winums

Real Women of Philadelphia

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Sun, 30 May 2010 18:20:00 +0000

WAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

So. some of you may know that I had entered the Real Women of Philadelphia contest. Well, I wasn't a finalist but they did feature me in a thank you commercial that will be airing tomorrow on a number of TV stations. I don't know which ones but here's the sneak peak.

I'm flattered and flabbergasted that they put me in. But also deliriously happy. Me? in a nationwide commercial? hahahahahahah... granted im in there all of like 2 seconds and I really need to do something about my bangs but still, its exciting. WAHAHAHAHA...
Spread a lil love!

O...M...G...!

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:43:00 +0000

So my sister sent me this. And I kindaHAFTA try it!!!
For now I'll let you all drool like a fool (exactly what I'm doing.. it's okay, no shame... who doesn't love a snickers!) I'll get around to giving the recipe a try soon, I promise.

Recipe from Cannelle et Vanille:

Milk Chocolate Feuilletine Crust

135 grams feuilletine or corn flakes or rice krispies
300 grams creamy peanut butter
155 grams milk chocolate, melted

Creamtogether the feuilletine and the peanut butter for about 3 minutesuntil it starts to turn into a paste. Add the melted milk chocolate andmix until combined. Spread this on the bottom of a half sheetpan linedwith parchment and topped with a square frame.

Salted Peanut Nougat

50 grams egg whites
5 grams powdered sugar, sifted
110 grams honey
400 grams sugar
85 grams glucose
150 grams water
200 grams salted and roasted peanuts, chopped

Start by combining the sugar, glucose and water in a medium saucepan. Cook to 144C.

Inthe meantime, start whipping the egg whites. When they are foaming, addthe sifted powdered sugar and continue whipping. Quickly heat the honeyto boiling point and pout the boiling honey into the bowl where the eggwhites are whipping. Continue to whip on high speed.

When thesugar reaches the desired temperature, turn the mixer speed to low andadd the sugar to the egg whites pouring slowly on the side of the bowl.When all the sugar has been added, turn the mixer speed to high andcontinue to whip until it slightly cools. We don't want it tocompletely cool because we want to be able to spread it easily.

Turnthe mixer off and fold in the chopped peanuts. Spread the nougat evenlyinto the metal frame over the milk chocolate crust.

Milk Chocolate Bavarian

120 grams half and half
10 grams sugar
2 egg yolk
4 grams gelatin
250 grams milk chocolate, finely chopped
200 grams heavy cream, soft peaks

Ina small saucepan, bring the half and half to a boil. In a separatebowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Temper the hot half and halfinto the egg yolks and whisk. Pour this mixture back in the pan andcook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the softenedgelatin.

Strain the custard over the milk chocolate that we havefinely chopped into a clean bowl. Let the custard melt the chocolatefor a minute and then gently whisk until a cream is formed and all thechocolate has melted.

When the chocolate mixture has cooled tothe touch, fold in the whipped cream. Immediatly pour the bavarian overthe nougat and freeze.

Salted Caramel Cream

360 grams heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split
90 grams sugar
120 grams egg yolks
3 grams gelatin
1 grams fleur de sel

Bring the cream and the vanilla bean to a boil. Reserve.

Inthe meantime, make a dry caramel with the sugar. Deglaze the cookedsugar with the heated cream. Be careful because it will bubble overifall the cream is added at once. Whisk so all crystalized sugar hasdissolved. Pour this caramel over the egg yolks and whisk. Return thisto the pan and cook for 1 minute.

Add the softened gelatin andstrain through a fine sieve. When it is cool to the touch, pour overthe milk chocolate bavarian layer and freeze.

Rainbow Cake (cont.)

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Sat, 01 May 2010 14:17:00 +0000

Of course, I have to put up the recipe for the amazingly beautiful rainbow cake. Alas, it is not my own. Actually, the blog I nipped it from, Whisk Kid, was recently on The Martha Stewart Show! A big "woot woot" to fellow blogger, Kaitlin Flannery. Congratulations on a wonderful show!

I absolutely LOVE how the cake is so unassuming on the outside. Just a plain ol' white cake. But then you cut into it and bam! :D Instant smile.

So here's the nitty-gritty of it:

Rainbow Cake

2 sticks (226 g) butter, room temp

2 1/3 c (466 g) sugar

5 egg whites, room temp

2 tsp vanilla

3 c (375 g) flour

4 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 1/2 c (355 g) milk, warmed for 30 sec in microwave to bring to room temp

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple GEL food coloring. Liquid will not be vibrant enough!

