Never Skip Dessert

Cookies with a Smile

2011-02-28T23:23:00.000-08:00

"We want to put it in your mouth

Tasty, so get down and take it

We want to serve you cookies with a smile."

- Dada Life

I hate wind. I hate it, more than I hate raw onions, midterms on Monday, and freshmen.

And when it's rainy and windy, oh hell no.

That was the weather situation here in Berkeley for all of last week. My umbrella flipped inside-out at least five times and was rendered useless, my rainboots got holes in them, making my 2 layers of socks drenched in rainwater, and I'm pretty sure that the only way to get to school would be via ark.

So I decided to skip my Thursday class (and subsequently, my Friday one, but for different reasons), and bake cookies instead - best decision ever.

Initially, I was going to go old-fashioned with chocolate chip. But then I found some semi-exotic ingredents and put those to use, resulting in a butterscotch chip-macadamia nut cookie. And just for kicks, I browned the butter to up the nuttiness factor. While I didn't toast the macadamia nuts, I suspect they would taste delicious that way.

I made my cookies in 1-Tablespoon portions, so when I eat 3 of them for breakfast I don't feel so bad. If you make them bigger, adjust your baking time accordingly.

Chilling the dough beforehand also makes it easier to handle, but if you can't wait that long, I understand. Just remember to rotate, rotate, rotate your baking tray so the cookies cook evenly. These are the type of cookies that are crunchy on the outside and chewy and gooey on the inside, so you want to make sure that they stay that way.

And if you're feeling extra fatty like me, eat them with a scoop of banana-rum ice cream.

Butterscotch Chip-Macadamia Nut Cookies (Makes 2 dozen)

1 stick brown butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1.75 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1 cup butterscotch chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on a baking tray, or grease well. Brown the butter, and set aside to cool.

Once butter is at room temperature, beat it with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in milk, egg, and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients (except for nuts and chips) and beat only until just combined.

Stir in macadamia nuts and butterscotch chips. Refrigerate for at least half an hour for easier handling. Scoop out 1-Tablespoon portions onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 9-12 minutes or until golden. Let cool on wire rack before serving.

Everybody Knows I'm a Motha-Sconing Monster

2011-02-17T23:29:00.000-08:00

"I shoot the lights out

Hide til its bright out

Whoa, just another lonely night

Are you willing to sacrifice your life?"

- Kanye West

I am a monster, a murderer, a cereal killer, if you will. And here is why.

I have to have breakfast in the morning. If I don’t, I guarantee that as I walk to class, cars will jump out of my way and freshmen will fall to the floor. Because I am hungry and I am tired, and I need my cereal.

My big, milk-drop-shaped bowl of CTC cereal.

But sometimes, tragedies happen, in that I (a) run out of cereal or (b) run out of milk. And when that happens, I could either (a) make a “quick” trip to Safeway, (b) cry out in agony and wake up the boy (he needed to wake up, anyways), or (c) make use of what I have in my fridge and create something to fuel my morning munchies.

Luckily, I chose (c).

These scones, like all scones, are very easy to make, mostly because so many components are substitutable with anything you have on hand. If you don’t like ginger, use cinnamon. If you hate walnuts, use almonds. You understand.

You can also make them by hand, if you don’t have the luxury (or necessity, in my case) of a KitchenAid. Best of all, scones freeze extremely well, so I highly advise you make extra dough, cut out the shapes, and plastic wrap them so that the next time you need your breakfast bite (or if you need to feed me), you can pop them in the oven and be ready to go in a few extra minutes. And unlike CTC, they are very portable, so you can put them to bake, do your morning routine, and have them as hot and fresh as you as you head out the door.

The icing is not necessary, but I find that it adds a nice finishing touch as it melts into the warm scones. As for the cardamom flavouring, those who know me know my love-affair with it, and I just came back from India, I have been missing it. Feel free to use whatever spice you have or want; I think nutmeg would be delicious.

For even better scones, here are a few tips:

Make sure your butter is cold, like, really cold. You want to have chunks of butter in the dough to help make it moist and expand during the baking process. I always keep a couple sticks in my freezer and grate them into my dry ingredients (cutting up frozen butter is challenging sometimes).

I bet you thought this was cheese!

If you’re adding nuts, toast them first! Nothing makes your kitchen smell better than the wafting aroma of freshly toasted nuts, and they add another layer of flavour. Plus, it is extremely easy: Lay nuts out on a sheet tray and bake at 350 until brown and fragrant.

You can cut scones into any shape that you like. Traditionally, they are triangles or circles, which is what I did. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, be creative - I used a shot glass. Yea, college, whattup.

Pear-Ginger Scones with Cardamom Icing (Makes 16 small scones)

Scones
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 stick butter, cold and grated
1 pear, peeled/diced (I used Bosc)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
Milk, for brushing

Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 cardamom pods, crushed
1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place all dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl, if you don’t have one). Add grated butter and mix until butter is evenly distributed. Be careful not to over-mix, as you want there to be noticeable pieces of butter.
Add walnuts and mix only until they are coated with flour.
Add pear, buttermilk, and egg, and stir until just combined. If you mix too long, the dough will become dry, so you still want it to be wet and sticky.
Turn out dough onto a heavily floured surface. Slightly wet your hands and pat it into an even block about 1/2-inch in height. Flour the top of the dough as well as your biscuit cutter (or shot glass), cut out rounds, and place on prepared baking sheet. Keep going until all the scraps are used up. **At this point, you can also freeze the dough by placing on a small tray lined with parchment paper and wrapping tightly in plastic wrap. If you have more than one stack of scones, place a piece of parchment in between the layers to keep them from sticking.**
Brush the tops with the milk. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes and then drizzle the icing on top.

For the icing:
Place the cardamom pods in 1/2 cup of boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes. In the meanwhile, combine powdered sugar and ground cardamom.
Whisk in 1 teaspoon of the cardamom water until combined. Only add as much water to reach your desired consistency.

Under My Nutella-ella-ella French Toast

2011-02-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

"When the sun shines, we'll shine together

Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath Imma stick it out till the end"
- Rihanna

Happy World Nutella Day! If you didn't know about it, it's okay, because I found out a few days ago. But the fact that there is a Web site devoted to this day, I only found about right now. Who knew?

My Nutella Day celebrations began before I even knew they did. On Friday, as I was strolling down upper Sproul (something I don't normally do, as all you flyer-avoiders know), I noticed the Hillel table selling homemade chocolate chip challah. After trying a sample -- or two, or three -- visions of French toast started dancing around my head, and I bargained down with the seller (sorry, it's the Indian in me) to secure myself a loaf.

And then I found it was going to be World Nutella Day, and my plan was set: a Saturday brunch of allspice and nutmeg Nutella French toast with (pure) maple syrup and chocolate sauce. Yea, what.

Even though French toast was not created in France, it is still delicious and super easy to make. My typical eggs-to-milk ratio is 1 egg: 1/4 cup of milk, but feel free to play around to make the batter more or less eggier. You can also switch up the spices as you wish. While I only soaked my toasts for 6 or 7 minutes, I would recommend leaving them for 15 minutes, if not more. You can also soak them overnight in the fridge, so in the morning all you have to do is cook them, which hardly takes 10 minutes. And depending on how hungry you are, eating them might only take 2 minutes.

Nutella French Toast (Serves 2-3)

8 slices of challah, or any other slightly stale bread you have on hand

4 Tbsp Nutella

1 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Maple syrup, chocolate sauce (for garnish)

Preparation:

Preheat a griddle over medium heat.

Spread the 4 tablespoons of Nutella on 4 slices. Sandwich together with the other slices and set aside.

In a shallow mixing bowl, whish together butter, eggs, milk, and spices. Going one by one, place a sandwich into the mix, making sure both sides are covered. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes.

Place sandwich on griddle and cook until both sides are golden-brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve with maple syrup, chocolate sauce, or anything else you want (I snuck whipped cream onto one of the plates - delicious).

Back on My Grizzy, and a Sticky Apple Cake

2011-01-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

"Like the Energizer bunny with a battery pack

Boy that drummer keep drummin', like B-r-r-at-at-at-tat"

- Lil Wayne

Aaaaaaaand it's 2011. Welcome.

So much has happened since I last posted (when was that, 4 months ago? Jeez..) I won't bore with you with the details, but in short, I did a lot less cooking and a lot more eating. Last semester, I began working at at restaurant in San Francisco as a pastry cook, which meant preparing and plating desserts for 25 hours a week. By the time I got home, all I would want is the biggest slice of cheese pizza ever (Fat Slice, anyone).

Once sugar became my job, I didn't have time, nor did I really want to, do any additional baking at home. There was no way in hell I was going to use my mediocre apartment oven that is 25 degrees off (I learned that the hard way). No way was I going to use my meager counter space; and as for doing dishes? Hell to the no. Save it for work, I just want to sleep.

Janky pans that I have to deal with at home

It sounds like I'm complaining, but in reality, I loved my job. My coworkers were so talented, and they took the time to teach me a lot of things. I loved the warm baguettes we would sneakily eat with organic goat butter, and the leftover pastries that would become my (and the boy's) breakfast the next morning. I loved how at 8 p.m. the dessert rush began and how fast I could bust out plates until it was midnight before I realised.

It was tough, for sure. Especially with BART, which meant I would reach Berkeley at 1 a.m and then wake up for 8 a.m. class the next morning. I hardly saw any friends or family, but somehow, somehow, it was worth it. Because now I can pipe out gougères at lightning speed, and I have left my mark at the restaurant as the crazy Jellyfish. It's weird, but it's awesome.

But now, I am back to school, searching for a job, reconnecting with friends, relearning how my decrepit kitchen operates, and dousing myself in sugar. Back on my grizzy. Weezy knows what's up.

The great thing about this cake is that it can last for days given that (a) it is stored properly and (b) a bunch of fraternity boys don't storm it. The addition of whole wheat flour and semolina make it protein-rich and hearty, and the buttery topping keeps the apples from drying out and burning in the oven. Make sure all your ingredients (butter, eggs) are at room temperature beforehand, or else your batter will seize up and you will end up with a chunky mess that won't bake properly. I usually keep my ingredients out in the morning if I know I'm going to bake in the evening, or else I leave them overnight and get to work when I wake up. Either, way be prepared, and prepare to nom.

Sticky Apple Cake (Makes 1 loaf)

Note: If you don't have whole-wheat flour or semolina, substitute 1 1/4 cup AP flour. And if you don't have parchment paper, make sure to grease your pan very well.

For the cake:

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup semolina

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 apple, cored and thinly sliced

7 dates, chopped

For the topping:

5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan, cut out a piece of parchment paper and fit into the bottom of it, and grease again.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Set aside.

Whisk together milk, oil, and egg. Slowly add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Pour into prepared pan and scatter the date pieces over the top. Arrange the apple slices on top in a decorative pattern (I just did rows).

For the topping, combine butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract and beat until combined.

Bake cake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the topping over the apples evenly. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until a knife in the center comes out clean. Let cake cool for 10 minutes before serving.

To store, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. It will keep for about 1 week (unless you know some hungry boys who decide to stop by).

Figgamon Rolls [What?]

2010-09-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

It's September. It's fig season. Life is good.
[As long as I don't think about that midterm exam I have next week.]

Now, what the heck is a figgamon roll? [By the way, it took me a long time to figure out how to spell that. Figgiman? Figammin?] It's pretty much a cinnamon roll, minus the cinnamon, plus the figs, some cream cheese, and a boatload of icing that melts into the rolls and into your mouth.
For those who are new at making cinnamon rolls, I am telling you right now that it requires a good amount of work and a good amount of workspace. If you possess neither of these things, then it might be best to hold off on these or at least invite yourself to someone's apartment who does have room. I'm sure they won't mind as long as they get a taste of the final product. You can also make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. Just pop them in the oven first thing in the morning, and by the time you are all ready, they will be, too!

Like I said before, it is fig season right now, so take full advantage and feel free to stuff as many figs as you like into these rolls. The almonds, maple syrup, and cream cheese compliment them well, and they are a welcome surprise to anyone nomming on them. If you have any extras [I don't know how/why you would], give them away as soon as possible while they are still warm. There is nothing better than warm rolls slathered with icing - I think the boys of Delta Chi will attest to this fact.

Figgamon Rolls

For the Dough:

1 – 1/4oz package active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon, plus 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk at room temperature

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for kneading

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

For the Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

6 Tablespoons [3/4 stick] unsalted butter, melted

10-15 figs, stemmed and quartered

For the Icing:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup milk

Making the Dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine yeast, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 cup water heated to 115 degrees F. Stir to combine and let sit until frothy and foamy, about 10 minutes.

Add remaining sugar, milk, light brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Beat with a wire whisk until well combined. Fit the bowl onto the mixer, fitting with the dough hook attachment. Add the flour and salt and mix on medium speed until the dough just begins to come together. Turn the machine on medium-high and knead the dough for 4 minutes.

Add the butter and continue to knead for about 6 minutes. The dough will the wet and sticky. Place the dough on a well floured work surface, and knead about 1/3 cup all-purpose flour into the dough. Don’t worry, the dough still might be a little sticky. It’s ok. Just set the dough to rest in a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

While the dough rises, make the filling. Combine the sugar, dark brown sugar, almonds, and salt in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Stir in the maple syrup. Set aside.

When the dough has doubled in size, dump if from the bowl onto a heavily floured work surface. Gently knead the dough until it is no longer sticky, adding more flour as needed. I think I added about 3 Tablespoons of flour. Work the dough for about 1 or 2 minutes. Once it’s no longer sticky, place a kitchen towel over the dough and let rest for 5 minutes before you roll it out.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10 x 10-inch square.

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese with a knife until it’s smooth and spreadable.

Spread the cream cheese evenly over the dough square. Fold the square into thirds like you would fold a letter to fit into an envelope. Take the open ends of the rectangle and fold into thirds again, to make a smaller dough square.

Invert the dough so that the seam is face down and, using the rolling pin, gently roll it into a 10 x 20-inch rectangle. You make find that some cream cheese sneaks through. Be as gently as possible with the dough, but continue to work it until you reach the size you need.

Turn the dough so that the short sides are parallel to you. You’re going to roll from the short sides of the dough.

Brush the top of the dough with half of the melted butter. We’ll use the rest of the butter after the rolls are baked.

Pour all of the filling onto the dough. Spread evenly, leaving a 1-inch boarder at one of the short edges of the dough so the roll can be properly sealed. Lightly press the filling into the dough. Top with quartered figs.

Using your hands, lift up the bottom edge of the dough and roll it forward into a tight cylinder. Place dough cylinder seam side down on a cutting board. Using a sharp, thin knife, trim off the uneven edges.

Cut cylinder into 8 equal slices. Nestle the slices, cut side up and evenly spaced in a greased, round 9-inch metal baking dish. Cover pan with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to let rise for 2 hours. You may also refrigerate rolls overnight.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Uncover the rolls. If you refrigerated the rolls, let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before baking. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Make the icing: While the rolls are baking, whisk together the sugar and milk in a small bowl until smooth.

Transfer the pan of figgamon rolls to a cooling rack. Brush with remaining butter. Let cool for 5 minutes. Drizzle icing over rolls. Serve immediately.

