# 57: Savory Chocolate Throwdown

Back in September, we had a Chocolate Throwdown at work with a sweet and savory category.  Of course I entered the savory side to challenge myself.  I considered recipes like Chocolate Chorizo Bruschetta, Chocolate Covered Bacon, and Chocolate Pasta.  After spending quite a bit of time researching recipes (many more hours than you might think!), I finally stumbled upon a recipe that looked interesting, creative, and yummy! - this was the White Chocolate Vanilla Parsnip Soup.  I ran a test batch and ended up eating for days and days.  I was quite happy with the finished product so I decided I would go with the soup.  I was really happy with the finished product and presentation and I was eager to submit my entry.  The funny thing is that one of my colleagues made the same soup - so immediately my dish wasn't looking very original. After the judging and voting my soup won second place in the Savory category.  And no, I didn't lose to the other soup - but a giant chocolate covered cheese ball!

Soup is garnished with dark chocolate dusted croutons and a sprig of dill.  Yum!

#56: Chocolate Waffles for the Holidays

For some of you, these chocolate waffle cookies may look quite familiar - that's because I made them for 2 different cookie exchanges! They were such a big hit the first time that I decided to replicate for my second exchange. The recipe was adapted from a Martha Stewart cookie magazine and super simple. After making the batter (filled with eggs, flour, sugar, chocolate, milk, etc.), I took a spoonful and set it in the waffle iron. A set of 2 took about 3 minutes to cook. I made my waffle cookies pretty large and it made about 30 cookies. After letting them cool, I dipped one side into a chocolate/powdered sugar/milk mixture and then dusted with powdered sugar. This is a fun twist on the waffle - good for any time of day!

#55: Chicken & Waffle for Cupcake Camp

After 2 years being absent, SF Cupcake Camp returned this year! I had a hard time deciding what to bake because I was eager to come up with something creative, unique, and most importantly, delicious! I brainstormed a few ideas including chocolate potato chip cupcakes, chinese 5 spice cupcakes, green tea and chai...and ultimately I decided on a Chicken & waffle cupcake. I had no idea how I would pull this off but I was ready to commit. After a week of researching recipes and prototyping, I came up with my Chicken & waffle game plan.

The cupcake itself was a pancake cupcake that I "seared" under a waffle iron to get the waffle marks. I then made a maple buttercream to fill, sweeten, and moisten the inside of the cupcake. After days of contemplation, I ultimately decided to use crispy chicken skin and stay away from the chicken meat. I bought some raw chicken, peeled the skin, and cut into small pieces to deep fry. Think of it as chicken cracklings...or pork rinds. After assembling the cupcake with the crispy skin garnish, I decided to add some cayenne pepper for color.

I was really happy with this cupcake and I got a lot of great feedback from people. I didn't win this year, but I had a lot of fun creating this cupcake. Sometimes I get so caught up in baking that I forget to really get involved in the creative process - which is sometimes the best part :)

Special thanks to Fred and Sarah for helping ideate and sous chef. Thanks to all my friends who joined at cupcake camp: Sarah, Vic, Ashleigh, Annaliese, Karen, Kim, Grace, and Dru.

#54: Birthday Cupcakes for my Big Sis

Of course I had to bake some cupcakes to celebrate my big sister's 29th birthday. She is a big fruit fan so I searched for a recipe that featured summer berries. I stumbled upon some beautiful cupcake photos and I decided to take a stab at recreating the cupcakes. I started off with sugarcoating the fresh raspberries, blackberries, and organic mint leaves. The blackberries had a slight bitter taste so the sugar helped to balance out the tartness. I chose my go-to magnolia bakery vanilla cupcakes recipe and then made a simple vanilla buttercream for the topping. I was incredibly happy with how the cupcakes turned out. Sugared berries can really be a work of art. Happy Birthday Sarah!

#53: 2-Layer Cake

i decided to make a cake for elaine's birthday a week ago. when i heard she liked chocolate, i decided to go with a flourless chocolate cake - the same one i made for fred's birthday last year. this cake is dense and rich. after i made the flourless chocolate cake, i was suddenly inspired to make a layered cake. i had the afternoon free so i decided to go for it. i found a regular chocolate cake recipe and made one cake layer. I then whipped up some heavy whipping cream and spread the cream on top of the flourless chocolate cake base. i added the second chocolate cake layer on top and then spread the remaining cream on top and around the side of the cake. the cake looked a little sparse so i grabbed some sliced almonds and set them along the side of the cake. to finish off, i added some homemade raspberry sauce and chocolate on top.

this is the final cake. it was certainly rich and heavy with the flourless chocolate cake as the base. next time i'll probably stick with layers of regular cake but now i'm inspired to try my luck with making cakes!

