Chocolate Cake for a Rainy Day

Rain was pouring down for a couple of hours this afternoon; and, I have been craving a piece of chocolate cake. So, no better time to bake a chocolate cake than on a rainy afternoon.

Ok, so first let's get the chocolate cake batter going, I love my Kitchen Aid :-)

Second, someone has to lick the cake batter .... LOL! Not me, not this time ;-)

Oh yeah, the dogs are in the kitchen too... probably thinking I am going to drop some chocolate cake batter and they will get same of it. Nope, not this time. But, they also took a nap while waiting.

So, I also made some chocolate ganache to smear over the cake along with some fresh raspberries and homemade whipped cream... Yummy!!! Voila! The cake is done ... it's a very rustic looking cake, nothing fancy but it's delicious ;-)

And finally, I had my piece of chocolate cake... with fresh made Nespresso coffee!

Kai Lan Cake

Kai Lan theme cake for Mackenzie's 2nd birthday. It's a Kai Lan chocolate cake with purple buttercream icing. The Kai Lan cake was decorated with fondant; fondant flowers, sun, and birthday sign. The Kai Lan dragon boat is a plastic toy.

Birthday girl and me

Baking Party Rocks is Born!

I am very excited to announce my new business Baking Party Rocks! Baking parties are deliciously fun for kids and adults of any age. Baking Party Rocks will come to your kids baking party and entertain the crowd with some yummy baking. Baking Party Rocks also offers newlywed baking party, mom and daughter baking parties and more. We'll show everyone how to bake delicious cakes and cupcakes; decorate and have fun! Party members will help with the baking and decorating of all the baked goods. Visit Baking Party Rocks for more information.

Birthday Cupcake Rose Vase

I made this cupcake vase for a birthday celebration. These are low-fat Chocolate cupcakes with not so low-fat butter cream icing! For the chocolate cupcakes, I used low-fat milk and unsweetened apple sauce. When you use apple sauce to replace the butter the cake comes out very moist and dense. So, keep that in mind. If you don't like a more dense moist cake, you might want to stick to the more conventional ingredients.

I got the metal vase at a local craft store. It looks very cute! Great presentation for the most delicious roses you will ever get!

View a similar post about a cupcake planter I made.

Baking with Kids!

Last weekend was super busy, with personal chores and some fun baking party, with kids of So, last Saturday I went to my girl-friend’s place, btw right on the beach! Can’t have a better view! So, I went there to help her bake some cupcakes and a cake with her grandchildren, for their Easter Sunday.

I was all equipped with my cake decoration tool box, a cupcake pan, and design cookie cutters for the fondant just in case; yes, I brought some colored fondant too, but we ended up not using. The kids had plenty of other decorations to finish up the cupcakes and cake. I even wore my fun and fancy cupcake baking apron that lights up – I was in style LOL!






We first made some vanilla cupcakes, from scratch but Val, my g/f only had salted butter- so, that’s what we used. It tasted good, but the icing was little different for my taste – but who cares? The kids loved all the way! When the cupcakes were in the oven, we made the green color vanilla icing, which was used to pipe the grass on top of the cupcakes and then topped with peeps, jelly beans, marshmallow eggs, and some M&Ms! Can you imagine the sugar rush!

Then, we made two other small cakes, a vanilla and a chocolate one. Baked the cakes, stacked them with the vanilla on the bottom. We made cream cheese icing with the salted butter LOL! And again they loved! We added blue color to the cream cheese icing.

It all turned out great and they were able to celebrate their Easter with some fun Easter decorated cakes and cupcakes. And, I even got a cute thank you card from the kids because they had so much fun. Their parents said I need to open a business for kids parties; baking with kids. They said parents are always looking for what to do for their kid’s parties, theme etc. So, I am considering as a side job.

"The children enjoyed this soooo much! Thank you." Val Palermo

Restaurante Yakisoba, enjoy fresh pasta and more

Yokisoba Chinese Restaurant in Liberdade, Sao Paulo, Brasil. Here you can eat tasty Chinese food and enjoy fresh pasta made right in front of your eyes. I had lunch there two days ago with my uncle. It was great! The video shows the chef making some fresh pasta ...

Cup of cold rich delicious chocolate

I just had to stop by the chocolate store during my vacation, Kopenhagen Besides getting a bunch of chocolate and easter chocolate eggs, I also had a cup of cold and rich delicious chocolate .... A shot of heven!

Happy Birthday Grandma - 90 years old!

Grandma turned 90 years old on April 9th, it´s a milestone! I made her a little rum cake; it was a little challenge not being in my own kitchen, but it turned out moist and yummy! Grandma still cooks and looks great for her age, I hope I can look that good and and be as healthy as her if I reach 90. But, I am not really sure I want to get up there.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Delicious Rum Cake!

I made a chocolate rum cake a while ago which turned out so moist and delicious. Last weekend, due to a rum cake order, I made another rum cake for the family and, again, delish! I used a bottle of really good Haitian rum . My husband didn’t want me to use that rum b/c it was from a place that supposedly was shut down after a hurricane and will never produce that rum again; whatever I used anyways and I will make many more rum cakes with that rum; until it’s all gone!! It’s better than getting old inside my liquor cabinet, right?

So, here it’s how it’s done – no big top secrets like many bakers make it sound. Just use a good yellow cake recipe, and if you want to make it on the light side; replace the oil or butter with unsweetened apple sauce; double the amount. If you have ½ cup butter then use 1 cup of the apple sauce. Also, instead of using sour cream you can use low fat Greek yogurt (more protein and less fat). Now, I rather use milk instead of water like many recipes call for. But, I use low-fat milk. You can even use the fat-free organic milk from Organic Valley, it’s a little more expensive but delicious with a no fat.

For the glaze, I used Domino dark brown sugar, rum, and ½ stick of unsalted butter.

TIP: you can use this same glaze to make bananas foster; another delicious dessert!

You can even make a gluten free version of a Rum Cake with a gluten free cake mix or using the various gluten free flour options.

Rum cakes are great with coffee and just because, after all it has rum and it might even give you a little buzz!

Cupcake Planter

Chocolate mint cupcakes for a little girl's birthday. Blue was one of her favorite colors; hence the blue icing - adorable!

Valentines Day Cupcake Jar

Delicious chocolate cabernet sauvignon cupcake in a jar.
View eBay store and order http://myworld.ebay.com/cupcakejar

Coquito Cupcakes

Apparently, the coquito drink is a hit around the holidays. So, here is my coquito cupcake; full of coconut milk, coconut flakes, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, real vanilla extract and a hint of rum! Oh, and I didn't use butter for the batter; again, to reduce some calories, I used apple sauce.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

I love chocolate mint ice-cream. So this is my interpretation in a cupcake; which is very good eaten cold too. Used fresh mint to mix with the batter. Also, replaced butter with unsweetened apple sauce to reduce calories. Moist and deliciously refreshing!