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Oil and line how ever many 9” cake pans you have. Weigh your empty mixing bowl. Write it down somewhere, you'll need the number later.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Cream the sugar and butter, then add the egg whites (cracked earlier in a bowl) a little at a time. Add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.

4. Add about half of the dry ingredients, then half the milk. Repeat. Don't overmix!

5. Divide the batter between 6 bowls by weight. Weigh your mixing bowl with batter in it. Subtract the weight of the empty mixing bowl. Divide this number by six and this is what will be portioned into each bowl (for the colors).

6. Add enough food coloring to each of the bowls to make vibrant, rainbow colors. Whisk to mix. Pour into the pans and bake for 15 minutes each, or until top springs back, or toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Cool on rack, in pans for ten minutes. Then unmold, wrap in plastic, and chill in fridge.

Lemony Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This recipe is split into two portions so that it'll fit in your mixer bowl. Make the first to fill and give the cake a crumb coat, then make the second to frost, following the same method of mixing for both.

To fill and crumb coat:

9 egg whites

1 ¾ c (350 g) sugar

4 sticks (532 g) of butter, room temp

2 tsp lemon extract

To frost:

5 egg whites

1 c (200 g) sugar

2 sticks (226 g) butter, room temp

1 tsp lemon extract

1. Cook the egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved (test by rubbing some between your fingers. If it's completely smooth, it's done).

2. Pour into another bowl (a stand mixer is preferable) and whip on high speed until room temp. Then, on a medium-slow speed, add the butter, waiting until each piece is completely incorporated before adding the next.

3. After all the butter has been added, turn the mixer back to high speed and whip until it has come together, about five minutes. Add the extract, beat briefly and then use.

guaranteed sunshine, anyday.

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:43:00 +0000

too pretty not to share!

found by Aileen.

pretty swirls

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:19:00 +0000

So I made this for a family dinner the other day and it was a big hit! I actually made it with xylitol so that Gramps Muratori, who is diabetic, could eat it too. The original recipe calls for regular sugar though, it's just a great recipe that goes both ways. It's a wonderful light, creamy classic that looks pretty to boot!

Crust
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Chessecake
1 1/2 lb cream cheese
1 c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 yolk
1/3 c cream
4 oz chocolate, melted

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press into 8" spring form pan. Apply downward pressure with the bottom of a glass until firm crust forms. Line bottom of spring form pan with aluminum foil about an inch high (this is just to ensure that water from water bath doesn't make it's way into the pan).
2. On medium-high speed, cream cream cheese and sugar until light & fluffy. Add vanilla to cream cheese mixture.
3. Sift in flour. Mix just until combined.
4. Add eggs & yolks, mix until smooth. Add cream, mix to combine.
5. Pour about half of batter into a separate bowl. Mix in melted chocolate.
6. Pour half of plain batter over crust. Then pour 3/4 of chocolate batter. Swirl with butter knife. Top with remaining plain batter, then drizzle remaining chocolate batter. Run a butter knife across drizzle (perpendicular to) to create that almost-heart-shape pattern.
7. Bake cheesecake on a cookie sheet filled about a half inch full of water at 300F until cheesecake just barely jiggles (8" spring form pan 45-60 mins).
8. Cool completely, refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

It's a yummy yummy in my tummy for sure!

let's get down to business

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:43:00 +0000

Just in: my business cards! Designed by the almighty Aileen Cheng. cool beans, huh?

Forget St. Patrick, I'm celebrating two others today

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:55:00 +0000

No disrespect to St. Patrick, my man is part Irish.

Today, however I'm celebrating Saint Honoratus of Amiens (quite a mouthful, aka. Honoré, sometimes Honorius, Honortus) and San Antonia Abate.Saint Honoratus of Amiens is the patron saint of bakers, confectioners, pastry chefs, flour merchants, among others. San Antonio Abate is patron saint of bread bakers specifically.

And what wonderful people they are, bread bakers. I don't think its possible, no, I don't think there could exist a person out there that doesn't absolutely LOVE the smell of fresh baked bread!

And on top of those two, I'm also giving a "yay!" to the French (again)

I made baguettes.

I love baguettes.

mm mmm baguettes.

