Just a cake

A cake with a little ganache.

Or maybe a little too much.

Nope. Not possible.Not sure theres such a thing as too much ganache.

I like to eat it by the spoonful, but by the cakefull is even better.

The cake inside is chocolate. And actually the recipe for the chocolate cake in this post is not the actual cake in these pictures.

Why? Well, while it looks nice enough, it just wasnt satisfied. So I made a few changes and made a better version the same day that I didnt have time to decorate.

Instead, Ive just been eating it straight up.

I like the simple look of the decorated one though.

High contrast.

The cake is frosted in buttercream first.

But for the middle layer of frosting, I tucked away a few of these inside.

Buttercream, speckled with miniature chocolate chips for kicks.

Perty!

Then the rest of the cake gets covered in plain white buttercream.

Easy enough.

Then comes the best part.

A reason to lick my spoon.

Youll want the ganache to set up and thicken before you pour any on the cake.

Thicker, like this.

Oh my! Start pouring in the center, but be careful not to go too fast.

Ideally, you wouldnt want too much to go over the sides and puddle around the cake.

Yeah, like this.

Okay, I got a little excited.

Ganache does that to me.

Now for the recipe of the second chocolate cake I made. The better one.

That said, I welcome any of your chocolate cake suggestions. Im looking for the best homema! de choco late cake ever. Got one? Know of one? Care to share? This ones good! But Im not done searching.

What fun would that be anyway.

.

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting and a good amount of ganache!

Chocolate Cake:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup hot water

Buttercream Frosting:
1 1/2 cups butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups powdered sugar
4-8 Tablespoons milk

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels, if desired

Chocolate Ganache:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease the bottom of two 9-inch cake pans. Then place parchment paper cut to size on the bottom of each pan and grease paper. Dust pans with cocoa.
• Sift dry ingredients together and place in a large mixing bowl.
• Add eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and beat for a couple of minutes until combined.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add hot water and mix together.
• Pour into prepared pans and bake for about 28-30 minutes. Batter will be very liquid.
• Cool for about 5 minutes in the pan. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

For the frosting:

• Beat the butter in a mixer until smooth.
• Add vanilla and mix until combined.
• Add the powdered sugar in several additions, scraping down the sides after each addition.
• Add milk a tablespoon at a time and mix together until you achieve a smooth consistency.
• Note: If you want your frosting whiter without using shortening, add a little white icing color to tint.

For the ganache:

• Heat cream and butter in a ! saucepan until melted and remove before it starts to boil.
• Place chocolate morsels in a small bowl and pour cream on top. Let sit for a few seconds and whisk by hand until completely incorporated and smooth.
• Let cool until thick and pourable.
• The ganache can take a bit to thicken. You can make it before the buttercream, to save time. Just use a wire whisk to stir it every few minutes and keep it smooth

To assemble: trim tops off of cake layers with a long serrated knife so they have a nice, flat top. Place one layer bottom side up on cake stand. Mix about 2/3 cup morsels with about 1 cup of the frosting. Spread frosting on top of bottom layer. Place second layer on top. It helps to have a crumb coat on the outside of your cake first. Simply apply a thin coat of frosting to the entire cake to catch andy excess crumbs. Then place cake in freezer for a few minutes to firm up frosting and cover the entire cake again with a thick layer of buttercream. This will help you keep all those crumbs from getting caught in your pretty work. Slowly, pour ganache over center of cake. Pour just enough to start dripping down the sides.

Enjoy!

Roasted and Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Dear New Year,

Heres the deal! I like carrot sticks. Im going to keep eating those. I like oatmeal cookies. Im going to continue to consider them a breakfast cookie. Ill drink green juices. Ill even like it.

Also Im going to continue to follow 3 people on Facebook that I dont actually like. Its that keep your enemies close thing.

Im going to drink tea, but Ill always love coffee more.

Ill go to church. Ill volunteer and Ill try to be better all the time. Ill try most sincerely. Ill try to love more and text less.

Im going to find a new bourbon to appreciate. That should be bonkers fun.

Im going to eat real dinners, unless eating cold cereal while reading Food and Wine magazine makes more sense.

Thats where this roasted beef sandwich comes in. Gorgeous. Glorious. Blessed day! This could be the answer to unanswered questions. Slow cooking, good smelling, tender tender, sandwich goodness.

Alright New Year, Im gonna getcha!

Love,

Joy

This might have been love at first sight. Now I know what thats like. Thank you!

There is such beauty in the simplicity of this recipe. Beef roast is combined with broth, lots of raw garlic, onion, fresh sage! and fre sh thyme. I used a large Dutch oven but a slow cooker (crock pot) also works well too! Beef is slooooooow cooked to tender perfection. This takes hoooouuuurrrsss. You can do all sorts of things in the time it takes for this roast to simmer, cook, and make your home smell amazing.

Errands. Emails. Closet organizing. Nail painting. Cookbook browsing. Facebook stalking imagine the things you could do.

After cooking the meat is removed from the liquid and shredded with two forks. It falls apart, really. It is a perfect thing.

The roasted beef is matched with brioche buns and spicy horseradish mayonnaise. Major delicious. Major boy food. Major family food. Set it and forget it. and then be amazed at what an amazing chef you are!

These photographs were taken with an iPhone using Instagram. Keeping it simple.

Roasted and Shredded Beef Sandwiches

serves 12

recipe adapted from Everyday Food

Print this Recipe!

