Cake

We are headed out to dinner tonight with friends. Turns out that two of them are celebrating birthdays and one couple is celebrating an anniversary. My friend Bess thought it might be fun to go out for dinner (Rathbun's!), then celebrate at her house afterwards with cake and champagne.

Cake? Oh yeah, I am SO there. Not for eating it (see previous blog entry), but for baking it. Bring it on!

Naturally I volunteered. Bess immediately (like, she didn't even hesitate) accepted. Oy vey! What have I gotten myself into? I'm dealing with 8 people here. Who likes what? Who doesn't like what? Should I go the chocolate route? Vanilla? Caramel? Citrus? What about cupcakes?

And here's another problem: my cake decorating skills SUCK. No kidding. You're probably wondering how in the heck I managed to work in a bakery. Well, I'll tell you how. I got by because I had friends there! Anytime a cake needed to be decorated, they stepped up to the plate (no pun intended) and covered my sorry ass. Sandee, Dorothy, Carla and Michael -- you know who you are!

So here's what I did in the end. Ina Garten (gee, have I mentioned her before?) has a great recipe for a sheet cake. It's really, really good. So I made it in the half sheet pan she recommended (if you don't have one, you can buy it at Costco or Sam's) and then proceeded to deviate from her instructions and go it on my own. Uh-oh. What was I thinking?

Turns out what I was thinking ended up being pretty damn good. I cut the cake into thirds, layered it with a caramel filling, then frosted it with Ina's chocolate icing. Turned out gorgeous and it tastes good, too (I know this because I consumed a fair amount of both the caramel filling and the chocolate icing. Who needs the actual cake, anyway?) And I actually screwed up my courage, dragged out the pastry bag and decorated the thing. Woo Hoo!

And when we cut into it later tonight, it will taste great. Helped, of course, by all of the wine and champagne we will have consumed beforehand.....

Ina Garten's Birthday Sheet Cake (adapted slightly)

2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 extra-large eggs, room temperature

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Butter a 12x18x1-1/2-inch sheet pan. Line with parchment and butter again.

Cream butter, sugar and salt in an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, about 8 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl several times. Reduce speed to medium-low and eggs, 1 at a time, then the sour cream, vanilla and lemon. Mix well, scraping down bowl as needed.

Sift flour, cornstarch and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture in thirds, with mixer on low speed until just combined. Finish mixing by hand as you do not want to overbeat or cake will be tough.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and level it with an offset spatula. Rap it once on countertop to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

Caramel Filling (adapted from Southern Cakes)

3 cups light brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

7 tablespoons cream or half-and-half

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When mixture is boiling, reduce heat so that it bubbles gently. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.

Stir briskly with a wooden spoon until filling cools down and thickens. This could take anywhere from 3 to 6 minutes.

Use as soon as it reaches spreading consistency. If it becomes too hard, warm gently over low heat and add a tablespoon or two of cream or half-and-half until filling softens again.

Ina's Chocolate Frosting

24 oz. chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Place chocolate chips and cream in a heavy saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Stir frequently, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and add the corn syrup and vanilla. Blend well, then set aside and let cool to room temperature. When completely cool, place in the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with a whisk attachment. Add softened butter and whisk on medium spped for 2-3 minutes until thickened and ready to spread. Use immediately.

To Assemble Cake:

When cake is completely cool, loosen edges with a knife or spatula and turn out onto large cutting board. Trim edges on all sides (you can eat these yourself and no one ever has to know which is of course the other reason why I know this tastes good) to make an even rectangle. Cut crosswise into thirds (my finished pieces measured 11 x 5/14 inches).

Place first layer onto platter, bottom side facing up. Spread with caramel filling. Repeat with second layer, working quickly before filling hardens. Top with third layer, bottom side facing up.

Put a big dollop of chocolate frosting on top then use an offset spatula to bring it down over sides in order to cover. Continue this process until cake is frosted completely. You can smooth the top and sides and decorate as desired, or you can just go for the "natural" look. Either way, you can't go wrong!

This cake will serve approximately 8 - 10 people.

Hati-Hati, empatimu mautmu!

Awalnya gue kaget, pagi-pagi mau sahur, tiba-tiba ada notifications yang masuk di fb. Biasa tag-taga-an notes. Apalagi sesama anak CCW. Tapi yang bikin gue kaget adalah, tulisannya. Biasanya yang di tulis itu cerita atau curhatan, nah ini fakta kejam nan sadis. Lucia, dia yang nge-tag. Dan suskses membuat gue bergidik ngebacanya. Dan kenapa gue me-repost ini, karena menurut gue ini penting. Bahayaaa banget soalnya! read this carefully.

