I brought a banana home from work which I took on Tuesday and did not have to chance to eat it. I know myself that if I don't make something with it, it will end up in the trash. Voila, I made walnut banana chocolate cake. My roommate loved it and I told him to have as many pieces as he wants as I derived more joy from making than from eating.
Like eating seasonal vegetable, I have a seasonal dessert list:— cranberry pistachio biscotti, orange chiffon cake and crème brûlée in winter, blueberry buttermilk cake in spring, mango soufflé in summer, tiramisu and chocolate pear pudding in autumn. I learn new recipes though many do not make it to my repertoire. I can't possible consume these dessert all on my own so I bring them to work. Over time , I have developed quite a reputation as a baker to my friends at work and little do they know that they are the best support system for me to continue my interest in dessert making.
To take different ingredients and turn them into something delicious—that's the end results we all hope for. I enjoy the creation process more than the end results. My faithful sous chef, the KitchenAid stand mixer is my partner in crime in baking. While my sous chef is busy beating butter and sugar or sugar and egg yolks, I will check in from time to time to make sure that the mixture becomes pale yellow, thick and fluffy. My sous chef also does a great job in beating egg whites until it is firm peak. The onerous is on me to tell it to stop. I had over beaten egg whites before and learnt never to do that again. When folding beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture and see it slowly transformed into chocolate soufflé , the experience is priceless.
I have made many mistakes while testing out recipes and will share some here. When making Crème Anglaise, I had poured hot whipping cream into egg yolks and the egg yolks curdled. From then on, I will always remember that egg curdled at approx. 170º and to check the temperature of the hot cream before combining with egg yolks. When making cupcakes, never over beat the batter unless you want rock solid cupcakes which are perfect replacement for base balls . In winter, when melting chocolate chips in the microwave, do it right before adding to the batter otherwise the melted chocolate will cool off and there will be chunks of chocolate in the cake. These mistakes enriched my experience and served as a reminder to self as I try out new recipes.
I am a Chinese Malaysian and Chinese New Year(CNY) is a big event for my family. Since I moved to the States, it has become less significant to me. I do not practice the traditions here: reunion dinner on the eve, can't use a broom on CNY otherwise I will chase away good luck and prosperity (hmm..come to think about it, I do not have a broom in the house), receiving red packets, exchanging mandarin oranges and etc. Instead, I do two things to remind me of my chinese roots— I call my family and friends in Scotland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia on their eve evening and I make pineapple tarts to reign in the new lunar year.
I have almost forgotten about the pineapple tarts until late yesterday evening. Despite, there were a lot of CNY cookies on display at the Vietnamese Supermarket yesterday, it only donned to me much later of the day or after making the walnut banana chocolate cake that I have not even started with the tarts. Since I make everything from scratch, I typically make the pineapple jam weeks in advance. It has a special meaning to me to make the pineapple tarts before the actual CNY on 10th Feb. Now, I have to put a rush on the jam in order to keep doing the few things I do to remind me of my chinese roots.
To all amateur bakers, happy baking!
Today is Super Bowl, Go Niners!
No comments:
Post a Comment