Extra Challenge: Baking my own birthday cake

I have turned xx years old today! (the age is a secret! haha). As an extra challenge for me I tried my hand in baking my very own birthday cake. Actually it is not a stroke of inspiration that I have decided to make a birthday cake, in reality my sister have some baking ingredients that are about to be expired next month. So in order to prevent wastage, I have decided to make use of them before it expires! 

I surfed the internet for a fool proof recipe and decided to make a chocolate chiffon cake.

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cup cake flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

7 egg separated at room temperature

3/4 cup cold water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Heat Oven to 350F

2. Combine 1-3/4 cup sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt in a large bowl

3. Add oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla then beat until smooth

4. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks. Add 1/4 cup sugar gradually until stiff peak forms

5. Pour chocolate batter into the beaten egg white, by folding using a spatula.

6. Pour into a ungreased 10" tube pan.

7. Bake 1 hour or until cake springs back.

8. Invert pan on heat proof funnel until completely cool. Remove cake from pan. Decorate as necessary.

I didn't try to make any more frosting, it is just plain difficult. I have decided to just dust it with confectioner sugar. There are some more ingredients left so I also made some cupcakes.

After 4 hours of baking, here is my birthday cake!

It's Maki Day!

One of our favorite food is the California Maki, we would always buy in stores or restaurant just to satisfy our cravings. California Maki is basically an inside out sushi roll. It is made of rice mixed with rice vinegar, nori sheet, crab stick, avocado slices and cucumbers. The outer layer of the roll is sprinkled with tobiko (orange stuff fish roe). Last July 30, 2011, me and my sister worked around the kitchen and tried to made one...

How to make it.
1. Let the rice cool, put some rice vinegar.
2. Spread the cold cooked rice over a bamboo mat. The mat should be covered in cling wrap.
3. Lay nori sheet over the rice.  
4. Line it with crabstick, cucumber, mango.
5. Gently roll the nori sheet until it forms a log.
6. Sprinkle the log with tobiko.
7. Slice the california maki with a wet sharp knife, put some mayonaise on top.

Here is the finished product... Tada!

We also scorged the refrigerator and made some kani salad.

Off to school Migi goes

We started Migi's speech therapy session last July 2, 2011 since he is a little bit delayed in terms of speaking. Migi has this levator oris palsy, a weak muscle in the left corner of his mouth that also makes him drool a lot.

Here is a picture of my son and my husband taken after school.

Migi's school is Movement Matters Therapy Center.
Address: Unit 3C, Parc Plaza Bldg., E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave (C5-Libis) Quezon City Philippines (besides the old spaghetti house)
Contact Number:  489-7683/ 09175713606