Mini-cake rampage.

I can be such a moody person. I often go on these baking rampages where I'll only make one thing for days or weeks in a row, and get really into it. Some moods, I would bake nothing but cookies. Another time, all sorts of filled cupcakes. And this time....mini cakes. I bought several mini cake pans when I was in SoCal, which, I might say, could possibly be the best thing 99 cents can buy. I found these cake pans at target recently for $4.99!! These pans were actually tucked away in my cabinet for almost two years before I decided to dust off the new, and break in the old.

I came up with all sorts of cake variations, but the two most popular ones are what I decided to post.

Once upon a Tuesday, I had a bunch of banana's leftover and was tired of making banana bread from a few days prior. Instead, I was planning on making banana cream pie, but I really wanted to make some sort of cake. So I came up with my version of a banana-coconut cream cake. It's a vanilla cake soaked with a coconut flavored sugar water, and filled with bananas, banana custard, and a thin layer of dark chocolate. The frosting was made with fresh whipped cream covered in toasted coconut.

I promised my aunt that I would make Michael (her Cuban bf) a surprise birthday cake. And this was the first time ever that I had made a cake of such large proportions. It was a half sheet. It pretty much took all morning and afternoon, along with the help of my sister. Speeding up to the 'surprise, happy birthday ending,' Michael loved the cake, along with all of his Cubano friends. They love bananas and coconut. They really raved about the cake, and I saw one of his friends horde almost a quarter of a cake to herself... maybe she was saving it for later.

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I had four lemons and instead of making lemon meringue pie, I decided to make a cake instead. I was brainstorming on the couch one day what kind of cake I should make... and I came up with a great combination! I had several key ingredients that I really wanted to use, which was lemons and frozen raspberries...ta-da!

Anyway, this cake is a lemon-raspberry cake...but I like to call it a 'pink betty.' I don't know how I came up with that name, but whatever. It's a vanilla cake soaked with a light lemon sugar glaze with lemon curd filling, topped with a raspberry whip cream frosting. I just used my lemon meringue pie recipe for the filling. As for the frosting, I used frozen raspberries, pureed them, and folded it into fresh whipped cream. The cake doesn't sit well for more then two days...it gets bitter :( I was trying to save a slice for a rainy day, but obviously that backfired on me.

I am horrible at photography. Most of the time, I usually forget about taking food pictures till the last minute, and when I do, I could care less of how it looks. But it sure is tasty.

Madeleines.

After a day at the beach, the kiddies were pretty much exhausted from all the play they had. The weather has been extremely nice, and they both love to sunbathe. Although, it has been extremely hot over the past few days and they would retreat to the nearest shade they can find. Anyway, they ended up swimming in the bathtub back at my apartment later that evening (there was sand up Trooper's nose).

When they were done bathing, I decided to have another attempt at making madeleines. I recently found out that these are, perhaps, Alan's favorite cookie, ever. I never really knew what madeleines were, since I cannot recall if I have ever seen these scalloped shaped cookies in a bakery. I did a little research on these mysterious cookies and found that madeleines originated in France and dates way back when Louis XV was still breathing. Go figure. I was not surprise to hear that this is a French cookie, since the French has all sorts of fancy shmancy goodies. I like it.

The scalloped goodies even was mention in the novel by Marcel Proust in Remembrance of Things Past. "...She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called 'petites madeleines', which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell....... An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses....".

Wow. That is really intense for a cookie! So after thorough research, I scoured all over the internet, read a bagillion reviews to find the perfect pan to make Alan's favorite cookie. Alan then promptly ordered them online and selected 2-day shipping, so I won't bug him when will the pans get here. I was a woman on a mission to make the perfect madeleines since Alan has never had fresh baked ones before. He's one of my favorite people to feed.

Anyway, I found several recipes for madeleines and it is actually a really simple and easy recipe! I decided to give it a go and they turned out gorgeous! I've posted a picture and turned the cookie around so you can see their beautiful scalloped bellies. You can dust these with powdered sugar, but unless you're serving them immediately, I would suggest not to, since the sugar will just sink into the cookies over time. They don't really remind me of a cookie, it reminds me more of a cake, pretty spongelike, but still cakey. These cookies are a huge hit with the guys, but I still couldn't grasp the concept of why these were so "amazing" to Alan. Well I made them again, and this time, they turned out close to perfect. The whole entire batch. I ate 4 in a matter of 4 minutes!

Madeleines go great with coffee or tea (I actually am eating some along with a cup of chamomile tea while I'm writing this post) and their dense, buttery richness with strong hints of lemon intertwined with vanilla , is truly a luxury without overloading your taste buds. They're simple, yet elegant at the same time. Alan's right when he said "I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't like a madeleine." I'm going to make 2 dozen specifically for him when he visits. After all, he did buy me the pans.

My motto in the kitchen.

I love to bake. I love to cook. If I was granted one wish, I wish that I was able to feed the world from the comfort of my own kitchen. Oh, and perhaps a rich hubby who can buy me nice kitchen gadgets.

Cooking is not hard. Baking can be just as easy as cooking. Although, to make something edible and scrumptious can be tricky. A good recipe might help. A small understanding of what a mixer does and why cream butter at room temperature might be good to know. There's the internet and the food network, so why not use it? So what you only know how to make three dishes? Make it super and it will be your signature dish. Who cares if you don't know how to make duck confit, at least you can make a killer lasagna that everyone will love.

My mom is a glorious cook. She is an amazing woman who can make the most delectable dishes that can turn your frown, upside down. She taught me one of the most important principles when cooking. You can add ingredients to a pot, but you can't really take it out of the pot once its in there. Cooking is really forgiving than most people think it is. You can season, taste, season some more, taste again. Baking is tricky in a sense where it reminds me of chemistry lab. If you forget an ingredient in the initial phase, it might show throw in the final product.

For those who know me well, I can be quite the finicky eater. I don't eat ketchup. But I eat tomatoes. I don't like gyros. But I like everything in a gyro. I dislike beans. But I love chili. What a peculiar person, I am. As picky as I am, I am forever trying to extend my palate. I never knew I liked sweet-n-sour sauce with my nuggets, until I actually gave it a fair chance. I never knew how much I am fond of risotto, until I had a risotto that resembled cafeteria style sticky rice.

I believe that if you invest enough time into anything that interest you, then you'll be great at it, whatever your heart's desire. My heart? To feed a little happiness into anyone and everyone's lives.