RECIPE: RED VELVET CAKE

Oh my gosh!

Those were the first words out of my mouth after I had a forkful of this cake.

A friend came over for coffee and I served her a slice and as soon as she took a bite, she smiled and her eyes widened at the same time, and then she gave me a hug.  There were no words needed.

I had some issues with the frosting though and will probably never make 7-minute icing again until they rename it to 20-minute icing (or maybe the recipe I followed was just wrong--but it was Martha Stewart's!).  While the frosting was good, I was not able to get the ala-marshmallow icing texture I wanted.

Regardless, this is HANDS DOWN, the best red velvet cake I have tried because it is super moist.  And yes, I am making this again but since I'm out of red food coloring, I will make a blue velvet or green velvet next time.

And because I'm super duper nice, I'm sharing the recipe with you.

RED VELVET CAKE 

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 Tablespoon of unsweetened, cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, this replacement worked for me)
• 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1-2 oz. red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar
• ½ cup of prepared plain hot coffee (this is the secret ingredient so please do not skip it!)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. 
   
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
4. 
   
5. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil (I used palm oil). Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until combined.
6. 
   
7. Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.
8. 
   
9. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at time, mixing after each addition, just until combined.
10. 
    
11. Generously grease and flour two round cake pans with butter and flour.
12. 
    
13. Pour the batter evenly into each pan.
14. 
    
15. Bake in the middle rack for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake as cake will continue to cook as it cools.
16. 
    
17. Let cool on a cooling rack until the pan are warm to the touch.
18. 
    
19. Slide a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan.
20. 
    
21. Remove the cakes from the pan and let them cool.
22. 
    
23. Start frosting when the cakes have cooled completely.

Cream cheese frosting would be best for this cake but I didn't have cream cheese last weekend.  But if you do, here's a recipe:

Ingredients

• 16oz  cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup milk, may need more
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Add softened cream cheese into large bowl.
2. 
   
3. Pour in milk, butter and vanilla extract.
4. 
   
5. Mix until well combined.
6. 
   
7. Pour in half of the powdered sugar. Mix until combined.
8. 
   
9. Add the remaining powdered sugar. Mix until smooth and fluffy.
10. 
    
11. Use a spatula to scrape down the side of the bowl if needed.

HAPPY WEEKEND!

RECIPE: MILO CAKE

Happy Easter, everyone!

So here's a fun fact about me: I got my nickname because I was born on an Easter Sunday. And because of that, I feel like it's my birthday everyday Easter.

I have been planning on baking something using Milo for awhile now and last Sunday, it was a toss-up between Milo cookies or a Milo cake.

But since it was Easter and I wanted to celebrate a bit, I opted for the cake.  I decorated it with store-bought chocolate eggs and shavings of a chocolate bar to make it look like a nest.

This is only the second cake I have baked in my life and the bad news is, I made a little blunder with this recipe. Instead of using my large ramekin (which I used to bake my first cake), I decided to use my cake pan which turned out to be a little too big.  So instead of ending up with a cake that was 3-4 inches high, I ended up with a cake that was only close to 2 inches, kinda like a pie.  The good news is, and also why I am sharing this recipe is because this cake was so delicious and moist and just the right amount of sweet, I had 3 slices in a span of 12 hours. Please don't judge ;)

The next time I make this cake--and I will make it again--I would just double the recipe so I can put a layer of milo chocolate frosting in between cakes and I would make pink or teal frosting for the outer part of the cake. Salivating now just thinking about how incredible that would look and taste.

Anyway, back to reality--A lot of people have been asking me for the recipe.  Here you go!

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cake
150g light brown sugar (150g=.63 cup= 10 tablespoons)
100 g white sugar
3 eggs
175 ml milk
2 tablespoons of  softened butter
3.5 tablespoons of milo
150g flour
1.5 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
For the Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon of cocoa powder
3 tablespoons of Milo
1/2 cup of butter
about 3 teaspoons of boiling water

Preheat the oven to 170C.

Using a mixer, combine sugars and eggs until light and frothy.

Heat the milk, butter and Milo together in a saucepan until the butter has melted and it's all hot--not boiling.

Start mixing the egg and sugar mixture again while pouring half of the milo-butter-milk mixture over it.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda then pour the remaining half of the milo mixture and just keep mixing until it is free of lumps.  Once that's done, mix it with the contents of the other bowl.

