Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Doesn't this looks good? It is, indeed!  I love it when I make baked goods and David comes home from work, takes a look at it, and excitedly says to me, "I'll start my diet tomorrow."  I think I like hearing that after every baking I experiment with.

To dress up my plate, I made a sabayon sauce with the passion fruit wine my dear friend Sarah had purchased during our Oahu trip last October.  Since we didn't have the opportunity to drink the wine, Sarah insisted that I take the bottle back with me (Thank you Sarah).  Aside from the cake and sabayon, nothing beats topping it off with blackberry for a contrast flavor of tartness and sweetness...mMMm...

Brown Sugar Pound Cake
(Makes 3 Mini Loafs @ approximately 9 oz. each) 

10 oz - Butter, @ room temperature

1 1/2 Cup - Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup - Granulated Sugar

2 Large - Eggs

1/2 tsp - Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 Cup - All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp - Baking Powder
1/4 tsp - Salt

Sabayon
3 Large - Egg Yolk
2 oz - Granulated Sugar
4 oz - White Wine (I used Hawaii's - Passionfruit White Wine)

Orange Chocolate Cupcake

Yes! Back to baking basics once again. Mmmm…chocolate cupcakes with orange today! Hope you’ll enjoy.

Orange Chocolate Cupcake

Chocolate Cake
Serving: 24 Cupcakes

2 Cups – Boiling Water
1 Cup – Cocoa Powder
2 ¾ Cup – All Purpose Flour
2 tsp – Baking Soda
1 tsp – Baking Powder
½ tsp – Salt
2 Sticks – Butter, @ room temperature
2 ½ Cups – Granulated Sugar
½ tsp – Vanilla Extract
4 Large – Eggs, @ room temperature


Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz – Cream Cheese, @ room temperature
8 oz – Butter, @ room temperature
1 Large – Orange, zested
1 tsp – Vanilla Extract
1 ½ Cup – Powdered Sugar, sifted


Chocolate Bar
4 oz – Semi Sweet Chocolate, chopped
½ oz – orange liquor

Corn Cookies

It's been quite a while since I have done some baking. My best friend Jenny came back from NYC and visited one of Momofuku's Restaurant.

She had text me the day she arrived back to LA with a message, "Do you like corn?"

I didn't respond to her until 2 days later, "Yes, but not the jelly belly popcorn."

Jenny had gotten me two Corn Cookies from Momofuku, but since I responded days later, one of the cookies were consumed by her little nephew and her (that's how good it was).

I shared my cookie in half with David. David had placed his half of the cookie on the ledge of the table and our lovable dog Snoopy quickly snatched the cookie from him. Hence, I share the remaining 1/2 cookie with him and my lil' sister.

First bite, the cookie was soft, buttery, and have a nice flavor of 'corn.' Simply like a perfect butter cookie with corn flavor. The cookie wasn't a corn meal texture or anything, very delicious. Somehow, I felt as if there were actual corns on the cookie, but I do not recall. The yummy corn cookie reminds me of corn bread but with a smoother texture than corn bread. Mmm... therefore, I made an attempt to make a version of the Corn Cookies myself. Of course, it is not comparable to Momofuku's cookies, it is still a working process. Recipe below as follows:

Corn Cookies

1 Cup - Butter, @ room temperature
1 1/2 Cup - Granulated Sugar
1 Large - Egg
1tsp - Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup - Milk
2 Cups - All Purpose Flour
1 Cup - Superfine Corn Meal
2 tsp - Cream of Tartar
1 tsp - Baking Soda
1/2 tsp - Salt

Blackberry Vanilla Bean Financier

Mini Almond Cake

I heart the flavor of almond! Here, I've created an almond cake filled with creme chantilly in the center and topped with a toasted almond. Sounds yummy doesn't it? It is indeed scrumptious and of course, you can always fill the center with another filling. Lemon custard would be a nice filling to try one day since lemons are in season. Enjoy! (Portion control :P)

Mini Almond Cake
Serving:  7-8 pieces

Ingredients 
1 large - Egg, at room temperature (makes cake fluffy, maximum volume, and soft)
1/3 Cup - Sour Cream, split in 1/2
1/4 tsp - Almond Extract
1/8 tsp - Vanilla Extract

2.75 oz - Cake Flour
0.75 oz - Almond Meal
3.25 oz - Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp - Salt
1/4 tsp - Baking Powder
1/4 tsp - Baking Soda

3.00 oz - Butter, soften

Procedure
1.  Mix egg, 1/2 sour cream, almond extract, and vanilla extract altogether and set aside.

2.  Mix all the dry ingredients together until combined, whisk in butter and remaining sour cream and beat until light and fluffy (approx. 1 1/2 minutes).

3.  Add the Egg mixture into the flour mix and combine until incorporated.  Place mix into a piping bag and pipe into silicone mold or cupcake pan of your desire.

 4.  Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes, depending on the type of mold use.