Baking Project #11: Chocolate Coated Candies Blondies

Thanks to Gordon Ramsay, I was introduced to Blondies. And this recipe is by far the most delicious. It's chewy and only sweet as far as sweet goes. I made this right after making a roasted chicken and what do you know, I was finished in half an hour, and I was eating a few pieces twenty minutes later.

And if there's a good thing about being alone for a week is that I get to have all the blondies for dessert. A real treat, right? 

  

RECIPE                                                                                                                                                     

Chocolate Coated Candies Blondies

Ingredients

     1 cup all purpose flour

     1/2 tsp baking powder

     1/8 tsp  baking soda

     1/2 tsp salt

     1/3 cup butter, melted

     1 cup packed brown sugar

     1 egg, beaten

     1 tsp vanilla extract

     1 cup chocolate coated candies 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (180 deg C). Grease and flour an 8in by 8in baking pan and line with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together melted butter and brown sugar. Add in egg and vanilla and mix. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Fold the candies.
4. Press the batter into the pan and scatter a few candies on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Recipe adapted from: A Pumpkin and A Princess

Baking Project #10: Banana-Walnut Muffins

My mother loves carrot cakes, and my aunt too. During our get together, I am always assigned to bring a carrot cake which resulted to a pack of leftover walnuts in our cupboard. Each day, I see the walnuts and I tell myself not to worry as one day I may have to make a carrot cake again.

And that time had come, but not in a form of a carrot cake but muffins. One weekend I was ready to bake. I checked our refrigerator and found out that we had no milk but we had 5 pieces of bananas. So I said, OK, I'll just make muffins. And so I made twelve, twelve very delicious banana muffins with nuts. 

I was supposed to bring 4 pieces of these to work and give them to John Lee, but I kept on forgetting. In the end, I just ate them after three days for breakfast. And you know what, they're still moist and soft. Try them too, you can be done in less than hour. I promise! And you can have them for breakfast too. Just like I did.

RECIPE                                                                                                                                                    

Banana-Walnut Muffins

Ingredients

5 pcs very ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175 deg Celsius.
2. In the bowl of your mixer, combine the melted butter and mashed bananas. Mix in the sugar, vanilla and egg. Add the baking soda and salt and mix until combined. Add the flour and mix just until combined. Fold in the walnuts. The less you stir the batter at this point, the fluffier the muffins would be once baked.
3. Prepare 12 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Pour the batter into each of the tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the tins and allow to cool in a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: A Sweet Pea Chef

Baking Project #9: Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake. I am fascinated with the red velvet cake. The red cake is such a huge contrast to the white frosting. And the cream cheese frosting itself, can stand on its own. I swear, I can eat all of it little by little. But as fascinated as I am with the red velvet cake, I am actually afraid to make it AGAIN. I’d made it once and the top of the cake looked like a volcano crater. It just wouldn’t bake through. I even returned it in the oven and baked it twice the baking time but the result was the same. The side was already burnt but the top didn’t change much.  It was such a huge failure and made me think that it’s a very technical cake. And since I never went to a baking school, I thought I will just always fail.

Three years later, I was searching for a cake recipe that I could try. And thanks to Pinterest (again!) I found the one that I just knew would turn into a successful and delicious velvety cake. And I was right. The color, the texture and the taste it wasn’t just good, it was great. If you’re into red velvet cakes, you may try this recipe.

RECIPE__________________________________________________________________________

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring

  

For the cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

For the cake

1.       Preheat oven to 175 ^oCelsius.

2.       Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.

3.       Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and whisk until blended. Set aside.

4.       In the bowl of your mixer sift together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.

5.       Pour into cake pans and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.

6.       Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7.       After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the cream cheese frosting

Beat butter until fluffy. Add the cream cheese and mix until blended. Little by little and at low speed, add in powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla. 

Recipe for the red velvet cake was adapted from: Bakerella

Baking Project #8: Chocolate Crinkles

When I was still in college and living with my relatives, I used to see a plate of crinkles on the table almost weekly. My aunt was moonlighting with her baked goods so it's common to see brownies and tarts in the house. When I left and lived on my own, that hobby was passed on (or acquired?) to my uncle who had to retire early as per his doctor's advise. But if there's one person who was greatly influenced by seeing my aunt baked, it was her daughter, my cousin Jana whom by the way is my favorite.

Anyway, despite seeing those crinkles I never got one and took a bite. Five years in college followed by more years of working and never once did I buy myself a piece. Don't get me wrong, despite it's simplicity I was really enticed by the black and white combination. I just know deep down that it's delicious. However I can't figure out why I haven't tasted it before.

