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Monday, June 13, 2011
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert / cupcake Psychedelic Cupcakes
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 11:17 AM
I recently got a new pack of super sweet McCormick NEON food colors. Going beyond the standard primary green, blue, red, and yellow colors, this pack contains neon pink, electric blue, Shrek green, and bright purple. Eager to try them out, I came up with my own project.
Check it out:
Psychedelic radical rainbow tie-dyed cupcakes!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Dessert / cake Pistachio Cake
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Wed, May 18, 2011 at 4:49 PM
This pistachio cake is more of a humble tea cake rather than a show-stopping, fine-crumbed, moist birthday cake.
But despite the lack of luscious layers of cake and frosting, and being diminutive in stature, the flavors are big and impressive.
The nutty flavor from roasted pistachios is accented by a dash of cardamom spice, giving the cake an Indian flair. Served with a dollop of raspberry-flavored whipped cream and a dusting of ground pistachios, you've got a unique and exotic cake perfect for afternoon tea.
The recipe comes from Epicurious.com. Get the recipe here. Following other bakers' advice, I decreased the amount of pistachios to 1 cup, decreased the butter to 1 stick, and decreased the sugar to 3/4 cup.
I thought the resulting cake was perfectly sweet, though a tiny bit dry – next time I'll add a bit of the butter back in.
To make the raspberry whipped cream: whip fresh heavy whipping cream, add sugar to taste, flavor with a drop of raspberry extract, and color it with a teeny amount of red food coloring.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert Easter Caramel Popcorn
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 10:18 AM
I've really overdone it this time. Oopsie daisy.
I've created a giant pastel-colored sugar monstrosity that contains ingredients that should probably be kept a secret. This crackcorn, I mean popcorn, needs to be pawned off ASAP. (Thanks, co-workers, for sharing this guilty pleasure with me.)
I first laid eyes on this caramel popcorn recipe while perusing FoodGawker.com. It was just so cute with the pretty colors, the sprinkles, the white chocolate drizzle, I couldn't stop thinking about it for days.
So I just gave it and made the darn thing ... with one cup of butter, two cups of brown sugar and everything else.
The recipe comes from the blog "Heather Cristo Cooks." She does a great job photographing the entire process. Check out her blog for step-by-step photos.
You could wrap the Easter Caramel Popcorn in little cellophane bags and tie them up with ribbons to make cute Easter treats for kids. (Hey, a little popcorn is a lot healthier than a giant chocolate rabbit, right?)
Tips: I used a bag of microwave popcorn instead of popping my own from scratch, which made it a snap to make. Also, you might want to use a large rimmed cookie sheet or perhaps two sheets because the caramel tends to bubble up and overflow over the edges while baking. To get my finished popcorn to crisp up, I stored it in the fridge.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert / Breakfast Zucchini and Sweet Potato Bread
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 8:00 AM
This bread is the marriage of two unlikely ingredients. Who would think to pair zucchini and sweet potatoes together?
Not me.
But when a friend requested that I find a good zucchini bread recipe for her, I found this Zucchini and Sweet Potato Bread recipe from Epicurious.com.
The recipe got rave reviews and received a four "fork" rating from fellow bakers. Convinced, I gave it a whirl.
The bread (really, cake) turned out delightfully dense, moist, and slightly spicy from cinnamon. It tastes similar to carrot carrot cake. Containing both zucchini and sweet potato, I'm eating it guilt-free as I'm counting each slice as two servings of daily veggies. (Dieters, don't quote me on this. I made it up.)
As suggested by many reviewers, I cut the sugar from 2 cups to 1.5 cups. Next time I'll cut the sugar even more because I found it still a tad too sweet. To amp up the health benefits, I subbed 1 cup of white flour with whole wheat flour. A few reviewers suggested using apple sauce in place of the oil – perhaps I'll try that next time, too.
I had way too much batter to fill one loaf pan (but not enough to make 2 loaves), so I made 8 muffins on the side.
Co-workers at CL demolished the bread in one afternoon, which goes to show it's a crowd-pleaser.
Find the recipe below, with my notes in parenthesis.
Have an item you want me to find and test a recipe for? Just leave a comment below.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert Banana pudding conquered
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 8:48 AM
If you remember, banana pudding has been the bane of my existence.
I know it's simple to make, but for some reason a good banana pudding has always eluded me. I have refused to take the easy road by using boxed mix for the vanilla pudding.
This stubbornness resulted in a nasty grainy, mess last time. (Check out my failures here and here.)
Well, I am happy to say I finally reign supreme over banana pudding. I made a creamy vanilla bean pudding from scratch and layered it with bananas and Madagascar Vanilla Wafers from Trader Joe's.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert / Cookie Chocolate Chubbies
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 3:52 PM
Don't you just love the name of these cookies? Chocolate Chubbies!
Too cute.
These little chubby cookies are full of chocolate, pecans, walnuts, and more chocolate. They are like rich mini brownie nugget bites. The recipe comes from the cookbook Sarahbeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours.
I suggest you make these. Soon. Valentine's Day is coming up, so obviously you have the license to eat all the chocolate you want (guilt-free) from now until Feb. 15.
For these cookies, I used a honking large bar of dark chocolate from Trader Joe's, chopped into chunks, as well as semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips from Ghirardelli. Yes, it's really an overload of chocolate, but it happens to work so well in these cookies.
I plan to share these fatties with friends during my weekend ski trip, as I should really stop inhaling them myself.
Hmm... but these Chocolate Chubbies do happen be just right size to pack into the pockets of my jacket... these could make for a nice little snack on the ski lift perhaps...
