Mmm...rum $hit and the return of cakeshots

I swear it came out more appetizing than it sounds.

So when not baking, Chantelle and I PLAN. Cause that's what we do. Plan. Birthdays, parties, get-togethers, dinners, club activities, etc. We also vow to never go through the same hell again after every event, and yet. ...anyhow.

So for our first joint venture to be featured on this blog, we provided the dessert for a friend's birthday party we helped host down at the restaurant Kabuki in Hollywood.

It was his 21st, and he requested booze-filled dessert.


(Note: Sorry about the picture quality. Our camera was being retarded again...)

We gladly accommodated and made him a rum cake. Using half a bottle of Bacardi Gold Rum.

It was a 2-step process. Chantelle prepared the rum balls, composed entirely of rum, cocoa powder, vanilla wafers, and light corn syrup...and that's pretty much it. They were made a day beforehand, as the rum seeps through more to add flavor while it sits. We estimate that each bite had about 1/3 of a shot in it.

Then the night before the party, we made the actual cake. We made 2 batches to ensure we had enough for the 21 (somehow turned into 25) guests attending. The base was a box of yellow cake mix (we were pressed for time...we're busy party planners), eggs, flour, and lots and lots of rum. Chantelle got to carve the the entire thing with her brand new shiny sharp knives (she was very excited :)).

(NOTE BY CHANTELLE: Beautiful HENKELS knife...sooo beautiful. I want to marry it...anywhoos back to Julia's post.)

And because that only used up 1/4 bottle of rum, we decided...time to glaze. So that's where another 1/4 of the rum went. The glaze made the cake that much more potent simply because there was no evaporation in this process (oops!).

We arranged the cake in a circular pattern with the rum balls in the center. The rum balls were brown and looked like shit, and from then on we referred to them as rum shit. But hey, they still tasted amazing.

So we hit up the grocery store cause...yeah. Poop atop of yellow cake is not that appealing. So we bought a cantalope ($.66 at Ralph's! :D) and some strawberries and decorated it.



Turned out well, right? =P Well, just take out the blurriness (damned retarded camera...) and it'll look just SPECTACULAR.

The nice (and cute) waiters provided us some candles, and cake was served. (Clever waiters. They saw the cake and immediately identified it as rum cake. We left them a few slices for the help.)

We wanted to celebrate by finishing up that last half of the rum (collecting money is a stressful thing) but decided sobriety was preferable in our current state. @__@

Also, Cakeshot has claimed its second victim tonight. Though our first victim was present, he remained safe. Can't say the same for another, who shall remain unnamed, who had one bite too many and couldn't stop giggling for a good 30 minutes.

Mission accomplished?

'Til next time!

Note by Chantelle: I will get a better camera one of these days. Once I get straight A's I'll have a awesome camera that won't be as retarded and temperamental as the one I have now. Promise.

<3 Caketender Julia (& Chantelle!)

Need a boost? Peppermint Coffee Cupcakes :)

So after 2-3 months of ignoring my duty and doing absolutely nothing with this blog, I finally got off my lazy ass and baked (+ documented! :D) something. With Chan's ingredients (I just can't seem to take full responsibility for anything. ;))

A talk with Chan about this blog resparked my interest in baking. And then new recipes and ideas just keeping popping into my head (you should ask her how long this email is. But then again. All my emails are long...>___>).

Efficiency always in mind, my view of life is "Why kill 2 birds with one stone when you can shoot down a flock." ...metaphorically. I'm not that morbid nor do I enjoy injuring poor birds. =(

Haha, so THAT in mind, I decided to bake for my colleagues at work (cause they rock). So I get to experiment with new recipes/icing, feed some tired colleagues/interns, make Chantelle happy by updating, and get some exercise whipping that icing. :D (cause I totally skipped out on jogging by baking.)


So that's the theme. The peppermint cocoa mix + instant coffee. Everyone needs a caffeine fix in the morning (except me. Caffeine + Julia = ...an entertaining show. I shake and spasm for a good 3 hours from a cup. :)) Most of this sorta tedious journey (made tedious cause I haven't gotten adequate sleep in the past 2 weeks. Damn Olympics.) was not photographed cause I was being distracted by my dad and his mother who kept asking questions such as "Is that sugar? Oh that's flour? Ew it's black! Is that vinegar? Coffee? Something smells weird. Our oven works?" etc. etc. (After this, I have decided...there is such a thing as a stupid question. I stand firm in my belief that there are MANY stupid questions.)

