Thursday, December 31, 2015

food resolutions of 2016

I have an infinite plethora of plans for 2016. Among them include finishing my thesis, graduating college and getting a job. In between the tears and long date nights with black tea and my textbooks, I am really, really looking forward to...

5 THINGS TO MAKE IN 2016

homemade vanilla/mint extract
Enough of the diluted, pricey nonsense! The moment I turned 21, I've been itching to head to the liquor store and buy a nice, big bottle of vodka. And while many other freshly 21 year-olds may experience that same "itch", they probably aren't also planning to stuff their precious liquid courage with mint leaves or vanilla beans...Well, what can I say, I have a giant mint bush in my backyard, calling my name.


baked donuts (a dairy free and vegan version)
The first time I tried baking donuts (which was, like, one week ago), I made something else. Let's just say my visions of a glorious tower of mini matcha donuts - stacked to resemble a Christmas tree - didn't translate so well into reality. They were crumbly and chaotic, and most important, I can totally do so much better. I look forward to spending the coming 366 days finding the dairy free or vegan donut recipe of my dreams.
*sob* Anyone up for crumbly donuts?
black sesame 
I love black sesame desserts in indescribable ways. Their taste is reminiscent of peanut butter, and there's a Chinese belief that it'll keep hair black 4eva (although at the moment I'm not sure it could be any other color). I love it so much that I will happily and shamelessly down cup after cup of black sesame soup, much to the curiosity of my housemates, to whom it probably looks like I'm aggressively slurping down black tar. Well, I pretty much do eat everything, so.. Hence, I think it would be a fun idea to devise some recipes (perhaps bread? mochi? cake?) that make black sesame the star of the show.


(ratchet) mochi
Who knew we could recreate this ancient, laborious traditional dessert with a microwave and the right ingredients? Ah, the *magic* of technology. I'm honestly curious how microwave mochi will turn out, and whether it can achieve the same impossibly pillowy texture. On the topic of black sesame, one of my favorite black sesame desserts is black sesame mochi.

The time-honored, labor-intensive tradition of making mochi.
Versus, the borderline sacrilegious 10 minute version of making mochi. 

chickpea water aka aquafaba
Aquafaba, or chickpea water, is the new-ish ingredient transforming the vegan baking world. Believe it or not, you can whip the chickpea brine (yes, direct from the can) into a fabulous egg-white substitute. Life-changing, I know. I tried doing this for my sister's vegan birthday spongecake, and sure, I failed miserably, but I learned 3 crucial lessons: 1. Aquafaba is indeed witchcraft and whips up beautifully like egg whites. 2. Chickpea brine is, well, briny. Duh, right? It impacts the taste of what ever you are making. 3. My whip attachment does not reach the bottom of my mixing bowl, which explains why, for the longest time, my mixture failed to whip properly.


Finally, in honor of a fabulous 2015 and to another year of kitchen adventures, here are photos of the vegan birthday sponge cake I surprised my sister with. 

I present to you: Green tea sponge "roulade" with homemade strawberry jam & vegan carob whipped cream. And a hint of chickpea brine. One of my proudest creations yet. 


Wow, what an appetizing color combination.


Resist your urge to lick the screen. Please.

Happy new year!

Friday, December 25, 2015

green tea "wreath" rolls (happy holidays!)

Last Christmas, I made wreath bread.
This Christmas, I did some experimenting and made these "wreath" rolls, colored with green tea powder and filled with festive flavors like cinnamon. I have a big weak spot for green tea-flavored anything, so I wanted to enhance the green tea flavor in these as well. However, I confess I went too green tea-happy (there's such a thing?!) because the bitter punch of my green tea icing was a bit overwhelming; next time, I will readjust the flavors. Aside from that, this dough recipe produces incredibly soft rolls (think super soft dinner rolls), so it will make a great base for more vegan breads. 







green tea rolls [v] 
dough
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs dairy-free milk, warmed (I used cashew)
2 Tbs vegetable oil, warmed
1 Tbs coconut oil
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 Tbs white granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs matcha powder
approx. 2-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, more or less as needed

filling
3 Tbs coconut oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp molasses
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1 Tbs matcha powder
optional: 1/4 cup crushed walnuts or pecans

optional icing
1/3 cup icing/confectioner's sugar
1-2 Tbs dairy free milk
optional - matcha powder, cinnamon, nuts, etc.