Scenes from a Food Festival [a.k.a. How I Finally Got My Crème Brûlée]

2010-08-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

The date: Saturday, 28th August, 2010
The what: Oakland Eat Real Food Festival
The where: Jack London Square, just a BART ride away.
The why: Crème brûlée

That is correct. After a year of waiting and two phailed attempts of waiting in line for half an hour only to find that everything was sold out, this past Saturday, I finally satisfied my crème brûlée craving. I made sure to arrive early and quickly ate my fill of savoury dishes so that it would soon be time for dessert. And when I spotted a fellow foodie pass by me with a ramekin of creamy goodness, I quickly stopped him for directions. Before I knew it, I had found the Creme Brulee Cart and got a hold of absolute bliss.

Vanilla bean. Oh, yes.

Now that I've gotten that life-changing moment out of my system, let me actually explain the rest of the scene. For the unfamiliar, the Eat Real Fest is held every year in Jack London Square in Oakland. It lasts three days and hosts some of the most prominent food carts and restaurants in the Bay Area. Most items are $2-$6, and throughout the day there is music and throngs of hungry people perusing the sidewalks for the best food there is.

Having gone before, I wanted to try out foods that I hadn't had a chance to sample last year. Crème brûlée was a given, and as you read above, that desire was satisfied rather quickly. But there were many more things to try:

Huaraches de nopales [El Huarache Loco]: An oblong masa tortilla stuffed with beans and topped with tomatoes, cilantro, cotija cheese, and strips of nopales - cactus pads. Nopales are surprisingly very meaty for a vegetable and lend a lot of flavour. And the masa was very moist and delicious.

Iced coffee [Ritual Roasters]: I literally rolled out of bed and hopped on over to Eat Real, which meant I needed caffeination to support the mass food consumption that was to occur. Enter in Ritual Roasters and their spring arrival coffees to give me the caffeine jolt I needed.

Paneer tikka burrito [Curry Up Now]: Usually I am very wary of eating Indian food outside because, frankly, my mom can do a much better job, and it's all free. But the amusing, albeit stereotypical name of this place caught my eye, and I had been craving desi khana all week. The burrito was wrapped in a roti and came with four sauces - yoghurt, cilantro chutney, sweet chutney, and hot sauce. It was pretty big, so I'm glad I went halfsies on this one.

I just thought the name was funny.

Fried plantains and banana yam beignets [Chiefo's West African Cuisine]: It's not everyday that I get to eat African food, so I couldn't pass this up. Plus, dessert time was nearing, anyways. While I had to wait a bit in line, it was worth it, for everything was super fresh. The beignets were great by themselves, and I'm glad I skipped the powdered sugar topping; and the plaintains were delicious.

Oh, and there was some bhangra dancing, complete with a DIY bhangra lesson. I love this place.

Boats, trains, foods, boy. Beautiful day, beautiful weekend.

Ice Cream!

2010-07-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

If you were to open my freezer right now, this is what you will see: an ice cream attachment for Serafina [my KitchenAid], and about 5 pint containers filled with different types of ice cream.

Nothing else.

What to do with all this ice cream? Sell it of course, to you all! Now that my India and Goa tickets are booked for winter break, money is extremely tight for me, and I'm looking to make a few extra dollars wherever I can. And what better way to do that then by doing something I love [pastry], and letting you all indulge in it?

Here is a weekly roundup of the ice creams I got on hand:

Caramel almond [1/2 a pint, $3]
Walnut infused [1 pint, $5]
Mango-nectarine [2 pints, $5 each or $9 for both]
Lavender-vanilla [1 pint, $5]

Now, I'm no professional, but these ice creams are delicious, and now that the weather is heating up [finally], I encourage you to try some out for yourself! You won't regret it.

AND...if you have a flavour idea that you want me to make for you, let me know and I'll get right on it! I'm already working on a CTC one...

FYI: Email = skaiwar@berkeley.edu; Cell = 650.430.8319

Yours til I lick the bowl clean,

Shikhz

I Scream, You Scream...You Know How It Goes

2010-07-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh I don't even know where to begin. Since my last post [nearly 3 months ago!] life became insanely busy and I completely lost track of time and blogging. Everything from finals, Coachella, EDC, and now a full-time job as the pastry assistant at Oliveto restaurant has kept me from doing anything else. My room appears to be hit by a hurricane, my workout schedule has fallen into an abyss, and my car needs $1000 worth of repairs.

But don't think that I haven't been cooking, for that is far from the truth. At work, I'm doing pastry for at least 8 hours a day, everything from rolling croissants to baking scones to plating desserts. Unfortunately, that leaves me with little time at home to do any actual baking, and on my days off I tend to just sleep all day and drink all night.

Now that my birthday has passed and things are slowly coming back to normal as I habituate to my summer schedule, I am ready to blog once again. Last summer, I focussed mostly on rhubarb; this year, it is ice cream.

My ice cream maker is by far the most awesome thing I have received this year for my kitchen. It has allowed me to experiment to no end with various flavours and combinations, and each time I come up with something new. So far I've concocted sweet polenta cherry, horchata, and the best one yet, espresso-hazelnut cheesecake.

Ice cream is very easy to make once you have mastered the basics. In the next few weeks, I will try to enlighten you about them as I continue to experiment on my own. In the meanwhile, check out the recipe for my current favourite ice cream flavour, and stay tuned!

Espresso-Hazelnut Cheesecake Ice Cream

16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup strongly-brewed coffee
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Nutella

Combine cream, cream cheese, coffee, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Start whisking slowly to incorporate the cream into the cream cheese, then beat faster until the batter is smooth. This is best done in a KitchenAid. Be careful for splashing, and don't be afraid to take your time making sure the batter is nearly smooth.
Pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.
About ten minutes before the ice cream is done, warm the Nutella in the microwae until it is pourable, 20-30 seconds. Drizzle into the ice cream so it swirls into the batter.
Once ice cream is ready, scoop into containers and freeze until set.

Photo Credits: Daniel Y. Go & sea turtle

Lazy Sundays

2010-04-14T03:18:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy Sunday morning. My motivation to work, go to the gym, or clean the apartment was zero. All I felt like doing was listen to Jack Johnson’s ‘Banana Pancakes,’ bury myself under the covers, blast the heater, and watch a chick flick.

So that’s what I did.

But I did make some slight modifications:

I did not watch a chick flick, as I had invited the bf to come over to bask in epic laziness with me. The movie of choice became ‘Casino Royale,’ which is actually a great rainy day film.
I did end up doing some work, vis-à-vis baking. Remember those kumquats I told you about? Well, you are about to see what I did with the rest of them.

To fully become immersed in my state of quiescence, I wanted to make something that was warm and comforting but at the same not too heavy, or I would be killing myself at the gym the next day. Oatmeal fit all those criteria, but it requires no actual oven time, so instead I utilised it to make these: apple-cinnamon oat shortbreads.

Since it was only the two of us in the apartment, I created individual portions in small ramekins that I could easily turn out onto a plate. As soon as I did that, I remembered the jar of candied kumquats that were tucked away in the fridge. A brainwave later, a simple comfort dessert became a beautiful presentation of food and flavour that was just what I was searching for to satisfy me. Sliced almonds were the final touch, and my lazy Sunday afternoon was complete.

A small note: The batter for these shortbreads will be thick due to the oats and the apples, so use an offset spatula to flatten everything out. I baked them in ramekins, but if you don’t own any, you can always bake these in muffin tins or a regular 8x8 pan, but be prepared for a longer cooking time. As it is, the lower oven temperature will mandate some more time in the oven.

Lazy Sunday Shortbreads

1/2 C flour
1/4 C oatmeal
1/4 t salt
3 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 oz (3/4 sticks) cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 cup diced apples
Cardamom-Candied Kumquats
Sliced almonds [garnish, optional]

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease 4 small ramekins.

Combine the flour, oatmeal, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the pieces of cold butter and vanilla and process until the mixture comes together in clumps around the bowl. Stir in apple pieces.

Gently press the mixture into the ramekins, making sure it is evenly spread. Bake the shortbread for 20 minutes or until shortbreads pull away from the side of the ramekins. Cool for 10 minutes.

Flip the shortbreads from the ramekins onto a small plate. Pile candied kumquats on top and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Serve warm.

Kumquat Cornucopia

2010-04-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

Before I head down to Coachella this weekend and pretty much give myself a Spring Break Part 2, I need to update this. After all, who knows how alive I will even be upon my return on Monday? Three days, scores of music artists, and raver friends; it doesn’t get much better than that.

Neither does this recipe for candied kumquats. While on spring break, there happened to be a kumquat tree in the vicinity. Rather than stealing them myself and seeming super lurky, I assigned someone else to do it for me. Thus, I found myself with a bag full of the small, citrusy fruits and needed to figure out what to do with them.

For those of you unfamiliar with kumquats, I assure you that if you like oranges, you will like them. In appearance, they are tiny, about an inch long and oval-shaped. Their orange exteriors can be bitter, so it is always a good idea to blanch them in some boiling water for a 30 seconds or so to remove some of that off-taste. When ripe, they are juicy and full of flavour [I had actually snuck a few off of the tree and popped them directly into my mouth. You know, just to test them out]. Just be careful of the seeds if you eat them raw; be sure to remove them before you use them for any sort of pastry.

Putting him hard to work

I have always enjoyed candied fruit, especially citrus ones, so I figured that candying these would be a good way to start using them up. But when reading recipes online, I found that everyone seems to candy differently. Some blanch their fruit three times, while others don’t even bother; and the sugar to water ratios varied widely.

I combined ideas from the slew of recipes I read and came up with the one below. For an added kick, I threw in some cardamom pods [those who know me know that cardamom seems to find its way into nearly every dessert I make].

The best thing about candying anything is that the final product lasts for a long time when jarred correctly. Mason jars work best to keep things airtight. After that, you can use them at your discretion, from pancake toppings to cake fillings. I’ll be posting a recipe shortly about what I ended up doing with my batch, so keep reading!

Cardamom-Candied Kumquats

2 cups sliced kumquats, seeds removed and discarded
5 cardamom pods, crushed
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water

Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Drop in the kumquat slices and blanch for about thirty seconds. Scoop out and set aside.
In a large pot, combine 2/3 cup water, sugar, and cardamom pods. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 5 minutes or so.
Add blanched kumquats and let simmer over medium-low heat for 25-30 minutes until syrup is thick and kumquats are translucent and soft, stirring occasionally. Make sure that the kumquats are not too soft to the point that they start falling apart; you want them to retain their shape, as it adds body to the final product.
Remove from heat and let cool completely at room temperature. Pour into an airtight container and store in refrigerator. Warm them up over the stove when using for garnishes.

Put a Spring in Your Step and in Your Cake

2010-04-06T00:35:00.000-07:00

It had been three weeks, six hours, and seventeen minutes since I last made a trip to Berkeley Bowl. Those days were long and grueling; I thought I would never make it. But when my mother decided to graciously drop me back to Berkeley after spring break so that I didn't have to take BART, I knew that meant grocery shopping. And that meant the Bowl.

So, I wasn't actually counting down from my last Berkeley Bowl expedition, but it had definitely been a long time, and my fridge was in desperate need of being restocked. The advent of spring meant fresh new produce and a slew of recipes to try out, including a ginger cake one I clipped from the SF Chronicle that same day. With my recipe in hand, I loaded up on ingredients.

Usually, restaurants reserve spice cakes like this one for winter months, as it is more homey and can be served warm with some unique flavour of ice cream or gooey fruit compote. But I love ginger and figured that I could play around with the recipe and make it something more spring-like. That way I could also take advantage of the new produce at the store.

However, I cheated a little bit and bought something out-of-season: Mangoes [they usually don't appear until May].

I couldn't help it..Blame the Indian in me.

But it is because of those mangoes that I was able to come up with my springtime creation: Mango-Ginger Spice Cake. Personally, I would have liked to have more ginger flavour - the spicier the better! I also think that next time I will add a bit more sugar and use an equal ratio of whole-wheat to all-purpose flour so that the mango flavour is more pronounced. But this makes an excellent snack cake without too many added calories. I also picture it as a good cake for breakfast when served with some fresh strawberries [which are in season, by the way. Go for the organic ones at Berkeley Bowl].

April promises to be a good month - springtime foods, more blogposts, Coachella, and a lumberjack party are all in the mix.

And perhaps another trip to Berkeley Bowl.

Springtime Spice Cake

2 ounces ginger, peeled and finely grated on a Microplane (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
1 cup mango puree
4 eggs
2.5 cups whole-wheat flour
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup hot water

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 9- by 9-inch cake pan and dust very lightly with flour or line with parchment paper.

Combine ginger with 1/2 tablespoon water in a mixing bowl; add sugar, oil and mango. Mix on low speed. Add eggs; continue mixing at low speed until fully incorporated.

Combine flour, black pepper, ground ginger and baking soda in another mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients slowly to the egg mixture, continuing to beat slowly, scraping mixing bowl occasionally. Increase speed to medium for 2 minutes. Scrape; decrease speed to low and slowly add 1/2 cup hot tap water. Mix until just combined, occasionally scraping.

Pour into prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes and then turn out onto wire rack.

Dear 3 a.m..

2010-03-31T03:08:00.000-07:00

...we have to stop meeting this way. You are really great, but honestly, I would much rather sleep with you.

Love, Shikha

This is the third day in a row where the clock has ticked past the 3 a.m. mark and I am still awake feigning homework while actually just snacking on cereal sweetened with maple syrup soporifically. The first day really did involve homework; then I transitioned into late-night baking and now, late-night blogging. Phail.

But I did promise to post about what I did with the last of the pumpkin, and I do try to keep promises, so here it is. A few weeks back, Cal hosted the Taste of Berkeley to celebrate local foods and restaurants, and I was asked to provide some goods to sell for personal profit. I wanted something simple yet appealing and representative of me, so I went for cheesecake. (On a side note, I'm not sure if choosing cheesecake as my representative dessert of choice renders me to be a complete fatty, but I don't think there is any other way to metaphorically describe a person vis-a-vis a cheesecake in any other way).

For me, cheesecake is one of the easiest things to make. It was the first thing I ever made when I was beginning to explore my skills in the kitchen. I even wrote my college essay about cheesecake (See? It is more useful than you think). Once you know the basic ratio for this dessert, you are able to experiment freely with different crusts, baking temperatures, and of course, the filling, which is what I did by adding in the final bit of pumpkin pie mix from my fridge. Since this canned stuff was already sweetened, I just cut down on any added sugar. I also found some mascarpone that had been leftover from some raspberry tiramisu I had made the week before, so I made a simple topping to finish the cheesecake with.

Although I originally planned to sell 16 slices, things got messy to cut after I got too much cake residue on my slicer (how cool is that device, by the way?), so I just made eight. Needless to say, I did end up selling out, so all is well that ends well.

