Marble Butter Sponge Cake

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog! :) For today I'll show you how to bake Marble butter sponge cake. I got this recipe from Kitchen tigress, and this is my second attempt in baking this delicious cake.

Let me show you the first cake I bake.

Doesn't look appetizing eh? 

Alright I know it doesn't look like a cake. Hahaha! From the start I knew there is something wrong because I added 1/3 cup of milk instead of 2 tbsp. Yikes! Kitchen tigress ingredients measurement is on grams. Sadly, I am no good at math so I just googled the equivalents online and I made a huge mistake. :( 

To prevent that mistake again I bought myself a handy dandy scale.I also jotted notes of the ingredients from grams to cup. Makes my life easier the next time I bake it. 

The scale and notes (scale for 259.75 at SM ) 

Enough with the talking, here are the ingredients we need. 

60 grams unsalted butter (that's 3/4 of one butter stick)

45 grams of cake flour (1/3 cup ) 

30 grams of full fat milk cold (2Tbsp +1/2 tsp)

20 grams of egg white (1 large egg ) 

1 tsp vanilla

1/16 tsp salt ( I skipped this I'm using salted butter)

45 grams of egg yolk  (egg yolks from 3 large eggs) 

105 grams egg white (egg whites from 4 large eggs)

1/16 cream of tar tar 

50 grams castor sugar 

1 tsp cocoa

Pre heat oven to 160 degrees. Prepare all ingredients above. 

Put butter in a pan and cook in medium heat. Stir with whisk till it bubble. 

Add the cake flour and continue whisking till combined. 

Remove from pan and transfer in a bowl. Add milk.

Wait for 1 minute till the batter cools down, and add the tsp vanilla.

Mix vigorously using a whisk 

Add the egg yolks one by one and mix thoroughly after each egg yolk addition.

Set mixer to medium speed.Mix the 105 grams of egg white till frothy. Add the cream of tartar. Whisk/mix  the egg white till it forms a foam. Add the castor sugar gradually. Continue whisking till it reached soft peak stage. Reduce to slow speed till firm peak stage. 

The yolk mixture is now slightly bubbly.Stir in with whisk to remove the bubbles. Add the egg whites in 3 batches. Scrape and fold using a spatula after each addition to make sure it is well combined.

Get 20 grams or 2tbsp of mixture in a small bowl and mix it with cocoa.

Pour the batter in a cake pan in 3 batches and dot with cocoa using a skewer after each addition. 

Tap pan on the worktop 3 times to remove bubbles.

Bake cake for 25 minutes in the bottom of the oven. After 25 minutes transfer the cake to the middle and increase the temperature to 180 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

2nd attempt

Okay, so here is how it looks like after I cool it down on the rack. I made another mistake by adding all purpose flour instead of cake flour. Too bad my cake didn't rise,:( Well, compared to the first cake I can say that it is a success! It taste good and perfect to pair with my brewed coffee.

I will keep this post up to date till I make this recipe perfect . =)

Begginner's tools for Baking

This post is somewhat helpful if you like to bake but a bit hesitant because you are not equipped with proper tools. As I get myself into baking lately, I realized that it is something enjoyable and fulfilling.

If baking is what your heart desire but having second thoughts bcause of the tool's price, fret not. Here's a basic list to jump start your new hobby. :) 

Of course you need an oven to bake so I will not include that on the list. 

Bowls

Mixing bowls - when I started baking I only have the white ceramic bowl. It's okay at the beginning since I'm just baking cookies.But when I tried out to bake some cakes I can't fold my batter so I have to buy bigger ones. I bought the stainless mixing bowl at SM for 149.75.

cooling rack | wooden spoon | rubber spatulas | whisk

I was so excited to bake the first time that I use fork to mix my batter.And it's a flop ! :(
In baking it is essential to buy a whisk and spatula. Whisk is to properly mix or fold the batter and the spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to mix all ingredients together.

measuring cups and spoons

Sadly baking isn't a guessing game.All measurement of ingredients should be accurate. Accuracy is the key to bake a tasty and mouthwatering recipes. I scored my measuring cups and spoons at SM for 49.75.

Baking Pans

I started with the muffin pan then my loaf pans and so on. You don't need to panic buying when it comes to baking pans I'm just a little OA when it comes to mine. Baking pan ofcourse will depends on what you would like to bake. So think first before purchasing a new pan. 

Other essential tool is hand mixer. But if you have a strong arms then just go for the manual mixing. :) 

Gong Xi Fa Cai ! The Binondo Experience

Along Ongpin St Binondo



It was my first time to visit Binondo with a full pack of people. Gosh! we cant hardly walk along Ongpin Street. Though it was a tiring and its like a battle to find for a place to eat the girls and I had so much fun. 

Special Lumpiang Sariwa 50 pesos

It was almost lunch time when we arrived at Chinatown. Our stomachs are growling so we decided to eat at New Eastern Garden.  We ordered their famous Lumpia, kikiam, braised tofu and lomi. I personally like the tofu. The lumpia and kikiam taste good too, while the Lomi is overcooked. Overall we had a good eats at affordable price. 

