Red Velvet Cake by dhillo

8 essentials for authentic red velvet cake.

I wanted to bake this lovely cake for second time.. but am really tired tonight. So maybe have to wait till this weekend. Moreover, I need to replenish my cocoa powder & egg.

BTW, forund below article on yahoo. Good reference for my next red velvet cake ;-)
source: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/8-essentials-for-authentic-red-velvet-cake-2451699/
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Nicole Taylor did a segment on real Southern red velvet cake on her foodie radio show, Hot Grease. Nicole is a Southern girl, born and raised in Georgia, and she has some pretty strong opinions about authentic red velvet cake. She searched for the real thing in New York City and came to the stunning conclusion that red velvet here is just wrong, wrong, wrong!
Well, if the culinary capital of the nation can't get it right, does anyone north of the Mason-Dixon get it right? And what's getting lost in translation? What exactly goes into the quintessential red velvet cake?
Although red velvet cake has a mild chocolate flavor, it is not, by definition, a chocolate cake. Rather, it’s a devil's food cake that's made with cocoa, white vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk. The deep red color comes from red food dye, and the cake is traditionally iced in rich cream cheese frosting. Legend has it that the cake was actually born in the North, at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. But there's no question that regardless of its origins, it has become a Southern specialty.
Some bakers out there seem to think all they need is red batter and white frosting to make red velvet cake. Not so, says Nicole, who has eight rules for the truly authentic red velvet cake:
1. The cake must have some cocoa, but not too much because it is not a chocolate cake.
2. The cake must have red food coloring; beet juice does not add the right kind of red.
3. The cake must have cream cheese frosting.
4. There should be pecans. (This was news to me.)
5. You must use high-quality ingredients, including White Lily flour, a Southern specialty flour.
6. Precise measurements and meticulous attention to detail are key for this cake; therefore, it must be made in small, easy-to handle, family-sized batches. (Mass-produced batter just doesn't cut it. Sorry, large-scale bakeries.)7. You must use a hand-held electric mixer, not a stand mixer: Larger machines can over-mix the batter, which sometimes prevents the cake from rising properly.
8. Red velvet cake batter needs vegetable oil, not butter or shortening. Oil yields a very moist cake.
I've looked around for a recipe and was thrilled to discover this one, which incorporates all eight essentials for the perfect red velvet cake.
Paula Deen’s Red Velvet Cupcakes from Food Network
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Garnish with chopped pecans, fresh raspberry or strawberry, or sprinkles.

KEK ALUNAN KASIH by arejue

Cake by arejue.

Let's bake: Butter lemon cake with orange nibs & dried aprikot topped with almond nib

Butter cake for CNY cum valentine day celebration.

Aku buat kek lepas habis je bakar biskut cornflake thumbprint pagi tadi.
Actually, hubby request aku buat kek.. tp dia tak ckp pulak kek apa. So, aku belasah je buat butter cake. Dah pukul butter & gula, tetiba terpikir nak letak kulit limau & aprikot. Then terpikir lak nak tabur dgn badam. Masa bukak fridge terus amik lemon yg dah lama dlm fridge.. aku sagat kulit lemon sikit & jugak amik jus dlm 1 sudu teh. So, semuanya spontaneous..

KEK BUTTER LEMON DGN KULIT LIMAU & APRIKOT, DITABUR DGN BADAM

Bahan2:

1 cawan butter (suhu bilik)

1/2 cawan gula kaster

3 biji telur

1 sudu teh jus lemon

1/2 sudu teh esen vanilla

1/4 cawan susu pekat + 1/4 cawan air

2 cawan tepung naik sendiri

1/2 sudu teh baking powder

1/4 cawan campuran kulit limau & aprikot kering yg dicincang

1 sudu teh parutan kulit lemon

(Tepung & baking powder diayak & gaul dgn bahan2 lain)

Cara2:

Pukul butter dgn gula sampai kembang

Masukkan telur sebiji demi sebijik .. pukul lagi

masukkan esen vanilla & jus lemon.. gaul.