Here's a photo montage of the entire process:
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert Chocolate Armagnac Cake
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 8:10 AM
Ar-men-yak.
... In case you were wondering how to pronounce "Armagnac," like I was. Think along the lines of cognac. According to Wikipedia, Armagnac is the oldest brandy distilled in France.
This rich, sophisticated Chocolate Armagnac Cake comes from my favorite baker Dorie Greenspan. The cake contains 10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, cognac, and surprisingly, prunes. It is so good – perhaps the best chocolate cake I've ever made.
The texture of the cake is like a hybrid of a flourless chocolate cake and a fudgy brownie. The chocolate and dried fruit flavor combination reminds me of those Cadbury Fruit & Nut chocolate bars that come wrapped in purple packaging. Tart fruit enrobed in creamy bittersweet chocolate. Ground pecans aren't a prominently featured ingredient in the cake, but its presence adds to the complex flavors of the cake.
At one point in the recipe, you'll need to set the cognac-soaked prunes aflame. Don't be scared. It's really easy, so don't let that stop you from making this cake. Since chocolate is the star ingredient, make sure you use high-quality bittersweet chocolate (I used Scharffen Berger).
I can't wait to serve this cake at my next dinner party.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Recipe / Priscilla Tsai / Dessert Bacon and pretzel toffee
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 9:00 AM
Ok, as promised, we will now return to our normal programming of ... unhealthy sweets.
A few weeks ago I shared a recipe for healthy granola. This week it's back to my usual cavity-causing, calorie-laden baked goods.
You're welcome.
I found a recipe for pretzel toffee on Serious Eats, and kicked it up a few notches by adding bits of crisp bacon. The bacon and pretzel toffee combined with a layer chocolate and a dusting of fleur de sel (sea salt) will satisfy that sweet/savory craving. It's crisp, creamy, crunchy, and so delicious.
The bacon gives the candy a slight smoky flavor and another layer of saltiness. Two meat lovers have sampled this stuff so far and both gave it a big thumbs up.
Be careful when boiling the butter and sugar mixture. Once it reaches 200 degrees, it will cook fast. Be sure to stand by and keep an eye on it. I'll admit I burned my first batch. Kitchen fail...
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Priscilla Tsai / Dessert A fancy cake for fun
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 4:35 PM
A simple white cake can be transformed into something fun with a few drops of extract and some decorative dots of frosting.
For a child's birthday cake, I'd say it's OK to use food colorings and whimsical decorations. But for a "grown-up" cake, I try to keep it elegant, but still fun. I think it's best to stay away from artificial colors and cheesy decorations.
Here I've done a white on white cake – the white piped frosting decorations are done on a canvas of white frosting. The cake itself is a three-layered almond white cake, layered with raspberry jam and lemon buttercream.
It sounds more complicated than it really is.
Just take any white cake recipe and flavor it with a teaspoon or so of almond extract. Make a plain vanilla buttercream and kick it up a notch with a pinch of fresh lemon zest. Once the cake layers are cool, spread on some warm raspberry jam, then pile on a layer of the buttercream. Repeat for each layer, and then cover the entire cake with buttercream. For the little frosting dots, I used two different sized round Wilton decorating tips.
Using one color of frosting makes life so much easier. Frosting is the bane of my existence. In the process of whipping up batches of frosting, I always end up getting powdered sugar in every single crevice of my kitchen and all over the floor (which the dog has a field day with). The buttery frosting then somehow ends up on every sink knob, drawer pull, and refrigerator door which makes it a beast to clean up. Needing to make only one color and prepping one bag of frosting minimizes the mess.
Though monotone, the cake is still impressive due to its tall stature and the multi-layered fillings are a fun surprise when the cake is cut.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Priscilla Tsai / Dessert The Ultimate Cupcake and Cookie Challenge
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 3:22 PM
Charlotte bakers gathered at the Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge to compete in the 3rd Annual Ultimate Cupcake and Cookie Challenge on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 19.
Open to both amateur and professional bakers, contestants brought their best cupcakes and/or cookies to the competition in hopes of impressing the judging panel, which consisted of the culinary and hospitality team at Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge.
Entries were to be completely homemade (no boxed or pre-packaged products allowed), baked at home, and then presented with care at the competition. Items were judged on taste and presentation. The grand prize for each category was an overnight stay in a Parlor Suite with breakfast in bed.
I entered the cupcake portion of the competition, making this my first baking competition. Whoa. I had no idea what I was in for.
Competition was fierce. My fellow bakers are extremely talented and creative - just check out some of my photos below. As I set up my display, I was a little intimidated by others' elaborate table displays with holiday lights, cupcake trees, props, ornaments, tinsel, sparkley table cloths and pretty display plates.
Teams of judges walked around and sampled each item. Contestants had to explain what their entry was and how it was made. Using plastic spoons, judges silently sampled a bite from each and kept a straight face, not giving away any inklings whether they liked the cupcake or not. After roughly two hours of tasting and deliberation, the judges were ready to announce the winners.
Congratulations to first place winner, Wendy Rickard and second place winner, Mariza Zeibert!
Who took third place?
I'm proud to say it was me. I was able to bring home the 3rd place ribbon with my cupcake concoction: An intense dark chocolate cupcake with a chocolate peppermint ganache filling, vanilla buttercream with crushed candy canes, and a white chocolate snowflake.
Ah... the sweet taste of victory. Ecstatic about my first competition win, I'm already thinking about my entry for next year's contest.
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Photos: Mint Museum's Allure of Flowers After Hours
A peek into a fancy foodie fundraising event that incorporated flowers into, well, everything.
