Lemon Meltaway Cookies

I tried this recipe for this year's Christmas cookies. It is simple and soft shortbread with refreshing lemon taste.  

Ingredients

Unsalted butter - 1 cup, softened
Granulated sugar - ¾ cup
Fresh lemon zest - 2 TBSP 
All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Cornstarch - 2 TBSP
Salt - ½ tsp
Lemon Icing

Powdered sugar - 1 ¾ cups 
Fresh-squeezed lemon juice - 2 TBSP
Lemon zest for garnish optional

Yield 36 cookies

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest and use an electric mixer to cream until light and fluffy.

3. In a separate, medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until completely combined.

5. Scoop dough into 1 Tablespoon-sized balls, rolling gently between your palms to create a smooth ball. Place on baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2 inches apart.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. When cookies are finished baking, immediately use a clean, flat surface to lightly flatten the surface of each cookie (a measuring cup or glass works well). Allow cookies to cool completely before adding lemon icing.

7. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until completely combined and smooth. Mixture should be slightly thick and, when the whisk is lifted, should ribbon back into the bowl and hold its shape for several seconds before dissolving back into the bowl. If your icing is too thick, add more lemon juice. If it’s too thin, add more sugar.

8. Spoon a small amount of glaze onto the completely cooled cookie, and use the back of the spoon to spread evenly over the top. If desired, garnish with lemon zest.

9. Allow cookies to sit until glaze is firm before enjoying. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Purple Ombre Ruffle Cake

This is a two-tier cake of Match Chiffon Cake and Vanilla Chiffon Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream for my sister's 60th birthday. She is an active runner and dancer, so I made the cake topper with Cricut.

Purple Rose Cake

This is a two-tier cake with Match Chiffon cake and Chiffon cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream for my sister's 60th birthday. 

Apple Crumb Cake

The best part of this cake from Sally's baking is the crumb topping, a lot of it! 

Ingredients

[CRUMB TOPPING]

Brown sugar - 1 cup  packed

Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup 
Ground cinnamon - 1 TBSP
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 1 cup, melted

All purpose flour - 2 and 1/2 cups 

[CAKE]

All purpose flour - 2 and 1/2 cups
Baking soda -1 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 3/4 cup, softened to room temperature

Granulated sugar - 1 and 1/4 cups

Eggs - 3 large, at room temperature (used egg replacer)
Sour cream - 1 cup, full-fat, at room temperature
Pure vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Peeled chopped apples - 2 cups, about 2-3 medium apples

Ground cinnamon - 1/4 tsp

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Using a fork, lightly mix in the flour until crumbles form. Don’t overmix.

3. Whisk the dry ingredients for cake - flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
4. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. 

5. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until smooth. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.

6. Toss the chopped apples and cinnamon together.

7. Spread the batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Top evenly with cinnamon apples. Top with crumb topping. Using a rubber spatula or the back of a large spoon, press the crumb topping tightly down into the cake so it sticks.

8. Bake for 50-60 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top or edges of the cake is/are browning too quickly, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.

9. Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to slightly cool for at least 30-45 minutes before slicing and serving. Fresh and warm cake taste great.

10. Top with icing, if desired. (I did not because the cake is already very sweet) Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.

Egg-free July 4th Parfait

I referenced this eggless Berry trifle, added eggless vanilla pudding, and made the parfait for 4th of July party. In case you are wondering, both trifles and parfaits are a layered dessert, usually made with cake, fruit, and a creamy filling. The difference is that parfaits are served in individual containers while a trifle is served in a large bowl.

Ingredients

Egg-free vanilla pudding

Egg-free cream cheese pound cake cut into cubes (about 1/2 of the cake)
Fresh strawberries - 1 1/2 lb, hulled and diced
Fresh blueberries - 1 lb

Heavy whipping cream - 3 cups, cold

Cream cheese - 12 oz, cold
Confectioners' sugar - 1 1/2 cups (too sweet, reduce to 1 cup)
pure vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Powdered gelatin - 2 tsp
Water- 3 TBSP

Steps

1. Prepare the Pound Cake. It is best to bake it one day ahead.

2. Prepare the vanilla pudding. It is best to prepare it one day ahead.

3. Mix powdered gelatin and water in a small bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5 – 7 minutes. After it sets, microwave the gelatin mixture for 10 seconds, or until liquid again. 

4. Placing cold whipped cream and cream cheese in a bowl. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Then add liquid gelatin. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Seat aside.

5. Assembly the parfait according to your personal preference. Because it is 4th of July, I layered the parfait with pudding, blueberry, whipped cream, pound cake, whipped cream, strawberry, whipped cream, for a red-white-blue theme. Don’t get too hung up on creating perfect layers or making sure everything is even. It is hard to have clear layers because the size of the glass. It will be delicious even if it appears imperfect.

6. Cover the glass with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 – 3 hours, or overnight, before serving.

Egg-free Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I followed this recipe to make the pound cake to be part of my July 4th parfait. 

