Topsy Turvy Cake

So as many of you know, the latest trend in fun cakes is the Topsy Turvy.  The cake is made to be lopsided or sloping on one side.  The cake is very simple to make.

Topsy Turvy Cake

Topsy Turvy Cake Pic 2

I found very useful information in the following website.  Until I post instructions on how I make my Topsy Turvy cakes, I’d would like to direct you to the following site which is full of information about this type of cake.  Please visit http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_4760611_make-topsy-turvy-cake.html and follow the instructions step by step and you will acquired a great Topsy Turvy cake.

Dominican Cake - One Pound

One Pound of  Dominican Cake

I have been asked many times by many people about the size and the price of a Dominican cake.  Because Dominican cake is not commonly sold in every bakery, and it is mostly sold by home-bakers (usually Spanish bakeries carry Dominican cakes), the price for one pound of cake varies from one home-baker to another.  It's interesting to know that right now in the New York City area one pound of Dominican cake ranges from $35 to $55 dollars.

The price also depends on the occasion and on the decorations; if the cake is for a wedding, then the cake is priced differently because that cake requires more intricate work or decorations.  If the cake needs to be transported, then there’s a delivery fee, and so forth.

One Pound of Dominican Cake

Still some people are confused with the “pound” thing.  One pound means that the baker uses one pound of each, sugar, flour, and butter.  That’s it!

One Layer of Dominican Cake with Guava Filling to be topped with a Second Layer

I’d like you to take a look at these pictures.  This is a one pound Dominican birthday cake that I baked for one member of our church.  It has no fancy decorations, although the flowers are made in fondant.  The size of the cake is a 12” x 2” round cake.  It is very simple but yet pretty and suitable for a birthday party.  The cake is filled with guava filling, and of course covered with Dominican frosting (suspiro.)  This cake serves 20-25 people depending on how big you cut the slices.

Second Layer of Dominican Cake

So, next time you buy a Dominican cake make sure you get what you paid for.

Cake

Ingredients 
1 pound sugar
1 pound unsalted butter or low-salt (room temperature)
12 eggs separated, use only the yolks (room temperature); Separate all the eggs, place 4 egg whites in a plastic container, keep the 8 remaining whites to use later for the frosting.
1 pound all-purpose flour (sifted)
1 tablespoon baking powder
8 oz. of liquid (milk, juice or water)
1 teaspoon Dominican vanilla extract (if you can’t find Dominican vanilla, use 1 tabs of any other vanilla extract) no imitation
The zest of one lime

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Grease and flour banking pans
3. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed, until it turns white and fluffy
4. Meanwhile, beat four egg whites until stiff.  Set aside.
5. Add the 12 egg yolks; one by one (reserving whites) 
6. Then gradually add the flour, baking powder, and liquid, alternating at low speed. Mix well. Turn off the machine. 
7. Fold in the egg whites and mix well by hand (do not use the mixer as we don’t want to blend but mix). 
8. Finally add the lemon zest and fold in. 
9. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown, or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. 

For Frosting

Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup water
Drops of lemon juice
1 tbsp. Karol syrup (optional)

1 cup of egg whites
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Preparation

1. Put in mixer bowl 1 cup of egg whites, one tablespoon of granulated sugar, vanilla, and cream of tartar. Leave it there. Do not turn on the mixer yet. 
2. In a saucepan combine sugar, water, Karol syrup, and lemon drops.  Stir and mix well.  Then place saucepan on the stove on medium heat and bring to a boiling
3. Insert a candy thermometer to indicate when it is at soft ball point. When the thermometer is reaching the point of 220 degrees, start your mixer to beat the egg whites with the sugar and vanilla. 
4. When the thermometer reaches between 230-240 degrees, add the syrup slowly while beating the mixture. Let it beat until the bowl cools.
5. Frost you cake.

Note:
A soft ball point means that when you take a little bit of syrup on a plate with water, you will notice that the syrup becomes a soft ball.

