#256_My First Ever "Special Occasion" Cake to Make

Since my sisters in New Zealand have been making beautiful cakes
for birthdays, anniversaries, special events, etc.
I've always wanted to try my hands at making one
just like their cakes too,
but there have not been any special occasion
for me to make one until early this month,
then I finally had the opportunity to make one for my
friend's daughter for her engagement party.

The cake is a Carrot Cake (recipe # 137).
Bottom cake is 12 inches and has two layers,
while top tier is 8 inches and has 3 layers,
frosted with cream cheese frosting.

#255_Gourmet TunaFish Sandwich

Turn a canned tuna fish into a
Gourmet Tuna Fish Sandwich

Here's how to make this sandwich:

Sandwich Filling:
1/2 cup chopped Italian marinated vegetables
1 can (7oz) tuna in water, drained
4 Tbs mayonnaise
2 Tbs. mustard
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl

To assemble the sandwiches you need:
2 submarine rolls
lettuce leaves
1 tomato, sliced
6 pieces Pimiento Stuffed Olives, sliced into rings
1/4 cup Deli-Sliced Pepper Rings
4 slices Havarti cheese

1) Split the bread in half lengthwise
2) Place some lettuce leaves on each bottom half of bread
3) Spread tuna mixture on top of lettuce leaves.
4) Spread the Stuffed Olives on top of the tuna mixture
5) Arrange Deli-Sliced Pepper Rings on top of the Stuffed Olives
6) Arrange sliced tomatoes on top of the Deli-Sliced Pepper Rings
7) Top each sandwich with 2 slices of Havarti cheese
8) Place the top half of bread on top of each sandwich.

LET'S EAT!!

BON APPETIT--BOUN APPELITO--VELBEKOMME

For grilled tuna sandwich, click here.

#254_Cakes by Melita & Melinda

Cheryl on her 20th birthday

All of my sisters' cakes on this page are decorated with fresh flowers
such as roses and orchids
except of course the one with fresh strawberries.
Check out more pictures of their cakes here.
and here.

Mother dear on her 83rd birthday

#253_Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie

YUM!!
It's the easiest pie you can make.

Here's the recipe which was adapted from Nestle:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips morsels
  
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=28218

#252_Rolled Baklava

This is easier to make than the square ones.

Use the same recipe for the Baklava recipe #251
Here's a tutorial video on how to make this decadent dessert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FvM8cWzjKI

#251_Baklava

Baklava

Known as the "sweet of thousand layers," this dessert consists of layers upon layers of paper-thin pastry called Phyllo dough or Fillo dough with sweet-spiced nuts between the layers and is drenched with honey syrup after it is baked.

Pictured above was my test recipe. How did it turn out? not bad at all, in fact it turned out quite good, considering it is a Greek food made by a Filipina. But ifyou look very closely at the picture, you'll see that the pastry isdrowning in a pool of syrup, which means I used quite a bit of syrup which was the amount called for in the recipe I originally used. Good thing I managed to save the pastry by immediately transferring it onto a platter.

The following recipe is for Jane and other FB friends
who requested the recipe.
Sorry ladies, it has taken me a while to post it.

This is basically a recipe from the back of the

Fillo dough package with a little bit of tweaking.

5 cups shelled nuts, chopped (pistachio, almonds, walnuts or pecans)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 lb. Phyllo dough
1 cup butter, melted
Whole cloves

1) Combine the nuts, sugar and spices, (excluding the whole cloves) and set aside.
2) Brush 9"x13"x2" baking pan with butter.
3) Layer 10 sheets of Fillo in the pan, brushing each sheet with melted butter. Sprinkle about 1/3 of nut mixture on the dough. Place next 8 sheets of dough, nuts mixture and buttering each layer.
4) Repeat one more time, then top with remaining 14 sheets of Fillo.
5) With a sharp knife, score fillo into 1-1/2 " diamonds or squares. Brush with remaining butter.
6) Stick a whole clove in the center of each piece.
7) Bake in pre heated 325 degrees oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown.
8) Make sauce while baklava is half way into baking. (Recipe for sauce or syrup below)
9) Remove baklava from the oven and immediately pour hot syrup evenly over it. Cool completely, about 6 hours before serving.

Honey syrup recipe:
2 cups white sugar
2 cups water
1 cup honey
2 tsp. lemon juice
5 whole cloves
peel of 1 lemon
1 stick cinnamon
2 tsp. pure vanilla
Bring all ingredients to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain.

