November 27th 2009 Posted at Desserts, Entrees
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Blueberry New York Cheese Cake
Bluebery New York Cheesecake
To finish off our Sunday Lunch we decided to make some Blueberry New York Cheesecake. We decided on this since one of our cousins is allergic to chocolates and I was also trying to avoid chocolates. According to the Joy of Baking New York Cheesecakes as distinct from Italian Cheesecakes because they use cream cheese as opposed to the traditional Italians that use ricotta.
While some people contend themselves with no-bake cheesecakes with the use of gelatin, my gastronomic adventures at Lachi’s has led me to believe that baked cheesecake is the richest, creamiest, best kind of cheesecake. I was initially intimidated when we learned this in school.
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August 11th 2009 Posted at CACS, Desserts
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Group 2's Cakes and Cookies
Day 5 was all about sweets… cookies and cakes!!! Our instructor was again Chef Rhea Castro who has her own pastry business.
Our group was assigned to make the following:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sponge Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting and Mango Topping
- Orange Chiffon Cake with Italian Buttercream Icing
- Butter Cake
- Zucchini Loaf
Before mise en place, Chef Rhea shared some tips and tricks in making good cookies and cakes. She also shared with us the trick in making chewy cookies which I want to try out very soon. Remember: cookies and cakes are very delicate so one must handle the mixing, the batter and the baking with care.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
John was assigned to make the Chocolate Chip Cookies. Chef Rhea had reminded us to make sure the butter didn’t melt and to cream it just enough but not too much so that it won’t get soggy or have too much air. The batter was chilled before it was shaped. And chilled again after it was shaped, before baking it. Our cookies turned out fine. Not perfectly shaped but it was delicious. Everything was baked just right. My friends absolutely loved it and are requesting for me to bake more.
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July 9th 2009 Posted at CACS, Desserts
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Group 2's Pastries
I was late for Day 4 since I had a hard time getting up from bed due to a minor illness. But I couldn’t just lie there and not learn anything so I tried to get to class around noon. Sadly, I missed all the lecture part and most of the baking. 
But I did meet Chef Rhea Castro who had shared really good tips and tricks about baking and handling doughs, as well as presenting and decorating them.
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