Baguette with Poolish

Yield 2 loaves

Poolish

1/2 c Water, warm

1/2 tsp Active dry yeast

1 1/4 c Bread flour

Mix all together in a bowl with spatula for 1 minute. Cover, set aside for 60 to 90 minutes or until its risen slightly.

Baguette dough

pinch Active dry yeast

1 2/3 c Bread flour

1 1/8 tsp Salt

~3/4 c Water (room temp)

1. Mix a little water with yeast, set aside.

2. Rough mix (mix until no more dry pieces of flour) remaining water and flour until just mixed (this is the autolyse). Add only enough water to slightly dampen the flour. It should be a very dry and almost crumbly mixture. Cover and let sit 20 minutes.

3. When autolyse is ready (dough is much softer after 20 minutes) mix autolyse, poolish (Pour yeast water that was set aside into bowl, around the poolish, to help release it from the bowl) , and salt on low for 1 minute, then medium for 5 minutes until doughs are well incorporated.

4. Proof in a bowl for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

5. Split dough in half and preshape into small footballs. Let benchproof for 20 minutes, covered.

6. Shape pieces into baguettes, transfer for baguette pans (long, skinny channels with curved bottoms. see picture below) or cookie sheet, brush with water and let rise in proofer (75-80°F) for about 1 hour. If you don't have access to a proofer (a warming drawer below your oven works great), let rise in a warm, draft free space.

7. Right before baking, brush with water and score each baguette (slice diagonally down baguette about 4-5 times, not deep, just below the surface).8. Bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes with steam (either splash water into your oven right before you close the door (not recommended if your coils are at the bottom) or place a pan of hot water the rack below your bread.

Baguette pan:

gotta love the french for giving us croissants.

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:50:00 +0000

CROISSANTS
2 1/4 cup bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cup sugar
1 tsp instant dry yeast
3.5 Tbsp butter, soft
1/2 cup water
1 sticks butter

1. Pour water with sugar and yeast in bowl, mix until combined.
2. Add flour, soft butter (3.5 Tbsp) and salt, mix on low speed for about 5 minutes until the dough becomes soft. Meanwhile, beat 1 stick butter with a rolling pin to soften and make sure there are no lumps. Shape into a small rectangle about 4 x 6", wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator.
3. Make a ball and let dough rise at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap for about 45-60 minutes until doubled.
4. Flatten dough out into a rectangle slightly smaller than a sheet of paper (A4-8 x 11), place in freezer for about 30-45 mins until firm (NOT frozen, just chilled to the same consistency as cold butter block).
5. Roll out slightly the chilled dough to even out sides and thickness. If butter block is too hard, beat with rolling pin until same consistency as dough. Butter block should fit on one half of the dough, to one side.
6. Pinch up the three sides where butter is on edge of dough. Fold over the other half of the dough (making a book with the dough, with the butter inside). Seal the edges of the dough.
**Now this is where things get a little tricky. Diagrams below**
7. Roll out a long thin rectangle to about 3/4" thick. Do a **single turn (tri-fold). Let rest in fridge for about an hour.

8. Roll out again, making a **double turn this time (book fold). Let rest overnight.

9. The next day, roll out a long thin rectangle again (keep one dough in the fridge while working with the other to prevent rising before shaped). Cut into triangles, pizza shaped (You should be able to get 8-9 triangles with one strip). *For chocolate croissants: don't cut to complete tip so pizza shape is more trapezoidal.

10. Fold over the "crust" part of the pizza triangle. While rolling the "crust" with your left palm, pull gently on the tip of the pizza with your right hand to stretch dough. Then roll crust to tip to form croissant shape. Turn in ends of croissant if you want for that horned look. *For chocolate croissants: Fold a stick of baking chocolate into the "crust"
11. Place on sheet pan with the pizza tip down (so croissant doesn't unfurl while rising). Brush with egg wash and proof for about 2 hours or until tripled in size.
12. Brush again with egg wash and bake at 350F for about 15 mins.

The croissants sound a lot more difficult than they are. Once you get used to making them they're actually quite simple.
Important things to note:
- Letting the dough rest and chill is extremely important.
- Always chill to keep consistency of dough and butter the same otherwise butter will crack when rolled and dough will tear.
- Avoid overproofing at any point or croissants will have a slight sour taste and will cook unevenly.

Extra cream cheese frosting? Use it up!