Masukkan campuran tepung & gaul. Last sekali masukkan susu & air. Gaul sebati.

Masukkan dlm loyang yg dah disapu dgn butter dan di tabur tepung.

Tabur almond nib atas adunan.

Bakar dlm oven yg dah dipanaskan pada suhu 170C utk selama 35-40 minit.

Hasilnya sgt best.. lembut gebu sangat. Boleh try lagi lepas ni!!

Let's bake: Carrot cake

First time buat carrot cake. Itupun lepas hubby sibuk sgt suruh buat kek selain dari butter cake or moist choc cake. Cake turn out great. Moist dan sgt best walaupun tak de frosting. Aku dah beli cream cheese tp hubby tak nak frosting.

I'm using Carrot Cake III recipe from allrecipe (with alteration - in pink) after reading good review from readers.

So ini le recipenya. CNP je dr http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/carrot-cake-iii/Detail.aspx
Ingredients
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar (i'm using 1 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (omitted)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (omitted)
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans (replaced with walnut)
1/4 cawan preserved kulit limau (chopped)

3 keping dried apricot (chopped)

Susu pekat manis & strawberry jam about 1 table spoon - jadikan 1/4 cawan

Frosting (omitted):
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

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Ini satu review yg boleh diguna sebagai panduan:

gneebeanie Dec. 8, 2006
After reading through 4-5 pages of the reviews, I consolidated the most referred alterations to this recipe to: 1) using 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar 2) adding an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract 3) adding 1 8oz. can of crushed pineapple (I squeezed out most of the juice before adding it, I didn't want any extra fluids in the cake) 4) Added 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg 5) added 1 extra teaspoon of cinnamon 6) used 3/4 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup applesauce. The result came out incredibly delicious - the cake was very flavorful and moist. For the frosting, I only used 3.5 cups of powdered sugar, and it was more than sweet enough, with a nicely balanced cream cheese vs. sweet flavor. If I would change anything again, I would use less pecans - it's a bit too nutty for my personal tastes. Also, I followed another reviewer's suggestion of grating the carrots with the large grater side (the one you use for cheese) so that you don't end up with a bunch of carrot mush and juice that can't be used. Will definitely make again! This is probably the best carrot cake I've ever had.
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Rasanya aku bakar lebih-kurang 1/2 jam. Cepat betul dah masak. In future aku mungkin akan kurangkan gula lagi. Maybe jadi 1 1/4 cawan je. Klu 1 1/2 cwn ok cumanya aku lebih suka klu lagi kurang manis.. boleh le letak frosting nanti.

Butter cake

Butter cake yg mak long aku turunkan resepinya!

Requested by hubby last week. Sejak ada oven baru ni & sejak dapur aku dah siap minor renovasi.. hubby asyik le suruh aku masak. Baru2 ni dia mintak buat carrot cake. Barang2 dah beli kat Bake With Yen tp blm sempat nak buat lagi.. maybe besok baru aku buat.

Makan2 @ Taiping

Kuih-muih hidangan kat Taiping semasa Chinese New Year baru2 ni.

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Kuih bakar @ bangkit yg melt in your mouth..

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Super moist choc cake with ice-cream, requested by dear hubby.

(check here for the cake recipe)

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Kuih cara manis.. tak tau siapa yg bancuh batter tu. Yg aku tau adik aku Yanz yg bakar atas dapur.. aku tahu ngap je!
Dulu masa aku sekolah, cara manis ni mmg selalu aku buat.
Sukat main agak je.. bahan2 dia -daun pandan (mesin dgn santan cair & perah), santan pekat, tepung, telur & garam. Bancuh semua & tapis. Acuan mesti letak minyak sikit utk elak dr melekat. Bila acuan dah panas, masukkan bancuhan dgn sudu. Then masuk gula kat tengah. Tutup & biar sampai masak baru angkat. Lecehnya sbb kena tunggu lama kat dapur. Memang berebut mkn ni.. masak macam siput, makan macam arnab! Tak sempat masak next round, yg sblm tu dah abih..