3 pounds beef chuck shoulder roast, cut into 1 pound pieces

4 cups low sodium beef broth

1 head garlic, cloves smashed and peeled

small handful of flat leaf Italian parsley and stems

1 thick slice red onion

3 fresh sage leaves aves

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, and a few fresh stems as well

coarse sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

For the Horseradish Mayonnaise

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

! brioche buns, red onion slices, and dijon mustard for serving

Oven Method: Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. In a large Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid, combine beef, broth, garlic, parsley leaves and stems, and onion. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the meat pieces. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the oven. Bake until beef is tender and can be easily pulled apart with two forks. , 5 to 6 hours.

Slow-Cooker Method: In a 6 or 6 quart slow cooker, combine beef, broth, garlic, parsley leaves and stems, and onion. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the meat pieces. Cover and cook on high until beef is tender and can easily be pulled apart with a fork, about 6 hours.

To serve: with a slotted spoon transfer beef to a large bowl. Using two forks, pull the meet apart into shreds. Remove and discard and large fat pieces. Moisten meat with up to 1 cup of cooking broth. Reserve some of the remaining liquid for dipping. Beef can be refrigerated, in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 5 days.

To make the Horseradish Sauce: combine mayonnaise, prepared horseradish, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Spread on bread as desired.

Serve sandwich with horseradish mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and fresh red onion on toasted brioche buns.

Old Chinese Coffee Shop: Sin Seng Nam

I'm going to have to speed up the backlog of posts on my trip to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore last month. Gosh, was it just a month ago?

The folks at Royal Selangor did an excellent job of making sure that we enjoyed our trip. We were taken on a walking tour around KL, on a tour of RS' factory and showrooms, and meals were carefully planned at restaurants that manifest the different cultures and cuisines of Malaysia.


Restoran Sin Seng Nam is one of the remaining old Chinese (Hainanese?) coffee shops in KL. Yut Kee is the more famous old-style Chinese coffee shop in KL but it closes Mondays.


We were directed upstairs because the ground floor was full. I love old, high-ceiling restaurants such as this. There's so much character and history in every corner, tile, table, window and even the fans. Reminds me of Journal Canteen in Melbourne.


The standard brekkie in such types of restaurants consists of charcoal fire-toasted bread, sandwiched with kaya (a custard-jam made of coconut milk and eggs) and butter. Thick, strong local coffee in old mugs are another must, as are coddled eggs.


Coddled egg--not half as good as Yut Kee's.


Fried noodles may seem too heavy for breakfast, but in Malaysia, it is eaten anytime of the day.


Cheong fun is flat rice noodles with a sweet sauce but here it's topped with stuffed okra, beancurd skin and fried fishballs. A bit too much variety for me, as I prefer plain cheong fun.


Plain cheong fun--yummeh!


It was a good breakfast but I'd go to Sin Nam Seng for the rustic interior and the architecture around the area but for the food, I'd take Yut Kee anytime.

Advancecon Annual Dinner 2012

Phum Ang Kia delivering his speech for the year.

8o'clock in the evening and dinner is about to be served .... and lots of "yum seng" are about to be uttered...

Another year has passed, the new year has started and we hope it's going to be a smooth ride despite the uncertain weather cast.

I came with my family with a bit of junior resistance but they have to tag along somehow....hehehe.Pryscilla Tan, Congratulation for the 10 years service in the company and may you be strong and get well soon.It's no fun singing to the floor while there were tables "yum senging" all night. Anyway it was goodentertainment to some.Luck girl won a TV, Congratulation!

Miss Lai & Miss Fong were also lucky.

As the tradition goes and mandatory, it's "yum seng" time.

The energetic colleagues were in high spirit and Yeo was also in top form, well done & cheers....

So were the super young ones, they too were enjoying themselves at Ah Yat Abalone Restaurant.Happy New Year and a good year ahead.

DiB Coffees of Hawaii

Malaysia's first gourmet coffee cafe run entirely by hearing-impaired staff members _ except for the chap who answers the phone.

DiB Coffees of Hawaii (DiB stands for "Deaf in Business) is a chilled-out suburban hangout that furnishes pastries, cappuccinos & more. Its display counter is lined with simple sandwiches & sweet treats such as passion fruit cheesecakes (RM6 per slice).

This pineapple-macadamia cake proffers a pleasantly fruity flavor, though its texture leans closer to that of a crumbly, chewy scone, instead of something more predictably moist.

DiB's coffee boasts air-flown Hawaiian beans cultivated in rich volcanic soil. The Ka'u Loa dark concoction delivers a nutty aroma, rounded out with tinges of chocolate, raspberries & cherries.

&! quot;Anu " shake ("anu" means cold in Hawaiian), with espresso, caramel & vanilla. Might feel a little too icy for folks who like their milkshakes extra creamy.

Not crazy for coffee? Try the 'tisane' _ herbal tea, made from milling the coffee cherry husks of the Kualapu'u plantation for an antioxidant-loaded brew with less caffeine than decaf. Varieties include mellow-yellow Papaya Leaf Vanilla.

Also refreshing: tropical beverages, such as this bright-hued blend of grenadine, orange & pineapple juice, nicknamed Lani (Heaven) Paradise.

Complimentary bags, currently for customers who spend above RM20.

Trained baristas & baking professionals helm the place, so that standards are assured.

And no worries; communication with the fast-movi! ng, smil e-generous service team is a breeze.

Wishing we were here! Hawaii, that is.

DiB Coffees of Hawaii @ Damansara Perdana,

11A, Jalan PJU 8/5A, Damansara Perdana.

Open daily 7:30am-10pm.