Chocolate Butterfly

I used a couple of chocolate butterflies on my latest cake. The same technique can be used to create other decorations, such as laces, and letter patterns.

Steps

1. Melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips in microwave. The scope it in a piping bag fitted with small writing tip.

2. Put a piece of parchment paper over the butterfly pattern, and pipe butterfly wings on parchment paper

3. Fold the parchment paper for each butterfly in the middle, and place it on a wedge made by bending a construction paper. Then pipe the butterfly body so that the wings are connected.

4. Wait for the chocolate to dry thoroughly and use for decoration.

Lady Fingers

This recipe is from Joy of Baking. I tested it in preparation for making Tiramisu. The cookies are perfect with a cup of coffee. Just dip and enjoy.

Ingredients

Large eggs - 5
Granulated sugar - 2/3 cup (135 grams)
Pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon (4 grams)
Cake flour - 1 cup (120 grams)
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram)
Cream of tartar - 1/4 teaspoon
Optional: 1/3 cup powdered sugar for powder coating
Makes about 40 Ladyfingers.

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Have ready a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch plain round tip. To make the piping of the cookies easier, use a pencil and ruler to divide the parchment paper into four - 3 inch rows, spacing the rows about 1 inch apart. Then flip the parchment paper and lay on baking sheet.

2. Separate the eggs while they are still cold, and cover the whites and yolks with plastic wrap to prevent a film from forming on the egg yolks and the whites from drying out. Let the yolks and whites reach room temperature before using (this will take about 30 minutes). Then, in your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and 1/3 cup white sugar on high speed until the mixture becomes thick and pale yellow. (When you raise the beaters the batter should fall back into the bowl in a slow ribbon.) (This will take between 5-10 minutes.) Beat in the vanilla extract.

3. Sift the cake flour and salt over the batter but do not fold in.

4. In a clean bowl, with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup white sugar and whip until stiff peaks form and the whites are glossy. Fold the whites into the egg yolk and flour mixture in three additions, mixing only until incorporated.

5. Transfer the batter to your pastry bag and, holding the bag at about a 45 degree angle to the baking sheet, pipe the batter into 3 inch long ladyfingers, using the lines drawn on the parchment paper as your guide. Space the ladyfingers about 1 inch apart.

6. When you have piped all the cookies, place the powdered sugar in a fine strainer, and lightly sift the sugar over the tops of the cookies. Bake for about 8 minutes or until the ladyfingers are firm but barely brown and are still soft and spongy when lightly pressed

7. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and immediately slide the parchment paper (with the ladyfingers) from the baking sheet onto a wire rack. Let the ladyfingers cool for a minute and then remove the ladyfingers from the parchment paper, using a flat spatula or knife, and let cool completely on a wire rack. (If you left them completely cool before removing them from the parchment they tend to stick and are hard to remove without breaking.)

The ladyfingers are best the day they are made. So if not serving that day, it is best to freeze them. To freeze, place in a plastic bag between layers of wax or parchment paper and freeze up to one month.

Layered Water Chestnut Cake (双色马蹄糕)

Ingredients 

Water Chestnut Starch - 250g
Coconut milk - 3/4 cup
Brown sugar - 100 g
Water - 2 and 3/4 cups

Steps 

1. Boiling 1 and 3/4 cup water and dissolve the brown sugar in it.
2. Split the water chestnut starch into two mixing bowl, 125g each. In one bowl, add coconut milk and 1 cup of water, make sure the starch is fully dissolved. In the other bowl, add brown sugar water to fully dissolve the starch.

3. Put a 9" glass pie pan in steamer, pour 1/2 cup white barter in pan, steam for 2-3 minutes, then pour 1/2 cup brown barter in pan, steam for 2-3 minutes. Layer then up until you run out of barter.

