[Baking] Celebrate June with Hokkaido Cakes

Hokkaido Cake
Cream-filled Chiffon Cake

Let me share with you this Hokkaido Cake that I made a couple of weeks ago.  I tried the recipe from Ms. Corinne and it turned out pretty good.  Hokkaido cakes are very popular in Asia.  It's basically a chiffon cake baked in small square muffin cups filled with cream and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar and fruits in season. It's delicately sweet, soft and fluffy.

Well, it's official... today marks another month closer to Christmas.  As I flipped the page on our wall and kitchen calendars, it made me realize how fast time flies.  This was followed by thoughts of "what have I done so far?  Have I accomplished what I have planned to do this year?  Did I use my time wisely?"

One of my goals this years particularly for CabbyCraft is "to improve the blog and to write more."   Well, I haven't written more than I what I planned to but I was able to have my blog critiqued by Ms. Martine.  It was a brave step to consult with someone but I admire her professionalism and honesty in doing so.  Martine inspired me to do more.  There will be some changes in the next few months... perhaps, move to a website or what not.  Stay tuned for that.

Have a blessed week, friends!

[Baking] Chocolate Lava Cake

Chocolate Lava Cake

If there is one person who loves cholocate-y desserts more than me, that would be my husband.  It's his birthday and I thought of baking something extra special... just for him.  We have gained so weight in the past several weeks and it's mostly because of our physical inactivity, being sedentary most of the time.  Yes, I have been baking here and there but it's always "to share" with family and friends.  Well, this Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe is served in ramekins, small enough for one person.  Talk about portion control.

There are many recipes online.  I did my research and came up with my own.

Chocolate Lava Recipe (serves 4, 6oz ramekins)
Ingredients:
2 large whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
3.5 oz Scharffen Berger Bittersweet dark chocolate, cubed
4 oz unsalted butter, cubed

Procedure:
1.   Preheat oven to 450C.  Line ramekins with butter.  The ramekins we have are 8oz and are wide rather than tall - I was able to make 3 portions.
2.   Place butter and chocolate squares in a glass bowl and melt in a double broiler (just because we don't own a microwave).   Mix well.
3.   Beat the whole eggs and eggyolks until pale yellow.  Add the sugar and beat until completely dissolved.  Add the vanila and salt.
4.   Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and combine.
5.   Fold in the all purpose flour.  Mix.
6.   Gently pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins.  The cake will be baked in a water bath (baine marie) so place the filled ramekins in a deep dish filled halfway with hot water.
7.    Bake for 15 minutes.  Your cake is done when the sides are firm to and the center is soft (and jiggly).
8.   Take the cake out of the oven and gently run a knife along the side and place a plate and carefully invert the cake.
9.   Sprinkle powdered sugar and top with your favorite fruit (I used mangoes).

It was delicious and my birthday boy loved it!

Enjoy!  Happy baking!
♥ michelle

[Baking] Mango Chiffon Cake

Mango Chiffon Cake

Spring in Texas means the start of the season for Mangoes.  Woohooo!  I love mangoes especially the sweet ones.  The Mango Chiffon Cake is one of the more popular desserts in the Philippines.  I have several favorite mango desserts:  Mango Pavlova, Canonigo, Conti's Mango Bravo, and Mango ice box cake to name a few.

Ms. Corrinne has a Mango and Cream Cake recipe that I've tried and tweaked a bit to call it my own. I lessen the sugar by 1/2 - 1 tablespoon to lessen the guilt and I add cubed mangoes in the batter on days when I feel extra special.

MANGO AND CREAM CAKE from Ms. Corinne of Heart of Mary

(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 extra 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

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.

------------

I love that it comes out fluffy, soft, delicately sweet and is always a hit among friends and family.  Try it soon.

Have a wonderful week!

♥ michelle

[Baking] Pavlova

PAVLOVA

Four years ago, we visited family in Australia where I had my first taste of this delicate dessert:  Pavlova.  It is a meringue-based dessert with a crisp outer shell and gooey, marshmallow-like on the inside.  They say that the dessert was created in honor of a ballet dancer Pavlova, hence the name, during her dance tour in Australia and New Zealand.

