Easy, Moist, Tasty, Homemade Cake

I am not a baker, so I always want to find the easiest recipe to make a cake for birthdays or some family gatherings. The recipe of homemade cake that I will prepare today is from Chicken in the Road. You can go here for the whole tutorial.

http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/homemade-yellow-cake-mix/

The only changes that I made to this recipe were the sugar and the butter. It is for my own taste, and I just want to practice using the chia seeds gel for making cake to have a healthier version like the famous quote, “have your cake and eat it too”. Well, maybe it has a different meaning, but ...

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs baking powder
1 cup sugar
Add:
1 tbs vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup soft butter
1/4 cup Chia seeds gel (1 tsp chia seeds with 1/4 cup water)

Directions:
Butter and flour a 9 in. cake pan. Preheat oven to 350°.
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and use a handheld mixer to beat all the ingredients
together until smooth.

 Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Things That Seem Easy but Are Hard

Story about the Eagle

 

If an Eagle is put inside a cage with a measurement of about 2 m x 2.5 m without a roof, it means that the top of the cage is open. The Eagle is still completely a prisoner in this cage. The reason is: The Eagle always needs to fly horizontally in the first 3 to 4 m. Because the cage prevents the Eagle from horizontal flight, it must accept living in a small prison without a roof for the rest of its life.

 

Story about a Bat

 

A bat always finds food at night. It is quick, talented, and flies accurately. However, it cannot fly unless it first drops from an elevated position. If a bat is placed on the ground, it can only struggle around hopelessly and uselessly because it is incapable flying.

Story about a Bee

 

If a bee is captured and placed into a big glass jar without a lid, it will stay in that glass jar until it dies. A bee can never see how to escape above itself, it will only try to escape in front of or below itself.

Story about Humans

 

In many situations, people are like the Eagle, the bat, or the bee above. People wrestle with all the difficulties in their lives, but they never realize that there are some other ways of doing things, probably right in front of or very near themselves because people always put themselves inside familiar cages of stubbornness, greed, selfishness, and dependency on someone else.

Source: Internet

Fish Baked in Orange-Almond Sauce

When I look back over the years since I have had this cooking blog, there have been so many recipes that I have acquired. Some of the recipes in my blog I learned from other cooking blogs, with some famous chefs on television, or as well as my own.  I always return to some of my own ideas for the simple reason that cooking has to be easy, fun, and healthy. Therefore, sometimes I have to make a lot of changes for my own taste. Because most of my recipes are written to serve just two people, I hope that those who have not previously tried my recipes have a smaller version to practice their cooking skills.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz. tilapia fillets
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper
Sauce:
1/4 cup almonds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chili paste
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/4 cup skim milk
2 tbs butter, melted
1 tbs olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tbs fresh chopped cilantro
2 tbs fresh chopped parsley
1/2 cup four cheese blend (Costco brand)

Directions:
Season fish with salt and pepper. Place fish onto the baking dish. Pour the fresh orange juice over fish. Marinate fish in the refrigerator for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375°.
 In a food processor, blend the almonds until pulverized. Combine herbs, chili paste, Cayenne, garlic, milk, melted butter, and olive oil. Mix the herbs mixture with the pulverized almonds.

 Divide the herbs/almonds mixture evenly over the fish.

Top each fish with cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with red pickled onions and rice.

Pickled Red Onions

I like all kinds of pickles, and pickled red onions is one of them.  I created this simple quick pickle for using on the side dish of fish or chicken. The sour-spicy taste of pickled red onions will complement the main dish. It can go well with sandwiches or as a nice topping for salads.

Ingredients:
1 medium red onion
2 lemons
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Thinly slice the red onions and place in a bowl.

Sprinkle with salt and the juice of one lemon. Let onions stand for 15 minutes

. After 15 minutes cover the onions with cold water for another 15 minutes.

Rinse and drain the red onions. Place into a clean jar with a lid. Add oil and the juice of another lemon. Mix well.

Cover jar with lid and place into the refrigerator. The pickled onions will be ready in one hour, but the taste will be better later.