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:32:00 +0000

Soa friend of mine used the red velvet recipe I posted last time but madecupcakes instead of a cake and had extra frosting left over. I suggestmaking something carrot, zucchini or pumpkin to use up the extra creamcheese frosting.

Here'sa wonderful pumpkin cupcake recipe that is so light and fluffy itoffsets the dense and tart cream cheese frosting so nicely!

PUMPKIN CUPCAKES
Yield: 18 cupcakes
2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice
1 c brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar
1 c unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 eggs
15 oz pumpkin puree

1.Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin tins. Sift together flour, bakingsoda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and all spice in abowl. Set aside.

2.In another bowl mix butter, sugars and eggs until combined. Add dryingredients to butter mixture and mix just until incorporated. Fold inpumpkin puree.

3.Distribute batter into muffin tins, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool onrack.

4. Once completely cool, pipe on cream cheese frosting with a large round tip or spread with a small metal spatula.

NowI had made mini-cupcakes and piped dollops of cream cheese frosting oneach one. To pipe the dollops, use a large round tip and, holding thepiping bag and tip straight up, squeeze gently until the desired amountis on the cupcake, stop squeezing and pull up. The closer the tip isthe cupcake, the flatter the dollop will be. And remember, practicemakes perfect.

red.cake.yum

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:27:00 +0000

So I made a red velvet cake the other day for a birthday and naturally got a lot of questions about it. Yes, it is a recent fad, stemming from the red velvet cupcakes that are oh-so-popular nowadays but it actually had quite some history.

The cake has been around since before the 1920s. While it's exact origins are hard to track down, it was made popular as a signature dessert of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
This moist and deliciously rich red cake has a flavor somewhere in between chocolate and vanilla. Ingredients vary but usually have buttermilk, butter or shortening, flour, cocoa powder, red food coloring, and vinegar.
Briefly during WWII boiled beets were used to enhance the color of the cake but this was only for a short period of time. The red color (other than when enhanced with beets or food coloring) is actually a reaction of the vinegar and buttermilk revealing red anthocyanin in the cocoa. Nowadays though with the widely spread "Dutch Processed" cocoa that is more alkaline, the red color is not as pronounced, hence the addition of food coloring
A common misconception, one that I subscribed to until I looked it up, is that the red velvet cake traditionally is made with cream cheese frosting. The typical frosting actually used to be a butter roux, or cooked flour frosting. However nowadays its usually seen with cream cheese (the tartness of the frosting offsets the richness of the cake so well!) or buttercream.

RED VELVET CAKE

Yield: One 8" cake

1 1/2 c vegetable oil

1 c buttermilk

2 eggs, at room temp

2 Tbsp red food coloring

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp vinegar, white distilled

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

1/4 c cocoa powder

3 1/8 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour (or your preferred method of greasing pans) three 8" round cake pans.

2. In a mixer on low combine oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, food coloring, and vinegar.

3. In a separate bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Add drys to wet in two parts mixing on low. Increase speed to medium and mix until batter is smooth and shiny.

5. Distribute batter evenly between pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 lb cream cheese, cubed at room temp

1 c unsalted butter, cubed at room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 c powdered sugar, sifted

1. Mix butter until smooth, add cream cheese. Make sure there are no lumps in the butter-cream cheese mixture!

2. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until all incorporated. Then add vanilla extract.
Assembly:
1. Once the cakes are completely cool, trim excess (cutting off the rounded tops of cakes makes it's much easier to make a flat cake) and brush off crumbs.
2. Spread a thin layer of frosting between each layer of cake (I recommend keeping this thin so that the frosting doesn't overpower the red velvet flavor).
3. Finish off the top and sides of cake and decorate as you see fit. Can pipe shells, dots, stars or use red velvet crumbs.

Oh my.

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:38:00 +0000

Too cute not to post!

Parchment Cones

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:51:00 +0000

Somewhere along my baking endeavors I was decorating a cake or a cookie with a parchment cone - super easy to make and use, disposable - when it was mentioned to me that this was a great tool that most at-home bakers don't have access too. Well, while in the original conversation it was suggested that I come up with a silicone, resuable version, a feat I haven't quite conquered just yet, I do have a little try-it-at-home write up for now. Here we go!

PARCHMENT CONES

1. Cut a rectangular piece of parchment. Cut diagonally into two triangles.

2. Holding one triangle piece with top of triangle facing you (that diagonal cut you made? that is facing away from you) and the long side of the triangle on your left (L for left, L for long. easy to remember right?)

