Berry Buttermilk Cake

I'm nearing the "home stretch" of my pregnancy and as many of you have noticed, my cooking/baking has slowed down quite a bit...although eating hasn't :) Most everything I make now has to be fast and easy. This cake definitely fits the bill. You don't need to have any baking ability whatsoever for this one, yet your guests will see you as quite the expert. This is my go to cake whenever I have a last minute guest or making an elaborate dinner which requires a super quick dessert. And it definitely doesn't look or taste "quick". It's incredibly light and moist with the perfect sweetness and tartness from the berries. Look at how pretty this will look on your kitchen table for the sunny, warm months ahead! And you have the satisfaction of it coming freshly baked from your oven in the same time it would take you to go out and buy one. It's best served as soon as it's cooled to take advantage of the sugary crisp topping. The cake stands on it's own, but serving it with freshly whipped cream or ice cream is how I like it. Make it with whatever berries look good that day. You're really missing out if you don't try this one!

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Chocolate Chocolate Cake

So after all my complaining of seeing no snow in No. Va for the last few years, we get slammed! This most recent snowstorm brought down two trees in my backyard, and Neil measured about 25 inches on our deck! But we got really lucky, because several people we know were out of power for the weekend, which is horrible. Despite our cabin fever, I must admit that the snow was a pleasant experience for us. Our neighborhood looked absolutely gorgeous, and being stuck inside with fully functional power, heat, water, and food was a blessing. That said, I won't run my mouth anymore, and I'm finally ready for an end to winter snow. However, mother nature has other ideas and we have more snow headed our way on Tuesday that could be an additional 10-20 inches!!!

Going back to the wkd storm...Neil even got us out of our neighborhood to make it to our friend's superbowl party on Sunday. The "party" turned out to be only 4 people, but hey, I was just happy to be out and about. We bought groceries early last week, so I had everything I needed to make this decadent cake. My last cake was strawberry, so I wanted to make chocolate this time...ALL chocolate. Hands down, my favorite chocolate cake recipe is an adaptation of Hershey's. This recipe yields the most incredible chocolate flavor with a wonderful moist, fluffy texture. To ice it, I found a luscious chocolate buttercream that has a unique taste due to the secret addition of ovaltine. I know it sounds weird, especially for me, because my memory of ovaltine is my mom forcing it down my throat and me refusing it. I hated anything deemed "healthy" when I was little. But don't knock this creamy, dreamy perfection till you've tried it! It's definitely the only chocolate buttercream recipe I'll use from now on, and the sole reason I have ovaltine in my pantry. I also threw in some homemade chocolate pastry cream and mini chocolate chips to fill/ice the cake. Is that enough chocolate in a cake? I thought it was sinfully perfect :)

At least I have leftovers to dig into as we anticipate the next big snow!

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Pink Lady Cake

Happy New Year! I can't believe the holidays are over and we're back to reality so soon. Jan/Feb/March are the hardest months for me b/c it's frigid cold without the holiday spirit. I'm just counting down the days till Spring! We did have a wonderful holiday season though. Christmas in San Fran was a treat. My sister in law made some delicious Indian food from scratch. I was sure to get all the recipes, so look out for that in 2010.

After ringing in the New Year at Zaytinya, we celebrated my mom's bday on New Years Day. Luckily it was a holiday, and I got to spend the day baking a fabulous cake. I haven't baked a cake in a while, so to ease back into it, I made a simple strawberry cake with none of the fancy, laborious fillers that I normally do. This cake just personifies "fun", and it's made for a lady, having been coined the "Pink Lady" cake. The name of the cake hooked me, and strawberries in the cake batter sealed the deal. This cake makes you want to have a slumber party with your girlfriends, dance to Madonna, and of course stuff your face with cake. No, I did not entertain that, but the daydream was ever present. But, no worries, the boys enjoyed the pink as well. I found the recipe on the Smittenkitchen blog (which is becoming my favorite food blog out there). The recipe originates from the Sky High cook book, and when you look at this cake you'll see that it really is "sky high". In fact I had to take it to my parents without a cover. My cake top was too small, and even my largest cake box couldn't fit it. So, if you plan to travel with this cake, prepare your compartment ahead of time. I did make some alterations to the recipe as noted below. Feel free to follow my changes, or just stick with the original. Happy eating in 2010 :)

- I used 2 cups strawberries (versus 1 1/2 cup).
- I thawed the strawberries before I pureed them. The frozen strawberries will solidify you softened butter.
- I followed the cream cheese frosting recipe but then folded in 1 1/2 cup of freshly whipped heavy cream. Only reason for this, is that my mom likes a "lighter" tasting frosting, although this obviously add more fat :)
- The recipe calls to mix 8 egg whites just to blend. I did this with 4 of the egg whites. With the remaining 4, I whipped them to somewhat stiff peaks, and gently folded them into the batter at the end. I did this for a fluffier cake.
- The cake itself is not very sweet, but the frosting is. If you are eating the cake alone, add about 1/2 cup more sugar.
- I added about 4-5 drops of red food coloring (versus 2) to the batter. It's suppose to be pink!!
- I used frozen strawberries, which is what the recipe calls for. If you use fresh, and they aren't very sweet, do compensate with additional sugar. I recommend sticking with the frozen for consistency.

