joicydoodle♥: Mother's Day

Sabado, Mayo 9, 2015

Chocolate Velvet, Peppermint Ganache Cake & Last Weeks in Manila

Been awhile! :) my last few months in Manila is occupied by local travels, local cafe hopping, eats, concerts, spending time at home and with friends.... Or some migration errands.

As much as I wanted to update my blog often and feature recipes that are out of the box, competition par like those in Chefs-Talk and the flocks in Instagram, I just can't find the time. And so, I'm trying to make recipes that are easy to make and to replicate at home, let's be basic for now, after all, I will soon have the opportunity to create beautiful pastries again and share to all of you.

Soon, I will be off to a better adventure. I will be a different nomad than I already am. My goals in jumping off to this excursion are simple; to become a better pastry chef. To outgrow thy loser self, haha. To meet more experienced chefs. To gain experience as I wanted to become a food historian. To study again, and to earn more so I have the means to invest in future endeavors such as traveling, studying and much more.

Sydney could be a good start. Yes, you read it, a good 'start'...I have so many places to see, so many food to try, so much more to learn. Im excited yet scared. I guess this is the first time I'm officially sharing this, I will be working in Sydney for a year (to start) and then another one if opportunity strikes.Then I will figure where exactly to head next (Stockholm, Seoul or San Francisco are my tight choices, I love places that starts with 'S', yes!)

Nomad life isn't easy for me, if you have some advice how to un-clutter my mess, please be kind to email me. Haha. I started packing already and packed four boxes of my stuff, I'm re-sorting, throwing away trinkets, til I get just one final, can't live without, box.

I suddenly don't know how to pack light my shit

While sorting my things, I wanted to also make a recipe that I can run easily in a busy day, I realized how inevitable Chocolate cake is. I think all pastry chefs, home bakers, and house wives should have a decent Chocolate cake recipe that we can flex, tweak, and pair with frostings of our hype. And so I created this recipe, I will be honest with all of you, I use chocolate cake premix a lot of time, something I mastered at work for its convenience and low cost. But what if there's no premix ever, this will be one of my Chocolate cake base. One of, yes, many more in the future! (I will share soon my Melt In The Mouth Childhood Chocolate Cake) but for now, let me share this Chocolate Velvet Cake with Peppermint Ganache .

Peppermint Ganache

All Purpose Cream 180ml

Dark Chocolate 500g

Drops of Peppermint Essence (to taste)

Chocolate Velvet Cake

All Purpose Flour 3 c

Cocoa 6 Tbsp (90 ml)

Baking soda 3t

Fresh Milk 1 1/2c

Sugar 21/4c

Vegetable oil 2 1/4c

Eggs 3 pcs

The ingredients are grouped into 3; dry ingredients, oil & sugar, and the liquid ingredients of egg and fresh milk.

Whisk together vegetable oil and sugar until the granules are

smaller. Add the eggs one at a time and continue whisking til mixture is uniformed.

Add in the sifted dry ingredients in about two-three batches, mixing the batter until just combined but uniformed.

The mixture has to be a smooth, lump-free and fully combined batter.

Pour into a 10" diameter x 2" height pan, covering til 3/4's full.

Pop in a preheated oven of 375 F and bake for about 40 minutes or until the cake is done.

Rest and cool down the cake before unmolding from the pan... while cooling down, you can prepare the Peppermint Ganache.

Once fully cooled down, slice the Chocolate Velvet sponge into three layers, filling each layer with Peppermint Ganache

To make the Peppermint Ganache, scald cream over low heat, add in chopped dark chocolate off the heat and mix until all the chocolate has completely melted. Add the drops of Peppermint essence, and transfer into another bowl to cool down faster, chill and mix occasionally until thick but spreadable.

Mask the cake with more Peppermint Ganache and decorate with piped rosettes

Sprinkle with red, white and green dragees for the complete Peppermint feel

Chill before serving, best with strong black brewed coffee on ice!

I gave this cake to my dear friend Vincent, Polar Beer for his past birth day, and decided to use the occasion to share this recipe.

The versatility of this recipe is endless, this Mothers' Day sunday, why don't you spice up the Ganache with chili? Or spiked it with Bailey's? You can also mask the basic Ganache and Chocolate Velvet Cake in toasted desiccated coconut or chopped Iranian pistachio nuts. It will be a sweet mom and daughter/son bonding. Or why don't you bake and dedicate it to your mom, I just did.

