Same Cake, Same old?

Not same old. Broken ankle, hospital stay, and surgery. One move back home, and yet my third new room since I moved back a year ago.

I baked this cake four months ago. Same recipe, I baked it again tonight. It looks a lot different this time around. It tasted good, but I can see the mistakes.

Last time I went to the store and baked this cake solo. Because I could. Today one brother brought my ingredients while the other learned how to bake a cake from scratch. Yeah it may have been more difficult this time around, but with the help of family, it worked out.

Congrats A&B!

Im so very happy for these two.

Happy Birthday Big Girl

Better late than never. I made one of my favorite cakes for one of my favorite people. Whipped Berry cake is perfect for the hot months of the summer. Rumor has it the cake didnt even make it 24 hrs...I believe it!

Tres Leches.

Incredible. I had only tried this cake once before, and my brother Trent requested it for his birthday. Having no money to go out and buy all the ingredients for a strawberry whip I decided to give it a google and see how difficult this cake could be. Not. Difficult. At. All. Probabally the easiest cake I have made from scratch...ever. And oh so good. Ingredients included, AP flour, butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. That's all for the cake. Simply delish. Then stab away after the cake is cooled, get your tres leches mixed up: evaporated, sweetened condensed, and whole. Soak your cake for a couple hours and frost. Frosting consists of more vanilla, sugar, and whipping cream. That's all she wrote. Add some strawberries to the top for some tartness to break the cream. I will definetly make this again...this weekend? Ha...most likely.

Bake it Off.

April 20th huh? Close to three months since I have last been here. Well, I think I once heard a saying that pain takes you back. Either that or I made it up, whatever. Happy 4th of July, that's painful to me. I would say that the majority of people associate loneliness and the past with holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, maybe even a birthday here or there. Not me. He and I had some great 4ths. Actually the three of us did. He, I, and the city. Boston. It is such a special place to experience this day. You walk outside not knowing if the sun will warm you or rain will soak you. I was fortunate enough to experience the former two years in a row. But today I am here. I am not by the Charles nor in the atlantic watching blue whales. So I scrap myself out of bed, and into the only place I know I can count on to distract my empty self, the kitchen. It's good to be back. Great to have a haven to help me. Chocolate chip cheesecake. No recipe folks, I just kinda read a little and remembered what I had seen others doing. It was good. Easy, quick, pretty...the cheesecake. A little too chocolatey for me, but I am anxious to try new flavors. Glad to be back, maybe we can start again.

M.I.A.

Funny that my last post was called constant, because baking has not been in my life. So so much has changed since March 16th. I got a full-time job at a bakery, love it! I also moved to LA to be closer to work. A friend of mine found a great deal on an apt and I jumped at the change. So I have been unstable. But I did do last month's DB challenge. I made the lemon cake for Easter, and I loved the cake. The lemon buttercream turned out to be too buttery, and didn't come out quite right. The texture of mine was too thin at first and then I put it in the fridge and it got really hard. Sorry I don't have all the details of the recipe, I just got my camera back and wanted to post. Hopefully life will slow down a bit and I can bake it up!

Constant.

I don't find myself to commit to much lately. I buy running shoes and don't run or think of some brilliant idea and then it just slowly lingers into a small thought. I can gladly admit that this blog has been a constant in my life. Which is how I know that baking is here to stay. I never get sick of it or forget about it. There is so much to read about and great people to learn from. Speaking of which the blog that started this all for me is Tartlette. I don't remember how, I was probably looking for a tartlette recipe and found her on google. Her beautiful blog is home to some beautiful macaroons. Being used to coconut macaroons I finally found the time to make the French ones. They were easier than I imagined but I don't think I got it quite right. I also made some trusty brownies...can't really mess a brownie up it's chocolate either way. The recipe was from Baking with Julia and those brownies were delicious. So dense and rich...love!

Tart.

So I got these blueberries on sale from my local Ranch Market. Originally their purpose was a nice chilled high fiber snack for myself. But as I laid in bed tonight, that thing cam on again. You know, you get to thinking about the practice you need or a treat you had that was delicious, and the over-whelming urge to recreate hits you. Or at least me. Blueberry Muffins. Honestly I am not a big fan. Too commercial, yet so are donuts ;) Maybe the blueberries trick my mind into thinking that the muffins are too healthy to be bad. Although we all know this is not the case. Tart. Blueberries are tart, and when I want sweet, I want SWEET. Lemon curd being a total exception. My resource was the Joy of Baking website. Blueberry Struesal Muffins. They turned out like the picture, beautifully, but they weren't sweet enough if you ask me and my brotha. Moral of the story...just because you look good on the outside...doesn't mean you are good. You may be okay...but not necessarily delicious.

Yet another high or binge...whatever you want to call it.

Because I was so happy with the Brioche recipe I used in my last post, I decided to play some more. Last night I made the dough, and stayed up till 2:30am. This morning I was up by 7:30am at it again. Baker's hours. In some make believe world I was working in my own bakery. Right? Who else makes, Sugar Brioche Buns, Chocolate Brioche, Sticky Buns, and Twice Baked all in one day? I do. I promise I didn't eat all of it. Really, I swear. I just love the recipe. The bread turns out so soft, fluffy, sweet, and well...real!

