Flourless Chocolate and Almond Cake

Reine de Saba (Queen of Sheba)

I had been in a cooking rut for more than a month now; nothing is inspiring me to cook.  I have been reading my favorite books and stories hoping to ignite my passion for food and cooking --  "Like Water for Chocolate", "The School of Essential Ingredients", "HeartBurn", "Crazy Salad Plus Nine" and legendary cook and writer Elizabeth David’s "French Provincial Cooking" and "A Taste of the Sun".  Although the books transported me to the kitchens and lives of these wonderful women, I remained unmoved.

It finally came last Friday when I was at the market and found some beautiful strawberries from Matthews Farms in Baxley, GA.  As I inhaled the fragrant sweetness of these perfectly deep red of juiciness, I knew that it was time to put down the books and play with my zester.

German Chocolate Cake

I was so flattered when my friend Kathie D. asked me to make her birthday cake. I admire Kathie D. for a lot of reason, but I love her because she have a good heart and she's so much fun.  When she asked me to make her a German Chocolate Cake, I knew that I will be using David Lebovitz recipe that I earmarked from 3 years ago.  It's a bummer that I did not get the chance to taste the cake, but I got rave reviews from friends who were able to sample it and Kathie left me the sweetest message a day after telling me that she was the envy of her friends because of the cakes.  I made her a carrot cake as well, per Alice Teeters request, a great poet and Kathie’s First Lady.  Oh yeah, Kathie D. is the mayor of beautiful Pine Lake, GA.

The Perfect Birthday Cake for Matt

Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Birthday Cake

I met Matt almost two years ago and I’ve loved him since.  We bonded over wine and stories of loss.  The pain is gone, healed by time, beautiful friendship and love; nonetheless, we still consume shameless amount of wine, LOL.

Matt is a beautiful person, inside and out.  He is tall and lean.  He have beautiful, piercing hazel eyes, hair that’s always in place and he smells oh-so-nice-- he smells like sunshine.  He has a sweet tone to his voice, a hint of that Southern drawl that’s both sexy and friendly.  Born and raised in Atlanta to third generation Atlantan parents, he is a true southern boy, a disappearing breed.  He is very relaxed and very centered around his family.  He is shy, but friendly and chatty after he warms up to a person; he teases in a good-nature way.  He looks at you in the eyes when you talk and listen to what you have to say.  He is genuine with his compliments and thank you’s.  He is a gentleman, chivalrous to a fault-- he opens doors and pulls chairs.  He remember all special occasions, and he makes them even more special with flowers, gifts, cards and nice dinners.

Did I mention that his car and house is impeccably clean?

Olive Oil Cake with Candied Oranges and Cardamom Scented Syrup

Today, I crave for Olive Oil Cake.  Today, I make Olive Oil Cake.

I was first introduced to Olive Oil Cake while visiting New York City.  I had a slice of Maialino's Torta di Olio d' Oliva-- moist, dense yellow cake, not at all sweet with that distinct taste of olive oil in every morsel, served with a dallop of mascarpone cream.  It sounds fantantic, right?  It's even better than that!

Nikita's Five-course Birthday Dinner

Poaching the Sea Bass on Beurre Monte

I met Nikita while visiting  BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta through a Social Networking Group about five (5) years ago.  We were both new in Atlanta and trying to mee

Lemon Souffle Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote

My daughter, Meghann, loves blueberry cheesecake. When she was 2, I left her briefly at the dining table and returned to find she finished off half of a blueberry cheesecake. She was real chubby as a kid, ha-ha! Lately, she had been bugging me to bake and blog about cheesecake, which I had been resisting. Here's the thing-- she is currently half way round the globe from me. If I bake the cheesecake, she won't be able to devour it anyway, so that means that I have to and it will end up in my waistline. But then, I miss my baby girl, so I baked her favorite blueberry cheesecake.

