Maui

A few weeks ago, I got the chance to go to Maui with my husband as part of his work trip. Neither of us had been before, and it was truly magical! We spent the whole time relaxing at the beach or by the pool at the resort, and eating and drinking very well. We both came home with a bit of a sunburn and many happy memories. So I decided I'd try to re-create our experience at home.

 

Every morning at the hotel, we'd have passion orange guava juice for breakfast. I became obsessed! So tropical and refreshing! Well, after a little bit of searching, I found the same juice at a local supermarket. So now I can have a taste of Maui every morning at home. Yum! (I might have to try a passion orange guava cupcake soon)

We also ate a lot of taro and purple sweet potato, specifically macadamia and ginger crusted sweet potato wedges at dinner one night. I normally love any potato dish, and the fact that these were purple just sent me over the edge. While I couldn't find the purple variety in stores, I did find taro chips! It's actually a blend of taro, sweet potato, and other root vegetables. Quite tasty!

One souvenir I did take home was the kukui nut leis given to us upon check in at the hotel. The kukui tree is the state tree of Hawaii, and in Maui it is a symbol of peace. Although I was a bit disappointed not to get a floral lei, in the end these were better since they don't wilt and die.

I also found a lovely Maui candle, scented like Mai Tais. I drank my fair share of them on vacation, so now anytime I want to remember Maui I can light the candle and put the lei on, close my eyes and dream of the ocean.

 Hopefully we'll be back to Hawaii soon, since it's only a 5 hour flight from California. Just a quick jump over the Pacific and you're in paradise! But until then, I'll have to make do with my memories.

 

Happy Valentine's Day! Lemon Mousse Cupcakes

Today is the day for lovers. Or for anyone who loves sweets! After gorging myself on chocolates earlier in the week, I was ready for something a bit lighter.
With not a lot of time, I rummaged around in my fridge for inspiration. Here's what I came up with: whipped cream, meyer lemon curd, a few lemons, and a little bit of French buttercream. After a quick internet search, I found that combining whipped cream and lemon curd results in lemon mousse. So I naturally made lemon mousse cupcakes.

I used my vanilla cupcake recipe, and added about 1 tablespoon on lemon zest, which lent a slight lemon flavor to the moist and fluffy cake. After cooling, I cored each cupcake.

I mixed together the whipped cream and lemon curd. I had about 1 cup of curd and probably 1 and a half cups of whipped cream. I filled each cupcake with the lemon mousse, then with the leftover, I added the French buttercream. It gave it more stability. Then I piped the rest on top.

I felt the cupcakes needed something else, to jazz them up for Valentine's Day. I had baked them in cute red striped wrappers. I decided to melt some red candy and pipe out hearts onto wax paper. After a quick chill in the fridge, the hearts popped right off the wax paper. I made big ruffly hearts and little ones too. I gently placed them on top of each cupcake, and they looked perfect! Such a sweet treat for the holiday, or any day. So cute!

Valentine's Day chocolates

Valentine's Day. A holiday dedicated to chocolate and roses. I usually don't make a big fuss over this holiday, I just bake something chocolatey for my husband and he gets me flowers. After being together for 18 years, it's more about the little everyday things than a big splashy gift once a year. But I will take any excuse I can get to eat chocolate in any form: brownies, cookies, cakes, and especially truffles.

So pretty!

I was honored to be asked to review this box of Valentine's chocolates by Whole Foods. I shop there probably 3-4 times a week, since there's a market only a few blocks from my house. It's a nice little walk there and back, and I feel like I've earned whatever I end up getting from the salad bar. So they sent me a lovely heart shaped box of Valentine's chocolates to try.

Can't wait to dig in

There's nothing quite like receiving a heart-shaped box filled with sweet treats! Something about the shape and color make it special, and you just know it's not something you'll get any other time of year. My favorite part of opening a new box of chocolates is guessing what each piece has inside. If I'm feeling adventurous I'll just dive right in and bite into a few to find my favorite. But this box came with a handy guide, so I didn't have to guess. Even if you know what's inside, there's still a bit of a surprise when you take that first bite.

Temptation- dark chocolate with smooth raspberry center

14 different chocolates, each one unique. I wonder if the number was a deliberate nod to the holiday's date? Either way, it's a good amount for sharing. I started in order listed on the description card, but after I was halfway through I realized I should have probably worked my way from white to milk to dark chocolate. Oh well. While each and every one was delicious, I did have a few favorites. I'm not a fan of white chocolate in general. In my mind, the darker the better. And since these are Belgian chocolates, the dark was super rich and decadent.

I'm a sucker for caramel and nuts, so those earned big points with me. The two chocolates with liquid caramel were my favorite, with the dark chocolate winning out overall. I mean, whoever first thought to combine dark chocolate, caramel, and sea salt is a genius. The hazelnut filled heart was also pretty amazing. I ate those entirely, but the rest I just took a bite, saving the rest for my husband when he gets home from work today. He'll be greeted with a half-empty box of nibbled chocolates, but it's better than a completely empty box. Or maybe I'll just polish off the box myself and pick up another one next time I'm at Whole Foods, for him to enjoy by himself. Now there's a thought!

