have a go to recipe for a blueberry cheesecake which I've blogged before here.  It is a super easy and quick, yummy recipe which needs NO BAKING!  I haven't tried making a baked cheesecake (yep, those pretty ones which we see in restaurants) because they intimidate me, haha.    

Since I had some blueberry pie filling leftovers sitting at the ref, I thought of challenging myself and stepping up my cheesecake game!

There are so many cheesecake recipes online and one of the highly rated I've seen is that of Tyler Florence's from the Food Network site.

And all I have to say is. . . you're the man Tyler!  (with matching fist bump, haha!) 

And thank you for sharing this recipe!  It is absolutely a winner!

But most specially, thank you for making me believe in myself, hahaha!

As Tyler mentioned in his video, what makes cheesecake smooth and creamy is putting them in a hot water bath (also called the Bain Marie method).  

To further explain why, I read this at www.chatelaine.com:

Why do I need a water bath?

Some cheesecake recipes don’t call for a water bath, but we prefer this method. The water bath (also known as a bain marie) is used to regulate the baking temperature of the cheesecake. Since the temperature of water never exceeds boiling point (it turns into steam), it keeps the cheesecake baking at an even, slow temperature. This prevents the cheesecake from overcooking (especially around the edges). The steam created by the water bath also further protects the baking cheesecake, keeping the air in the oven moist and humid to prevent the top of the cake from drying out and cracking.

For the complete recipe of Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cheesecake (I suggest you watch the video too), please click here.

My personal notes for this recipe (based on my experience):

1. I added 2-3 tbsps of sugar in the graham crust (only because the graham crackers I used aren't that tasty)

2. The recipe called for lemon rind but since I didn't have a rasp grater, I just used (1 tbsp of lemon juice).  The next time I make this, I would use 2-3 tbsps to get more "Zzzing".

3. If you see yourself baking cheesecakes (lots of them! haha) in your future, I suggest you buy a Springform pan =).

Happy Baking!  Here's to more good times with homemade cheesecakes!

THE Crinkles Recipe You Have To Try

I'm on a (cookie) roll!!!

After posting my favorite chewy Chocolate Chip cookie recipe last month, I am posting another cookie recipe I tried and which I absolutely loved!

I've already blogged about a Crinkles recipe (Crinkles are chocolate cookies that are soft and chewy, it's like a brownie cookie) before (you may read about it here).  They turned out okay, I thought they can be better.  

Since I will be bringing some cookies for the Princess' Promotion night this Friday, I thought of baking these sweet treats.

And so my quest to find a better Crinkles recipe began.

By the way, do you know how I choose recipes to try (in general)?  I google for images!    

The food photo which looked best (and yummm!) wins!  Haha!

I saw one and I knew I had to try it!

Why?

Two words.

DOUBLE. CHOCOLATE. (Now, let's say that again)

Thanks to Sally's Baking Addiction, we got to enjoy these . . .

chocolatey, chewy and moist Crinkles!

(Did I say Double Chocolate?)

So I'm happy to say that the search is OVER!

(Cue Survivor's "The Search is Over" song here, haha)

I highly recommend this recipe if you are a Crinkle (or Chocolate!) lover like me!

My little big boy loved them so much, I had to stop him, haha!

Here are my notes for this recipe (based on my experience):

1. Putting the cookie dough overnight (or more) in the ref is recommended.

2. I found the crinkles a little bit sweet so for the next batch, I will just use half a cup of semi-sweet choco chips (original recipe calls for 1 cup). 

3. Baking time that worked for me was 10-11 minutes.  I suggest you make a small batch for different baking times to see which would suit your taste more.

For the full recipe, I suggest you hop over to Sally's blog as she has a detailed explanation for it.

Please click here.

Happy Baking!

My Favorite Chewy Chocolate Cookie Recipe

Hello, I'm still here! =)

Things have just been quite busy at home that I couldn't find (or make) time to blog.  So before the month of May ends (can you believe we are almost at the middle of the year), I want to post something for you.

I have a confession to make. . . I don't like baking cookies!  

It's funny that I can bake a banana loaf (my favorite recipe here) and I managed to bake my boy's Chocolate Birthday cake (you can read about it here) . . but cookies?  Not really my favorite thing to do, haha!

I've tried a couple of recipes before which didn't work out and I tried one recipe which  I liked (I even called it "my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe" back then).  But somehow, I just stopped baking cookies. I thought buying a bag of Chunky Chips Ahoy at the grocery is the easiest (and smartest, haha) thing to do!

