TRES LECHES CUPCAKE

So, i guess there was a time that i really tried to bake...another cake that i've blogged March 18,2008 at my myspace blog.

Again this is semi-homemade.

1. Follow instructions from the White Cake Mix box. But in lieu of the water i used evaporated milk.

2. Mixed 1/2 cup of each condensed milk and regular milk. Set it aside.

3. Cool the cupcakes and poke the cakes. I used icepick. Then pour the mixed milk into the poked cupcakes.

4. The toppings is a store bought Vanilla Frostings. i just added little milk to soften it and to make it easy to pour on top of each cup cake.

Wow! I thought tres leches was complicated to make. It was easy and delish. Well, at least my version.

VERY BERRY SWIRL CAKE

My friends knows that i'm bake challenged but i've been trying my very best to overcome them. This is another proof that i've been tryin' this is another cake that i need to make again.

Blogged at myspace March 18, 2008

STRAWBERRY SWIRL CAKE (The Original Recipe)

From: Kraft Family and Food Magazine

Prep: 35 min.
Total 1 hr. 35 min. (include. Cooling)

1 pkg. white cake mix

1 pkg. Strawberry flavor Gelatin

2/3 cup Sour Cream

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tub Whipped topping thawed

1 ½ cups sliced strawberries



1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (8 or 9 inch) round cake pans; set aside. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Pour half of the batter into medium bowl. Add dry gelatin mix; stir until well blended.

2.Spoon half of the white batter and half of the pink batter, side by side, into each prepared pan.

3.Swirl batters together lightly, using a teaspoon. Bake 30 min. Cool 30 min, in pans. Remove to wire racks.

4.Mix sour cream and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping.

5.Place one of the cake layers on serving plate; spread to with 1 cup of the whipped topping mixture. Top with 1 cup of the strawberries.

6.Top with remaining cake layer. Spread top and side of cake with remaining whipped topping mixture. Top with remaining ½ cup strawberries just before serving.


(My version) VERY BERRY SWIRL CAKE

Instead of strawberry flavor gelatin, I used frozen raspberry, black and blue berries. Cooked them w/ sugar, added some water and let it simmer until they thickened. Strained it to get a smooth sauce.

For the whipped toppings i used Cool whipped vanilla toppings. Instead of spreading the whipped toppings in the middle with fresh strawberries, I used strawberry jams.

So I had enough of the whipped toppings to cover the entire cake. Did some piping’s to cover the imperfections.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

I've blogged this at my myspace blog, thought i'd blog and share this recipe here in my blogspot. Also, i think it's about time for me to do this cake again!

Blogged April 12, 2008

As i mentioned before i bake my cakes from scratch, " I scratch and open a box of cake mix". But this time, i did it really from scratch, no cake mix box. I have had the craving for this and now it's fixed. If you like chocolate, i suggest you make this. The recipe is perfect, the only thing that i'd adjust the next time i'll make this, is to make more frostings and be generous w/ the frosting in the middle part. This cake is to die for (no pun intented). It's even better the next day, but i microwaved mine for few seconds just because i want my chocolate cake a bit warm and served it w/ strawberry ice cream on the side......yummmmy. And i'm not a cake decorator, so i did the best i could to cover the imperfectons.
I got the original recipe from CacaoWeb Chocolate and Cocao. But did some adjustments. The original called for 50 minutes to bake but i know every oven has different temp and i know in my oven it'll only need 30 to 35 min. to bake.

Y: 12 servings


Ingredients:


8 oz dark semi sweet chocolate

2/3 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons sour cream



Ingredients for frosting:



2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

9 oz semisweet dark chocolate



Method:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.Melt chocolate with butter over a Bain Marie (hot water bath). Set aside.
3.Beat the eggs with sugar, mix with flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract.
4.Slowly fold in the chocolate mixture and the sour cream.
5.Divide into two greased round cake pan.
6.Bake until springy and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes.
7.Allow the cake to cool, then remove from the pan.


Frosting/Ganache:

1.Heat 2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream in a sauce pan.
2.Remove from heat, add 9 oz of the dark semi sweet chocolate (finely chopped if not using morsels), stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let it cool until firm.
3.Use 1/3 of the frosting between the two layers and the remaining on top and around the cake.
4.Refrigerate briefly to set the frosting before serving.



Did my best to cover up the mess

Want a slice of the cake???? then bake this to have your slice


ENJOY!!!!!!!!

STUFFED PATTYPAN aka FLYING SAUCER SQUASH

A year ago, i found this cute "alien" looking vegetable at the farmers market it's commonly known as pattypan squash. Last week at the farmers market i saw abundance of these veggie and this time they are bigger. I bought enough for 2 kinds of recipe. I'll be making stir fry and the the stuffed pattypan, thanks to Red it was easy to pull out the blog i made for Stuffed PattyPan Squash. STUFFED PATTYPAN aka FLYING SAUCER SQUASH

I made the recipe with some tweaking (improvements). The recipe/dish is already delish but i added some ingredients to kick it up another notch.

Ingedients:
Pattypan Squash (bought 3 different colors)
Hot Italian Sausage
Pancetta
Hot Sopressata
garlic (chopped)
onions (chopped)
parsley (chopped)
Muenster cheese (shredded)
Italian Tomato sauce (sauce made by my boss=;))

Procedure:
1. Wash and core the squash (set them aside).

2. Cook pancetta and sopressata w/ little oil until crispy. Set aside. Crumble or chop the cooled pancetta and sopressata.

3. Remove sausage from the casing. Using the same pan, saute garlic and onions then stir in the crumbled italian sausage, stir until cooked.

4. Season w/ S&P. Set aside and let cool. Add chopped parsley when it's cool. These will be the filling.

5. In the meantime cook the Italian Tomato sauce
a. Saute garlic, onion and add S&P, some dried rosemary, dried oregano and dried parsley, then add a can of tomato sauce. Bring to a boil.
b. Add a little of tomato juice to make the sauce a bit sweet. If you don't have tomato juice just add sugar and make sure to taste the sauce then make necessary adjustments.

6. From here, it'll be assembly time.

7. Spread some sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.

8. Arrange the cored pattypan squash in the casserole dish. Stuff each squash w/ cheese then the filling and a little of the sauce. Repeat process to all the cored squash.

9. Cover the casserole w/ foil and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for about 30- 35 minutes or until squash is tender. Poke w/ a paring knife to check doneness.

10. Add the crispy pancetta and sopressata on top of the stuffed pattypan then sprinkle w/ little shredded cheese.

11. Bake again uncovered for few more minutes or just enough to brown the cheese.

12. Serve hot w/ the Italian Tomato Sauce.

Once again...it was so delish. The addition of the Italian Tomato Sauce made this dish really really delicious. You've got to try this dish. You don't have to use Pattypan squash for this, yellow or green squash or zucchini will be perfect as well!
































ENJOY!!! !