Send Off Cake

Yup. Send off I say because my second brother, Jonathan, already left for Cebu last night to start his new found job there. Of course, there has to be something special for dessert last night since we had eggplant omelets for dinner. Sounds nice eh? But the main dish was just a typical dinner dish in our family. The event wasn't really very sad too since Cebu is just a boat ride away. But still, we have to cross the seas, right?

The Magic Chocolate Mug Cake has been doing wonders for me too because it makes an instant delicious cake during times when everything's uptight that I can barely even make way for it. It's fairly easy and doesn't involve taking out too many utensils and equipment. I only use a wire whisk, a bowl and some measuring spoons to mix the batter; a mold and I put the mixture into the microwave to cook. 

I've also done my first attempt of Cooked Chocolate Frosting last night and it came out really delicious. I mean really delicious. I made use of the cooked frosting recipe I found at Tummy Yummy's site. I halved the recipe and added a few tablespoons of chocolate powder to the mixture. 

So needless to say, we were all sated. We ate the rest of it after lunch today. :D

:)

a closer look

my brother making the first slice. 

[looks pretty small huh. that's the mug cake recipe times 4]

ooooooh yummy gooey innards. 

enjoy! :D

Yakult Chocolate Cake

I've always wondered how my favorite pro-biotic drink, Yakult, would taste if used as a substitute for milk in baking. 

taken from the site above.

I love Yakult. I grew up loving it. I don't know how I came to love it. All I know is that it's been there since I was a child. It's good for the tummy too. 

So last night, the thought hit me. And so I pulled out my Magic Chocolate Mug Cake recipe and mixed in the Yakult and microwaved it. Here's the result. 

Looks like tree barks. :)

still has the microwavey texture.

Taste-wise, it was good enough. 

I wouldn't recommend it though because it's not something I think everyone would like. :D

Celebrations and Firsts

Whew! I'm so glad to be back to posting. This, I believe is going to be jam-packed. Our internet connection was down for days, you see. Sooooooooooooo..........

My brother, Jovan, arrived from Bacolod City last Friday for a family celebration and we are more than happy to have him around. I always love making excuses to bake and this occasion is the perfect excuse! hahaha:D So I did whip up something with the use of my magic microwave[again]and made a special upsized[this time] version of the chocolate mug cake.

I've also read about cooked frosting and that it is [as they say] the best frosting for chocolate cake so I decided to go for it the first time. I didn't make much as it was just a test so I downsized the recipe to one-fourth.[I know, right? I do a lot upsizing or downsizing of recipes to fit my needs.]

Texture-wise and taste wise, the chocolate cake was in its best form... doesn't feel "microwavey" at all. And the frosting? I don't know if I did it right because it's kinda runny but it tasted good.

On to some photo-sharing...

view from the top

side

closer

Jovan cutting his cake

view from our dining table

sliced.

Back to the celebration I was talking about, yeah, it was quite a big one. It's my other brother Jonathan's graduation from college. Yeah, three out of the four Tan siblings are already out of school[in a good way]. Only one left, our baby girl [she's 18] Jackie. :D So the celebration made me really think of building a cupcake tower for the first time. Nothing really fancy, just a simple one to grace the table aside from the cake. Hence, I was really busy the whole day since my parents had to join him in the school festivities. I helped in setting up the tables, chairs, food and the venue. By the way, I used cake boards and old milk cans for the tower, covered them in blue and black cartolina[paper] and glued them with Mighty Bond. I was really a little scared that the tower will tip but I was really glad it stood sturdy[though a little wobbly when moved] the whole time.

So here's another photosharing...

here goes... that's Jonatz right there with his sweets. :D

[i didn't make the cake... that's BQ's]

here I am

basking in my stressed 'glossy' look. hahaha :D

[it's worth the time and energy ain't it?]

By the way, that day, a very good news came to me.

My OVEN is FIXED!

I love it! :D

Sweet Escape

Okay... so I've been complaining... It's been really hot these days[as I say time and time again].

Makes me wanna crave for something sweet and cold at the same time. My baby oven is still in the repair shop and I so miss it every time. I don't know when I'm gonna get it back but I really wish I will soon. Back to my craving, well there's no better way to satisfy it than making a concoction... and here's what I came up with.

I used the Magic Chocolate Mug Cake recipe but downsized it to half. You can imagine how little the measures are already but the serving is just right [for me]. The mug cake I made days ago, I shared with my family. This one, I ate alone. :D I made use of a small bowl too instead of a coffee mug and cooked it on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds instead of 2:30. I also used just the egg yolk instead of one whole egg. When cooked, I let it cool a bit and transferred it to a small plate/saucer. I then topped it with leftover Double Dutch ice cream from last night and ate it all away.

So here are the evidences:

mmmm... look at the ice cream melting away... :P

sorry for the bubbles but well, that's how it is when the ice cream melts. [i think]

i loved the texture of this one.

I didn't really know what I was going to call it thus the title...

It tasted more like brownies than cake but it was yummy... really yummy. :D