Lazy Days in Los Angeles

So, when I started this blog I knew that I wouldn't feel like writing everyday but I though I could do it. I'm not doing so well, haha. But I have been busy baking my life away, sleeping way too much, some babysitting, hanging out with the g-parents and celebrating birthdays. So I made so many things that I had to look through my pictures to figure out what I made (and I didn't document every single dessert, oops!). So here it goes:


I made these chocolate molten lava cakes one night when I had a hankering for some serious chocolate. I put the batter in 6 6-oz ramekins, put them in tupperware and saved them for the next night when my parents had a little get together. Everyone loved them, but I'm still on the hunt for the perfect recipe.


Next I made one of the best recipes I've ever tasted. Oh my goodness! If ever in New Orleans make sure if nothing else, you eat at K-Pauls Louisiana Kitchen. He has some of the best food I have ever tasted, it' s making my mouth water. But our waiter brought us a basket of warm bread of all types, including this cheddar jalapeno rolls. They are deliciously soft and spicy with sweet dinner roll taste. YUUUUUUUUU-MMMY. Buy his book, and make all of the bread now!


Next I made bread pudding from some stale french bread we had left over. I got a recipe from a New Orleans cook book we had. It was so-so..I wouldn't make it again.


Next I made gluten free crackers with almond meal. They were really good! my sister found the recipe, but I forget where it's from. ( whoopsie)



Next I made my Nana's famous chocolate sauce. I grew up with it and we usually make it every year around christmas time, but on account of the chocolate-free dessert I made for father's day. I modified the recipe a little bit. I added more chocolate and cooked the sugar and evaporated milk a little bit longer, and it came out super creamy and chocolately and deliciouuuus. mmm. ( The original copy of the recipe in my nana's writing. she liked to rate each recipe she gave us; note the word excellent being double underlined.)


For father's day I made a country strawberry shortcake from Ina Garten's book. It was scrumptious! I added a little chocolate sauce to mine because I like chocolate on almost anything.


Then I made banana cupcakes with caramel frosting and a batch of my favorite double chocolate chip cookies for my sister's friend Cortney to take to her office to see if anyone would hire me to make some treats for an open house. Cortney aka shorty said everyone liked them and that a few people took flyers so hopefully I get some orders soon!

My hands hurt from typing and I'm getting up super early to babysit, but I have a few more things that I baked! Be back with an update soon!

Graduation Time (And my first job!)

After a temporary hiatus I'm back on track. My friend Val had me make a collection of desserts for her sons graduation party. My first job! So I worked for about a day and a half and managed to crank out 3 batches of cookies, 3 batches of cupcakes, a cake, banana bread, and brownies. I used most of my favorite recipes that I make again and again, but never get sick of, like Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies or Emeril Laggase's carrot cake. I made my all-time favorite cookie recipes (espresso-cinnamon and double chocolate cookies) which I think were a big hit and enjoyed by all. I actually think that cookies are my favorite dessert, because the batter is the best! Anyways, on to the cupcakes. I made Martha Stewart's chocolate- caramel cupcakes. I have made them before and Mama Daly loves them, so I figured they would be a good choice. They are really good, but I could only finish half of them for my after-lunch sweet treat. Then I made vanilla raspberry cupcakes. I combined a recipe from Gourmet Girl. She used a recipe for strawberry shortcake from Gourmet Magazine. I used the same vanilla cake recipe and used the frosting recipe but added about 5-6 tablespoons of raspberry jam, and topped it with a raspberry. For my last batch of cupcakes, I used my great-grandmother's coconut cake recipe. This recipe has caused true frustration, and extreme irritation for me. The cake is super moist (and delicious, don't get me wrong) and the frosting is like super sticky melted marshmallow fluff. Making a layer cake with this recipe may cause insanity. The cake falls apart and the layers begin to slip every which way so that it looks like a huge pile of white-goopy mess. But I had hope for these cupcakes, and it turned out that they were they were super easy to make! The icing, being thick and sticky, would with the help of gravity sorta fall into place. Then I dipped them in the coconut and they were ready to eat. My mom told me that my great grandmother didn't have any of the tools that I have for baking. I have alot of respect for my great-grandmother who made this recipe without and electric mixer, a timer or skewers to somewhat hold the cake in place. After finishing the cupcakes I started out on the carrot cake, which was scrumptious if I do say so myself. Emeril knows a good cake. I made the layers quickly the night before and wrapped them individually in saran wrap and refrigerated them. I whipped up the frosting as well the night before and when assembling the cake the next morning, it was so easy and made the cake a lot easier to work with. I think it was one of my best looking cakes. I was really happy with it :) Thanks Val for giving my first job!
Next i made the only brownies I have ever liked, Ina's Outrageous Brownies. Absolutely delicious. Everyone should make them right now. Heres the recipe:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares. (I don't usually refrigerate them, and when I did this time, I didn't like them as much, but they were still irresistible.)