The recipe is different from the regular meringue recipe in that it uses cornflour which causes the center to be gooey.  It is also baked for a long time, 90 minutes, and cooled in the oven.  The recipes in the internet are basically the same.  I used this one by Catty.

PAVLOVA (adapted from The Catty Life)

4 large egg whites 1 cup caster sugar 1 teaspoon vinegar 1/2 tablespoon corn flour 300-500 mL whipping cream  1 1/2 cup strawberries 1 cup blueberries 1 piece kiwi 1 mango (pureed or diced)

Pre-heat oven to 120°C/250°F. On a sheet of parchment/baking paper, draw an 8″ diameter circle. Turn over, or place another sheet on top but make sure you can still see the circle. Separate egg whites from the yolk and place in a clean large mixing bowl. Beat at a medium to high speed until soft peaks form.  Gradually add in the sugar while still beating and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Your mixture should now be a smooth meringue. Sprinkle vinegar and corn flour over the mixture and fold in with a spatula. Using a spatula, spoon the mixture onto the prepared baking tray and baking paper keeping the meringue inside the circle. Smooth over and try to make the outside edges slightly higher than the inside edges. Bake meringue in oven on a middle shelf for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, turn off the oven, leave the oven door slightly open and leave pavlova to cool for 2 hours or over night if possible. When ready to serve, beat the whipping cream in a large bowl until it becomes firm enough so that it can hold itself up. Spread across the top of the pavlova. Wash and prepare strawberries, blueberries and kiwi.  I wanted to use passion fruit but since we don't have any, I pureed a mango and drizzled it on top. It was yummy!! Enjoy! ♥ michelle

[Baking] The Pampered Chef Valtrompia Bread Tube

Do you go to garage sales?  We are having one at Church this weekend to raise funds for a Mission trip.  I had fun arranging the clothes, household items, toys, shoes, bags and home decor.  Look what I found - The Pampered Chef Valtrompia Bread Tube Star and Flower.

The Pampered Chef Valtrompia Bread Tube Flower
The Pampered Chef Valtrompia Bread Tube Star

It was love at first sight... they're brand new, fresh from the box.  I don't know how to use it yet but I'm thinking of making something like a modified pound or chiffon cake.  Come and visit us soon to see our review.

Have a great weekend!

♥ michelle

[Cooking] Rick Bayless' Mojo De Ajo

This is Mojo de Ajo or Liquid Gold as Chef Rick Bayless calls it.  I came across this recipe while watching his cooking show.  This is the second time that I made it and it's a hit!

Recipe adapted from Chef's Frontera.

Ingredients:

4 heads of garlic - I used the large ones 

2 cups olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili flakes or chili powder

1/2 cup fresh lime juice or calamansi juice

Steps:

Heat the oven to 325.

Break the heads of garlic and peel off the skin.

Stir together the garlic, oil and salt in a pan.  Slide it into the oven and bake until the garlic is soft and lightly brown, about 45-55 minutes.  Add the lime or calamansi juice and return to the oven for 20 minutes for the garlic to absorb the line and turn brown.

Using a potato masher, mash the garlic into a coarse puree.  The mixture is ready to use and will stay good for 3 months.

You may use mojo de ajo in making stir fry vegetables or pasta sauce.  It is very flavorful and aromatic.  Try it!

Enjoy!
♥ michelle

[Baking] Leche Flan / Caramel Custard

The thing with making meringue is that you get a lot of eggyolks.

Remember the Silvanas that I made?  

That recipe used 3 eggwhites which left me with 3 eggyolks and 1 broken egg.  Ngek.  I didn't want to waste it so I added 4 more eggwhites, milk, a squeeze of calamansi  or calamondin and made me some Leche Flan.   It is the Filipino version of creme caramel or caramel custard.  

In my opinion, leche flan should be soft, melts-in-your mouth and with perfectly caramelized sugar.  The secret to making a smooth, bubble free flan is to gently stir and strain the mixture.

I didn't have a small oval pan (llanera) so I used one of my small corrugated pans.  The sugar was perfectly caramelized but it was difficult to release the baked and cooled flan, hence the irregular bumps in the photo below.

