Happy Lunar New Year Crepe Cake

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

I've been hanging on to this recipe for a couple of years now and I finally tried it for our family Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. I received rave reviews and I encourage everyone to try this fabulous dessert. 

I'm pressed for time this afternoon but I promise to share my experience and recipe in a day or two... Happy Chinese New Year!

Japanese Okonomiyaki Hot Dogs

This is a Japanese inspired hot dog that I've eaten from a Japanese food cart downtown. I've posted about it before but had always planned adding green cabbage. It's not an staple ingredient in my kitchen so when I had half a head staring at me today, it was time to revisit the fancy schmancy hot dogs. 

There's something lovely (and refreshing) about adding vegetables to your everyday hot dog, and the Japanese sauces completes that twist!

The Japanese ingredients easily be found at your local Asian grocer:  okonomi sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, seaweed and bonito flakes. And the hot dogs, buns and green cabbage are available everywhere.

This is NOT your ordinary hot dog, bon appetit!

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm in constant search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie and this recipe has somewhat replaced my go to favorite Thin and Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookie from MarthaStewart.com. I've often come across various versions of Jacques Torres' recipe but I like the New York times adaptation the best. I believe that it is in fact the bread flour that makes all the difference (for me at least).

I usually bake a batch when my daughter or I are craving chocolate chip cookies, and since we're the only two who consume them, I cut the recipe in half. Also, the recipe recommends that you chill the dough for 24 hours. That's too long of a wait for us, so I'll half the batch again, immediately bake one half and refrigerate the other half.

This is the first batch that I baked -  a perfectly domed cookie.

And this is the cookie after 24 hours of chilling. The second batch is not domed as the first, but it tastes exactly the same. 

Here's the original recipe:

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie

Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

Ingredients:
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons

(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)

Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Cake, Cake And More Cake

I thought to share more about myself today. I've been a hobby baker and cake decorator for four years and still love everything cake. Nowadays though, I've slowed down dramatically. I do hope to get back into it... eventually.

One of my first experiences was in preparation for my daughter's first birthday which was back in 2008. My friend Madeleine and I took a crash course in cake decorating with a local wedding cake decorator - April Cakes. 

I had a Disney theme for my daughter's birthday and this was her dessert stand. A 6" Minnie Mouse cake stood on top, it was covered with marshmallow fondant. On the two lower tiers, I placed pink Mickey Mouse silhouette topped cupcakes and figurines. Bags of Mickey Mouse shaped sugar cookies decorated with royal icing were placed for the bottom tier.

A few months passed and I finally had the opportunity to enroll at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. In 2009, I completed Wedding & Special Occasion Cake Decorating, a 20-hour program that involved (Australian) rolled fondant, gum paste and royal icing. The cherry blossom square cake is one of many practice cakes.

After completing the course, my friend Jen asked me to bake her husband a masculine cake for his birthday. I wanted to try working with chocolate fondant so I thought it was fitting for the occasion. As I look back, this is still one of my all-time favorite designs.

The Transformer was made just for fun for my brother in-law's birthday.

My brother asked me to bake his friend a birthday cake and I've always wanted to work with fresh flowers. I even did some hand painting on the fondant plaque!

Jen's daughter had two birthday parties coming up and she collaborated with me for a Little Mermaid theme. This cake was in celebration with their family - Ariel under the sea.

And these cupcakes were in celebration with her friends. Ariel topped cupcake on the top, the sea and candles below.

Jen's birthday was coming up she encouraged him to call me. Good thing he called since it gave me a chance to practice making fondant roses. Next time I think I'll try using gumpaste instead of fondant.

My daughter's second birthday arrived and she was born in the (Chinese Zodiac) year of the pig. There was an individual on Wilton's forums who baked adorable little cows, and in turn inspired these two little pigs! 

A friend of a friend was referred to me. I love challenges and she asked me to do a Sponge Bob cake for her daughter's birthday. As you can see, I gladly accepted.

It's was Jen's BIG day and she requested that I bake her wedding cake - yikes! I politely declined at first because I felt that I lacked the experience, but then rose to the occasion. This was definitely my most stressful cake yet. This was her cake, captured beautifully by the wedding photographer.

Vancouver, BC was the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics. MukMuk was our family's favorite mascot sidekick so we baked a cake in his honor. 

A friend of a friend's friend referred me to her friend (confusing huh?). Anyhow, she requested a whimsical cake theme for her birthday and I discover that I really like decorating whimsy! 

My friend of a friend had another special occasion - a fundraiser. I always enjoy doing her cakes because she usually has a vision and I find that the creative process is the fun part.

Another year has passed and my brother's friend wanted to surprise him with a mixed martial arts cake for his birthday. My husband helped with the design of this one.

My daughter is three! It was the preschool Halloween party and she was a ballerina monkey, so we decided to top her mini cupcakes with... you guessed it, ballerina monkey's.

So, this post basically brings you up to speed with most of my cakes to date. I know I've missed a few but I promise to post them when I come across the files. Keep on decorating and bye for now... Gabrielle xo

Thin and Crisp Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

If you prefer your oatmeal cookies thick and chewy, then you may not want to bake this one. This recipe makes a thin and crisp cookie, which is a requirement in my household.

I saw the initial photograph of a chocolate drizzle oatmeal cookie on Pinterest and clicked on the blog for the recipe. I just did a search and I cannot find the original blogger so my apologies that I wasn't able to credit her with this awesome recipe. But, if this is your recipe please claim it and I'll definitely add a link back to your post.

The original recipe calls for melted semi-sweet chocolate to be drizzled on top of the baked and cooled cookies. I had the girls with me while I was baking so (for time management purposes), I made the executive decision to just add 1/2 cup of chopped milk chocolate to the dough.