3. Now with your right hand holding the short side of the triangle, roll it upwards towards the top of the triangle.

4. With your left hand, roll long side of triangle upwards towards the top of the triangle, forming the cone.

5. Pull corners together, tightening cone until tip is closed.

6. Fold corners into secure cone.

7. Fill with whatever you're decorating with (melted chocolate, colored frosting, etc.). To close off the cone: after filling (not too full or it'll burst! shoot for about 1/2 to 2/3 full) close the opening and fold the entire edge over, then fold again.

I know that nowadays there are many products out there that are suppose to make piping easier but with parchment cones, once you get the hang of making one, it's really not that complicated. Plus I find it easier to control the pressure while decorating AND there's the bonus of not having to clean up the accordian style piping things or the tube piping doohickies. With a cone, when you're done, you just toss! It's great for small amounts (so you don't have to use a whole piping bag) like chocolate when writing on cakes like this birthday cake I made:

A Valentine Treat.

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:14:00 +0000

These cookies make a great Valentine's Day gift - easy, fun to make; simple and oh-so-pretty packaging that my adorable and oh-so-talented sister came up with it!!

RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD SANDWICHES

Yield: Makes 2 dozen sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raspberry jam
About 1/3 cup powdered sugar

PREPARATION
1. In a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add flour and salt and mix on low speed until dough comes together in a ball. Transfer to a lightly floured surface.
2. Divide dough in half. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll each portion to about 1/8 inch thick. With a floured 2- to 3-inch round or star-shaped cutter, cut out cookies. If desired, cut a 1/2-inch circle out of the center of half of the cookies to make a window for the jam filling (see notes). Place cookies 1 inch apart on buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. Gather excess dough into a ball, reroll, and cut out remaining cookies.
3. Bake in a 325° regular or 300° convection oven until edges are just beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. If baking more than one sheet at a time in one oven, switch positions halfway through baking. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.
4. Spread the flat side of each of half the cookies (those without holes) with about 1/2 tablespoon jam. Top each with a remaining cookie (with a hole), flat side toward filling. Sprinkle tops of cookies evenly with powdered sugar.

Check out these pictures from Sunset Magazine for other cookie decorating ideas:

For the glaze: mix 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 1/2 tsp milk, dip the cut out cookies in glaze upside-down.

And now for the packaging!

Easy 3-step packaging

MATERIALS

Cellophane, craft paper, red ribbon, paper labels.

Step 1: roll up stacks of cookies in cellophane.

Step 2: wrap up with craft paper. Seal one end with tape. Twist the top and tie with red ribbon.

Step 3 (optional): print out or draw a paper label 1.875" high by 5.5" wide and wrap around center of package.

Please leave a comment if you'd like us to send you a free template of the paper labels featured in this post to print out at home!

A Great New Year's DIY Gift (and yummy too!)

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:37:00 +0000

Everyone is watching their wallets this year, so home-made gifts are super popular right now. Here’s a great idea from guest blogger, my sister Aileen.
It’s really healthy, delicious and easy to make. Of course, buying granola at the store is faster, but home-made granola tastes better and uses better ingredients.

CRUNCH GRANOLA

Yield: 8 cups (around 16 servings)
TIme: 40 minutes

This is a base recipe for granola. You can basically add anything you want to it: grains such as rye or wheat; dried fruit like cranberries or blueberries; spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom; any kind of nut or seed such as flax seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, walnuts, etc. You can also include chocolate or peanut butter chips, orange zest or crystallized ginger.

Ingredients:

6 cups of rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
2 cups mixed nuts and/or seeds (I like using 1/2 almond and 1/2 cashews)
1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut, optional
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
Dash of salt
1 cup honey or maple syrup, or to taste
1 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit, optional (I like red/golden raisins, cranberries and blueberries)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the oats, coconut, nuts/seeds, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
2. Pour wet ingredients over it (honey, vanilla) and mix together.
3. Spread mixture into two 11 x 17 brownie pans. Bake for 30 minutes or more, stirring every 10 minutes or so. The granola should brown evenly. The browner it becomes (without burning) the crunchier the granola will turn out!
4. Remove pans from oven and add raisins or dried fruit substitute. Cool on a rack, stirring once in a while until granola is room temperature.
5. Transfer to a sealed container. If stored in a cool, dry place, it should keep up to 2 weeks. If kept in the refrigerator, it should keep indefinitely.

