#237_deLuscious Carrrot Cake

Carrot Cake
with pineapple and nuts then iced with
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Two-layer Carrot Cake

Sprinkled with toasted sweetened coconut flakes
not only to garnish the cake,
but also for added flavor as well as texture.
You can also sprinkle some toasted sliced almonds on top.

Please take a bite!!

In case you're wondering what those white stuff are?
The raisins and nuts are tossed in a tablespoon of flour
before adding them into the batter.

Prepare Pans

Line two 10-inch pans with parchment paper before pouring in the cake batter. If you don't have parchment paper, you can use clean copy papers making sure to grease the pans first before placing the papers in the pans, then grease the papers again.

Back home, back in the days when the word "recycling" wasn't a popular word and the term "going green" was unheard of, I used to use the brown paper sacks used by the bakeries which we called "supot ng tinapay". Back then bakeries made their own paper bags and I used those papers to line loaf pans and other baking pans, why not?

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Here's the recipe for the Carrot Cake:

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts, toasted)

2-1/2 cups grated carrots

1 cup raisins
(soak raisins in pineapple or orange juice for about 10 min.,
then drain on paper towels)

Wet Mixture:

1-1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

4 large eggs

1/2 cup crushed pineapple (optional)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1) In a mixing bowl, cream together oil and sugar until light and fluffy.
2) Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well mixed.
3) Stir in the pineapple.

Dry Mixture:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder*

1/2 tsp salt

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

4) Using a wire whisk, whisk all of the dry ingredients together then stir into the wet mixture until all ingredients are incorporated.
5) Fold in grated carrots, raisins and nuts.
6) Evenly divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans.
7) Bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees oven for 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. Do not over bake as the cake will be dry and crumbly.
8) Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before removing cakes from pans.
9) When completely cooled, frost cakes with the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter, room temperature
1-8oz. cream cheese, room temp.
4 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp warm orange juice
1 tbsp. orange zest

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and gradually add orange juice. Continue to beat until creamy and spreadable.

ENJOY!!!

Notes from MaMely:
1) The measurements above is just for your guideline. I haven't really used a consistent measurement for frosting as I always eyeball the ingredients and use the "feel method"...if too thick add more juice, if runny, add more powdered sugar.

2) You can use this recipe to make muffins or cup cakes.

3) You can also use one rectangular pan instead of round ones.

4) Toasting the Nuts:
Spread the nuts (pecans or walnuts) on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degrees pre heated oven until they become fragrant, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool, then roughly chop.

Carrot Cake baked in a 10"x15" pan

Recipe adapted from
http://www.joyofbaking.com/CarrotCake.htm

#229_ Another Cake by Melinda

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Each flower stem is wrapped with plastic wrap
before they are arranged
on the two-tier cake, accented with cute spiky candles.

To view more pictures of Special Occasion Cakes,
visit my face book page by clicking on the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/PinoyAmericanFavoriteRecipes/102145934577?ref=nf

#114_Reduced Eggs Ensaymada

This is a Reduced-Eggs Ensaymada recipe

using only 4 whole eggs and takes 3 risings
(If this recipe is a little complicated for you, you can use the
Basic Sweet dough recipe #178, click here.)


For the Sponge:
1 cup whole milk
1 tbsp quick rising yeast or instant
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup bread flour

1) Warm the milk in a bowl in microwave.

2) Stir sugar in the milk and sprinkle yeast over the mixture. Use a whisk to dissolve the yeast.
3) Let this mixture sit for a few minutes until it becomes foamy about 10 to 15 minutes.
4) Mix in the flour and stir with a sturdy wooden spoon.
5) Cover with a plastic wrap and let it rise for about 20 minutes or until bubbly. This will be a sticky, wet dough but should not be runny.
This mixture is called sponge and will be mixed in with the dough.

The Dough
3/4 cup milk, very warm
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
the sponge
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large large eggs, slightly beaten (1 cup)
4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dough enhancer (my secret ingredient)
1 tsp vital wheat gluten (another secret ingredient)

1) Put everything in the bread machine pan or bucket starting with the warm milk making sure the paddles are in place.

2) Use the dough cycle and let the machine do the stirring and kneading.
3) When the cycle is finished, take the dough out and place it in a well-greased bowl and cover with a plastic wrap to rise until doubled in bulk.
This is the SECOND RISING.