Either way, I was ridiculously amused by the things I found in Chantelle's baking supplies stored at my house. Such as the wonderful mitts that prevent me from being burnt. A lot. (Who remembers my adventures at JWG? :D)

The process was pretty messy too because I was distracted. I apparently forgot to add eggs, milk, AND vanilla extract up until the last step, which explained a lot of consistency problems along the way.

That and we don't have any measuring supplies (...donated or tossed, I don't know) other than a 2-cup pyrex beaker. Not even joking. I found out and spasmed a bit and as this was after my 2nd run to Ralphs of the day, I decided, it's not worth it for a 3rd one.

But it was a pretty straightforward cupcake recipe, and so...GUESSTIMATION LIKE NO OTHER. (that and I spent so much time in the JWG kitchen so much I sorta can eyeball it. -.-) Also, I've learned that I live by Murphy's Law. And so it's adapt or die. And I'm still alive so that means...:)

My "teaspoon" is this random spoon from my drawer. Cupcakes made from a mix of Ghirardelli's Peppermint Hot Cocoa, unsweetened soy milk, (very little...1/3 of a teaspoon) butter, vanilla extra, eggs, instant coffee powder, sugar, and cinnamon. I have never made icing before, and so the consistency is not what I would've liked it to be, but it came out alright. Really sweet to me though (and I added 2 cups less of confectionary sugar than suggested. o.O!!). Icing was vanilla extract, soy milk, lots of butter, and a full BOX of confectionary sugar (...yeah. Icing's not good for you. :P)


After refrigerating the icing a bit (so it wouldn't spill onto the cupcake like crazy), I added cinnamon to the top. Swirled them with a toothpick and realized it wasn't working so well (aka it was going too slowly and I wanted to sleep). I messed up a bit too, so to cover it up, I just kept swirling. Compare. Exhibit A and B. :)

So I switched to a chopstick (YEAH MORE SURFACE AREA). :)


Refrigerated the entire thing and topped it off with Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts, a present from Chantelle a few days ago. :)

Now it's packaged and waiting for me to place some Macadamia nuts in the morning. And I'm trying to think of a name. Something with Pep. :P

Pair it with some green tea (from Lupicia located in Century City. ;)) to balance out the sweet, and enjoy! Hope y'all like it! ;)

<3 Caketender Julia

Easy Bake Oven?

Easy. Bake. Oven??? No, I'm not on crack (trust me). I've just always been fascinated by this contraption that all these little kids have so much fun with because I've never had one. NEVER. No Schoolhouse Rock, no Easy Bake Oven...boy was I a deprived child. I guess this also can account for the insane amount of enthusiasm I had tonight while I baked yummy desserts with my cousin (with the Easy Bake Oven...duh).

The night started off in the typical fashion was a post-dinner, "Chantelle, do you want to do something with me today?" For the last week or so I've responded with a, "Sorry, I've got homework" or "I'm kinda tired today. Maybe tomorrow" but today I responded with a, "Shootz! Let's do something!" So out came the Easy Bake Oven and a recipe for Shortbread cookies jotted down on a scrap piece of paper. At first I was skeptical about how things would turn out since all we had was the oven, two small round pans and a list of ingredients where "flour" was spelled "flower" and "sugar" was spelt "suger" but everything (well, almost everything) came out better than expected.

The recipe my cousin wrote down led to a "dough" that resembled a crumble more than cookie dough, resulting in some experimentation with the capabilities of this plastic and metal baking machine. I thought a mini strawberry crumble pie would be a cool thing to try out since we had a crumble and a jar of strawberry jam in the refrigerator. Here's my cousin spooning on the strawberry jam!


In addition to the mini strawberry crumble pie (which was super yummy, by the way) we made regular shortbread cookies, a peanut butter and jelly crumble (chunky peanut butter mixed into the crumble mixture for the base), and a cranberry galette (pictured below. It tastes better than it looks ^_^).

Overall, it was an awesome night full of Easy Bake Oven fun. I really wish I had one of these this past year since I was in a dorm with no kitchen *tear*. Oh wellz. At least I know there's a mini oven always ready for me to bake crazy cool mini desserts in. ^__^

So what was the lesson of the night?

Keep an open mind when it comes to food. At all times. Even the cheapest of "appliances" can yield some pretty fun food. ^__^

La Palme D'or Review

I'm the type of person that only indulges in the finer things in life for special occasions. So when I decided to treat my friend Carly, out to a special dessert for the second part of her birthday present (the first part can be seen on my other blog http://niraipatisserie.blogspot.com) I chose to take her to La Palme D'or. I found it a couple weeks ago as I was strolling around Ala Moana Shopping Center with two of my high school friends and it immediately went on my "To Visit" list. With just a quick glance into the store you know the desserts are of the finest quality and it's no surprise that they are since Chef Goto (a former challenger on the original Iron Chef) is the owner.

