Red Velvet Cake Recipe

An hour from now, I will be heading to meet up with some of my best buddies. I thought of surprising them with a cake made from the bottom of my heart. I actually spent the entire morning baking this cake. It's really fun baking when you have all the time in the world. I only baked one cake because I didn't want to leave one at home since most of us are "on diet." You're looking at around 2000 to 3000 calories of sinful goodness. 

This is meant to be a red velvet cake; but I should have poured more red food coloring to hide the brownish tint from the tablespoons of chocolate I added. My favorite red velvet cake recipe is taken from the website Divas can cook. I've tried other recipes, but this is the one I like the most. However, I reduced the amount of sugar and salt; increased the amount of chocolate; and used cake flour instead of all purpose flour.

Let me just write the recipe down for future reference:

2 c. cake flour, 1 t. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda, 3 T unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 3/4 c brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1/4 t. iodized salt, 1 t. white vinegar, 1 c. canola oil, 1 c. fresh milk (buttermilk was not available unfortunately), 2 t. vanilla extract, red food coloring and 1/2 cup of hot coffee.

For the cream cheese frosting, I used 1 stick butter, 1 stick cream cheese and 1 c. confectioner's sugar. People normally add 2 c. sugar; but again, I don't like very sweet cakes so I always cut back on the sugar.

The roses and leaves are just simple fondant icing. 

I really love baking but I hate eating. This is why I really enjoy baking cakes for my friends! I just can't wait to see them. Bye for now. Gotta run...

Simplest fruitcake recipe

Fruitcake is one of the most popular cakes during Christmas and New Year. I initially started baking fruitcakes for consumption at home. But then my mom suddenly suggested, "why don't you start selling them?" And so that's what I did last Friday. My very first business venture. However, I didn't go large-scale because I didn't want to advertise on facebook and meet up with customers/strangers. I only sold the cakes at my mom's work place--for a very cheap price of course. So cheap, I barely earned a cent. But that is OK. I just liked the idea of selling. I would like to engage in business someday when I have the chance.

Fruitcake

Meanwhile, I am blogging about the simplest fruitcake recipe I formulated. Yes, I conducted 3 fruitcake experiments before I came up with this recipe. The major problem I encountered while I was shopping for ingredients was the scarcity of ingredients itself. I live in a tropical country where 100 grams of dried cherries cost a fortune.  I also couldn't even find my favorite dried fig anywhere in the supermarket. This is the reason why I couldn't use the available recipes online. I had to modify the recipe to come up with a delicious fruitcake with minimal ingredients.

The ingredients I used are as follows:

2 c sugar

2 sticks butter

1/2 c canola oil (I added this because I wanted more moisture)

4 eggs

1/2 t salt

2 1/2 c rum (I used 80 proof rum)

3 1/2 c flour

2 t baking soda

2 t baking powder

2 t cinnamon

1/2 c molasses

250 g pitted prunes cut into cubes

250 g raisins

250 g chopped cashew nuts

500 g glazed fruits

I soaked the prunes and glazed fruits in 2 c rum two days before baking, leaving 1/2 c rum to be mixed with the batter.

I was so happy my mom's office mates loved my fruitcake. Although I barely earned in my so-called "business," I was really glad to see there faces light up after eating my fruitcake. I've always wanted a fruitcake for everybody.

How to bake Empanadas

Because my wanderlust has ceased for awhile, I have been making myself useful by learning how to cook and bake, skills which will come in very handy after I finish my PhD hopefully 3 years from now. Awhile ago, I was craving to eat one of my favorite snacks which I rarely ate when I was growing up because no one at home was ever fond of making it. I have always imagined it isn't  that difficult to do. But it was only awhile ago that I was able to prove this hypothesis. Indeed, empanadas are very easy to make.

1. I made the dough and cut them into circles. I used 3 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup margarine and 1/4 cup cold water. If cold water isn't enough, slowly add more (tablespoon by tablespoon). I also added 1 tablespoon brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Making this empanada dough is no different from making a pie crust. It's very easy. Just don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. However, make sure your hands are exceptionally clean!

2. Cook the filling. I sautéed the following: minced pork, onions, garlic, capsicum, carrots and green peas. I added salt, soy sauce and pepper. Once cooked, I mixed the sautéed minced pork and veges with raisins and cubed cheese. 

3. Wrap the filling and brush with egg wash. For my egg wash, I used 1 whole egg plus 1 tablespoon milk. I'm yet to discover what is the best egg wash formula though...

4. Bake at 200 C for 15 minutes or less.

5. You know it's ready when the empanadas have turned golden brown.

6. Enjoy your empanadas! I really love the fact that these empanadas are crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside. The texture and taste are superb!

Give it a try and let me know how you went. Have fun!

Macaroons vs Macaron

Hi Everyone! Today I went to the Sunday Market in Heverlee, Leuven and bought five Rochers de coco for 2 euros. I must say it's the most well-spent two euros I've ever had in Belgium. Rochers de coco means "coconut rocks." I love these cookies so much because they remind me of my childhood. My mom used to bake these when I was young. But in the Philippines, they call it macaroons. The Philippine version of these rochers de coco is a bit different; they are too soft. European rochers de coco are very chewy. I must say I prefer the European version. Nevertheless, I would still prefer to eat my mom's macaroons because they are not too sweet.

This dessert is often confused with the popular french pastry called "macaron." Macaron and macaroons are very different; and you will immediately understand when you compare photos of the two. Macaron is a soft meringue that immediately melts in your mouth. It comes with different flavors and colors. Macaron fillings are chewy--well most of them at least. I really love eating macarons because of the contrasting texture between  the fillings and the meringue layers!