Option: Instead of transferring the dough into a bowl, you can leave the dough in the bread machine bucket or pan, put the lid down and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk.

The Traditional Coiled Ensaymada

How to coil the dough:

1) Lightly punch the dough down and take it out onto a floured surface.

2) Divide the dough into half then cut the half into 12 pieces.
3) Do the same thing with the other half of dough, cutting it into 12 pieces, so you have 24 pieces all together.
4) Roll dough into ropes about 8 inches long, fat on one end and tapered on the other end. Take the fat end with your forefinger and thumb and coil dough around tucking the tapered end under.

Braided Ensaymada

5) For braided ensaymada, divide dough into 48 pieces. Twist together 2 ropes. Hold the twisted dough with your forefinger and thumb, and coil the rest of dough around, tucking the tapered end under.

6) Place coiled dough in greased molds.

(Sorry, I did not get to take pictures while braiding the doughs. Burnt Lumpia, a blog, gives a very good illustrations on how to braid the doughs. Click here for the link).


This recipe makes 24 braided pieces using the ensaymada moulds with base measuring
2 1/4 inches in diameter.

If you're using ensaymada molds, grease each mold with shortening, then place the molds on a cookie sheet.

If using cookie sheets without the molds, line the sheets with parchment papers.

The 3rd Rising

This is an important process in order
to achieve a flavorful pillow-soft, but not airy rolls

The picture above is recycled from ensaymada recipe #113.

1) Place the molds with coiled doughs in cookie sheets.
2) Turn the oven on for just 1 minute or until the temperature reaches 8o degrees and then turn it off. (Make sure the temperature is not hotter than 80 degrees).
3) Place the cookie sheet with the ensaymadas below the middle rack, then shut the oven door. Let the dough rise until they are soft and springy to the touch, about 20-30 minutes.

4) Or boil some water in a pot and place this pot right on the oven floor.
5) With the oven door shut, let the dough rise for about 30 minutes or longer.
6) When dough has doubled in size, soft and spongy or springy to the touch, take the pan and pot out and turn the oven on to 350 degrees to pre-heat.
7) Bake the ensaymadas for 18-20 minutes.

You can leave them plain or slather them with butter

then sprinkle sugar and grated cheese on top.
They are good for meriendas or for breakfast.

Notes from MaMely
1) You can use this recipe for almost any kind or shape you want such as for dinner rolls, croissant rolls, Parker house rolls, etc.

2) If you want to let the dough rise overnight in the fridge, here's some tips:
a) use regular yeast, not instant as the dough might rise too fast if you use the instant kind.
b) after the dough cycle if finished, take the dough out and place it in a well greased bowl, turning it upside down to coat the other side of dough with grease or oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight,(about 8 hours). The next day take out dough and let it stand for about 1 hour then proceed to the rest of the procedure, i.e. punch dough down, shape, etc.

3) Store this kind of breads in plastic bread bags or in air tight containers to keep them soft for days. Microwave old rolls for 10-15 seconds to make them oven-fresh.
Do not store them in paper bags as they will get hard. French breads and baguettes kind of breads are stored in paper sacks to keep their nice crusts.

Important bread-making tips from KAF bakers

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/100-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-recipe

• Don't bother heating the orange juice to lukewarm; you can use it straight out of the fridge. The orange juice won't add its own flavor to the bread, but will mellow any potential bitterness in the whole wheat.
• If you're kneading bread by hand, it's tempting to keep adding flour till the dough is no longer sticky. Resist the temptation! The more flour you add while you're kneading, the heavier and drier your final loaf will be.
• The amount of liquid you use to make the "perfect" dough will vary with the seasons. Flour is like a sponge; it absorbs water during the humid days of summer, and dries out during the winter. Your goal should be making the dough as it's described (e.g., cohesive, soft but not sticky), rather than sticking religiously to the amount of liquid.
• When making yeast bread, let the dough rise to the point the recipe says it should, e.g., "Let the dough rise till it's doubled in bulk." Rising times are only a guide; there are so many variables in yeast baking (how you kneaded the dough; what kind of yeast you used) that it's impossible to say that bread dough will ALWAYS double in bulk in a specific amount of time.