But having seen a lot of recipe feeds in my FB about homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies encouraged me to try baking some again.

There are a lot. . .like A LOT of chocolate chip recipes online.  So I just went to Food Network (because I'm a fan, hihi) and saw that they have a recipe for a Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie!  (Hubby and I prefer chewy over a crunchy cookie.)  

Thanks to Food Network, I found my new favorite recipe!  Woohoo!

I am sooo happy with how they turned out!  

They were thin and crispy on the edges and then . . . 

Moist and buttery inside. . . Yummm!

A recipe which called for 2 1/2 sticks of butter (I knowwww) is promising right?  As they say, butter makes everything better!  Haha!

One of the things I did for this recipe which I think helped in enhancing the flavor of the cookie is putting the dough in the ref overnight.  In the recipe, the baking time for the cookie is 12 minutes. However, for my batch, the perfect baking time was around 10-11 minutes.  I suggest making a small batch for each time to see which one would suit your taste (in terms of color and consistency).  

This is my take-away from the recipe of Food Network: When you see the edges of the cookie turn golden, even if the middle part is still soft, take out the cookie from the oven and let them cool (for 10 mins) before transferring them to a cooling rack.  I am not a baker but I think the residual heat from the pan would cook the middle part a little bit more. 

I found the cookies a little bit sweet so I might reduce the granulated sugar next time.

But this recipe definitely works for me!  It is hubby-approved (he is NOT a fan of anything sweet!) and I think that says something about these cookies (and his love for me, hahaha!). =)  

For the full recipe, please click on this link to head to Food Network's site.

Homemade Chocolate Birthday Cake

And just like that, the first quarter of the year is over!  I wish I've put up more blog posts this March (they are all in my draft folder though, haha!).  I've wanted to write and share so many things with you but I just couldn't find (and make!) time to do so. 

The best part of our March is . . . our little big boy turned three!  He is sweet, adorable and handful (as they say, boys will be boys) at the same time.  He wears his heart on his sleeve, he likes being around kids and has a ready smile for everyone.   He couldn't talk straight yet (if we need an "interpreter", his Ate comes to the rescue, haha) but he can talk in sentences.  And just like me, he loves to eat and loves chocolates!

For his birthday, I wanted to do something special for him.  So I challenged myself to bake a cake (must be chocolate!) for him.  Yep, you read that right!

And I did!  Woohoo!

Thanks to an easy to follow Chocolate Cake recipe given by my friend, B.  Then, I just got buntings, candles and sprinkles to decorate the cake (read: to make it look more fancy, haha)  

I'm so, so, so happy with how this chocolate cake turned out! 

It was so funny that when I showed it to my Mom during our video call. . . she can't (she won't!) believe I made it!  Haha! (Thanks Mom!)  I had to call Hubby and let him tell my Mom because she knows that he can't lie to her, haha!

What I love about this cake is it gets better each day!  I found that it actually tasted better the day after.  I think the next time I'm going to bake, I will bake the cake part a day earlier.

So if you want to take the big leap in baking and bake a chocolate cake, here is a good and easy to follow recipe:

B's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cake
2 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mayonnaise
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven at 300 degrees.

2. Combine milk, sugar, butter and cocoa powder in a saucepan.  Blend well, bring to a boil and then let it cool.

Bringing it to a boil

and then letting it cool  . . .

3. Sift together the following dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Add mayonnaise to the chocolate mixture.  Then beat in eggs one at a time.

5. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. Mix gently until well blended. Do not overmix.

6. Bake for 30 minutes or until done. (Insert a toothpick, if the toothpick comes out dry, it's done)

Note:  I suggest you weigh your baking ingredients using a scale.  The unit of measurement may be the same but the weight is actually different.  For example, 1 cup of granulated sugar is 225 grams while 1 cup of cocoa powder is 118 grams.  

I used Chocolate Ganache (an icing made of chocolate and cream) for this cake since Hubby prefers this type of icing.  If you like to try this too, please click on this link to go to Bake Happy's site which also features a chocolate cake recipe (which I want to also try one of these days).  

Note: In Bake Happy's directions, she puts the ganache in the refrigerator overnight and whips it the next day.  I've put mine for a couple of hours and it still turned out well.  

Here's the birthday boy enjoying the icing of his cake! =)  

I know, frosting a cake is not really my thing.  I call it a "rustic" way of frosting, haha!