Leche Flan

There are a lot of variations in making this popular Filipino delicacy.  The result of my experimentation tonight was delicious - it was smooth but not too creamy.  Maybe because I used 1 whole egg in addition to the 7 eggyolks.  I don't know.  One of my kumares (the mother of my godchild) shared with us her homemade flan that was oh so velvety smooth, creamy and yummy!   Mr. C and I slowly indulged on it over the New Year.  LOL.

Have you tried eating leche flan?  Try it.  

You might love it.

Let me know if you do.

♥  michelle  ♥

[Baking] Sylvanas / Silvanas: Meringue, Cashew Nuts and Buttercream

One of the  desserts from the Philippines that I miss is Silvanas.  

Simply put, it is a melt-in-your-mouth goodness of thin cashew meringue sandwich layered with buttercream, coated with cookie crumbs and best served cold.  Ohhhhh... yum!

I tried to make it and realized that it takes skill, practice, technique and patience.  LOL.

There's something about working with meringue that's so challenging.  Have you tried making French macaroons?  Aaaargh!  I wasn't too happy with my experience that I vowed to try making it again only if I have a stand mixer like a Professional series Kitchenaid (isn't that a good excuse?)

So this is what my silvanas looked like.  The meringue had a good crunch and was deliciously chewy but the buttercream was a tad bland.  Hmmmm.... Mr. C said it was delicious.

Silvanas

I will tweak my recipe and if they turn out perfect, I will share them with my friends, very willing tasters and critics.  

Have a wonderful weekend!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Challenge] Scharffen Berger Chocolates: A Sweet Welcome to the New Year

Today is the deadline for Scharffen Berger and Tuttifoodie's

"The Chocolate Adventure Contest"

I am a fan of good chocolate, and I love Scharffen Berger's 70% cacao bittersweet and 62% cacao Semisweet chocolates.  So of course, I joined.  At the last minute!

70% Cacao Bittersweet Dark Chocolate
[via]

62% Cacao Semisweet Dark Chocolate
[via]

The theme was to create a recipe for any type of BAR:  baked or no-bake bars like brownies or cookie based bars, ice cream bars or chocolate bark.  

The challenge was to combine Scharffen Berger chocolate with one or more of the designated adventure ingredients as follows:

• Bourbon
• Oat Flour
• Turbinado Sugar
• Carrot
• Pomegranate
• Hibiscus
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Peppercorn (Black, White, Green, Red—any type)
• Pandan Leaf or Pandan Leaf Extract
• Coconut Milk, Coconut Cream, Coconut Butter or Coconut Oil
• Sesame Seeds (Black or White)
• Fresh Croutons or Crostini

Here's their inspiration board:

[via]

Yummy, huh?

So what did I make?  Let's keep it a secret for now and hope for the best, ok?  

Well, to give you a hint - I bought a Wilton Delectovals Mini Cake pan especially for the contest.

Do you know why I want to win?  

I promise, it is not for selfish reasons.

Well, our church is going to the Philippines in June 2013 for a Mission trip to help those who were devastated during Typhoon Haiyan.  My husband and I don't have extra money to spend for airfare and other expenses hence, it would be a huge blessing if I win the cash prize.  

This is the first time that I entered a recipe and I am super thrilled at that so don't worry if I don't win.  I will still bake and share my stories with you.

Have a sweet day!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Flashback] August & September 2013: Cakes and Bakes

We are looking back at August and September 2013.  

Wow... these 2 months were filled with baking and sweets - lots of it!  

I've always wanted to learn new skills and techniques so I joined a Wilton class at my local craft store.  I enjoyed every bit of it and was able to apply what I learned thereafter.

Isn't the hydrangea cake beautiful?  I bought a small round icing tip and tried my hand in making dainty "lace."

The rose cupcakes were for my little friends' tea party.  It's caramel cake with light butter icing.

The green cake on the bottom is Pandan chiffon cake that I made for a sweet 16 birthday celebrant.  The topper is handmade from polymer clay.

These are some of the handmade cards I made: for an infant, a girl, and an adult lady.  I'm running our of ideas, here.  LOL.  The heart pendant is for one of the girls at church whom we find so friendly, kind and sweet.  She always greets and chats with us after the service.  Oh, she won an award this year for having the most "stickers" in class.

It was in September when the Houston polymer clay guild hosted the Lone Star Retreat.  Wow, I had fun meeting and being in one room with creative polymer clay folks.  My beaded polymer clay pendant necklace won 3rd place in the "Friends and Faux challenge."