#52: Blueberry Mochi Cake

i absolutely loooove mochi. so when fred sent me a blueberry mochi cake recipe i knew i had to try it out. since i only seem to bake for special occasions these days, it seemed natural to try out this recipe for my friend kim's birthday. i was really happy with how these turned out - they were soft yet chewy and the blueberries added great flavor to the cake. here's the recipe in case you want to check it out! the mochi texture seems to be a bit polarizing for people...but if you like mochi...then i think you'll really enjoy this cake.

#51: Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

i had some leftover s'mores stuff from my yosemite trip so i decided to repurpose the ingredients for another dessert. what could i do with chocolate and marshmallows? how about rice krispie treats with chocolate bits! well, i did some research and decided to jazz up the treats a bit. i found a good looking recipe for oreo rice krispie treats. what else could be better than marshmallow treats? well, marshmallow treats covered with oreo cookie crumbs! this recipe was incredibly easy and requires no baking at all. here's the recipe in case you feel inspired to try it yourself...the results are quite tasty!

#50: Throwdown Sticky Buns

after nearly 4 months, i finally made it to #50! to commemorate the occasion, i baked something that has been on my list for a few months now...Sticky Buns! during a Borders clearance sale, i was eager to spend my $20 gift card on a cookbook before all of the stores shut down. i lucked out and found a baking book from Joanne Chang. i recognized her from an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. i flipped through the pages and i was really impressed with the book (plus i love how it has so many photos & stories).

the sticky buns looked so amazing on Throwdown so I decided to give it a shot. it was a random sunday and i didn't have much to do so i decided to make the sticky buns (which took about 10 hours total including rise time). you can't see in the photo, but below the buns is a pool of "goo" which is comprised of sugar, butter, cream, and pecans. i was really happy with how the sticky buns turned out. this one is a keeper but i will probably only make these for very special occasions or on a rainy day.

#49: Shanghai Soup Dumplings

after 2 weeks of delicious shanghai soup dumplings (first from dumpling kitchen in SF, and second from hung's kitchen in San Ramon), i started craving more and more dumplings. i don't often eat soup dumplings, but these two visits revived my love of soup dumplings. Enough so, that I decided to try to make some myself. I heard they were quite difficult to make - but i was ready to take on the challenge (note: now that i've made them...i realized that people are right - these dumplings are quite challenging to make!). the recipe comes from epicurious.

i managed to take photos throughout the process so i figured i would share them this time around. let me say first - this was a 2 day process.

Day 1, 8:00pm-12:00am. Fred and I went to Ranch 99 and picked up the essential ingredients to make the soup base. I returned home and immediately started on the soup. I combined chicken wings & drumsticks, pork bones, green onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and water. i let the broth simmer for about 3 hours and then boiled the broth to reduce. after the broth reduced i added knox gelatin and poured into a pan.




Day 2, 8:00am. i removed the refrigerated broth which had now gelatinized into aspic. i cut the aspic into small chunks. i then made the pork/shrimp mixture and added the aspic.



Day 2, 4:00pm. Fred came over and we got ready to assemble the soup dumplings. the recipe yielded 75 dumplings. i thought that was a bit too much, but we could always freeze them. after all was said and done we ended up with nearly 180 dumplings! needless to say, the majority of them are still in the freezer. we steamed the dumplings on top of some cabbage and then gobbled them up!

here's a few comments on the dumplings:

• i think we overcooked the dumplings and waited too long to eat them. the tops of the dumplings were dry and doughy
  
• the dumpling wrappers may have been too thin because the soup leaked out of some of the dumplings
• do not add shrimp to the pork mixture. my taste buds are more familiar with the pork mixture. adding shrimp was not as tasty for me
  

#48: Tartine's Chocolate Pudding

A couple weeks ago I was in San Francisco visiting a friend in the mission district. she conveniently lives 2 blocks away from tartine, so of course, we had to stop by for a late afternoon snack. i picked up a huckleberry tart to take home but ordered the chocolate pudding to dine in. i really like pudding and mousse so i was eager to try a tartine style pudding. the pudding was absolutely delicious - not too sweet - but still rich and indulgent enough for me.

i found an online recipe for the pudding from the tartine cookbook so i decided to try it out. i had never made pudding before so this was definitely something new to me. the recipe is pretty simple to follow but the most important step to the pudding is to whisk the pudding like crazy to make it smooth and creamy (beware of chocolate pudding curds). after chilling the pudding, i served it with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings. i'll definitely try out this recipe again soon...absolutely delicious and easy to make :)

#47: Savory Mac 'n Cheese Cupcakes

This isn't literally a cupcake with mac 'n cheese inside...but mac 'n cheese baked in cupcake tins. I saw Giada make this recipe on one of her shows and I decided to make this as an hors doeuvre for a new years eve party. these were definitely best hot out of the oven. i think i could have used more gooey cheese but i liked the crispiness of the cupcake crust and the panko breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. i also added some broccoli for color and added some cut up bacon as well. this is a really fun idea and a great canvas to be creative with different ingredients in this cupcake.

