Cards & Crafts

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_wrapped_cake

One of my favorite Chinese pastries is the "paper wrapped cake" (zhǐ bāo dàn gāo) so I searched for a recipe online and decided to try this one out. You can find the full
recipe here. Since I only had 3 eggs, I had to alter it a bit, basically cut most ingredients by half since the recipe calls for 5 eggs.

INGREDIENTS

30 g all purpose flour
8 g cornstarch
45 g sugar
3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
30 g butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line standard 12-cup muffin tin with parchment paper. Squares 5x5 inches seem to work well.
2. Sift flour and cornstarch together.
3. In separate bowl, beat egg yolks with 15 g sugar until fluffy until lemony colored. Beat in melted butter. Sift in flour mixture and beat until smooth. (I did this step by hand).
4. In another bowl, whip egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar. When you can see trails from your beaters, beat in the remaining 30 g sugar. Whip to firm peaks. (I did this step with my stand mixer with wire whisk).
5. Stir in spatula-full of egg whites into the yolk mixture. Gently fold in the rest of the whites.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, about 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 400 F for 5 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I was able to make 10 cakes.

Smelled delicious while baking and tasted just like they are supposed to. Of course these are much shorter than the ones you buy at the bakery but a good little snack (and probably just the right size for my carbohydrate portion allowance).

The only thing I find inconvenient is having to weigh out ingredients. I know this is probably the most accurate way to make a delicious cake but I'm so used to using cups and teaspoons and tablespoons. But I would definitely make this again if I can't find a Chinese bakery to buy them.

I still want to attempt to make my own egg tarts (dan tat) but most recipes use lard for the tart which is a bit daunting.

Hmm... so yummy, thinking of having another one... but must resist until my next snack time.

I am trying to use up a carton of buttermilk so came across this Food Network recipe for Buttermilk Pie. The recipe didn't have a crust so I decided to try making it with a graham cracker crust.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
* 1/3 cup white sugar (reduced to 1/4 cup)
* 6 tbsp butter, melted
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional so I did not use)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix all ingredients together then press into 9 inch pie tin (I used a 9 inch springform pan). Bake for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Buttermilk Pie INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups sugar (used 3/4 cup sugar)
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 cup biscuit mix (recommended: Bisquick) (used 3/4 cup Bisquick)
* 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter, melted
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend all ingredients together with electric mixer or hand mix with a wire whisk. May be poured into a greased 9 inch pie pan or on top of some sort of crust. Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. May be served after cooling for 5 minutes or after refrigeration.

It smells and looks delicious. I can't wait to try it. I hope I didn't overcook it and that it still has its custard-like texture. I plan to top it with some fresh fruit, maybe some strawberries and bananas.

Had a slice this afternoon and it ended up more like a piece of cake rather than a custard. Next time I would probably reduce the amount of biscuit mix and increase by 1 egg instead. The graham cracker crust was a bit too sweet so I would reduce it to maybe 1/8 cup of sugar. I topped it with a sliced banana and strawberry which gave it a fresher taste.

It's actually been a busy few days but during some down time today, I decided to bake. Taking a recipe from my favorite cookie book, Big, Soft, Chewy Cookies, I made the oatmeal cinnamon cookies and added some milk chocolate chunks from a candy bar, used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, and used a mix of white and light brown sugar.

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp dark molasses
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup milk chocolate chunks

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 F
2. Combine oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together egg and sugars. Add butter and continue beating. When completely blended, add molasses and milk and blend again. Stir in the oat mixture, pecans, and chocolate.
4. Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop level amounts of dough and drop 2 1/2 inches apart onto an ungreased gookie sheet.
5. Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and let them set for 1 minute. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to a rack and let cool.

Cookies may be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to three days.

Makes 14-20 cookies.

The kitchen smelled delicious as the cookies baked, cinnamon and nutty. I let them bake a little more than 15 minutes because I like it a bit more crispy on the edges. Tastes like breakfast, great with a glass of milk or coffee.

These are different than the Tartine Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Cookies since they are more cake-like. The Tartine recipe makes thin and crispy cookies so it will depend on what I'm in the mood for because I like these cake-y cookies too.

Link: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/blueberries-and-cream-cookies

My last baking feat for my last day of work. They have all said they will miss my baking so I thought I'd bring something on my last day. Plus the week after a holiday weekend is always super busy so a sweet treat always helps to make the day a bit easier.

I decided to try this recipe for Blueberry and Cream Cookies but with some changes because I didn't have all the ingredients. I followed some of the substitutions recommended in the comments on the Martha Stewart website.

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (used whole wheat flour)
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons salt (used 1 tsp as recommended by others because 2 tsp made the cookies too salty according to the comments)
* 1 cup (8 ounces) Plugra European-style unsalted butter (used regular unsalted butter)
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
* 1/4 cup glucose (used agave syrup)
* 1 large egg
* 3/4 cup dried blueberries (used 1 cup blueberry preserves)
* 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup Milk Crumbs (used 1 cup white chocolate chips but recipe for Milk Crumbs available online at Martha Stewart website)

Directions

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together butter, sugars, and glucose until well combined. Add egg and mix until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add blueberries and milk crumbs and mix until well combined. Using an ice cream scoop about 2 1/8 inches in diameter, scoop dough into balls and place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer baking sheets to refrigerator until dough is chilled, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until cookies are golden brown and tops begin to crackle, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

I think the cookies came out a bit too sweet so I would reduce the amount of sugars and/or agave syrup (or glucose if following the recipe). One day I'll have to try the Milk Crumbs recipe to see what they actually are like but since I had white chocolate chips, that's what I used and it turned out fine. The cookies are pretty dense and cake-like and seem to go well with a cup of coffee or tea (to even out the sweetness). Because I used blueberry preserves, the coloring of the cookies were not that great looking but still tasted good.

Not sure how much I will be baking once baby is born but I'm hoping he will want to join me in the kitchen once he's old enough.

Link: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/best-marble-cake

I tried another recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.

Marble Cake

Ingredients

Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
* 1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup sugar (used light brown sugar)
* 3 large eggs, room temperature
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside 1/3 of the batter.
3. In a bowl, mix cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved cake batter; stir until well combined.
4. Spoon batters into the prepared pan in 2 layers, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard. To create marbling, run a table knife (or wooden skewer) through the batters in a swirling motion.
5. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cake from pan and cool completely on the rack. Cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

The cake came out really dense, the chocolate part almost like a fudge but simple and yummy.