4. When the cake is cool, take out of the pan and serve.

Red Velvet Cheese Cake

Part A: Cheese Cake

Ingredients

Philadelphia cream cheese - 24 oz (3 box of 8oz blocks)，softened in room temperature
Sugar - 1 cup
Corn starch - 3 TBSP
Pure vanilla extract - 1 TBSP
Extra large eggs - 2

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Put 1 box of cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and 3 TBSP of corn starch in stand mixer, blend at low speed for 3 minutes. Then add the other two boxes of cream cheese. Blend for 3 minutes.
3. Increase mixer speed to medium, add the rest of sugar, vanilla extract, and then one egg at a time. Mix well.

4. Cover the bottom of 9" cake pan with aluminum foil, then butter the side of the pan. Pour the batter in cake pan, and flatten the top.

5. Put round cake pan in a large baking pan, and fill with water half way to the round cake pan depth. Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is solidified. To prevent the cake splitting, do not take the cake out of oven right away. Turn off the oven, and take the cake pan out of water pan, and leave it in the oven with the oven door open.

6. When the cake is cooling down, take it out and refrigerator for 4 hours or longer. I put the whole cake pan in refrigerator overnight.

Part B: Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

【Dry ingredients】
Cake flour - 2 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Unsweetened, cocoa powder - 2 TBSP
Sugar - 1 cup
【Wet ingredients】
Oil - 1 cup
Egg - 2

Buttermilk - 1 cup (or mix 1 TBSP lemon juice into 1 cup of milk, let it sit for 5 minutes)
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Molasses - 1 TBSP (optional, I did not use)

Red food coloring - 1 TBSP
White distilled vinegar - 1 tsp
Hot coffee - 1/2 cup

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together and sift the mixture.
3. Mix all wet ingredients together.
4. Pour the dry and wet ingredients together, mix well. Pour batter in two 9" round cake pans (greased with butter).

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick can poke in and come out clean. 

5. Take out cake pans, and put upside down on parchment paper.

Part C: Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients

Philadelphia cream cheese - 24 oz (3 box of 8 oz blocks)，softened in room temperature
Powdered sugar - 1 to 1.5 cup
Heavy cream - 3 cups

Steps

1. Pour heavy cream and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in stand mixer, and beat at high speed to firm peak.
2. In a mixing bowl. mix the cream cheese and the rest of powdered sugar until smooth.
3. Mix the cream cheese batter into the heavy cream batter until smooth. Keep refrigerated until use.

Part D: Assembly

1. Take the cheese cake out of refrigerator, and warm up in room temperature for 10 minutes.

2. Put some frosting on a cake board, and put on the first layer of red velvet cake. Cover the red velvet cake with a thick later of frosting, then put on the cheese cake.

3. Cover the cheese cake with a thick layer of frosting, and put on the second red velvet cake.

4. Crumb coat the whole cake, and put it to refrigerator to chill off. Then take out and do final coating and decoration. Raspberry is the best for this cake. Since I did not have raspberry on hand, I used strawberries. I arranged a cross since this is for a church get-together.

Spicy Pulled Pork

I bought a Le Creuset round french oven couple of years ago. It was an impulse buy and has been collecting dust ever since. We looked about for simple recipe that could utilize the oven and came across this Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork Recipe. It is so simple and is now our family classic.

Ingredients

Yellow Onion - 1 whole Large or a couple of medium ones
Whole Pork Shoulder ("pork Butt") - one, about 5 To 7 Pounds
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce - 1 can (11 Ounce)
Soda (Dr. Pepper or Coca-cola) - 2 cans
Brown Sugar - 2 TBSP (Optional)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven.

3. Generously rub the meat with salt and pepper, then set it on top of the onions.

4. Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of soda. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.

5. Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it's not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.

6. Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it.

7. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. It goes well with flour tortillas, rice, or buns.

Option: the Buns

1. Warm up 1 cup of milk in microwave to 90 - 110°F (dry active yeast works best in this temperature). Mix in 1 TBSP of sugar, 2 tsp of yeast. Make sure all ingredient are fully dissolved.
2. Add 2-3 cups of flour in the milk solution, knead until the surface is smooth. Add more water if needed. Cover the dough and leave it to rise under room temperature.

3. Knead the dough and portion it into small 1.5" balls. Use roller pin to roll the ball into flat round wrap. Brush a layer of oil on one side and fold it. 

4. Steam for 10 minutes.