Coffee Cake Recipe

Let clear things up. Coffee and I... Ahem... 

Coffee and I... well I don't know where I stand. Do I like or do I not like coffee? 

You see, when I was ten we moved three provinces north of Manila. This was where we lived. 

Living there was liked a dream. Sometimes, breakfast means going out (literally) at the back of the house and eat at a table under a mango tree. And sometimes, when I wake up early, I will make myself pale coffee or what I fondly call Coffee a la Aikko. Pale coffee is my version of coffee. Seeing that I was still young and coffee is really not yet allowed and so I would add way to much creamer so no one will really notice that I am drinking coffee. Ha! Probably the reason why I wasn't tall as I dreamt to be. 

Anyway, now that I am just a little older (and now allowed to drink coffee). I no longer crave it as much as I used to. I can get by staying up late without drinking coffee. So I was thinking, maybe coffee enjoyed in another form (ahemm.. cake) will revive my love for coffee. Here's a recipe from my Ma's recipe book. Hope you like it guys! :)

Coffee Cake Recipe

What we need:

3/4 cup walnuts or pecan

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons coffee granules (we didn't have coffee granules so I used the powder form and it worked just fine but Ma said granules work best)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Here's how:

(1) Combine walnuts, cinnamon and brown sugar. Set aside.

(2) Sift or dry whisk together flour, coffee granules, baking power, baking soda and salt. Combine sour cream and the vanilla extract.

(3) Mix together canola oil and sugar.

 (4) Add eggs one at a time.

(5) Add a third of the dry ingredients.

(6) Then one half of the wet ingredients (sour cream and vanilla extract). Continue until all is combined. Oh well, you know the drill :)

 (7) Heavily grease 2 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pans (Note A: but any pan will do as long as just fill it up until its half full. Note B: Or you can also line the loaf pan with wax paper) divide the batter into two and sprinkle the walnut/cinnamon/brown sugar mixture on top.

 (8) Bake for 40 minutes or until done.

So, do I like or do I not like coffee... hmmm.. maybe I like it cake form :)

How to Make Safari Cupcakes - Fondant Lion

So...

Hi!

If this is the first time you're reading my blog, I'm Aikko. 

I'm a baker. Welcome to my little sweet space on the blogosphere.

If this is not the first time you're reading my blog. Hi, there! Long time no see. I hope you still remember me. Here's a picture of me to joggle your memory.

So it's a baby picture. But nonetheless, it's still me. Memory joggled now? Uh oh, not yet?

I might have to reintroduce myself. I'm Aikko - yeah a baker. And can sometimes be very good magician. Now you see me, now you don't. 

Okay, so that's the story cut short but nevertheless, I love you my dear Bake Happy friends for always visiting Bake Happy even though I haven't updated it properly for ages (now that's an exaggeration). But now I think it's high time for a cupcake topper tutorial. 

Anyone knows Lion King? It's this Disney film about a lion named Simba and his journey to becoming the King of his domain. One of the most beautiful songs from the film was "The Circle of Life". I can't remember where I heard it but the song came to be so the film can explain the food chain to kids in a not so gruesome way so they won't be grossed out. You know, the lions being on the top of the food chain mean they have to hunt and kill other animals to feed themselves. How do you explain that to kids? The Circle of Life. If you ask me, that's pretty genius!

So today, we're making lion cupcakes as part of the safari cupcakes we previously made. Remember Mr Monkey and Ms Ellie? Now here's Mr Lion!

Safari Cupcakes - Fondant Lion

What we need:
Fondant or gumpaste in orange, brown, flesh and black
Rose petal cutter (the tear shaped one)
Flower cutter
Rolling pin
Fondant tool
White sprinkles
Brown long sprinkles
Round small piping tip
Water and brush to put things together

Here's how:
(1) Roll out brown fondant and cut out two flowers

(2) Place one on top of the other

(3) Roll orange fondant into a ball and press it flat slightly

(4) Roll out flesh fondant thinly

(5)  Cut out two rose petal shapes

(6) Place into flesh fondant into Mr Lion's head where the cheeks should be. Add a nose using the brown fondant. And using the piping tip, make him smile. 

