The recipe I used for this cake was actually not a good choice.  It’s called a Kentucky Butter Cake and I found it in the website www.allrecipes.com

I have to admit I was impressed with all the positive feedback the recipe generated.  It’s just too sweet for our taste and if I ever do this cake again, some adjustments have to be made.  First of all, I will not leave the cake in the pan as long as I did.  It got stuck in the pan after I left it in the refrigerator for a day and took me a long time and a lot of hot water to get the cakes out.

So, instead of getting into the recipe, I’ll give you some tips for the assembly.

I started with two different sized pans to get as close to the shape of a car as possible.  The first pan was a  rectangular Wilton cake pan that’s about 10.5 x 6.5 inches and 2 inches deep.  The second pan was a 1.5 quart glass loaf dish.  It was not a perfect match since I had to trim about a third of the finished loaf cake to make it fit nicely over the first layer.

Since the cake was too sweet, I decided to just lay it on top of the first layer and didn’t bother with a filling.  The cake was dense enough that it didn’t budge once I had it sitting on the cookie sheet I lay it on.  This was a heavy cake so I had to put it on a stainless steel cookie sheet if I was going to be moving it around safely.

Then I cut a few tubular pieces of the cake trimmings to use on both sides of the hood.  I then had my prepared buttercream frosting divided into two unequal portions.  About half a cup was tinted black for the hood and the rest was tinted as close to apple green as possible.  I used the old Philippine brand Peotraco gel tint for the black and it worked very well.  The green tint was a combination of blue and yellow McCormick food color.  Just a few drops of blue and lots more of the yellow.

When I was satisfied with the colors, I started with the body.  The only way it was going to work for me was to pipe the icing and cover as much of the cake before I smoothen it all out.  I used a small spatula to smoothen it out but as the icing melted, I used my clean fingers and that’s why the photo shows a dimply-looking surface.  I tried to  contour around the roof and hood sides but this melted eventually so go easy on the contouring around the edges or use a Royal Icing recipe. Then I piped the black frosting on the hood and smoothened that out strictly with my fingers.

Then I took four choco cookies and cut out foil rounds that fit in the center of each cookie.  The foil pieces stayed on the cookies with a little dab of frosting.  Then on to the sides of the cake they went for the perfect tires. Spouse said the edges even resembled treads so that was a nice bonus.

I then cut out some pieces of regular aluminum foil for the windows,  windshields, license plate, front grill and tail lights and stuck it on easily.  There was a little add-on not every car will have – a padlock.  I wish I had gold colored foil but I didn’t so I just made a teeny-tiny padlock shape thing with the regular foil and it worked for. For a finishing touch, I put some red candy decor pieces for the turn lights, both back and front.  Voila!  There’s your car cake!

Now that I’ve written this all down, I think I’m up for another cake decorating job!

Sami's Cake

This is a very basic carrot cake iced with a cream cheese frosting which I used for the “white cake” I wrote about in my last post.  I tweaked the recipe to my taste and think this will be my keeper recipe.  I just love this cake for the spice, the moistness, the crunch  of the nuts and the fact that it actually has some vegetable in it.  That fact kind of fools me into thinking this is a healthy cake.  You have to admit, it is healthier than a butter pound cake.

This is half the recipe of one I found online months ago.  It makes a single layer 9-inch cake that’s just about the right size.

3 cups finely grated carrots (you can freeze any leftovers for the next cake)

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1/2 c. raisins/currants or dried cranberries

2 eggs (always large for baking)

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. crushed pineapples, well-drained

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 tsps. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsps. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (don’t chop too finely so you get some crunch)

Combine grated carrots and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside for 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Sift and combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a bowl.

In a larger bowl, beat the eggs until light.  Gradually beat in the sugar, oil and vanilla.  Stir in the pineapple.  Add the flour mixture and stir until it’s all absorbed.  Be gentle at this point. Now add the carrots and brown sugar mix, then the walnuts and stir till well-combined.

Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Cool the cake completely.  Give it a few hours to make sure, it’s worth it.  Or stick it covered in the refrigerator overnight.  Frost with cream cheese frosting.

TIP:  I prepare the frosting a day or two before I use it.  The texture comes out smoother.  My theory is,  the local confectioner’s sugar I get here isn’t all that fine even after beating the frosting longer than usual.  Leaving the frosting covered in the refrigerator for a couple of days before use does the trick.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 package softened cream cheese (I use Philadelphia, there’s more in a pack than the local brand)

1/3 c. butter, softened

1 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. powdered sugar

Combine first 4 ingredients in a mixer and beat until creamy.  Add sugar and beat until smooth, about 5-6 minutes.  Be careful not to let the sugar dust get in your face!

