"When someone asks if you'd like cake or pie, why not say you want cake AND pie?" - Lisa Loeb

I grew up with lots of cakes in my house as my mom was, and still is, an avid baker. You'd have thought I'd be turned off by cakes by now. On the contrary, it has only piqued my curiosity and I ended up tinkering in the kitchen a whole lot more. I've learned the classic family favourites from my mom and introduced some new ones to tickle everybody's palates further. These are some of my fave cakes.

* Dark Chocolate Cake
One of the first things I set out to do was to make a killer chocolate cake, and this fits the bill nicely, thank you. Three layers of dark chocolate cake filled and frosted with luscious ganache.

How could you go wrong with that?!

* Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
I tinkered with the dark chocolate cake and came up with a nutty variation, so to speak. I first made this for my sister's birthday last year to approvals all around. Yay!! Dark chocolate cake frosted with chocolate-hazelnut buttercream and topped off with a chocolate glaze. Toasted crushed hazelnuts in the middle give the cake a nice yummy crunch.


*Fresh Orange Cake
I love anything citrus so this is a winner by my standards and definitely one of my all-time favourites. Don't let its plain-looking demeanour fool you, this cake packs a punch. A refreshing orange cake made extra moist with orange syrup spooned over it. Yummm...





* Walnut Cake
This should be my family's official cake. We pretty much have it in the house year-round. My mom has been doing this for years and I am still not sick of it. Needless to say, I learned how to make this from her. A lusciously light cake studded with chocolate flakes and topped with walnuts, sandwiched with a layer of apricot jam. Oh yeah. Perfect with tea. Or coffee. Or just by itself. Heee...




* Carrot Cake
The first time I made this cake, I was surprised how delicious it tasted, and no, it did not taste anything like rabbit food. Which is a good thing, no?

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." - Jim Davis

Need more reason to eat this? Walnuts give this classic cake a nice crunch. And they're good for you. Topped with cream cheese frosting. Cheese, people. How can I say no to cheese?!


* Brownies

Ahh, brownies. Dense chocolatey brownies with chopped walnuts. Fudgy goodness in every bite. One of life's simplest pleasures.

And when it's topped with ganache? Oh heaven. I made a few of these for the last Aidilfitri Open House we had and they were devoured pretty fast. Luckily, I managed to gobble some before they were all gone!


I made a batch of Rocky Road Brownies - basically brownies topped with toasted marshmallows and chocolate drizzle - for a BBQ event my husband attended and there was none left by the end of the night. Hooray!!