Mini Shanghai Mooncakes

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar,  and it falls on September 30th this year (2012).  Although it is still about 1 1/2 months away, preparation for the making the mooncakes has to begin now especially if you are to make the Traditional Mooncakes - the syrup has to be cooked and kept until needed, in fact the longer it is allowed to settle, the better it is.  Most mooncakes bakers will cook the syrup last year for this year's baking.  If this syrup cooking is too tedious and intimidating, i am sharing this recipe which s full of the fragrance of butter and pure lotus paste/red bean paste and the best part, you don't need any mooncake molds.

I make mooncakes every year and somehow could never find time to post it in time for my readers who would like to try and have a hand in making some for the festival.  This year, i make sure that i will post first before i start getting into the actual baking and forget to post.  Sorry.................

Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean Cake -

It was my grandson Alexander's 7th birthday and the theme this year was Lego Pirates of the Caribbean.  Thank goodness they were pirates, i was so untidy and Jack Sparrow looked like he did not have a bath for a long long time.  It was fine with Black Beard as his beard covered up his dirty face.  Davy Jones was scary enough, his squid beard was more bushy to start with and some fell off.  

Opera Cake

I have always been fascinated about this cake - OPERA CAKE.  Fascination turned into Inspiration by looking at all the lovely pictures of this cake baked by so many.  At a glance of the ingredients, i can attest that it will be a very very rich delicious cake.  It is so rich that some said that it was served during the Intermission of Operas and it will help to keep spectators awake through the second half. It will not be so for those who cannot resist this decadent delight and have another helping, will stay alert from over indulgence.  I have found so many recipes but Joe Pastry's Opera Cake overwhelmed me with step-by-step instructions which was so clear and easy to follow.  Thank you, Joe Pastry for sharing.

This cake was made for a dear relative who turned 50 and being half a centenarian, deserve something special.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

It has been a busy summer for me so far, a wedding and several birthdays after, baking cakes after cakes, i am all caked out, i had to make something different when Renee, a Girl Scout had a potluck.  So my daughter suggested that i baked a giant chocolate cookie, which was an excellent idea. The cookie was such a great hit with the girls and Renee said that she did not have a chance to taste it, not a crumb left on the cake carrier, they licked the platter clean.  If the cake carrier was silver, i could use it as a mirror.