Missing Christmas

A blessed Christmas to all.

It has been very difficult for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I went through the motion of buying presents for everyone just because.  A couple of weeks ago, I was entering this online competition and had to answer in 25 words or less the question, "What makes Christmas special to you and why?"  I stared at the computer screen for a long time, not knowing what to write.  Ended up with nothing.  How pathetic.

I miss Christmases of my childhood so much.  Sometimes I just cry reminiscing about them.

We always got to wear brand new clothes and shoes for Christmas eve mass.  And the "feast" we had afterwards...it was the only time of the year we got to eat lots of ham, apples, walnuts, special cheese....

We had special, battery-operated toys that my parents only brought out during the Christmas season.  As soon as the season was over, the toys got packed up and stored until the next Christmas.  We never got tired of those toys.  The mere sight of my mom opening a fresh pack of batteries excited us.

We were a big family so there were definitely lots of presents too.  I didn't mind getting clothes instead of toys.

Christmas day lunch was spent at my aunties' house.  They had a huge house and they always cooked the best food and baked the greatest cakes and pastries. After lunch, we always played Black Jack.  We had great fun. Of course, more presents followed from my grandparents and aunties.  They always handed newly printed money, fresh from the bank!

Here is a photo of my big family, taken Christmas day of 1982. (I am 4th from the right, back row.) Since then, 6 of those in the photo have already passed away.  I miss them all very much.

These days, Christmas is totally different.  The anticipation, the excitement, the time spent with our extended family, relatives and friends are just not the same.  The kids today do not seem to have that same spirit that we had. I wish I could give my own children a better Christmas experience...one they can look back to and smile about when they're older. I just don't know how.

I am just tired, I guess.  I've been baking nonstop...I've had no time to pause and reflect.  I do long to experience real Christmas joy.

Before I go, here's the cake I made for our celebration today.  I opted for a safe flavour, chocolate.  Made the gumpaste decorations a week ago as I did not want to stress out at the last minute.  Yesterday, my husband accidentally sat on my poinsettia centerpiece and three of the petals broke.  I nearly died.  Repaired them with edible glue and covered up the cracks with petal dust.  Not too happy but it will do.

Again, have a blessed Christmas!  Peace, joy, love, and hope to all.

Coconut (Buko) Pandan Chiffon Cake

I know it's nearly Christmas...

...because I just made my very first Christmas-themed cake and cupcakes for the year!

This gumpaste Nativity centerpiece was inspired by a cake in Karen Davies'  A Cake for Christmas Part 2.   Isn't it lovely?  I just wanted the figures and not the fondant-covered cake.

My sister in-law wanted a big cake and some matching cupcakes, preferably in red and/or green colours. I suggested pandan chiffon for the cake and she decided on red velvet for the cupcakes.

The coconut pandan chiffon cake recipe I use is basically the same old chiffon recipe you see here over and over, only a different flavour.  Here it is, as you might want to try it out for your own Christmas cakes!   Frost it your way - either in buttercream (as in the cake above) or in whipped cream.  Then fill the cake with young coconut strips or with macapuno for added coconut goodness!

PANDAN CHIFFON CAKE  (recipe suitable for two 9" by 2 1/2" round pans, or one 10" by 3" round pan)

{A}
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar

{B}
1/2 cup corn/canola oil
7 egg yolks, from large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup water, coconut juice or coconut milk (your choice)
1 teaspoon pandan paste **

{C}
7 eggwhites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

{D}
3/4 cup white sugar

**You can replace this with 1 teaspoon clear pandan extract plus 1/2 teaspoon green gel paste

Procedure:
1.  Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.  Line bottom of baking pan/s with parchment paper.  Do not grease.
2.  In a large bowl, combine {A} well.  Add in {B}. Beat with electric mixer or by hand until smooth and well blended.
3.  In a separate bowl, beat {C} on high speed until frothy.  Gradually add in the sugar in {D} and beat until stiff peaks are formed.  Gradually and gently fold in egg whites into egg yolk mixture.  Pour batter into baking pan.  If using two 9" pans, divide the batter equally.
4.  Bake for about 55 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.  Invert pan into wire rack immediately and cool completely.
5. To release cake from, carefully run a think knife around sides of pan, then invert.  For easier handling, wrap your cake very well in cling film, then refrigerate overnight before frosting.

Happy Christmas baking!


PS.  Here's a buko pandan cake I frosted with my usual whipped cream frosting and decorated very similarly to the ube macapuno cake.  Tastes just like the buko pandan salad Filipinos love!

