Baking 101: Fudgy Revel Bars

My world stopped. There is no turning back, I can smell the aroma...the warmth...I am so into it...so addicting. I found myself slowly and gently biting it. Then felt the sudden burst of that warm and sticky-gooey filling. So delicate and sweet and...CUT!!!

Now that's food porn! hahaha!!!

That is exactly what I felt when I ate my homemade revel bars. Revel bars include chocolate and oats...it's like sinner or saint! Junk yet healthy food.

Whatever it is, this recipe is worth a try. Some said, these are best eaten cold, but I still go for the warm revel bars. 

Here's the recipe. This recipe is good for two 8x11 pans or 48 bars.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 tsps. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 can condensed milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

1. Set aside 2 tbsps of the butter. Beat the remaining butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until well incorporated. Add the eggs and 1 tsp vanilla and beat again.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and the baking soda. Add the oats and mix until well combined.
3. In a saucepan, over low heat, melt the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons butter and condensed milk.  Add the remaining vanilla. Remove from heat then set aside.
Assembly
1. Set aside a quarter of the oat batter mixture. Divide the 3/4 part of the mixture into two, then gently press in the 2 pans. 
2. Generously spread the chocolate filling on top.
3. Course crumble the remaining oat batter on top of the two pans.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. Cool completely before slicing. But since I want my bars warm. I did not wait for it to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Cake Pop Project: Mickey Mouse Silhouette

Cake pops are simply crumbled cake, mixed with frosting, shaped, stuck in lollipop sticks and dipped in melted chocolates. From the single recipe of your favorite cake recipe, you can create so many shapes and characters...the possibilities are endless.

Next to cupcakes, this is I think the latest craze now.

Remember the time when you enjoyed playing with your clays? Yup! It is as fun as making these treats...the only difference is you got to eat your "creations"! How fun is that?

Got the inspiration from Angie Dudley of Bakerella, the Queen of all cake pops! Her imagination is crazy awesome!!! Since I discovered her blog, I have been dreaming of making my own cake pops. And when I completed all the ingredients, including the "courage", and found the perfect time, I made a batch...and lookie!!!

Sorry for the picture, heheh! Looks pretty decent for a first timer huh?  '

For instructions on how to make these, please check this link.

Note:
1. I used Pillsbury Devil's Food cake mix.

2. In the recipe, they used Wilton candy melts for the dip and sadly, the brand is no longer available in Living Well (slow moving daw), I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips instead. If you'll be using the white chocolate, you need to color it but please make sure to USE OIL-BASED FOOD COLORING. I found Wilton food coloring from living well and it costs P200+ for a set of 4 colors.

3. For Mickey's ears, I bought Goya Easy Melt Chocolate buttons.

4. Betty Crocker frostings are available in major supermarkets. This is the one that I used.

If you want homemade, please check here.

5. Will the frosting make the cake too sweet? Nope, just the right sweetness.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think most of the bakers out there will agree that their baking careers started with a humble recipe of chocolate chip cookies.

Who wouldn't? It is very easy to make a batch -- no special equipments needed, ingredients are very easy to find, and the best of all...the bliss of eating these treats! From this simple cookie (usually a hit, never a miss!) you'll soon find yourself ready to try the more complicated baked goodies. I bet you...you'll get addicted to baking!

It is said that Ruth Graves Wakefield, accidentally invented the chocolate chip cookies. She ran out of her bakers chocolate and substituted it with chopped Nestle bars, thinking that it would melt with the batter. But she was wrong, the chocolates just softened...and the rest is history.

I have tried the chocolate chip cookies many times before. I must say that I perfected it. But I have to try the chocolate version. So I look for a promising recipe and found this from my favorite baking site Joy of Baking. I followed everything, except for the nuts, which were not available when I baked this.

The cookies are just perfect! Cruchy, caramalized edges but soft and chewy in the middle. It might be because of the 2 kinds of sugars in the recipe.



perfect with a tall glass of cold milk



so yummy!!!

Here's the link to the recipe. Try it and let me know your feedback!

Enjoy!!!

Baking 101: Easy Chocolate Cake

Happy valentines everyone! What is the most popular gift for V-day? Of course chocolates! Forget about the diet...why? because chocolate makes you feel good. It also associated with passion, romance and love. Surprise your lovey dovey with a lovely dinner and end with this decadent dessert.


The cake is moist and very chocolatey. I suggest that you eat this at room temperature so you'll have a taste of the bursting chocolatey goodness of this cake. The frosting also tends to harden when refrigerated. If you'll check the ingredients, it has cream in it, which is very high in fat. If you refrigerated them, pop it quickly in a microwave oven to soften the frosting a bit, about 20-30 seconds or lesser.


Ingredients


for the Cake
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsps coffee granules, dissolved in 1 cup of very hot water
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract


Frosting
1 cup cream, I used Nestle cream in can
1 stick unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
450 g semisweet chocolate, chopped


Procedure:


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.


