Whoopie Pies

Wanna make something for this weekend, I browse to one of my favorite blog by Mbak Riana, searching something chocolate then I found this not to hassle recipe to make. I want something chocolate but also refreshing for my dessert. I don't know how exactly the real taste are, but I think I'm getting closer to what's been describe in the recipe. It's so easy to make and the taste? Hmmm..Oh so Yummy.... :D

Half Bite - Chocolate outside, Vanilla Custard inside

P.S: For recipe, click the title.

Colorful Cuppies

This is my first experiment decorating cup cakes with colorful butter cream. The reason why I haven't try this coloring stuff is just that I'm to lazy mixing various colors he he :P..



You should see Mbak Peni's blog with her beautiful creation's on decorating with colorful icings or butter cream. I wonder how many hours she had put only for mixing and decorating itself. For that, I salute her totally! It's not an easy job, but when you love doing it, everything turns to be easy :D



* Colorful Bday Cup Cake for Izma: Chocolate cake-innards bitter sweet ganache and Lemon cake-innards strawberry paleta

My Dad's Bday Cake

It's very unique having 3 people in the family with the same birth date. My Hubby, My Dad and My Sister in law, they're all born on March 14. I made two Birthday Cake for my Dad (coz we're celebrating on my parent's house). One is Chocolate Cake and the other is Strawberry Japanese Cheese Cake. One thing that I have to learn more, is to make a smooth chocolate glaze to cover the cake. I saw a really good one at famous cakery shop in Mall, and still wondering how they did it. The chocolate is really smooth, so smooth that it's reflected things around it! I will find the way and will do it next time for sure.

However, I brought them in the afternoon to my Dad's house and the next day it's all gone.. So glad everyone was pleased by those cakes :D

My Late Entry for Spectacular Cup Cakes 2008..oh well

I want to participate on this Spectacular Cup Cake event which was held by Ms. Arfi Binsted (love her blog!)..But seems like I didn't look closely to the deadline. I thought it'll be ended on 12.00 pm New Zealand time, but it did end on 12.00 am. I'm pretty sure that I'm not eligible to be on this event :(, but I had already made them this morning.. So to get over my disappointment and making my feeling's better, I'm still gonna post it anyway on my blog otherwise it would be such a waist..hehe..

I currently love to make Japanese Cheese Cake. This is my third time using the recipe for these cupcakes. I've made some to my Dad on his birthday and the whole family love the softness, fresh and 'just right' cheesy taste..It's such an overwhelm taste! I've modified it by putting strawberry paleta and fresh cut strawberries before covering it with butter cream. I like to make cup cake that when people eat it, they would be surprised by something hidden inside :D

Here's the recipe and some step by step I did:

Strawberry-Japanese Style Cheesecake
(Source: 35 Cheesecake Recipes Variation by Yasaboga)

Mix and sift:

50 gr flour (all purpose)

50 gr cornstarch

Ingredients:

60 gr unsalted butter

250 gr cream cheese, at room temperature

120 ml whipping cream

5 egg yolks
5 white eggs

2 tsp grated lemon rind

1/8 tsp salt > i didn't use this (forgot to be exact :P)

125 gr castor sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

Instruction:

1. Prepare 1 dozen (12 pcs) of medium size paper cups. Heat the oven at 150 degree Celcius.
2. Put together in a sauce pan: butter, cream cheese and whipping cream. Cook on low heat, stir until soft, remove from heat.
3. Mix in flour mixture, blend well. Stir in yolks, blend well. Stir in grated lemon rind, blend well, set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites until frothy, beat in sugar and lemon juice gradually while continue beating until it forms soft peaks.
5. Spoon 1/3 of egg whites batter into cream cheese mixture, blend well. Fold in this batter to the remaining egg whites batter, blend well.
   
6. Pour batter into paper cup, bake au bain marie (water bath)> how? first, before pre-heating the oven, prepare a square cookie pan (20x20x4) and fill it with hot boiling water not more than a half. Put a rack on to, but make sure the water still underneath it then put filled paper cups onto the rack.
   
7. Put it together to the oven for approximately 75 minutes until the surface is done, golden yellow in color. Remove from oven > better let the filled water cookie pan stay in the oven, make sure you just get the cup cakes off the oven. I once almost burn my finger from the boiling water, because I did try to remove the pan also! pretty smart move :P ha ha..> let cool on a rack.

From Left to right:

1. JCC ready
2. Spread strawberry paleta
3. Put fresh cut strawberries on each cake
4. Cover with butter cream
5. Blend strawberry paleta with butter cream, add just a tiny pink color onto.
6. Fill in to piping bag, choose spuit that you desire
   
7. Make a swirl on top
8. Prepare colorful sprinkles
9. Sprinkle some to the cake
10. Strawberry JCC cup cake ready to serve :D

Happy Birthday My Dearest Hubby!