Japanese Cheesecake

We are so familiar with all kinds of cheesecake from all over the world, but I think the Japanese cheesecake is hardly mentioned. Cheesecake recipes have been beloved for centuries. Everyone that I know never refuses a piece of cheesecake. When my friend, Pamela, mentioned about the Japanese cheesecake, I felt so intrigued. One time while her flight stopped over at the Tokyo airport, she had a piece of this cake and fell in love with it since then. I had been searching for the recipe of the Japanese cheesecake, and I soon learned that this cake is a cross between sponge cake and cheesecake. However, Japanese cheesecake is very light, smooth, and soft as a cloud. After reading recipes from different websites with different methods and slightly different ingredients, I felt confident enough to create my own recipe for making Japanese cheesecake. I am very happy with my first attempt. It turned out exactly as I had imagined it would – light, smooth, and soft. If preferring a lighter cheesecake than the traditional famous American New York cheesecake, then the Japanese cheesecake is the one.

Ingredients:
5 eggs, separated (leave the whites in the refrigerator until ready to use)
One 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
3 tbsp butter at room temperature
1/3 cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preparing the cake pan:
Line an 8” x 8” square cake pan with parchment paper (overlap the sides of the pan).
Line a baking pan larger than the cake pan with a paper towel.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°. Bring a pot of 3 cups of water to boil.
Cut cream cheese into cubes.
In double boiler, place cream cheese and stir until completely melted. Stir in 3 tbsp butter, lemon juice, milk and half of the sugar. Stir for a few minutes. Let it cool down.
Sift cornstarch and salt.
In a KitchenAid stand mixer bowl using the flat beater, beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and sift cornstarch into the egg yolks. Stir the cream cheese into the yolks mixture.
Whisk egg white using the wire whip until foamy. Gradually, add cream of tartar and the other half of the sugar. Continue to beat the egg white until the egg white has steep peaked.
Fold the egg white into the cream cheese mixture in 3 stages using folding methods. Slightly tap the bowl to remove some of the big bubbles.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Tap the cake pan again to remove more big bubbles. Place the cake pan into the baking pan and pour the hot water halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn the oven off and slightly open the oven door. Let cheesecake cool off in the oven for one hour before removing from the oven to protect the surface of the cake. Some people like to serve with fresh fruit or jam on top.

 

 

 

Baked Fish with Mexican Flavors

As with meat, seafood should have a spicier marinade with varying degrees of heat to enhance the flavors, fresh citrus, or flavorful pastes for coating the fish. With this way of cooking, there is no need to add sauces to the dish. I prepare this dish to prove that with a imagination, guests can be brought to another planet where salsa, tostada, rice, and spicy foods are served.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz. tuna fillets
Paste
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs orange juice
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
Garnish with green onions, chopped

Directions:
In a bowl, combine all the paste ingredients and mix
Smear the paste onto the fish, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
Top fish with thinly sliced red onions, if you like, and bake in a preheated oven set to 400° for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and serve.

Lemon-Coconut Cake

A light and delectable cake is a taste of paradise. One time while vacationing in Hawaii, I had a chance to enjoy this cake.  I try to make this cake again and hope that I will capture the wonderful and delightful taste and texture of this cake. Doubling the recipe ingredients will be enough for a three-layer cake.

Ingredients:
4 eggs, separated
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder\1/3 cup buttermilk
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs lime juice
1 tbs lime zest
1/3 cup buttermilk
Topping:
1 cup coconut flakes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat a 9 in. square or round cake pan  with 1 tablespoon butter and flour. Shake the pan and set aside.

 

Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together.

Using a KitchenAid blender with the flat beater, beat the egg yolks in medium speed, gradually adding sugar until light and fluffy (about 4 to 5 minutes). Add the lime zest, lime juice, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour alternate with buttermilk  and blend well after each addition.

In the same KitchenAid blender with a very clean bowl and a whisk, beat the egg white on high-speed until the egg white is stiff.

With a rubber or plastic spatula, fold the whites into the egg yolks mixture, blending gently until well mixed.

 Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and top with coconut flakes evenly over the cake and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

 This cake can be server as is, with chocolate frosting, or with whipping cream.