And anything that ends in cheesecake always ends well.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Crust

1 box of Nilla wafers, finely crushed
6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin pie mix
1/4 tsp salt

Topping

8 oz. mascarpone cheese, softened
1/2 cup maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
Combine the cookie crumbs and butter in a small bowl til the cookies look like wet sand. Press into the bottom and up the sides of prepared pan. Refrigerate while making the filling.
On medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, until just blended. Add in pumpkin pie mix and salt until combined.
Pour into pan and set pan in a larger pan filled with hot water (This prevents the cake from cracking on the top). Bake for 70 minutes until center is barely moving.
Remove from oven and let cool completely. Cover and chill at 4-6 hours or overnight.
Before serving, beat together mascarpone and maple syrup until smooth. Spread over cheesecake befores slicing.

Spring Fever/Break/Sun

2010-03-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

Has it really been over one month since my last post? Atrocious. If this ever happens again, please readers, just find me via text/email/Facebook/face-to-face and slap me. One month without delicious desserts to divulge? That in itself is an epic phail, and will not/shall not occur again.

Or else.

On a brighter note, it's finally spring! This year, spring fever was in full swing - new experiences [raves], new relationships [from those raves], new friends [also from those raves], and a new me. I feel happy, but in a different way. This kind of happiness is radiating from the inside out. I find myself worrying less about trivial matters like what scores others are getting on exams, and enjoying life more. Things like playing frisbee outside, sleeping in until 2pm, and going for a run outside are so refreshing and new; I love it.

Reality is not far behind, however, and two weeks of midterms were an ode to that. Those two weeks translated into putting any notions of food on the back burner until all academic necessities had been taken care of. But finally exams ended, and the baking began, and I began with this: Pumpkin poppyseed cake, cinnamon chocolate shortbread, and cardamom caramel.

Pumpkin is an odd item to use in this spring weather, but I had a can of pumpkin pie mix lying around and I wanted to clear my pantry of anything wintery so that once I return from spring break I can restock with more seasonal ingredients [Stay tuned for what I did with the last of the pumpkin in my next post]. The inspiration derived partially from my finishing course at Flour + Water in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the dessert that night was mediocre, but I liked the presentation. It was simple yet elegant, and I knew I could recreate it at home with ease.

The glaze on the cake really accentuates the pumpkin flavour, so do not skimp on it. As for the caramel, it is best to infuse the cream with the cardamom the day before, but if you are spontaneous like me and don't think of these things, it's not a big deal; just scald your cream first so that it has some time to cool and develop the cardamom accent before you begin work on the caramel.

If you really want to save time, you can bake the cake and the shortbread cookies together, but as usual, I lack efficiency in the kitchen and didn't think of doing this until it was too late. You also get the advantage of not having to torture yourself by ogling at the cake longingly while you wait for the cookies to finish.

And it sucks to wait; trust me.

Pumpkin Poppyseed Cake

Ingredients

4 tablespoons pumpkin pie mix [from a can]
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups (5 1/4 ounces) sifted whole-wheat flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons (28 grams) poppy seeds
13 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup pumpkin pie mix [from a can]

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch round pan, line bottom with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pan interior. In a small mixing bowl, lightly combine the 4 Tbsp of pumpkin pie mix, eggs, and vanilla.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and half the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium (high if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1 minute.

3. Scrape down sides. Add remaining egg mixture in 2 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition. Scrape down sides and scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

4. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, put it on a rack, poke all over with a wire tester or a toothpick, and brush with half of the pumpkin pie mix. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto greased wire rack. Poke bottom of cake with tester, brush with some more pumpkin, and set right side up. Brush sides with remaining pumpkin and allow to cool completely.

Cinnamon-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour (about 6 2/3 ounces)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup ice water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour an 8x8 pan and set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and measuring spoons; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine 1/3 cup ice water and vanilla; drizzle over flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork until moist.

Spread dough in prepared pan evenly. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until cookies are set. Cool cookies on pans 5 minutes. Cut into 9 squares, then cut those in half to form 18 triangles.

Cardamom-Caramel

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cardamom pods, crushed

Combine cardamom and cream in a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. This is best done the day before so that cream has time to infuse.
Put sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot and moisten with a bit of water, making sure that there is no sugar granules on the sides of the pot. Set over high heat and cook until it turns a medium amber colour.
Remove from heat and strain cream into sugar, whisking constantly. The caramel will seize up, but don't worry.
Set pot over low heat and continue to cook until mixture reaches the soft-ball stage [check this by doing the ice water test if you do not have a candy thermometer].
Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Assembly: Place a slice of cake on a small plate. Place shortbread cookie at an angle, and drizzle caramel over everything decoratively. Add additional poppyseeds for garnish, if desired.

Dance for Your Dessert

2010-02-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been karaoking? If not, add it to your to-do list and check it off as soon as you can, because it is simply awesome. Grab a group of friends who don't mind making a fool of themselves and can't sing [if they do know how to sing, it's fine, but it's always more fun when they are tone-deaf so you can point and laugh at their stentorian off-key voice]. And bust out the cheesy music.

This is exactly what my committee and I did a couple weeks ago. And not only did we get in touch with our inner 90s, but we also upped the fun factor by being slightly under the influence.

But only slightly.

The night played out with mass singing, screaming, dancing on the table and television stand [true story], and a midnight run to Safeway for a gallon of milk, 4 boxes of cereal, and 5 packs of gum, all of which got open and consumed.

But I came prepared for my gargantuan appetite with these cookies I call drunchie crunchies. A simple snack made with almonds and chocolate, they are delicious, especially after a good night out.

The best thing about these cookies is that when they warm, the insides taste like pudding, and the nuts are filling without being overly so. You can substitute in any type of nuts if you don't like almonds; just make sure that you chop them up so that the cookies look prettier. I really want to add some sea salt to these next time to see if it brings out the chocolate more.

Because there is no flour in theses cookies, there is no gluten to hold them together. That means the cookies will expand like a balloon, so make sure that you don't have too many on one baking sheet. I ended up using three baking trays for one batch, but trust me, after singing 'A Whole New World' and dancing on top of television, the cleanup is worth it.

Drunchie Crunchies

3 cups / 11 oz / 310 g sliced almonds, toasted, cooled, and coursely chopped
4 cups / 1 lb / 453 g confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons / 2 oz / 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder
Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon real, good-quality vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 320F / 160C degrees and position racks in the top and bottom third. Line three (preferably rimmed) baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir in the almonds, then add the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Spoon the batter onto the prepared sheets in mounds of about 2 tablespoons each, allowing for PLENTY of room between cookies.

Bake until they puff up. The tops should get glossy, and then crack a bit - about 12 -15 minutes. Have faith, they look sad at first, then really blossom. You may want to rotate the pans top/bottom/back/front.

Slide the cookies still on parchment onto a cooling rack, and let them cool completely. They will keep in an airtight for a couple days.

Makes 18 large cookies.

A Taste of the Tropical

2010-02-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

Usually, I update this once a week, which gives me enough time to make something yummy, take and edit pictures, and still do my Accounting problem set that I always put off until the night before/morning that it is due. But I have three desserts to write about so this update is a little sooner than normal, which I doubt anyone will complain about because that only means more sugary goodness to see and eat!

Every Tuesday, I meet with my co-event chairs to discuss Relay for Life. Since these meetings are at nighttime after dinner, dessert is always in order, so I've started whipping up something for us to eat to keep us energised as we plow through various logistical and attendance issues. Last weeks' creation wasn't a baked good but pudding! Coconut tapioca pudding, to be exact.

When making tapioca puddings at home, most people just boil milk and water in equal parts and cook the small tapioca pearls until they are soft and translucent. However, tapioca is traditionally an east Asian dessert, and those types of desserts use coconut milk quite regularly, which is why I decided to add it to mine. In addition, I infused the water with some tropical flavours of ginger, cilantro, and lemon juice as well.

Once the puddings set up in the ramekins, I found that chocolate and hazelnuts make a wonderful topping, sweet and crunchy. Of course, you can top your puddings with anything you desire, or not top them at all. If you infused the mixture enough, the ginger and lemon flavours should be enough to give you your tropical fix!

Tropical Tapioca Puddings

1 2x1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, sliced
6 fresh cilantro sprigs
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cups water

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup small pearl tapioca* (not quick-cooking)
1 13.5- to 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk*

Pieces of chocolate-hazelnut bars [Garnish, optional]

Combine first 3 ingredients in food processor; blend 20 seconds. Transfer to medium saucepan; add 2 cups water and bring to boil. Remove pan from heat and let steep uncovered 20 minutes. Pour mixture into strainer set over heavy large saucepan; press on solids to release flavored liquid. Discard solids in strainer.

Add milk and sugar to flavored liquid in pan; bring to boil. Stir in tapioca; return to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until pudding thickens and is reduced to 2 1/4 cups, stirring frequently, about 35 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Divide amongst ramekins, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Garnish with chopped chocolate-hazelnut pieces.

It's All About the Pastry

2010-02-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lag in updates; I just spent the last few days either not doing school work or immersing myself in Relay for Life. The former entailed an epic night of karaoking, hitting the gym, interning, and raving on Valentine's Day [I'm still recovering from that, by the way]. The latter consisted of bonding with my committee, late night meetings with my awesome co-event chairs, and baking four cakes for the Ace of Cakes club competition this Friday [trust me, that definitely counts at work; try to imagine the state of my kitchen post cake-baking].

Either way, school is a faraway thought, yet I am not as stressed as I should be. Perhaps a good dose of midterms will clear that up for me in a couple weeks, but until then, it's all about the pastry.

In one of my weekly bake sessions with my friend SW [pseudonym, obviously], I decided to forgo the usual uber-healthy dessert with something that burst with flavour: a brown-butter chocolate pear cake.

Take a minute to let that settle in.

If you have never made brown butter before, don't trip chocolate chip! It is much easier than you may believe. I use the technique I learned at my internship: Place butter in a saucepan and set over medium heat until melted. Continue to cook until butter is brown and extremely fragrant, stirring occasionally to scrape the solids off the bottom. In about ten minutes, you are done and your butter is ready to go.

The original recipe is on Smitten Kitchen. To make it my own, I used whole-wheat flour and added some sesame seeds to compliment the brown butter and add another layer of nuttiness. I used regular chocolate chips, but next time I would probably use dark chocolate chunks; there's just something about dark chocolate that can't be beat.

I have a slew of new goodies that are calling for blog posts, so stay tuned for the next few days! I hope to document the competing cake as well, but that depends on whether or not I can successfully work with fondant or not...

Brown Butter Pear-Chocolate Cake

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, at room-temperature
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 pears, peeled, in a small dice (I used anjou, but would recommend a softer variety, like a bosc or any other of your favorites)
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour; set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, sesame seeds, and salt together, set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs on high speed until pale and very thick. (In a professional Kitchen Aid, it takes at least five minutes; on a home machine, it will take nine minutes to get sufficient volume)

While the eggs are whipping, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan (because it will foam a lot) and cook it until the butter browns and smells nutty (about 6 to 8 minutes). It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Remove from the flame but keep in a warm spot.

Add the sugar to the eggs and whip a few minutes more.

Just as the egg-sugar mixture is starting to loose volume, turn the mixture down to stir, and add the flour mixture and brown butter. Add one third of the flour mixture, then half of the butter, a third of the flour, the remaining butter, and the rest of flour. Whisk until just barely combined — no more than a minute from when the flour is first added — and then use a spatula to gently fold the batter until the ingredients are combined. It is very important not to over-whisk or fold the batter or it will lose volume.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle the pear and chocolate chunks over the top, and bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back to the touch, about 40 to 50 minutes or a tester comes out clean.

I Make Cake. But Only For the People I Love.

2010-02-03T22:49:00.000-08:00

I really need to update this more often. I meant to update days ago, but you can blame my friend's 21st birthday, which turned into a birthweekend and left no time for such things. It was worth it though; birthdays mean cake, which means I get to be in the kitchen and practise and churn out more creations!

It began on Thursday with some surprise cupcakes. Since I quit my job, I unfortunately can't be buying baking supplies as often as I like [Goodbye, Tahitian vanilla beans]. Originally, I was thinking of doing an apple cupcake heaped with frosting and some sort of poached apple topping, but time and finances didn't allow for that, so I instead baked these: Cinnamon apple cupcakes filled with honey caramel and topped with almond cream-cheese buttercream.

Not bad, right?

The cupcake batter is very dense, due to the butter and the diced apples. The result is a more of a muffin than an actual cupcake, but if you are really craving the traditional texture, use oil instead of butter and add some more apple juice.

There isn't a recipe for the frosting because I simply combined some leftover cream cheese and almond buttercream together. As my friend dutifully notified us after taking a bite: "Oh my god, you guys, like the apples and the cinnamon made it crunchy like carrot cake but it really wasn't carrot cake, and the almonds..."

He went on to eat 5 of them.

21st Cupcakes

[makes 18]

Cupcakes
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup apple juice
2 apples, diced and tossed with 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon and 1 Tbsp white sugar

Honey Caramel
1.25 cups white sugar
2 Tbsp honey
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

For the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

Mix all dry ingredients except for sugar and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing til just combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and apple juice. Starting and ending with the flour mixture, alternate adding milk and flour mixture to butter until just combined. Fold in the apples.

Drop batter into cupcake liners and bake until center is set, 20 minutes or so. Cool completely.

For the honey caramel:
Put sugar and honey in a heavy-bottomed pan and moisten with a little water until it looks like a thick slurry. Make sure there are no sugar granules on the sides of the pot. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until sugar turns a golden amber colour. Be careful, this happens faster than you think, and if you wait too long you will burn the caramel and you'll have to start again.

Remove from heat and whisk in the cream slowly. Once cream is incorporated, add salt and butter and whisk to combine. Let cool.

Assembly:
Put caramel into a pastry bag and poke into cupcake tops to fill. Spread frosting in a decorative pattern and top with sliced almonds.

I'm back! Here, have some cake.

2010-01-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

Happy new year, everyone! I hope you all had a good break filled with adventures of fun and more importantly, food. My weeks were spent interning at Citizen Cake learning how to perfect the art of frosting cupcakes [which by the way, is much more difficult than it looks], and trying out delicious desserts [passionfruit mousse cakes], and some not-so-delicious-but-still-interesting desserts [blue cheese ice cream with celery sorbet]. It was a great experience, and I walked away with a notebook full of recipes and tips that I can't wait to try out.

Unfortunately, it also left me missing my camera charger, which is why I have had to put this blog on hiatus for so long. That and a little rave in Los Angeles kept me too busy to look for it and buy a new one. And throw in some food poisoning to keep things alive [I blame you, straight-from-India sweets that my mother brought back with her].

After I pilfered my roommate's camera and finally stopped drooling over my brand new Boulevard cookbook that I got over the holidays [thank you, Mom's boyfriend], I decided that enough is enough and I better get blogging.

The first post? Carrot cake.

I know, I've written about carrot cake before, but that was a healthy, snack cake. This is the real deal. Two layers of cake filled with cream cheese frosting, almond caramel, and topped with candied carrots. Yes, I said candied carrots, and no, I did not know that was possible either. See how awesome this cookbook is?

The only changes I made were to use whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose, and to use almonds instead of walnuts in the caramel. I also let the caramel cook a bit too long on the stove, so it turned out more bitter than I would have liked, but I covered it up and called it a burnt caramel sauce. I meant to do that.