My New Friend

About a week ago I was wondering around the bookstore when I ran into, "Baking with Julia." I skimmed over it and left the bookstore stomach growling, empty handed. The next day, after I received my paycheck, I returned. Forgive me for saying this, but up until lately I was not familiar with Julia Child. But don't worry we have caught up over a brioche and sticky buns. The brioche recipe in the cookbook will stay with me for life. I have made a lot of bread before and to be honest I am never thouroughly satisfied with it. Sometimes it doesn't rise enough or it is a bit too tough. Child's recipe was the real deal. I am thinking it may have to do with the dabbing of butter on the dough, folding, rolling, and relaxing. I have never heard of that before, but I followed her directions and turned out the best loave and buns I have ever made. Next up...well you'll see

Para mi Vaca

There's this boy I know who lives in Boston with a little brown boxer. He goes to school there and unfortunately stares at my sweets on a computer screen. Whenever I make anything, I think of him, because I know how much he loves and appreciates me. So I decided to send him some love in the form of Belgium Waffles and Pan Dulce. The waffle recipe was taken from The Joy of Cooking. Pan Dulce was from The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger. I've made the pan dulce before and I think it came out better the last time, but oh well I had a good time. Love you P! xoxoxxxx

Daring Baker's Challenge: Lemon Meringue Pie

I wish I could runaway like my lemon curd ran. This month's Daring Baker's Challenge was hosted by Jen from The Canadian Baker . Lemon Meringue Pie, a first for me. I was a little apprehensive about the meringue. These days egg whites scare me. After a failed flourless chocolate cake earlier this month I bake in fear of collapsed egg whites. While my meringue was not as stiff as maybe it should have been, it really did turn out nice. The crust was simply and delicious, mine was nice and thick, my favorite. Usually I'm a huge fan of curd...but like a lot of other DBers mine ran. The taste was great, but too soupy. It's okay though, I'm glad I completed my third challenge and in the future will make some changes so my lemon curd may stay.

Happy Birthday Dad.

As I said earlier, I love any excuse to bake a cake. Mostly for the decorating part. Practice makes perfect. Happy 54th birthday Old Man.

Minestrone.

Rainy days equal soup days. Simple, healthy Minestrone soup. Small shell pasta, fresh spinach, carrots, zucchini, celery, onions, garlic, tomatoes, fresh basil. thyme, oregano, and alas vegetable stock. Perfect.

January birthdays, take one.

Myself and a few of my close friends celebrate our birthdays this month. Birthdays are the best! A reason to bake cake and eat cake!!! Not that I don't bake cakes on other random days, afterrall everyday has to be someone's birthday. Happy Quarter of a Century to Ashley and Christy!! My first excuse to make chocolate ganache...it was amazing. My Dad and I are another year older on Saturday, birthday cake take two!

Sukiyaki

Like every other morning as I was eating breakfast today I was already thinking about what I would be eating for dinner. My Dad suggested we make Sukiyaki. He showed me a recipe that he had gotten out of a book of various recipes put together by a Japanese community center we used to be involved with. The recipe was very simple and so I gave it a go. I had no idea what to expect. I am so used to using a bunch of garlic, onions, and pepper in my meat marinades, that soy sauce, sugar, and a little bit of water was new to me. The end product was amazing. I started by heating a little bit of vegtable oil in a skillet. I added my onions, both green and white. After a couple minutes I added my top sirloin which was cut into very thin pieces. I made sure to keep the vegtables seperate from the meat at first. Then I simply added my sauce mixture and let the meat broil in it. After the meat was cooked I added mushrooms, bean sprouts, water chesnuts, bamboo stalks, tofu, and noodles. It was that simple. I thought it looked great, but because I didnt use the garlic that I am used to there was no strong aroma. That didn't matter at all. The dish was delicious!! The meat was nice and tender and I loved how the water chesnuts and bean sprouts added a nice crunch. Im so happy to have another Japanese dish to add to my heart. Sukiyaki is something I never would have thought to make, or look for in a cookbook. I'm glad my Dad suggested it and I look forward to sharing it with my friends and family.

Butternut.

I know fall is behind us, but I've always had mad love for the butternut squash. When I was younger I loved it because of it's appearance. The fall would bring all sorts of weird looking squash, and I never imagined taking one and making it into a delicious meal. But I did. Since I have been working at the bistro I mentioned I have been craving butternut squash soup. With all the rain and gloomy skies I mocked my chef's soup tonight. The recipe I used was googled http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=recipe&dbid=33. I'm trying to cook healthier this year which is why you will find no cakes, cookies, or pastries in this entry. Along with my soup I made a spring mix salad with strawberries, pecans, and blue cheese. Another thing I soaked up at work. Overrall it was a great meal. Different and filling. I will definetly be making it again and experimenting in different ways.