But thanks to Pinterest(!) I saw a lot of photos and recipes (!!!) of crinkles. I tried one and loved it so much I'm not trying anything else (am I missing out a lot???). As of today, I already baked them twice. But yesterday when I went to Shopwise, I saw a load of crinkles being sold and I realized that mine are small in sizes. Tee hee! Well, lesson learned. 

And oh by the way, they'll be making their way to Julian's first brithday! I'm already preparing for it.

If you're interested, here's the recipe: 

Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa powder (I used dutch processed)

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs (room temperature)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp espresso powder 

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, using a wooden spoon, beat together the cocoa powder, sugar and oil until they combine and becomes shiny and gritty.

2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat well.

3.In  a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and espresso powder. Mix into the chocolate mixture until just combined. Cover the dough and place it in a freezer for two hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350 deg F and line two baking sheets with parchment papers. Place the confectioner's sugar in a bowl. Using a spoon, get a clump of the chilled dough and roll in into a 1-inch sized ball using your hands. Roll the ball in the confectioner's sugar and place in the baking sheet. Do the same until you fill the whole sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool for a minute in the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: I recommend that you cover your hands with confectioner's sugar before rolling the dough or some of it will stick in!

For printable version, click here.

P.S. Chocolate Glazed Cake

Baking Project # 7: 9th Month Birthday Cake

I don't know the reason behind this but from my hometown, they believed that once someone becomes a godmother to your child, you can't be a godmother to her child as well. As it turned out, my closest of friends are Julian's godmothers. So there goes my dream to become a godmother to their children. 

Early this year, my friend gave birth to her son Bryze and he was baptized a few months later. I am honestly jealous that he'll get to call my other friends "ninang" and I won't ever hear it from him. But anyway, I still get to spoil him with my presence as we live only about five minutes away. I used to jive Julian's pedia appointment with his schedule but their pedia is not someone who hurries the consultation (unlike what I observed with my former OB) so one of us had to wait another hour before we can leave. And with other patients at the reception area waiting for their turn, it could get tiring and fearful trying to hold on to Julian as he run around while I hope that he doesn't bump into chairs, other toddlers or the older patients.

Bryze breezed into his 9th month last Saturday and I baked a cake for him. We brought the cake to their house but had to leave early as Julian wasn't feeling well. If you noticed, I do love sprinkles on cake. If I could get away with it, I'd top all cakes with them. But of course I have to choose the appropriate occasion for them and a baby's birthday is just right for it.

RECIPE                                                                                                                                                    


Birthday Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

    1 cup butter, softened
    1/2 cup vegetable oil
    2 1/2 cups sugar
    5 eggs, room temperature
    3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
    1/2 tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp salt
    1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
    2 tsp vanilla

For the buttercream

   1 cup salted butter, softened
   4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
   2 Tbsp heavy cream
   2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (175 deg C). Line 2 8-inch round pans with parchment paper and grease well. 
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 
3. Cream together butter and oil until well combined and fluffy. Add sugar one cup at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another. Scrape the bottom of the bowl, if necessary. Add the flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Beat in vanilla. Beat batter on high for 5 seconds until everything is fully incorporated.
4. Equally divide into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pans for 5 minutes. Run a spatula or knife around the edge of the pans and transfer to cooling racks. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1. Beat butter until pale and fluffy. Slowly mix powdered sugar. Add heavy cream and beat well. Mix in vanilla and beat on high until the desired consistency is attained. Add food color if desired. 

Notes: 

      You can use unsalted butter but I find the result too sweet to my liking so I switched to salted butter. Salted butter softened faster than the salted one.

 

Baking Project #6: Sprinkles Cupcakes

I have 2 packs of sprinkles at home that have been sitting in the cupboard for months but which I am not inclined to throw away. Even if I have to make a couple of cakes and a number of cupcakes to decorate them with I would do it. 

Who am I kidding? Those sprinkles were the reason why I was inspired over the weekend. Suddenly, I had a reason to bake. I was honestly itching to whisk flour and beat butter but baking two weeks in a row didn't sound well for my pocket. I just bought 2 sets of pajamas for Julian, new shirts for me and was even tempted to buy a cake stand if only the color went well with me. 

I have fabricated another alibi. I am set to make 80-100 cupcakes for Calvin's birthday this Sunday and I need to determine just exactly how much buttercream I have to make. I will do the baking at home, bring the cupcakes to Zambales and frost them there. And Diane will have to buy all the ingredients I needed a couple of days before, so planning ahead is necessary.

