Mango Upside Down Moist Chocolate Cake

Firstly, let me start by warning you, you're going to want to make these. So get prepared to buy some cocoa. I took 30 minutes to get the batter ready and left it to bake for 1 hour whilst meeting my girl friends for dinner. When we came back, the dessert was ready.

This cake isn't the fluffiest cake you will ever eat, neither is it the prettiest classy girl in class. However, I assure you, you would want seconds and thirds, each a thicker slice than before. It's so very chocolatey yet not sickeningly sweet, perfectly moist yet not buttery, airy yet dense and with a simple addition of citrus/fruit, it's simply addictive. 

Before we begin with the cake, I would like to thank all of you for the support. I am utterly grateful that I have people reading putting up with what I have to say. So here's to all our hopes and dreams! :)

Mango Upside Down Moist Chocolate Cake! So you follow Jes' blog and you ask yourself, "ooh... mango? she said she hated mango cakes? Caught ya!" Let me explain. I love mangoes, as a fruit, especially these ones from my mother's hometown. These mangoes were from a village called Pasuruan in Indonesia. Even in the capital city, Jakarta, these mangoes are rare and much more expensive than other mangoes. 

This mango is called Mangga Harum Manis, translated to Fragrant Sweet Mango. They're so sweet and fragrant that it is difficult to cultivate (due to attracting insects). Hence, when an aunt of mine brought 10 of these mangoes to my arms, ripening at the same time, I had to come up with something. Whilst I would prefer to have them the way they are, it's almost impossible to consume all 10 within a few days. Hence, I decided to whip up a mango chocolate cake (chocolate because I love it) for the usual friday "gathering" with the girls. In conclusion, no you did not "catch me".

Cheddar Cheese Cookies

There are always a few recipes which would remind you of old times. Today, I'd like to share with you one of mine. As a kid, I was the odd one out to pursue kitchen-work. Hence, my baking endeavours were limited to cornflake cookies, chocolate cheese mousse cups, checkerboard cake, ice cream cake and failed Sacher torte. (Ambitious much, at 13 years of age?) - Nobody told me to start out with the basics.

It was difficult, when the environment I was in do not support baked goods or western cakes. Hence, baking was seen as a pile of cleaning rather than an anticipation. Fortunately, when I was in Australia, I stayed with a family who appreciated baked-goods and the friends around me are always amazed by that little ability i have.

Thus, I baked, day and night, midnight and ungodly hours, I baked. Soon, little paper pouches with ribbons, cupcake moulds and fancy containers were often received well. Then, these treats came. The first time I baked these was @ 3 am for an early class. 

I made 4 -5 pouches and was shockingly received well. Ever since, my girl friends and the family I was staying with would occasionally ask me when I would bake them again. However, due to the heavy kneading labour required, (not to forget we all hate repeating the same recipe over & over again) I seldom baked these cookies.

Angel Food Cake

Its coming to the end of October and this year has been going way too fast. Some of us are now with children, some of us are working adults, some of us are studying and some of us living the dream of being a full time baker. Yet, we all have one thing in common... We love to serve that perfect dish just to see those smiles.

Sadly, that doesn't come easily. It is with practice, many many finger-crossing, many many more short little prayers and most of all, research and study. Even then, we have days that just go wrong. Days where butter decides to fail us, days where cream goes bad for no reason and days, weeks, months and years of little accidents that consistently, persuasively and unfailingly happen to us.

 Well, this one goes to you. When exams are coming, when work is overwhelming, when kids are a little annoying or when life is just a little more than hard to get by. Cheer up! Stop your busy schedule, take a stroll, look up the sky and take that moment to smile. You're not alone, my friend.

So here's a lot little extra sugar for your day!

I decided to color it marbled pink because:

1. the friend i wanted to cheer up loves pink, it always makes her a little bit happier.

2. I'm not a pink lover, I love Angel Food Cake's white as cloud color.

3. Its NBCAM. It's gotta be pink! 

Mango sponge mousse layer cake

 There were a few stories I had in mind for this post

One, was how this doesn't fit in with the fall/thanksgiving/halloween mood everyone else is experiencing. Two, was how much I love reading other fellow (not-to-mention superior) food bloggers! Hence, seeing as everyone is with their apples, cobblers and puddings, let's do something different here in the tropical country! Three, was the vast number of Mango cakes sold in every cake store, yet not too many a solid recipe posted on the internet. Thus,  my believe that my friend is out to test me and my skills.

Then I chose this story. A story of what i've gotten myself into when i decided i was able to bake layered cakes. Frostings! Frostings! Frostings! I love simple frosted cakes. Those with 7 different types of fruits and 8 different piping methods, they're not my cup of coffee. Most likely because I love cream but I know they're bad (for my hips) and so my conscience tells me that cream tastes bad. And remember how i suck at frosting?! I still do. But i ain't givin' up.

 My point is, I don't really have one. The reason for this blog was just to journalise what i've accomplished, do what i've been loving to do, pursuing to be what i want to be. Conquering each and every ingredient possible (not a fan of mango mousse or mango cake- purely under the request of a friend) and meanwhile, if i'm able to meet some new friends, and make the old ones go gaga, wouldn't that just be a treat?!

Quiche Frenzy - Traditional Quiche Lorraine. Spinach & Brie, Potato crisp quiche. Chicken breast & mimolette quiche. Self-saucing Chocolate Rum cake quiche.

The results for the rainbow cake was shocking. All of a sudden, friends and family no longer looked at me as the kid playing with play-doh. In layman's term, the rainbow cake was served to test and nobody's dead (except for Steve Jobs, may he rest in peace).

So, this week I promised to bake something savory. I'm never good at this. After-all, the food I like to eat are limited to warm and cold salads, occasional chunk of steak, ocassional burger fetish, sandwiches, eggs, cheese, soups and traditional Indonesian dishes that uses at least 10 different spices that i hardly can translate to English.

My friends often ask, how can I be a "chef" or "baker" if I don't eat. I'm not picky with food, i hardly hate any specific ingredients except eggplants and olives, I just do not have the stomach. I love cakes. I love them to death! However, I don't mind eating a bad cake (over and over), I'm easily impressed over simple presentation or just melted chocolate. I do have a few comments for cake stores who act all high-and-mighty but have bad cakes, yet, I do not have my set of passion to finding the best cake in town.

Atmosphere. Atmosphere is utmost importance to me. Even if the cakes were meh-ok, even if drinks are a little overcharged. That traditional overly midget wooden coffee table, sofas that do not have matching colors, songs played in an acceptable volume and people who serves cheerily. I want that. I want to open that. That's how I got to this quiche.

Rainbow Cake

One week ago, I came home after a tiring day at work only to be greeted with "I want a rainbow cake!". Not to get excited with myself, i asked my beloved sister "Where should i order?" 

It was always like that between me and my sister. We are so different that we meet each other at the other end of the circle. Preparing to fail, I decided not to tell her about baking this cake and booked another cake from a local bakery. The process was worthy of comment, rushing to bake and cool 6 layers of cakes, rushing to take pictures of the process and rushing to clean up any visible detail of colorful mess.

 We successfully hid it for one day only to be found out the next day, during the icing process. I could see it in her eyes, maybe for a millisecond, she was shocked, a little pleasantly surprised (if I'm up for it) and that was all I needed. I was content. Until i horribly failed my icing, 3 times, that is (details will be hidden very well down the sink).