The carnage

This heart-shaped box would be a great last-minute gift for anyone who forgot or put off buying a Valentine's Day gift. Just pop in to the market, pick up some flowers, champagne, and a box of chocolates, and you're set. A Valentine anyone would love to get. Including me!

Long time, no blog.

Wow. I just took a peek at my last post, such a long time ago! I'm not sure why I stopped posting, I certainly didn't stop baking. In any case, I've decided to start up again, with a bit of a different outlook. Having lived in San Francisco for almost 3 years now, I've had ample time to explore the culinary scene, and it's been really inspiring. So I plan on continuing my culinary adventures in the city, and in my kitchen as well. By sharing new recipes and tasting yummy foods, I hope I can inspire others to explore and experiment too. Stay tuned!

Baking suggestions

So yesterday I was wondering, what should I bake this week? Without specific inspiration, sometimes it's hard to come up with something to try. So I asked my online friends for their suggestions. I got quite a few interesting ideas!

Apple Pie
Carrot cake
Cheesecake
Red Velvet
Black Forest
Orange Creamsicle Cake balls
Pecan Pie cupcakes
Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes
Strawberry cupcakes with coconut frosting
Cream cheese brownies
Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
and
Meat Cake

Well, that's a lot of suggestions! My goal is to keep on baking new things, to expand my abilities. Most of those things I've made before, with the exception of banana cream pie cupcakes and the cranberry oatmeal cookies. Yes, I've even made meat cake, and cupcakes. And I'll never do it again, unless I'm paid very well. Meat is a lot more expensive than flour!



After all that, I decided to modify a few of my recipes to create a new one: peanut butter-chocolate chip-bacon cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Yum!

I used my go-to peanut butter cupcake recipe, added the candied maple bacon from the maple bacon cupcake recipe, threw in some chocolate chips, and topped it all off with a new chocolate frosting recipe.

The bacon gets roasted in the oven, with a sprinkling of maple sugar on each side to caramelize it. It's so sweet and crispy and salty! I also used some of the bacon drippings in the batter in place of butter.
The cupcakes turned out great, but the peanut butter kind of overpowers the bacon flavor. Even though there are chunks of bacon in the cupcakes, it's not a strong flavor.



I used a new frosting recipe as well. I'm never satisfied with my chocolate frostings, so I've been trolling the web for a new one. I found this recipe on many food blogs, so I don't feel bad about re-using it. It's pretty much the same as most chocolate buttercream frostings, but it's made in the food processor instead of a stand mixer.

Much quicker, but a bit messier to get it out of the bowl. It also makes a lot of frosting, I had enough left over for at least 3-4 more cupcakes.

All in all, these turned out pretty great. A quick dash of glittery sprinkles on top, and done!


So thanks to everyone for your suggestions, I'll save some of them for another time when I need inspiration.

Balsamic Strawberry Cupcakes

Last weekend, I walked down to Bi-Rite creamery, a local ice cream shop, and tried their new flavor, balsamic strawberry ice cream. It was super yummy! Tart and sweet, with fresh strawberries. So I was inspired to create the same flavor in a cupcake.

I walked up a huge hill to the grocery store to get some fresh, local strawberries. so yum! I already had a great strawberry cupcake recipe, so I simply modified it slightly. I first macerated the strawberries in balsamic vinegar and a bit of sugar, until they were super juicy. Then I pureed them as usual and added them to the recipe. The effect was subtle, but I could definitely taste the balsamic. I also used the balsamic strawberries to make the frosting.


To kick it up, I made a balsamic syrup by boiling balsamic vinegar with some honey until it reduced and got thick. After cooling, I drizzled it over the tops of the cupcakes. Fancy!


They tasted great, sweet and tangy. I was afraid the concentrated syrup would be too much, but it was great. I even have some leftover, which might get paired with some Grana Padano cheese tonight :)

PS- this was the second time baking in my new kitchen, and the oven takes some getting used to. The first batch was almost all burned on the bottom. Not sure if it was the temperature or the ingredients, but this time I baked at a lower temp and added a cookie sheet to block some of the bottom heat. Worked great! No burned bottoms here.

Cake Pops and Sprinkles

After donating the 800 cake pops a few months ago, I got a few calls to make more, but this time, I got paid!

These pops were for a last minute event, so I had less than 48 hours to get these together. The order was for 200 pops though, so it didn't quite take as long.

While prepping to make the pops, I set out my big tub of nonpareil sprinkles so I could easily access it when I needed. Well, a swift jab of the elbow and the sprinkles went flying!

It was so pretty I had to take a picture :) Fortunately, I was able to save most of them, but I was finding little colored balls on the floor for a while after that.


Anyways, finished the cake pops on time and delivered them. It gets easier and easier every time I do them, and I usually learn new tips and techniques too with more practice. Fun!