Toasted Meringue Cake 火焰蛋白霜蛋糕

This year we have Christmas party on Christmas day! My friend Christy's birthday is on Dec 27 and I decided to make a cake to celebration with her during the party on Dec 25. I think it is good that I make a cake to serve both celebration purposes. Christmas and Birthday all in one. For the cake itself, you can use any kind of cake you want. Since I need to prepare at 38 people party at the same time, I chose to use cake mix. I chose Red Velvet cake as cake base. And I chose to make a toasted meringue covered cake. I use the following recipe to make my Toasted Swiss Meringue:

Swiss Meringue
Ingredients: (For my 8" cake, this amount is more than what I need)

1 cup egg whites ( I used pasteurized egg white bought in store)
2 cup sugar
pinch salt

Directions:
Whisk together the egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Rest the bowl over a pot of simmering water to form a double boiler. Scrape down the sides of the bowl so that all the sugar is off the sides of the bowl. Continue to stir the mixture until all the sugar is melted into the eggs and you no longer feel any graininess when rubbed between your fingers, about 3-5 minutes.
Place the bowl onto your mixer and whisk on high speed until the meringue is thick and glossy and the bowl is just warmer than room temperature, about 8 minutes.
Use spatula to apply thick layer of meringue to the cake. You can make the curl and spike by using a fork or by using hand. Then I use a kitchen or creme brulee torch to toast the meringue layer.

For the X'mas version cake, I decorated it with 

Strawberry Whipped Cream snowmen.

For my friend's birthday cake version, I use fondant to make her a high heel shoe. Her husband told me that her favorite high heel brand is Christian Louboutin.

It is hard to make and I think this high heel is a bit imperfect.

Individual Size Mango Coconut Cream Trifle cup 芒果椰漿奶油Trifle杯子

Today is my friend Teresa's birthday. She messaged me earlier asking me if I can make her a dessert that I made before: Mango Coconut Cream Trifle. You can find the recipe there. I made this dessert half a year ago and I am glad that my friend still remember and like it. She has a big mango that she recently got it from her relatives from Australia. It is a big mango. But it can barely make 6-7 individual size trifles. The Trifle that I made in June was a original size good for 8-10 people. This time Teresa requested small trifle for party of 6. So I use a small wine glass to hold the trifle. It looks delicate and yummy!

I use white chocolate with special print for decoration

Chewy Gingerbread man Cookies 聖誕軟薑餅人餅

This is the last week of school for my kids. My younger daughter wants me to make her class some gingerbread man cookies as X'mas gift for her buddies at class. I made Gingerbread Man cookie before but I always want to try a new recipe that has a chewy and soft texture. Here I found one from "Food.com"

Here is the recipe:
(Recipe said it makes 48 cookies, but I only made around 30 with my gingerbread man cutter.)

1 cup margarine (I use unsalted butter)
1 cup sugar ( I use brown sugar)
1 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
5 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ginger (or to taste)
1 tablespoon cinnamon (or to taste)
1 teaspoon allspice (or to taste) (I use nutmeg)

Directions:

1 Place margarine in large mixing bowl; soften it in a microwave for a few seconds.
2 Cream sugar and margarine; add molasses and water.
3 Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice.
4 Add to the mixing bowl; mix together.
5 Let dough cool, covered, in freezer for at least one hour.
6 Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
7 Roll out dough; cut out with cookie cutters.
8 If the cookies are thin, bake for 6 minutes.
9 If cookies are thick, bake for 8 minutes.
10 Cookies will appear slightly underbaked but that's what makes them taste so good and chewy!
11 Cool cookies on a wire rack.
12 These cookies stand their own without frosting, but if you want to frost them, mix a cup of powdered sugar with a little water to make frosting. Draw a few accent lines or dots on the cookies.

 

Packed with labels

 

I use Holiday special Hershey's Chipits for the buttons and  store bought "Cake Mate" icing for the decoration.

Shark's Tail Skin Pot with tofu and chicken (How to prepare dried Shark's Tail Skin) 紅燒豆腐魚唇雞煲 + 魚唇浸發

魚唇= Shark's Tail Skin (Not Shark's lips) Good source of Collagen

How to prepare dried Shark's Tail Skin:

Soak dried shark's tail skin in cold water + rice wine overnight. Cook soften shark's tail skin in boiling water with ginger and rice wine. Drained. Braised in chicken stock with ginger, green onion and rice wine for a few hours until tender (I use slow cooker on high for 5 hours). Drained with cold water. Cut in desired size. Good for soup and other dishes. I made Shark's Tail Skin Tofu chicken Pot.

Directions:

Pan fried Ginger, shallots and garlic. 

