2011 will end in nearly five hours here! It's been a great year, and I have many things to be thankful for. Even though I don't have celebratory plans this New Year's Eve, I'm still pretty excited about the new year - both excited and nervous, to be honest - and what it will bring! I'm going to graduate and (hopefully) find a job that I will truly enjoy in 2012. It's not going to be an easy year. Bring it on, I say!

My last baking attempt of 2011 was the most yummylicious Red Wine Chocolate Cake, which I baked twice during the Christmas period as gifts for my family and friends. It's a really delicious cake. It's really soft but at the same time, a very solid cake - not the crumbly sort. The red wine taste is subtle and just right. Everyone loved it and there just wasn't enough to go around - I barely had enough for myself! :( Nevermind, though - I'm glad to have found such a keeper of a recipe that I can use many times in the new year!



I took the recipe from a cooking blog that I really enjoy reading, 17andbaking. I barely made any changes to the recipe, except for a few - I simply couldn't find Dutch cocoa powder here, so I used normal cocoa powder from Red Man, a local brand, but didn't make the adjustments indicated for natural-processed cocoa. The red wine I used wasn't any quality one either - it was some bottle that I picked up from the Airport's Duty-Free store :P. Lastly, I didn't have a tin that was exactly 9x5 inch; mine was slightly smaller but still worked. Anyhow, the cake turned out most delish anyway :)

Here's the recipe below. Enjoy, and Happy New Year! :)

Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Adapted from 17andbaking

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (6 7/8 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
3/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2 5/8 ounces) Dutch cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Butter and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan.

Beat the butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugars and cream until lightened and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg until well combined, then mix in the wine, yogurt, and vanilla. The batter might look curdled, but don’t worry. Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a spoon until there are no streaks of flour left, scraping down the sides of the bowl and being careful not to over mix.

Scrape the batter into the loaf pan and bake 60-70 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan on a rack for 10-15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn it out.

Labels: cake, chocolate, festive, wine

I am currently in the midst of my school holidays (my final ones, I might add), finally free from studying and examinations - at least for a short while. Doing a thesis means that I'm not exactly free from the clutches of school even now, but still, I appreciate the break. It's refreshing being able to wake up at 11am, to be able to walk down the empty streets of town on Monday afternoons, go out for family lunches and dinners, pick seashells by the beach, window shop, etc, etc, and of course, finally get down to baking.

I hadn't forgotten my resolution to bake every month. However, I didn't keep to it - life just got in the way and I found myself unable to take time out to do so. I feel guilty, but I've also come to realize that baking, being a leisurely pasttime, a hobby, shouldn't be something that I'm striving so hard to achieve. The resolution was like some sort of target or quota I had to meet. That kind of takes the fun out of the whole process.

So, now resolution-free, I decided to kickstart my holiday baking with something different.

I've been sticking pretty much to the safe side of baking - meaning, I kept trying out similar recipes. Typically, they included chocolate. I love chocolate, and it was hard finding something else to bake partly because there are SO MANY chocolate recipes that I want to try. However, I think it's time I widen my baking experience a little ;)



When I saw the recipe for an Upside Down Apple Cake at Stephanie's Kitchen, I knew this was going to be the something different I wanted to try. I've never baked with apples, and the idea of an upside down cake with soft, gooey, yummy apples layered on top sounded so good. This isn't a difficult recipe, and fresh out of the oven, this cake is absolutely delicious. I was popping pieces of cake in my mouth even as I was cutting it up.





I felt that this cake tastes best warm and fresh out of the oven. Even though I hadn't any, I imagine that it'd be heaven paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Two days later, the cake became more moist and pudding-like, and while that may appeal to some, I prefer a more cakey texture to go with the apples.

It sure feels good to be able to bake again, and I'm really in a baking/cooking mood these days. In fact, so much so that I've already planned what to bake next! Updates soon! :)

Click on the link mentioned above if you want the recipe!

Labels: apple, cake, fruit