EuroTrip - Paris - Day 5

Kawaii Faces - White Chocolate Mud Cake

I have not stopped cooking. Neither have I ceased taking photographs. It’s just that, apart from my wife’s cakes, I find nothing inspiring with my recent kitchen exploits. Due to my work commitments I actually have not been cooking anything new and exciting. They’re still tasty meals but nothing extraordinary.

So please forgive me as this is another cake post. But for your benefit I’ll include my wife’s White Chocolate Mud Cake recipe at the end. I cannot emphasise how scrumptious it is. Those who have tasted it can attest to that. I should start putting testimonials on her page (Cherry’s Cakes)…

One great thing about having kids is the fact that they keep me in touch with today’s pop culture. I might not like most of it (I’m already exhibiting signs of generation gap) but it is valuable to at least be aware of “what the kids are into.”

“Kawaii” is a Japanese word that literally translates to “cute.” It not only characterises Japanese pop culture but also their mainstream society as a whole. From clothing to cars, from entertainment to everyday kitchen items, even in people’s mannerisms ‘kawaii’ or cuteness features quite heavily. There is nothing in Japan that has not been infiltrated by ‘kawaii’.

While my son is very much into manga my girls, on the other hand, prefer all these ‘kawaii’ stuff. To be more specific, they have a thing for miniature versions of everyday food. I did not realise they are quite prolific on the internet. There are thousands of YouTube videos that you can watch on the subject.

So, When Eliana was asked what cake design she had in mind for her birthday the answer was pretty obvious. But with literally thousands (maybe even millions) to choose from the dilemma for us was, what sort of ‘kawaii” it was going to be. Hello Kitty has been done to death as with most ‘cute’ characters.

And then she showed us these ‘kawaii faces’. The faces represent various emotions a 9 year old girl would have gone through in her young life. They were perfect! There were at least 9 of them, just right for Eliana’s 9^th birthday.

As for the flavour of the cake it had to be Eliana’s favourite white chocolate. The mini cakes were also individually encased in white chocolate for added luxury and texture.

To add Eliana’s personal touch to her cake she made ‘kawaii’ food to complete the design. No need for us to for an apprentice. She’s got the drive and the passion to succeed her mom…

Among all my children you’re the one who has shown me how it is to have a child like faith. Thank you! I love you! Happy birthday!

As promised here’s the recipe.

White Chocolate Mud Cake

300g unsalted butter chopped

300g white chocolate

300g plain flour

150g self raising flour

400g caster sugar

3 eggs lightly beaten

1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

270ml water

A pinch of salt

9 inch round tin

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Grease and line the tin with baking paper.
3. Put the butter and the water in a pan over medium heat and stir until the butter has melted. Turn off the heat, then add the chocolate and stir until it has melted and is well mixed.
4. Sift the flours, the sugar, salt in a deep bowl and make a well in the centre.
5. Pour the chocolate mixture, egg and vanilla into the well then stir until well combined.
6. Pour into the cake tin. Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when poked into the middle of the cake.
7. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
8. Serve on its own, with fresh cream or white chocolate ganache.

A Cake for an Unconventional Girl

Designing a cake for my little fashionista is not an easy task. Despite Elishah’s firm colour and design choices, creating a “girl’s cake” based on her specifications proved quite a challenge.

If you’ve read my post last year on her you’ll understand that her colour preferences are not conventional. Pink and purple would have been easy but no, not for Yaya (her nick name). We were given black, of course, navy and crimson to play with for her special 7 year celebration. Actually, make that Cherry, my dear wife, not “we”, not “us”, just her, just Cherry’s Cakes, just Cherry to create something wonderful from a limited palette. I’m only the blogger/photographer.

