Holla challah!

Yesterday I decided on a whim to make some challah bread. Baking Illustrated recommends making the dough in a stand mixer or food processor, but what is the fun in that? I broke out the bowls and wooden spoons to mix the dough by hand and greased up the elbows for some old fashioned kneading. What's fun about making challah is that you really get to play around with the dough. Instead of just plopping it into a loaf pan, you get to cut up the dough, roll out the dough, and braid it--twice! The trick to getting braided shape right is actually to make two braids, a smaller braid that is placed on top of a bigger braid. After one last rise, into the oven it goes!

The secret to excellent pie is...

...VODKA!

The day before Thanksgiving, by special request, I made apple pie. One was a regular apple pie (although far from ordinary if I do say so myself!) The second was apple-cranberry pie.


It had been years since I'd made pie. First of all, I'm not a huge fan of it. I don't really like to eat it because of the texture of the filling. Fruit should be chewable, and oftentimes baking the fruit filling breaks it down to baby food consistency. Not feeling that. Nonetheless, many people love pie and I love making it; therefore I have no objections to granting their requests.

Pie crust is one of those things that people obsess over--how to keep it flaky, how to make it the right thickness, et cetera, ad nauseum. Fear not! The first pie I ever made--and to my chagrin got rave reviews--I made in a gallon ziploc bag by shaking up cubed butter with flour and some ice water.

This time, I got a little bit more detailed. Room temperature butter, vegetable shortening and flour--all blended with a pastry cutter (see picture at Green Tea Cupcakes post). A tiny bit of salt and sugar for taste, then the obligatory water. But then--here is the secret--vodka.

This little bit of fire water is absolutely imperative, and here's why: If we add too little water, the pie crust dough is really hard to work with--too dry to hold together and roll out later. If we add too much, then it sticks like crazy and is also a mess to work with. Enter vodka. It adds the liquidity of water during the dough stage, but being 40% alcohol, it bakes off in the oven... leaving a crispy flaky crust as though you'd only used 60% of the water. Tell me that's not genius.

And here's what it looks like:

Turkey Day - 3 Weeks Early!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I flew back to California for the second time in a month to see my family. My brother who is in the Army also was able to fly home. So once again, we were all together and, brilliantly, were able to celebrate Thanksgiving--albeit three weeks early!

Usually, I do some kind of fancy bird (ask my brothers about the apple cider glazed turkey from one year. What? You don't like your gravy slightly sweet and cinnamon-y?) This year, we opted for traditional. Turkey, gravy, smashed potatoes, and a variety of roasted and steamed vegetables served with dinner rolls and cranberry sauce from a can!

People really shouldn't be afraid of making Thanksgiving dinner. There are 3 keys to turning out the perfect turkey--and they are very easy to achieve.

(1) Brine the turkey. I even brined and defrosted in one step: buy the turkey, which is usually frozen. Dissolve 1 cup of salt per 1 gallon of water. For a 14 pound turkey, I used about 2 gallons. Submerge the turkey in the brine for a day, refrigerated. It will be brined and defrosted by then.

(2) Use a meat thermometer. Before roasting, stick the thermometer into the turkey's thigh without touching bone. Roast until the temperature reaches a minimum of 165 degrees. This is the only reliable way of making sure your turkey is cooked to a safe and delicious temperature.

(3) Baste. In this year's case, I made it even simpler by creating a way for the turkey to baste itself. I formed a lattice of bacon over the breast of the turkey that would melt and baste the turkey as it roasted without me having to check on things every 20 minutes or so. I loosely tented foil around the bacon-latticed turkey and stuck it into a 350 degree oven.


About half an hour before the turkey was done, I took the foil and the bacon off. I brushed the turkey with some herbed butter and let the bacon continue to crisp on the side in its own dish while the turkey browned.

Easy peas-ey!

Mayonnaise Cake

In honor of Halloween, a freaky little cake that is actually quite yum!

It is not my own recipe, but one I felt was worthy of taking on in a baking adventure.

People either love mayonnaise or they hate it. I am firmly planted in the former camp. I love it. I think its original intrigue for me arose from the fact that I wasn't allowed to have it when I was a kid. But my dad would have it with his steak and I even remember the first time I got to have a little try. O...M...G.