It's not really her presence that made me who I am now, but her absence. And though she isn't there for more than half of my life already..I'm always trying to be right so that she won't get upset, eh sakit kaya mangurot.

I got this mommmey, keep chillin', kisses to the heavens! <3

Always,

Miyerkules, Mayo 14, 2014

Espresso Meringue Cookies & The Mothers' Day That Had Been

Hi all! As usual I was preoccupied for the past weeks, my recipe for this week is very simple. The past Mothers' day gave me liters after liters of left over egg whites.. I decided that instead of discarding these egg whites, I could still use them to make complimentary cookies and macaron tower for new displays at Cheri (I shall cover the making of my macaron tower by the next week's entry)

All we need in this entry are measuring cups, mixer with wire whisk attachment, clean stainless bowl, silpat, sheet trays and piping bag

My kind of Artillery

ESPRESSO MERINGUE COOKIES

2 cups Egg Whites

4 cups Sugar

as need Instant Coffee for dusting

Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl

Swiss Meringue Method: In this method, usually the ratio of sugar to egg whites is 2 parts is to 1 part. Placing the egg whites and sugar over bain-marie will decrease the size of sugar granules, the key is to keep the water over very low heat or until just warm, and warm the mixture until Blood temperature, i would describe Blood temperature as little lukewarm. Do not heat the egg whites more than lukewarm or it will scramble. You will know if it's ready by touching the mixture with your finger, not by touching the bottom of the bowl, you have to feel the mixture.

The next step is to whip the mixture until stiff peaks

Nice to meet you, Mr. Meringue!

With the bag held straight at 90 degrees, pipe gently.. You may use or may not use a round piping tip. I didn't use a tip and cut the tip of the bag with about 1/2 inch incision

Kisses-like, yes.

Dust with generous amount of instant coffee

Bake at 110/110 C for 50 mins to 1 hour

Cool down completely before removing from silpat

Store in air tight jars or lunch boxes

Espresso Meringue Cookies

Can't help but dunk it on hot cappuccino!

Moist inner shells

hmmmm :)

How did you spent your Mom's day? Well as for me, it's an acquired strength to go through Mom's day without being sad, I miss my Mom everyday... and on Mothers' day afternoon I went to church and had a prayer, being grateful to have 2 great mothers in this lifetime. My mom and my aunt, who owned me like her own daughter are now both in the heavens.

Good thing work is keeping my mind occupied.It was of course a crazy-predicted day. My week started on Tuesday having been working from 2 pm until 6 am, this went on until Monday, the day after Mothers' day. It was a very busy week.. I had lots of cake orders plus Mothers' day service to our surprise started at 7 effin AM. All long tables.. imagine how many cakes I have in my order form (initially 120 pieces), and how cruel the POS has been for keeping printing endless OS.

I survived though :) these are my favorite photos..

Yema Giant Cupcake: Butter Cake with Yema Custard Filling and French Vanilla Buttercream

1 Liter Frozen Chuckie, my Over time partner! #OverTimeReady. Thank You Chan!

Egg cartons to dry the gumpaste flowers in shape

Looking sharp..

Real Men Decorate Cakes!

Playing pretty for the camera! :)

The Anatomy of Giant Yema Cupcake

Ninja moves!

Sleepy cake? Sleepy West??

The boys helped me out a lot on this, because the shift goes Lyn & Betchay for AM, Mich & Me for PM..the boys worked until we finished all the 100 pieces

Stage mum here!

My team; Mich, Lyn, Betchay and Doodle


A well deserved dinner for the champions!

Flower Power

Cuteness overload!

For those asking, we used a silicone mold, brand is Big Top.

Nude cakes

Buttercream is Love! <3

Chillers are full at maximum capacity!

As of 2:01 AM.. delivery is 8 AM!

1,000 pogi points for men who knew to hold piping bags!

6 AM and the boys nailed it!

like little girls lined up :)

Mamita was just trying to help, look at this little one.. Cute! but had to do it again :)

CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS UNTIL MONDAY!


zzzzzz.. I'm sooo tired

Good thing this one is icy!


Yayyy! from my good friend Candice! <3

Happy Mothers' Day Mommy, I hope I'm making you, Papa and Tiya proud by pursuing my dreams and bravest ambitions, no matter how hard they were, no matter how impossible they could be.. Your absence had made me a better person by always working hard and believing in myself, in God.. you never really left me alone, your wisdom just overflows upon me just when I needed it, in all aspects from spiritual, emotional and physical, you are always remembered mommy.