For a time we thought we were heading the “Titanic” direction (as in the movie). For some reason Yaya was completely enchanted by the movie from the first time she saw it. She’s different, what more can I say? She couldn’t get enough of it. Titanic this, Titanic that. Her YouTube favourites were mainly “Titanic” stuff, parodies and all. Our house was filled with various renditions of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” And then she had a sudden change of heart. Thank God for that. I did not know how much longer the rest of the family could go on…

And this is what Cherry came up with after that nautical theme was quickly shot down: a Lollipop cake that is sophisticated and yet girly at the same time. It fits the brief. If you have to imagine what sort of lollipop flavour it would make here’s an idea: black is liquorice, navy is blueberry and crimson is cherry.

Despite her being modest about her abilities Cherry’s handiworks speak for themselves. She’s got her own page if any of you are interested in her designs. Please follow the link to Cherry’s Cakes.

And to my beautiful daughter here are my words of blessings to you:

“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favour and give you His peace” Numbers 6-24-26. Happy birthday!

Adobo – The Vegetarian Antidote

As a child I had a funny relationship with food. I went through various aversions/liking to certain food groups. At one stage I would only eat fat. Yes, just fat. Yes, just pork fat! One thing I do not remember though is loving just vegetables.

Hence, it really bothered me when one of my kids started exhibiting troubling signs of vegetarianism. I don’t get it. If there’s one thing a foodie dad dreads it’s a vegetarian for a child. For some time I was totally convinced I spawned one. My eyes were probably closed when it happened…

That fear was not totally unsubstantiated. On burger nights my 3^rd child, Yaya, would have what we now call Elishah’s (her real name) burger. It’s basically rabbit food in a bun. She would only eat the outside of spring rolls. She would remove any trace of meat on her spaghetti. She loves Hainanese chicken rice though… without the chicken. It is worrying as she’s barely 7 years old.

Maybe my comments about how I love cats…deep fried…has something to do with it but I’m still unsure about what brought this “not eating meat” habit on. Regardless, I was determined to nip it in the bud.

I’ve tried all sorts of techniques. Initially she would give in but then quickly revert back to her veggie fix. I felt helpless.

And then one day I cooked adobo for the following week’s packed lunches. The savoury aroma wafting throughout the house began to weaken Yaya’s resolve. Her curiosity got the better of her and asked for a taste. From then on she was cured. And we all lived happily ever after…

Adobo, after all, is the great vegetarian antidote. Now I know…

Pork Adobo ala Beancounter

1kg pork belly cut in fairly large chunks

60ml coconut vinegar

60ml Filipino soy sauce

1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

Black pepper

1 head of garlic chopped finely

1 large onion chopped

Water (just enough to cover the meat)

1 Bay leaf

A bit of oil for sautéing

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot but set aside a quarter of the garlic and onion for sautéing later.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or so or until desired tenderness of the meat is achieved.

3. Remove everything from the pot but separate the meat from the sauce.

4. Heat up a bit of oil in the same pot. Sauté the garlic then the onion.

5. Add the meat pieces back in and fry for a couple of minutes. If you prefer a “crispier” adobo fry it a bit longer.

6. Add the sauce back in and simmer for another five minutes.

7. Serve with steaming hot jasmine rice.

9 Cakes for Eliana's 8th

My wife has warned me about posting more entries about cakes. She’s afraid I might alienate some of you who regularly read my posts. It’s becoming too cake-centric of late. I can’t help it. August to December is a season of milestones in my household. And there’s no better way to celebrate them than with Cherry’s exquisite creations.

At the risk of sounding too pompous about my family I reckon Cherry does a wonderful job. She’s only been at it for less than a year without any formal training beforehand. Talk about being a natural. I’m so proud of her and her sublime edible works of art.

So, even though this blog’s raison de tre is not cakes here’s another cake entry for you.

Eliana, who we lovingly call Chichay, recently celebrated her 8^th birthday.

To mark the occasion Cherry made not one, not two but 9 cakes. The first set of 8, which she affectionately called Eliana’s Storyboard cake, we shared on her actual birthday. Each mini-cake has a story to tell. Each represents a year in her life.