If you want  to try the icing made of condensed milk (which also sounds yumm!) from my friend's recipe, here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup cocoa
3 teaspoons butter
1 can or package of all purpose cream
1 can condensed milk

Just mix all the ingredients in a double boiler and stir constantly.

Please click on this link on how to make a double boiler at home.

As they say, never under estimate the power of Chocolate! =)

Happy Baking!

My First (Successful!) Chocolate Cupcake

March, I can't believe you are here!!!

I know this sounds cliche but . . . time really, REALLY flies so fast!  

And because I started February with a cake recipe, I thought of starting March with a sweet treat too . . . . Chocolate Cupcake with Milk Chocolate Frosting!!! 

I've tried making chocolate cupcakes before (once) but I wasn't too happy about the recipe.  The cupcakes tasted bland and were dry. 

Sometimes when you try a recipe and fail at it, you get discouraged and scared to try again.  (Parang love lang, haha!)

But then one day, you realize, you ought to give yourself another chance to try other recipes because there are better ones out there, you will find that ONE that would make you happy and make you say that you are glad to have tried again (yes, i'm still talking about cupcakes . . .and love I guess, haha).

There are so many recipes out there but I thought of trying one recipe by Aikko of Bake Happy simply because her blog post title had the following words. . .EASY to make and MOIST!  

Looking at the recipe, I wasn't sure at first because it doesn't have any eggs and butter!  I can't imagine baking something without those two ingredients!  But this recipe had mayonnaise and yogurt in it, which in my "not so expert" opinion replaces the butter and eggs and are the ingredients responsible for making the cupcake moist.  This recipe also got good reviews from Bake Happy's followers so I decided to go for it.

After seeing the batter, I had a good feeling about these cupcakes because the color of the  batter looked nice, haha!

And the cupcakes looked better compared to the first recipe I tried!

The cupcakes were moist and they tasted good (it didn't matter they don't have eggs and butter, haha) If you are a first time baker or if you are just looking for a simple cupcake recipe, I recommend this one.  Also, aren't you curious how cupcakes which have mayonnaise taste like?  =)

As for the chocolate frosting, the original recipe called for Malagos unsweetened chocolate.  I wanted to use the chocolate tablea discs I have but since toddlers have discerning tastes, I just made a Milk Chocolate Frosting (recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction).

And here's the tricky part (for me) . . . frosting the cupcakes!

Because I am not good at it!  So I just went to YouTube and just looked for a simple tutorial on how to frost cupcakes (using an icing spatula).

This is my best, haha. =)   I wish I had sprinkles!

But if there's one thing I love about having to frost a cupcake though . . . it is letting our Princess do her share and seeing her having a good time!

For the Chocolate Cupcake recipe, please click here.

For the Milk Chocolate frosting recipe, please click here.

Happy Baking!  

My First Cake: The Hummingbird Cake

Hello February!  You're already halfway through and I haven't put up any blog posts yet! =)

And because it is the month of love, I am going to post a cake recipe I tried which is a "labor of love". I call it as such because. . . I never make cakes!  For some reason, I am scared to bake a cake, haha!  

For my first cake, I really wanted to bake a chocolate cake (and I actually have a couple of recipes for it from friends) but I saw a recipe from my FB feed (forgot which website featured it) called Hummingbird Cake which looked easy to make and besides, I have some overripe bananas on hand which I can use for this cake.  How do I describe this cake?  Simply put, it is banana cake with pineapple tidbits and covered with cream cheese frosting. 

Here is a trivia about the Hummingbird cake:  According to Wiki, "this cake has been a tradition in Southern cuisine since the mid-20th century".  The recipe (written by Mrs. L.H . Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina) was first published by Southern Living Magazine in 1978 and was hailed as their most (or one of the most) requested recipe.

The recipes can be seen at www.myrecipes.com.  

For the cake recipe, please click on this link: Hummingbird Cake

And for the cream cheese frosting, kindly click on this link: Cream Cheese Frosting

Now, as to how my cake turned out . . . . 

Tadahhhhh . . . . 

I am not a highly creative individual and I'm sure I could have done a better job decorating the cake, haha!  I just decorated it with some toasted pecans and since it was Valentine's Day, I got an entwined hearts-shaped cookie cutter and used is as a guide to decorate the center of the cake.

Can you spot the "entwined" hearts?  I promise, that thing in the middle is made up of two hearts! haha!

I am not really fond of icing so I just made half of the amount indicated in the recipe.  

Thus, this look. . . .  