Mango and Cream Cake

 I've been asked many times to share the recipe I use for my mango cake.  I have not (till now), because, in order to make a good mango cake (meaning, using fresh mangoes only and not canned!), I have to patiently wait for the mango season here.  Unlike in the Philippines where I grew up, mangoes, even during the summer months here in Australia, are not as readily and as cheaply available.

Anyway, with some luck, I found relatively inexpensive, good-sized mangoes at Aldi.  They were 99 cents a piece.  Still not as cheap as I would have wanted but the price should go down more in the coming months.

Made this for my brother's advanced birthday celebration.

There is nothing extra special about this kind of cake.  For me, it all simply comes together beautifully because of the mangoes.  The cake is just a basic chiffon flavoured with vanilla and a little of something citrus like lemon or orange (just like the caramel cake).  The frosting is again my favourite whipped cream frosting (used in both the purple yam and cookies and cream cakes). 

MANGO AND CREAM CAKE (recipe suitable for two 9" by 2 1/2" round pans, or one 10" by 3" round pan)

Chiffon Cake:

{A}

2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup white sugar

{B}

1/2 cup corn/canola oil

7 egg yolks, from large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup water **

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon or orange extract

{C}

7 eggwhites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

{D}

3/4 cup white sugar

**In my earlier attempts at making this cake, I used mango nectar/juice (instead of water ) to give flavour to the cake, but found the resulting cake colour unappealing to me.  So I just ditched it and put the mango goodness to work on the frosting instead.  Much better, I would definitely say.

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line bottom of baking pans with parchment paper.  Do not grease pans.

2. In a large bowl, combine {A} well. Add in {B}. Beat with electric mixer or by hand until smooth and well blended.

3. In a separate bowl, beat {C} on high speed until frothy. Gradually add in the sugar {D} and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Gradually and gently fold in egg whites into egg yolk mixture. Pour batter into baking pans.  If using two 9" pans, divide the batter equally.

4. Bake for about 55 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan into wire rack immediately and cool completely.

5. To release cake from pan, carefully run a thin knife around sides of pan, then invert. For easier handling, wrap your cake very well in cling film, then refrigerate overnight before frosting.

Mango Whipped Cream Frosting:

2 cups whipping or thickened cream, very cold

1 250g bar of cream cheese, soft but still cold

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

about 3 medium-sized mangoes (more if you love mangoes!)

*Make sure your mixing bowl and beaters for the whipped cream are all well chilled to achieve better volume.

Puree mango meat of one mango.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Set aside.

In your chilled bowl and using clean beaters, beat the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until the mixture is quite stiff. Gently fold in the cream cheese then beat again at high speed for a few seconds or just until everything is well combined.  Be careful not to overbeat.  Carefully fold in the mango puree.

To assemble:

Cut up the rest of your mangoes into small cubes or thin slices (whichever you prefer) to use for the filling and for garnishing.

Place one cake layer on your cake board, top side up. Use some of the frosting to fill the cake.  Scatter the mango cubes/slices all over the filling.  Place the top cake layer over the bottom layer, bottom side up.  Frost the cake with the remaining whipped cream frosting, decorate as desired and garnish with more mango cubes/slices.

Now that's one refreshing summer cake!

Best served cold.  Enjoy!

PS. You can substitute the mangoes with peaches and have a Peaches and Cream cake instead!  Just as yummy!

One more time for the caramel cake

I know I already posted a caramel cake recipe here not too long ago. It was a recipe that I was, in fact, happy with. But if you were in my place, how would you feel when someone tells you that your cake isn't close to the cake you are trying to copy?

I don't know if 'disappointed' is the right word because I knew all along, that while the icing tasted good, it wasn't exactly IT.  The simple truth was that the "right" icing was supposed to be poured and not spread.  The icing should be super smooth on the cake surface rather than marred with spatula marks.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to ask around the net for ideas from people who've uploaded their caramel cake photos, particularly those with icing that appeared to have the right consistency.  I wasn't exactly asking for their recipes, just opinions on what I can do to improve mine. I get lots of emails from people asking for my recipes and for advice, and without exaggeration, I do respond to every single email.  So in a way, I expected answers myself, even just to tell me that they are sorry they can't help me.  Sadly, only one had the courtesy to respond to me. The one recipe shared with me, unfortunately, was a spreadable icing too.  Still, I gave it a try.

Sorry to say, I wasn't very happy with the outcome.  The taste was alright but the icing was pale in colour (due to the lack of caramelized sugar) and it was thick and difficult to spread smooth.  However, the good news is that,  it gave me an idea on how to revise my recipe.

The next thing to do was, of course, bake another caramel cake.  I made one for my late mother's birthday last October 27.  I changed the proportions of my ingredients and hoped for the best.  And I prayed to my mom to help me make it right.  After all, the cake was for her.

