super duper light cake recipe

My friend O shared with me a fantastically easy and light cake recipe. Originally we made it in the rice cooker, which didn't work very well since my rice cooker has various issues, but I recreated it today in the oven and it came out awesomely.
It's an extremely light cake- the kind that serves more like a vehicle for frosting than anything else...
This is sure to be a hit with asian grown-ups, since sweets are generally not super sugary in Asia.
The only catch is that you have to whip the egg whites until your hands fall off. There's probably a way to incorporate cream of tartar for an easier way to make it rise, but I'll have to play with that in the future. Oh well, at least you're getting a good bicep workout in; all the more reason to treat yourself!

RECIPE:
*4 eggs, yolks and whites seperated
*1/2 cup sugar
*1 cup flour
*about 1-2 tablespoons milk
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*pinch of salt
*You can serve/garnish it any way you'd like; with strawberries and whipped cream, frosting, dusted with powdered sugar, etc. I spread it with some chocolate ganache (melted semi-sweet chocolate chips) and sprinkled some chopped almonds, which is great too.

PREPERATION:
Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees (unless you're using a rice cooker.)
1.) Seperate egg yolks and whites into different bowls
2.) Add 1/4 cup of sugar into each bowl
3.) Whip egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form

4.) Whip egg yolks and sugar until they are a very pale yellow color.

5.) Mix both together and add in flour until incorporated
6.) Add milk until mixture ribbons, however little/much needed.

7.) Add vanilla and salt
8.) If you have a rice cooker, heat it up and then cook the cake at "heat" for 10 minutes and "cook" for 10 minutes. Resist the urge to open the lid and check it because it will deflate if lid is opened too early! If you're using an oven, bake for 10 minutes at 200 degrees and 5-7 minutes at 300 degrees. It's ready when it has risen and a toothpick comes out clean.

Decorate as you see fit. I melted some chocolate chips with the microwave and smeared it on, along with sprinkling sliced almonds on top. I would recommend a really light and fluffy frosting to go along with this cake.

Cherry mini-cakes + WWS

These are NOT muffins.
They are miniature cakes made to celebrate the day on which my younger sibling was born.
Yes, they are may look like muffins with the top sawed off but it is a subject like that of chick flicks. According to my English teacher, somebody has to die a tragic death with lots of female tears + desperation for a movie to be called a chick flick (a.k.a a movie no self-respecting heterosexual man would ever pick out on his own), a definition I disagree with. I wouldn't call a guy who voluntarily picks out Mean Girls for a date night/cuddle session self-respecting, or heterosexual. What do y'all think?

But onto the muffin cake-baking. The original recipe was for a strawberry yogurt bundt cake, which I pretty much stuck with except to swap cherries for the strawberries, plain yogurt for the greek, and to halve it (though I posted the full version) and bake it in muffin cups instead of a bundt pan.

This cake is pretty phenomenal, and was a hit with my family. It's super buttery and the salt balances out the tartness of the cherries perfectly. Definitely recommended for tea time... or anytime, really.

I used cherries because we happened to have a bunch on hand, and because my little brother loves them.

RECIPE (adapted from organicglory.wordpress.com)
*1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
*2 cups sugar
*3 eggs
*3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided use
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*2 and 1/2 cups flour
*1/2 teaspoon baking soda
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*8 ounces plain yogurt (or greek)
*12 ounces fresh cherries (or strawberries) pitted and halved
*1 cup confectioner's sugar

PREPERATION (copied from organicglory.worpress.com)

1.) Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.

2.) Sift together 2-1/4 cups of flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3.) With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

4.) Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and vanilla extract.

5.) In thirds, alternate beating in flour mixture and yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.

6.) Toss strawberries with remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Gently mix them into batter.

7.) Scrape the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

8.) Remove from oven and allow cake to cool in pan for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

9.) Once cooled, combine confectioners’ sugar and reserved 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over top of cake. (MAKE SURE THE CAKE IS COMPLETELY COOL BEFORE DRIZZLING- that's where I got too impatient and the sugar melted all over, making a dent on the visual effect.

The glaze looks like... (ahem)

After that delicious carb-bomb, I'm sure we're all itching to check out the latest in workouts: I'm workin' on week 2 of the Iron Body 700 workout from SOA.

BTW: the Cardio kickboxing link in the schedule



SSS- Super Shopping Spree + Kickboxing Cardio

WARNING: Rant on my troubles at buying a new purse to commence. Read on at your own discretion.
Whoooooyeeee. After romping around the mall for five hours yesterday quavering with indecision on whether or not to purchase a GORGEOUS Rebecca Minkoff purse, I left my heart in Nordstrom's Rack with that chain-strap, studded, 60% off purse.
WHY DIDN'T THEY HAVE IT IN BLACK???! If it was in black and could match everything I wore, then there would be zip hesitation. But although the copper shine is stunning, it doesn't go with everything I own (i.e. something hot pink) and is way too flashy for going to the grocery store.
Hitler's dog in Hell. (In my best Donkey Kong roar) WHY NO BLACK ONE?!?!?!?

Anyways...
My mom and I got our hair trimmed and eyebrows waxed, and with my upper face feeling slightly raw, I commenced to shop 'til I dropped today, in recompensation for not buying that purse yesterday.
Marshalls has an awesome, unbelievably cheap selection of workout gear. Since I've started shopping there, I now refuse to purchase a workout top (or shorts!) for over $15.
I did a long, awesome cardio kickboxing workout after I got home to get that itch to rip off price tags out of my system. Kickboxing has become my new cardio obsession on the downcast, stormy days as I dislike running outside on gloomy days; it brings down my mood.
Two awesome kickboxing cardio videos from youtube:

An awesome, healthy fat-filled dinner of baked salmon with the perfectly charred skin (hey it's cheaper than buying weird looking fish oil pills), and a salad rich with olive oil and avocado replenished me. Yum.
After totally revamping my wardrobe, though sadly not my wallet, I chipped away at this leftover dark chocolate mousse cake my mom had bought on a whim at Costco.

Yup, it used to look something like this:

Source

Me and my little bro have been working hard at it for three days- him on the layers of spongey cake and me on the moussey buttercream frosting.
We've always been great partners at the dinner table- when we were little(ler) I only ate the meat in dumplings and he would eat the skins. Great pairing, no?