Because I suck at proportions, I made enough caramel sauce to last me two weeks, which means I'll be drinking a lot of caramel chai, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, although my waistline probably thinks otherwise..

Remember to cool the cake completely before taking it out of the pan or you will end up with a broken cake. Good for snacking, bad for layering. I plan on drying out these shards to create a carrot cake bread pudding. Thoughts?

I also suggest you invest in some parchment paper to line your pan with; it makes removing the cake from the pan that much easier. And make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before you start whipping it to avoid lumps. I used a lower fat version here [my health chip kicked in], but feel free to use whichever type you prefer.

This isn't my recipe, so I haven't posted it here; if you would like to try it out, let me know and I can send it to you!

Cheeseless Cheesecake

2009-12-21T21:16:00.000-08:00

I don't usually make raw foods, mostly because I find no need to, and because life is more interesting with a little heat added, whether it derives from my oven or from me ;]

As finals drained the UC Berkeley population one by one, there seemed to be little hope of seeing any friends in a normal state of mind unless we had one final group hangout before we died. Hence, we decided upon a potluck the weekend before Dead Week began.

As usual, I offered to contribute dessert. My original plan was to make a cheesecake, which is my favourite dessert, nay, food, in the world (This is also a hint to anyone interested in winning me over: cheesecake. Thanks). But I was running short on money, and cream cheese isn't exactly the cheapest ingredient out there, so I decided for a simpler version that required no baking. There was also a twist to the batter: coconut butter.

If you have not heard of coconut butter, never fear, because I hadn't either until I saw this recipe. The only coconut substance I knew of besides the actual fruit was coconut oil, which rather than any culinary purpose, served to moisturize my hair when I go to India. So what the hell is coconut butter?

It is basically pressed coconut meat from which oil is extracted to form a solidified fat that is very stable and imparts a subtle flavour to foods. I found it easily in the nut butter section at Berkeley Bowl [this store never fails me, seriously], and with a bag full of Pink Lady apples and cashews, set to work.

Some adjustments I made to make this recipe more friendly: Top with fresh apples instead of dehydrating them, because let's face it, who really has a dehydrator lying around at home. I also used maple syrup to bind the crust together, and I used a combination coconut butter that was blended with other nuts for more flavour. This also means that my cheesecake does not turn out white but a speckled grey. It still looks good though, and nobody complained!

Ideas for next time: Different nuts [Almonds? Pecans?]; pure coconut butter

Apple Cashew “Cheesecake”

Crust:

1 C Almonds
1/4 cup maple syrup

Topping:

3 Apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 C Agave
1/2 t. Cinnamon
2 T Coconut Butter
1/3 C Crust

Filling:

2 C Cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
1 t. Lemon juice
1/2 C Coconut Butter (softened in dehydrator)
1/4 C Agave
1 t. Vanilla
1 t. Cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg

Read Through This Recipe Before Beginning

2 hours before: Combine apples, agave and cinnamon. Cover and let the apples macerate.

Make crust: Place almonds in food processor. Process until finely ground. Add maple syrup, processing until well mixed. Press mixture into an 8" spring form pan. You may have extra crust. Place in refrigerator.

Make Filling: Combine all ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth. This will take a bit. Pat over crust and return to refrigerator.

Finish Topping: Combine apples, coconut butter and any remaining crust you might have. Press over top of cheesecake. Return to refrigerator and chill for 2 hours before serving. Slice with sharp knife. Serves 8.

Procrastination Post #2: Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

2009-12-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

I'm posting this recipe now even though I made it months ago for a birthday. I nearly forgot about all the pictures I had taken for it until my friend noted that since I clearly am not studying for my final exam right now, I might as well be productive and update. Well said, well said.

Hopefully this marks the last of my many pumpkin posts, but no guarantees as I still have nearly a full can left in my fridge. I had used a dollop to top my breakfast yesterday [choopped Pink Lady apple, Greek yoghurt, maple syrup, almonds] just to see how it would taste, and because I had run out of cereal and I was really craving something wintery for the chilly Berkeley morning.

Back to cake. I love the flavour combination I did here: pumpkin and cardamom. I tend to add cardamom in a lot of my baked goods because [a] I am Indian, [b] I have an entire jar full of the green little pods that I stole from home before embarking to college, and [c] it is sooo good! It adds a distinct taste to baked goods and brings up memories of good times in India and drinking chai. And since I was making this for a fellow brown friend, I figured I would throw some into the mix.

I am a very messy baker

The cake is a chiffon variety, meaning that you beat egg whites separately and fold them into the batter to make the cake light and airy. Even though there is no butter, it stays moist from the pumpkin puree and the yolks, which are beaten well at the beginning. Make sure when you beat your whites that your bowl and whisk are completely free of water, or else they won't whip to soft peaks and your chiffon will be a chiffail.

If you are missing the butter, don't worry, there is more than enough in the buttercream frosting on top and in between the layers. For an extra crunch [I love cakes with crunch], I filled the inside with Kix cereal. It's weird, I know, but trust me when I say that it was a success. Plus, who doesn't love Kix?

I hope to bake something new this week once my week of hell is over. I do have that pumpkin in my fridge, along with a pear.....maybe some chocolate pear cakes? Wait and see!

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake with Cardamom Buttercream

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
6 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
7 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tbsp white sugar

Buttercream:
2.5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
3 tablespoons milk
4 cardamom pods, crushed and ground in a spice mill

Filling: Kix cereal, or any other cereal of your choice

Cake:
Preheat oven to 325F. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, 1 1/3 cups sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mix egg yolks, pumpkin puree, vegetable oil and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture. Stir until mixture is well-combined and no streaks of flour remain. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add in additional 2 tbsp sugar. Continue to beat to soft peaks.

Gently stir 1/3 of the egg whites into pumpkin mixture to lighten it up. Fold in remaining egg whites until batter is uniform in color and there are no streaks of white visible.
Pour batter into an ungreased, 9-inch pan. Gently tap the side of the pan once or twice to eliminate any large air pockets.

Bake for about 50-55 minutes, until the top springs back when gently pressed. Invert pan over a cooling rack until completely cool, 3 hours or overnight. When cool, carefully separate the cake from the pan with a thin knife and invert onto a serving platter or cake stand.

Buttercream:
Beat sugar, butter, milk and cardamom with electric mixer at low speed until well blended and smooth. If frosting becomes too thick, beat in additional milk by teaspoonfuls until the frosting is of spreading consistency.

To assemble:
Use a serrated knife to cut the cake horizontally into two equal layers. Place a piece of wax paper on a plate and put one layer on top, cut side up. Frost the sides and middle, and fill with Kix cereal. Top with second layer and complete a crumb coat. Refrigerate for ten minutes, then frost the rest. Garnish however you like.

Sleepless in San Francisco

2009-12-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

I should be studying. I really should.

But if I go through one more day without poring through food blogs and concocting culinary combinations in my head, I will go crazy. Can school just be over with so I can stop reading textbooks and start making pastries?

Usually, I bake some sort of dessert every other day. It's good practise, and I'm sure that my roommates and friends don't mind all the sugar I load them up with. I get critiqued, they get food. Win.

This past Sunday, there was a potluck dinner for Riffle [Relay for Life]. I had promised to contribute a cake of some sort, but there was a problem. Not only had studying for finals began, but that Saturday was my roommate's birthday, which meant clubbing adventures in San Francisco, Jager bombs, coming home at 430am, and going to work at 530am.

If you're doing the math, that does indeed mean that I didn't sleep. So at one hour before potluck time, I was screwed. So I pulled out all the random ingredients I could find in my fridge and came up with this: a chocolate chip pumpkin bundt cake.

Not bad, right? I've always loved the pumpkin/chocolate combination after I had cakes with the same flavours at work, but I never had recreated the yumminess at home. I added some of my own twists by finishing off the pumpkin spice soy milk I had and topping the cake with sesame seeds, just for kicks. It looked beautiful, and I still made it to the potluck on time!

Okay, back to studying. Good luck on finals!

Sleepless in San Francisco Cake

Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour, divided
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup golden brown sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin spice soy milk

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons of unsweetened pumpkin puree
Sesame seeds, for garnish

For cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 12-cup Bundt pan. Spray pan generously with nonstick spray. Dust pan lightly with flour.

Mix chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons flour in medium bowl.
*Mixing the chocolate chips with a little flour before adding them to the batter helps the chips stay evenly suspended in the batter and evenly distributed throughout the baked cake (otherwise, they may sink to the bottom).

Sift remaining flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract and maple extract. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with soy milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chip mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan, spreading evenly.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool completely.

For glaze:
Combine powdered sugar and pumpkin puree in medium bowl. Whisk until smooth. Spoon glaze decoratively over cake and top with sesame seeds; let stand at room temperature until glaze is firm, about 1 hour.

Super-Secret Scones

2009-11-24T17:10:00.000-08:00

I've spent the last week experimenting for Thanksgiving to assure that my desserts will be perfect for the actual day. That meant buying various ingredients and trying them out in different proportions until I found the right combination that is sure to succeed. I feel confident with my final products, so let's see on Thursday how my guests feel!

However, my splurge of Thanksgiving ingredients left me penniless for basic apartment staples, mainly cereal, and if you know me, then you know that my cereal consumption is off the charts, especially when I've got an epic case of the drunchies.

I am also addicted to the entire meal of breakfast. I never leave home without eating breakfast, even if it means being late to class/work/friends. The rumours are true: it is the most important meal of the day! Usually when I wake up in the morning, I'm starving as it is, so going without my morning meal is just a recipe for heightened crankiness, sarcasm, and even sadism on occasion. [Whoa, is that really how you spell that word? For some reason I always thought 'occasion' had two "s"s]

Since I'm not going home for the break until Wednesday, I need some breakfast food to sustain me for two days. To use up my leftover ingredients, I opted for something pretty simple: scones! My tweaked recipe reveals a healthier version that can be frozen the night before and popped in the oven while you get ready in the morning. 2o minutes later, you have yourself a wonderfully warm scone topped with some orange blossom honey [the best honey there is. No, really].

The reason for the title of this post is my secret ingredient for the scones: ricotta cheese! It is extremely moist and gives the dough body without the added fat that comes from butter. Plus, it is so mild that you don't even taste it in the final product. The scones benefit from a more tender crumb and some extra protein as well.

I shaped the scones into rounds using an ice cream scoop, but you can just as easily form the traditional triangle shape. Just make sure that your work surface is floured and your hands are wet so the dough doesn't stick to you.

If you are a batter taster like I am, don't worry that it doesn't taste so sweet; the cranberries and honey make up for that once they are baked.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Super-Secret Scones

1 large egg
3/4 cup NF milk
1/4 cup non-fat ricotta cheese
1 2/3 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/3 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp BP
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter, grated
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Orange blossom honey, to glaze and for garnish

Line a baking sheet with a Silpat and set aside. If you don't have a Silpat, you can use parchment paper [NOT wax paper] or just grease the sheet well.

Whisk the egg, milk, and ricotta cheese together and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the butter to the dry ingredients, using your fingers to quickly incorporate the butter and flour mixture.

Pour the egg/milk/ricotta mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon just until the dough, which will be wet and sticky, comes together. Add the cranberries.

Still in the bowl, gently knead the dough by hand or turn it with a rubber spatula about 8 to 10 times. Use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop to portion out 12 scone dough balls. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and freeze at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Warm some honey in the microwave and lightly brush over frozen scones. Bake for 20 minutes or until their tops are golden and firmish. Transfer them to a rack and cool for 10 minutes. Serve with additional honey.

Calories per scone: 150

My World According to Pumpkin

2009-11-18T15:01:00.000-08:00

I find that during desperate times [aka writing this group Marketing brief the day before it is due], I find solace in updating this blog. Economically, the opportunity cost of this action is atrocious, yet my personal utility soars, so ultimately, it balances out.

The pumpkin shortage seems to be in better shape now, which means that I can buy lots of it and bake! I already stocked up on a few 30-ounce cans, which means that my life will be filled of orange goodness until I get sick of it. I experimented with a couple of recipes in the past few weeks to see what I could come up with.

My first creation was a pumpkin rice pudding. I used less sugar than the recipe called for since I decided to top each slice with warmed maple syrup instead. I also used whole-wheat flour as usual, for more iron. Make sure to use short-grain or Arborio rice; it melds together with the rest of the dessert. Long-grain becomes too chewy after being cooked and then baked.

My second creation was so good that it is now a part of my Thanksgiving menu! To me, no Thanksgiving is complete without pumpkin pie. I wanted to twist the traditional recipe a bit, so after perusing through my pantry, I came up with these individual tarts with coconut tuiles. I was a bit worried that the coconut would overpower the pumpkin, but it worked out really well. Lucky for me that I learned how to make tuiles during my interview at Camino restaurant, so I could put my skills to the test! All they need now is a little caramel sauce garnish, and voila!

Pumpkin Rice Pudding

2/3 cup short-grain rice [I used Arborio]
5 cups non-fat milk
8 yolks 2/3 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Make rice: Heat rice, salt, 4 cups milk, and remaining 2/3 cup granulated sugar in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until very hot.

Transfer to a large metal bowl set over a large saucepan of simmering water (or to a double boiler) and cook over low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and most of milk is absorbed, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. (Add more simmering water to saucepan if necessary.) Remove pan from heat and keep rice warm, covered.

[Note: This can be made the night before if needed]

Make pudding: Lightly whisk yolks in a large bowl, then whisk in vanilla, ginger, 1 1/3 cups pumpkin purée (reserve remainder for another use), and remaining cup milk. Gradually stir in warm rice, then pour mixture into a buttered 2-quart flameproof shallow baking dish (not glass). Set baking dish in a roasting pan and bake pudding in a hot water bath, uncovered, in oven until set, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Serve with warmed maple syrup.

Pumpkin Tarts with Coconut Tuiles

For the crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick grated butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla

For the filling:
4 large egg yolks
½ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp salt
1 cup whipping cream
¼ cup whole milk

For the Tuiles:
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup egg whites
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

For the tart:

Combine the flour, powdered sugar, coconut, and salt in the bowl of a food processor; pulse to combine. Scatter the grated butter over the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl lightly whisk the yolks and vanilla together. Dribble the yolk mixture through the processor tube while pulsing until clumps form. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead very lightly just to incorporate any dry ingredients that haven’t been mixed in. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

Grease twelve miniature tart pans or muffin tins. On lightly floured surface or on parchment paper, roll the dough into 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into circles a couple inches larger than the pans. Carefully transfer the rolled dough into the prepared pans and press the dough onto the bottoms and up the sides of the pans. Cut the excess of the dough. Dock the bottoms of the crusts with a fork and freeze for at least 30 minutes. If you are not planning to bake right away, wrap the crusts tightly and keep in the freezer until needed. Do not defrost before baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the frozen crusts with parchment paper, then with dry beans or pie weights. Bake for about 15 minutes, until set. Carefully remove the parchment and bake the crusts for another 10-12 minutes until light golden. Transfer the crusts in its pans to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

For the Filling:

Reduce the oven temperature to 300F after prebaking the tart crusts.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks and maple syrup until combined, followed by the pumpkin puree, spices, and salt. Gradually whisk in the cream and milk into the mixture; don’t whip too much air into the custard base.

Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a liquid measuring cup. Place the cooled tart shells onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone mat. Divide the custard between the prebaked tart shells filling them just a bit below the rim. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the filling appears softly set at the edges but still jiggles. Watch it baking; a minute too long and the texture will be grainy.

Cool the tarts on the pan on a cooling rack. After completely cooled, refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

For the Tuiles:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 large cookie sheets with a Silpat.

In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix together the coconut, sugar, egg whites, flour and the 1/4 cup melted butter. Drop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the coconut mixture onto a prepared cookie sheet. With an offset spatula, pat the mixture into a thin, flat, oval. Make two at a time, or the cookies get too cool and will not roll

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the tuiles are golden. Working quickly, remove the tuiles and roll around a greased rolling pin. Keep them there until they are cool and carefully remove to reveal the twisted shape. Store carefully until ready to use.

To Recipes and Beyond!

2009-11-12T01:42:00.000-08:00

Before I blog about upcoming Thanksgiving adventures and Blue Bottle coffee, check out my article in the Daily Cal about reading a recipe and what it's all really about!

http://www.dailycal.org/article/107472/to_recipes_and_beyond_

Wake Up to Good Health

2009-11-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

Bad news: My anemia came back.

And so did the reduced hemoglobin/low red blood AND white blood count/RBC diameter, meaning less oxygen intake.

Fail.

This basically means going back to my healthy regimen of no desserts and whole grains. Gym is out until I can regain better oxygen circulation, and I need to work on getting more sleep and less stress, which sadly, seems highly unlikely given the life of a double major.

But one can always dream.

To kick off my, well, health kick, I borrowed a recipe from Baking Obsession for buckwheat-oat scones. As you know, I have an undying affinity towards buckwheat, and although the final product looks nothing like scones, they definitely taste like them: moist, and crumbly.

I wanted to assure that my sugar intake was levelled, so I substituted half the sugar for chopped dates [I had some leftover from carrot cake a week back], and used fat-free milk to thin the batter, although I'm sure you can use any other type and it would turn out fine. Ideally, scones work well with buttermilk, so if you can find a low-fat or fat free version, I recommend using that instead. You can also substitute buttermilk with milk and a teaspoon of lemon juice, which gives the acid needed to activate the baking soda. But if you don't mind slighty flattened scones, do what I did and just use milk.

These scones are pretty hearty due to the buckwheat and oats, so make sure you have a glass of milk or tea ready close by!

Date-Oat-Buckwheat Scones [Doatwheat?]

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
4 tbsp (½ stick; 55g) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
1/3 cup finely chopped dates
1 cup milk, cold + about 1 tbsp for brushing
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
About 1 tbsp raw coarse sugar (like turbinado)

Preparation:

Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

In a large bowl, whisk the first 9 ingredients. Add the butter and work into the flour using a pastry blender or your fingers (my preference here).

Don’t be too heavy-handed, small butter pieces are still should be present.

Add the chopped dates, mix to combine. In a glass liquid-measuring cup, combine 1 cup of milk and the vanilla extract, then pour into the dry ingredients, stirring with a fork. The dough will be sticky; that’s the way it should be.

Transfer the dough onto a generously floured surface, and fold it over 3-4 times. Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and flatten into a 9-inch square. Score the dough with a back of a large knife into smaller squares (I made 16).

Brush with the remaining milk and sprinkle with the raw sugar.

Bake for about 30-32 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack until warm. Store in an airtight container if you plan on keeping them for more than a couple of days.

Serves 16.

Make a Date with Carrot Cake

2009-11-04T17:54:00.001-08:00

I realised that I have eaten more carrot cake in these past three weeks than I have eaten all year.
FSM, the on-campus cafe, has become my haven for studying Accounting, Econ, Psychology, and whatever else I have been lazy about until the night before the midterm. Every time I go there (which is nearly everyday), I order the same thing: A small-nonfat-sugarfree vanilla latte and a slice of carrot cake. Multiply these slices by four to five days of FSM fun, and that is a lot of cake.

Unfortunately, that also means a lot of calories, and since I clearly am not going to the gym (that is two hours I could be studying!), I needed to figure out a better version of my go-to textbook food than layers of carrots, sugar, and cream cheese frosting.

My solution was a carrot cake sweetened with dates. Although dates do pack a hefty dose of calories they are fat-free and an excellent source of fiber, so you feel fuller for a longer period of time and avoid uncessary snacking. I consider them 'good' calories, in the same group as nuts and avocado.

Further health kicks included whole wheat flour, yoghurt, and almonds (remember, good calories). Instead of cream cheese, I used the leftover dates to create a date frosting to spread on top. It complimented the dates in the cake nicely and added sweetness, but not overpoweringly so.

Ultimately, one slice of cake equated to 211 calories, versus 400 for a typical store-slice. Success? I think so.

Now back to Marketing.

Make-a-Date Carrot Cake

2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup dates, pitted and finely chopped
1.5 cups carrots, finely shredded
1/2 cup yoghurt (I used nonfat Greek plain)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup light soy milk
1.5 tsp Cinnamon
.75 tsp salt
2.5 tsp BP

Date Frosting:

1 cup pitted Medjool dates
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9x5x3 / 8-cup loaf pan (or 8x8 cake pan) and line it with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the almonds and set aside.

Stir the dates into the melted butter, breaking up the dates a bit.

Stir the carrots into the date-butter mixture, breaking up any date clumps as you go. Whisk in the yoghurt, eggs, and soy milk. Add the flour mixture and stir until everything just comes together. Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean in the center of the cake - it'll be less if you are using a standard cake pan. Remove from oven and let cool.

While the cake is baking make the date frosting.

In a medium saucepan, bring water and dates to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add vanilla and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. Place mixture in a blender with the cinnamon. Pulse until smooth and completely blended. When the cake is cool, spread the frosting over it.

Serves 16.

Two Ways with Apples

2009-10-20T23:03:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge fan of apples by themselves, which I attribute to my freshman year when the only fruit that the dining commons ever supplied were apples and bananas. I mean, I know an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but really? It just becomes so damn boring after a while! What happened to all the other seasonal produce like pears, quince, and (my favourite) persimmons?

Fall is indeed apple season, and apple season means lots of baking, which invariably turns into pie. There are a multitude of methods to construct an apple pie (I add sharp cheddar to mine), but after some time, even that becomes mundane.
However, when my friend suddenly thrust a box full of apples from Whole Foods at me--for free, so obviously I couldn't resist--I knew I needed to use them sooner or later (preferably sooner; if I waited too long then I would end up with mass mushiness that has no use except for apple puree or applesauce). I wasn't in the mood for pie, but I did want to use up as many apples as possible before they mushified.

Some searching led to two new ways with apples: roasted and baked into a tart. Now, I know you may say that a tart is nearly the same thing as a pie, but I had my reasons. I learned how to make a new type of dough at my pastry stage last week, crunch dough. It has a higher butter content so that when baked, it becomes super flaky and just shatters beautifully once cut into with a satisfying crunch. My recreation used whole-wheat flour and a touch of anise seed and turned out well. I found out later that my butter/flour ratio was too high, but from sole improvisation, I was content. The glaze was actually condensed milk!

As for the roasted apples, think of it as a sort of an crumble. The layers were sandwiched with a buckwheat streusel that provided a nice nutty flavour. I added some chopped almonds as well for extra crunch, since the apples would be soft once baked off. A dollop of cinnamon cream would be perfect for either of these two creations, but since I had none, I just sprinkled some of the spice into the mixture and left it at that. There will be extra crumble, so you can either save it for future use or add an egg white like I did and bake them off as cookies!

Ideas for next time: Proper crunch dough

Roasted Apples Layered with Buckwheat Crumble

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
Pinch of salt
a handful of raw almonds, chopped

Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add the flour and salt and mix. Add the chopped almonds and mix until crumbly. If the dough is too thick, add some more buckwheat flour.

Slice 4 apples horizontally. Keep the top, but core the rest of the layers. Place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the crumble in between the layers and in the cavities.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes or until tender. You can baste them with a bit of melted butter in the process if the apples seem a bit too dry.

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Freeform Apple Tart

3-4 apples, thinly sliced Pinch of cinnamon 1 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour 1 tsp anise seeds 6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces Pinch of salt 2 Tbsp sugar 2-3 Tbsp ice water 1/2 cup almonds, chopped Condensed milk, to glaze

Combine flour, sugar, anise seeds, and salt. Add butter and mix with hands or a pastry blender until crumbly. Drizzle in water, one tablespoon at time, until mixture comes together as a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least half an hour.

Roll out dough on a floured surface until roughly the size of a pizza pan. Don't worry if the edges are ragged; this will be a freeform tart! Sprinkle with almonds. Starting from the outside, arrange the apple slices in a spoke like fashion all the way around, working your way in until the tart is filled.

Fold over the edges of the dough into a rough crimped shape. Using a brush, glaze the crust with condensed milk and sprinkle with sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon over the apples.

Bake at 400 until crust is golden-brown. Cool on a rack before serving.

Bar-None Bars

2009-09-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

Why are these bars named as such? Because they are best, bar none [get it?] And because they are so good that they will soon be none left!

I made these a couple of weeks ago while both my roommates were away. Having the place to myself can be nice and allows from some inner-reflection-bonding time, but let's face it: that lasts about ten, maybe fifteen minutes at the most, and then I just become bored and lonely....and hungry.

The best thing about these bars is the layers. Each bite reveals five [yes, count them!] luscious layers of goodness, and each layer sings with every person's favourite desserts and snacks:

Chocolate cake crumbs: Oreos; the innocence of childhood and dunking cookies in milk

Chocolate chips: Everyone's favourite cookie; eating them straight out of the bag

Walnuts: Nutty crunch; toffee; brittle

Coconut: Tropical dreams; miniature candy bars; India

Dulce de Leche: Smooth golden caramel, but richer; total gooeyness

Combined, they are magic, and you will be fighting your friends for a piece. I make this claim only because it is the utmost truth. After dropping off some extra bars at my friend's apartment, the treats made their way around the room. They passed the precious foil-wrapped desserts back and forth until in no time at all, there were indeed none left.

Bar none? I think so.

Ideas for Next Time: Different type of cookie base/nuts, conversion into a cake

Bar-None Bars

1 cup chocolate cake crumbs [I took leftover cake pieces, dried them in the oven overnight, and ground them in a blender]
1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup dulce de leche

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease an 8×8-inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together cake crumbs, oats and melted butter. Pour into prepared pan and press into an even layer, using your fingertips,the back of a spoon or a spatula. Spread chocolate chips in a layer on the graham crackers. Spread walnuts in a layer on the chocolate chips. Spread coconut in a layer on top. Pour sweetened condensed milk over everything, and drizzle with dulce de leche.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until coconut is golden brown. Cool completely before slicing.
Bars can be served at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 25 squares.

Think Outside the Bag

2009-09-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

Ahoye readers,

I am in the process of cramming for two midterms, trying to eat healthy [major phail], and writing my column for this week, so although I have been dessert-ing [roasted figs, anyone?] I simply cannot post until this week of Hell is over. In the meanwhile, feel free to read my latest article in the Daily Cal newspaper here and give me your thoughts. The founder of Tastespotting.com commented!

Besty Zesty Cake - Orange Zest, That Is

2009-09-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about a friend of mine, code name Star Wars [for those of you who know him, this nickname should be incredibly obvi as to who it is, but as you know, everyone in my life must have an alternative name, just to keep things interesting].

Star Wars is the healthiest health nut I have ever met. For the most part, I eat pretty healthily [no fried foods, no potato chips], but this guy makes me sound and feel obese. But he was also my partner-in-crime for various baking adventures this past summer in the SigEp fraternity house. Together, we plundered the house kitchen and devised new methods of dealing with oven dials that worked backwards, multiplying rat populations, stolen Grade AA maple syrup, tupperwares without lids, and the constant shortage of mixing bowls, spoons, spatulas, and baking dishes. Yet despite all these mishaps, we still managed to bake up a storm week after week, satiating the other brothers of the house and experimenting with new and healthier options for desserts. And for better or for worse, he has transformed me into a more conscious baker. Although I am not even close to his level, I, now, prefer whole-wheat flour over all-purpose and limiting the usage of butter. The changes are minimal, yet the results are a healthier product that I can enjoy while still retaining some nutritional benefits.

Since he moved out of the house, our baking sessions had ended, but our desire [or necessity] to restore Team Buckwheat [the name of our powerhouse kitchen duo] remained steadfast. Thus, after countless phone calls, last-minute cancellations, and schedule reconfigurations, we finally set a plan to meet today. His dish was pumpkin bread, while I settled on a recipe I found when reading some filter blogs: Olive oil cake.

I know, that sounds rather strange and even disgusting upon first hearing it, but let me help clear that bias. Olive oil lends a full and fruity flavour to baked goods, and its heart-healthy fats are much better than butter, which would make Star Wars very proud. Incorporating some semolina into the batter makes for a cornbread-like texture that balances with the oil nicely, and the cream and eggs keep the cake moist so that it resembles almost a coffeecake of sorts. In fact, I want to play around with this recipe more to see if I can create an upside-down coffeecake with some fruit. Pears, perhaps?

I am also a sucker for orange zest; one of my signature dishes for potlucks is an orange-ricotta cheesecake. Just a teaspoon livens up any cake and makes it cool and fresh when you bite into it. It is very underused amongst bakers I know, but I really encourage you to try sprucing up your next project with a bit of it, for the results will blow your mind.

In the midst of watching YouTube videos about SlapChop [watch it here, along with all its parodies; the rap video is awesome], both our cakes were a little overbaked, but luckily, neither Star Wars nor I are too picky about slightly overdone goods. A quick flip onto a plate and a knife rendered a warm, golden slice topped with sugary chopped almonds for an extra crunch. The final verdict? Success - as deemed by a taste test from his roommates [we would have been too biased in our assessments].

Oh, and his cake was great, too!

Ideas for next time: Fruit for a coffeecake; different types of nuts; caramel topping

Besty Zesty Cake

INGREDIENTS
2 ea, large eggs, room temperature
3/4 C sugar
1 C whole-wheat flour
1/2 C semolina
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil (not too bitter)
1/2 C cream
1 tbl honey

for topping:
2 tbl sugar
1/3 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Oil a cake pan with olive oil.

Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and zest in a small bowl. Mix to make sure zest is evenly distributed. (Easily done with hand.)

Combine oil, cream, and honey in a measuring cup. Give a quick stir to mix everything.

In an electric mixer, cream sugar and eggs with paddle attachment on medium high until pale yellow, about 1 minute. On medium speed, add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the wet ingredients. With every addition, make sure to incorporate without overbeating. Scrape down sides as necessary.

With a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the oiled baking dish. Sprinkle sugar and almond mixture on top. Place in middle rack of oven, and bake until slightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Kid Cudi Cake [Gonna Make Her Say Yumm]

2009-09-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

I live for days like today.
Why?
Simply because the weather is gorgeous, my apartment is clean [after an hour of hardcore vacuuming from my slightly defunct appliance], my fridge is full [newly restocked from the Bowl, of course], I am wearing pajamas at five in the evening, there is chai steaming on the stove, and my kitchen smells like cake.