How was it, you ask?  I think the photos will speak for themselves.

I am very happy to say that I think I have finally got it right!  Whether or not this tastes like THAT CAKE, I really don't care now because it was the right sweetness for me and the consistency was completely pourable.  Except for some tiny air bubbles (which I know is avoidable), the cake surface was smooth.  I did not need to do any spreading.

Here it is then...the revised (and hopefully, much better version) of the caramel icing recipe.  The procedure is the same as the original one.  Just take note of the changes in ingredients and quantities.

CARAMEL ICING (enough to frost and fill an 8" round cake)

2 eggyolks
1/2 3/8 cup white sugar, divided updated: 19/2/2013
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (one 375 ml can), divided
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk the eggyolks with 1/8 cup (or 2 tablespoons) of the sugar in a small bowl/jug.  Add in 1/4 cup of the evaporated milk and cornstarch.  Mix well, then set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, over low to medium heat, caramelize the remaining (3/8 1/4 cup) sugar.  When sugar is completely melted and a golden brown colour, add boiling water.  Bring back to a boil, making sure all the caramel is incorporated into the water.  Carefully add in the rest of the evaporated milk (1 1/4 cups).  Heat ;mixture just until it starts to boil.  Without turning off the heat, pour a little of the caramel/milk mixture into the eggyolk mixture to temper the eggs.  Mix until smooth.  Pour this back into the remaining caramel/milk mixture in the saucepan.  Mix until icing reaches a thick consistency.  Off the fire, add in butter and vanilla extract. Let cool just a little bit, whisking once in while.  The mixture will thicken more.  Pour onto cake while still warm.

NOTE:  This icing is pourable.  Let it flow smoothly over the top and sides of the cake.  Put strips of baking paper under your cake to catch the drips.

Enjoy!  Hope you will be happy with this as well.

Birthdays

Matthew, my youngest son, turned 10 last October 12.  This year, we decided to celebrate his birthday simply with an all-kids, all-boys party.  Matthew only invited 7 of his closest school friends.  They played fun games and as always, had a homemade pinata filled with sweet treats.  It was so much easier to have a small party like this. Aside from the fact that I did not have to prepare any kind of fancy food, I know that Matthew enjoyed it more to have his friends around rather than us inviting our own adult friends over.

Red velvet cake filled and frosted with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.

For the occasion, I chose to make a photo cake.  I ordered the edible icing image from a reputable cake decorating shop.  It cost me $25 (including postage) for this 7.5" round image alone!  Expensive, isn't it?  I figured, since I was making the cake myself anyway, it was still worth the expense.  I've purchased edible icing images before for half the price but the quality wasn't all that good.  This particular photo of Matthew was printed really clearly and I did not have a problem removing the image from its backing paper.

Now, I'm really contemplating on buying a printer, edible inks, and frosting sheets so I can print these images myself.  I've already done my research and I've learned that it really doesn't cost that much to invest in these things. So hopefully very soon, I will have a new toy to play with!

There are a couple more birthdays today that we've been invited to and for which, I was asked to make cakes too.

A Power Ranger-themed cake for a 4 year old boy...

Mocha chiffon filled and frosted with coffee Swiss Meringue buttercream.

Gumpaste red power ranger topper.

And also one for a first birthday...

Chocolate chiffon filled and frosted with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.

I would say this cake is the one I am most happy with and proud of to date!  I based the topper from the design of the birthday invitation (which also had a photo of the birthday girl wearing this polka dot pinafore). I particularly like the birds holding the candle and the balloon.

Cake topper made from gumpaste.

Well, so much for birthdays.  Until the next one comes along.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Practice makes perfect

I gave up on trying to learn how to pipe buttercream roses many months ago.  It seemed that no matter what I did, I just couldn't get them right. Couldn't figure out if it was because of my technique or if the consistency of my frosting was just wrong.  Making gumpaste roses, though considerably more time consuming, worked out better for me.  So I stuck with it for a while.

Until I made the caramel cake recently.  I gave it another shot and the roses turned out quite acceptable.

I tried again shortly after that, this time for an old-fashioned chocolate cake.  Still not the best...but at least, my confidence level was definitely up.

Looked like I was getting the hang of it...so why not try again, right?

Those were for a Christening cake I finished last night. 

The cake is a 12" ube macapuno chiffon filled and frosted with an ube flavoured Swiss Meringue buttercream.

I was given just a day to make this cake, from baking, to making the gumpaste decorations, to frosting and decorating.  I think the cross topper came out pretty well considering the little time I had.

