tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89760706720282970042024-12-18T19:28:08.668-08:00Recipes for the newbie baker, and other stories. The Elba Diaries chronicles a young software engineer's baking adventures and misadventures, kitchen discoveries, health and fitness attempts (all that cake just cannot turn into adipose tissue!), and sometimes even neurotic tendencies. Join me in my pursuit of the best chocolate cake recipe in the history of mankind! Oh and other sweet distractions along the way.theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-7680763947014560472016-03-21T21:47:00.001-07:002016-03-21T21:47:13.304-07:00

Nothing beats warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven bread paired with a steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee for breakfast. Now you do not need to live next to a bakery to get your fill of of fresh bread in the morning because this bread is super easy to make (I'm not exaggerating, I swear!) - no kneading or mixer required. I found this recipe on King Arthur Flour's Facebook page. At first I

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-67779806546889233342015-12-30T16:57:00.000-08:002015-12-30T17:00:06.951-08:00

Easy last-minute nibbles for New Year's Eve? Salted chocolate brownie cookies. Crispy and slightly chewy around the edges, soft and moist brownie goodness in the center. YAS! I'm thinking about baking a cake for New Year's Day. I have a plan but no ingredients. I almost always do everything last minute but I'm not even sure if I'd push through with the cake. So this is my backup

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-86331969316066352062015-12-23T17:46:00.000-08:002015-12-24T00:39:25.475-08:00

Wow, Christmas is literally less than two days away. Time does fly even though there have been many times this year when I thought otherwise, hah! 2015 has been tremendously wonderful: M and I got married in one of the best beaches in the world, we traveled to Europe, we moved into our own cozy apartment, I enrolled in yoga teacher training, met friends for keeps, and now I'm making my

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-239084396968513302015-12-15T22:12:00.000-08:002015-12-16T01:27:20.974-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than with crispy, fatty, tasty, mouthwatering lechon... unless you are not home in the Philippines for the holidays and in foreign land where authentic litson is nowhere to be found. In that case, SUPER crispy pork belly litson is the next best thing, which is exactly what we have on the blog today. YEY! And when I say

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-43818777796484743172015-11-13T00:26:00.000-08:002015-11-13T00:26:16.640-08:00

From Rome, we traveled to Florence. It is a more laid-back city with fewer tourists and I wish we had more time to stay longer. The entire city center, with all the tourist spots (except Piazzale Michelangelo which is 30 minutes away and not part of the city center anyway), is walkable. Not much gelato here since we only stayed a couple of days but there is an excellent Aglio e Olio 'round

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-86862717268661988782015-11-06T17:18:00.004-08:002016-03-22T20:33:58.004-07:00

OMG, where have you been Chas? It's been what, 3 months (?!), since your last post! I know, I know. <smacks self on the forehead> Sorry! Last August, M and I went honeymooning in Italy and France. Yey! <cue fireworks and heart-eyed emojis> We waited (and saved up) a long time to go on a vacation to Europe so this was a much anticipated, much needed break. Of course I

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-30621510373024287282015-07-29T00:59:00.000-07:002015-07-29T00:59:37.751-07:00

... which translates to "Chocolate Rice Pudding with Dried Fish." Champorado is a classic Filipino breakfast dish traditionally made with tablea: cacao tablets made with ground cacao beans. A topping of crunchy fried dilis (anchovies) or tuyo (dried fish) usually accompanies champorado for a sweet-salty flavor contrast. Bulad is the Waray-waray word for tuyo and

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-64065302033119805342015-07-21T14:49:00.000-07:002015-07-21T14:49:32.949-07:00

Have you ever experienced a morning when: Your usual eggs and toast just won't cut it for breakfast. You're feeling lazy and you just don't want to exert too much effort to cook food. There aren't too many food options in the fridge. You want to try something new. Well I have, and for some weird reason, making scones came to mind even though I haven't made them before and had no idea

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-31146559255120633752015-07-16T18:00:00.000-07:002015-07-16T18:00:01.973-07:00

Ditch your cup of coffee for this sparkling drink on a hot summer day. Giada tempted me to make this. I was watching her show on Food Network and she made strawberry basil mimosas. My version does not have basil in the mix but it is as crisp with a punch of bright and cheerful pinky coral color, and it will give you a different kind of buzz to jumpstart your morning. According to Wikipedia

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-49834107575445228182015-07-15T14:31:00.001-07:002015-07-17T14:26:41.557-07:00

Sometimes, quick and easy is the way to go. Add sweet and salty to the mix and what do you get? A slightly fancier version of your usual chips or chichirya. I don't know who started this whole trend but the first one I heard about was Royce's Potato Chip Chocolate. I never got to try their version but if their Nama chocolates and chocolate bars are any indication, then it must be very good.

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-19481252091941273872015-07-04T02:30:00.002-07:002015-07-15T14:36:06.214-07:00

Layers of vanilla cake, dark salted caramel, and Swiss meringue buttercream, with tadaaaaa... Snickers! And cashew nuts! And more caramel! Aren't you excited about this cake yet? Well I am and I wish I still had some of it left in the fridge. I made this cake for M's birthday several months ago (I know, my backlog is crazy). He is quite the sweet tooth and we were obsessed with

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-21472750427350388502015-07-03T15:10:00.000-07:002015-07-15T14:45:05.458-07:00

Happy 4th of July from The Elba Diaries on Vimeo. Let's celebrate with a classic red, blue, and white dessert - cheesecake! But in ice cream form. Cheesecake ice cream with macerated berries and graham crackers. So get scooping, pop the bubbly, and let's see some fireworks.

