Mocha Chiffon Cake a la Goldilocks

Goldilocks is the most popular bakeshop chain here in the Philippines. When I was younger, birthdays were not complete if a Goldilocks cake was not present. Their cakes were soft and the frosting was just really good. But these past years their cakes became dry and the frosting greasy. They probably replaced the butter with shortening to reduce costs and keep it affordable.

You can imagine my excitement when I saw the Goldilocks mocha cake recipe on Gourmeted. It took me two tries but finally the cake turned out fluffy and soft. But my favorite part was the frosting. I used my favorite vanilla frosting and added almond extract, cocoa powder and instant coffee granules.

I don't know why my first cake turned hard but here's what I did differently:

- the pans were lined with parchment but the sides were ungreased

- oven temperature at 350F

- folded (is that a word?) the eggwhites more carefully as to not deflate it

I'm not sure how this compares to a Goldilocks cake since it's been years since I last ate one. But my family and friends enjoyed eating this very much. That's good enough for me.

There was leftover frosting and I already ate unhealthy amounts of it so I just tried to practice piping. It's okay, you can laugh at my piping attempts. Haha.

Mocha Cake ala Goldilocks

From Gourmeted

Makes 1 9-inch cake

6 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon coffee/espresso granules [Nescafe instant coffee recommended]

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon water

½ cup canola oil

1 cup cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 egg whites, at room temperature

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in the upper middle and lower middle positions. Spray two 9”x2” round cake pans with baking spray, and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer) over low, then medium speed, until creamy and light yellow in color.

3. Dissolve espresso or coffee granules and cocoa powder in water and vanilla in a small bowl, getting rid of lumps while stirring. Pour into the egg-sugar mixture, along with canola oil, and beat until well combined.

4. Remove large bowl from stand mixer (if using one) and sift cake flour and baking powder over it. Stir with a wooden spoon until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl once.

5. Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar into stiff peaks in a medium bowl, and fold into the mocha batter, a dollop or two first to liquefy the thick batter, and then in thirds.

6. Divide the batter between two cake pans and place each pan on a baking sheet. Bake on two racks for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pans and exchanging the pans between racks halfway through. The cake is done when the tops become golden brown and the cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

7. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully turn over on the wire rack, right side up. Cool completely before icing.

That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had

Adapted From Tasty Kitchen

5 Tablespoons Flour

1 cup Milk

1 cup Butter

1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon coffee granules

1 teaspoon water

1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I use 1/2 but this could be too strong for some people so taste before adding more)

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Dissolve espresso or coffee granules and cocoa powder in water and almond extract in a small bowl, getting rid of lumps while stirring. Add to the frosting and beat until blended.

Blueberry Cheesecake

It was my grandmother's 67th birthday yesterday. Instead of making a layer cake, I made cheesecake for her. Since last year she had been asking me to make it. But I kept procrastinating since I'm such a lazy busy person.

My grandmother was so cute when she saw me baking it yesterday morning. She thought that I forgot to make it because when she returned home I was out buying ingredients. She had the impression that I was already at school. When I returned with the ingredients, she got so excited that she was getting her cheesecake after all.

Random: Mama, I love you so much. I know I don't tell you this enough. I'm really thankful for having you in my life, I know that sometimes we get on each other's nerves but that doesn't mean that that changes how much you mean to me. Happy birthday!

This cheesecake recipe couldn't be easier. Just combine the ingredients and you're ready to go. Just make sure that all ingredients are at room temperature so there are no lumps.

For a recipe so simple, the results are amazing. And with the blueberry topping, it just takes it to a whole new level of amazing-ness.

I used canned blueberry topping for these since blueberries are hard to come by in this country.

Simply Sinful Cheesecake

From Dessert Comes First

Makes 24 mini cheesecakes

2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar. I was out of white.)

1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted

2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (325 ml) can condensed milk

3 eggs

juice of 2 calamansi or 2 tsps. lemon juice (if available)

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside.

With mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs and calamansi or lemon juice. Mix well.

Pour into prepared pan — it doesn’t matter if crust is still warm. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until center is slightly jiggly but perimeter is set. (It took 20 mins. for these mini ones)

Cool 1 hour. Chill at least 4 hours to let flavors develop. Will keep in refrigerator for two weeks (but do you really think it will last that long?)

Red Velvet Cake

I think Red Velvet is a really weird flavor. It has a hint of chocolate but you can't consider it a chocolate cake. But it's not vanilla either. And with the buttermilk and vinegar added the batter kinda smells sour to me. Plus it's red.

But it's really, really delicious. It's seriously one of my favorite cakes now. The cake itself is so moist and not that sweet that I feel like I can eat half the cake in one sitting. The cocoa taste is not that empowering but you can certainly tell that it's there. And the frosting is just perfect. It complements the cake beautifully and it's not very sweet too. I'm a big fan of desserts that are not very sweet, can you tell?

Aside from the taste, the other thing I love about Red Velvet is the appearance. When you look from the outside it looks blah. The white frosting just doesn't excite me as much as chocolate or even pink buttercream. Then when you cut into the cake and see the red cake, it's just striking.

I guess I shouldn't judge cakes too quickly.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Have you planned anything special yet? If no, make a cake. Cake is good. Red cake is better.

For the cake, I halved this recipe and baked it in two 6-inch pans. Same for the frosting. Just enough for you and your loved one for Valentine's. If you're shy about eating a lot of cake there's gonna be leftovers.

Red Velvet Cake

From Bakerella

Makes a 9-inch cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 Tablespoon cocoa (I use two)

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 (I use 1 oz.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.

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

Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.

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

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

After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. I also cover in plastic wrap while the cakes cool.

Then make the frosting.

That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had

From Tasty Kitchen

5 Tablespoons Flour

1 cup Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 cup Butter

1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness. If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled chocolate/red velvet cake.

P.S. This is my first layer cake! I'm such a noob.