My last and final dessert I made banana bread. The graduate and my brother liked it, but I was a little iffy about it. It was slightly bland for my taste, but then again I prefer super rich dessert's that other people have trouble eating without feeling sick. I also got this banana bread recipe from Gourmet Girl. In addition to my baking-filled day and a half, 3/4 of the cousin twins were reunited here in LA!! It was sooooo good to see Carolyn. She had a conference for work at UCLA, and now she is off to New Zealand (the homeland really) with her boyfriend Ben. Seeing her made me miss my cousin twin, Mag-rat, so I have made it a mission to make enough money (by baking for parties) to fly to Boston so that cousin twins can be together again, it's been way too long!

(I just really liked this picture)

Back again soon! My next job is in five days! getting ready to serve 35 women at a Lemon-Drop Martini Party!

Rayymonnn Back in da Bayouu

Amanda, Brittany and I dressed as the 3 blind mice for a party at UCSD. We were definitely the best dressed there. Anyways, sorry to everyone! I've had a mini-hiatus. Between the fact that my sister was really against me making anything and my bestest friend Brittany coming home, visiting Amanda in San Diego and coming back and making chocolate cupcakes for my sisters' friend Tracey's graduation party, it was a little crazy around here. I made a few batches of cookies since my last post but nothing new. Upon return from my mini get away I went straight to work. I made chocolate cupcakes with caramel filling. I cheated. I've made these before but they were so good, I wanted to make them again. I got back today from San Diego around 4:30-5:00-ish and started, but I was rushing to get them done so that Tara could take them to the BBQ. So instead of being patient and waiting for the sugar water to caramelize for the caramel, I added the cream to early, and seeing that it was too light in color, i returned the pot to the stove, and cooked it until it looked like the right color. It smelled really good, so i figured it was fine, but after I filled the holes I had just hollowed out of the cupcakes, I saw that the caramel had a strange texture. Eeeek. It was pretty much just like straight sugar, but my sister returned home with rave reviews, so I'm guessing they didn't mind. So, I've learned my lesson! You can't rush the baking process, 'cause it'll bite you in the butt. The frosting and cake for the cupcakes are reeeeeaaallly good recipes, I recommend looking into buying Martha Stewart's book on cupcakes. It's def worth it.
Tomorrow, I have a big day. Jack Johnson is playing at Santa Monica Pier for free, so Brittany and I are heading to the beach early in the day to avoid being stuck in the back of the audience. I'm thinking about making a picnic type food for tomorrow! We'll have to see! Until tomorrow, Rayymonnn say good night from the bayouuuu.

New generation, new coconut cake recipe?

After I made the cake, I had urge to make something else. The coconut cake recipe from my great grandmother that I usually eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner when I make it. Everyone loves it, but the cake is so moist that it's hard to move and place the layers without breaking them, and the frosting is so heavy that it weighs down the cake and it ends up lopsided. I found a recipe on the blog A Whisk and a Spoon, called Southern coconut cake. It was definitely easier to work with and the frosting was really good, but could have been firmer. All in all a good cake, but I can't say its the best coconut cake recipe.




Everyone in the fam-bam liked the cake, but I have some hang-ups. The cream cheese is a little over powering for me, and the cake is more of a pound-cake texture than cake. In general, it tastes pretty good but I prefer my great-grandmother's recipe (I'll have to make it soon, this cake made me crave it).