A great guy, a cake and a story of unfailing love & friendship

Devil's Food White-Out Cake(From Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours)

For the past few years, for Bill's birthday, I let him pick out a cake from my cookbooks for me to bake for him. And this year, the pick was the Devil's Food White Out Cake. Well, technically, he wanted this cake for his birthday last year, but I opted to make him the Perfect Party Cake with Raspberries, another Dorie Greenspan cake, which we both did not regret since the cake was perfect! The Devils' Food White Out Cake is perfect in it's own way. It really is the kind of cake you don't eat daintily. This cake, you have to eat without reservation, with a glass of milk or two. It's a chocolate overload cake, what with 4 kinds of chocolate going into it. The marshmallow frosting is billowy, smooth and very light, a melt-in-your-mouth goodness!

I met Bill about about eight years ago while I was doing my internship on Business Management in Austin and he was doing consultation/project management for Dell. We were both housed at the Residence Inn, and like every extended stay hotel, you get to know all the residents after a while, what with all the social hours they have. One night, I roamed about in the lobby and there he was, sitting in one of the couch with a little notepad and a pen, in his jammies and socks, scribbling some goddess only knows what crap in his notepad. I looked in his shoulders and with my filters down, as always, exclaimed, "That's the ugliest handwriting I've ever seen in my entire life! And oh, can I bum one of your cigarettes?" He looked at me in disbelief, and well, after that, the rest is history. He was destined to put up with all my crap.

About a couple of years ago, we went through trying times. Bill got very sick -- he needed an organ transplant to live, and for almost a year, we spent more time in the hospital than anywhere else. It was devastating! For the first time in my life, I was lost, I was scared. You see, Bill is my only family here in the States, what with everyone being back in the Philippines. He is the ONLY one I got. Most of our friends think that I am the strong one in our relationship, the alpha dog, the one who runs the show. What they do not know is that I draw my strength from Bill, my pillar of strength. Bill is the one who constantly remind me that everything is going to be okay, the one person who helps me pick up the little pieces of me when I am broken, the one who lets me cry when I have to, bitch when I want to, laugh with me when I am trying to be funny, laugh at me when I am being stupid and put me in check when I needed to. I never need to pretend to be someone or something else around him, because I know, regardless of who I am that very moment, he will love me nonetheless.

He is personified in this blog as the man behind all the awesome photos, the numero uno frosting biotch, the brownie monster, the lime pie expert or simply Himself. But outside the blogosphere, he is my very best friend, the one person who will always be there for me when everyone and everything else fails to.

To Bill, a happy, happy birthday! May all your hearts desire come forth. Thanks for putting up with me and all my shite all these years. I love you much, dude!

TWD: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

Its' Tuesday! It's Tuesday! I get to bake with all my webternet friends! Yay!

I have been pretty excited with the September lineup since Laurie posted them a couple of weeks ago. This week's TWD, Espresso Cheesecake Brownies chosen by Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell is a total winner. The brownie monster loves brownies, and I love coffee and cheesecake! Thus, he can have the bottom part, and I can have the top part! Yay!!

After rummaging through my baking pans, I realized I do not own a 9 x 9 baking pan (hint hint: maybe someone might want to give it to me as a Labor Day gift. I also accept cash or gift certificates preferably from William Sonoma, Bloomingdales or Sur la table, LOL!!) Okay, where was I before I got myself lost-- oh yeah, I have no 9 x 9 baking pan, so I decided to use an 8-inch spring form pan, thus baking time was 55 minutes.

TWD: Classic Banana Bundt Cake

Classic Banana Bundt Cake with Nutella Frosting

Bundt cakes hold a special place in my heart. My Mama is a great cook, and I learned to cook from her. She can turn any mundane dish into something spectacular, but my Mama is no baker. One of my earliest memory is my Mama making a Pineapple Bundt Cake, and burning it (LOL), yet I remember it to be one of the best cake I've ever had. She told me that she was making it specially for me. Funny, that was the first and last time I remember her baking (LOL).

This is my first Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) entry, although, I have been reading most of the members' blogs for years now, and I have been using Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours for sometime. Her recipe for the Perfect Party Cake is the bomb! There is a running joke among my circle of friends that if I make a version of the "Perfect Birthday Cake" for your birthday, you are in the "inner circle" of the circle.

I am excited with the recipe chosen by Mary of The Food Librarian. I have this Terra Cotta Bundt Pan I haven't used since I acquired it, and I want to see how it fares compared to the Metal and Silicone Bundt Pans. I also have overripe bananas in my counter I need not be wasting.. so all is good! Now I think I hear the Nutella calling...