If you're interested in the history of baklava click on the link below:

http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Baklava.htm

#250_Food Art by Mario

These are just some of edible art works by Mario Cagaoan which he created while playing around with his ingredients and at the same time whipping up a meal. 

#249_The Perfect Cheesecake

Cheesecake with Oreo crust

Cheesecake with spongecake crust

New York cheesecake

What makes a perfect cheesecake?

A reader of this blog sent me an e-mail and asked me if I have a recipe for a cheesecake that is moist, rich, dense and doesn't crack while baking. Sounds like these are the qualities of a PERFECT cheesecake. Mine sometimes cracks, and sometimes doesn't. I guess it depends on how I bake it. Prepping is the real easy part of making cheeses cake, i.e. mixing the ingredients, pouring batter into the pan, etc., but baking it is another story. The cheesecake batter becomes temperamental (like a human being) as soon as you place it in the oven. Oven temperature and timing are critical factors to baking a perfect cheese cake.

I promised Myrna that I will post my recipe here the first time I will have a chance to blog, unfortunately, I don't blog that much anymore because of my hectic schedule, so I will reveal my secret and refer you to a site which helped me perfected a recipe. Here's the link:

http://www.baking911.com/cakes/cheesecake101.htm

and here's the link to the recipe I used for the cheesecake in the middle picture:

http://www.recipesecrets.net/forums/recipe-exchange/24608-juniors-famous-no-1-cheesecake-5-variations.html

( I didn't use a hot knife to slice them that's why the sliced pieces are not so smooth)

To Myrna and everyone else who reads this blog, I hope this info helps, but remember, practice makes a

PERFECT CHEESE CAKE

not the oven! (jk!)just kidding!

#248_Cream Cheese Frosting

Rolls frosted with Cream Cheese Frosting

Here's how to make Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz. (or half a brick) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, very soft but not melted
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbps. warm milk or orange juice ( add a little more if needed)
1 tsp. vanilla
Zest from one orange

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add in the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.

Mix well until smooth then blend in the orange zest. Drizzle on the rolls while they are still warm,but not hot right out of the oven.

Note:
Use this frosting to frost cinnamon rolls.

#247_Mango Cake Roll

I really don't have much time nowadays to blog so I've just been posting pictures of food that I make and recipes from friends on facebook.
Yesterday, after I posted this picture of Mango Cake Roll on my facebook page, I received several requests for the recipe. I appreciate you ladies for your interest on the recipe.

You'll be surprised to find out that I just combined some recipes that I already have to create this dessert. So, here it is....

For the cake, I used my recipe for the Chiffon Cake as I did with the Ube-Macapuno Cake Roll, click here,
For the cream filling, I used the same cream filling for the Fruit Tart and Crema de Fruta.

Mango Cake Roll

Mango and Cream Filling.
1 box (3.3 oz ) instant white chocolate pudding mix

1 box (3.3 oz) instant lemon pudding mix

2 cups cold milk
1 package cream cheese, room temp. soft
4 cups of ripe mangoes, cubed

In a bowl beat cream cheese and set aside. In another bowl, beat the 2 boxes of pudding and milk until thick, (food processor works best for this part) Add the cream cheese and continue to beat until mixture is smooth. Consistency should be like mayonnaise. Fold in the cubed mangoes. (this recipe is for 2 cake rolls)

For the Cake, Chiffon Cake recipe #210, click here.
1) Make the batter for the cake following the directions on the Chiffon Cake recipe.
2) Grease 2 jelly roll pans then line with parchment papers, then grease the papers.
3) Equally spread the batter on the parchment paper-lined pans.
4) Bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees oven for 15-18 minutes for each pan.
5) Follow directions in rolling jelly roll before spreading the Mango and Cream Filling on the cake.
6) chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Note from MaMely:
If making the Chiffon Cake batter is somewhat complicated for you, watch this video which gives you very simple recipe for jelly roll cake and a step by step procedure of rolling the cake.

Here's a link on how to make jelly roll cake http://video.about.com/baking/Jelly-Roll.htm


This is the kind of mangoes that works best for this dessert. If you live in Pinas, there won't be any problem looking for good mangoes.

When time permits, instead of using pudding for the cream filling, try making the real pastry cream, just as what I've used in several desserts below.

Incredible Mango Tart, recipe #160, click here,
Irresistible Mango Custard Pizza Pie recipe #161 here,
Brazo de Mercedez with a big Twist recipe #196 here,

Custard Cream Filling
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup fresh milk
1 cup coconut cream
6 egg yolks, slightly beaten
Click here to get the procedure.

ENJOY!!