Oh, and I learned a new word today, too, courtesy of Urban Dictionary. Cudi, [as in Kid] means 'anything dope, real, fresh, or all around cudi worthy' [not sure what 'cudi worthy' actually means, though].

Example: 'Those hoes ate the last burrito, NOT cudi...'

Definitely my word of the week.

But being as this is a food blog, let's go back to the part about cake, and why in fact, it is so cudi worthy. But first, a little background:

Whenever I go to Berkeley Bowl, I don't really keep a specific list of things I need, mostly because (1) I put off grocery shopping for weeks so I usually need everything under the sun by the time I go, and (2) I have major food ADD and end up buying four times the amount on my list, racking up a bill that is in the triple digits. I have learned that the best way to shop is to simply get what looks particularly delicious and/or unique and figure out what to do with it once I'm home. This also forces me to get creative, for better or for worse.

My last grocery trip resulted in a purchase of huckleberries, which I had never tried before. Some quick GTS [Googling That Stuff] and taste-testing yielded good information. Related to blueberries, huckleberries are smaller, darker, and more tart. Their season is finishing up now, along with the rest of summer berries, but the Bowl is still selling them. Bee tee dubs, this is also another great reason to venture over there, along with the fact that the guy who stocks all the berries is super cute.

Now, in lieu of my wonderfully lazy Saturday, I invited my friend to come over and bake. Although we didn't have enough berries for all-out pie, which is the common way to use them, I found another recipe for buckwheat cake off one of my favourite food sites, 101 Cookbooks. Actually a seed and not a grain, buckwheat is very healthy for you and is high in iron, and it adds a dense, nutty flavour to baked goods. Over the summer, I had a buckwheat phase and used it for everything from pancakes to cookies, but I had never done a cake. And since I still had these berries to use up, I can utilise them. See, creativity is brewing!

We followed the recipe for the most part, just upping the vanilla dose and sprinkling on the huckleberries before baking [thus eliminating the original fleur de sel topping] and then glazing the top. The cake turned out the perfect shade of brown thanks to the buckwheat flour, and the eggwash made the top glisten. To restrain ourselves from devouring it straight out of the pan, we kept busy by whipping up some cream with cinnamon which we dolloped onto the still-warm cake. So fresh, so cudi.

I live for days like today.

Kid Cudi Cake

For the cake:
7/8 cup (140g) buckwheat flour
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 pound (240g) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup (200g) sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup huckleberries
For the glaze
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon milk
Optional: Cinnamon whipped cream

Butter a 9 or 10-inch pan. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees (180C).

In a small bowl, whisk together the buckwheat and all-purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the cinnamon.

In the bowl of a standing mixer or by hand, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg yolks and whole egg with the vanilla and rum with a fork, then gradually dribble the egg mixture into the batter while beating. If using an electric mixer, beat on high speed so the butter gets really airy.

Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top as flat as possible with an offset metal or plastic spatula.

Sprinkle the huckleberries over the top of the cake. Make a glaze by stirring the single yolk and milk together with a fork, then brush it generously all over the cake and huckleberries. (You may not use it all, but use most of it.)

Bake for 45 minutes, making sure not to over-bake or it will be on the dry side - start checking after 35 minutes or so. Let cool on a wire rack. Serve with a dollop of cinnamon cream, if desired.

Hello Cal; Meet Your Thursday Columnist

2009-09-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

That's right - I am the new Thursday columnist for the Daily Cal! Today marked the debut of my first column about [you probably can guess this] FIGS! It's a rendition of an earlier post here about my deep-dish pie, but extended to roughly 900 words to fit the space. So far I've received lots of positive feedback, which I greatly appreciate, so please keep it up!

Here is the article online [please ignore the last-name spelling error. It's correct in the printed publication!]. Take a looksie and let me know what you think. I am open to suggestions and criticisms, too, so don't feel shy!

Now off to pop some more pills and pass out at 9pm in hopes to mitigate this killer migraine and get my iron levels in check. All good things come to an end.

Don't Trip Chocolate Chip - Cake!

2009-09-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I lied about my next post being about figs. But you should be happy, because this is definitely way better, and I know y'all are sick about hearing about figs anyways.

I have a friend who has a mad love-affair with chocolate chip cookies. It mimics my obsessions with pancakes or, more recently, figs, except while my crazes change, his has remained steadfast for as long as I have known him. He would spend hours on TasteSpotting, gazing at pictures of different cookies during study breaks for finals, and don't even get me started on what would happen if he stumbled across something on FoodPornDaily. Now that is a look of bliss if I ever saw one.

So when his birthday rolled around, I sat down and thought, what does he like most in the world? Easy answer. Now, how can I make that into something birthday-like? That didn't take much effort, either. The alarm in my brain went off with the celerity of a kitchen timer as I formed my solution: a chocolate chip cookie cake.

Yes, I did just say that.

When I was baking, I wanted to make sure that the final product was indeed a cake, and not just a giant cookie a la Mrs. Field's, so I thinned out the batter with some cream to create the right consistency. I also baked the two cakes simultaneously in round pans, which I can now do thanks to a brand-new set of bakeware bestowed by my mom for my birthday. She knows me so well!

The filling is a wonderful chocolate buttercream that I pulled from the Daring Bakers newest challenge, with the addition of a little cream cheese, just for funsies. I always have trouble with keeping frostings stiff enough for cakes, but this is by far the best buttercream I have ever made, and everyone who ate this cake agreed! I'm definitely keeping it on file for future use and modifications.

Oh, and as for the birthday boy, I think it's safe to say that he got to have his cake and eat it, too. Happy 20th!

Don't Trip Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in cream, and then chocolate chips.

Pour batter into two pans and bake until set, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

For the buttercream:

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1. Quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. This is going to be your double boiler.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. An electric mixer is best for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the cream cheese. Then add the soft butter, about 2 tablespoons at a time. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill for a couple hours.

Assembly:

Spread chilled buttercream onto one of the cooled cake layers. Top with second cake, wrap in plastic wrap, and let chill for at least an hour.

Spread a chocolate ganache on top, and decorate the sides with chocolate chips and coconut flakes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mini Custards for Mini People

2009-09-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

I always wonder how scientists come up with all these hybrid fruits. Are they just bored in the lab one day decide to screw around, or is like a planned project to create something new? What if they fail and the new product tastes hella bad? I imagine that something like a kiwi-orange mix would be terrible, but that's just me. What fruit hybrids do you think would taste good or bad?

Recently, I picked up a hybrid I hadn't seen before: a plumtarine! If you haven't already guessed (which is pretty sad on your part, no offense), this plum-nectarine mix is the size of a plum, but has a sweet interior. The skin is also very sweet, not bitter like that of plums. I ate one plain to test it out, and I decided that I like them way better than plums. I guess the scientists had a success with this one!

But I still have a few of these fruits leftover, and I really wanted to make something quick and easy, so I settled on individual custards baked in muffin pans! I had a recipe lying around that used apricots, so I swapped those for plumtarines. The custards were not heavy at all, and the fruit gave them a nice sweetness as they suspended in the middle. I had a few extra slices so I just topped the custards with them!

Quick warning for my next post: Figs...again. I know, you all must be bored to tears by all this figginess (is that a word? Spell check didn't pick it up..), but I swear, this is the last one! Fig season is nearly over anyways!

Ideas for next time: Some sort of spice added into the custards [Anise?], caramel topping

Individual Plumtarine Custards

Ingredients:
4 plumtarines, thinly sliced
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 C).

2). Reserve some plumtarine slices for garnish, if desired.

3). Place a 12-cup muffin tin in a shallow baking pan. Divide the sliced plumtarines among the cups or dishes.

4). In a small mixing bowl combine the eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the fruit.

5). Place the baking pan containing the cups or dishes in the oven. Pour boiling water around cups or dishes in pan to depth of 1 inch.

6). Bake in preheated 325 degree F (160 C) oven for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted near the centers comes out clean. Remove cups or dishes from water. Serve custards warm. Garnish with the reserved plumtarine slices.

BBR: Move Over Chicago, Deep Dish Isn't Only for Pizza

2009-08-30T20:55:00.001-07:00

YES YES YES YES IT IS FIG SEASON!

Hi.

Now that I got that out of my system, I can write this blog a bit more coherently and feed my dalliance over reading about financial accounting. Nas-tayy.

I'm actually writing about figs [again] due to a request for this recipe: a deep-dish fig-almond pie, and it actually got me thinking: I am going to start writing a once-a-week blog post based on questions, suggestions, or requests. It'll be a nice way to keep readers involved, and they get to read what they want! I will post their initial inquiry in the beginning then follow it up, and all of these blog titles will be under the heading BBR: Blog By Request. Sundays seem to be the days in which I solicit my dendrites to higher education, so I can utilise my study breaks and steer clear from Facebook [as best I can; y'all know how tough it can be] and do something with a bit more meaning in my life. Sounds good?

So back to figs. Simply put, they are amazing, and they have such a short season [they will be gone by the end of September] that when they are around, you better go get some or you seriously fail. They are good raw, roasted, baked, even grilled! And they are a good source of calcium and iron, which gives me even more of a reason to indulge myself.

I found the original recipe here; it was a recipe-of-the-day from Food Network, but I decided to use figs because why not? I also used whole-wheat flour to justify me eating it [you know, for iron and what not]. My springform pan is also eight inches instead of the standard nine, but that only results in a deeper-dish pie, and more per slice! Make sure the pie cools or it will fall apart when you cut it..I learned that the hard way.

Before this recipe, I never even thought to make pies deep-dish. That kind of thing seemed reserved solely for pizza of the Chicago variety, but now, I know better, and I'm thinking that once fall rolls around, a deep-dish apple pie might be in the works! Or pumpkin! Or...suggestions?

IFNT [Ideas for Next Time]: Same recipe, but in bar form for different texture

Deep-Dish Fig and Almond Pie

Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons anise seeds
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced, at room temperature (1 1/4 sticks)
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour

Filling:

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, with skin, plus 1/4 cup for top
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced and at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
5-6 Black Mission figs, stemmed and halved
Serving suggestions: Ice cream or whipped cream

Crust: Lightly toast anise seeds in a skillet over medium heat until aromatic, 2 minutes. Grind in a spice mill or mortar and pestle until fine.

Combine the butter and sugar in a food processor until creamy. Add the egg, anise seed, vanilla and salt and pulse to combine. (This may look rough and curdy, but don't worry, it all comes back together.) Add about half of the flour and pulse quickly 3 to 4 times to incorporate. Scrape down the edges of the processor and add the remaining flour. Pulse just enough to make a coarse, crumbly dough.

Press dough into the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch springform pan to form a thin, even layer, using waxed paper to smooth. Freeze crust while you prepare the filling.

Filling: Pulse 1 1/2 cups almonds in a food processor until very finely ground (take care not to overprocess the nuts or they can get oily). Transfer nuts to a bowl. In the same processor, combine the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the cinnamon and continue to pulse until evenly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse in the egg. Add the reserved almonds and pulse until just blended.

Arrange the figs cut side down, over the crust. Spread the filling on top and smooth with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup almonds and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake pie until the filling puffs and is golden but still slightly soft in the center, 1 hour 10 minutes. If the crust begins to overbrown, cover the pie with foil during the last 15 minutes of cooking. When pie is done, turn off the oven and prop door open. Cool pie in the oven for 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Serve at room temperature with ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

FFFF: Fall Food Fest Fun

2009-08-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Michael Bauer said it well: 2009 could just as well be known as the year of food festivals.

And it is only beginning.

Food festivals are definitely the latest trend in the culinary world. Why? Simply because they are a great way to get a restaurant's name out there and showcase its products at a much cheaper price than going in for an actual dinner. It goes hand-in-hand with the latest street food craze as well, as well as the American mentality of eating things quickly, cheaply, and on the go.

Last Saturday was the first of a few festivals in the Bay Area. The first ever San Francisco Street Food Fest was hosted by La Cocina on Folsom Street and featured food and drinks from more than twenty vendors! There was also a beer garden for those of drinking age, but the lines for alcohol were nothing compared to the lines for food. Being the first year, things were disorganised, with lines snaking in and around each other (and up to half an hour waits) and booths being short of food, but you can't expect too much from a first-timer. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and people were chatty, so waiting wasn't that bad.

I had purchased a $25 dollar passport beforehand so I didn't have to worry about cash. At first, I thought it wouldn't be enough, but I was stuffed by the end and ended up spending the last few dollars on brownies from Neo Cocoa to bring back to my roommates. (Bee tee dubs, if you ever live with me in the future, be prepared to always eat some sort of sweet thing or another; no excuses!)

Here is a little slideshow of the festival:

With my roommate: Foodies on a mission!

First stop: Slanted Door; very disappointing boba though - it was too sweet

Vegetarian steamed bun from Slanted Door

Bean and cheese pupusa from Estrellita's Sweets; served with slaw and spicy sauce

Indulging in my horchata obession

Heirloom tomatoe tomaquet; delicious!

Major disappointment of the day; how can you sell out of creme brulee?!

Our picture for SF Weekly magazine!

City Nights #2: SPQR

2009-08-24T19:44:00.001-07:00

For those of you new to the blog, City Nights #1 was A16. And given that this was night number two, it is only fit that I dine at the sister restaurant, SPQR, which specialises in Roman cuisine.

I've been to SPQR before for brunch [lemon ricotta swirl pancakes!] but never for dinner. The menu is divided into cold antipasti, hot antipasti, fried antipasti, and then a small collection of pastas and meats. You can mix and match antipasti for a fixed price, so we ended up doing that.

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention who the "we" was! Saturday was a mini Relay for Life [or Riffle, as I like to call it; RFL = Riffle, get it?] reunion. Nicole, one of last year's event chairs lives in SoCal and came up for a couple days, so she, the other event chair, Nick, and I decided to hit up a top 100 restaurant in SF. And what great results! Luckily the executive sous chef was there last night working one of his last shifts, so he treated us like royalty. He turned a simple meal into an elaborate four-course dinner complete with an extra dish at each course free of charge! As Nicole said, every course was like Christmas morning:

Cold antipasti: Tuna conserva, fennel, ceci beans, celery, radish

Cold antipasti: Fresh ricotta, marinated summer squash, toasted pinenuts and crostini

Fried antipasti: Cauliflower with garlic, parsley, capers and lemon

Hot antipasti: Calamari with potatoes and greens

Second favourite dish of the night: Grilled eggplant with pecorino, pine nuts, and basil

Dessert #1: Granita with pecorino crema, candied fennel, and blackberries

Favourite dish of the night: Riso budino with plum confittura and pistachios

All in all, another successful dinner in San Fran!

Ending a wonderful dinner with fantastic event chairs and friends!

Now onto the next top 100 restaurant..

Cocktail in a Cupcake?

2009-08-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

My healthy get-as-much-iron-as-I-possibly-can kick continues, especially after my relapse on Wednesday where I spent most of the day on the sofa munching on cereal and consoling my gargantuan megrims and hebetude by plowing through Season 2 of "How I Met Your Mother." Bee tee dubs, if you have never seen this show before, go watch it right now. In the course of six days it has become one of my favourite shows, and I'm determined to be all caught up by the time the new season begins in September. Luckily, being sick allows me to waste, I mean UTILISE my time watching episode after episode. Story of my life.