Loved it! Tangy, rich, smooth, and forbidden... like the boy your parents warned you about.

The cake, actually called "Easy Chocolate Cake," has a history as being one you should be able to whip up with ingredients just lying around in your pantry. Flour? Check. Sugar? Check. Baking soda? Check. Salt? Check. Cocoa powder and good chocolate? Check and CHECK (always). Mayonnaise? Oh but yes check. Egg (just one)? Check. And vanilla? Check.

Here it is:

Strawberry CupKates

...from scratch!
I was testing out a new recipe for strawberry cupcakes, using real strawberries--no artificial flavors or strawberry jello please.

The recipe is still being perfected, so stay tuned for it in a future post....

Here's how they turned out this time (with cream cheese frosting):

Green Tea CupKates

My friend Uyen recently asked me to make cupcakes for her friend's bridal shower. She specially requested green tea cupcakes with strawberry mousseline buttercream frosting. I'd never made green tea cake before she asked for them. So a couple weeks ago, I whipped up a couple test batches.

The first batch had just a little too much sugar, which made a big difference: the cakes baked too quickly, were too sweet, and did not rise enough. I decreased the sugar, added an egg yolk for smoother texture, and upped the green tea ("macha") powder, and the second test batch was much improved.

The recipe I ended up using for the delivered batch is a twist off the classic white cake.

To amp up the green tea flavor, I poured a green tea glaze over each cupcake. Half of the cupcakes were complemented by strawberry mousseline buttercream, the other half with vanilla mousseline buttercream and a touch of green tea for color.

Recipe follows; however, this recipe is in weight measurements because I had to produce the recipe. (Weight measurements more accurately preserve the ratios necessary to produce successful cakes.)

Green Tea CupKates
(yields approximately 2 dozen cupcakes and maybe a few leftover to experiment/nibble on)

• 9 ounces cake flour
• 11 ounces granulated sugar
• 4 tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp green tea "macha" powder
• 12 tbsps (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites, room temperature
• another 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 cup milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.


2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir to mix evenly.


3. Using a pastry blender (see image on the right), cut the butter into the flour mixture one tablespoon at a time. Continue blending until the butter and flour mixture resembles a wet sand texture, with lumps no larger than pea-sized and no dry flour streaks.


4. Sprinkle the green tea “macha” powder over the mixture.


5. In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the milk, 1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites, and vanilla extract. Mix with a fork until just combined.


6. In a medium bowl, whip the remaining three egg whites to medium peaks.


7. Pour half the milk mixture into the butter and flour mixture. Stir quickly to combine evenly. Add the remaining milk mixture and stir again to combine evenly.


8. Add a third of the beaten egg whites to the batter and fold to lightly combine. Add in the rest of the beaten egg whites and lightly fold to combine without deflating the egg white volume.


9. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake approximately 15-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out dry with just a few crumbs clinging to it and the tops are barely golden.

Green Tea Glaze
(yields more than you'll ever need)

• ½ cup sifted confectioner's sugar
• 1 tbsp green tea “macha” powder
• 3 tbsps milk

Stir the ingredients together with a fork, in a figure-8 motion to avoid bubbles. Pour a teaspoonful over each cooled cupcake.


Strawberry Mousseline Buttercream
(yields about 5 cups, enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes)

• 5 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup of fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
• 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 or 2 tsps vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place the vinegar on a paper towel and thoroughly wipe out your large mixing bowl. Put the egg whites in the bowl and start beating the egg whites with an electric hand mixer. When they reach soft peaks, gradually add 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat to stiff peaks.


2. Puree the strawberries in a food processor until fine and almost smooth. Strain the juice twice and set aside. Set aside the strained, crushed strawberries.


3. In a small heavy saucepan, heat together the rest of the sugar and 1/3 cup of the strawberry juice, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Cook until a candy thermometer reaches 248-250 degrees F (the firm ball stage). Immediately remove the syrup from the heat.


4. If using a handheld mixer, beat the syrup into the whites in a steady stream with the mixer running. Don't pour the syrup on the beaters or they will throw all the syrup on the sides of the bowl. Lower speed to medium and beat until completely cool. Mix in the vanilla extract.


