Cloudy Skies on Sad January Days

Hi Guys!!!

And welcome back. Today is a grey day. The usual sunny and warm weather of beautiful Tegucigalpa has greeted us with a cloudy sky. The rain is threatening to fall and my family is sadly mourning the loss of one of ours: Shaggy. My sister adopted him and brought him to Honduras and he felt at home with the rest of our doggies. May God rest his canine soul and give him all the bones in heaven.

It is a sad day but now he's in a better place.

Last week we saluted January and the kitchen became a busy place. I had three cake orders and guys!!! Feel proud of the messy chef: I didn't disappoint . For her mom's birthday, my good friend ordered a brownie based, chocolate mousse cake topped with a fantastic italian meringue. Personally, the combination of these three components it's a bit too much. It is death by chocolate. But the result was outstanding. 

Delicious Death by Chocolate

The ladies at Taste Your Life blog deserve the credit for this piece of heaven. I adapted the recipe as I didn't include the white and coconut mousses and I doubled the chocolate mousse. I also made the brownie base in a 9 1/2 inch spring-form pan. 

Check it out: http://www.tylife.pl/2012/12/kokosowy-puch.html

They have amazing recipes!!!

The week passed by so quickly it felt like a gust of wind. By Friday I was ready to deliver my second and third cake orders to another great friend who celebrated her birthday on Saturday. She asked for a chocolate cake and a a red velvet delight. Gladly I obliged and I found myself following Pippa Middleton's Devil's Food Cake recipe which is most definitely a keeper. The cake is incredibly moist and I cannot think of another chocolate cake recipe I've used in the past that came out so well.

Check it out: http://www.dashrecipes.com/recipes/cookbook/d/devils-food-cake.html

I omitted the raspberry coulis and instead, I made a recipe and a half of the chocolate icing to fill and mask the cake. I topped it with cocoa powder, chocolate shaving and chocolate chips. For the red velvet cake, I returned to my keeper recipe with my slight modifications and as usual, it did not disappoint. It looked quite elegant and will go as far as saying, ethereal in its simple elegance. I topped it with tangy and quite acid Honduran raspberries and strawberry slices.

Many friends and my mom have delighted
themselves with this divine cake

Friday night was my 5 year high school reunion and despite only half of us showing up (many aren't here at home) we had a great time, remembering old times. It makes you really think of how fast time flies. We now have lawyers, chefs, engineers, environmentalists, future doctors and vets and many other interesting careers among us. We have truly grown up. We'll see where we are in our 10 year reunion in 2017.

Now we're all experiencing the real world and cross your fingers I find my dream job. Until then, I shall indulge in the peaceful home baking I most enjoy, enriching my food knowledge and improving my writing skills. 

There's not much to tell up till now, but I have to ask for this year to be as great as last, because in all honesty, it has been one of the most amazing years of my short life. Thank you all for following me in my weird life experiences and adventures!!!

Until next time.

xx