This summer, I practically lived at the SigEp fraternity house baking. The guys there are the healthiest health nuts I have ever met, but now that I need to eat uber healthy, I can finally appreciate their obsessions, and it's allowed me over the past couple months to hone my own baking into products that are more nutritious yet still delicious!

My latest concoction is an adaption of a recipe I found off of Baking Bites. Nicole came up with an awesome idea of infusing a lemon drop cocktail into a cupcake, complete with vodka and everything. It sounded so unique I had to give them a try. I didn't have strawberries, so I used blackberries instead, creating a purple swirl in the cakes, along with whole wheat flour so that I get my iron dose. I also wanted a distinct lemon flavour, so I used lemon juice instead of zest.

At first, the batter was super thick, and I was worried that these would just turn out hard. But they came out great! The texture was nearly like cornmeal cakes, which I attribute to the blackberry seeds. You couldn't really taste the vodka, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing; I think it would be interesting to actually have that flavour come through and counter the blackberries and lemon.

You can get the original recipe here if you are interested in making both and comparing them!

Ideas for next time: Blackberry or citrus-flavoured vodka, different fruit filling

Blackberry Lemon Drop Cupcakes

1 stick butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 cups whole-wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk [any kind, I used nonfat]
1/2 cup vodka
2 cups fresh, halved blackberries

Preheat oven to 350F and line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and lemon juice.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vodka. Working in three or four additions, alternate adding the flour mixture and the vodka/milk mixture, ending with an addition of dry ingredients. Only mix until no streaks of flour remain visible. Stir in blackberries gently by hand to create a swirl effect.
Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 16-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

I Just Want to Get a Fat Melon and Eat It

2009-08-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

My favourite thing about summer is the produce, hands down. There are so many delicious things that we get to eat that just aren't as good in the other months. Things like berries, squash, green beans, it's all so delicious!

Melons are a huge part of summer. While I am not a huge watermelon fan [it tastes like water to me], hand me anything else and I'm game. Lately I've been trying out different melons other than the usual cantaloupe or honeydew to see if I can wrap my taste buds around them [hence the title of this blog, a phrase I said while pondering my new discoveries while on the MUNI in San Francisco. Needless to say, it did attract some odd stares.]

Some of my new favs are:

Crenshaw: Light orange interior with a yellow peel that feels waxy when ripe
Charanteis: Resembles smaller versions of cantaloupe
Galia: Hybrid of a cantaloupe and honeydew; green interior

When I bought my first crenshaw melon, I wanted to do more than just eat it plain, although I did do that for half of it. The weather had been pretty warm lately, so I decided to use the other half and make a semifreddo, a sort of half-frozen ice cream made with whipping cream, eggs, and sugar. Since it isn't churned, it doesn't freeze and there are no ice crystals, which makes it softer. They are usually served in moulds, like the doughnut-shaped versions at A16 in San Francisco, but any type of pan at home is fine to freeze it in. I like freezing it in a loaf pan so I can slice it and serve with some almonds as garnish.

Since my melon was uber ripe by the time I used it, I didn't have to use much sugar. When you make this at home and use fruits, pay attention to the fruit's natural sweetness and add sugar as you prefer; the recipe version might be too much or too little.

Ideas for next time: Different fruits/melons, some sort of garnish [berries, mint syrup]

Melon-Brown Sugar Semifreddo

1 pound peeled chopped crenshaw melon (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar sugar, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup heavy cream
Almonds [for garnish]

Line loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang at each end. Purée melon with 1/3 cup sugar and salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer to large metal bowl and stir in yolks. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with mixer until pale, thick, and tripled in volume, about 10 minutes.

Remove bowl from saucepan and set in a large ice bath. Continue to beat until cold, about 6 minutes.

Beat cream with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in other large bowl using cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into cantaloupe mixture gently but thoroughly.

Pour mixture into pan and freeze, loosely covered with plastic wrap, until firm, at least 5 hours. Uncover top and invert semifreddo onto a plate. Garnish with almonds.

Fee Fi Fo FIG

2009-08-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but every time I go to Berkeley Bowl to buy some figs, they are just so expensive! I mean four dollars for a basket of Black Missions? No, thanks; that's nearly three loads of laundry!

Thank goodness for friends who have mass amounts of random fruit trees growing in their front yard. True story. Now it's just a five-minute walk to fill my bag full of figs, and they are free! I mean, as long as he gets to eat some of whatever I decide to bake with them, which is reasonable enough.

These figs are not Black Mission though, sadly. Black Mission figs are really moist and must be eaten as soon as possible, as they go bad quickly. They are also very common dried, but I prefer the full fruit. The figs that I used here were Calimyrna. They are green and not as moist or as sweet as Mission. They also have very tough outer skins, so many people like to peel them before use.
I decided to utilise the figs to make a strudel. I had been reading up on some blogs about strudel dough, and it didn't look too hard to make so I thought I'd try my hand at it. The finished dough is super stretchy, but it's actually quite fun to maneuver! Make sure you have a large surface so that you can work with the dough and not have any uneven thicknesses. I actually used the recipe from Daring Bakers. Check out my BlogRoll for some other great strudels that bloggers cooked up!

Being the lazy college student that I am, I decided not to peel the figs. Instead, I just boiled them down with some maple syrup and a dash of lemon juice to create a pulpy filling. The syrup makes the entire mixture sweeter and holds the filling together. Plain sugar would work fine, but the final product might be more liquidy and harder to put into the strudel.

Before baking, the strudel may not seem like much, but don't trip chocolate chip; it will rise! And you will have fat fig strudels before you know it!

Ideas for next time: Flavour the dough with something; Black Mission fig filling

Maple-Fig Strudel

Filling:
2 cups Calimyrna figs, washed and quartered
1/2 cup maple syrup
A dash of lemon juice

Strudel Dough:
1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

For the filling: Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until figs are soft and mixture has reduced nearly by half. Mash the figs as you go along as to create a jam. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

For the dough:
Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.

Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.

Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).
It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.

Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

To assemble:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle and spoon fig mixture onto half of it, leaving a half-inch border all along the sides. Fold the other half over and pinch to seal the edges.

With a knife, cut vents all along the strudel. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until the strudel has puffed up nicely and is a golden-brown. Sprinkle with brown sugar just before serving, if desired.

Finals are Done, Summer Has Begun!

2009-08-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

.....For ten days at least.

It has been a hectic week, and the appearance of our apartment proves it. Beds piled with clothes, sleeping a maximum of three hours on the sofa, intense caffeine intakes, and stacks of dishes.

But somehow, somehow, we made it through. We always do, even though it doesn't feel like it at the time, and I am so glad that I can sleep before 4am and go back to getting myself better.

Oh, about that: More blood results came in. Iron and blood count levels are up, but still far below average. I still need to take 7 pills a day and watch my diet closely. Ughhh.

But Apartment 102 still manages to sneak in its fun. Last weekend, we had a night on the town and had dinner at A16, where I intern at. After bringing home leftovers for weeks, we all decided that it was high time to actually go in and try their food legitimately. So in dresses, makeup, and heels, we braved the Bay Bridge traffic and ate til we dropped. Here are some snaps of the night:

Alcohol to get us through the studying: Blushing Angel and Fuzzy Naples.

Mozzarella burrata drizzled with olive oil, served with crostini

Roasted Calabrian chilies [A gift from the kitchen, and so good!]

Ricotta gnocchi with tomatoes [Definitely one of my favourites; simple and delicious]

Funghi pizza of assorted mushrooms and arugula

Chocolate budino tart drizzled with olive oil and sea salt [A16's signature dessert, and with good reason. The salt and olive oil will knock your taste buds out of the park.]

Fig and raspberry crostata with ricotta gelato and imported pistachios [Those pistachios are amazing]

Crespelle of strawberries, pecorino crema, and black pepper [The crema was a little heavy for me, personally]

Being an intern has its perks, including 50 percent off!

Ending our dinner; the perfect study break!

Rhubarb Again? Oh Yes.

2009-08-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

I went home for a couple days to get more blood tests done. Yes, more. But only four tubes of blood this time [it was 6 last time], so I guess that's a good sign. Although I am now getting tested for reticulocytes, which I'm still not sure what those are...
All massive blood loss incidents aside, I have been keeping up with my baking. I had two stalks of rhubarb leftover and some raspberries bordering on becoming mouldy if I didn't use them, and that would just be nas-tay, so I decided to use them both together! The result? These light oatmeal bars [gotta get that iron!] topped with raspberry puree and rhubarb bits. Delicious.
If I had more time and patience, I would have gone all-out and made my own raspberry jam, but here I just pureed them, strained out the liquid, and added some cornstarch and sugar. I found that instead of wasting that juice, I could toss the rhubarb in them to meld the flavours of the two, and it worked out well. The rhubarb had a pink glaze before baking that sunk into the pieces during baking and made them more moist and retained their pinkish colour more.

No more rhubarb after this, I promise!

Ideas for next time : Baking them in a loaf pan to make the cookie part thicker and heartier; more rhubarb to make a full layer, nuts?

Rhubarb-Raspberry Oatmeal Bars

For the base:
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup almond paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 up oats

For topping:
1.5 cups raspberries, well-rinsed
2 stalks rhubarb, diced
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. sugar

For base:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square pan or a loaf pan.
Beat butter, almond paste, and sugar on medium speed until creamed. Add egg yolk and extract, beating til blended. Stir in flour and oats until just combined.
Press into pan and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool while preparing topping.

For topping:
Puree the raspberries in a blender. Press through a strainer or fine sieve to get rid of extra juices. Save the juice.
Whisk the cornstarch and 1 Tbsp. sugar into strained raspberries and spread over cooled crust.
Toss rhubarb with reserved raspberry juice and remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar. Arrange in layer over the raspberry puree.
Bake for an additional 40 minutes or until the rhubarb are tender and crust is firm. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Easy as Pie...er...Peaches!

2009-08-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Peaches and nectarines are in peak season right now, so if you haven't already picked up a bunch, stop reading this and go right now!

Personally, I like nectarines better. I like the crispness of of the flesh, and they never have to be peeled, which makes baking with them so much easier. But I still got love for peaches; nothing beats biting into a fuzzy fruit on a summer afternoon!

I do admit that sometimes, I'm just lazy with lunch. I don't want to bother taking out mass amounts of spices, pans, etc. just to make something for me. When this happens, I cheat and create these: open-faced peach toasts.

This is probably the easiest thing you can ever make for lunch [well, apart from microwaving frozen foods]. A slice of hearty bread topped with the cheese of your choice and fresh nectarines and you're good to go! In my toast, I first slathered on some Sweet Jalapeno sauce. It's an Afghani condiment from East and West Bolani, and it's delicious. You can find it at Whole Foods, along with many other dips and of course, bolani, Afghan flatbreads. I definitely recommend you check them out while you're on your hunt for peaches!

For the cheese, I used Jarlsberg, one of my favourite cheeses, but use whatever you want. A creamy brie would pair nicely with the fruit, as would any other sharp cheese.

Ideas for next time: Different type of cheese, perhaps cheddar?

Open Faced Nectarine Toasts

1 slice of whole wheat bread
2 Tbsp. sweet jalapeno sauce
3 Tbsp. grated Jarlsberg cheese
1 nectarine, sliced thinly
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Set the oven to broil.
Spread the sauce on the bread. Top with cheese, and arrange the nectarine slices on top. Broil until the cheese is melted through, not more than 1 minute.
Sprinkle with black pepper and serve immediately.

Epic Times at Epic Nights..These are the Days of Summer

2009-08-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

Picture this: Three roommates, an ex boyfriend, and a current interest all in the room. No drinks [except for hot taro milk tea with pearl], no drugs [except for my mass medication], just hilarity upon hilarity until 3 in the morning. Something about Shark Week, crazy animals, calcified babies, and pregnant men, followed by man-bonding on the sofa bed until 5am.

Welcome to Apartment 102.
I absolutely love it!

I did manage to get some cooking in before the arcane conversations began. Last week, I purchased a lotus root from Berkeley Bowl, the most amazing grocery place I have ever been to. Seriously, guyz, if you are in Berkeley, you need to check this place out. Everything from durian to buckwheat flour, and dirt cheap! I die a little from happiness every time I go there.

True story.

Lotus root is only 3% iron, but it also contains around 25% Vitamin C, so I figured that I can focus on getting that into my diet and get my iron from some whole-wheat rotis that my mom had given me [I always have a stash in the freezer for emergencies!]

While at first a daunting vegetable [like rhubarb], lotus root is simple to prepare. It takes slightly longer to prepare because you have to pressure cook it first to soften them up. If you are in a rush though, you can just cook it directly; it will be crunchy, but it will taste fine.

I wonder what other uses there are for lotus root....maybe one day I can configure it into a dessert! I am always open to suggestions too if you know any!

Lotus Root Sabzi

1 tsp. cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2-inch piece of ginger, minced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 tsp. haldi [tumeric powder]
1 tomato, diced
1 lotus root, peeled and sliced into wheels
1 tsp. garam masala [Available at Indian stores]
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
4 Tbsp. plain nonfat yoghurt
Salt, to taste

Place lotus root in a pressure cooker with enough water to cover it. Pressure cook on medium-high heat for one whistle. Drain water out and keep lotus root aside.
Heat some oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cumin and fry until fragrant, about 5 seconds.
Add garlic and ginger and cook until garlic is browned, about a minute or so. Add onion and haldi and cook until onions are soft, 3-5 minutes.
Add tomato and lotus root. Cover and cook until lotus root is lightly brown, 5 minutes or so.
Stir in garam masala and yoghurt. Cook, uncovered, a couple minutes longer or until the yoghurt has evaporated enough to create a bit of a sauce. Season with salt and serve with whole-wheat rotis.

Rhubarb Rave Recovery

2009-08-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! I have spent most of today recovering from a pancake date, a birthday party [there will be a blog about that cake soon], and the Fray concert. Trudged myself to work this morning after two hours of sleep, and gave into my caffeine addiction by getting a latte.

But somehow, it's still all worth it.

Don't trip chocolate chip; I'm still getting in my iron. Think a basket of blueberries while sitting on the lawn at the concert, and iron-enriched flour for pancakes. I'm still being healthy!

Now, the time has come for rhubarb. This is the first summer that I've ever cooked with it. It always seemed like one of those weird, what-the-hell-do-I-do-with-this vegetable, but after finding out about its iron benefits, it's go-time!

One the most common ways to bake with rhubarb is pie. I'm all for pie, but I'm also all for muffins, so I simply adapted a recipe I found from Epicurious and plopped the batter into muffin tins. What I ended up with were cute little rhubarb pies that actually resembled more of biscuits because of the batter, and they were so fluffy! I sprinkled the tops with sugar to offset the sourness of the rhubarb, although once it bakes it is not as intense, but I liked the the contrasting flavours.

Remember: when choosing rhubarb, look for stalks that are deep pink-red and are shiny. Those are the freshest ones.