Gift Wrap:

It's all about the presentation! I found these nice jars at Sur La Table for $3 each and filled them with the granola.

1. I designed and printed out 2.5" diameter circle labels and glued them on top of the jars. You can cut circles out of construction paper and hand write your labels also.

2. The same goes for the hang tags, which are just 5"w by 1"h pieces of paper folded in half with a slit cut in it. You can write messages or list the ingredients.

3. String a ribbon loop through the slit and double knot.

4. Then wrap a long ribbon around the top of the jar through the metal fasteners. String the hang tag through.

5. Tie a ribbon at the opening of the jar and curl by running a scissor blade down the length of the ribbon. And there you have it: a delicious, healthy, presentable and affordable gift for any occasion.

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve!

"CPP"

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Since Christmas this year was just James and I, I made a chicken pot pie for warmth, comfort, and a sense of home.

Ingredients

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts - to make from scratch, easy peasy recipe below!

Directions

1. Line bottom of pie crust. Set aside.

2. Boil chicken breasts, about 10-15 minutes. Then set aside to cool. Once cooled, cube.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and whisk vigorously. Once mixed, add milk and chicken broth, salt, pepper. Then carrots, celery, peas, onions, chicken. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Then cool slightly.

4. Pour mixture into bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Easy Peasy Pie Crust (Pâte Brisée)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

3 to 6 Tbsp ice water

1. Cut the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to an hour (the longer the better) so that they become thoroughly chilled.

2. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.

3. Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs. Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

4. Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.

5. Add filling to the pie.

6. Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork. Score the top of the pie with four 2-inch long cuts, so that steam from the cooking pie can escape.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:20:00 +0000

I was emailed this picture and it was captioned "Thousand Protest Global Warming". I thought it was cute... :)

Hope everyone is enjoying time with loved ones. Lots of love and warm thoughts to ours.

Pound Cake Varieties

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:18:00 +0000

As per request, here are some pound cake recipes from my visual diary.

Old-Fashioned Pound Cake
Yield: 2 loaves

2 3/4 c (375g) Cake Flour
2 1/4 tsp (11g) Baking Powder
1 1/8 c (265g) Butter, soft
1 1/3 c (265g) Sugar
1/2 tsp (3.5g) Salt
8 1/2 (425g) Eggs

Method:
1. Grease two 9x5 loaf pan. Preheat ovens at 350F.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
3. Cream butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed with the paddle attachment, scraping down the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth and light in color.
4. Add in eggs one at a time. Mix until well combined.
5. Add the sifted dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until just blended.
6. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool the cakes in the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Here are some yummy varieties of the traditional pound cake.

Marble Chocolate Pound Cake
Yield: 2 loaves

1 1/8 c butter
1/2 tsp Salt
8 Whole eggs
3 1/8 c Powdered Sugar, sifted
2 1/4 c Cake flour, sifted
3 1/8 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 c Cocoa powder
1/2 c Milk

Method:
1. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream butter and powdered sugar together until light in color and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
4. Sift flour, baking power and salt. Add to the butter mixture, mixing just until incorporated.
5. Pour 13 oz of batter (about half) into another bowl. Mix in cocoa powder and milk.
6. Starting with vanilla batter, pour in alternating layers into pan. Run a knife, spatula or skewer threw batter after every chocolate layer to make more marbling effect.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest in pan upon removal for a couple minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely.

By substituting the 1 oz cocoa powder with 2 oz pistachio paste this pound cake easily turns into a Marble Pistachio Pound Cake!
Should pistachio paste be an ingredient hard to come by, you can use 3 oz ground pistachio, 1 oz oil to substitute too.

A Perfect Fall Treat

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Candied Apples!

So I recently made these for a friend's wedding. 200 apples dipped first in caramel, then chocolate, then decorated; it was quite the production! They came out beautifully and were fun to make (easier than I expected).

CARAMEL

Recipe for 8-10 medium size apples.

1 1/3 c evaporated milk

1/2 c light corn syrup

2 c sugar

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

Heat milk, syrup and sugar in heavy saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar. Boil, stirring constantly until thermometer reaches soft ball stage (240F for a firmer caramel, 238F for a softer one) or until a bit dropped in ice water forms a soft ball that flattens easily. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, then vanilla. Cool slightly, then dip apples (washed, dried, de-stemmed, and stuck with a wooden stick) to coat. Place saucepan over heat to thin as needed. Place apples on greased pan or wax paper.