(7) To assemble, paste the orange fondant into the brown fondant, add the eyes and whiskers. 

Now... isn't Mr Lion a cutie?

Hope you like it guys!

Coconut Fusions

Is it just me or is it really hot lately? Not our average oh-hot-today-it's-probably-going-to-rain-later kind of hot. Weather these days are kind of summer hot. Make that scorching hot.

And so I thought now is the perfect time to make some Coconut Fusions. 

While surfing the net, I saw Mbele TV's cool idea about buko juice so instead of waiting for summer, I thought of trying them out now, seeing that the weather is really summer-ish. The idea is pretty simple really, go get some coconut or buko juice and infuse it with whatever fruit/s you have on hand. Easy peasy yeah?

So anyway, last Saturday, I braved the heat and trekked into the Saturday Salcedo Market to look for my ingredients. And I found these - some blueberries, strawberries, lemon and mint. 

And now, since I can't find fresh buko juice (well.. Landmark has some but I really don't have the strength to cut through the hard shell) so good thing Tropicana now has Coco Quench Coconut Water. Now we're all set. 

Preparing it is really easy, get some glasses or jars. Slice the fruits add some ice and pour honest to goodness coconut juice. 

I made three fusions from the market trip last Saturday. 

• Coconut juice with mint (my favorite)
• Coconut juice with lemon and blueberries
• Coconut juice with blueberries and strawberries.

The possibilities are endless! for a more summery feel, try infusing coconut juice with pineapple chunks and segmented oranges. Or how about lychees and rambutan? Or strawberries and kiwi - now that's eye catching!

Ube Bars Recipe

Related post: Ube Macapuno Cake Recipe

I really (really, really) wanted to be a teacher when I was a kid.

You see, teachers do the coolest things like write using ball pens instead of big fat pencils. Teachers own a vast collection of interesting stamps that they use to their hearts content - you know, the one with "Excellent", "Good", "Very Good".  Teachers write lovely notes on their students notebooks when they collect it to make sure they take notes. And best of all, teachers use red ball pens to mark test papers. The thing is, anyone can use black or blue but red? Red are reserved for teachers so I decided I am going to be one.

You see, there was nothing that gives me more thrill than to put a check mark on every item on a test paper (okay, it's up there along with my Ma's Chocolate Cake). Yes, I was fascinated with the red ball pen. Fascinated enough to sneak out of the house, go buy a red ball pen (when all I was allowed to use are big, fat and oh -so ordinary black pencils)  and secretly create a mock test paper so I could practice using my red ball pen when I become a teacher. Oh what a rush!! 

Unfortunately, that dream ended when I realized I don't have a knack for speaking in front of an audience. It's as if a wizard cast a "Petrificus Totalus" spell on me. Too bad. Oh well, enough of the babble. It's Monday once again and I thought I'd share a recipe with you. This is my Auntie Fely's Ube Bars recipe. I didn't realize lots of you my dear Bake Happy friends like ube so I am following up the Ube Macapuno Cake Recipe with Ube Bars. Hope you like it!

Ube Bars Recipe
350F

What we need:

1 1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 egg yolks

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped cashew nuts

3/4 cup ube halaya

Here's how:

(1) Toast nuts, set aside to cool.

(2) Sift or dry whisk flour and baking powder.

(3) Cream together brown sugar and butter until fluffy.

(4) Add in egg yolks. It's okay to add them all at once. Just make sure to mix them well. 

(5) Add in flour mixture.

(6) Fold in nuts

Here is what our batter will look like.

(7) Line a rectangular baking pan (I used 9 1/2" by 12")  with parchment paper

(8) Spread out three fourths of the batter evenly using an offset spatula.

(9) Spoon the ube halaya into the different areas of the pan

(10) Again spread evenly

(11) Now, as for the remaining one fourth of the batter, roll them into balls and place on top of the ube halaya like little islands. 

(12) Bake for 30 minutes at 350F or until golden brown and they will look this this. Perfect ube bars

Cut it up and you can see the thin line of ube halaya in the middle. Bliss!

Want a bite? 

Oh wait, cut them up into squares first. But it's okay if you can't wait. I won't hold it against you. Pinky swear.