I purposely looked for this recipe after we went to the Greek Festival here in Colorado Springs  last summer.  There was this particular cake that I really loved and just guessed what it was.  When I saw this recipe, I think I had it.  It’s a walnut cake  laced with citrus syrup after it’s been cooled.  The recipe was a genoise cake which I wrote about in more detail in this post.  I think I’ll make changes in the future and add some butter or shortening.

I didn’t make many changes to the recipe and found it was too dry.  Then again, I’m in high altitude so that certainly made a difference.  That was easily corrected by serving the cake with a large dollop of whipped cream. 

Here’s another photo I took of the cake.  I love this cake plate I got at the Mikasa Factory Store at the Castlerock Outlet Mall some years back.  It has the color and look of a sunflower so an undecorated cake like this looks so pretty sitting on it.

Here’s the recipe I used:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts

4 eggs, separated

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1-1/2 c. sugar, divided in 3

1/4 c. sweetened apple juice

1 tbsp. (or more) lemon juice

1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind

In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves. Stir in walnuts. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar at high speed until foamy. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are glossy and stand in soft peaks. (Rub just a bit of meringue between thumb and forefinger to feel if sugar has dissolved.) In small mixing bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar. Sprinkle flour mixture over whites. Add beaten yolk mixture. Gently, but thoroughly, fold yolk mixture into whites. Pour into greased and floured 10-inch springform pan. Gently spread batter evenly.

Bake in preheated 350ºF oven until top springs back when lightly touched with finger, about 45 to 50 minutes. Remove cake from oven. Cool completely. Remove cake from pan and invert onto serving platter. Pierce top of cake with a skewer or fork.

In small saucepan, stir together apple juice, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Remove from heat.  Slowly spoon syrup over cake until absorbed.  Let sit at least an hour before serving to allow the syrup to penetrate the cake.

Serve with a topping of whipped cream.

NOTE:  At high altitude, it’s a good idea to add 2 more tablespoons of water to your syrup as it boils. 

This  experiment was a success, if I might say so myself.  The cupcakes had that very delicate pandan flavor…not at all overpowering as I thought it would be.  I meant for the green and pink tints to be much lighter but that can be corrected next time.  The recipe is based on a Vanilla Cupcake recipe from that famous NYC landmark, Magnolia Bakery.  The only changes I made were to substitute pandan extract with the vanilla and added some green food coloring. 

The icing is also based on their recipe for Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting.   Again, I substituted the vanilla for pandan and it was just delicious.  I hope some of you will try it.

Pandan is a common ingredient in Southeast Asian cooking.  I’m sure everyone who’s familiar with the cuisine of the region has come across it at one time or another.  In the Philippines, we put a fresh leaf on top of our steaming rice.  My mother always had a pandan plant that was situated as close to her kitchen door as possible. This way, you won’t have an excuse not to have pandan-scented rice at every meal. 

We also use pandan to flavor various desserts.  I beleive Pandan Cakes are available commercially in several bakeries in Metro Manila.  There’s also the very refreshing Pandan Tea which was  introduced in the Philippines less than 10 years ago by my estimate. 

So, here’s the recipe for the cupcakes.  I will write in the exact proportions I used, please feel free to make changes, say with the food coloring or pandan extract.

Pandan Cupcakes

1-1/2 c. self-rising flour (on a ratio of 1 c. flour : 1.5 tsp. baking powder : 1/2 tsp. salt)

1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. unsalted butter, softened

2 c. sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 c. milk

1 tsp. pandan extract

1/4 tsp. green food coloring (I’d go for less next time)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line two muffin pans with cupcake papers. 

In a small bowl, mix the flours.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, on medium speed, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with a mix of the milk, pandan extract and green food color.  With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.  Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.  (The food color will be a good indicator) 

Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, about 2/3 or 3/4 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes.  Then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before icing.

Butter Cream Frosting (I only used half this recipe)

1 c. unsalted butter, softened

6 to 8 cups. confectioner’s sugar

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. pandan extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.  Add 4 cups of the sugar then the milk and pandan flavor.  On medium speed, beat until smooth and creamy, abotu 5 minutes.  Gradually add the remaining sugar 1 cup at a time until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. 

You may add food coloring, just a drop at a time till you get the tint you want.  Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

The combination of raspberries with chocolate is a recipe for the most luscious desserts or cakes. I previously featured a cake recipe with these two main ingredients. It failed in the aesthetics department but certainly was perfect in every other aspect.  There’s the sweetness of the cake, the bitterness of the chocolate and the tartness of the berries…I just love it.

In this presentation, I took out one cupcake from the foil baking cup and just broke it open when it was still warm.  The smell of chocolate was strong because I deviated from the original recipe and added more cocoa powder.  The raspberries were a nice surprise in the center. I also added more raspberries than the recipe called for….just because.