Ideas for next time: Buttermilk, some sort of whipped topping?

Rhubarb Biscuit Bakes

1 lb fresh rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces [3 cups]
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. sanding sugar [like turbinado]
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/3 cup milk
2 large eggs (1 separated)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan and chill.

Toss rhubarb with brown sugar in a bowl until coated.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl until combined well. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk together milk, whole egg, and yolk. Make a well in center of flour mixture and add milk mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon to gradually incorporate flour and form a dough. Don't worry; the dough WILL be sticky!

Use half of the dough and pat out over bottom and halfway up the sides of the muffin tins. Make sure your hands are well-floured so the dough doesn't stick to you. Spoon rhubarb with its juices onto dough. Using a tablespoon or a small ice-cream scoop, spoon remaining dough in small mounds evenly over top. Lightly beat egg white with a few drops of water, then lightly brush cake with egg wash. Sprinkle the tops with the sanding sugar.

Bake muffins until the tops are golden and rhubarb is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool, about 30 minutes.

Iron Power!

2009-07-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

6 blood tests [7 if you include the botched one], 4 medications, and endless blueberry smoothies later, the doctor still does not know what's wrong with me. BUT, this is what she does know. I am......*drum roll, please*

* Chronically anemic. Like, four year's worth happening right now.
* Severely dehydrated.

Until my iron levels improve drastically, they can't run any other blood tests, which include those for thalassemia or Vitamin D.

Oh, I am negative for strep and mono, which makes things odder because now there is no explanation for my spontaneously ballooned throat glands that made it impossible to breathe, let alone eat or talk.

Since the semi-diagnosis, I have been on a major diet change. Basically: all-iron-all-the-time. What does this mean for my dessert cravings? Hell.

But fear not, because I will not let anemia crush my baking! In fact, I just cranked out this killer recipe with some leftover bananas. The cake was made with walnuts, but substitute almonds for more iron. The eggs add some nutrients, too, although in this version, I used blended tofu since my roommate doesn't eat eggs. The result was still a moist cake with a great caramel crunch top!

Take that anemia!

CARAMEL WALNUT UPSIDE-DOWN BANANA CAKE

Topping:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
3/4 cup walnut halves or pieces [or almonds]

Cake:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup tofu, pureed
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 large)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

For topping:
Spray 8-inch round cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Bring butter, sugar, and corn syrup to boil in medium saucepan, stirring constantly until butter melts. Boil syrup 1 minute. Stir in nuts. Spread topping in prepared pan. Let topping cool completely.

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until blended. Beat in tofu, then mashed bananas and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions just until combined. Spoon batter into pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Cut around cake. Place platter over pan. Holding pan and platter together, turn over. Let stand 5 minutes, then gently lift off pan. Cool at least 15 minutes for topping to set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

When Life Gives you Lemons...Make Pancakes!

2009-07-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

Oh blog, how have I missed thee.

Not that you had gone anywhere. This was a classic case of "Too busy, will update later" that turned into "I have a blog?" Epic phail.

But since I have been sick for the past four days and the doctor still can't figure out what is wrong with me, I have been prohibited from any activity whatsoever except for school. And only cus that's mandatory. And so I no longer have any excuse to hide behind as to why I haven't updated! I've still been cooking/baking, but this homegirl's gotta prove it!

As of July, I have experienced a major pancake obsession. You name 'em, I love 'em. Buckwheat, blue-corn-pine-nut [a specialty of New Mexico that I just fell in love with when I visited], good ol' fashioned buttermilk, I just adore them!

This is a tweak on an old pancake recipe I've had lying around for years. The original called for milk and cornmeal, but I like the denseness that buttermilk provides. Add some lemon zest, and I found myself with a fresh new pancake!

I've also recently been trying to devise other pancake toppings. Maple syrup and butter, while delicious, bores me after a while. On the morning that I made these, I had some plums in the fridge, so a quick boil with some sugar [brown sugar, the only sugar I ever use] revealed a tasty compote and a wonderful sourness to the sweet pancakes!

Even my brother loved them, and he's one of my biggest critics...success!

Ideas for next time: Orange zest; ricotta cheese; mascarpone, nectarines?

Lemon-Cornmeal Pancakes

1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs, separated
Zest of 2 lemons

1) Preheat a griddle to medium heat. Whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk and 3 egg yolks.
3) With clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites until they hold firm peaks. Fold in lemon zest.
4) Add the dry ingredients to buttermilk mixture, and then carefully fold in egg white mixture, being careful not to deflate them.
5) Drop batter by 1/4 cups onto griddle. Don't flatten them or they will deflate. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook for a minute longer or until browned.

Yield: 18 pancakes

Plum Compote

4-5 plums, diced
3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Bring plums and sugar up to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook until thickened and plums have broken down.

Serve hot over pancakes.

Day 3: Sunday; [Weight: 105 pounds]

2009-06-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

I was good on Friday, except for some late night snacking that could/should have been avoided. Saturday was a missed gym today, but I had a good workout on Friday. Today [Sunday], my plan is a cup of coffee, cereal, then cardio/weights/swimming. Weights will be medicine ball and leg lifts, to switch it up a bit.

Current weight has not changed, but that is due to today's super filling dinner and dessert. I need to refrain further for the the rest of the week!

Diet Lockdown; Introduction [Weight: 105 pounds]

2009-06-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

It has gotten to that point, the point where it's all fun and games until one day I step on the scale and I am way past my set weight point. And in peak summer, too! This was supposed to be bikini season!

I realise that the main problem I have been having is motivation and will power. Therefore, I have decided to document my journey into losing 10 pounds by August. I know I can do it. I just need stay on task and focus on the goal at hand. I have been making excuses and putting it off for too long, and now is as good as time as any to hop back on the wagon and make a difference.

I have a few guidelines to follow:

* Go to the gym 5 days a week. This workout consists of cardio and weights, which will change every two weeks or so to keep it fresh and new.

* Drink at least three glasses of fluids a day, be them water or milk. Hydration is key.

* Desserts will be limited to once a week. I know this is going to be the toughest one, so I need to pick wisely as to what my cheat day will be. The week begins on Friday, since I begin my diet tomorrow.

* I will not eat after 9pm. This is to make sure that I am not mindlessly eating and then going to bed with a stomach full of empty carbs.

* Weigh myself every two days to check for any progress and list weight in blog title as I have done now.

Let the mission begin.

This is the plan for tomorrow:

Wake up: 915am
Gym: 945-10am --> Treadmill, weights [Side bends], Swimming until 130pm
Food: Cereal; Polenta; Bean salad

I will blog again tomorrow to make sure I stay on track. Wish me luck!

When in Hunger...

2009-05-07T00:05:00.000-07:00

Create a snack! That's what I did. I wanted something healthy, yet sweet and satisfying. The result? A wonderful creation that did all of that! Just slice up whatever fruit you have on hand and sprinkle with almonds [I used whole ones, but sliced ones are just as good]. In a separate bowl, microwave leftover cake pieces with some honey til warm, about 30 seconds, and drizzle over fruit mixture.

You will not be disappointed.

Organic Dark Chocolate-Coconut Milk Truffles

2009-05-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time again: Finals, aka F.I.N.A.L.S., aka time to distract myself from studying by doing either of the following:

a) Surfing various food websites [My newest obsession? http://www.tastespotting.com. Search cheesecake and trust me, you will not be disappointed].

b) Eating mass amounts of food [Today consisted of a caprese pesto piadine from Tomatina and an apple cloud from FSM. So healthy...not].

c) Baking incessantly [Cocoa cookies tonight, along with a couple of business ventures lined up this weekend, including catering for 150 people!]

d) Updating my food blog [Looooooong overdue].

Today's [or tonight's] post finally reveals what I did with that leftover coconut milk from my vanilla-coconut cake last time; truffles! Normally, truffles call for a simple mixture of heavy cream, good quality chocolate [I used Scharffenberger here; my all-time favourite], and some butter to hold everything together. Since the cream is boiled as to thicken when it cools, any other liquid with the same properties can work, like...coconut milk! Soooo that's exactly what I used.

The recipe I used is from a book about chocolate that I bought in India a couple years back [titled Chocolate, who knew?!]. Everything was in metric, so it took some calculations to change it to American standards, and of course, I swapped the cream for coconut milk, and voila! To finish them off, I rolled the truffles in chocolate cake crumbs that I had. Simply dry out extra cake in the oven overnight, then place in the food processor and you have your own coating!

Organic Dark Chocolate-Coconut Milk Truffles

2 cups coconut milk
21 ounces dark chocolate [I used Scharffenberger], chopped
4 T. butter
Chocolate cake crumbs [Optional, garnish]

Heat thecoconut milk in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium-size bowl. Pour the hot coconut milk over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Then slowly whisk until smooth and homogenous. Add the butter and continue to mix until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until solid, 4-6 hours or overnight.

Place the cake crumbs in a wide shallow bowl. Using a melon baller or a teaspoon, scoop out small amounts of the mixture and shape into balls with your hands. Roll the balls in the cake crumbs and place on a baking tray lined with wax paper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yields 75-100 large truffles.

RFL Overload

2009-04-22T23:54:00.000-07:00

Arghhh it kills me that I haven't blogged in so long. I have made at least three new items that deserve some mention, but alas, Relay for Life has consumed my soul. Never fear, though; give me one more week at the most and then I will be free to blog as I please!

Until finals, of course.

100 Restaurants. 12 Months. Very Hungry College Kids.

2009-04-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, the annual edition of Michael Bauer's Bay Area's Top 100 Restaurants was released. Not only did this mean late night reading as I meticulously pored over each restaurant description, cuisine, and price, but I decided to take it one step further.

I created a mission: I have currently eaten at 14 of the 100 locations. In the next 12 months, I plan to dine at enough restaurants as to double that number. But I won't do it alone. I want all my friends and their friends to join me in this cuisine crusade!

Thus, a Facebook group was born bearing the name of this blog post. It has already accumulated 26 members, and I'm hoping for more! My ultimate goal is to turn this into a sort of community-building, people-meeting, all-around enjoyable breakfast, lunch, or dinner, where fellow foodies can dine together!

SO....April, 2010 = 28 restaurants.
The game is on.

Vanilla-Coconut Cake With Coconut Buttercream

2009-04-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

Man, April seems to be full of birthdays! I definitely do not remember so many last year, but then again, I hadn't yet met the awesome people I know this year!

For this birthday cake, I decided to adapt a recipe from Epicurious for vanilla-bean-coconut cupcakes. Vanilla beans are expensive, and since I'm not getting paid for these cakes [yet!], I'm sticking to good ol' extract. And then I ran out of white sugar, so brown sugar it is, which I actually like better! It makes the cake more moist, which is good since this was a tiny cake. I only made one layer and cut it in half into two since I was pressed for time, but it still fed everyone!

For the filling, I decided to do a combination of buttercream and strawberry preserves. I just had this brainwave as I was searching my fridge for butter and saw a jar. I garnished with a strawberry to hint at the filling. At first, I thought it might taste weird; I mean coconut and strawberries? But it was a hit, and the world of baking has once again been revolutionised.

OH, one more thing: Reduced coconut milk may be my new favourite cooking trend. It tastes amazing and the results are fabulous! In my next post, I'll show how I made good use of the leftovers...

Vanilla-Coconut Layered Cake with Strawberries

Reduced coconut milk:

2 13-to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk

Cupcakes:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup reduced coconut milk, room temperature

Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup strawberry preserves
1 strawberry, sliced [garnish; optional]

Preparation

For reduced coconut milk:
Bring coconut milk to boil in large deep saucepan over medium-high heat (coconut milk will boil up high in pan). Reduce heat to mediumlow; boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat; cool completely. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill (coconut milk will settle slightly as it cools). DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

For cupcakes:
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Grease and flour one 8-inch round springform pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes.

Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla and remaining egg. Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended.

Pour batter into pan and bake until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

For frosting:
Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, vanilla, and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Increase to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.

To assemble:

Unwrap cake. Using a sharp, serrated knife, slice off the top of the cake to make it flat. Reserve cake top to eat on its own! Slice the cake in half horizontally. On the bottom layer, spread with frosting. On the other layer, spread the preserves. Carefully lift the top layer and stack it on top of the first layer. Use an offset spatula to spread the rest of the frosting up and around the cake. Refrigerate.

Using a piping bag or a plastic bag with the corner snipped off [which is what I do], pipe a design up and around the cake. Garnish with the sliced strawberry, and finish off by brushing a thin layer of preserves on the strawberry to give it a nice shiny glaze. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Midnight Chocolate [Eggless!] Cake

2009-04-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

It's been ages since I last updated; so sorry! Things have been a little crazy, with going to Cancun for spring break, cramming for my Psycholinguistics midterm, and now, Cooking Club drama over trivial matters. Sheesh!

The good [or bad for my waistline] thing is, I've still managed to squeeze in a couple of cakes for birthdays that came out great! The first one, a simple chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, looks small, but it was very filling. Plus, I only use dark chocolate now, which adds an intensity that I just love!

The cool thing about this cake is that it's eggless, for my friend [and most other Indians] who are vegetarian and don't eat eggs, either. I used applesauce, which was a good substitute. To garnish the cake, I didn't have anything fancy, so I ended up cutting apple-cinnamon Nutri-grain bars! Sooo strange, yet soooo good!

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganche [Recipe below]

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and line with parchment paper one 9 inch round cake pan.
Cream butter, add white sugar gradually and cream until fluffy. Blend in the applesauce.
In a separate bowl, slowly add hot water to cocoa and mix until smooth, dissolving cocoa completely.
In a third bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Blend in vanilla. Pour batter into one 9 inch round pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cake cool then top with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache:

INGREDIENTS

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
Allow the ganache to cool before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

Gourmet Ghetto

2009-03-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I decided to do a little walk of introspection...coupled with harrassing restaurants to donate for Relay for Life [which has single-handedly taken over my life, by the way], so I strapped on some rainboots and spent Thursday afternoon wandering around North Berkeley, aka Gourmet Ghetto.

Results? A wonderful walk of all the awesome eating places and nooks and crannies I could find! I wish I had taken more photos, but here are what I got; all food-themed, don't worry!

My personal favourite is the Reese's Peanut Butter CupCake...good to look at, and good to eat! [I did eat it, too!]

I want to do this again, maybe with a friend next time? Or a date.....but the former seems more plausible :P

The Best Way to Diet is to NOT

2009-03-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

I love food too much to diet. I really do. And so, this past two-week urge to lose a couple pounds before spring break has been an epic fail, because not only do I just gaze longingly at mini cream puffs at Whole Foods, I end up gorging on homemade madeleines at the Snack Stop on campus.

Take home message? Just eat it.

Today was a perfect day of food, and a perfect example of my failed dieting. Breakfast? Frosted Mini-Wheats and Cheerios [mixing cereals is way more fun than eating just one!] Snack Stop? Nibby cookies, madeleienes, chocolate chip cookies, and raspberry thumbprints, followed by a hearty and gooey mac and cheese. All that is missing is a slice of cheesecake to end my night.

Sorry, Mexico, but it looks like you'll be getting another fatty American in town soon. Deal with it and feed me!