Cloning Mernel's chocolate cake

Recently, my online friend Mimi (whom I had a chance to finally meet in Singapore last January!) told me about a certain popular chocolate cake in the Philippines.  The cake is from a family-owned bakeshop located in a small town about two hours drive from Manila.  The shop seems to be so well-known nowadays that not only locals buy from them but even people from the metro.

The shop's name is Mer-nel's Cake House and their signature heart-shaped chocolate cake looks like this...

Image credit: Mernel's place FB page

Very simple and traditional, isn't it? Some people might not even be enticed just by looking at it.  From what I gather, the cake is chiffon, the icing is the soft and creamy type, the borders are made of boiled icing and the flowers from royal icing. That is basically all I know. I am not even sure if the cake indeed is chiffon.  Mimi doesn't know any better as she herself has not tasted the cake (although her family back home has).

The past couple of weeks have been spent experimenting on the chocolate icing as it appears to be the heart and soul of this cake. Every blog post, review or feature I found on the net is raving about it!  Mimi and I have been exchanging text messages, pictures of what we've made, our guesses, and observations.  Since Mernel's cakes are very cheaply priced, two of our assumptions were: 1) the ingredients used are not expensive; and 2) the process that goes into making this cake isn't complicated.  We musn't overthink it! Very little information can actually be found on the net about the icing as though it's really a guarded secret.  I did, however, find an article mentioning a specific condensed milk brand the cakeshop has been using and that was quite revealing (IF they're telling the truth).

This is like the caramel cake experience all over again.  I am again trying to recreate something I have not even tasted! It can be a frustrating exercise at times but persistence is the key, don't you think?

Anyway, about 3 tries and 3 recipes later, I am happy to share a cake that appears to have the look of Mernel's and possibly, the taste too...

I wanted to be true to the original so I made it heart-shaped as well.

See, the icing is combed at the top too!

The chocolate icing is really dark and shiny as it should be...

And the chiffon cake is a deep chocolate colour as well!

For now, this is as close as I can get.  Some of you might be asking, "Where's the recipe then?"  Well, hold on,  I am not sharing that just yet.  Here's the deal: I need people who have actually tasted this cake to tell me what the real thing is like. I need you to help me out here!  If you have something to share, please, please, leave a comment here.  Be as descriptive as you can. Any useful information will be appreciated.  Afterall, you my cake-loving readers, will benefit from this!  It will be another Filipino favourite we can conquer (after the ube, mocha, caramel cakes, among others).

I shall be waiting!  Till then, no more chocolate cakes for me please.

The Verdict

There were only a few specific things I wanted to do during our short holiday in the Philippines recently.  Apart from of course spending quality time with my family, I planned to buy books (they have big bookstores there unlike here!), visit a cake decorating supplies shop that I've only read about on the web, and lastly, finally taste an Estrel's caramel cake.

I had my brother order a cake in advance for my son's 19th birthday.  Our favourite family restaurant, which we booked for the celebration, was only a few blocks away from Estrel's.  

We got a 14x20 rectangular cake which turned out to be too big!

My verdict?  The cake was beautiful as expected, the chiffon really soft as it should be and the caramel icing smooth and creamy.  However, there was nothing spectacular with it at all.  I am not a fan of anything too sweet but to me, both cake and icing were very bland.  Being called a caramel cake actually seems to be a misnomer as there is very little, if at all, a caramel taste in the icing.  As you can see in the photo, the colour is rather pale, suggesting that the sugar wasn't caramelized very much. 

Would I eat it again? Probably, although it is not something I would crave for or look forward to when I go back to the Philippines in the future. Having said that though, I would still choose this cake over a fondant covered cake (even with the most impressive decorations) anytime! Being very old-fashioned, with it's smoothly poured icing and with each buttercream rose beautifully piped out, is I think, what primarily draws people to buying it again and again.

Would I say my version of the caramel cake is close? Yes, though a tad sweeter.  Is it better? Hmmm. Don't want to claim that out loud....

Anyway, I had a chance to make a caramel cake for a birthday a few days ago.  I purposedly cut some of the sugar from the icing just to see if it would become as pale as my son's cake.  It still turned out darker!

As far as the look is concerned, am I getting close? Afterall, it's been more than 2 years since I started experimenting on this cake!

The year that was all about baking (again)

I ended 2012 with a doll cake....