Hati2 buat para wanita...!! (juga buat para lelaki yang merasa punya wanita yang dikasihi)

PERTAMA :
Katanya, sekarang ada cara baru pemerkosaan terhadap wanita. Yang terjadi seperti ini, seorang cewek melihat ada seorang anak kecil dijalanan sedang menangis. Merasa kasihan, ia menanyakan apa yang terjadi pada anak tersebut."Aku tersesat, bisakah mengantarku pulang?" Lalu anak kecil itu memberikan selembar kertas yang berisikan alamat rumahnya.Karena cewek itu termasuk orang yang baik hati, tidak menaruh curiga apa2 dan membawa anak tersebut ke alamat yang tertera. Ketika tiba di "rumah" anak kecil itu, ia menekan bel, tiba2 ia kaget karena bel tersebut bertegangan tinggi dan lalu pingsan. Ketika ia terbangun pada hari berikutnya, ia mendapati dirinya dalam keadaan telanjang dalam sebuah rumah kosong Ia tidak pernah melihat wajah penyerangnya. Itulah sebabnya sekarang ini penindak kriminal mencari sasaran pada orang2 yang berbaik hati. Jika terjadi masalah seperti ini :

JANGAN PERNAH MEMBAWA ANAK KECIL TERSEBUT KE TEMPAT YANG DIMINTA. JIKA MASIH TERUS DIDESAK, BAWALAH ANAK TERSEBUT KE KANTOR POLISI.


Anak yg tersesat paling bagus dibawa ke kantor polisi.. Tolong sebarkan kepada teman2 kalian semua terutama yang cewek2, istri, adik perempuan. HARAP BER-HATI2.


KEDUA :
Telah beredar sebuah obat baru yang bernama "Progesterex" (you may check the internet for the availability) . Obat ini adalah pil kecil yang digunakan untuk mensterilisasi. Obat ini sekarang dipakai oleh para pemerkosa pada perayaan pesta, Pub, Discotique untuk memperkosa dan mensterilisasi korbannya. Progesterex pada dasarnya dijual pada beberapa dokter hewan dan toko binatang, dan digunakan untuk mensterilkan hewan besar. Obat biasanya digunakan bersamaan dengan Rohypnol (Roofies) semacam obat bius pembeliannya harus menggunakan resep dokter (tahu sendiri dinegara yg tercinta" Indonesia , you have money you can buy almost everything). Rohypnol ini semacam effervescent tablet yang cepat larut didalam air. Pelaku hanya tinggal memasukan Rohypnol dan Progesterex kedalam minuman mereka berdua dan Korban tidak akan pernah ingat apa yang telah terjadi pada malam/pagi/siang/ sore itu dan Progesterex akan membuat si wanita TIDAK AKAN HAMIL, sehingga si pemerkosa akan tetap bebas berkeliaran without worry about having apaternity test indentifying him beberapa bulan kemudian. Tetapi yang perlu diperhatikan, EFFECT PROGESTEREX TIDAK SEMENTARA. Progester ex dibuat untuk mensterilkan kuda,jerapah dan binatang besar lainnya. Setiap wanita yang telah meminumnya TIDAK AKAN PERNAH MENGANDUNG LAGI SEUMUR HIDUPNYA. Jadi BERHATI-HATILAH bila pergi ke PUB atau CAFE atau dimanapun anda berada dan jangan menerima minum dari sembarang pria yang tidak anda kenal dengan baik. Believe it or not, there is even a site on the internet for the drug, telling people how to use it.

Nah mengertikan kenapa gue bergidik?
Sekarang, hidup sebagai perempuan sangat mengkhawatirkan ya?
Cowok kerjaannya horni melulu, dan yang jadi pelampiasannya yah sudah pasti kita (cewek).
Kenapa enggak kuda, kucing, atau jerapah yang jadi tempat pelampiasannya? Kan pastinya enggak akan menuai protes dari banyak pihak.
Lagian kuda, kucing, ataupun jerapahnya enggak akan protes. Benar kan??
Dunia makin extreme gilanyaaa!
Ampuni mereka ya Tuhan!

RADHALA MAANI (Sindhi Dish)

This Dish is generally made from the left over rotis and is eaten for breakfast.

Radhala Maani means ...Cooked Rotis.

Ingredients:

Rotis ...... 5-6

Garlic ..... 1 pod (crushed or chopped finely)

Onion ..... 1 cut into cubes (not in the recipe but I like to add)

Green chillies .... 2 (chopped finely)

Mustard seeds ... 1 tbsp.

Turmeric powder .. 1/4 tsp.

Red chilli powder ... 1/2 tsp.

Jeera powder ..... 1/2 tsp.

Salt .... to taste

Oil

Coriander leaves ....to garnish

Method:

1. Cut the rotis into small pieces.

2. In a pan heat 2-3 tbsps. oil. Add the mustard seeds, when they crackle add the garlic.

Saute till pink in colour and add about 3 cups water.

3. when the water starts boiling add the rotis, green chillies,onion, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and jeera powder.

4. Cook on medium fire, stirring ocasionally until done.

5.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.