Baking Tutorial: Pound Cake! :3

Hiya there =-) I haven't updated for a LOONG time due to some interference from my cello life, hehe. Well, I've come back with a new recipe: POUND CAKE! Pound Cake is absolutely one of my FAVORITE deserts/pastries. It literally tastes like sweet butter. Sounds ultra fattening, but it's good to indulge yourself once in awhile ;) Ya hear me?

Pound Cake originally got its name from the fact that all of the ingredients are a 'pound' (lbs) each. But to make it more realistic, I've put the measurements into cups so you don't have to go search your kitchen for a scale + an extra dish to wash afterwards :p
Enjoy!

Recipe:
-3/4 Cups Flour
-3/4 Cups Butter
-3/4 Cups Sugar
-2 Eggs
-1 Tsp Baking Powder

-Wax paper
-Bread pan
-Plastic/rubber spatula
-3 Bowls
-Sifter


Gather your ingredients...

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Place your 3/4 cups of butter, and soften it in the microwave (don't leave it!) You want it soft so we can cream it--not melted.

Once it looks like this, cream it with a plastic/rubber spatula.


Add the 3/4 sugar to the butter mixture.

Use the "folding" technique, until you can't see the white color of the sugar.

Crack two eggs in a separate bowl.

Whisk it with a spoon or fork till it becomes foamy.

Add a little bit at a time, and use the folding technique again.

When It turns creamy like this, you know you're finished.

Now...add 3/4 flour and 1 tsp of baking powder into a sifter.

Sift away~!

Add in the dry ingredients bit by bit, and fold it in again.

Your finished product with be on the thicker side, so don't freak out. (dough-y)

Now, get your baking pan, flip it over, cover it with wax paper, and cut out the shape of the bottom!

This way, it'll be a perfect fit.

Add the dough to the pan, smooth the surface of it, and pop it into the oven! (the oven should be done pre-heating now)

While it's cooking, set up a work place for the finishing touches: metal rack, knife, and oven mit(s).

Bake for 20 minutes. By now, there's no way its done--just golden over the top, but fresh dough on the inside.

Get the knife, and cut a line across the top, leaving out the edges.

Now, bake for another 20 minutes, and you're finished! =-)

Set it on the cooling rack, for about 10-15 minutes.

We're finally finished!

Serve it with your favorite tea, or black coffee. My favorite tea is Earl Grey Tea.


Hope you've enjoyed it, along with a great weekend! What better way to pass time while baking than to cam-whore it? =-) On a side note, I'm leaving for Seoul, South Korea tomorrow night! +_+ I'm SOO excited, but SOO not excited for the 14 hour plane ride, lol. Wish me luck!
Till next time~
-Jinna

Tutorial: Spicy Udon Stir-Fry :) + Update

WOW. The day I made my last post, I wasn't feeling too well--I had left the windows open that night `cuz it was so damn hot! and the next day, I had a bit of a cough in the morning...but it went away after about 15 min. The next days, the cough kept coming back for about.. +10 min more a day!

Then finally, it took over. I was so sick, I've been literally in bed for a week+. I don't think i've ever experienced anything like that! I couldn't get any rest because I wouldn't stop caughing..! what the heck? I couldn't eat anything, because I just had loss of appetite; but I needed to eat to take medicine!

Overall, it was HELL. I've been getting better, and I can actually get up and sit at my computer desk without coughing continuously :p I have the SYMF competition on the 25th of this month, and I just lost a week of practice, including all of practice/technique i've improved on in the past month...I'm so frustrated. I better do well this competition! The stupid organization removed the Lalo Concerto in D Minor from the category I was going to go into, so now I have to play some ridiculous Hayden in C Major -.- to top it off, my teacher put me in the Bach Suites division w/o telling me! jee. thanks. Just another piece to work off my arse.

well, enough rambling--here's a cool recipe that my oldest sister taught my mom for a church gathering, but turned out to be so awesome that she made it for me as dinner once =) I managed to get the camera and take tons of pictures of her making it x)

I don't have a list of ingredients and supplies this time, but just follow along the pictures ;)
Cut up different types/colors of bell peppers; they all taste very different!


Also, cut up some jalapenos, and half an onion.

Get a potato peeler, and use it to peel and cut up some ginger! (this is an important ingredient--I hate ginger, so I didn't use it once, but I didn't get the same taste..!)


Don't forget the garlic cloves!

Here's our finished plate:

Now take some defrosted chicken breast--I got this at Costco :)

And cut it up into fine thin strips--about an inch wide.

And.. here's Sebastian getting all in the way :) <3
Put the chicken strips into a bowl, add salt/pepper as well as an egg.
Take some potato starch powder, and add it until it becomes a gooey blob of chicken--you'll know when.


Now, take some udon--I used 2 because it was for 2 people. And Remove it from the plastic rapping.

And stick it in the microwave for 5-7min (depending on your microwave); we're not only defrosting it, but cooking it as well in the microwave, so that's why it's going to take a bit.


Now, taking a wok/deep, wide-set body frying pan, fill it up with a cup of vegetable oil.


Now, add and fry that chicken!

Next, take some oyster sauce, and dilute it with regular soy sauce. The amount will differ on how much you're making, but basically, keep in mind, there will be twice as much soy sauce than the oyster sauce. (ie. 3 tbsp oyster sauce, 6 tbsp soy sauce)

Add some sugar--I added 1 1/2 tbsp since it's just me and my mom; remember, always add more as you go on, since it's always easier to add, but harder to dilute it.

Add 2 tsps of minced garlic.

Some chili/red pepper powder...


Using a sesame seed grinder, put a good amount it. (It's okay if you don't have one, just add the seeds in whole)

Also, add a couple whole ones in there.

Mix it all up~

Now, let's get started! ...Well, finish it! By now, the udon should be cooked and brought out.

Once the chicken is cooked, add in the garlic & ginger.

Add the onion...

And add in all of the other ingredients!

Once it's all cooked, create a small circle in the pan...

Add the udon in the center...

And add the sauce, mix it all in, and cook it.


Finished! yumm :)



And.. a special thanks to my mom for cutting up all the veggies and doing the boring parts! =)


ROFL, he was getting upset that we weren't giving him any goodies to eat while cooking :p He refused to get up from that spot, lol.

I did make some Tiramisu, an Italian desert, but I couldn't find my camera, and didn't take any pictures--but i'll make sure to find some substituting pictures and post a tutorial on that~
Also, I've been trying out a DIY egg mask for a couple weeks, and i'm liking it so far, so i'll post that up too!


Till next time!
~Jinna