Another method to test is, to put a spoon the syrup and pull the spoon off.  If it looks like a thread, then the syrup is ready.

Guava Filling

Ingredients

1 can guava paste 1 lb. 5 oz. (Separated into two equal parts)

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

1. Take half of the guava paste and cut into small cubes and bring to a boil with ¼ cup water and sugar.
2. Simmer until the guava dissolves and it becomes a sauce. Remove from heat.
3. In a blender (if you have a small cup for the blender is better than the big jar) pour in the other half of the guava and the two tablespoons of water and press the pulse button for one or two seconds. The idea is not to break but to dice into medium pieces. (If you have no blender, dice into medium pieces.)
4. Add the diced guava to the guava sauce, and stir for a moment.

How to Prepare a Turkey

Turkey out of the Oven

How do I prepare my turkey you ask? To be honest with you people get so intimidated about the preparation of a turkey that even before they start they are already thinking that is going to come out bad.  What follows is my own way of preparing the bird. Perhaps you would like to add or take out some of the ingredients.

White Turkey Meat

Dark Turkey Meat

The turkey in this picture is an 18 lbs. turkey and these are the ingredients I used.

Ingredients
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp. of Sofrito (which consists of garlic, cilantro, and onions, green and red peppers) see Post on Sofrito.
1 tbsp. of Adobo Goya
2 tbsp. of vinegar
2 packets of Sason con Cilantro y Achiote (with cilantro and annato)
Salt and pepper

1. In a small bowl, mix all these ingredients and set aside.
2. Wash and clean turkey cavity and outside of turkey.
3. Carefully season the inside of the cavity with the turkey mixture and very carefully lift the skin of the breast of the turkey as far as you can go without breaking off the skin, and stuff the breast.
4. Rub the entire turkey outside with the remainder of the turkey mix. Let turkey sit in the refrigerator overnight.
5. The next day preheat your oven at 350˚ F.  With a heavy string, tuck in wings and legs and tie.  Cover turkey with aluminum foil and cook according to the instructions in the bag.
6. About an hour or so before turkey is done, uncover turkey and let it turn golden brown basting it every 15 minutes.  

If you cooked your turkey cover, you might need to drain some of the water from the pan.

Once the turkey is done, I remove it from the oven and let it set for about 15 minutes.  I then carve it and separate the white meat from the dark meat.  You may pour some turkey gravy over it or have the people pour the gravy after they serve themselves.

Hope you like this recipe.

Arroz con Pollo

Very Old Picture of Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo or Rice with chicken in one of my favorite recipes to make.  Here's an old recipe of mine that I had stored in my computer for years, even the picture is not of good quality but "you get the picture".  I thought I might share it with you, and perhaps if you have another recipe of Arroz con Pollo you might want to email me, please feel free.

Ingredients:
3 cups rice
4 cups water
2 large chicken breasts
1 tbs butter
1/2 small yellow onion
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
2 cloves garlic
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Maggi chicken flavor bouillon
2 envelopes Sason Goya with coriander and annatto
1 *small jar of Goya fancy pimentos (optional)

COOKING METHOD

Rice
1. In a 4 qt sauce pan bring 4 cups water and butter to a boiling.
2. Add rice to the boiling water. Stir. Cook uncovered over medium heat until all the water evaporates (about 10 min.)
3. Stir again, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Chicken
1. Cut chicken into small cubes. Add bouillon.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbs of olive oil over medium heat. Brown the chicken until no longer pink, and continue cooking in its own juice (for about 10-12 mins). Be sure the chicken is cooked and not just browned. Remove and set aside.
3.  While the rice and the chicken are being cooked, dice all the vegetables (garlic, pepper, onions).
4. To the same skillet, add 2 tbs olive oil (low heat). Add all the vegetables and the 2 envelopes of coriander to give it color. Sauté for about 3-4 mins, or until the vegetables are tender (do not overcook vegetables). Turn off the heat. Mix in rice, chicken and vegetables until rice and chicken become yellow.
5. Garnish with strips of pimentos as you like.

Serves 6