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Red Velvet Cake

A while ago, I mentioned that I planned to experiment with red velvet cake. It's one of my favorite cakes as of late. I haven't figured out exactly why I like red velvet so much, but I think it's the sinful red color, mild chocolate flavor, and most importantly, the icing....combined, it's the perfection in a cake. Oh, and the brown sugar cream cheese icing in this recipe is the "icing on the cake".

So, I experimented by making different variations of the cake...one using just butter, one with a combo of oil/butter, and another with shortening. I thought the one with shortening had the best overall texture, so that's the recipe I'll provide. The best flavor was yielded by using all butter, but you are sacrificing some texture. The one with combo oil/butter was a little too fluffy for my taste. Whatever method you choose, as long as you make the cream cheese icing, you're set :) There are some who don't like the cream cheese flavor in icing, but I think it makes this cake.

After I narrowed down the best recipe, I made it for Neil's graduation. He recently got his MBA from GW in December, and got to walk this past weekend (May 15). He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the final graduation cake and all the cupcakes from my "experiments".

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Cookies n Cream Cheesecake

This weekend has been non-stop stuffing my face. My brother and Neil share the same birthday, January 24th. We kicked it off Friday night when Neil and I tried out the new restaurant, Art & Soul in DC . It's a beautiful restaurant with some promising southern inspired dishes. The fried oyster "hoe cake" is awesome! Saturday night, we had an outing with my family for both birthdays at Tandoori Nights...another eye pleasing restaurant with pretty solid Indian cuisine. I made the birthday cake, which was a lemon pound cake with raspberry mousse filling. That's my little brother's favorite combination. Neil wasn't thrilled with that "fruity" combo, and after enough pouting, I made him chocolate mousse. We even stuck a candle on it for him. Tonight (Sunday), we're going out to celebrate yet again with Neil's mom...venue TBD. I'm so incredibly stuffed! This morning I made Belgian waffles, per Neil's birthday request. Seriously, this is just insane! We're off to Bali soon for our next vacation, so I really need to get myself in check.

I'll post those aforementioned recipes eventually. Today's cheesecake recipe is one that I made for the super bowl last year. I hosted since the Steelers weren't playing, of course :) This is the creamiest, most decadent cheesecake I've ever had. It's extremely rich and heavy, so make it for a crowd or you'll end up eating it all on your own! Trust me, all my self control was lost when this hit my tongue. My internal dialogue kept telling me that "another tiny sliver won't hurt". Tiny slivers add up, and it most definitely hurt!!! I'll never learn to follow what I preach :) Anyways, this is for you, Neil...Happy Birthday and Go Steelers!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Black & White Birthday Cake

My dad's 60th birthday just passed a few weeks ago! I can't believe how fast time flies. He turned 60 this year and I turned 30...ugh!!!! Anyways, we decided against throwing a party, b/c parties start and end before you know it. I wanted to give him something more memorable. So, my sister and I bought him a trip to Vegas! He'll be going with my mom later in the year. We still had a small celebration for his actual 60th. We went out to eat Turkish at Kazan's in Mclean, and came back to my place for some cake and a movie:) Neil spent a lot of time installing an awesome projector in our basement. Movie nights are the best down there, and it was so nice to be able to share it with my family. We don't have enough time together like that anymore :(

Here's a pic I took of them. From the left, Neil, bro in law, sis, bro, Mom, and Dad. Dad's cheesin' big time!


Back to the cake...I hadn't made a cake in such a long time, so this was the perfect opportunity, and I wanted to find the perfect birthday cake. I ran across this Black & White Cake on the Smitten Kitchen blog. I had so much fun making this, so I think another excuse to bake a cake is right around the corner!



The recipe calls butter cake having a dark chocolate cream filling alternated with white chocolate cream. I had to make some modifications. Half my family likes dark chocolate, and the other half only likes milk. So, I made the dark chocolate cream a little "milkier" than the recipe calls for. The cream is actually just a decadent chocolate pudding, and Neil was definitely eating it as such :) If you don't want to attempt the cake, please at least try the pudding part. We were licking it out of the bowl!! The cake turned out beautiful, and both creams were delicious. However, I wasn't that thrilled with the actual butter cake layers. It was a little dry for my taste. I'll be sticking to my normal, moister butter cake the next time I make this. Btw, I apologize for the lack of quality in the pictures. I'm a terrible photographer, and my camera is super old. The pictures just don't do the cake justice!