Cross topper made from gumpaste.  Embossed with flower prints and painted with edible gold paint.

My buttercream roses are still far from perfect but I know I'm getting there....

Caramel Cake

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  After reading the following post, please go to a follow-up post here (re: revised caramel icing).  Also, for an alternative butter icing, go here.

Filipino-style caramel cake is far different from most caramel cakes. The cake base is chiffon, either in vanilla or mocha, and it is filled and frosted with a caramel icing that is not overly sweet. The icing can be described as more like a cross between caramel and custard and tastes very much like leche flan or creme caramel.

In the Philippines, the most popular caramel cakes are made by Estrel's. They have kept their cakes very traditional over the years and the caramel cake recipe they are using today is the same since they started in the 1940s.

Surprisingly, it is very hard to find a recipe for this kind of caramel icing paired with the chiffon cake. For a long time, I've searched and searched over the internet and found nothing. Most of the caramel icing recipes on the net are ones that are loaded with so much sugar and the kind that crust after a short while. The recipe I am about to share here came from my 85-year old aunt. I must say, however, it is a tweaked version of what she used many, many years ago in the family bakeshop. I've replaced some of the water content in her original recipe with milk to make it creamier and lessened the amount cornstarch. I also added vanilla extract (although my aunt suggests maple extract as better). I don't really know if this tastes like Estrel's because truthfully, I've never tasted their caramel cake. But what I am certain about is that this ticks all the boxes - the creaminess, the not-too-sweet taste, the pourable consistency. For all I know, it might even be better.

Anyway, on to the recipe. The cake consists of three components - the chiffon cake, the caramel icing, and the buttercream. If you want your cake base to be mocha, the recipe for the mocha chiffon cake can be found in this post. The Swiss meringue buttercream recipe (to be used to for the borders and flowers) is also found on the same post. Of course, you can use your own favourite buttercream recipe if you want to.

FILIPINO-STYLE CARAMEL CAKE

VANILLA CHIFFON CAKE (recipe suitable for an 8” round, 3” high pan)

{A}
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons white sugar

{B}
¼ cup corn/canola oil
4 egg yolks, from large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

{C}
4 eggwhites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

{D}
6 tablespoons white sugar

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
2. In a large bowl, combine {A} well. Add in {B}. Beat with electric mixer or by hand until smooth and well blended.
3. In a separate bowl, beat {C} on high speed until frothy. Gradually add in the sugar {D} and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Gradually and gently fold in egg whites into egg yolk mixture. Pour batter into an ungreased 8” round, 3” high pan.
4. Bake for about 50 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan into wire rack immediately and cool completely.
5. To release cake from pan, carefully run a thin knife around sides of pan and invert cake onto a large serving plate. **Tip: For easier handling, wrap your cake very well in cling film, then refrigerate overnight before frosting.

CARAMEL ICING (enough to frost and fill 8” round cake)

3 eggyolks (set aside eggwhites for the Swiss Meringue buttercream)
1 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons full cream milk, divided
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use 1/8 teaspoon maple oil flavour)

Combine egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, ½ cup of the full cream milk and 3 tablespoons cornstarch in a small bowl/jug. Mix well, then set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, over low to medium heat, caramelize (melt) the remaining 3/4 cup sugar. When sugar is completely melted and a golden brown colour, add boiling water. Bring back to a boil, making sure all the caramel is incorporated into the water. Carefully add in 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons full cream milk. Heat mixture just until it starts to boil. Pour a little of the caramel/milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs. Mix until smooth. Pour this back into the remaining caramel/milk mixture in the saucepan. Mix until icing reaches a thick and spreadable consistency. Off the fire, add in butter and vanilla extract. Strain mixture, if necessary.

Let the icing cool down then spread it all over the cake surface.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM - One recipe is more than enough. Use the eggwhites that you set aside from the caramel icing.

To decorate: Cut your cake horizontally in half. Invert top layer onto your cake board. Spread a thin layer of caramel icing over your cake half, then top with other cake layer, cut side down. Spread the rest of the caramel icing over the cake. Pipe out buttercream borders and decorate with buttercream roses/flowers as desired.

Happy baking!


PS.  Wanted to also share with you two other recent cakes I made.

Another ube cake, this time with ube-flavoured Swiss meringue buttercream.

A Transformers-themed cake I made for an 8th birthday.

Half-success

Sometimes I just get sick of baking and baking and baking.  Like last week, when I had to make six ube macapuno cakes over three days.  It may not sound much but for a one-woman team like me, it does get pretty tiring.

For this week, however, I had only one cake lined up. Last Tuesday, my sister in-law asked me to make this mocha chiffon birthday cake for her boss.  It was a small cake and it was a breeze to make.