Inspired by one of Eliana’s toys Cherry brilliantly constructed a two-tiered Littlest Petshop cake for Eliana’s party with her friends. The onset of the warm weather has proven to be a challenge in putting this one together but again she managed to pull it off seemingly effortlessly.

Like the meaning of your name you are indeed an “answer from God” Eliana. My prayer is that you will live your life as such. God bless your every step…

Lugia Cake for Kiko’s 12th

If you’re not familiar with Pokémon you probably wouldn’t know who or what Lugia is.

Here’s some background info for the non Pokémon conversant among us from the Wikia Gaming website:

“Lugia is an immense, Bird/Dragon-like, mythical Pokémon. It has a blue underside, and has ten fins running along its back, which stand upward while flying in the air, and is flat on its back in the water and on land…

Known as the Guardian of the Seas, Lugia is extremely intelligent, and is very gentle with the life around it. Due to the fact that it can blow houses away with the single flap of its wings, it isolates itself deep within the great current, to prevent it from harming civilization…”

How fitting I thought. Kiko is most definitely intelligent (Love your own! And yes, it’s also been scientifically measured). Also, notwithstanding the fact that he’s still a year shy of 13 he’s now beginning to exhibit typical teenage behaviour of “isolating himself” (a very Lugia trait if you like).


Cherry whipped her magic wand once again to create another wonderful cake for one of our kids’ birthday celebration. (She wishes she had a wand. Cakes like this take a little bit more time than waving ones hand.)

As requested by Kiko the insides are made of white chocolate mud cake. This time around Cherry used dark chocolate ganache to contrast with the already sweet cake. She then covered it with light blue marbled fondant for a sea/sky effect to go with the Pokémon character Kiko chose.

Here’s to you my only son! Happy 12^th birthday! May God continue to mould you into that man He willed you to be! God bless your every step!

Hello Kitty Cake for Yaya's 6th

My little fashionista is now 6! And to celebrate Yaya's (Elishah) birthday my wife came up with a cake that defines her as a young girl with a sophisticated taste for fashion.

Cherry's design inspiration came from a blanket. Using fondant she made an edible version of Hello Kitty. She used white chocolate mud cake as the base. And, for another layer of chocolate hit she covered it with milk chocolate ganache.

To add that touch of understated elegance she finished it off by artistically placing a black bow around the base of the cake.

The main thing that distinguishes Yaya from the rest of my kids is her sartorial sense. Black, a rare colour of choice for a little girl, is something she wears with flair. Her dream is to one day have her own boutique.

wearing her favourite bolero

Yaya's style of walk and the way she carries herself cause one to notice her. Even something as mundane as her manner of eating ice cream makes one look. An acquaintance who couldn't contain herself pointed this out to every parent in the room. I feel very proud as her dad.

Here's to you my princess. Happy 6th birthday! May God richly bless your every step!

A time to let go...

For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1




I'm in a reflective mood for the past few days. This was largely brought on by my son's first venture into travel by himself.




And I'm not referring to commuting from home to school. He's travelling farther away albeit in his school uniform.

Part of the curriculum this year is a visit to Canberra (a 3-hour flight from our home base) and a side trip to Sydney. It's quite an auspicious time to be in the country's capital with the federal election happening in a few weeks time. It adds more excitement to the otherwise sedate metropolis.

Kiko is 11 and the air travels he's been on were always with the whole family. I guess it's just natural (especially for my dear wife) to be a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. Kiko must have had an information/instruction/reminder overload courtesy of his anxious parents dumped on him as we got closer to the airport.

He's normally quiet but the house feels especially still now that he's not home. We miss him. And by "we" I mean all of us including his "annoying" sisters. Chichay, my oldest daughter, expressed this by offering food to an empty chair while we were having dinner. Cute...and very touching.

The season of letting go has begun for us...

But I'm glad that there is also a time to embrace (Ecclesiastes 3:5)... We're all looking forward to his return tomorrow!