#46: Bi-Rite Inspired Salted Caramel Cupcakes

ever since the 7x7 top 100 foods to eat list was published, i've been wanting to go to bi-rite to try their oh so popular ice cream. i hadn't managed to make it to bi-rite until November. i'll admit, i was a bit underwhelmed by the casual store front...but perhaps that adds to the appeal of the neighborhood friendly ice cream shop. i tried the salted caramel and the seasonal pumpkin ice cream in a cup...absolutely delicious and a surprisingly good flavor combination. i finally understood the hype of the salted caramel ice cream.

since my trip to bi-rite, i've been eager to make a salted caramel cupcake. i stumbled upon a blog with a great looking recipe. i decided to take a stab at making the cupcake with a couple birthdays coming up (annaliese & loan). these cupcakes were quite time intensive but definitely worth it. caramel is pretty difficult to work with...but worth it. i made the candied caramel garnish the night before and let them cool overnight. the next day i baked the cupcakes (pretty standard cupcake, but used brown sugar). i also made a creamy salted caramel filling to spoon inside the cupcakes. lastly, i made a salted caramel buttercream to top off the cupcakes. many components to this cupcake...but a great recipe.

#45: Rudolph and Frosty on a Stick!

and here they are...this year's christmas gifts for the family. unfortunately i deleted the higher quality photos from my camera without uploading them onto my computer...so my iphone 3g photos will have to do (this is a disclaimer for the poor quality of photos). sarah and i made a rudolph, frosty the snowman, and assorted green and red ornaments. although i've made cake pops before, these ones were much easier to make for a few reasons. 1. we used candy melts i purchased from michaels 2. used a thicker frosting for the cake and 3. dipped the lollipop stick in the candy melts before attaching the cake to the top. for rudolph, we used pretzels for the antlers, cinnamon candies for the nose, white sprinkles and a black edible ink for the eyes. for frosty, we used regular size and mini oreos for the hat, black sprinkle eyes, orange tic tac noses, and black edible ink for the mouth.

after we let the cake pops set we wrapped them in lollipop bags, tied a ribbon around the pops and gave them away as bouquets. i look forward to my next batch of cake pops!

#44: Mini Holiday Cupcake Treats!

For our annual Christmas cookie exchange I decided to make some mini iced cupcakes. My inspiration was some lemon blossom cupcakes I made a week ago. I decided to go with some seasonal flavors. I decided on egg nog, vanilla bean, and peppermint chocolate. The spiked egg nog cupcake has some rum flavoring. I really like the small cakes with the icing - it is reminiscent of donut holes. the pan i used had designs of stars, hearts, flowers, bundt shapes, and more. the designs added a nice touch, but the pan was a nightmare to clean! all in all i did enjoy these tasty little treats and was excited to give them away as gifts this year. Merry Christmas Eve!




Below is a nice picture that my co-worker bryan took of my little package.

#43: Mini Buche de Noels

you might recall last christmas i made a full size buche de noel. i planned a cookie exchange at work this year and started brainstorming ideas of what kind of baked goods i could make. i decided to make mini yule logs - though i'll admit i was a little nervous they would end up looking like ho ho's. i made the meringue mushrooms on the first night and let them dry out. i then made the cake and chocolate cream the next night. i hadn't realized the first time around, but my buche de noel is gluten free! it's kind of bewildering how the cake has no flour in it - but it's true! it's mostly just eggs and sugar. after i rolled up the log, i added a little stump and then frosted the outside of the log. i then took a fork and made some grains along the log. with more time, i would have loved to add some more color (like red and green holly). maybe next time.