1. Combine the warmed milk and oils, sugar, yeast, salt and matcha powder.
2. Add the flour until a soft dough forms. Let it rise in an oiled, covered container in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.
3. To make the filling, combine all the filling ingredients.
4. After the dough has finished resting, roll it out into an approx. 9x13 rectangle.
5. Distribute the filling over the dough, and roll the dough up, long-wise.
6. Slice the roll into 8-10 pieces.
7. In a parchment lined pan, arrange the dough rolls into a circular "wreath" pattern.
8. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. Once cooled, add icing if desired. Enjoy fresh! Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Happy holidays! :)

Thursday, December 24, 2015

green tea donut "christmas tree"



All it's missing is the star on top.

A few months ago, I got my hands on this fabulously adorable miniature donut pan. As a donut and green tea fanatic, I had glorious visions for this "Christmas tree" made of aromatic, cakey donuts - visions that didn't quite translate into reality, as my first attempt at donut-ing produced this rather sad and crumbly excuse. Surprisingly, my family consumed these quickly, but they're a bunch of weirdos, so...

Anyhow, this recipe is going into the Great Book of Bakefails. Now to console myself with some cheesy donut puns of encouragement:
Do-nut use this recipe ever again.
Do-nut worry, there's always a next time.
Do-nut give up!!

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

coconut buns [df]

My father is a man of few words. In the 21 years I've been on this earth, I've learned my father rarely has an opinion on anything apolitical. For instance, he has no favorite color and no favorite music. Which is why, on the rare occasion that he does start a sentence with "I like...", I perk up and latch onto every word that follows. Imagine a rabbit listening for predators. Yup.

The other day, my father said three magical words. "I like coconut." And since I'm always open for requests a.k.a. excuses to bake, he then asked me to make something with coconut.

I found this seriously fantastic coconut buns recipe by Sarah from The Woks of Life and made some adjustments to make them friendlier to my digestive system (dairy-free) as well as amp up the coconut flavor (using coconut oil). I also made a few buns using homemade strawberry jam, per my mother's special request. *It was more difficult to fill the buns with jam because of how wet they are, so if you do try it with jam, I suggest using 1-1 1/2 tsp at most.

These coconut buns have a fairly simple recipe with simple ingredients that happen to be dairy free and absolutely delicious - especially when fresh and warm out of the oven. Both my parents really enjoyed these, and my father said he would buy them in a store. Huzzah! Success! So if you're a coconut lover and/or nostalgic for some asian bakery bread, I highly recommend giving this recipe a go. :)

Sesame seed stripe = strawberry jam; sesame seed center = coconut flakes.
Homemade strawberry jam & coconut flake filling

coconut buns [df] (adapted from The Woks of Life)
bun dough
1 1/2 cup dairy free milk, at room temperature or lukewarm (I used cashew milk)
1 egg
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
~4 cup all-purpose flour, more or less as needed
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs coconut oil

coconut filling
5 Tbs coconut oil
3 Tbs confectioners/icing sugar
3 Tbs all purpose flour
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

topping
(for egg wash) 1 egg, beaten
(for decoration) sesame seeds

1. In a bowl, combine milk, egg, sugar, flour, yeast, salt and coconut oil.
2. Combine -either by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook - into a soft and smooth dough, adding more flour or water as needed.
3. When the dough is formed, let the dough rest, in a covered and oiled bowl, for 1 hour.
4. While waiting for the dough to rest, combine all the filling ingredients.
5. After 1 hour, punch the dough down and knead to get the air bubbles out.
6. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. If you want to be precise, you can use a food scale.
7. Roll each piece out into a rectangle; smooth on the filling; roll it up; pinch and smooth the edges until a smooth bun forms. Check out Sarah's awesome photos for reference.
8. Let the buns rest for 45 minutes.
9. Brush with egg wash, and decorate with sesame seeds.
10. Bake at 350 F for 16-18 minutes. Serve fresh! Store any leftovers in an airtight container.