My Dearest Hubby is having a birthday today. I'm thinking of making a Birthday cake for him. But since I don't know (yet) how to decorate a cake, I simply ordered edible Image to give a final touch to it (Thank you Mbak Ina for the fast service printing! :D).

I baked a chocolate sponge cake last night, soaked it in rhum and filled with bittersweet chocolate ganache. This time I'd like to try covering the cake with chocolate butter cream. Ugghhh..covering the cake and to make it smooth is not an easy job!!!. I think I'm not that patience to make it extra smooth. And the thing is, I don't have that little round table, which just made it more complicated..arrgghh. I'm so impressed by those who could make a decorating cake, with butter cream or fondant or whatever! Bravo to you all. I guess, I still have a long way to learn.

Inspired by Andy Warhol, I made a colorful image for cake and cup cakes. My Hubby is so into bicycling, so I made an image that's related to his hobby and to show him that I'm supporting his hobby all the way!

So here it is, a birthday cake for a beloved hubby. I know it's not perfect, but I'm sure he'll understand that I've tried my best..hohoho:D

Happy Birthday My Dearest Hubby, may Allah bless you with health, luck and wealth. I'm so blessed to have you as my husband and being a great father to our son. May all your dreams come true. Amiinn..Love you always!

Cuppies for a Dear Friend

I made Strawberry JCC cup cake for one of my dearest Friend. We used to work at the same office, 5 years ago.. Even though we're not working at the same place anymore but still, we keep in touch and did some Design projects together. She's younger than me, but what I admire of her, she has lots and lots of potential.. She did great in Graphic Design, Advertising and now, she's become one of the most talented, young and rising female director (in my opinion..but I think you would too). I've seen her art work recently on TV, from music videos to 30 seconds Ad...still couldn't imagine how she got all the creativity in her mind!

Strawberry JCC with Edible on top

Happy Birthday my dear friend, my text messaging mate (when most of the time those messaging were absolutely nothing important to talk about!!!Ha ha ha...) I wish you all the best from health, luck, life, wealth and also...a Loving Partner for Life! :D Muach..muach..

Note: Cake-Japanese Cheese Cake, filled with fresh strawberry and strawberry paleta, covered with buttercream.

Strawberry Fields Forever...

Strawberry JCC Cup Cake

"Let me take you down, coz I'm goin' to..Strawberry Fields.."-The Beatles- Ahaa! Strawberry..who wouldn't love this tiny (or big) red spotted fruit with spiky green leaf on top? With its sweet and sour taste..hmmm..girls do love this kind of flavor!

Recently, I've been curious to this Strawberry Japanese Cheese Cake that one of talented blogger made. Couple times we had chat through sms and we've become friends (even though we haven't met each other face to face).. One day I sms Maki (that's what people called her), and said that I would like to order her JCC for this upcoming event and for myself (hihi).. Because I think, looking at the pics and also the recipe, seems a bit hard and I'm just too lazy to give it a try... :P

Strawberry JCC with fresh cut strawberries as toppers

She text me back and encourage me that I could do it by myself. Not that she wouldn't take the order, but she thought that why shouldn't I try to do it first? And she'd gladly help to guide me through whenever I'm having trouble while making it..(psst..she's also overing me to bake the cake using her giant oven at her house..which is just too impossible and we made fun of it :P).

After giving some tips, where I should buy the Strawberries.. I made it to the store the night after, walking, since the store is close enough from my house.. Then I looked at the rack..so many strawberries there! small size, big, even huge one..and they're all affordable!!! I mean.. all this time I made a wrong, so wrong choice of place for buying strawberries! The price was 1.5-2 times more expensive.. Haha you would laugh and said "Ya iyaLaaahhh" if I told you where :P.. OK, bought the strawberries, it's one step already.. Next thing to do, I just have to pull up all my energy to try the recipe.

I used the recipe from her blog (chefwannabe.wordpress.com), and did exactly what's written. One thing I like from her blog is, she explained everything in details, what type of brand she used and how she did it..it's so useful for me, as a beginners. After waiting 75 minutes (as she recommended), the cake is ready! Some of it was poured into cups, it's done ahead (I think about 40 minutes only). Spread the top with Strawberry Paletta, decorate it with fresh cut strawberries, and last one is pouring it with strawberry paletta again (diluted with boiling water).

Strawberry JCC - top view

The taste???Hmm..If I may say it in Indonesian words: "Top Markotob Mak 'Nyuuussss....!!!" Hahaha. My hubby loving it too (but he wasn't really into fresh strawberry, so I'm the one who eat all the fresh fruit..which is no problemo at all!). The cheese felt just right and the cake is soo soft! The lemon curd flavor on the cake combines with fresh cut strawberries has made it tasted even more fresher. Ahhhh...it's just like being in a Heaven of Cheese and Strawberries!!! Believe me! :D

p.s: Thank You Maki for your encouragement! I can make Strawberry JCC now..Woohooo!!! :D