This recipe is definitely  a keeper. It’s a cinch to make and the resulting product is not only pretty but delicious. It’s good enough to give as a present and that’s why I made them. They’re going to Stepson who celebrated his birthday recently.  I meant to give him a cake which I thought was a flop but turned out to be delicious…

For high altitude adjustments, just add a tablespoon and a half of flour and 2 tablespoons more milk.  If you want it cakier, add an extra egg.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

1/2 c. butter, soft at room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 c. self rising flour

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 c. milk

1 1/4 c. frozen raspberries, thawed

Preheat oven to 375F.

Combine butter, sugar and eggs ina bowl and mix until light and creamy.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.  Add to creamed mixture with milk. Beat on medium speed for a minute or until mixture is smooth. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as you go.

Spoon into muffin pan lined with baking cups, about 2/3 full. Top with 3-4 raspberries, pushing a couple into the dough.  Bake for 20 minutes. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Makes 20 cuppcakes.

Ready for the oven…..

This cake was a big surprise. Despite the knowledge that butter cakes are always good cake recipes, this was outstanding.  I didn’t even bother to sprinkle any confectioner’s sugar on it for the photo after I tasted a crumb from the pan. No embellishments for this cake…a cup of tea, coffee or a glass of milk maybe.

I thought for sure I made a flop because I didn’t do my usual adjustments for high altitude baking, except for the addition of a tablespoon of flour. My cake looked like it caved in on me but it didn’t matter when I took it out from the oven and had a whiff of that almond. The cake was dense and moist and tasted delicious with that luscious almond flavor.

The recipe came from the almond paste and marzipan manufacturer, Odense.  I got a box of their almond paste out of curiosity once and looked for a recipe. This particular one was reputed to be an all-around favorite so I picked it.  You’ll understand why it’s a favorite when you try it.

Spouse and I already had a slice each and I’ve wrapped the rest tightly so it will survive its recommended one week shelf life.

Don’t you just admire those people who can decorate cakes like it was the easiest thing in the world to do?  Magic, blessed hands….

Unfortunately, I’m not one of them.  Here’s my latest sorry attempt at cake decorating.  I can bake it and it tastes great, but does it look that way?  Never mind…

Looking at the photo now, I think about all the things I could have done better.  Piped some whipped cream at the bottom, laid the top layer straighter so the cake doesn’t look so lopsided…a dozen things really.

Oh well, the cake tasted great…the sweet and slightly tart raspberry cream went so well with the bitter chocolate filling.  The raspberry syrup added great depth to an otherwise ordinary chocolate sponge cake.

The base cake is what you call a genoise, a European sponge cake tracing its roots to Genoa, hence the name.  It doesn’t use any shortening or leavening and is perfect for high altitude baking.

A wonderful, wonderful recipe I found at the Godiva Chocolate website that I hope to make for my family back home really soon…

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Genoise:

1/3 c. cake flour

1/3 c. cornstarch

1/4 c. cocoa powder

3 large eggs plus 3 large eggyolks, at room temperature

3/4 c. sugar

pinch of salt

Raspberry Syrup:

1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. water

1/4 c. raspberry liqueur (I used a substitute that worked well for me, rhum and a blue raspberry drink mix)

Chocolate Filling:

1/2 c. heavy cream

4.5 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped ( I used unsweetened just because)

2 tbsps. butter

Raspberry Bavarian:

2-12 ounce bags frozen raspberries

3.4 c. sugar

1/3 c. raspberry liqueur

1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

2 c. heavy cream

Assembly:

1 c. heavy cream

dark chocolate shavings

1/2 pint fresh raspberries

confectioner’s sugar

Make the Genoise:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter bottom and side of 9-inch spring form pan.  Line bottom with parchment paper.

Sift together all dry ingredients.  Beat together rest of ingredients using a heatproof bowl. Use a handheld mixer at medium speed.  Place bowl over pan of simmering water and continue beating until the mixture is lukewarm.   Remove from heat.  Increase speed to high and beat until mixture is cooled and increased in volume, about 3 to 4 minutes. The mixture should turn a very light yellow.

Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture in three additions, gently folding with a rubber spatula.

Spread batter in prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from pan and invert onto a rack.  Cool completely.

Make the Syrup:  Combine sugar and water in saucepan over medium heat, boil.  Remove from heat.  Cool and add liqueur.

Make the Chocolate Filling:  Heat cream in saucepan to boil over medium heat.  Remove from heat and add chocolate, let stand 30 minutes.  Whisk in butter until smooth.

