Japanese Cheesecake

I fell in love with this light, wonderful and tasty cheesecake about four years ago while I was still living in Texas.  I even introduced it to a few Texan friends who much to my surprise actually loved it more than the rich American (New York) version.  I thought this cheesecake is more appealing to the Asian palate just because it is so much less sweet, dense, overall lighter but still creamy.  

A couple of months ago my 2 cooking cyber buddies (Don and Lily) revisited this cake with me and got me excited all over again. We were blog hopping all over the world, goggling images, watching Youtubes and scrutinizing recipes of this infamous Japanese Cheesecake.
(Japanese-style cheesecake relies upon the emulsification of cornstarch and eggs to make a smooth flan-like texture and almost plasticine appearance ~ Wikipedia).
It is about time, we just have to quit sitting at the computer and start our quest in making the cake.

Zuchinni Chocolate Sheet Cake

I was looking for an easy-to-make and taste good dessert to make for my small group meeting.  My good friend Lily pointed me to this recipe which I have slightly adapted to suit my own taste.   The ingredients in this recipe are easy to find in your own pantry and refrigerator.  Most of the time you can't go very wrong with chocolate. I still had some zuchinni left and it is another great way to put some vegetables into your cake, if you grate your zuchinni fine enough, nobody will even suspect they are in there.  My daughter (not a lover of vegetables) even commented that it is scary thing that she even likes this cake after finding out that there is zuchinni in it!  I wasn't trying to hide the zuchinni so I did a 'coarse-grate'.  It was super moist and a hit in my group.

So this recipe is specially dedicated to all the ladies in my small group. Sit down with a cup of tea or coffee, have some cake and prepare for your next lesson !

1:1:2 Banana~Chocolate Cake

I was talking to my friend Donna about needing to make a cake so that I can get rid of 4 over-riped bananas that has been starring at me for the past few days. She casually mentioned that she makes a banana chocolate cake all the time and it is in high demand by her family and friends but she does not have a recipe as she just put it all together .  She rattled off a ratio 1:1:2.  I pressed her to at least giving me a rough guideline as I don't do ratios :-) ! 
So here is Donna's recipe dedicated to her beloved family and friends so that they will have a supply of their favorite Banana Chocolate Cake for a long time to come. Now I know why this cake is in high demand!  It is tasty, moist and tender!