Genshin Impact Cryo Cake

 This is 3 layers 10" Vegan Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting.

Reference the Traveler's cake from Genshin Impact. 

Tribute to a Nature Lover

I designed these cupcakes for a friend's memorial service. He was an outdoor enthusiast and fully embraced what California had to offer, from snowy mountain to sandy beach. 

These cupcakes took multiple steps (days) to prepare: 

1. Made miniature trees and mountains using candy melt
2. Baked the cupcakes, with 50% extras so that I can slice some off to make the headlands
3. Grounded Graham crackers to make sand.
4. Made buttercream. It will be used to secure headland to cupcake, to stick sand to the beach, to cover the headland with green meadow so that the tree and mountain can be installed, to add river and waterfall, and finally to pipe the forget-me-not flower.
5. Assembled and made them fit in the cupcake containers. Sometimes, the mountains had to be trimmed a little.

Mommy Daughter Sheep Cake

 This is a Chocolate Mousse Cake decorated with buttercream, fondant and Kit-Kat.

Roasted Rack of Pork

 I bought a rack of pork from Costco and basically followed the recipe on the package. The roast was tender and tasty with just simple salt and pepper.

Ingredients

8-bone Rack of Pork
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Lightly coat meat with olive oil, rub with salt and pepper.

3. Place roast in cooking tray with bones up and bake for 15 minutes.
4. Reduce to 350°F and cook 60-80 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145°F in the thickest part of the meat. 

5. Remove from oven and let reset 3 minutes. Slice and serve. 

Steamed Taro Cake(广式芋头糕)

Ingredients

Rice flour - 1 bag(1 lb)
Cantonese style sausage - 2 sticks

Dried shrimp - 1 cup

Green onion - optional

Salt

Oil 

Steps

1. Soak dried shrimp in water for a hour until soften.

2. Dice taro, sausage and dried shrimp.

3. Add rice flour to a mixing bowl, add enough water to knead into a dough.
4. In a frying pan, add oil and brown the sausage and shrimp.

5. In a frying pan, add oil and brown the taro, add salt to taste. 

6. Add enough water to immerse all taro pieces. Cook until boiling and then remove from heat. 

7. Add more water to the rice flour dough until it becomes a sticky batter, add salt to taste.

8. Pour taro with water into the rice flour batter, stir in sausage and shrimp.

9. Grease two 6" cake molds, and split batter between them. 

10. Steam on high heat for 35-40 minutes, or until chopstick inserted can come out clean. Optionally,  sprinkle with chopped green onion. 

11. Taro cake can be served hot as is, or you can slice and pan fried it with oil.  

Japanese "Fresh" Bread (Tangzhong method)

The ”Fresh” bread loaf of NOGAMI (乃が美生食吐司) is very popular in Japan. I adapted this recipe that claims to copycat NOGAMI Toast. Since I have never had the original 乃が美生食吐司, nor do I have the pan with lid, so I am not sure how good my loaf compares. The bread is very soft and fluffy and great for toasts or sandwiches.

Ingredients

Yield: 3 large loaves

[Water roux (Tangzhong)]
Bread flour - 1/3 cup
Water - ¾ cup + 1 TBSP
[Bread]
Bread flour - 7 3/4 cup
Salt - 2 1/4 tsp
Granulated sugar - 2/3 cup
Whipping cream -1/3 cup
Dry active yeast - 2 tsp
Warm water - 2 1/3 cups
Sweetened condensed milk - 3 TBSP
Unsalted butter - 7 TBSP, melted
Additional water - 6 - 7 TBSP

Steps

1. In a sauce pan, whisk together the water and the flour until the mixture is well blended and lump free. Put sauce pan on stove with medium heat (to reach 65°C/150°F). Continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken up and remove immediately from the heat. Transfer the water roux to a bowl and keep covered in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

2. Add water, sugar, yeast in stand mixer, and let it sit for 5 minutes. 

3. Add whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, water roux, salt, bread flour in stand mixer bowl, attach the kneading hook onto the stand mixer and combine all ingredient on low speed 1.

4. When all ingredients are combined, turn the speed up to 4 and knead the dough for 20 min, or until the dough is smooth and elastic to pass the windowpane test.

5. Add melted butter and stir at low speed 1 until well mixed

6. Add the 6-7 TBSP additional water. Stir at low speed 1 until well integrated.

7. Take dough out of mixer, cover and store in refrigerator overnight (16-18 hours).

8. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Knead each part into a round ball. Cover and let them rest for 30 min.

9. With a roller, flatten each piece out in one direction, roll up, and then flatten the dough in another directory, roll up. Line four rolls inside a greased loaf pan. Let the shaped breads proof in a warm and humid place, until they have doubled in size.

10. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 40 minutes.

11. The bread can be sliced after completely cool. 

Vegan Vanilla Cupcake

Followed this recipe for some egg-free cupcakes for a birthday. It is moist, fluffy and very sweet.

Ingredients

[Cupcakes]

All-purpose flour - 1 3/4 cup
Granulated sugar - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 TBSP
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
Vegetable oil -1/4 cup + 1 TBSP
Apple sauce - 1/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
[Vanilla Buttercream]
1/2 cup vegan butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tsp. non-dairy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a muffin tin with 12 baking cups and spray with cooking oil. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl combine the non-dairy milk, oil, apple sauce, water, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently whisk together until the batter is evenly hydrated and fairly smooth.
3. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin so that they are 2/3rds of the way full, filling all 12 muffin molds evenly. 

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

5. In a stand-up mixer, using your paddle attachment, cream the vegan butter on high for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. Turn mixer to low and slowly add powdered sugar with motor running, again scraping down the sides as necessary. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer back up to high and beat for another 3-5 minutes until thick and creamy. Turn down mixer, add non-dairy milk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
6. Once the cupcakes are COMPLETELY cool, pipe buttercream onto the cupcakes. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.