I know. . . it looks unfinished, incomplete. . . which kind of gives it a "rustic" charm, just like how a "naked cake" looks like! 

If this is the first time you heard about a "naked cake", I promise there is such a thing and that I am not making this up, haha!

Here is a sample of a naked wedding cake: 

Image from www.parfaitaustralia.com

So if you don't know how to frost a cake (like I do) or if you ran out of icing for the cake (like I did), just save face and claim that your cake is a naked cake! Haha!

Happy Baking!

Remember, there are time when you can have your cake and eat it too! =)

Tried and Tested: Crinkles Recipe

I love Crinkles!  I have a sweet tooth so anything that has sugar (and chocolate!) is heaven for me! Heehee. . . Some people call them cookies.  How do I describe them?  Eating them is like eating a chocolate cake/fudgy brownie coated in powdery white sugar!  

The best Crinkles I've had (in no particular order) were from Becky's Kitchen (along P. Ocampo St. in Singalong, Manila), HungryPac, and believe it or not. . . from the cafeteria of ADB!  (THE Asian Development Bank in Mandaluyong).  So if you have family or friends who work in ADB, consider yourself lucky because you have a way of getting them!  

When we moved to LA, I had a sudden craving for this sweet treat so I googled for a recipe and found this posted at www.allrecipes.com (Thanks to a member, Ingrid!).  I chose this recipe because the ingredients are easy to find and the directions are pretty simple.

These crinkles turned out pretty good and have given them as Christmas gifts to family and friends (which they liked. . . sabi nila, haha!).  But I am still dreaming about those Crinkles which I've mentioned earlier.  

This Crinkles recipe works so I am still keeping it but I would like to still try other recipes for this chocolate treat.  Do you have a favorite Crinkles recipe?  Care to share it? =)

(UPDATE as of June 2016, I found my favorite crinkle recipe for keeps!  Please click here if you want to read about it.)

If you want to try baking Crinkles, you may want to try this recipe =)

Please click on this link to go to the original post at www.allrecipes.com.

*This recipe makes 6 dozen crinkles

Ingredients:

- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 2 cups white sugar

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

 - 4 eggs

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 cup Confectioner's Sugar

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil.  Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture.  Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Roll dough into one inch balls.  I like to use a number 50 size scoop.  Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes.  Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

My Personal Notes:

1. If you are fond of baking and plan to do lots of it, I suggest that you get a digital weighing scale. (Mine wasn't expensive at all, there are reasonably-priced ones out there).  One of the things I learned about baking (unlike cooking) is the importance of accuracy in measuring the ingredients. Also, I suggest googling the right weight for each ingredient.  Case in point, the weight of one cup of sugar (200 grams) is different from a cup of cocoa powder (100 grams). They  may seem the same because they are both "1 cup" but there's actually a big difference in the weight.

2. I read some reviews for this recipe and some of the suggestions I read were:

 - If you don't have 4 hours, freeze the dough for a couple of hours (instead of chilling it)

 - Use Dutch processed cocoa powder for a more intense chocolate taste

- Make sure to really cover your balls with lots of Confectioner's sugar so you get that Crinkle to crack

3. If you don't have a number 50 scoop (like me!) to use for the ball, just eyeball it.=)

4. For lesser mess, just drop the ball directly into a bowl of confectioner's sugar and roll it around.

5. I suggest baking small batches in different times (10, 11 or 12 mins) to know which would give you the Crinkles you like. 

6. In my experience and I don't know if this has a scientific basis (because Baking is Science), I feel that the crinkles---which I baked using a dough that was frozen overnight--- tasted better, haha! (Whew, that was a long sentence! Haha!)

HAPPY BAKING!

Kitchen Tested: Blueberry Loaf Recipe

After I found my favorite banana loaf recipe (which I blogged about here), I've kind of stopped baking cupcakes because it is easier and faster to bake a loaf than cupcakes!  All you have to do is pour your batter in a pan. . . and it makes cleaning up easier, haha!

After bananas, my next favorite thing in cupcakes (or loaves) is blueberry.  I have tried a recipe before but I knew there are better recipes out there.  With so many recipes online, picking one to try ain't going to be that easy.  Do you know how I pick my recipes?  I google (Google does make life easier) for an image!  I pick a photo which I like, then I go to the site and read the recipe. Yes, I do it in reverse, teehee.

This was the image (from foodbabbles.com) I liked best because it looked simple, soft and moist.  