Let the caramel set for at least a couple hours until no longer sticky or tacky.

For the chocolate coat, I recommend coating chocolate, or candy making chocolate (we got ours from Sam's Club: Ghiradelli has bars of 2.5 lbs awesome to use) because it has a higher cocoa butter content which makes it a breeze to use since it doesn't need tempering and sets with a great shiny shell.

Be prepared with all your decorations before the chocolate dipping, you gotta move fast before the chocolate sets!

Melt chocolate in a glass or steel bowl over a pot of barely simmering water (or a double boiler if you have one). Be careful to keep the temperature of the chocolate low. Be patient! Avoid heating the chocolate higher than 35C or 95F. Over heat and the chocolate won't set properly when "drying".

Dip the caramel coated apples in chocolate, drip off excess, then dip in nuts, sprinkles, toffee bits, whatever you want! Decorate with m&ms, white chocolate drizzle, anything you can think of.

Great project to do with kids, girlfriends, anyone who wants to have some fun!

Oreo Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:48:00 +0000

Great for those hot summer days!

Oreo crust

1 1/2 c (~12 cookies) Oreos, chopped in food processor

~1/8 c Butter, melted

1. Mix chopped oreos with enough butter to wet so that it clumps and holds together.

2. Press into mold or spring-form cake pan. Compact with the bottom of a glass so that crust is about 1/4" thick,

3. Bake at 325F for about 8 mins or until firm.

Chessecake

1 1/2 lb Cream cheese

1 c Granulated sugar

1 Vanilla bean

2 Tbsp All-purpose flour

3 Eggs

1 Yolk

1/3 c Cream

1. On medium-high speed, cream cream cheese and sugar until light & fluffy.

2. Split vanilla bean and scrape inside with back of knife. Add vanilla seeds to cream cheese.

3. Sift in flour. Mix just until combined.

4. Add eggs & yolks, mix until smooth.

5. Add cream, mix to combine.

6. Pour over oreo crust, bake in a water bath at 300F until cheesecake just barely jiggles (8" springform pan 45-60 mins)

7. Cool completely, refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:07:00 +0000

Always a big hit is my favorite banana bread recipe:

Ingredients

2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c butter

3/4 c brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 mashed over-ripe bananas (about 3)

2 c semi-sweet choc chips

Method

1. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs and bananas.

3. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir wet ingredients and chocolate chips into dry ingredients just until moistened.

4. Pour into loaf pan and bake 60 mins.

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:26:00 +0000

By far my favorite scones ever. Tart, sweet, and super moist!

2 3/4 c all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar
1 tsp salt
Zest of 3 lemons
1 Tbsp poppyseeds

1/2 c butter (or fat substitute)
1 egg
Juice of 3 lemons
1/3 c sour cream

Granulated sugar for dipping.

1. Mix dry ingredients together.
2. Slowly add butter in small clumps to dry ingredients until sandy crumble.
3. Whisk together egg, lemon juice and sour cream. Add to dry just too mix.
4. Form into 9 loose balls, flatten slightly on cookie sheet. Dip top of scones into granulated sugar.
5. Bake 375F for 16 mins or until golden brown

Classic Truffles

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:58:00 +0000

Nowadays almost everything in the market is called a truffle, suggesting rich, decadent chocolate. However, contrary to popular belief, the truffle is actually a very specific chocolate "candy". It actually is a small ball of chocolate ganache, surrounded with a hard chocolate shell, dusted (traditionally) with cocoa powder. The classic truffle usually looks slightly misshapen and in all honesty, kind of ugly.

The story behind the ugly?

Back in the days of French King Louis the something (XIV?) the King got what the King wanted or it was off with your head. One night the King demanded a lavish, extravagant meal somehow involving truffles (the fungus - very expensive, sniffed out by trained pigs). The chef, unable to get a hold of any truffles (fungus), feared for his life and in a stroke of genius, decided to make a chocolate candy that resembled the fungus' appearance, served it for dessert, and lived to see another day. Now kids, don't go writing a history paper based on this story. But you get the general idea.