Ingredients

All-purpose flour - 3 cups
Baking powder - 4 tsp

Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
cream of tartar - 1/4 tsp
Kosher salt - ½ tsp 
Unsalted butter - 1 cup, softened
Cream cheese - 8 oz, softened (226 g)
Granulated sugar- 2 cups (this is too sweet, reduce) 
Sour cream - 1/2 cup
Pure vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Milk -1/2 cup 

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Lightly grease a 10-inch tube or 12-inch Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.
2. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar. Add salt and mix to combine. Set aside.
3. In the stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy and pale on medium-high speed for 3 -4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. 

4. Add cream cheese and continue mixing for 1 minute. 

5. Add sugar and mix for 3 more minutes until light and fluffy. 

6. Add sour cream and vanilla and continue beating to combine for 1 minute.

7. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture; beat until just combined, about 30 – 45 seconds.
8. Pour the batter mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 80 - 90 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when poked in the center. After the first 45 minutes of baking, loosely tent the cake with aluminum foil to ensure the surface does not over-brown. 

9. Once done, remove from the oven and cool for 15 – 20 minutes inside the pan. Then remove the cake from the pan and set it on the wire rack to cool completely. Allow cooling completely before slicing. 

Notes
Store: The loaf can be covered in foil or plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, cover the cake tightly and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Wrap baked and cooled pound cake in 2 layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the plastic wrap & foil overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Loaf Pan: Pour the batter into two loaf pan. Bake at 350°F (163°C) for about 60 - 65 minutes.

Egg-free Vanilla Pudding

Instead of using instant pudding mix, I made my own pudding to make sure it is egg-free. It is pretty easy. 

Ingredients

Milk - 1 and 3/4 cup
Heavy cream - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2/3 cup (this is too sweet. reduce)
Corn starch - 3 TBSP
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Butter - 2 TBSP
pinch of salt

Steps

1. In a pan combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in milk, cream.
2. Cook on medium to medium high heat, while continuing to whisk. Cook until the mixture starts to boil and thicken. You don't need to whisk constantly but you do need to stir or whisk often so that it doesn't burn.
3. As soon as the mixture boils reduce heat to low. Continue stirring until mixture thickens. This will take 2-3 more minutes. It will thicken more as it cools.
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter.
5. Pour mixture into individual sized bowls or into a large bowl. Serve warm or cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on pudding to prevent a skin from forming on the top. Refrigerate until serving.

Book Graduation Cake

This was a Chiffon cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and fondant. It was for the graduation party for four boys who are going to different schools. The color scheme followed the school identities. 

Each book was individually decorated and then stacked.

However, books are heavy, no matter real or pretend ones :-)  Concerned about damage during  transportation, I split the cakes into two sheets and added more decorations.

Dr. Seuss Graduation Cake

This is a Match Chiffon cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream for a girl who is going to Columbia University, whose school color is blue. The cake toppers are made from fondant.

Shanghai Style Fried Rice Cake (上海油炸糍饭糕)

 This is a traditional Shanghai breakfast item. I basically followed this YouTube video.

Ingredients

Calrose rice - 3 cups
Water - 5 cups

Salt - 2 tsp

Yield 1/4 sheet of rice cake. Double for 1/2 baking sheet.

Steps

1. Rinse 3 cups of rice and add to rice cooker, add water to 5 cups mark. Cook rice. 

2. Put a layer of plastic wrap at the bottom of the baking sheet, scoop out rice and spread and press evenly. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap. I used double portion to fill a half sheet baking tray.

3. Put the tray in refrigerator overnight. 

4. Remove the wrap on top, brush with oil, and then flip the rice cake, brush the other side with oil. Slice into preferred size.

5. Put enough oil in a pot and heat it up to 320 - 350F (160-180C) and then deep fry each piece one by one until brown.

6. Serve warm.  

Matcha Mousse Cake

Light and smooth, this is one of my favorite cakes.

Ingredients

【Green Tea Chiffon Cake Base】
Egg - 3
Cake flour - 60g
Green tea powder - 1 TBSP
Oil - 25 g
Milk - 60 g
Sugar - 36g for egg white
Sugar - 18g for egg yolk
Salt - a pinch
【Mousse】
Milk - 1 and 1/4 cups (~280 g)
Cream cheese - 1 package (226 g)
Heavy whipping cream - 1 and 3/4 cup (~400 g)
Sugar - 3/4 cup (~158 g)
Gelatin - 25 g
Matcha powder - 2 TBSP

Steps

1. Using a 9" cake pan, make the Chiffon Cake base following the steps in Green Tea Chiffon Cake. Since this is a smaller cake, bake under 350°F for 15 minutes. Place cake at bottom of mousse ring after it is cool.

2. In a small bowl, add a few TBSP of milk, and Gelatin powder and let it bloom.
3. Warm up the rest of the milk in microwave or sauce pot, mix in Gelatin until it is fully dissolved.
4. In a blender, add cream cheese, sugar, and warm milk, blend until you get a smooth mixture. Add in Matcha powder.

4. Using stand mixer to beat the heavy cream lightly until the whisk can just draw marks on cream.

5. Fold the cream mixture and whipped cream together.

6. Setup the mousse ring, and put in the cake base, and add mousse.

8. Refrigerate the cake for 4 hours or overnight.

9. Remove the mousse ring and serve. It is best to warm up the cake knife before cutting the cake.