Add chicken, tofu and shark's tail skin. Stir fry a bit.

Add chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and white pepper.

Cover and cook until chicken is cooked.

Use corn starch to thicken the sauce. 

Garnish with green onion.

  魚唇簡單介紹: Shark's Tail Skin: 很多人以為魚唇就是魚的嘴唇，非也！魚翅是鯊魚的鰭，而魚唇其實就是鯊魚尾部沒有翅針的鰭了。雖然魚唇不及魚翅矜貴，亦因為魚唇無骨，所以少了一點點鈣質，但是它膠質含量絕不比魚翅遜色，質地亦比魚翅軟滑。海味業界認為魚唇即是翅裙。魚唇處理不好會容易有腥味，所以浸發工夫非常重要：將幹魚唇 (Pic1) 浸清水和米酒過夜, 煮魚唇的滾水記着要放薑片和米酒去腥味，我使用慢燉鍋煮5小時 (雞湯, 姜，蔥和米酒) (Pic 2),  然後將魚唇過冷水洗浸 (Pic 3)，之後便可以用來煲湯又或者燴煮炒菜了。

 1. Dried Shark's Tail Skin 幹魚唇

2. Braised Shark's Tail skin in broth with green onion, ginger and rice wine

3. Cooked Shark's Tail Skin

4. Pan Fried Ginger, Shallots and garlic. Then add chicken, tofu and shark's tail skin.

紅燒豆腐魚唇雞煲:

炒姜，蔥，蒜。加入雞肉，豆腐和魚唇。翻炒一下。加入雞湯，蠔油，醬油，老抽，糖，白胡椒粉。蓋上鍋蓋，煮至雞肉熟透。用玉米澱粉勾芡收汁。灑上蔥花。

Baked Salted Turkey Gizzard 鹽焗火雞腎

This Salted Turkey Gizzard is a great heat for party appetizer or as a sidewhen eating congee.

Ingredient:

2 lbs Turkey Gizzard 火雞腎

Coarse Salt 粗鹽

Directions:

1. Let thaw frozen turkey gizzards (Pic 1). Scald with boiling water for 2-3 minutes to remove the dirt and slime. Dish up. Rinse well and drain (Pic 2)
2. Prepare a sheet of aluminum foil. Put turkey gizzards on foil. Sprinkle coarse salt evenly on turkey gizzards (Pic 3). Wrap up. Put in baking tray. Put tray into oven already preheated at 200℃. Bake for 40-45 mins (Pic 4).
3. Put baked turkey gizzards into boiling water or drinking water to rinse off the salt. Slice thinly and serve.

1. 讓解凍冰凍火雞腎（圖一）。用沸水沖泡2-3分鐘，燙以去除污垢和煤泥。盛起。用清水沖洗並瀝乾（圖片2）
2.  製備鋁片。把火雞胗放在鋁片。撒上粗鹽均勻地塗抹在火雞胗（圖片3）。包裹起來。放入烤盤。把托盤放入已經預熱200℃烤箱。烤40-45分鐘（圖片4）。
3.  把烤火雞胗放入沸水或飲用水沖洗掉鹽。切成薄片上桌。

Royal Icing recipe 蛋白糖霜做法

Royal Icing crown recipe:

(makes 3 cups)
2 large (60g) pasteurized egg white蛋白
2 tsp fresh lemon juice (Pic 1)檸檬汁
3 cups (330g) icing sugar, sifted 糖粉


Direction
In a bowl, beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined(Pic 2,3). Beat egg white until foam formed (Pic 4). Add the sifted icing sugar (Pic 5) and beat on low speed until combined and smooth (Pic 6). If icing is too thick, add a little water. If icing is too runny, add some icing sugar until the right consistency.

做法

將所有材料倒入鋼盆，用打蛋器打發至企身即成

You can add food colour to icing now (Pic 7) or apply colour with airbrush later.

Tips: The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

 

After air dry, my jerseys are all broken! x_x  The layer of royal icing is too thin. I will need to make it thicker next time!  

Marshmallow Fondant (MMF) 自制棉花糖翻糖

Marshmallow fondant(MMF):

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces miniature marshmallows (4 cups not packed, or half of a 16-ounce bag)
• 1 pound powdered sugar (4 cups), plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp water
• Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional

 < 材料 > : (1) 棉花糖 -------- 16oz
(2) 糖霜 ----------- 1 lb (過篩)
(3) 水 -------------- 2 TBSP
(4) 固體菜油 ----- 適量
(5) 色膏 ----------- 適量 (如有需要)

Preparation:

1. Dust your counter or a large cutting board with powdered sugar. Place the marshmallows and the water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded.

2. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now. Instead, refer to step 6 below for instructions.(Pic 1)

3. Add the powdered sugar and begin to stir with the spatula. Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate and it becomes impossible to stir anymore.(Pic 2)

4. Scrape the marshmallow-sugar mixture out onto the prepared work surface. It will be sticky and lumpy, with lots of sugar that has not been incorporated yet--this is normal. Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar into the marshmallow with your hands.(Pic 3)

5. Continue to knead the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness (Pic 4). Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding sugar once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later (Pic 5). Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator, and needs to be kneaded until supple before later use.

Storage:

Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and store it in airtight container in room temperature

翻糖做法:

1.  放置棉花糖和水在一個大的微波安全碗。微波高上1分鐘，直到棉花糖都是浮腫和膨脹。
2.  攪拌用橡皮刮刀的棉花糖，直到它們熔融光滑。如果一些未熔化的棉花糖件依然存在，返回到微波30-45秒，直到棉花糖混合物完全光滑，無腫塊(圖1) 。如果你想著色或調味軟糖，你可以在此時加入數滴食用色素，攪拌直到合併。
3.  加入糖粉鍋鏟，並開始攪拌。攪拌，直至糖內設並且變得不可能攪拌了。(圖2)
4.  刮棉花糖糖的混合物出到準備工作表面。塵雙手糖粉，並開始揉軟糖混合像麵團(圖3)
5.  繼續揉軟糖，直到它撫平，並失去了它的粘性(圖4)。如果需要添加更多的糖，但應停止加入白糖，一旦糖過多會使其僵硬，難以處理。現在，您可以把它卷出來，塑造它，或者把它包在保鮮膜後使用(圖5)。精心包裝的軟糖可以儲存於室內陰涼處或冰箱內，並需要揉，直到後來在使用前柔順。

儲存:
用保鮮膜包裹軟糖(圖5)，並將其儲存在密閉容器中室溫

Edible Glue: 

Water+Tylose powder

Oven Braised Tuscan Short Beef Rib 焗燉牛仔骨

I can say I am a Beef-mania. I love beef. I subscribed a few cooking magazine website in Facebook and this recipe pops out one day. I definitely need to try this.

This recipe from "Fine Cooking" website.

Recipe:
Ingredients:

• 4-1/2 to 5 lb. English-style beef short ribs (8 to 12 ribs)
• 3 Tbs. vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup medium-diced carrots
• 2/3 cup medium-diced onions
• 2/3 cup medium-diced fennel
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
• 1 Tbs. finely chopped garlic
• 1 to 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 to 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. minced anchovies
• 1-1/2 cups dry red wine
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup lower-salt beef broth
• 1 to 2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley (For garnish purpose)

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. In an 8-quart Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbs. of the oil over medium heat. Season the ribs with 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Add half of the ribs to the pot (or as many as will fit without overlap), and cook, turning with tongs, until nicely browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the ribs to a platter and repeat with the remaining ribs (Pic 2). Pour off all but a thin layer of fat from the pan.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil, carrots, onions, and fennel to the pan. Season with 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, until the vegetables are soft and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the thyme, garlic, paprika, coriander, and anchovies, and cook, stirring, until well distributed and fragrant, about 1 minute. (Pic 3)

Pour 1/2 cup of the red wine into the pot and cook, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot, until the liquid is reduced to about 2 Tbs., about 1 minute.
Transfer all the ribs (and any juices that have accumulated) back into the pot. (Pic 4) Pour 1-1/2 cups water, the tomatoes, beef broth, and remaining 1/2 cup red wine over the ribs and using tongs, arrange the ribs as evenly as possible and no more than two layers deep.(Pic 5)

Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover, and put the pot in the oven. (Pic 6) Cook, turning the ribs with tongs about every 40 minutes, until they are fork tender, about 2-3/4 hours. (The meat may fall off most of the bones about midway through cooking; this does not mean that the ribs are fully tender.)

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the ribs with the sauce spooned over, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Marinated Soft boiled egg with bonito, seaweed and sesame (Furikake Seasoning) 日式溏心蛋

This is an enhanced version of the original Marinated Soft Boiled egg that I make before. This idea was given from my good friend Christine. The way of making this eggs is exactly the same as the original one. Only the last step of coating the eggs with bonito, seaweed and sesame flavor is added. Or any kind of Furikake Seasoning.

溏心蛋
Ingredients
1. 雞蛋 egg：三顆
2. 醬油 soya sauce：75ml
3. 味淋 mirin (pic. 1)：75ml
4. 水 water：225ml

Directions:

1 Boil soya sauce, Mirin water together in a pot. Let it cool and set aside.

2.Boil a pot of hot water, once boiled, add a cup of room temperature water and add eggs into it. Count to 5 minutes or use an egg indicator, take eggs out and place in cold water.