These cupcakes were soft, even after I stored them in the refrigerator for a day. I would love to do it again. By the way, the first time I made these, I used evaporated milk and the taste was overwhelming and had a burn-out factor. I suggest that you either use whole or fresh milk to balance everything.

RECIPE                                                                                                                                                    


Sprinkles Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 large eggwhites (read direction #2 before separating the yolks from the white)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 3 Tbsp milk (fresh or whole)
1/4 cup rainbow jimmies sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 175 deg Celsius. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners (14 cupcakes).
2. Sift flour and baking powder in a medium sized bowl. Add salt and whisk. Set aside
3. In the bowl of your mixer, beat butter until pale and creamy. Add in sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and eggwhites one at a time beating well after each addition. Scrape the bottom of the bowl if necessary. Mix in vanilla. In three additions, alternately beat in the flour mixture and the milk beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. (1/3 of dry ingredients + 1/2 of milk + 1/3 of dry ingredients + 1/2 of milk and then finally the rest of the dry ingredients. Fold in the rainbow jimmies sprinkles.
4. Fill muffin tins with about 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (The original recipe calls for 17-19 minutes, but in my oven it took 22 minutes to have them completely bake.) Remove from the oven, allow in the muffin tins for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to completely cool.

For the frosting recipe, click here.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy

Baking Project #5: Peanut Butter Cookies

 Oh it's Christmas time already! 

Here in the Philippines, we celebrate the Christmas season the longest. We start hanging lanterns and wreaths and putting up the Christmas tree as soon as the first of September steps in. This  morning while I was watching a morning show, I could already hear them play Jingle Bells and on my way to work,  Christmas songs were popping from radio shows.

Despite the preparations that we put on so much effort, I, however don't have a  long list of gifts to buy. Instead, I spend a day in our kitchen baking cupcakes and cookies to be wrapped and given the next day. I don't spend that much. I really feel the act of giving when I make them on my own. I wish I can draw and make my own cards but I am not talented in that department. But baking has become a hobby and I love doing it, so cookies and cupcakes from our home have become a tradition.

Last year, I made boxes and boxes of peanut butter cookies. Julius loved them and became his favorite. Last Sunday, it was just Julian and I at home. If Julius had been there, we would be on our way to UP and Julian would be running around the park. Sadly, he wasn't there and we missed him. I then decided to make peanut butter cookies. 

They were really good. I ate about 5 pieces before I remember to give some to our neighbors. Oops, sorry! Julian is at his picky stage but that wasn't the case when he tasted it. I fed him with the cookies all afternoon.

RECIPE                                                                                                                                                    

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 175 deg Celsius. Grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
3. Using a handheld mixer (don't use a stand mixer to avoid overmixing), beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add peanut butter and beat just until blended. Add egg and vanilla and beat again just until blended. Gradually add flour mixture and beat just until blended.
4. Using a cookie scoop or or your measuring spoon, place tablespoon-sized balls dough into prepared pans, 2 inches apart. Using a fork, make a crisscross pattern on top of each cookie, Be careful not to over-flatten the cookie. Bake cookies, one pan at a time for 12-14 minutes or until lightly brown. Allow to cook in baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

P.S.  You may also try Red Velvet Cupcakes


Recipe Source: Bake or Break

Baking Project #4: Red Velvet Cupcakes

To be quite frankly, it occurred to me once that red velvet cake is going to be the end of my baking addiction. There's no in between with this cake, it's either I get it or I don't. And I miss most of the time!

Prior to my first attempt of baking it, I have no idea or heard of it before. Even the restaurants and cafes I frequent don't have it in their menu. One day though, I was browsing all the recipes at Joy of Baking when I saw this photo of a cake. It looked simple but the combination of colors caught my attention. The burst of red made it interesting and intriguing. I studied the recipe and read it over and over again. I haven't even started yet but I was already intimidated. I couldn't quite figure it out but somehow my subconscious knew that I was doomed for a failure. And I did. I made it that day and even after the 40 minutes were up, the cake still looked creamy and nowhere near completely baked. I replaced it in the oven and baked for another 5 minutes... and another 5... and another 5. In the end, I baked it for twice as much as was said on the recipe and the top was burnt and I had to cut that part.

Two years later, I saw a recipe for red velvet cupcakes using a different method. So I tainted my hands with red yesterday and I dare say, they were really good. They were the softest cupcakes I ever made and tasted! It's not as red as I hoped it would be but that can easily be repaired. What's important is, I FINALLY found the perfect recipe! 