Once Carly saw the desserts in the showcases, she immediately got excited. She had a hard time choosing which one she wanted, but she finally chose the La Maccha, which is duet of Matcha Green Tea mousse and Dark Chocolate mousse with a moist chocolate cake for the base. The whipped cream, dark chocolate and white chocolate decorations, and the light powdering of Matcha powder makes the cake a sight to behold (obviously).



Even though the dessert was for her, she insisted that I have a bite of it, which I, of course, didn't turn down. The Dark Chocolate Mousse hits you first, masking the Matcha Mousse, while the cake adds complexity to the smooth texture of the mousse. At first, I was a little disappointed by the lack of Matcha flavoring since it was named, "La Maccha" but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was the star of the lingering taste left in my mouth. I definitely approve of this cake. None of the elements overwhelmed my palate, allowing me to experience a delightful balance of flavors.

I would definitely recommend the desserts from La Palme D'or. Even though I've only sampled one of their desserts, I'd bet money that the other desserts are just as good. The only downfall of this patisserie would have to be the service. We were the only ones there and both of the employees paid us no attention. It took a good five minutes of me standing with my wallet out before one of them asked if they could be of assistance. The only time they showed any true enthusiasm was when I placed my money on the counter to pay for the dessert. I guess they believe the quality of their product is enough to make up for the lousy service.

Okinawan Soba

I know it's been a really long time since I last posted anything here, but being back home has been more "fun" than I expected. First off, I didn't realize how expensive things in "paradise" AKA Hawaii have gotten so the amount of baking and cooking I can do has been severely affected by it. But that will not stop me from making things when I get the opportunity to!

Recently, after getting in touch with a friend in Japan and saying goodbye to two friends who are going to spend part of their summer in Japan, I got a little homesick for Okinawa. I wasn't born or raised there (even though at times I wish I had been) it become somewhat of a second home for me after spending three weeks there in 2006. Since I can't afford to make a random trip to Okinawa I decided I'd make some Okinawan food for old times sake. ^__^ AND HERE'S THE PRODUCT!!!


Okinawan food is basically a mixture of Chinese and Japanese food (huge generalization but it's true in many respects). I love the simple flavors of Okinawan cuisine because they are bolder and pack more of a punch than most Japanese cuisine. This dish can be prepared like yakisoba (as shown below) or in a broth. Today was a little too hot for me, so I opted to make it the yakisoba way. ^__^ It was my first time making it so I'm quite happy with the results. Next time if there's a decent cut of pork belly available, I'll make some rafute or soki to go along w/ it.

OKINAWAN SOBA

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
1 teaspoon ginger, minced*
1/2 cup diced meat of your choice
(I used turkey since that's what we had on hand...but I'd recommend pork since it's a must have in Okinawan cuisine)
1 tablespoon dashi soup stock
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon shoyu
Okinawan soba noodles
Green onions for garnish
Pepper

In a large saute pan on medium-high heat, saute the onion, carrot, bean sprouts, and ginger until the vegetables are soft. Season with pepper (salt isn't necessary since you'll get enough sodium from the dashi and the shoyu). The meat I used was precooked, but if you aren't using precooked meat, remove the vegetables before cooking the meat, then add the vegetables back into the pan once the meat is thoroughly cooked. After the meat is warmed through/cooked, add the dashi which has been dissolved in the 3/4 cup water. Since the noodles came with dashi soup stock, I used about half of what was provided since I didn't want the noodles to be too salty. Then add the noodles and cook until all the dashi soup stock has been absorbed by the noodles. Finally, add the shoyu (this amount can also be changed depending on how the noodles already taste). Garnish with green onion and then ENJOY!!!

Easy right? I'll keep playing around with this recipe. There was a little something missing that I can't put my finger on....

*I know that some people aren't a fan of ginger, but I really do think it is necessary for this dish. The bite of the ginger gives the depth of the noodles more depth and a bit of freshness. So for those who aren't huge ginger fans (I can be like this at times) just grate the same amount of ginger and use the juices from the ginger to flavor the noodles. ^__^

~CaKeTenDer Chan

Beef Ragu and Garlic Bread

Yes, I know this isn't a BAKED GOOD, but the bread was BAKED in the OVEN. So we're counting this as a CakeShot post. Plus too, the pasta came out pretty well. =]

So, last night, as we were finalizing the logistics for driving up to Stanford University, the job of providing lunch fell onto me. Not that I'm complaining or anything.

"What do you guys want?"
"Oh DON'T EAT PASTA BECAUSE IT MAKES YOU SLEEPY!"
"I want PASTA!"
"Ok, I'll cook pasta."

