i'm moving?!

Yup. I know I know, I haven't even blogged that long on this blog. Only 8 posts? *ya* But lets be serious. I'm moving because I don't want a cupcake blog. I did, but I want to explore. On this blog I feel pressured to post only about cupcakes, and I hate that pressure! Don't get me wrong, I love cupcakes, but I don't want to have my choices to be limited. I want to blog about baking and cooking! So, visit me here! See ya there! :)

BTS cupcakes

Cupcakes named Better Than Sex? ahahaa. I had to try it. And I was totally amazed at how easy to make and delicious they were! They were so moist, flavorful (with so many layers), rich, and was not very sweet in a sugar sense..(that's good). In conclusion they were very very good. They were also very fancy looking. But not very photogenic.. Ah, I guess it was my camera that couldn't capture it's beauty. Anyways, oh ya! I got the recipe from How to eat a cupcake! <3

INGREDIENTS
24 yellow cupcakes i used a french vanilla box mix. i'm afraid of yellow..
crushed pineapple in natural juice one regular sized can (4 cups) is more than enough
vanilla pudding one six ounce is enough
whipped cream 1 cup heavy cream makes enough for 24 cupcakes
sweetened shredded coconut
chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
1. Start with baked yellow cupcakes.
2. Cut a cone out of each cupcake using the "cone method." make a depression with a fruit knife in the middle of the cupcake
3. Fill each cupcake with 1-2 teaspoons of crushed pineapple. Make sure to include the pineapple juice to keep the cake nice and moist. Don't use too much juice or it will make the cupcake soggy. Keep stirring the crushed pineapple with the juice to keep it mixed so you get equal amounts of pineapple and juice in each spoonful.
4. Put the top back on the cupcakes, and put 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla pudding on each. Spread it around to "seal" the top of the cupcake over the pineapple.
5. Spoon or pipe 1-2 tablespoons of whipped cream on top of the pudding. Really, it's just however much you like. No science here, just taste buds.
6. Top with coconut and chopped walnuts. Again, use however much you like.

Ziploc bag method.

My foolhardy-ness (couldn't find my can opener..)

Success!

My camera couldn't capture their beauty :(

Out of a 1-5 rating

cupcakes-4

hmm..
i overbeated the heavy cream.. but that was my fault. Guess i got hyper with my new mixer :)

Frozen Yogurt

Mmmm... I'm ALWAYS craving pinkberry. But I hate the fact that it's so expensive! So I compromised and now, I make it myself! :) Boyyy I may never go to pinkberry again!

Frozen Yogurt; makes about 1 quart
INGREDIENTS
3 cups (720g) strained yogurt (see below) or Greek-style yogurt i used Greek-style (it's richer)
3/4 cup (150g) sugar i used 2/3 cup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) i included

DIRECTIONS
Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla (if using). Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

**How to make strained yogurt**
To make 1 cup (240g) of strained yogurt, line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheese cloth. then scrape 16 ounces or 2 cups (480g) of plain whole-milk yogurt into the cheesecloth. Gather the ends and fold them over the yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours. So, for the above recipe start with and strain 6 cups of yogurt.

Out of a 1-5 rating

froyo: 4 1/2

hmm..
I didn't have the hard choppping situation as I had with the blueberry ice cream/sherbet. This frozen yogurt was super creamy (much richer than pinkberry's), and delicious.

blueberry, i scream!

First Attempt. I was stupid ( i didnt know!) and boiled the berries in glass.. The glass exploded.. (i almost had a heart attack)

Okay. So, I was too impatient to wait overnight so I just waited 5 hours and put it in the ice cream maker! It came out so sweet.. TOO SWEET!! I put in 1 3/4 cup of sugar in (that 1/4 less that what the recipe asks for) but next time I would decrease it to about 1 cup of sugar!! That is how sweet it was.. But then after a while, you get used to the sweetness and you begin to enjoy it (it's just very overwhelming at first). This ice cream was not very creamy (maybe because it didn't have any heavy cream in it) and had little specks of ice in it. So, we treated it like a milky sherbet :)

Blueberry Ice Cream; makes 1 3/4 quarts
INGREDIENTS
4 cups fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries i used frozen
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons water
4 cups half & half

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until sugar is dissolved and the blueberries are softened. Strain mixture and discard seeds and skins. (i didn't strain it). Stir in cream. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two thirds full and freeze according to the manufactur's irections. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. Allow to ripen in ice cream freezer or firm up in regular freezer for 2-4 hours before serving.