Line the bottom of your cake pan with baking paper and grease the sides with butter. Pour batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cake starts to pull away from the sides. Another trick I have learned when baking cakes is you'll know it's done when it springs back lightly when touched at the top.  

When cake is done, remove from oven and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before turning it over and removing it from the cake pan.  

Now the frosting.  Using a mixer again, combine sugar, cocoa and milo until free from lumps. Add butter and mix until almost smooth.  With the mixer still on, add the boiling water a teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency for frosting.  Continue mixing for another 10 minutes.

Never frost a hot cake because your icing will just melt.  Once my cake cooled, I let it sit in the ref for about 20 more minutes and that's when I frosted it.  After frosting, I suggest putting your cake back in the ref for another 10 minutes before devouring.

I hope this fulfills what your sweet tooth craves. Toodles!

RECIPE: SOFT AND CHEWY BROWNIE COOKIES

I have to admit, there are days when I just don't want to bake.

Especially now that it's been too hot to do anything except turn on the aircon, stay in bed and catch up on my TV shows.

Seriously, that's how I wanted to spend my Sunday.

But the little boy kept prodding me to bake or bring him to his Tita Carla's house so he can play with her kids.

We started baking after lunch and then that's when I got the call from my friend, Carla sounding very frantic and asking if I could accompany her to St. Luke's because she needs to have her son checked.  You see, she had her son circumcised early last week and according to her, she felt something was wrong because "it" looked wrong.  Of course, when it comes to emergencies like these, you just drop whatever it is you're doing and go.

Luckily, I was almost finished with the batter so I decided to just keep it in the refrigerator.  Joaquin and I got ready as fast as we could and then Carla and I dropped Joaquin off at her house and to the hospital we went.

Turns out, my friend's son's--you know-- was normal and the doctor and urologist assured us that it would look like a typical *ehem*, you know, as soon as it heals.

So anyway, Joaquin and I ended up staying at Carla's till dinner and then our other friends came too and before you know it, it was 10pm and it was time to go home.

"Mama, let's bake the brownie cookies!", my son said while we were on our way home.  I tried to argue that it was night time but at the same time, I kept thinking about how long the batter has been in the refrigerator and how the cookies might not turn out as good if I wait till the next day.

So we baked them cookies.  And how yummy!  They turned out a little crisp on the outside and all chewy and moist inside.  I wouldn't think twice about making these again. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces of dark chocolate, chopped and divided into 7 ounces and 5 ounces. (12oz = 1.5 cups)
3 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Combine 7 ounces of chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave for 1 minute.   Give it a stir then heat in 10-second bursts until the mixture can be stirred smooth.  Set aside to cool.

Using an electric mixer, add eggs, sugar, vanilla and beat for 8 minutes on medium speed or until it looks pale and creamy.

Add the flour, baking powder, melted chocolate-and-butter mixture, and pour in the remaining 5 ounces of chopped chocolate.  Mix for about 1 minute on medium speed. 

Your mixture will look like and have the consistency of chocolate fudge.  And that's why you need to cover your bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to stand at room temperature for about an hour so the batter firms up.

When ready, scoop out mounds of dough onto buttered baking sheets or silicone mats (I don't have one and I want one but so expensive!).  Do not crowd your cookies because these spread.  I placed 9 mounds per tray. I didn't do this part but it is suggested that you do (I think this is why my cookies turned out thinner than I would have liked) -- allow mounds to remain on baking trays, uncovered for about an hour before baking to help batter really set.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Allow cookies to cool on trays before transferring to your mouth (haha!) or an airtight container.

Nomnom!

RECIPE: DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This may sound silly but when I became a mother, I wanted my home to always have homemade goodies available for my kids.

And since I purchased an oven last December, I have somehow been able to live that dream.

2 weeks ago, Joaquin and I made butterscotch brownies.  When I got home Friday night, there was only one bar left.

I have a few dark chocolate bars at home which I, for some reason, don't feel like eating anymore so I chopped them up and decided to bake some dark chocolate chip cookies.  This is, by far, the best choco chip cookie recipe I've tried.

DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Recipe from Apple A Day
Makes approximately 3 dozens

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. dark chocolate chunks

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Using a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Drop dough (by the tablespoon) onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. 

P.S.
As of this writing, the cookies are all gone.