[Wilton Wednesday] Course 1: Decorating Basics

Welcome back to The Cabby Crafter!

We have good news for my dear readers who love to bake.  We have designated today as 

"Wilton Wednesday" 

and will do so every Wednesday until we run out of things to share with you.  LOL.

Disclaimer:  This is a personal blog of The Cabby Crafter and is not sponsored by or in anyway connected to Wilton Industries, Inc.  Thank you very much!

I have always loved baking since I was young.  My mother would bring me with her to her baking class (she's a nursing professor and took baking classes in the University where she taught) and would let me mix, use the hand mixer, crack and separate eggs and finally lick the mixer prongs.  I have baked a lot of cakes before and took a few courses on my spare time.  Did I mention that I've always wanted to have a glass refrigerated case and a bakeshop?   

My love for baking was rekindled over a year ago when I started to bake cakes for gatherings and church pot share.     Surprisingly, people besides my husband loved my cakes.  Whenever I would bake a new recipe for the first time it would always be above par - except for the icing, that is.  

I need to practice more.

And more.

One day ago, I enrolled in "The Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1:  Building Buttercream Skills" at my home away from home, Hobby Lobby.  I have always been a fan of Wilton though I regret not being able to visit their office during their tent sale in Woodridge, Illinois in the 2 years that we were just an hour away from them... sigh.

The course was not cheap but thankfully, it was 55% off when I signed up - that includes the nice and colorful Course 1 book.

I had some stuff at home but of course, I had to buy the Decorating Basics Student Kit which cost $34.99 (you could never have enough tips or spatulas, my Dahlings!).

The kit included everything you need to get started (that's what the label read).

12 Decorating Tips:  Round 1,3,12; Star 16,18,21; Open Star 1 M; Petal 104; Leaf 352, Bismark 230; Drop Flower 20; Multi-opening 233

4 standard couplers

2 10-inch reusable featherweight bags

2 disposable decorating bags

6 parchment triangles

15 in Flower nail

Cupcake nail

Decorator brush

12 Flower template stickers

9 in. spatula

Practice board with stand and patterns

Our teacher, Ms. Debra was very informative.  She taught us the basics and secrets of baking, how to make buttercream icing, how to make and determine the icing consistency.  We were asked to bring cookies to practice on but we didn't have time to do it but I'm gonna practice at home.  

I will be sharing with you more about it next week.

Our take home message:  Practice, practice, practice.

This is a 2 hour x once a week x 4 week class.  Fun huh?

Come and visit us next Wilton Wednesday, okay?!

See ya!

Happy baking!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Baking] Pinipig Cookies / Immature Glutinous Rice

We are halfway through July and that means summer is almost over for those in school.  I have fond memories of summer.  My mom is a professor in the college of nursing so summer meant that she was also on vacation.  Yay!  

One of my fondest memories is baking Pinipig Cookies.

Pinipig is immature glutinous rice that is harvested and pounded into what look more like light green flakes.  It can be eaten raw but it is most often toasted.  A friend of ours gave this to me when we had our 4th of July barbecue where she served a Filipino dessert called halo-halo (more about this next time) that used pinipig as one of the toppings.  

Pinipig / Immature Glutinous Rice

I have been craving for Pinipig Cookies and I finally got the chance to bake it tonight!  I was invited to have dinner with friends and since I didn't have anything thawed to cook and bring, I decided to bake.  This took me 50 minutes to make and that included the time spent with google. 

Pinipig Cookies

 I used the recipe from Apple Pie, Patis Pate'.  

All of the ingredients were readily available in my kitchen.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Pinipig (you can find this in Asian stores) - lightly toasted and cooled

1/2 cup All purpose flour

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/8 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Unsalted butter

1/3 cup Sugar

1 Large Egg

1/4 tsp Lemon zest

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 175C or 350F.

Combine the dry ingredients:  APF, BP and salt.  Set aside.

Beat the soft butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated. Add the lemon zest (*or 1/2 tsp of lemon extract - edited by me).

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 175C or 350F.

Combine the dry ingredients:  APF, BP and salt.  Set aside.

Beat the soft butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated. Add the lemon zest (*** or 1/2 tsp of lemon extract - edited by me).