#86_Cakeballs and LolliCakes

LolliCakes/ Cake Pops
Check out some new pictures here.

Hand-dipped Chocolate Cakeballs.....everybody loves them!!

I copied this recipe from the Houston Chronicles back in December. I was going to make them for the Christmas cookie exchange, but since I've never made them before and I wasn't sure of what the outcome would be, I didn't want to waste my time and effort so I just shoved the recipe in a shoe box where I put all the recipes I clip. Then the other day I found the recipe and decided to make it. Since we were having a get-together today, I thought it would be a good time to try the recipe.

It is an easy dessert to make except, for the dipping part. I found it a little challenging. Nevertheless, I will be making more of them now specially since everybody at the dinner liked them. Even the persnickety eaters loved them. Everybody gave their approval by thumbs up or a nod or a wide grin. One of our daughters, who is on a Weight Watcher's diet couldn't resist "the temptation". She even had a couple of pieces of the cakeballs. She said she wants these cakeballs for Easter and for her birthday cake. Aha!! I already envision 34 cakeballs with a birthday candle on each one!

And...for me, I will be making these bite-size treats for Christmas this year for sure.

LolliCake

White chocolate-covered Cakeballs with candy sprinkles.

Insert a lollipop stick into each cakeball, and you'll have LolliCakes!!

You can buy lollipop sticks from the craft stores.

1) Start by baking a cake of your choice following the directions on the box. In this case I used chocolate fudge cake mix. Set it aside to cool a little bit, not completely cooled.

2) After it cools a bit, place it in a big bowl and finely crumble it using 2 forks.

3) Stir in a can of cream cheese frosting (store-bought kind) or less for not-so-moist cakeballs. This serves as a binding agent. Mix really well until there is no more frosting visible.

4) Form the mixture into balls, and arrange them in a cookie sheet.

5) Freeze these balls for at least 2 hours before dipping them in melted chocolate.

Depending on the size of your cakeballs, this recipe yields between 36 to 40 pieces.

The recipe calls for Almond Bark, but I found these kinds of melting chocolate at the craft store worked really great. I guess you can use any kind of dipping chocolate or melting chocolate.

I like these kinds of dipping chocolate chips better because they come in several colors and flavors such as vanilla, white, dark and light chocolates, strawberry, purple, orange, and many more. Then you can make these cakeballs for different ocassions.

6) Melting the chocolate chips:

Since I've never worked with dipping chocolates before, I just followed the directions on the back of the package on how to melt them. There are two ways to melt these chocolates as suggested on the package: either in the microwave or a double boiler. I chose the double boiler method. Put a glass bowl over a pot of steaming water and constantly stir the chocolate chips until they are melted and smooth.

7) Dip each cakeball in the melted chocolate.

I heard that chocolate dippers (I mean the people) have their own tricks of dipping chocolate. Since I dipped 36 of them, I was able to kind of figure out what was the best way for me to do it. I used lollipop sticks to dip them in the melted chocolate and let the excess chocolate drip off. Then I placed them on waxed paper. I'm sure you can also use tooth picks or bamboo skewers to dip them.

If you want to use some candy sprinkles on the Cakeballs,
do it before the chocolate dries,
and they dry quickly.

NOTES:

When the melted chocolate starts to harden, place the bowl back over the steaming water..
or microwave works too.

If you have any question regarding this post, e-mail me at melypresto@gmail.com

ADDENDUM:
3-11-09
I am making 2 batches of these today for a baby shower and I discovered that using an ice cream scooper to scoop the mixture onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, then chilling them for a couple of hours makes it easier to form the cakes into balls. Freeze Cakeballs before dipping them in melted chocolate.

4-17-2011
I just posted new pictures of Lollicakes or Cake Pops...check out the link below:
http://pinoyamericanrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/04/288lollicakes-for-easter.html

For Cookie Balls, click on the link: http://pinoyamericanrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/07/313cookie-balls.html

Monday, July 11, 2011

My Reply to Anonymous' question on melting chocolate:

Anonymous,
I wish I can post my response on the comment box. I don't know what's wrong with blogger.com, but its not allowing me to post on there.
Re: recipe #86...if you have trouble melting the chocolate using the double boiler, try the microwave. Follow the instructions on the back of the package. Thanx!!