1. Sift together sugar, flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Pour the hot coffee over the chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate has melted completely. Set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate. Mix until well blended.
4. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture by thirds. mix until well blended.
5. Pour batter into 2 lined 9" round baking pans.
6. Bake for 45 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before turning out of the pans. Cool completely before frosting the cake.


Frosting
1. Heat cream, butter, sugar, salt in a saucepan until the butter is melted. Add chopped chocolates and melt over low heat. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.


2. Cool the frosting while stirring constantly. For faster cooling, put the bowl inside the freezer for two minutes, then take them off and stir. Repeat the process until the frosting is cool and of spreading consistency.


To assemble
1. Trim the dome part of the cakes to have an even surface. Place 1 cake in a cake stand.
2. Pour frosting on top of the first cake. Spread the frosting until the top of the cake is covered.
3. Put the remaining cake, upside down on top of the first cake. Spread the remaining frosting all over the cake.


Enjoy!

Baking 101: Double Chocolate Muffins

Note: I pulled the picture and recipe from my flickr account.

This is my second try of Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Chocolate-chip muffins. The first one was a failure. I followed the recipe religiously, but wondered why the muffins were bland.

So after checking the video of her's, found out that she actually used 1 and 3/4 cups of sugar. In food network's site, it was written there that she used only 3/4 cup of sugar.

I wonder what's written on her book...hmmmn...

check the video below.



So after a week of  eating those not so yummy muffins, because I don't want to just put them to trash, I then again found the guts to bake them. I used a good quality cocoa powder and chocolate chips, followed the correct recipe and yes, I finally found heaven in those muffins...

Before baking them, I made sure to research on how to achieve those high and mighty dome shape that a perfect muffin should have. So I found out that instead of setting the temperature to the usual 350-375 degrees F, you will have to set it to 400degrees F to "shock" the batter. You have to keep the high temperature for 10 minutes. The batter will rise rapidly and will create the dome. After that, temperature must be dropped to 350 degrees F until you pull them out of the oven.

And the result? The lovely crusted but moist muffins.

Another tip which I will try next time, because I just found that after I baked them, is to completely fill the muffin cups with the batter. Usually, in baking cupcakes, the cups must be 3/4 full so it won't spill. But for muffins, you should fill them up. And it will make your muffins mushroom shaped. Gorgeous!

So here again is the link to the recipe. Please make sure add 1 more cup of sugar! 

Enjoy your freshly baked muffin!

Baking 101: Chocolate Cheesecake - My New Found Love

Here's an addition to my cheesecake recipe collection...the chocolate cheesecake. I used the the basic cheesecake recipe from Dessert Comes First, added some chocolates and voila...a mouth-watering dessert! Yum-o! (borrow lang rachel ray heheheh!)

From this recipe, I was able to fill a 6-inch spring form pan and 9 cupcake liners.

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

For the cheesecake
Make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature.
2 - 8oz bars of cream cheese
1 can of condensed milk
3 large eggs
juice from 2 calamansi or lemon juice
120g semisweet chocolate (must be of good quality!!!)

For the Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate biscuits (crushed oreo or crushed hi-ro)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsps melted butter

Procedure

Crust:
1. Mix crushed cookies and sugar in a bowl.
2. Pour melted butter into the cookie-sugar mixture. Mix until well incorporated.
3. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the baking pan. Bake for 5 mins in a preheated oven (375 degrees F).
4. Set aside.

Cheesecake Mixture:
**Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
1. In a double broiler, melt chocolate. Cool.
2. Beat creamcheese with wire whisk or electric mixer until fluffy and lumps free.
3. Gradually stir in the condensed milk until smooth.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and the juice of calamansi. Mix well.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
6. For spring form pan, bake the cheese for 50-55 minutes or until the center is jiggly.
    For cupcakes, bake for 20 mins.
7. Cool the cheesecakes before you chill them.

You can garnish it with whipped cream. I used whipped all purpose cream (eheheeh).

Baking 101: Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

This recipe was taken from yummy magazine, June 2009 issue. I was browsing my Yummy mag collection when I saw this recipe. We have lots of bananas that will be rotten in 2 days, so the recipe was just in time.

Since all of the ingredients are available, I did not waste time na to bake this.

I followed the recipe, except for the oil. I used canola oil instead of the corn oil.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
 
Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350degrees F. Line and grease 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
1. Combine all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips) in a bowl. Stir to mix.
2. In another bowl, mix the brown sugar with the canola oil. Add eggs one at a time, stir in vanilla and the mashed bananas.
3. Add the flour mixture in the banana mixture, stir until well incorporated.
4. Transfer the mixture in a loaf pan.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

The recipe is simple right? Try it and give me some feedback. 

Homemade Ghirardelli Ice Cream

I made ice cream when I was 9. It was a vanilla ice cream made with coconut milk, powdered and condensed milk and vanilla extract. It turned out OK but a bit...errr...salty. hahaha! But my dad said it was delicious or maybe because he didn't want to hurt his little bunso's feeling hehehhe!