And started 2013 with vanilla macarons.

Nice, yeah? If I had to name one great baking achievement for me last year, it would hands down be conquering the macaron.

I know it's a cliche to say that time went by so fast.  But it is so true.  It really did.  For me, the year didn't go from day to day.  Or week to week......  It went from cake to cake.  My calendar was filled with what cake to bake on this day, what cake to decorate the next.  I hope that didn't sound like I was complaining.

We are going on a holiday overseas in less than 2 weeks so I have been forbidden by my family to make any more cakes till we get back.  I need a break.  I guess we all do.

Actually, I have not been feeling very well since yesterday.  A virus has been going around our family since before Christmas. So yes, a good rest is in order.

2012 was a terribly busy year.  I did not blog as much.  I don't even remember if I shared any new recipes or tutorials.  I think I did make two new patterns early on and that was about it (as far as sewing is concerned).  See? Can't even recall.  Everything seems such a blur.

The new school year commences as soon as we return from our trip.  We will have two graduations in the family this year, one from Year 12 and one from Year 6.  Those are certainly something to look forward to!

Hope you all had a great start to the year.  Will be back soon!

My Christmas Wish

Wish I could share this giant cupcake....

Wish I could send these macarons your way...

But since I just can't, I hope you will just take...

My very warmest greetings on this day of Jesus' birthday!

From my family to yours, have a blessed Christmas season.  May you all have joy, peace, love and hope for the coming new year!

Garlands

Recently, it was macarons.  Then it became the giant cupcake.  You know what my new favourite thing is?

Garlands!

I know it's quite old-fashioned (as far as cake decorating is concerned)....but it's definitely the new best thing for me!

First cake was for a 4-year old who wanted to be a princess in a pink gown with a white crown...

Then it was a wedding-style mocha cake.

And lastly, just today and as requested, I decorated this two-tiered Disney Princess-themed cake for a 15-year old birthday girl!

I think the garlands make the cake sides really pretty.  Don't you think so too?

Interested? All you need to make perfect, evenly spaced garlands is an inexpensive Wilton garland marker and a piping tip such as my ruffle tip #88. Try it sometime!

Life lessons

In the car, on our daily travel to school, is when I have the most interesting conversations with my youngest son, Matthew.  Usually, he starts off by relating to me something that had happened in school or with his friends, then I end up talking about my views and  my own experiences when I was younger.  He fondly calls these conversations "life lessons".

Although I sometimes feel Matthew gets annoyed with all my ramblings, I just get on with it just the same. I'm pretty sure he'll remember these times when he's older and then he'll realize how much he had learned from being stuck in the car with me!

Well, today, I have some life lessons for you, too.  These are things that I am certain you already know though.  Let's just put them in another perspective, shall we?

LIFE LESSON #1: There are no such things as accidents.  Everything happens for a reason.

I have baked hundreds and hundreds of macarons in the past few months but have never perfected a single batch. Some would come out great, a lot of them hollow.  Some smooth and shiny, some wrinkled.  I have used a variety of recipes, baking temperatures, and baking time. Bought different brands of almond meal.  Compared silicone mats versus parchment paper.  Pure icing sugar versus one with cornstarch.  Copper bowl versus stainless steel with cream of tartar. The list goes on and on.

On yet another macaron baking session yesterday, confusion had me whip too much eggwhites for my almond/sugar mixture.  Upon realizing it, I tried to rectify the situation as much as I could.  In so doing, I could not follow the recipe to a tee.  You know what?  It yielded my best macarons ever!  Not one cracked shell.  No hollows.  No sticking.  Perfect.

Pistachio macarons with pistachio buttercream.

I made 43 in total!

See, not hollow!

That mistake was meant to happen.  The macarons could have turned out badly and I would have ended up frustrated again.  BUT it didn't. I am so happy that now, I can rest from all the experimentations.  I think I finally have a recipe and method I could rely on.

LIFE LESSON #2:   Cramming, in general, is not good. BUT sometimes, we get the best results under pressure.

I received a request for a golf-themed cake last week but had to turn it down initially because of the short notice and because I was already quite busy with other cakes.  More importantly, I did not know anything about golf or how to go about making golf-related decorations.  

Two days before the cake was needed, I decided to go ahead with it anyway.  I don't know why, but working hard till late at night seems to be my thing. I could never get to sleep until I am satisfied with what I've done.