#42: Happy Thanksgiving Pumpkin Tartlets

At work we celebrate Thanksgiving with a big potluck filled with turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and of course dessert! One of my favorite savory dishes this year was a crispy bacon wrapped water chestnut...very unique and tasty. But I must say...anything covered with bacon is generally pretty good. Anyways, last Thanksgiving I made sweet potato cupcakes. Here's a picture as a reminder:


This year, I decided to use the frozen pie dough I had left over from summer's strawberry pie. Of course, for Thanksgiving it seemed most appropriate to make pumpkin pie. I prefer small desserts, so I decided to make pumpkin pie tartlets. I had never made a pumpkin pie before...but it is seriously the easiest pie to make (that is, if you already have pie crust dough prepared). I used canned pumpkin because I've heard making pumpkin puree from scratch is definitely not worth it. I used this recipe here for the pie filling. As for the cook time for the tartlets, I decided to just watch them through the oven window and estimate cook time. I also added a leaf garnish to the top (just leaf-shaped pie dough). I let the tartlets cook for about 10 minutes until the filling was stable enough for me to place the leaf on top. I then let the tartlets finish cooking for about 15 more minutes.

Lastly, I made a batch of vanilla bean whipped cream to serve with the tartlets. It was basically just whipped cream infused with vanilla beans and sugar. I think this was a perfect creamy supplement to the tartlets.

Happy Thanksgiving! Eat up :)

#41: Chewy Chocolate Toffee Cookies

i was looking around for a tasty sweet dessert to gift for my friend's birthday. after browsing around smitten kitchen's website, i stumbled upon this recipe: Chocolate Toffee Cookies. I love the combination of toffee and chocolate. It's actually reminiscent of those See's candy milk chocolate toffee bars that people used to sell for fundraisers in school. Anyways, I decided to try this recipe out. I was pretty amazed with how much chocolate the recipe calls for (1 lb). I realized quickly it's mostly chocolate with a bit of flour to keep the cookie intact. The recipe yielded a pretty large batch of cookies so I was able to share with many people. Lots of people said it was like a brownie cookies, which I would agree with. The cookie also has toffee bits and walnuts which add a nice bite. So for all you chocaholics out there...this one's for you.

#40: An Excuse to Eat Cupcakes for Breakfast

As I was brainstorming ideas of a sweet treat to make for my friend's birthday, I remembered that she loves bacon. I know it's trendy these days to use bacon in desserts so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to try something out. I decided to make Maple French Toast & Bacon cupcakes. I used the cupcake recipe from here and the frosting recipe from here. The french toast flavors really come through from the nutmeg and cinnamon paired alongside a sweet maple buttercream frosting. I used bacon as a garnish on top of the cupcake. The bacon added a nice smoky, savory contrast to the sweet cupcake. The beauty is that you can eat these cupcakes for dessert OR breakfast...and not even feel guilty about it! ;)

#39: Snow Cones for Adults

After a hot weather week, I was trying to choose a dessert to make for a dinner party. I've seen tv chefs make granitas on food network and I've always been curious about them. i found this recipe online from smitten kitchen and it looked easy enough to replicate. i bought some organic lemons and mint leaves from the grocery store and gathered some sugar from home. i juiced the lemons and scraped out the insides to make a little lemon cup to be frozen later. i then used our super high tech JJ blenders to blend the lemon juice and mint leaves. after letting the lemon mixture set and infuse with the mint, i added some sugar and water and poured everything into a glass pan. i put the pan into the freezer and after an hour, i used a fork and scraped the mixture across the pan to form little ice crystals. i then repeated the process 2 more times until the ice crystals were snow cone-like. to make the presentation a little more fun, i scooped the granita into the frozen lemon cups to serve. this is a great dessert for a nice hot day...though as luck would have it, the night was cold. if i were to revisit this recipe, i would probably cut down on the mint so the flavor is more subtle on the mint, and stronger on the lemon. perhaps raspberry lemon granitas next time?

#38: Would you like a biscotti with that?

i decided to make biscottis for a colleagues birthday to go along with a coffee plant i bought from trader joe's. after browsing through allrecipes.com, i landed on a this recipe. the photo looked tasty and the idea of a brownie biscotti sounded delicious. i'm not a huge biscotti fan but i was hoping for a sweet, chocolately biscuit cookie to pair along with the "coffee". for my first time making biscotti, i was pleasantly surprised at the simpleness of the recipe. combine all dough ingredients and then form 2 rectangular loaves on a baking sheet and throw into the oven. after the loaves bake, let them cool and then slice into small biscottis. place the sliced biscottis onto the baking sheet again flat side down, and cook in the oven until they harden. i decided to garnish with semi-sweet and white chocolate drizzling. the extra chocolate drizzle made this a more indulgent treat. surprisingly, it was firm but not teeth-breaking hard like most biscottis. i don't drink coffee so i can't say if this biscotti goes well with coffee...but it's good enough on its own so that's good enough for me.