3. Took off shells (Pic 2).

4. Soak eggs in container with cooled soya sauce mirin water. Use cling plastic wrap to place on top of egg and sauce. (Pic.3) This is to make sure the whole egg can be marinated. cover it and put in refrigerator for one or two nights.
5. Choose your favourite sesame, seaweed, bonito mixture (Pic 4). Coated them on the eggs before cutting (Pic 5 - 7).

Tips:

- To take off she'll easily, you can soak the egg in water for half an hour before boiling it.

- Cut egg by using cotton thread. I do not recommend cutting by knife.

【做法】
1. 把醬油、味淋和水，一起放入鍋內以中火煮至沸騰後，放涼後備用。
2. 煮一鍋熱水，水滾，加入一飯碗的水後，馬上把雞蛋放入。放入的同時便開始計時，五分鐘後，快速撈起置於冷水中使其降溫。
3. 一邊剝蛋殼的時候，可以開著冷水持續降低蛋的溫度。
4. 剝去蛋殼之後 (Pic 2)，輕輕擦拭蛋的表面去除多餘的水分，再放入事先煮好且放涼的醬汁中浸泡，並於冰箱中冷藏。(pic. 3) 用保鮮纸放在蛋上，這可以把蛋頂部也可浸到酱汁。
5. 約莫一～二個晚上後，便可食用。
6.  選擇你最喜歡的芝麻，海帶，鰹魚混合 (Pic 4), 切割前塗在蛋上。(Pic 5-7)

【關鍵】
1. 若蛋的數量和大小不同，醬汁的量可自行調整。以醬油：味淋：水=1：1：3的比例去混合即可。另外，在此次嘗試之後，覺得額外添加入八角，應該會讓香味更棒。如果有牛肉滷汁，應該也可以拿來嘗試看看。

2. 蛋可以先用凍水浸半小時，剝殼會更容易。

3. 剝蛋殼千萬要輕柔，否則很容易把蛋捏爛。如果發現蛋白還未熟，可繼續放入滾水中續煮。

4. 最好以縫衣線來切溏心蛋

Piano Cupcake Topper 鋼琴小蛋糕

Very busy week this week. And it is my good friend's birthday is coming soon. I can only make her a personal size brownie cake as her mini birthday cake. Why brownie? I was preparing some snacks and desserts for my cell group meeting. And I made one bite size brownie. So that I can spare one part of brownie as her birthday cake base. On top, I made her a fondant piano topper!

Eggnog Crème Brûlée 蛋酒焦糖布丁

It is December and X'mas time is coming. My X'mas tree was up!!! Eggnog is available everywhere now. My older daughter love Eggnog. But she cannot finish the whole 1L Eggnog by herself in a week (before it expired). Therefore, I need to find some recipes that have Eggnog as main ingredient, and I can try tofinish it before it expired. First come to my mind is Crème Brûlée. So I search the recipe of  Eggnog Crème Brûlée  over the web. Here I got one!

Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins, plus 1 hr chilling time

(6 servings)

 Ingredients:

• 8 cups water
• 2/3 cup Best Eggnog (I use light)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk (I did not use milk, I use all heavy cream. Using milk can reduced the fat but  I always love the creamy texture of this dessert, never mind)
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar ( I reduced sugar to 1/4 cup and substitute it with brown sugar)

 Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Bring the water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over high heat; keep at a simmer.
2. Combine the eggnog, cream, milk, and nutmeg in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat (Pic 1). Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar (Pic 2) (I use 1/4 cup sugar and I use brown sugar the 2nd time I made this dessert again) in a medium bowl until pale yellow and thick, about 3 minutes.
3. While whisking constantly, slowly pour the heated eggnog mixture into the yolks in a steady stream (Pic 3). Once combined, I pour it through a sieve to make sure the mixture is smooth (pic 4) and divide the mixture among 6 (4-ounce) ramekins (Pic 5) and place in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Pour the hot water between the ramekins until it reaches two-thirds of the way up the sides (you may not need all of the water). Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (Pic 6) and poke a few holes in it with a skewer or knife to allow steam to escape.
4. Bake until the centers of the custards are just set, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the custards to a wire rack to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 1 hour.
5. When ready to serve, heat the broiler to high and arrange a rack in the upper third. Place the custards on a baking sheet and sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of the remaining 1/4 cup sugar evenly over each. Place under the broiler until the sugar is caramelized and golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes—watch carefully to avoid burning. (Alternatively, you can use a kitchen torch.) (I use kitchen torch) Serve immediately.

Recipe source: http://www.chow.com/recipes/10785-eggnog-creme-brulee