Here's the recipe:

drizzle chocolate oatmeal cookies

ingredients

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups uncooked old-fashioned rolled or quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

instructions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and 1 cup butter and beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add water; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Beat until well mixed.
3. Using a cookie dough scoop (or by hand) shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. (dough will be sticky.) Place 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Using the bottom of glass, greased and dipped in sugar, flatten cookies to 2-inch diameter . (you will need to dip glass in sugar for each cookie, grease as needed)
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire cooling rack. Cool completely.
5. Drizzle with chocolate.

my variation

I halfed the recipe, added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and added 1/2 cup of chopped milk chocolate pieces. I rolled dough into 1/2 tablespoon balls, flattened with a parchment lined cup, and baked for 11 minutes. Happy baking!

Korean Kalbi

A friend of mine is so darn clever and gave me good old 'home cooking' for Christmas. It's a traditional Korean beef dish called kalbi (see description from Wikipedia).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Galbi
Korean name
Hangul	갈비
Hanja	n/a
Revised Romanization	Galbi
McCune–Reischa	Kalbi

Galbi or kalbi generally refers to a variety of gui or grilled dishes in Korean cuisine that is made with marinated beef (or pork) short ribs in a ganjang-based sauce (Korean soy sauce).^[1] In the Korean language,galbi literally means "rib" and can often indicate uncooked ribs. In addition, the dish's full name is galbi gui, although "gui" (grilling) is commonly omitted to refer to it.

Galbi is generally made with beef ribs, and it may be called "sogalbi" (소갈비) or "soegalbi" (쇠갈비). Prefix"so" or "soe" (beef) is often omitted. It is also called bulgalbi when grilled over fire. As the literal meaning is "rib", the galbi dish can also be made with pork ribs or chicken. In such cases, the dish is called "dwaeji galbi"(돼지갈비) or "dak galbi" (닭갈비) to emphasize the main ingredient.^[1]

It is listed at number 44 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll complied by CNN Go in 2011.^[2

This was the wonderful dish that I served my family last Thursday evening. I put on a pot of white and brown rice, steamed some broccolini, put the kalbi on the grill and dinner was served in a matter of minutes.

Thanks for your brilliant gift idea Jean!

Children's Custom Card Making

The children and I have been designing our own cards since they turned two. It all started with drawing pictures inside purchased cards and has progressed from there. I have tons of card stock that I initially used for scrap booking, but since that part of my life has phased out (thanks to Shutterfly's photo books), I needed to find another use for them - like card making! Below are just a handful of our latest designs.

Wedding Congratulations

Welcome New Baby Sister

Happy 3rd Birthday Balloons

Floral Thank You

Foam Ninja Star Birthday

I love seeing my child's art come to life and I hope this inspires you to do the same. Until next time, keep those creative juices flowing!

Lemon Curd Blueberry Tart

I accidentally made this dessert a few years back and hoped to recreate it for a holiday dinner party. The recipe is a combination of recipes from Martha Stewart and I think it's a nice combination. Next time I'll have to add a few more blueberries to the curd while on the stove top for a deeper hue.

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for dusting
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter; process until large moist crumbs form (dough should hold together when squeezed).

Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom; with floured fingers, press evenly into bottom and up sides. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes; prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. 

Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes; cool completely.

Meanwhile, reserve 1 cup of the prettiest berries for topping.

For the curd:
1 1/2 cups sugar

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 large egg yolks, well beaten

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Sift sugar, cornstarch, and salt into a medium saucepan. Gradually blend in 1/2 cup cold water and lemon juice. Place saucepan over medium-low heat, and whisk until smooth. Add egg yolks and butter, and blend thoroughly. Add remainder blueberries. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened, and add 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Continue stirring until mixture reaches desired thickness, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Remove from heat, strain, and then stir in lemon peel; rub surface lightly with 1 tablespoon butter to prevent a skin from forming. 

Spread slightly cooled curd into crust. Scatter reserved berries on top, pressing down lightly to help them adhere. 

Refrigerate until cool and serve.

UBC Ponderosa Cake

Fluffy, moist, and chocolate-y! This recipe is best banana cake you'll ever eat - promise!

Here's the recipe for a tall 8" round cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup mashed bananas (2 large bananas or 3 small bananas)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate mini chips

Cream the butter with granulated sugar until fluffy. Then add egg, vanilla, and bananas. Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to banana mixture with yogurt in equal parts. Pour half of batter into greased pan. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle half of mixture on top of batter, and half of chocolate chips. Repeat layers. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until cake tester in middle comes out clean.

Recipe may be doubled.

Serve and enjoy!

Hello Kitty Doll Cake

I hadn't planned on baking and decorating my daughter's first birthday cake - this is what I came up with after 2 short days of planning.

My original plan was to order a 4" birthday cake from a local bakery, but apparently, I missed their holiday booking deadline. I couldn't leave the cake to chance so I decided to go ahead and spent a few extra hours in the kitchen (again).

We were only celebrating with family so I didn't need an overly huge cake. I've always wanted to try decorating a doll cake and this was my opportunity. To my surprise, I never realized Barbie dolls were so tall and there was no way I was going to tackle a larger cake that required carving. In the end, I decided to use a McDonald's Hello Kitty kid's meal toy (her outfit was fitting for a winter birthday I thought). I used half of Wilton's sport ball pan for her skirt and used some left over fondant from my last cake. I was too lazy to make a batch of royal icing for the detail so I used a round tip and mini flower cutter for the pattern. I also purchased spools of Hello Kitty ribbon from Target's $1 department (quite some time ago) which was fitting.

Voila! Happy birthday, baby girl!