'Idiot-proof cakes' archive

Banana walnut cake

Moist but not dense, this banana cake is light, not excessively sweet and there’s the added pleasure of getting some crunch from the walnuts and the streusel topping. Based on a recipe from the web site of Sylvia Reynoso Gala, I substituted melted butter for the cooking oil because, in my experience, using cooking oil in cakes leaves an undesirable sensation in the mouth. And I have a theory that it is the cooking oil that makes banana cakes from neighborhood bakeries dense and bread like rather than light and cake-y. I omitted the molasses as well because the photo of the baked cake in Mrs. Gala’s site looked too terribly dark for my taste.

Valentine’s Day cheesecake

Because my kids have fallen in love with streusel topping (see the blueberry streusel cupcakes and strawberry streusel cake entries), I wondered if I could create a cheesecake crust with a similar feel and taste. Of course, it would have to be more dense and compact, not light and crumbly. I also wondered if cream cheese and mascarpone are the only varieties of cheese that can be used for French-type cheesecakes. I did a little experiment and this cheesecake was the result.

Strawberry streusel cake

According to Wikipedia, the term streusel (a German word meaning “something scattered or sprinkled”, from the verb streuen, akin to the English verb ’strew’) refers to a crumb topping of butter, flour, and sugar (traditional German) that is baked on top of muffins, breads, and cakes. The original recipe used fresh blueberries; I substituted strawberries.

A cheesecake and self-frosting cupcakes

While it has always been my intention to religiously document all my baking projects, it sometimes happens that real life takes over and recipes and photos get buried in the deep recesses of my hard drive. I baked these cupcakes over a month ago and never got around to posting the recipe. Sad part is [...]

Vanilla-mocha marble chiffon cake

I’ve always wondered if it was absolutely necessary to use a tube pan when baking chiffon cakes. I could have used my silicone bundt pan but I had a theory that using a baking pan with a hole at the center was more of a tradition rather than a must. So I took my chances [...]

Chocolate cheesecake

I’ve been dying to make this chocolate cheesecake since I saw Nigella Lawson make one in her TV cooking show. In fact, I was planning on baking the cheesecake on Valentine’s Day but the first three days of the week are always tight. I finally did it yesterday and… it’s just great. Just great! So [...]

(Something like) tiramisu, version 2

As far as I can recall, it was at Gene Gonzalez’ The Smiling Chef where I tasted my first tiramisu, oh, around twelve years ago. Along with the crostata di ricotta, the tiramisu was my favorite cake from The Smiling Chef.
It was from Biba Caggiano’s now defunct TV cooking show Biba’s Italian Kitchen that I [...]

Classic sponge cake with strawberry jam and whipped cream

First, you might want to read this to understand what the heck all the baking is about. One book is all it took to decide what I really want to do with the sassyfoodie.com domain that I registered a week or so ago. The domain was intended for a blog about my kids’ packed school [...]

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House On A Hill

Amateur baker

• Heavenly lemon-orange cheesecake
• Scones with preserved seedless plums
• Turkey empanada
• Corn muffins
• Mango cheese pie
• Choco butter cupcakes
• Chocolate chip cookies
• (Something like) tiramisu, version 2
• Betty Crocker’s blueberry muffins
• Blueberry streusel cupcakes

Oh, so sweet!

• Refrigerator cake
• Midnight snack: crepes, bananas and guava jelly
• Mandarin Orange Royale
• Chocolate-pinipig balls inspired by Magnolia’s pinipig crunch
• Green tea and rambutan dessert
• Comfort food and home cooked meals
• Christmas jello
• Crepes a la mode
• Coffee jelly dessert
• Choco-mocha-cinnamon pudding