Chocolate Surprise

Work has been a little crazy lately so I haven't been able to bake much or post anything recently. However, this past weekend we had some lovely friends visit so I decided to make cupcakes for them. I forgot to take a picture before they were eaten, but here is what was left:

I also took this opportunity to experiment with a new flavor, which I named "Chocolate Surprise": a chocolate cupcake filled with marshmallow cream and topped with chocolate ganache. I even tested out a new fancy design with the ganache. :)

While I'm on the topic of cupcakes (again), I thought I would share a picture of some really cute kitchen towels I found at our local Borders that is going out of business. They were so cute that I couldn't resist buying them. Maybe they will bring me some extra luck in the kitchen.

Che Dau Trang

When we went to Vietnam last fall, I had che dau trang for the first time in quite a while. Che dau trang is a dessert sort of like rice pudding. It's made with sweet rice and beans and is served with coconut milk. My mom used to make it a lot when I was younger.

It was sooo good in Vietnam, and I had a sudden craving for it. I made some for the first time, and while it wasn't nearly as good as what I had in Vietnam, it was good enough to satisfy my craving. Yum.

A Heathy Cupcake?

I often get asked whether I have ever thought of opening a bakery. Of course I have dreamed of opening a bakery one day, there are just so many factors that go into starting and operating a business. There was a time when I was seriously thinking about it, but I'm just not sure if I'm ready to take such a big risk.

I have also always wanted to attend pastry school. Since I'm a self-taught baker, I think formal training would help me take my hobby to the next level of sophistication. When we lived in Michigan, I started attending pastry school part-time, but I had to drop out after only one quarter when the hubby and I decided to move to the DC area. This required me to give up one dream to pursue another as I have always wanted to live in a big city. Plus, a great job opportunity came up for the hubby, and shortly after, for me. Sadly, my pastry school experience was limited to two classes: baking theory and sanitation and health, and this meant that I didn't get to any of the classes where you actually learn how to make anything. Perhaps some day I will make another attempt to fulfill my dream of going to pastry school. For now, I am a mild mannered IT geek by day and an experimental (mad?) baker by night.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm getting a lot better at creating my own recipes, and I think this is very important if I were ever to open my own bakery. With all of the bakeries and cupcake shops opening, there would have to be something that sets me apart. So, I have been experimenting quite a bit lately. I finally got around to trying my lemon pomegranate cupcake idea, and I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. Hopefully I came up with something fairly unique: a vanilla cupcake filled with lemon curd, topped with pomegranate frosting.

I love biting into a cupcake and finding a surprise inside.

By the way, is there such a thing as a healthy cupcake? This one is high in antioxidants and vitamins! =p

I have been making a lot of cupcakes lately, I'm not sure why...I guess I love all things miniature. In reality, I like to bake and cook a lot of different things so I will try to make my next post about something other than cupcakes.

New Creations

I have been getting better at creating my own recipes and modifying "base" recipes I find to make something new out of them. It has taken me quite a while to get to this point, but being a self-taught baker, I guess I'm pretty happy with my progress. Looking back at old photos and thinking of past things I've made, I realized that I have come a long way. All of the practice has helped me discover what flavors go well together.

Even though I am getting better at making things on my own, I do get inspiration for new recipes/flavors from various places. Most recently, I was walking around downtown DC when I started to get the munchies. I stopped at a Starbucks and decided to try the triple berry coffee cake. I liked it so much that I was determined to re-create something similar. Here is attempt #1:

I still have some tweaking to do, but for my first try, I was happy with the result. Next time, I will make some modifications to add more moisture and to make it a bit fluffier. The texture just wasn't quite right for me, and ever the perfectionist, I want the perfect texture and flavor. =p

Next up: strawberry mascarpone cupcakes. Having moved to the DC area, one of the things I miss dearly from Ohio is Jeni's Ice Cream. I found a local gourmet market that actually sells it here, but I've only been willing to cough up the required $19/pint once (in a moment of excitement and weakness, I caved in). One of my favorite flavors of all time was Jeni's strawberry mascarpone. I don't think she ever brought it back after the one year that I had it in college. So, inspired by Jeni, I made strawberry mascarpone cupcakes: strawberry cupcakes with strawberry mascarpone frosting. The hubby ranked this one as his second favorite cupcake of all time (thus far).

Next on my to-do list is lemon pomegranate cupcakes. I once had a sparkling pomegranate lemonade from the cafe at Nordstrom, which sparked my love for the lemon-pomegranate flavor combination. So, I'm thinking...why not try it in a cupcake? Too crazy? I guess I'll find out the next time I have a chance to experiment. Like I said, my inspiration comes from many random places...

wow, it's been a while

a friend said I should really post something:



enjoy the tasty bear.

peace,
ko