Carefully add the dry ingredients and mix well.  The mixture will be sticky then add the pinipig.

Gently scoop the pinipig mixture into the cookie sheet - I didn't line mine because I used a coated cookie pan.  I used a round measuring spoon (1/2 TBSP size) and dropped the cookies in the pan.

Pinipig Cookies

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the base is lightly brown.  Transfer in a cooling rack to cool.  

I was able to make 20 cookies.

Nothing tastes better than freshly baked homemade cookies.  My hosts said it was good and I thought so too.  Try it - it's soft with bits of crunch and this particular recipe is not sweet at all.

Bon apetit!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Baking] Canonigo / Ile Flottante

Are you one of those who find themselves in the dessert table more than the sumptuous buffet spread?
If you are, I would like to welcome you to the club, my club!

I particularly love creamy desserts and one of them is a Filipino dessert called:  "Canonigo."  My first taste of it was in a Spanish restaurant in the Philippines called "Alba's" where they served it with sweet mango balls. It is made of a soft, egg white based cake (meringue) that is topped with a creamy custard.  The French have a similar dessert called "Ile Flottante" or floating island.  I don't know where the dessert originated but I am just thankful to them for coming up with it!

This post tells about my first attempt and it was pretty good.  

This recipe is from Nora and Mariles Daza, with a few revisions (*).

CANONIGO

Ingredients:      Meringue        8 eggwhites

                                              1/2 cup white sugar

                                              1/2 teaspoon baking powder

                        Caramelized sugar            1 cup white sugar

                                                                1/2 cup hot water

                        Custard          8 eggyolks

                                              1 cup evaporated milk

                                              1/4 cup white sugar (*)

                                              1 tsp vanilla extract
                                              1/4 cup rum (*)

I caramelized the sugar first.  Just be super careful in pouring the hot water when the sugar has completely melted and changed color - it will bubble.

I used 2 loaf pans but you can use any pan with a solid base.  Line the pans with the caramelized sugar and butter.

In a bowl, beat the eggwhites (I used an electric handheld mixer) until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the sugar and baking powder and beat until the eggwhites are very stiff.  Gently pour the meringue in the molds halfway and bake in a pan with water at 350F for about 30 minutes or until brown.

The custard sauce is cooked using a double broiler.  Whisk and cook the eggyolks, sugar and milk until it thickens.  Add the vanilla and rum last.   Serve on the side.

Try it out and share your wonderful stories with me. 

 Warning:  You definitely have to share this deliciousness with others.

Have fun!  

♥  Michelle  ♥                                     

[Baking] Crema de Fruta

What's your fondest memory of your Grandparent?  

Mine was enjoying a bowl of ice cream with my Lola who was my roommate for a long time before she passed away.

We honored our grandparents in Church last Sunday that was followed by a luncheon.  While others cued for the different viands, there were several who flocked to the dessert table... including me!  I love desserts especially those with creamy fillings.

I baked a cake for the first time in our not so new apartment and found out that the oven worked pretty well.

I baked "Crema de Fruta."  It's a sponge cake filled with fruits, cream and topped with gelatin.  When I was growing up in Manila, my mom would take home crema de fruta from Goldilock's bakery.  Yup, there's such a bakery in the Philippines.  

It was my first time to make it and oh my gosh... it was so tedious!  I started baking at 1030 am and finished at 2pm!  

There were several steps: 

1.  Bake the cake which was a sponge cake,

2.  Make the cream and custard,

3.  Assemble the layers of cake,

4.  Prepare the gelatin topping,

5.  Slice the fruits and arrange on top and finally, pour the gelatin mixture on the cake and refrigerate to harden, and the most difficult of all...

6.  Wash the kitchen utensils, beater, whisk, bowls, pans, measuring cups and spoons, etc.

(not to mention washing my hands several times in between to make sure everything is clean).

Crema de Fruita

All the hard work was replaced with happiness when peeps at church stood in line just to have a piece.  It was gone in a few seconds!  They told me it was good - not too sweet but delicious!

Not too bad for my first try.  I learned a lot in the process.

Next time, I won't use kiwi because it softens quickly and is "too wet."

Have you ever baked crema de fruta before?  How did it go?

♥  Michelle  ♥