After 22 years, I tried making the ice cream again. I searched for the best recipe (i think!) and i decided to try chocolate ice cream. I used Ghirardelli baking chocolate (a padala from my sister) and it really did wonder to the ice cream promise! Sorry, but i think I browsed from too many sites and i forgot where i got this recipe...


Hey! making a homemade ice cream is not a joke, especially if you do not have an ice cream maker (argh!). You will need at least 3 hours before you'll have a taste of it. You need to freeze-beat, freeze-beat every 40 minutes. But who cares, I enjoyed the whole process! heheheh!


Try this and give your kids a treat!


This recipe can fill a 700ml ice cream tub.


Ingredients



1 cup of milk
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 egg yolks
3 oz bittersweet Ghirardelli baking chocolates, chopped (semi-sweet chocolates will do great too!)
2 cups cream, I used all purpose cream.
1 tsp vanilla


Procedure


Before doing this, you will need to chill a stainless wide and shallow pan or bowl.


1. Combine milk, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to simmer.


2. Place the yolks into a bowl and gradually mix half of the hot chocolate liquid. At this point, you need to continuously beat the egg yolks to prevent it from curdling. (I think this is what they call tempering of eggs -- so it wont curdle and you won't end up with scrambled egg.)


3. Return the egg yolks mix to the milk mix and continue heating until thick. It should cover the back of the spoon. Do not boil the mixture.


4. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Pour the mixture into the chilled bowl and refrigerate (do not freeze) for 2hrs until cold.


5. When the chocolate has completely cooled, add the cream and vanilla and mix it thoroughly with an electric mixer or with a wire whisk.


6. Freeze the ice cream. When the ice are beginning to form at the side of the pan, take it out from the freezer and beat it. Put it back to the freezer. Beat it again after 40 minutes. Repeat the freeze-beat process 3 times.


7. Once you achieved the creamy texture of the ice crea, transfer it to an ice cream tub and freeze until ready to serve.

Baking 101: Chocolate Cupcake

My search for the chocolate fudgy frosting ala goldilocks is over. I sooo love the frosting that it almost did not make it to the cupcakes...oh well, I am not telling the truth. But really, I think i was able to consume 4 teaspoons of the frosting.


When I saw the recipe from here, I was quite challenged with the frosting. A lot of readers were not able to make the fudgy consistency...theirs was runny. I proved that patience is really a virtue. I had a good 25 minutes of stirring the frosting to achieve the spreadable consistency. But it was really worth it!

The cake itself was also good. It's not that sweet...it complements the sweetness of the frosting. But i'll experiment the next time buy adding half cup more of sugar.


These cupcakes are my post birthday cuppies. I'll bring them to the office tomorrow...

Some of these are dry, around 6 pieces, I overbaked them...sorry hehehe!.  

You can try making your own...here's the recipe. Very easy to make.

Ingredients for the Cake
1 cup Hershey's Cocoa
2 cups boiling water
2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter softened
2 1/2 cup brown sugar
4 pcs eggs, large
1/2 tsp vanilla

Procedure

1. Mix the Cocoa and boiling water until well incorporated and lumps free. Set aside and cool.
2. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder,and salt)
3. In another bowl again, cream butter, gradually add sugar, beat with mixer until light and fluffy.
4. With mixer at low speed, add eggs one at a time, mix thoroughly after each addition.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the cocoa mixture. Mix thoroughly after each addition. Make sure to begin and end with dry ingredients.
7. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Cool completely before frosting.

Fudgy Frosting
1 can condensed milk
1/2cup cocoa
1/4 cup butter

1. Mix the milk and cocoa powder with wire whisk until you see no lumps
2. Cook in a double broiler (i used an improvised double broiler -- a smaller saucepan on top of a bigger saucepan half filled with boiling water). Continue stirring until thick, but not the yema thickness.It should still be spreadable.

3. Remove from fire, cool a little and spread it in the cupcakes.

Try this recipe and hope you'll like them.

Baking 101: Chocolate Banana Cake with Ganache Frosting

I promised my son that I'll bake a chocolate cake for him. So i started searching for an easy to bake recipe...and when i saw the picture of the cake from joyofbaking.com, i knew that this will be the perfect chocolate cake for us. Moist, dense and with velvety chocolatey texture in every bite

By the way, thanks to my ate and my cousin anne who "donated" the super yummy and best tasting baking chocolates...

Chocolate Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting



ingredients:
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (but i used four medium sized bananas -- more than a cup)
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

chocolate ganache frosting:
8 ounce semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup cream
1 tbsp butter (unsalted)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. in a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, set aside.
3. in another bowl, mix well all the wet ingredients.
4. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
5. pour the batter in a buttered pan and bake for 40-60 mins until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. frost with the ganache when completely cooled.

ganache:
1. place the chocolate in a bowl.
2. heat the cream and butter over medium heat. bring to boil. pour the cream & butter mixture to the chocolate and stir until smooth. when the ganache has completely cooled, ( i put mine in the ref) beat until soft and fluffy. Spread the frosting all over the cake.

Shared the first slice with Joey...he liked it in fairness!