Somehow I always end up in the strange position of cooking for people on a whim. The last time it happened, I ended up hosting three parties, three days in a row. The food was great, but the credit card balance tickled my Mom in not so pleasant of a way. But anyways. So I decided to use my usual marinara sauce recipe but spiced up a little bit with some meat (for the boys...) I thought that since I might be busy the day of, prepping the ingredients ahead of time would be smart. Like usual, that ended up being at around 2:00 AM...

The pasta itself came together really nicely, and the garlic bread also came out well, despite improvising the entire recipe. I simmered the sauce for about two hours, resulting in a rich tomato sauce infused with the flavor of the meat and tender, golden vegetables. For the garlic bread I first roasted a whole head of garlic to use in the garlic spread. Instead of using a lot of butter, I used extra virgin olive oil and parsley in addition to the butter.

Next time I do this, I think I'm going to use chicken instead of meat. I like my pasta dishes to be on the lighter side, so I think the chicken taste will suit my palate better. We shall see. Man, I just realized. This is the last meal I'm ever going to cook in the apartment. ::TEAR:: Well, here's to all the memories of cooking in this place.


Recipe to follow when I feel like posting again...

More Fun w/ Oatmeal...

Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars
After going to bed at 5:00 AM (maybe a little after...) it sucks to wake up. Especially when you have to wake up to the sun searing through your eyelids. But, to make matters even better, I woke up with the urge to bake. Usually, this would be a joyful way for me to wake up, but having used the last egg last night...I mean...earlier in the day ::COUGH:: AT 2:00AM ::COUGH:: it was one of those, "OHHH CRAP" moments. Do I go buy another carton of eggs even though I'm leaving for Norcal tomorrow, or do I just NOT BAKE? What a dilemma!

So what did I do? I opened my "BAKING BLOGS" folder in Firefox and began to browse through the pretty pictures and recipes hoping that an EGGLESS recipe would surface. AND ALAS! ONE DID! W00T! And for more awesomeness, it was a recipe that involved Oatmeal and Blueberries, two things that I've been trying to get rid of. =] It was a recipe from BakingBites (heavenly awesome world of food. Major props!) But I didn't have brown sugar...what a shame. BUT THAT WASN'T GOING TO STOP ME! I used plain white sugar, sprinkled in some Cinnamon and the results weren't half bad. They lacked the great taste from the brown sugar, but I think the Cinnamon was a nice addition to help compensate.

The picture sucks but there's not much I can do about that. My friends don't own pretty plates and it's really a task to find a clean area big enough to take a dang picture of what I baked...::SIGH:: At least they have flour and sugar for me to use! (YAY!!!) It sucks they're moving out. This has been CakeShot's headquarters for the last couple of months...::TEAR:: Aww the memories...

~ CaKeTenDer Chan

Fun with Oatmeal

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
In preparation for my road trip to Norcal this Friday for the Intercollegiate Taiko Council's Annual Taiko Invitational at Stanford University, I baked some Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies at like 2:00AM a couple days ago. I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand and wasn't in the mood to attempt some Harry Potter hocus pocus on my empty wallet, so I just whacked the heck out of some Dove Chocolates that I got on sale a couple weeks back. Obviously the cookies aren't all the same size (it was 2:00AM...do you really think I'd try to be exact?) But I don't think any of us will care while we're munching on them. They taste good (and they do...according to MANY people...not just myself) and that's enough reason for me to suppress my OCD tendencies...



Chai Oatmeal Cookies
So. I was baking, yet again at 2:00AM, on a whim of course, and here's the resulting batch of cookies. They came out OKAY considering the fact that I didn't follow a recipe AT ALL...like usual. Why Chai Oatmeal cookies? Well, I'm one of those people who don't like to throw things away and when I moved out of my Dorm two weeks ago, I just couldn't bring myself to throw away this Chai Powder I got from Trader Joes. I figured I could use it in some form other than in a Chai drink (since I didn't like the taste of it in that) since I had two weeks and a free supply of sugar and flour at my friend's house (which I've invaded).
Basically, all I did was throw flour, sugar (white and brown), eggs, baking powder, chai powder, oatmeal, and some random other ingredients into a bowl, mixed it until it looked decent and baked. I thought I'd be all fancy by coating them with a chai-sugar powder and the results made my tongue very happy. =] It had just the right amount of sweet to perk me up enough to make this blog entry.
After taste testing (which translates to me eating about 3 cookies), I realized that I COULD BRING THESE TO INVITATIONAL AS WELL! Mwahaha. I think the question now is...how many cookies will be left over after the drive up...

~ CaKeTenDer Chan