I know it's crazy...but now that I'm not baking anything, I have been getting the constant urge to bake something. So instead of taking a needed break,  I took the opportunity to try this thing that I've been wanting to try for a long time....make my usual ube cake into a roll.

I would call this attempt a half-success because, although the taste was as delicious as always, it was a long way from perfection.  First of all, my cake cracked a bit when I unrolled it (after it cooled down).  I was thinking of giving up at that point but I had already made my frosting and I didn't want to waste it. (I'm glad I did proceed cause the frosting held the cake together despite the cracks.) Secondly, I think I filled up the cake with too much frosting, hence, I could not roll the cake tightly. It was just like one big roll.  Maybe it would have been better if I started rolling from the short rather than the long end?

See what I mean?

Anyway, perfection or not, and for the benefit of those interested, I will describe in brief how I made this cake roll:

1. I made up HALF the ube cake recipe found here.  Used 4 eggs.
2.  I used a jelly roll pan measuring 10" by 14", greased it and lined the bottom with baking paper.
3.  Baked the cake for about 25 minutes.  As soon as I took it out of the oven, I dusted the cake surface with icing/powdered sugar then inverted it into a sheet of baking paper. Peeled off the baking paper that was now on top of the cake. Then I rolled it and allowed it to cool down completely.
4.  I unrolled the cooled cake and  cut off about an inch wide strip from both short ends. I then crumbled the strips to use as cake topping later.
5. Filled the cake with frosting, rolled the cake once again, then covered the surface with frosting and cake crumbs.  Used the rest of the frosting to pipe rosettes on the cake roll top.  Finished off the cake with macapuno balls.

Whether I did the right things or not, I really cannot say for sure.  Please do not trust me on this one.  If you do decide to make a cake roll yourself, please let me know how it went.  I'd be happy to compare notes and learn from you!

Addicted...

...to reruns of Grey's Anatomy, that is. Funny cause this show's been going on for seven seasons (I think) but I only recently 'discovered' the reruns on cable TV. And now I can't seem to stop watching it. I'm still on Season 2, imagine that. It's a good thing it's shown Mondays thru Fridays so I don't have to suffer and wait long for the next episode. Grey's Anatomy reminds me so much of ER (George Clooney days), which I absolutely loved. I guess medical dramas are my kind of thing. I wonder if I could have been a doctor...

Recently, I got really hooked on watching Cake Boss too. We used to not have the Food Channel with our cable TV package so when we finally got it, I've been following every (old) episode, day and night, 7 days a week. I'm not much of a fondant lover but I've definitely been learning a lot of cake decorating tricks from the show.

These past few days, I've noticed I've been neglecting Cake Boss though. Maybe I'm getting tired of Buddy Valastro. I told my daughter I'd gladly exchange Buddy for Patrick Dempsey anytime....lol.

You know what? I just realized how I actually have time now to sit down and watch TV. And I really enjoy it. This was next to impossible before, when my four kids were still very young. Now, though still busy looking after them, I have a little bit more time for myself...to do the things I want to do. With no guilt feelings attached. That's not a bad thing, is it?

Before I end, here are two cakes I finished late last night. Both are red velvet (again).

Made this for a Collingwood Magpies supporter, hence, the black and white colours.

Close-up of the gumpaste bow.

For a young girl's birthday.

And lastly, what I did with an extra layer of red velvet cake and leftover frosting...

This one's just for us!

Have a good weekend and a great week ahead!

Copyright

I have just added a Copyright Notice on my sidebar.  Never thought the day would come when I would need to put one on this blog.

On an innocent Google search for ube (purple yam) cake images, I discovered not one, but several sites, using my cake photos for advertisement.  It's shocking (and shameful)...Bakeshops using photos of cake that they did not even make.

To use someone else's photos is one thing, but to put your watermark on them and claim them as your own is just taking it to another level.

Image credit: from the webpage that used my photos. My original photos are here.

Upsetting, isn't it?  I do not understand why anyone would think this is okay.

Access to the two web pages which were on Facebook have already been removed.  Another one in another site has also been deleted. I am in the process of dealing with the last one.

I believe I have been generous enough to let people use my tutorials and recipes freely.   The eBooks I sell are the only ones I have copyrighted as I don't want them distributed in any way.  I have always allowed people to even sell their finished products when most pattern makers won't.

I thank those who contact me to ask permission when needed and for giving acknowledgement where it is due.

I suppose there's other copyright violations out there that I may never find out about. To be honest, I really don't want to make this my problem.  So please, read my Copyright Notice and respect it.