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Fruit Bavarian Cake

Fruit Bavarian was probably my favorite cake growing up, and seems to be a favorite amongst many households. It seemed to be at every party that my parents took me to. Now it’s the cake I make when requested a dessert for a summer party. It’s a very light tasting cake consisting of sponge cake, bavarian cream, fresh fruit, and a whipped topping. Yes, I’m painfully aware that summer is officially over, but I couldn’t help it. My mind is still on summer, and I’m trying to enjoy every last bit of warm weather. Btw, it's still pretty hot out. And I think you can still snag some berries to decorate this cake. I posted a couple pictures of different times I made the cake…just slight variations on the décor.

Traditionally this cake is made with a somewhat labor intensive bavarian cream filling. It requires a crème anglaise base and a lot of patience. Lately I’ve been cheating and just make a pastry cream that I lighten with whipped cream….very close to the original! I’m including the recipe for the lightened pastry cream, as this has been my method in place of bavarian cream. Let me know if you’d like the bavarian cream recipe as well, and I’ll send it your way!

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Tres Leches

Tres Leches or “3-Milk Cake” is what I served on fish taco night. I wanted a Mexican themed dessert. I thought of making churros or sopapillas, but both desserts require on the spot preparation and consumption. I wanted to enjoy the evening...not to mention I down quite a bit of sangria on mexican nights, so making dessert after that is probably not a good idea. I needed something that could be made in advance and taste just as good, if not better when finally served. Tres Leches is literally a sponge cake that’s soaked with 3 milks (and a little "splash" of liquor :) The more time it sits, the more it absorbs. It sounds a little weird but tastes great…not too sweet, extremely moist, and very light tasting. It’s a welcomed change from the typical.

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Chocolate Cupcakes w/ White Chocolate Icing

It’s been a while since I posted something sweet. Nothing’s sweeter than a cupcake! My mom use to send a huge box full of cupcakes to school for our bdays. It’s sad to think that homemade treats aren’t even allowed in most schools these days! I remember one scorching hot May bday on which the icing on the cupcakes she sent had all melted. I was so concerned that nobody in my 3rd grade class would eat them and my bday would be ruined (yes, I can be a bit of a drama queen). But, they ended up tasting way better that way…all gooey due to the melting, moist, and yum. The cupcakes were a hit and so was I for day…but soon back to loser status :) We grew older, and somewhere along the way my mom stopped making cupcakes, and I went on to making cakes.

I’ve been getting a tired of baking cakes lately. Cupcakes are just more fun, and nothing is more nostalgic. They are also way cuter than a cake, and if you haven’t noticed, oh so trendier. So, I tried to convert some of my cake recipes to cupcakes, w/ little success. As whole cakes, the recipes were fine, but didn’t double as cupcakes. They didn’t have the soft, moist texture that a cupcake should. Some were too dense, while others were dry and flaky. I almost gave up and bought a box mix (which btw, are also great), but I held out. I did some more trial and error, and found a chocolate cake recipe that used mayo instead of eggs/butter/oil. Believe me, this recipe makes the perfect chocolate cupcake. Perfect texture and taste. Don’t get turned off by the mayo. Give it a chance! I made a creamy white chocolate icing to go on top.

This time I returned the favor and gave some to my mom to take to work. I hope she was a hit :) Next I’ll be experimenting with Red Velvet cupcakes. If you have a good one, please send my way!

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Chocolate Mousse Trilogy

Yes, it's a cliche dessert, but people continue to eat and love it, simply because it's a taste of heaven. Some desserts are just classic and shouldn't be messed with...kinda like vanilla ice cream. The chocolate trilogy is one of the desserts I made during my all too short dessert gig. It's a dense, rich chocolate bottom, layered w/ dark, milk, and white chocolate mousses. I've served the same mousse in mini chocolate cups, as filling inside a cake and even as the cake itself. It's so versatile! You can't go wrong with mousse as it even pleases the non-chocolate lover's pallete. I regretably admit that my very own husband does not share the same love of chocolate as myself, but even he can't get enough of the milk chocolate mousse!

I've practiced my mousse recipe a lot over the years. It can be tricky, but I'll try to give good pointers throughout the recipe. Hopefully, with this recipe, your mousse will result in the silky, smooth, creamy perfection that defines what a decadent mousse should be. I'll post the recipe for the individual mousse and the cake bottom. The great thing about mousse is that it can prepared well in advance, making it perfect for entertaining.

Below it's unmolded and plated. A little raspberry coulis can do wonders!



I made the same combo as a huge cake for my cousin's birthday.
Please excuse the tacky candles...


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