The recipe from Food Babbles is actually a recipe for a Lemon Blueberry Loaf.  I had all the ingredients except for fresh blueberries and lemon.  So I used canned blueberries (which worked well) and skipped the lemon zest.  (I have lemons but I wasn't sure if zest from a shriveled lemon would taste ok).  The recipe also includes a lemon glaze which I don't mind skipping because I am not really fond of glaze.  

You know that something good will come out of the oven when your kitchen smells like a bakery! 

Because I used bigger loaf pans, my two loaves came out one-inch high haha!  I should have just used one loaf pan.

The canned blueberries worked out well though the next time I do this, I am going to be ready!  I will use fresh ones!

It was everything I expected, soft and moist.  It was not too sweet!  I guess because I didn't put the glaze on it.  If you don't have a sweet tooth, this is for you!  I think the lemon glaze wasn't a bad idea, haha!

Next time I do this, either I add more sugar (it doesn't need a lot though) or put the glaze.

If you are looking for a simple baking recipe to try, this is worth trying.

For the complete recipe, please click this link to go to Food Babbles's site.

Happy Baking!

  

"Special" Coconut Macaroons

It's Valentine's Day today!

I thought of writing some cheesy post about me and Hubby by sharing our love story but he said a big NO to it so there, I'll stop! Haha!  (Why am I not suprised?!)

But it's okay.  =)

Valentine's Day is a celebration of love!  So I thought of just sharing with you a recipe of a Filipino dessert (which can also be a snack) which I tried a few months ago. . . Coconut Macaroons!  I know I said Special Coconut Macaroons in the title.  What makes them "special"?  It is not the "What" but the "Why".  

I baked some (for the first time) for Hubby because  A) it is one of the few sweet things (or probably the only thing) he likes to eat (he doesn't have a sweet tooth at all!) and B) it reminds him of his Mom.  I didn't get the privilege to meet my mother-in-law (I wish I did!) because she passed away when Hubby was a Freshman in the  University.  

I've heard Hubby rave about his Mom's macaroons lots of times.  I know nothing will beat those (or can even come close!)--- and I'm not even going to try to! Haha!  But there is only one thing I can say about my macaroons.  They are all about LOVE and GRATITUDE.

To the man who loves me unconditionally and to the woman who raised his son to become a good man, Thank You for coming into my life. 

I got this recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.  It is so simple that you'll probably be finished prepping and mixing everything even before you finish saying . . . .supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!  Haha!  I am so happy with this recipe because I liked how the macaroons turned out (and I'm not macaroon lover at all!).  Hubby liked them too! Yayyy!  This recipe is a keeper.  The only thing I will change is I will use unsweetened coconut flakes because I found them a tad too sweet for my liking.

Happy Baking and Happy Valentine's Day!

Bake with love. . . spread some love! 

Macaroon Recipe from Panlasang Pinoy

Ingredients:

14 ounces (about 400 grams) Sweet Shredded Coconut (or Desecated Coconut)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 pcs raw eggs

14 ounces condensed milk

Cooking Procedure:

1. Place the butter in a big bowl and cream using a fork.

2. Add in the brown sugar and mix well.

3. Add the eggs and condensed milk then stir/beat until all ingredients are blended.

4. Put-in the Sweetened Shredded Coconut and distribute evenly with the other ingredient in the mixture.

5. In a mold (with paper cups if possible), place 1 tablespoon of the mixture on each of the cups.

6. Pre-heat oven at 370 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes

7. Bake the Coconut Macaroon mixture for 20 to 30 minutes or until color turns golden brown.

8. Serve during dessert or snack time.  Share and Enjoy!

  

 

Of Waffles and Red Velvet Cupcakes

I can't believe I wasn't able to post anything last December!  I thought it's a month where I can blog a lot of things, but well, it didn't happen. . . again! 

So for 2015, I am starting my blog post with some love by sharing (because "Sharing is Caring") with you a couple of  my kitchen-tested recipes.  They are not my recipes.  I don't (and I can't, haha!) come up with original ones, I just follow them and do a little bit of tweaking if needed, haha!

Last Christmas, a family member gifted me a waffle maker!  I've been wanting to buy one but never got around to get one so I am soooo happy when I opened my gift!  Woohoo!

So I googled for a waffle recipe (yes, I prefer making pancakes and waffles from scratch!) and found "THE ONE"!  Truth be told, this is the first waffle recipe I've tried but it is a keeper so I'm going to stop looking and trying.  (Just like the "BEST EVER" Banana Bread recipe I posted earlier.  By the way, I gifted some family and friends with the Banan Bread and I'm happy to say, they ALL loved it!  Yayyy!)