5. Beat in the butter 1 Tbs at a time. At first the mixture will seem thin and will look curdled, but keep adding butter and mixing well, you may need to increase the speed a bit.


6. Add 2 tablespoons of the crushed strawberries to the finished buttercream and mix to distribute evenly.

Buttercream becomes spongy on standing, mix again before using. If your buttercream has been chilled, you must allow it to come to room temperature before mixing or it will curdle.

How to (with Video): Pipe CupKate Buttercream Roses

After featuring Tracey's cake here on cupkatedang.blogspot.com, people wanted to know how the mousseline buttercream flowers are done. They aren't traditional buttercream roses; they don't have distinct petals. I think that gives them more of a fun, less formal look. Enjoy the video!

Bon Voyage Tracey!

My friend Tracey had spent the summer in the DC-Metro area doing an intensive orientation before her 9-month secondment to Malaysia for CAMSA. CAMSA stands for the Coalition to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia. Its mission is to rescue and protect trafficking victims, punish traffickers through economic and legal measures, and pressure the governments of the source and destination countries to enact and enforce anti-trafficking laws and policies.

To bid her a fond farewell, her friends threw a barbecue, and I baked her a cake using the dark chocolate cupcake recipe she is such a fan of. To compensate for the longer baking time that would be needed for baking the batter in cake-form rather than cupcakes, I added an extra egg and it really came out well.

The key to the dark richness of the recipe is 2 forms of chocolate: excellent dark chocolate bars, as well as cocoa powder. I used Belgian dark chocolate and a combination of Hershey's Special Dark cocoa and Colombian cocoa powder from a unique source.... It gets slowly melted together with butter over a double boiler:

I often pair my dark chocolate cupcakes with fresh strawberry buttercream, and this time was no exception. It is a variation of the mousseline buttercream recipe that is often mentioned on cupKatedang.blogspot.com. I use fresh strawberries (although frozen can also work well when they go out of season) and puree them in a food processor. I strain the puree through a sieve and use the juice as the liquid base for the sugar syrup that gets incorporated into my italian meringue for the buttercream. When all is said and done, I put a tablespoon or two of the crushed strawberries into the mousseline buttercream to kick up the strawberry flavor and give it an interesting texture. I filled the chocolate cake layers with this strawberry mousseline buttercream and it looked good enough to eat right then and there!

Next came the hard part for me, how to decorate the cake? Earlier this morning, while picking up ingredients for the cake at the local grocery store, I stopped by the bakery section (I can never resist checking out the "competition"!) I saw some cakes decorated with the cutest roses. Not the traditional, Wilton-type, but more...art-deco-y. They were roundish and reminded me of cartoons or clip art. So I knew I wanted to try making those. I whipped up a new batch of vanilla mousseline buttercream, which I dyed a couple different colors to finish trimming the cake.

Italian meringue base for the mousseline buttercream.

A blank canvas!

And now: the finished project....

Best of luck Tracey!

...Occasional Cooking Too

I was raised a California girl. But something I will always associate with East Coast summers are soft shell crabs. Love them!


Yes. Even though they are vulnerable prehistoric, sea-dwelling arthropods with impotent killer pinchers...soft shell crabs are also crunchy yet juicy with a distinctive taste of I-don't-know-what-but-it-reminds-me-of-the-Eastern-Shore. Best of all, they are incredibly easy to cook up. (The hardest part may be finding where you can buy them--I bought mine at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market).

I got mine already cleaned and dressed and on ice. The vendor had live ones too, but I couldn't bear the thought of having to kill them (by cutting off their eyes) and cleaning them (by pulling off unedible appendages, etc.) myself.

First I let them take a soak in milk, seasoned with salt and pepper. About 10 or 15 minutes is long enough.



Then I dredge them in a bit of flour that I seasoned up with Old Bay.



Meanwhile, I heat up about a couple tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. When it gets hot, I flip the crabs in, topside down first. After a few minutes, I flip them over to the other side.



And that's it!