RECIPE                                                                                                                                                    

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted

1 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp vinegar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 oz (30 ml) red food color

1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 deg C). Line muffin tins with cupcake liners
2. Measure cake flour in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, vinegar and salt.
4. In the bowl of your mixer, beat sugar and oil until well blended.Alternately add flour and wet mixture in three additions beginning and ending with flour. Mix in cocoa powder and food color.
5. Fill muffin tins to half-full and bake to 15-17 minutes or  until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in tins for a few minutes. Remove from tins and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Note:

       *Makes about 30 3-oz cupcakes

       *I am using a small oven that can only accommodate 9 cupcakes at a time. What I do is bake

         them on the lower rack for 15 minutes and then transfer them to the middle rack and bake for

         another 3-5 minutes.   

Recipe adapted from She Make and Bakes

Baking Project #3: Basketweave Cake

Life is all about choices.  Variety is the name of the game.

I already have my go to recipe for yellow cake, but I would never pass up a chance to try a new recipe if it sounds promising. I was cleaning my drawer the other day and when I got to the bottom I found copies of cake recipes that I printed a year ago. I read everything and decided to try the yellow cake for our anniversary. Julius and I became together officially on August 10 and because it fell on a Sunday this year, I already made my decision to make a cake and also try the basketweave frosting idea. I did both and I was really happy with the result. After I finished with the frosting, I excitedly showed it to Ate Janet and she was pleased with it too. I couldn't find a flat tip from the store despite checking every week so I used a small sized open star tip. And I do think that it was even better. As for the cake, it's my brother's opinion that I always ask, and my question is always like this: "Is it good? Should I make it again?" And if he says yes, then I'm fine with doing it again. And in case you're wondering, he said yes yesterday.

Ingredients:

     4 cups plus 2 Tbsp cake flour, sifted

     2 tsp baking powder

     1 1/2 tsp baking soda

     1 tsp salt

     1 cup unsalted butter ( 2 sticks), softened

     2 cups granulated sugar

     2 tsp vanilla extract

     4 large eggs, room temperature

     2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (175 deg C). Grease 2 8-inch round pans. Grease also parchment papers and place at the bottom of the pans.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and set aside. 
3. In the bowl of your mixer, mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well after each addition. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. In a low speed, mix buttermilk just until incorporated. Add flour in three batches and mix just until incorporated.
4. Divide batter into pans and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edges and invert into racks. Remove parchment paper and allow to cool before frosting. 

For the frosting recipe, click here:

Note: Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Baking Project #2: Candle Birthday Cake

Oh how I love pinning! I do it everyday! I am always in search of home ideas, cake and cupcake recipes and most of all, cake frosting techniques. I am so addicted!

Last year, I chanced upon this cake styling idea and it has been stuck in my mind since then. I wanted to try it back then but for no apparent reason, I just stopped baking altogether. So the idea had been put to rest for a while. But last weekend, I was restless. I wanted to go to the mall, shop for groceries, dine out, play outside with Julian, read a book and so and so. I had an endless list of things I wanted to do. I ticked a few on the list but I was still restless so I decided to bake. And my heart and mind had their peace. I used a new recipe which meant that I needed someone besides myself to taste it and give me feedback. My younger brother visited us later in the afternoon and helped himself with the cake. He returned the next day and ate a couple of slices with Julian. (By the way, Julian cried when Ton told him that they already ate all of the cake and there's nothing left. Hmm, he must loved it too!)

And so of course, I no longer have to ask Ton if I should make it again. Obviously, he liked it. And I liked it too and my friends at work as well!

      White Butter Cake

      Ingredients: 

2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted

1 cup, at room temperature 

6 large egg whites, at room temperature 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 

4 teaspoons baking powder 

1 teaspoon table salt 

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool 

Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. 
2. Pour milk, egg whites, and vanilla into a bowl, and mix with fork until blended. 
3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds longer. 
4. Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops.Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. 

   
      American Buttercream

   

      Ingredients:

       1 1/4 cup butter, softened

       3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted 3 to 4 times

       1 Tbsp vanilla

       3-4 Tbsp heavy cream

       1 tsp salt

     Directions:

  

1.  Beat butter at high speed for 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar. When all of the sugar is blended, add the heavy cream and beat at high speed. Add vanilla and salt and beat again until desired consistency is attained. Make adjustment by adding heavy cream (1 Tbsp at a time) or powdered sugar (1 cup at a time).