The waffle recipe I tried was by Ree Drummond (the Pioneer Woman) because I am a fan!  I like her food because they are easy to make and I see myself eating them  . . . meaning I don't find them too fancy, haha!  Her food is all about home cooking love and family.

This recipe is easy to make but requires some eggs (4 eggs where you will only use 2 yolks so that means you have 2 unused yolks after doing this recipe) and a little bit of extra effort (you got to beat the egg whites until they get stiff).  But don't worry, everything is manageable!

At the end you will be rewarded with a good and tasty waffle!!!!  Oh and some scrambled or an omelette on the side. . . from the unused yolks, haha!

My Princess loved this waffle so much that a) she prefers waffles over pancakes now and b) she has been eating waffles for three days straight, haha!

For the complete recipe, please click on this link which will lead you directly to the Pioneer Woman's blog because she does a good job of explaining the recipe (complete with photos!).

For the second recipe, I finally found one for Red Velvet cupcakes which was easy to do and which gave me cupcakes that were moist and spongy!  *Insert Dance of Joy here*  

If there's one thing I learned from reading and trying baking recipes, the use of yogurt (I use Greek vanilla yogurt) in your batter does make a difference!  They do make the cake moist!

I'm not really fond of frosting in cupcakes but I can't imagine Red Velvet cupcakes without the cream cheese frosting, haha!  Making this frosting is a first for me and I'm glad it turned out pretty well too.

For the complete recipe of this Red Velvet Cupcake (By Averie Cooks), please click on this link.

For the cream cheese frosting, I followed this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.  Sally's blog is blog is down at this moment so I would just listing down what I did

1/4 cup of butter - softened to room temp

4 oz of Cream Cheese - softened to room temp

1 cup of Confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

1 tbsp of milk

Cream the butter and cream cheese together and mix it well.  Then add a cup of Confectioner's sugar and whisk or beat it with an electric mixer and add the vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of milk and beat it on high for at least 2 mins.

If you don't have a piping bag for the frosting (like me! haha), just put your frosting inside a ziploc bag and cut one of it' bottom corner and start frosting! =)

Hope you would like these recipes too!

Happy Baking!!! 

Kitchen Tested: Best Banana Loaf Bread Recipe . . . Ever!

Okay, I just had to put "Ever!" because it is really the best banana loaf recipe I've tried!  Actually, this is just the second (haha!) time I baked a banana loaf.  But I am going to stop trying other recipes because I found the perfect one for me!   

The first recipe I've tried was moist and it had peanut butter and Nutella in it but these flavors overpowered the taste of the bananas. Sometimes, it is better to keep things simple (as much as I like peanut butter and Nutella, haha!).  So I found a simple, easy to do, easy to follow banana loaf recipe at Food.com.

I know I said "keeping things simple" and I did. . . sort of, haha!  In addition to the ingredients listed in the recipe, I just had to add semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped pecans, cinnamon powder (because cinnamon and bananas go well together!) and around 2-3 tablespoons of greek vanilla yogurt (because I read that adding yogurt in your batter makes your cake/cupcake extra moist)!  

This banana loaf got me giddy with excitement!  It was love at first bite. . . .literally, haha!  It was moist, I can smell and taste the bananas and it has the perfect balance of sweetness. 

If you are looking for a better banana loaf recipe like me, this is it!  If you are going to bake for the first time, make this your first!  And if you are thinking of Christmas gifts, this can be it! 

I hope you will like love this banana loaf recipe as much as I did!

Happy Baking!

Below is the original recipe from Food.com.  I have put my personal notes/comments in red:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (softened at room temperature or you can microwave your butter for 15 seconds)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten (I did not beat them together. I beat them one at a time as I mixed them in the batter)
• 4 bananas, finely crushed (I only used 3 overripe bananas - equivalent to 3 cups of mashed bananas)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• My own addition to the list:
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 2-3 tbsp of greek vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet choco chips
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• Directions:

1. Cream together butter and sugar.

2. Add eggs and crushed bananas. (Add the yogurt and cinnamon powder too.)

3. Combine well.

4. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture.  Add vanilla.  Add the chocolate chips, pecans then mix everything but do not overmix)

5. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan.  (Since I was using a non stick loaf pan, I didn't grease and flour it anymore).

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.  (Mine took a little bit longer). 

1.