Before

During

Finished! (This is what I'm talking about. It was hard and not very creamy. Also very hard to chop.. )

Out of a 1-5 rating

ice cream- 3

PS. Isn't my cough medicine a really pretty color? :)

Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies

(There's one cookie missing because I eated it as soon as I took it out of the oven!)

Raincheck on the ice cream! Its cooling in the fridge over night, so will be here tomorrow! yay. lol. Okay, back to the subject! Cookies! Have you ever had cookies from the Doubletree Hotel? They are totally awesomee. I've gotten a whole can to myself (containing about 7 cookies) because my friend's dad works there! So, while I was browsing Baking Bites, these caught my eye and made me wanna make em! Wow, these are so delicious! They taste like the real thing! Except mine were thinner because I pressed em with a spoon before baking (I did this because I was afraid they wouldn't melt properly). Anyways, here's the recipe!

Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies; makes about 3-dozen

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup rolled oats (oatmeal)

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 large eggs
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips wow.. after i added, i figured out it was too much..

1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional) i included! they wouldn't be doubletree without em!

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind oats in a food processor until very fine and almost powdery. Put tthe oats with the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the vanilla and vinegar, then add the eggs in one at a time. Gradually, on low speed, add in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts by hand.Divide dough into 2 tbsp balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (dough can also be chilled for a slightly less-spread out cookie), leaving about 2 inches between each ball so the cookies can spread.Bake for 13-15 minutes, until golden at the edges. Cool for about 4 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.Store in an airtight container.

Out of a 1-5 rating

cookies: 4 1/2

PS. This the the blueberry ice cream liquid thing waiting in the fridge!

lactose-intolerant Oreo cupcakes!

Otherwise known as vegan. But when I think vegan, I think of nasty, dry, vegan vanilla cupcakes. Partly because those are the only kind I've been able to make! Well. These babies are the opposite! a.k.a. insanely delicious. So moist and flavorful. And they don't have a tidbit of milk OR butter! So I kind of consider them to be healthy too ^.^ Their real name is moist chocolate cupcake but they taste like the cake for the outside of an oreos, so I renamed them to vegan Oreo Cupcakes! They're very easy to make, and lowly costly. Just throw everything in a bowl, mix, and bake. But my coca powder had lumps so I sifted the dry stuff. So anyways, I was too lazy to make a frosting, so I just sprinkled some w/ powdered sugar and frosted others with pillsbury vanilla frosting (my fav!)<-- kind of on the sweet side but so good.. Here's the recipe! :)

Oreo Cupcakes;makes 20 *i got 6 when i halved the recipe for 10*

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil i used canola because i didn't have vegetable
1 teaspoon vinegar

DIRECTIONS
Mix all of the ingredients well with a mixer or wooden spoon. It should be brown and smooth, free of lumps.
Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes.

Out of a 1-5 rating

cupcakes: 5 (so moist, flavorful. I totally recommend!)

PS. OMGG!!! Guess what? I got a green apple artisian kitchenaid stand mixer!!! YAY!!!! Isn't it pulchritudinous (haha)? And I also bought an ice cream maker attachment, so look forward to some ice cream next week! :)

PPS. shout out to "How to eat a cupcake"! Thanks for being practically the only person who reads my blog :). (sorry you cant see the e :)

churros!

omgg. sorry I haven't posted for such a long time! but we had to move back, and then school was starting the next day.. Very chaotic! Anyways, Every fourth Sunday of the month, I bake stuff for the mentally ill. I've been doing this for like half a year now. I do it at Perrin's a coffee shop in Beverly Hills. I started baking there because the owner is my mom's friend and she makes food for the people. I think she's been doing it for like 6 years.. (wow) yaah. so. I just got the recipe from google. I picked this one because the link title was "A Churro Recipe To Die For". btw, I doubled the recipe but it was still not alot. But the recipe below is the original one (one I didn't double). I think its because when it was boiling I reached for the camera and alot flowed out.. So I decreased alot on the flour and such. But it was still delicious! So if you don't mess up I'm sure it'll taste fantastic!

