I'm so Frustrated!

I'm so frustrated right now.. I thought I will be able to make it right this time, but to no avail..
All I wanted to make is a pipable, glossy, chocolate fudge icing that we usually see in bakeshops. Is that hard to achieve? Thought it was easy... I'm sooo depressed.. huhu!

Anyway, I saw a chocolate fudge recipe online, I think it was just okay.. so here's the actual recipe:

1 c. sugar
1 c. water
4 tbsp. cocoa powder
6 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. vanilla

I just followed the recipe, combined the first five ingredients over medium heat, stirring constantly until it starts to boil and get thick, removed it from fire and stirred in the oil and vanilla. The texture was smooth and glossy, it looks perfect but not the taste. The taste is just okay. Back to my story, the only thing I altered in the recipe to get it pipable was increase the cornstarch to 2 tbsp. It turned out great.. I've even practiced piping borders with it. It was lovely.

So now that I already knew that the secret to a pipable fudge icing is cornstarch, I started thinking of experimenting with its taste. I started with milk and butter first. What I did was replaced water to evaporated milk, and oil to butter, I also made the cocoa to 1/2 cup so it'd taste chocolatey. I did the same process, I kept stirring for 15 minutes and it still hadn't thickened yet! I was soooo disappointed!

Until now, I'm still thinking what could have been the problem why it failed to thicken. 3 questions kept running in my mind right now:

- Is it just me? maybe I didn't measure the cornstarch well.
- Could there be somewhat like a chemical reaction between evaporated milk and cornstarch that slows down the thickening process in contrast to the quick thickening of the mixed water and cornstarch? (I don't even understand what I'm trying to say now.. hehe)
- Or maybe could I have just sticked to the cocoa measurement and shouldn't have increased it?

I'm never gonna stop until I get this right. I'll update you guys soon. Bye for now.

Mom's Bday (Revel Bars)

I also wanted to make revel bars for the party coz I love it really much! Hehe.

Ingredients: 3 c. Quick cooking oats, 2 c. packed brown sugar, 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour, 1 bar butter, 1 tsp. salt, 2 pcs. eggs, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsps. vanilla extract.







Cream butter, add sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs.








Meanwhile, sift flour together with baking powder and salt. Mix together with oats.







Pour in flour mixture into butter mixture, mixing well using a wooden spoon.







It would then become like this.








Make the chocolate: 1 1/2 cocoa powder, 2 tbsps. butter, 1 cup condensed milk, 1/2 tsp. salt.
Heat all ingredients over low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat.





Press 2/3 of the oat mixture into the bottom of a slightly greased 9x13" pan or wider. Spread chocolate over the top and dot with the remaining mixture. It should look something like this. Bake for 30-35 mins at 350 F.






How it looks like when cooked. Cool completely before cutting into bars.








Already cut in bars, placed in paper cups.








Ooh la la...








I got a chewy soft and fudgy chocolate bars.

Mom's Bday (Ultra Moist Chocolate Cake)

Mom celebrated her birthday last Sunday and I was the one in charge of the sweets. Since I'm not YET into the fancy world of cake decorating, I decided to make everyone's all time favorite moist chocolate cake, and it's ULTRA moist this time!

Ingredients: 2 1/2 c. cake flour, 2 1/2 c. sugar, 6 pcs. egg yolks, 1 bar butter, 3/4 c. cocoa powder, 1/4 c. evaporated milk, 1 1/2 tbsp. baking soda, 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 c. mayonnaise or 1 tbsp. vinegar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract.





Cream butter until light and fluffy, add sugar and egg yolks.










Dissolve cocoa powder in boiling water.

Combine flour mixture (sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) alternately with cocoa into butter mixture. Incorporate milk in between.







Stir in mayonnaise and vanilla. Batter becomes thin.








Pour in a greased and lined pan. Bake for 40 mins at 350 F. (I used a 9x13" rectangular pan here. For other pan sizes, make sure to pour only up to 1/2 to 2/3 full so it won't overflow as the cake rises pretty much.)






It's done! Let it cool completely. Run a knife on the sides to loosen the cake and.....










Invert!








See how moist it is...








Yummylicious...





Now the frosting part...

Ingredients: 1/2 c. cocoa powder, 1/2 bar butter, 1/2 c. evaporated milk, 1/2 c. condensed milk, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 pc. egg yolk (optional).







Mix all ingredients together while stirring constantly over medium heat until frosting becomes thick and spreadable.







This is how it looked like already sliced at the party. I advice you to not slice this type of cake when super cold / just had been chilled coz it gets too moist that the cake would cling to the knife and will destroy the beauty of your cake.





Although mine had been terribly sliced, it still looks tempting and irresistible.









and had been a huge hit in the party.






I'm so happy that my family, relatives & my moms friends loved the cake and were even asking about ordering from me. One of my mom's friend who is a cake lover told me that I should study piping borders and letters, apply it to all my cakes so she can start ordering from me for several occasions.

I hope I'll eventually learn those "art" stuff, I just need to take things slowly. Right now, I'm actually trying to experiment on how to make a stable, pipable chocolate icing (not buttercream). Good luck to me!