Note: Cake recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

  

Baking Project #1: A Delicious Yellow Cake

 Alright, now you can judge my frosting style! I have no excuse. Oh wait, I do have. The original photo showed a three-layer cake so I imagined myself frosting the cake in three pastel colors on the side. Only to realize while I was pouring the batter that I could only divide it into two. So I invented a frosting style and that's how it happened. At first, I made arcs that turned into small S and I didn't even know when exactly it happened, but there it is!

I made this cake on Friday night and went to bed. In the morning, Julius announced that he saw the cake the night before and was tempted to eat it but refrained himself because it looked good. Haha. Now I have a fan. Did you notice my title? It says, A Delicious Yellow Cake, and it was. I'm not kidding nor am I lying. This is the first cake I made that I had no desire to change anything, even the number of egg yolks. I just used the egg whites for the Italian Buttercream.

Half of the cake, I gave to our neighbors and the rest we ate in a day. There's really no occasion why I baked but I was itching to try this recipe, and so I did. And I had no regret, even just a little. I was really really happy. If you're searching for a yellow cake recipe, then you must try this too.

If you're having trouble baking a flat cake, wrap a very wet (but not dripping!) strip of cloth around the cake pan and you're good to go.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 8 egg yolks,k room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup milk, room temperature

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line two 8-inch round pans with parchment paper and grease with oil or butter.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. 
3. Beat butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy (I did it for 5 minutes). Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add in the flour mixture alternately with the milk in three additions beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until incorporated.
4. Pour batter into the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

I realized that when it comes to baking, accuracy is the key. So follow each instruction deligently. And be patient!

***I frosted it with buttercream and I couldn't have been more happier!***

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com Be sure to read the reviews!

Baking Projects!

PLEASE don't judge this cake by its frosting!!!

I signed up to Pinterest only to organize all my ideas regarding Julian's first birthday. But then I got addicted to pinning that I do it everyday and and keep on logging in almost every hour. I mostly pinned baking recipes and frosting ideas which resulted to three boards full of wonderful things to do! Problem is there are so many recipes to try and I have only made one of them so far! To be perfectly honest I have a notebook full of recipes too and I haven't baked all of them yet so I thought that it may take a while before I get to try them all. But Julian's birthday is getting nearer and I'm still in the process of finding the perfect cake.

So anyway, I made a white cake  awhile back and it was a hit. But, I wasn't able to frost it decently. I was pressed with time and it was just me and Julian that day. I really wanted to give it a proper decoration but Julian was becoming impatient and was jumping up and down his crib. To make it short, I gave in to his whim. The original recipe was too sweet for us so I had to cut back half a cup. I frosted it with Italian butter cream and I loved it! It was good for slicing and very stable. Since it was a three-layer cake and there were only three of us in our household, it lasted for three days and it was still moist and soft. I honestly like it so much. I even bookmarked it for Julian's rainbow cake. But I'm not stopping! Like I said there are so many amazing recipes everywhere and I wanted to make as much as I can. And that brings me to my Baking Projects. Promise, I won't post anything disastrous. Tee hee! I'm starting this Saturday, just in time for an afternoon snack with my brother. I can do this!

Ingredients

For the cake

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

3 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

Italian Buttercream Frosting

6 egg whites, room temperature
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 cups butter, cut into cubes and softened
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and coat well with butter or oil.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside 

3. Cream together butter and oil until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar one cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each cup before adding another one. Add eggs one at a time, be sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another. Scrape down sides after each addition. Add the flour mixture (in three additions) with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Add in vanilla. Beat batter on high speed for 5 seconds until all ingredients are fully incorporated. 

4. Pour batter equally into the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool on the pans for 5 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

For the buttercream

1. Combine the sugar, water and cream of tartar in a mesium-sized bowl and set over medium heat. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the temperature reaches 238 deg F. (Do not mix once you start the fire and use a candy thermometer for the temperature.)

2. Once the temperature reaches, 225 deg F, start beating together eggwhites and salt until soft peaks in the bowl of your mixer. With the beater at low speed, slowly add the syrup in a steady stream. (Be careful not to pour it on the beater as mixture is very hot and may splatter!) Once all the syrup has been added, continue beatingat high speed until the sides of the bowl registers room temperature (feel the sides with your hands). Set the speed to medium and add the butter one cube at a time. Continue beating until the buttercream hold soft peaks. (You'll know this when you hold the beater upside down and buttercream won't fall off and would hold its shape.) Beat in vanilla.

For a printable version, click here

Cake recipe adapted from Add a Pinch

Italian Buttercream adapted from The Kitchn