Caramel Cake

Today I decided to make another caramel cake. I made this decision as I waited for the Hainanese Chicken Rice that we were having last night to cook and decided to give it another try. Miggy was in the kitchen with me and wanted to help out so I decided to give it another go.

I made caramel cake two days ago but was not satisfied with the result. For one, I overcooked the cake, having set the temperature too high. For another, the freaking cake had all the qualities of a cake that was baked in an oven with the temperature set too high- it was dry and grainy and had crusty edges with a caramelized taste. If I sound like I cant get over the failed cake is because I really can't. I should NOT have played a guessing game with the oven thermometer and can only kick myself for being careless. Is it not I who constantly remind Emily or the kids when I teach them how to bake that baking requires strict compliance with techniques and procedure? Was it not I who insists on following recipes to the letter? Why was I impatient and careless that day?

The kids, however, loved the cake- texture and all. I guess its the lovely, familiar taste of caramel that made the kids forgive the somewhat crusty sponge. Its the creamy, gooey goodness reminiscent of old school White Rabbit candy that make you tolerate the less than perfect dessert. In fact, despite it's flaws, it was gone in no time and I watched my teenage babies get slice after slice of it. To make another one for my forgiving, sweet brats seem like the right thing to do.

The cake turned out dreamy and wonderful and everything we love in a caramel cake. The time I spent with Miguel in the kitchen is priceless and we both were happy with the cake we made together. I just had to keep reminding myself and eye on the oven thermometer this time :). But truly, this cake will give you a satisfactory result each time.

Vanilla Cake with Caramel Frosting

Cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Frosting:
2 cups brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup all-purpose cream


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and make sure its stays at 325 :)

Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans. Set aside.

Cream the butter then slowly pour in the sugar, a little at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated.

In another small bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and the pinch of salt. In the measuring cup, combine the whole milk and vanilla extract.

Starting and ending with the flour mixture, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture to the creamed butter. Beat until smooth.

Pour the batter on the prepared cake pans. Bake on the middle rack in the oven for 10 minutes then rotate the pans and cook for another 10 minutes. Test the cakes-if a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. If additional baking is needed, bake for a few minutes before checking it again. Be careful not to over-bake the cake. Cool the cakes on wire racks.

To make the icing, combine the light brown sugar and water and caramelize until desired color is obtained. Remove from the flame and add the unsalted butter then the all purpose cream, a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

Bring back to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. When mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low until desired consistency is obtained (no longer runny but not too thick). Allow the mixture to cool a little in the pan before pouring on top of the cake.

Sweet Potato Pie

Its amazing what you can come up with when you mix a little flour, butter and sugar together. Depending on the quantity and the procedure as well as the other things you mix them with you can come up with the most delicate of pastries or the crustiest bread or the most mouth-watering cookie.

My recent pie-obsession has brought me early at the grocery store this morning looking for ingredients for the sweet potato pie that I was wanting to make. In a country where sweet potatoes are abundant, we generally do not use it as pie filling. 'Camote', our term for sweet potatoes are boiled, broiled, fried and coated with caramel but we do not use it for making pies. Yet today I feel courageous to try something Ive never done before and the result was amazing.

Mom even texted me that she loved the pie and insisted that I share the recipe so here goes:




Sweet Potato Pie
2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (I used what the grocery store clerk called Taiwan camote. Boiled, peeled then mashed like we do when we make mashed potatoes)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick melted butter
1 1/4 cups milk
3 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla


Measure 2 cups and put in a medium sized pot with the packed brown sugar, all of the spices, salt, butter, milk. Cook on low flame for about 5 minutes, whipping with a wire whisk until butter and brown sugar are melted down and mixture is well blended, smooth and starts to bubble. Remove from fire and let cool in pot.

In a medium sized bowl, beat the three eggs then add the granulated sugar and vanilla and continue beating until creamy. Pour on to the cooled sweet potato mixture. Stir in the egg mixture. Blend thoroughly then pour to the a HOT, blind-baked pie crust (that means bake it without the filling).

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until edges and center are raised and puffed and the center only shakes slightly. Remove immediately from the oven and allow the pie to cool and set for about an hour. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is something I used to often read about since I was a child but have not tried until recently. You see in the Philippines we have coconut (buko) pies and tarts with fillings such as cashew, jackfruit (langka) or even cheese but we are not big pie eaters. Of course we have empanadas (fruit or meat-filled fried tartlets) but over-all, pies do not seem to be our pastry of choice. In fact, I had Coconut Cream Pie only once in Manila, back in the 90's at an acclaimed restaurant in Buendia Avenue in Makati. Just once. It is quite ironic because we are a coconut producing country.

My mom however, love pies. She made pineapple and apple pies since I was a little girl that were quite good and somehow set our standards high in the pie arena such that store-brought ones have zero probability of passing the mark. Thus started my love-affair with pies.

In a recent trip to the US, I brought home a few cans of pumpkin because I was unable to enjoy even a bite of my favorite while we were there. I told myself that I would make one in my kitchen. How hard could it be? It just calls for milk and eggs and a few spices.

