Diamond Anniversary

This is diamond anniversary cake for a Chinese couple. It is chocolate chiffon cake, decorated with chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, fondant, and gum paste. The two dolls are from Amazon. 

I made this peony with gum paste.

Relaxed Fisherman Cake

A red velvet birthday cake for someone who loves fishing. The frosting is Swiss Meringue Buttercream, the boat, fisherman, and sign are made with fondant.

Spiral Trail Cake

Another cake for the running club, decorated with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and fondant. A spiral trail to show milestones in running.

Running in the Autumn

This cake was inspired by an oil painting by Leonid Alfremov. Leonid Afremov was a Russian–Israeli modern impressionistic artist whose works are alive with color and movement. This is a half sheet cake with Swiss buttercream, painted with palette knife. My daughter who has learned oil painting before helped with the decoration.

Shanghai Smoked Fish （上海熏鱼）

Shanghai Smoked Fish (Shanghai Xun Yu, 上海熏鱼) may be fried, but it's definitely not smoked. This is a simplified home recipe using air fryer from a friend. 

Ingredients

Fish - 2-3 lb, cut into 3/4 inch thick cross-section (carp, tilapia or similar)
[Marinade Sauce]
Shaoxing wine - 4 TBSP
Ground white pepper - 1 tsp
Ground ginger powder - 1 tsp

Soy sauce - 2 TBSP

Dark soy sauce - 1 TBSP

[Topping Sauce]

Water - 1/2 cup

Ginger - 4 slices

Star anise - 2

Cinnamon stick - 1
Bay leaves - 2

Chinese five spices powder - 1/2 tsp

ground white pepper - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 2 TBSP

Chinese dark vinegar - 1.5 tsp

Steps

1. Wash and clean the fish pieces, mix the fish and all of the marinade ingredients. Let the fish marinate overnight in the refrigerator. 

2. Spread the fish on a cooking tray to dry out slightly, or pat dry with a paper towel. Spray the pieces thoroughly with cooking oil, or dip the pieces in a bowl of oil. 

3. Set air fryer to 400F, cook the fish pieces for 12 minutes, turn, and cook another 10 minutes. Cook longer if needed until it is as crispy as you like.

4. Put all ingredients for topping sauce, except the vinegar, in a pot, bring to boil for 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and add vinegar. Once it’s done, scoop out all the solid spices with a slotted spoon.

5. Put the hot fish directly into the prepared sauce. Ensure all of the pieces are totally coated. The golden brown crust on the fish will soak up the sauce and flavor the fish. You can serve hot right away, or let the fish soak in the sauce for a few hours before serving cold.

Korean Kalbi (韩式炖牛排骨)

This is a Korean style short rib (Kalbi) from this YouTube. I cooked it using a 6-qt Le Creuset Dutch oven. 

Ingredients

Beef short ribs - about 4 lb 

[First seasoning]

Korean BBQ - 1 cup 

Soy sauce - 4 tsp

Mirin - 4 tsp 

Apple sauce - 2 cups 

Sesame oil -2 and 2/3 tbsp  

Sesame seed - 1/4 cup 

Dried date - 4

[Second seasoning]

Soy sauce - 4 tsp  

Salt - 1 tsp 

Black pepper - 1 TBSP

[Optional]

Veggies - Mushroom Carrots Pepper Cucumber Potato

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 275F.

2. Mix all the ingredients in first seasoning in a bowl and mix well

3. Arrange short ribs in a Dutch oven, and then pour in the sauce.

4. Close the Dutch oven and bake for 2 hours.

5. Add the second seasoning, and any vegetables you want to cook.

6. Close the Dutch oven and bake for another hour.

7. Serve over rice or noodle.

Mango Mousse Layered Cake

Cake for party that can be single served. 

Ingredients

【Cake】
Egg - 12 Large
Cake flour - 204g
Oil - 96 g
Milk - 96 g
Sugar - 144g for egg white
Sugar - 72g for egg yolk
【Mousse】

Alphonso Mango Pulp - 1 can, about 3 1/3 cups

Heavy whipping cream, chilled - 3 and 1/3 cup
Gelatin powder  - 24 g
Cold water - 6 and 2/3 TBSP
【Top Layer】
Water - 2 cups
Gelatin -  14 g
Sugar - 1/4 cup

Fresh mango or other fruits for decoration

Steps

1. Make two 1/2 sheet cake following steps in Chiffon cake. Then trim out two pieces for the glass container size.
2. Make the mango mousse following steps in mango mousse cake. 

3. Assembly by put a piece of cake, a layer of mango mousse, another piece of cake, another layer of mango mousse. Put the container in refrigerate for one hour.

4. Add the top jelly layer and place fruit pieces for decoration. Once complete, refrigerate overnight.

5. Slice and serve.