Make the Raspberry Bavarian:  Combine raspberries in a saucepan.  Heat to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Strain mixture through a fine-meshed siever into bowl.  Cool to room temperature.  Combine  liqueur and gelatin in heatproof bowl and let stand 5 minutes.  Place in a saucepan with simmering water and heat until gelatin is dissolved. Whisk into raspberry puree.  Beat cream until stiff peaks form.  Fold into raspberry mix.

Assembly:  Cut genoise horizontally into two equal layers.  Place one layer in bottom of spring form pan, cut side up.  Brush with half of raspberry syrup.  Spread half of chocolate filling over cake.  Top with a third of the raspberry Bavarian cream.  Top with other half of cake, cut side down.  Brush cake with remaining syrup and layer the chocolate filling on top.  Refrigerate about an hour before proceeding with decorating.  Refrigerate the raspberry cream as well.

Spread remaining raspberry cream on the top and sides.  Spread whipped cream on the sides.  Decorate top with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings.  Sprinkle confectioner’s sugar over the center raspberries.  Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

Cake Decorating for the First Time?

You’ve seen the pan, now here’s the cake…ta-dah!

Did you notice the cake is lopsided?  You wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t say a word, right?  Not so bad.  The cake was great whichever pan you used.  Can’t really go wrong with a combination of pear and rhum.

This recipe is based on a  Pear and Grappa Pound Cake again found in my current favorite, “The Soprano Family Cookbook” by Allen Rucker and Michele Scicolone.  The cake was mentioned by Meadow Soprano in The Sopranos Episode 59 of Season 5.  In this episode, she bakes that cake for her grandfather’s birthday party.

This cake is highly recommended.  Try it sometime.  It has a lovely combination of flavors, is very easy to make and is pretty much full-proof baking, even for higher altitudes.

Ingredients:

1 – 15 or 16 oz. can pear halves or slices

3 c. all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lb. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c. sugar (1 1/4 c. is fine)

3 large eggs

3 tbsps. grappa, rhum or brandy (4 tbsps. is fine)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan or tube pan.

Drain the pears and reserve 1/2 c. of the liquid.  Chop pears into 1/2 inch pieces.

In a medium bowl, sitr together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  The mix should  turn a very light yellow. Add eggs, one at a time. (TIP:   Crack eggs into a measuring cup with a lip so it’s easy to pour into the bowl while beating.) Be sure to beat well after addition, the object is to get each egg thoroughly incorporated into the mix.

Beat in the pear liquid, the grappa/rhum/brandy and vanilla.  Don’t worry if the batter looks curdled, that’s the way it should be.

Reduce  speed to low, and add flour mix, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Beat just until blended for about 1 minute ? With a spatula now, mix in the pears.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake until the cake pulls away from the sides, about 1 hour 15 minutes.  Don’t forget to turn the pan halfway through baking.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.

Invert cake onto a rack.  Cool completely and dust with confectioner’s sugar before transferring to your serving plate.

The Sopranos Family Cookbook

It’s Christmas everywhere and in the Philippines no other treat says Christmas more than this rice cake.  It’s available year round in most places.  During the Christmas season, churches everywhere will have vendors setting up shop in the wee hours of the morning.  These vendors will be selling  bibingka or puto bumbong and cooking them right in their stalls.  The Catholic faithful who hear the early morning novena mass before Christmas all flock to these stalls for their bibingka.  It makes a perfect breakfast with your coffee or hot cocoa.

The best way to cook these cakes is in shallow pans made of clay  lined with banana leaves set up over hot coals with more live coals on a movable tin cover to cook the top.  My version is oven-baked for convenience.  This was my first time to make this and I was not all that impressed by how it turned out.  When I took it to my mom’s for merienda however, they all liked it.  Youngest Sister even said the only thing missing was the distinct smell when you cook something over live coals….something we always called “charcoal smell.”

The toppings may not be readily available.  The salted duck’s eggs can be homemade but it will take a couple of weeks to cure.  The Filipino quesong puti is similar to the Mexican queso fresco or queso blanco.  The Philippine version uses carabao’s milk and thus,  richer.  As for the coconut milk, there’s nothing like fresh since it has a natural sweetness you can’t get from canned coconut milk.  If you are in a pinch, use cow’s milk or the canned/powdered coconut milk.

Here are the ingredients:

2 c. Jasmine or other fragrant long grain rice variety

2 c. water

4 eggs

3/4 to 1 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter

1 c. coconut milk

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

sliced salted duck’s eggs

sliced quesong puti

Soak rice overnight in the water to soften the grains.  Put grains in a food processor and grind on high until fine.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare two 8-inch round pans by lining with banana leaves that have been wiped clean and heated over an open flame to make it flexible.

Beat eggs, sugar and butter until frothy.  Add the rest of the ingredients, not including duck’s egg and cheese.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and top with eggs and cheese.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out clean.

Serve with freshly grated coconut meat.