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-68832911893518707262015-06-29T23:45:00.000-07:002015-07-04T02:31:27.364-07:00

Your daily dose of pretty comes in the form of petite vanilla layer cakes adorned with old rose buttercream roses. This was the first time I attempted to create a buttercream rose garden on top of my cakes and I was pretty chuffed with the outcome. These are still rough around the edges - I didn't get the clean lines I was looking for; nevertheless, a good attempt overall for a newbie. This

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-61787846472379301612015-06-25T23:00:00.000-07:002015-06-26T00:56:15.223-07:00

Boozy ice cream in bed? With dark chocolate chips? Yes, please! Seriously though, I did not eat this in bed (well maybe just a spoonful or two). I took these photos a day after we moved in to our new apartment and the only places that weren't a mess were the bedroom and the bathroom so the bedroom it was. I brought this ice cream to "the fight of the century." We watched the

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-32062864755265763772015-06-22T00:09:00.000-07:002015-06-26T00:57:12.297-07:00

Let's take a break from ice cream and talk about doughnuts! A few months ago, I craved Krispy Kreme doughnuts. There was no Krispy Kreme nearby (now that we've moved to a new apartment, there's a Krispy Kreme about 3 miles away) so I had to make some myself. Luckily, I found a Krispy Kreme copycat recipe online and it definitely delivered. These doughnuts were so good that

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-84989271354296304002015-05-21T17:30:00.000-07:002015-06-26T00:58:16.210-07:00

For those of you who do not have an ice cream machine at home, this is the ice cream recipe for you this summer - no ice cream machine needed! When I was a kid, my mom used to make a frozen avocado dessert whenever avocado was in season. Avocado in savory dishes tastes weird to me simply because I grew up eating this fruit as dessert. Anyway, the frozen dessert was pretty simple and

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-11718145935143365462015-05-19T17:30:00.000-07:002015-06-26T00:58:22.803-07:00

Chocolate ice cream - that's what I wanted to make. But as I was browsing through David Lebovitz's website, I saw his recipe of chocolate sherbet. Sherbet vs sorbet - wth is the difference? Apparently, "a sorbet has no dairy or eggs in it, and sherbet is usually made with milk or egg whites," according to Lebovitz. There you go. In the original recipe, the alcohol is not supposed to

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-45653429085712421512015-05-17T17:30:00.000-07:002015-06-29T01:37:40.777-07:00

After months of deliberation, we finally purchased an ice cream maker. Yey! Naturally, we had to test it right away and this frozen yogurt was the first frozen treat churned by the new member of our kitchen family. We got the Cuisinart ICE-30BCFR Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker. It was on sale at half the price so it was kind of easier to hit the Checkout button on this little

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-72852657410265423622015-05-16T17:30:00.000-07:002015-05-16T17:30:00.885-07:00

I love banana bread so thank God I already found The Best Banana Bread Recipe on the planet! Banana bread though can be plain-looking especially if baked in a loaf pan so here are a few tips to make decadent rockstar banana bread. No diets allowed. Add dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate) and walnuts to your banana bread batter. This recipe already lists chocolate chips

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-181150050746287482015-05-14T16:25:00.000-07:002015-07-17T14:24:05.008-07:00

Watching Food Network has become a habit. 2pm to 4pm, Mondays to Thursdays. I especially love Giada's shows because I almost always find easy pasta and dessert ideas in her shows. This recipe is one of them. Giada's recipe calls for a graham cracker crust but I didn't have graham crackers in the pantry when I made these so I made an alternative paleo chocolate and almond crust. I'll include

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-49293934221701139682015-05-13T18:15:00.001-07:002015-05-18T22:11:19.165-07:00

I saw a friend's affogato photo on Facebook a few weeks ago and I thought, "damn that looks good! I want!" Because I don't know where to get affogato within a 1-mile radius of our apartment (I think there isn't any place within a 1-mile radius that serves affogato), I decided to just make a version at home. Just scoop some vanilla ice cream into a cup or glass and pour half a cup of hot,

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-57922132840843500762015-04-04T15:42:00.001-07:002015-04-04T15:44:15.270-07:00

Resurrection, rebirth, renewal. Let's celebrate life and love. Happy Easter! I know that this space has been very quiet for the past couple of months. I went home to the Philippines and got married (again) thus the absence of new posts (well, you can blame crappy time management too). But I'm back and new posts will be rolling out soon. :) For the meantime, in the spirit of Easter and

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-66985112098469904872015-01-30T17:19:00.000-08:002015-07-08T00:18:43.736-07:00

This is the best vanilla cupcake recipe that I've tried so far and I got them from the Magnolia Bakery recipe book that I bought from Barnes and Noble a year ago. When Mike and I went to Chicago on my 25th birthday, I went nuts when I saw a Magnolia Bakery while we were walking to the bus stop. You see, when I vacationed in New York, I just could not bring myself to line up 2

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-8238484943600392232015-01-11T18:00:00.000-08:002015-05-18T22:11:49.486-07:00

Lots of leftover ham in the fridge from the holidays? And you don't know what to do with them? Fret no more. Here's an idea - why don't you bake ham and cheese muffins today? Yeah? These muffins don't look much on the photos but I swear, these are the bomb! We have a huge block of ham in the fridge and another block of ham in the freezer. There are only two of us in the apartment and we

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8976070672028297004.post-85302005230242852812015-01-09T18:00:00.000-08:002015-01-09T18:00:00.909-08:00

Cookies are some of the easiest baked goodies to make. Here are some of the best recipes that have been tried and tested here on The Elba Diaries. Click on the images below to go to the full posts and detailed recipes. Enjoy! :)

theelbadiarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05769377501155320313noreply@blogger.com0