After lunch we went back to Ongping St.This time our goal is to buy tikoy and hopia plus to watch a dragon dance. Luckily, when we get to the Binondo Church the dragon dance just started. 

The Dragon 

Dancing Dragon

After the dragon dance and this dragon ate all the money the girls and I decided to drop by at Divisoria. (sayang eh malapit na). Unfortunately we never had a time to buy hopia and tikoy as all eng bee tin are jampacked. Too bad. :( 

It was truly colorful and a good experience to celebrate Chinese New Year with the Chinoys in Binondo. Feng shui, hopia, tikoy, dragon dance and the all those lucky charms are the staples of Binondo.  Gong Xi Fa Cai!  

Di naman Chinese si pope ah ! :P

The Great Ilocandia Trip

For a change my family decided to spend our new year up north. And of course I am in charge for our itinerary. Since it is peak season I booked our hotel accommodations two months in advance.

For our hotel I booked 3 days two nights in Sabrina Beach Home for 2000 per night.Staff are just okay. Sometimes they're accommodating most of the time they're not.




Saud beach

Our room is spacious and clean. It has two double bed and ensuite toilet and bath . No television and  view from our window.

The comfort room is just okay with no free toiletries. 

I can't say it is a recommended beach home for the lack of amenities such as good wifi , complimentary breakfast and toiletries.

Anyways, here is our itinerary:

8:00pm -7:00am - Manila to Pagudpud (I purchased our bus tickets from Florida, Kamias. Fare P700)
8:00am to 12nn  Rest at Sabrina Beach home
12:nn to 1:00pm lunch at Sabrina
1:00 to 5:00pm beach bumming at Saud beach
5:00 to 7:00 pm rest and getting ready for dinner.
7:00 pm to 9:00pm dinner at Emohruo
9:00 pm to 10:00 pm beach bumming
10:00 onwards lights off

Day 2

7:00 am to 8:00 am breakfast at Sabrina
8:00 am to 6:pm Pagudpud North and South tour.


Sabrina Beach Resort
contact number : Globe – 0916.591.5857 (Regine)
                       Smart – 0928.984.7125 (Rina)

 

Hi there =)

ohhh.. hello blog =)

yes im still alive!

The taste of North


Im hoping to find time blogging again. I have a lot of stories, some are interesting while some are not worth telling haha. Nevertheless, I don't care this is my blog and my life it should be all about me.
 


Forever Pagudpud

 

 

St William Cathedral and Fort Ilocandia

St William Cathedral

Placed in the prime spot in the suburb of Laoag, St William Cathedral holds the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese. The creamy facade and pillars is the focal point of the Cathedral.It was constructed in 1612 by Augustinian Friars the church surpassed numerous earthquakes and hurricane. 

St William Cathedral Interior

The interior is also well kept.The capiz shell windows  serves as ventilation inside the church.I spent 15 minutes observing the features and staring on the  Retablo. So far,  the St William Altar is the most adorned altar I saw in my entire tour in Ilocos Norte.

Church Marker

  Across  the street  is the Bell Tower of Laoag.I did not feel anything special about it aside from the fact that its sinking.  It is located amidst the busy street and its quite hard to get a good shot.

Fort Ilocandia

After Laoag Church we headed to the famed Fort Ilocandia. The location is quite far from the city center. The roads that leads to the hotel are narrow with few houses along the way.Fort Ilocandia is facing  the  South China Sea  and  is surrounded by  vast sand dunes. Tourist are  allowed  to enter the hotel grounds.  The lobby is a bit unconventional as part of it is alfresco. There is a lonely chandelier that lights up the lobby.  As you move further into the alfresco part of the lobby (serves as "Kapihan" to the guest), you will then be ushered into a well manicured garden with statues scattered all over it.

Fort Ilocandia Lobby

Fort Ilocandia AL fresco Cafe

Fort Ilocandia Garden

There are no entrance fees in Fort Ilocandia however, the access is limited for non staying guests.I went to Fort Ilocandia via van and I i haven't see any public transportation in the area. 

White House of the North

 

Malacanang of the North facade

 This sophiscticated Mansion is nestled in the coastal area of Paoay  with an unobstructed view of the calm  Paoay Lake.The house is the official residence of the first family in Ilocos Norte. 

receiving area

life sized painting of the couple receiving area ground floor

dining room

Office of the former President Marcos (ground floor)

Bong-bong's room

The elegant staircase is made off solid wood adds charm to the receiving area. Everything about this mansion was splendid & refined. The ilocano influence create a beautiful balance on the house and its entice to see how lavish Marcoses live. 

Paoay Lake

Master's bedrrom on the second floor

 

extension of master's bedrrom

The master's bedroom is so huge that the room itself has two more rooms. It has a walk in closet and a receiving room. 

receiving room 2nd floor

Imee and Irene"s bedroom 

love the painting !

Malacanang of the North is located inside a subdivision in Paoay. Trike is the only public transportation that I saw in the area.

This may help =) 

. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

have a safe trip : xo ej