Yield: 120 truffles

Ingredients:
Vanilla Ganache
75g (2.8oz) Milk
175g (6.2oz) Heavy Cream
75g (2.8oz) Butter
85g (3oz) Inverted Sugar **See note below
1 Vanilla Bean
425g (14oz) Chocolate 70%

More chocolate for dipping
Cocoa Powder

Method:
1. Melt the chocolate over a bain marie, translated: "water bath" (or double boiler). A glass or stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water works just fine if you don't have a double boiler.

Water should be just simmering. (Melt chocolate but don't heat over 45°C!)
2. Split vanilla bean into another pot with milk, cream, butter and inverted sugar. Bring to a boil & infuse the vanilla. Let cool slightly.
3. Mix cream mixture into chocolate, incorporating as little air as possible, until smooth in consistency, nice and even.

Cover with plastic (making contact with the ganache so a film doesn't set).

4. Let set (over lunch or for a couple of hours until pipable).
5. Pipe (#13 tip) quarter size rounds on parchment on a sheet pan. Let sit overnight (wrap sheet pan with plastic once set). Letting piped ganache set overnight means will crystallize, easier to roll.

6. Rolling Truffles: Make a ball, then pinch with both hands thumb and forefinger to represent truffle mushroom’s imperfect shape. Doesn’t need to be uniform. Use powdered sugar if sticking to hands.

7. Melt more chocolate (again not over 45°C) and spread cocoa powder in sheet pan.
8. Dip once (with gloves in one hand moving around so truffle doesn’t have too much coating or with a fork or chocolate dipper, if available), let set on sheet pan while finishing batch.

9. For this part it's easier if you have a partner to help: dip once more and drop onto cocoa powder sheet pan. Partner covers truffle with cocoa powder using a fork.

10. Then put truffles in a sifter (after its set & dry) to dust off excess cocoa powder.

I went to the Container Store and bought these little boxes for less than a dollar each and put my truffles in them to give away as presents. Super cute, super easy! Truffles should be consumed within two weeks to guarantee freshness and quality.

**If you aren't able to readily buy inverted sugar (check your local specialty store or baking equipment/supplies store) here's a recipe on how to make it yourself:

Inverted Sugar

Inverted sugar is table sugar (sucrose) that has been split into its components, glucose and fructose.

4 lbs sugar
1 pint water
1/4 tsp lemon juice or cream of tartar
Boil for half an hour, then add enough water to make total volume a half gallon.

Awesome Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:53:00 +0000

Ingredients:
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp plus more for muffin tins
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for muffin tins
2 c a.p flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c sugar
3 large eggs, room temp
1 c sour cream, room temp

For the filling:
1 1/2 c marshmallow creme (7.5 oz jar)
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 6-cup jumbo muffin tins: dust with cocoa powder to coat, tapping out excess.In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, add half the flour mixture, followed by sour cream, ending with remaining flour mixture; mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).
3. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean, 25-30 mins, rotating tins halfway through baking. Cool in tins, 5 minutes; remove cupcakes and cool, right side up, on a wire rack.
4. Meanwhile, prepare filling: in a medium bowl, whisk marshmallow creme and butter until smooth. Chill until slightly firm, 15 to 30 minutes. Transfer mixture to a piping bag (or a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, seal, and cut off one corner of the bag to make a 1/8-inch opening).
Using a small melon baller, scoop out center of each cupcake from the bottom, and reserve (you will use this to plug cupcake after filling). Hallow out each cupcake a bit more, discarding crumbs. Fill cavity with filling; replace plgs. Using remaining filling in bag to decorate top of cupcakes.

Grad show pictures... finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:30:00 +0000

The spread...

Chocolate work

Plated dessert - white chocolate mousse with crunchy and passionfruit glaze

Apricot tart

Chocolate macaroons

Foccacia

White choc passionfruit

Palmiers, bowties, william tells

Sacher

Croissants - regular and chocolate

The End.

noreply@blogger.com (Winnie) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:39:00 +0000

So we're coming up on our grad show... I have three days left of exams and then I'm done with culinary school!! eeks, man.
But for part of our grad show we made wedding cakes for display.

My three wedding cakes!

This one is by far my favorite (and my first!). It was inspired by a fence in Balboa Park.

Number 2. Inspired by a wedding dress in a magazine.

And Number 3: A Taiwanese wedding cake. Flower pattern designed by my sister, Aileen Cheng.

I promise better pictures and more from the grad show. Stay tuned.