I made a meal of them by serving with some simple fried rice and garlic sauteed "rau muong." A throwback to my childhood and a favorite of my father's, these greens are sometimes called water spinach. But taxonomically, they are related to morning glories and sweet potatoes. Gastronomically, they are in a class of their own. They readily soak up the flavor of whatever seasonings you use. I used garlic, a dash of salt, a splash of sesame oil and a bit of oyster sauce.


It ended up being a perfect night to eat outdoors (al fresco dining!) with a slight breeze and fireflies.

Cupcakes cupcakes everywhere!

Thank you to everyone who came out to see (and buy) the Wonderfully Made Jewelry! It was so much fun to get to try on the different pieces and watch others do the same and really having a great time (all the while knowing what a worthy cause this was). A big round of applause also to our hostess Anne, who opened up her home and muslin-draped patio for the party and had her most successful jewelry show yet! There is Anne setting up one of the display tables.

I was able to get all the baking and icing done in time: three kinds of cupcakes with three different icings.

Dark chocolate cupcakes with fresh strawberry buttercream.

Yellowcake with a lemon-lime glaze and a subtle lavender-infused buttercream.

And also the specially-requested french toast with bacon and maple syrup buttercream.

While it was somewhat of a close call, the bacon was the most popular flavor!

Oops! Slight Misadventure....

It's been a whirlwind week in preparation for the Wonderfully Made Jewelry show (which went incredibly well, but more on that soon!) I've been baking up a storm, as you can see:


I started the baking marathon with a batch of grown-up, dark chocolate cupcakes, which are not too sweet with a very rich chocolate taste due to the melted bittersweet chocolate plus cocoa in the recipe. They actually turned out beautifully and had a picture perfect shape. Then I went to bed... after I cleaned up and stored them in the oven until I could continue icing them the next morning.

The next morning, I preheat the oven to make the french toast with bacon cupcakes. I start thinking to myself, "Wow, it smells so good...and I haven't even put them in the...oh my goodness!" I throw open the oven and there are the chocolate cupcakes. Still as gorgeous as ever:

You can LOL; I won't take it personally. I'm just sad about all the chocolate that went to waste....

CupKates and a Cause: Wonderfully Made Jewelry

I am so excited to announce that I will be getting to combine my love of baking with a really great philanthropic cause. My friend Anne occasionally organizes jewelry parties on behalf of Wonderfully Made Jewelry and recently asked if I would be interested in featuring some of my cupKates there. Would I ever!


A little about Wonderfully Made Jewelry: in conjunction with its foundation, the company provides training and sustainable jobs for rescued victims of human trafficking overseas through artisanal jewelry craftsmanship. The pieces look timeless yet also trendy; I can't wait to check them out in person.


I'm also looking forward to getting to bake up a storm of cakes in fancy flavors as well as one or two of my tried and true. I've had requests for lavender flavored cupcakes; a repeat of the french toast with bacon; and everyone loves a really good red velvet cake.


I just hope we get an awesome turn out for this worthy cause and that people like the jewelry. If my cupKates get a little boost too...well, that's just icing on the cake! (Insert groan here.)

**Picture of Japanese Garden Necklace courtesy of www.wonderfullymadejewelry.com.**

Update: Coconut with Mango Mousse

Finished and delivered the coconut cake with mango mousse. It turned out like a little pastel yellow drum!

Coconut with Mango Mousse

My biggest fan Angela (God bless her!) has commissioned me for a new cake. I originally was going to make a coconut cake with passionfruit filling (sort of like this one). But when I made the filling, it really turned out unappetizing. The problem, I think, was the quality of the ingredients I was able to obtain. Often times, passionfruit juice is sold in cans--unless it is mixed with another kind of juice like Welch's makes. And the can imparts a very strong, very unpleasant metallic taste to the juice, which intensified in the cooking process.

So I dumped the whole thing and had to tell Angela, it was a no-go. I suggested mango instead, and she graciously agreed.

Then I got to scheming. Rather than a curd-type filling thickened with cornstarch, I wanted to make it lighter and less sweet. The cake was going to be made with cream of coconut not coconut milk, which makes it more moist, and with low-gluten cake flour, which gives it a lighter texture than regular flour. Knowing this, I decided to fill the fluffy coconut cake with an equally ethereal mousse made from real mangos.