Ingredients

brown sugar, water, and salt

Put in butter

Bring to boil

Boiling process done!

Add flour~

Kinda thick. and yucky looking!

Egg & vanilla mixture

MIX.

Got kinda like rubber and glue so I used a potato masher.

Frying.

Shake in cinnamon sugar!

Finished~ Doesn't it look yummy? :]

Scrumptious Churro Recipe; makes 2 dozen, 4 inch churros

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup white flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, depending on taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10 to 12 inch frying pan to 375 degrees F. In a separate dish mix the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
In a 3 qt. sauce pan add the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter and heat to a good boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Stirring in the flour will take some muscle. Mix it in until well blended.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.
Fill your decorating tool with the churro recipe dough and attach the largest star tip you have.
Test your oil by placing a small amount of dough in it. The dough should bubble up right away or that means the oil is not hot enough and a soggy churro is on the way.
Once the oil is hot enough, squeeze some dough (with decorator) into the oil about 4 inches long. I used my finger to release the dough from the decorator. Careful not to burn yourself. You should be able to cook 4 or 5 churros at a time. Cook them about 1 minute and turn them over with a slotted spoon. Cook an additional minute or two. You're looking for that nice golden brown color.
Remove the churros with the slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-covered plate to absorb excess grease.
While still warm, roll each churro into the dish with the sugar and cinnamon until coated.

hmm..

The churros tasted so awesome! I liked the lightly burnt ones more than the not burnt ones because the not burnt ones were kinda soggy inside.. And in the not burnt, soggy ones, you could kinda taste vanilla.. But I think that was because I messed up earlier in the boiling process. Also, I rolled alot of cinnamon sugar on it so it was very sweet. I liked this because at El Pollo Loco (the only place I've had a churro from), they don't put alot of cinnamon sugar on it.. And its very soggy. So I liked mine better. And let me tell you! It is very hard to fry a churro so it's not soggy, nor burnt. Good luck! :)

Out of a 1-5 rating

churros: 4 1/2

PS. this is my new remodeled house!

burnt cupcakes..

Well.. the title says it all. I made vanilla Magnolia cupcakes, with Hershey's "perfectly chocolate" chocolate frosting. It tasted.. the cupcakes were good (not great) and the frosting did not taste rich. It tasted like cocoa powder. Well, maybe it tasted like cocoa powder because it was made of cocoa powder but I just expected more from Hershey! I got the cupcake recipe from Food Network and the frosting from Hersheys.

First mix in 1/3 of flour mixture into egg and butter/sugar cream thing.

Then half of milk/vanilla. Then flour, then milk, then flour!

Couldn't find my ice cream scooper so I had to use a spoon ._.

All ready for the oven!

BURNT :(

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes; makes 24

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Since I burnt them, I used chocolate frosting!

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting; makes 2 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

hmm..

The cupcake was greasy and crunchy (probably because it was burnt). It tasted.. "eh". But it did not taste flourly (tasting only of thick flour) which was good. Gotta say, I was kind of dissapointed. And the frosting, like I said before, was tasted powdery and not rich.

Out of a 1-5 rating

cupcake:3

frosting:2

*shock* first post is of cookies and not cupcakes?

This cookie dough was made the day before yesterday, but I created this blog today and so I felt I should have a post. It was too late to make cupcakes and so I thawed the dough and put it in the oven. So, the day before yesterday, I was craving chocolate chip cookies so I made some. The day before yesterday, I read the New York Times quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie (yes, I know, I'm reaaally late) and I found a promising recipe at allrecipes.com here it is (after the pictures!)

before... (looks yummier than the after! haha)

after! (i know, they look so dry..)

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie; makes 18

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

hmm..

I found that the recipe had too much vanilla in it. While it was baking, you could smell the vanilla. They were kind of dry too. They were chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges. But they tasted like the cookies you buy that Ralph's. (a.k.a. not good). After they had cooled, they melted in your mouth and it was definately too sweet. These weren't the best I've had, but they were good.

Out of a 1-5 rating

cookie: 3 1/2