The result did not disappoint. In fact, I was happy with my home-made flaky crust and the creamy pumpkin pie filling. It tasted Christmas-y. It tasted the way I remember it should. It satisfied my craving and its quite easy to make.

Oh-oh. I have a feeling I have started a new obsession *rushes to find other good pie recipes*

MrsA

BTW, I used Alton Brown's recipe for Pumpkin Pie Filling and Martha Stewart's recipe for the pie crust. Both are outstanding!

What's my lunch today? Silken Tofu!

I have been having tofu for lunch lately. I truly enjoy the flavor and texture of this oriental delicacy and I like the idea that it is loaded with protein with very minimal fat content and is cholesterol free like all plant-based food. Plus, its quite easy to prepare like in this recipe below:



1/4 cup water
1 to 2 Tbps light soy sauce
1/2 Tsp Schiracha sauce, more if you like it spicy
1/2 packet sweetener or 1 tsp sugar
1 block tofu
Onion leeks or Kinchay for garnish (adds loads of flavor too!)
A dash of sesame oil, optional

* In a small saucepan, combine water, soy sauce, schiracha sauce and sweetener and allow to boil.
* Add the whole block of tofu and allow to cook, about 4 to 5 mins.
* Place cooked tofu in a plate, pour the sauce and top with onion leeks or kinchay.
* Put a dash of sesame oil if desired
* Serve immediately and enjoy!

On sources of good recipes/ Banana muffins in an egg carton !?!

I learned early from my mother that those recipes that are printed at the back of the labels of food items are more often than not reliable, tested and with the approval of someone in the know in the industry. Of course that only applies to recipes endorsed by reputable food companies for obvious reasons.

I remember attending a series of cooking and baking classes of one giant local flour distributor one summer in my early teens and I was quite impressed by their food lab and the technologists that come up with recipes such as chocolate chip marble pancakes, siopao recipes and the like. So much work, care and effort has been done to perfect certain recipes that will bear their company logo so for the most part, I clip these recipes.

Another great source of recipes are food blogs and magazines. Food Network is a wonderful library of tried and tested recipes including reviews and ratings, which is always a good idea to refer to before you drive to a specialty store to buy pricey truffles or fancy caviar that you will use to garnish a dish you have not tried but many have unsuccessfully.

One blog that I visit quite frequently is www.marketmanila.com because it is written by a knowledgeable foodie; you will find lots of great pinoy and international food ideas and he also has a treasure trove of recipes (also because pixelpush is dear to me and he speaks highly of it). I see a bit of parallelism between MMs kitchen experiences and mine (no buttermilk readily available in the market so I add lemon juice to whole milk for instance) and some differences too (he can make ensaymada, I still can't *pout*)

One recipe that I have been using from that site and one that I have been quite happy with is the Banana Cake recipe that he posted entitled Banana Cake a la Saveur. After making a few batches of Red Velvet Cupcakes this past days(see previous post) I wanted to make something else and I chanced upon a few bananas that should have been eaten yesterday (Now let's get this straight- they were over-ripe but not rotten okay?) So instead of using a loaf pan, I used tins and made enough to feed an army.

I guess I will send a few to my mom but how? I ran out of boxes so I cut up an egg carton and made the cupcakes sit on it the way eggs would, much to the entertainment of Gabe (he enjoys laughing at mom when she is being creative and resourceful).

Waitaminute, did I just cut up the carton without checking if there is a recipe printed at the back?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I simply had to blog about this.

Much as I've been procrastinating on my blogging, Ive been so excited about this one that it cannot wait; You see, I've been trying to nurse my aching knees (yes you read that right, that's plural- not just one but both of my knees arrrgh) after a recent 5k run that rendered me semi-limping and home-bound yet ecstatic about being able to finish 6 minutes faster than my previous time. (Yes, yes, this old doggie can still learn new tricks, haha)

Now being at home all the time can truly tap one's resourcefulness and in my case, I was wanting to go to the mall to buy Red Velvet cupcakes to give to the kiddies for valentines day but was too lazy and too injured to do so. So I searched for a good recipe and decided to whip up a batch this afternoon.

The result is a good batch of moist and tender cupcakes that is red in color yet chocolatey in flavor. I made some adjustments to the frosting recipe that I found cuz I just need a smaller yield and want the frosting less sweet.

I am very satisfied with the outcome of the first batch and made enough to send over to Luke and his fiancee' Monette, Mommy Indes, Koo,Kev and my nephews and niece. Its even better than the one I was planning to buy, if I do say so myself *proud* that's why Ive been itching to tell the world :)

Happy hearts day everyone!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients

* 3 ⅓ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
* ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 2 ¼ cups sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 6 tablespoons red food coloring
* 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
* 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 ½ teaspoons salt
* 1 ½ cups buttermilk
* 1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar
* 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda


* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
* Place cupcake papers in three dozens cupcake tins.
* In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
* In another bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.
* In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.
* In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.
* Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in a wire rack.


Frosting: 1 8-ounce pack cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
* 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
* Add the vanilla and beat well.
* Gradually add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy.
* Cover and refrigerate icing for 2 to 3 hours, but no longer, to thicken before using.
* When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting liberally on the cupcakes.

Makes about 32 cupcakes.