Golf-themed birthday cake for a 12 year old.

A little bit of imagination (and a lot of Google help!) can go a long way.

The cake is very simple and yet, I love it.  I am very glad I did go through making this as it has turned out to be one of my favourites!

LIFE LESSON #3:  Don't be afraid to try something new and to take risks.  Keep on challenging yourself!

Normally, I would experiment first before doing the real thing but in this particular case, I decided to take the risk and give it a go. 

Giant cucpake bouquet with a dark chocolate cupcake patty pan!

I made my first ever giant cupcake for my brother's recent birthday party.  I've had the jumbo cupcake silicone pan for ages but was too lazy to use it.  When I came upon these series of videos on YouTube, I was encouraged to try it.  It was a success!

No one wanted to cut it or rather, no one knew how!

I finally had to do the job myself!

I loved making the giant cupcake so much, I created a similar one for my husband's birthday just a few days after.  This one had a white chocolate cupcake "liner".

My family is telling me now that I should start offering cakes like these.  Hmmm...something to definitely consider.

Even with the smallest things we do, though unimportant they might seem, we learn something from them, don't we? Feel free to share some of your life lessons too!

Going over the top

I am not a big spender by nature.  I don't go buying things, especially for myself.  However, when I am passionate about something, say, a new craft I want to learn and master, I really tend to be impulsive. Very impulsive. I buy stuff...lots of them. I purchase them on a whim, without second thoughts, thinking they are all necessities even if they aren't.

When I was into rosary-making, I had an oversupply of beads, a lot of them I later sold in bulk on eBay.  When I started sewing, I shopped regularly for fabric, many not even good ones. I would make bags I didn't even need or had any use for.  When I shifted to baking and cake decorating, I bought books, cake pans, tools. Again, lots of them. Now, I have cupboards and boxes filled with bits and pieces that sometimes I don't even know where to look when I need something.

Then came the macarons.

Firstly, I wasn't contented with what I read online and so I bought books.

Six printed ones...

Kindle versions of this and this...

And an eBook.

Seriously, how many different recipes can there really be?  How unique can one book be compared to the others? Still. I love books.  I love reading them over and over.  I love looking at the pictures.  I love collecting them. So yeah, I can never have enough.

Next, I thought I needed Silpats and silicone mats in my quest to find which liner is the best alternative to baking paper. Silpats made in France are quite costly while silicone mats from China are cheap.

During a trip to Target, I then saw an inexpensive food processor.  I bought it because I only owned a mini one and my excuse was that I was going to use it constantly in the kitchen anyway.  More baking sheets followed suit.

Last but not the least, I did the ultimate.  I got this...

It's a 4.6 liter Mauviel copper bowl.  I read how eggwhites whip better when it reacts with copper. Did I really need it?  Absolutely not! I can successfully beat eggwhites stiff in a stainless steel bowl even with my eyes closed. Curiosity just got the best of me. (*Note: I didn't buy the stand.  That's from a casserole dish I already had and it works well for this purpose.)

I couldn't use this copper bowl with my KitchenAid stand mixer though I did have an old hand mixer. But when my husband suggested that we redeem our Flybuys points for something, guess what we chose?

A KitchenAid hand mixer. (At least, this one we got for free.)  Believe me when I say that not all hand mixers are created equal! This little thing is beautiful.  It is so powerful and it hardly makes any noise!

So then, with all these things at my disposal, have I mastered the macaron?  Since my last post (two months ago!), I have made hundreds of them, some perfect, some not so perfect.

Chocolate macarons with dulce de leche

Coconut macarons

Purple macarons with dark chocolate ganache

Vanilla macarons with cashew butter

Lemon macarons

Malted chocolate macarons

I certainly have not mastered the macaron.  Nevertheless, I am more confident in making it, so much so that I am now proud to give them as gifts. I have learned heaps from experimenting, using different techniques and of course, the variety of things I showed above.  I don't recommend for anyone else to go over the top like I did because, yes, you can make a good macaron without those.  (I am in fact ashamed about what I had just shared with you. It's a sickness, I think.) What's more important is patience, practice and getting to know your oven.

Hmmmm...oven.....

Till next time.  Hopefully, I will not take too long again.  Enjoy the rest of your week!

PS. Let us not forget about the cakes!  You can view the new ones on my Flickr, if you wish.