Chocolate Raspberry Bavarian Cake
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…
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Cocktail Time
I was looking for raspberry liqueur at the Peterson AFB Ccommissary, of all places….and didn’t find it, of course. Just when I was planning a liqour store stop on the way home, I spied this bottle of Rose’s Blue Raspberry Mix.
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Feta Burgers
Do you have those regular burger cravings that won’t be satisfied by a quick trip to McDonald’s or Carl’s Jr.? I do. Before I got married, those cravings were easily satisfied by a quick trip to McDonald’s, Jollibee and even Tropical Hut. Then Spouse had to introduce me to homemade American burgers that I once regarded as bland, uninspired ground beef slabs of dubious origins.
For the record, this is not a gourmet burger made with freshly-ground sirloin or angus beef. It’s a housewife’s version made for maximum convenience and flavor. I do not ground my own burger meat, yet. I do prefer a mix of 81% and 96% lean ground beef. The 93% lean ground is just too dry. I also prefer the meat to be unfrozen. In a pinch, no one will stop you from making burgers out of ground beef from your freezer of course, and I have done that. But burger meat that’s been frozen is drier somehow.
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Corned Beef
St. Patrick’s Day will be here in a few days. But I couldn’t wait wait to have Corned Beef with Cabbage before it came, so here it is.
This dish reminded me of Nilagang Baka and I always cooked it the Filipino-way, boiling it with onion and black peppercorn till it was falling apart. Then adding in the potatoes and cabbage.
When it came time to eating, I grimaced when Spouse slathered the meat with brown mustard. I persisted in having some steamed rice to go with my corned beef and cabbage and Spouse even tried that. Although, he did insist on saving a few slices for a Reuben.
Old habits are hard to break, but when it comes to food, I’ve been known to try almost everything. After a few years of cooking this dish, I’ve conceded and now cook and eat it the American way.
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