Down time...

It is my official down time. With November and December being my major baking time I am finally getting some so called rest. With at least a dozen or so Ninja Boxes being created and being shipped it has been a very busy two months for me. Between working, running after my 2 year old, cleaning, cleaning, baking, baking, creating new recipes, it has worn me down to the bone if not my bone marrows. Now, my brain is already churning it's recipe ideas. I am physically not ready for it but it is obvious my brain is. Anything from peanut butter to Nutella and crazy spice mixtures to put with some flour, butter, and eggs. What can I create one side of my brain wonders and the other side is how about this?!?! I am just thinking stop for a moment and let me rest. Then again, I don't really rest.

This clumsy ninja baker is thinking what I can do with all these ideas other then the obvious. I have a list of favorites and so many of my followers have their favorites. I am now trying to figure out what other favorites I can create now. 


With next holiday coming in 10 months, I better have my new recipes tested and ready to go. This year however will involve invoices and charges everyone. Sorry about that folks but the ninja bakery will have to come up with the funds one way or another.

It is that time again

My apologies for my absence from the blog world. Been busy and stressful few months. But now, with the holiday just right around the corner, 2.5 weeks technically speaking, my baking brain is in full throttle. I have no clue what else to baked. I have my usual favorites with the usual requests. With the past few years and new recipes, those requests have grown and boy have those requests have grown.


I have six items on the list so far and it is still growing. The reality is that I can't make all these items without help. In previous years I could but with a two year old running around it makes it a little hard. Well, let's face it, it makes it REALLY hard. I don't feel comfortable trying to slowly pour down a stream of hot sugar syrup into a egg white mixture to make marshmallows as my two year old is climbing up my leg. 


But so far, prior to any editing, the items for the ninja box includes, the infamous chocolate chip cookies, madeleines (vanilla, chocolate, citrus, coconut), chocolate & vanilla swirl sables (french butter cookie), lemon glazed cookies, chewy chai sugar cookie, meringue cookie, and maybe my s'mores box. This s'mores box consist of homemade vanilla marshmallows, home made graham crackers, and dark chocolate squares. 


Yes, it is quite a lot of things. It will be edited and pictures will come. Now, if you excuse this ninja, I will have to get back to work on editing, prepping, and baking. 

It's That Time Again...

It's October. The chilly nights were all you want to do is curl up with a blanket, some warm tea or even some yummy Ho-Cho (Hot Chocolate to those not in the know) with someone you love and maybe even a good movie. But there is something about fall that just makes me happy. The smell of the cool air. The way the leaves slowly starts to turn from green to red, yellow, brown, gold. Fall fruits and vegetables. The more apples that I see the more my brains starts to fill with baking idea endorphins. 


I love the way the house fills with the scent of sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and just the smell of flour and eggs just mixed together with the most simple ingredients to make you ache with all these yummy goodness. Keep in mind, I grew up in an Asian household where our desserts were fruit. I fell in love with all these great baking ideas and ideals from watching Julia Child on PBS. I love her cooking shows but when they had Baking with Julia-I was glued to the television. The way she took the butter, flour, sugar, eggs, yeast and just created these masterpieces of baked goods. To a 5 year old it was amazing. That was when I fell in love with baking. There is no doubt that once fall hits, my eagerness to create new recipes, to just bake these traditional pastries, pies, cakes, cookies, or whatever else, spikes up. 


As time went by, I noticed how my friends eyes light up when I bring a box of whatever it is I baked. That was when more ideas, more recipes, more flavor combinations kept coming to me. I even think there were a few times I woke up in the middle of the night with new recipe ideas or even how can I incorporate these flavor ideas into this recipe. Fall is my beginning of baking time. All the way up to spring where is starts to warm up and my heart breaks just a bit-not much, just a bit because the oven was what warms my home and my senses. 


I hope, very soon, all these ideas and recipes can be shared with you and your love ones. I want to evoked your senses with the feelings, the smell, and the heart that I put into making something for you to enjoy. I really do hope you enjoy it like those before you. It will be soon I hope...

Too many left over egg whites

What to do with left over egg whites??? Make Pavlova! I go through a ton of eggs when I go on my baking spree. December is going to be a fun month! With all the lemon curds, pastry creams and other items where egg whites are not really used. I portioned the whites and freeze them. Since I needed to make space in the freezer, I took the frozen whites out and let them thawed. I kept trying to figure out what to make and nothing came to mind. Too hot to make marshmallows and the fact that I didn't have gelatin either. So Pavlova came to mind. The dessert was named after a ballerina-Anna Pavlova. 


I added superfine sugar, some vanilla extract, lemon zest, and almond extract. Whip it all up till it holds stiff peaks. Spread on to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at a low heat. It still needs work. I want it more marshmallow texture in the center. The problem is that the weather has a lot to do with it also. So I need figure out the science and what and how much of it to put in the Pavlova mixture.

Ginger Lemongrass Cupcakes

So I have been toying around with the idea of taking two of my favorite flavors and scents and putting them together to make a cupcake. It may be such an "Asian" thing to do considering I am Asian right? Well whatever folks. I embrace the flavors and the scents that I love and if it goes well together why not use it right? The cupcake didn't come out as flavorful as I would have liked it. I am thinking of grating some ginger into the batter next time. The thing is to get more lemongrass flavor into the cake. 


What I did, since the recipe I use calls for 1 cup of milk, I took 3 stalks of lemongrass, sliced and smashed, 1 knob of ginger sliced and smashed. Threw them into the pot of milk, turn the stove on warm, and let it slowly steep and slowly heat up. When the mixture became steaming hot, I turn the heat off and let it sat there till it cool and let the flavors of the lemongrass and ginger steep into the milk. I also thought of making a lemongrass ginger syrup to brushed on the baked cupcakes. 

The batter all ready to be baked

All baked

I took a basic simple syrup recipe, added some smashed ginger and smashed lemongrass. I can tell you this, you will left over syrup. There are plenty of uses for this syrup. Tell you about that later. When the cupcakes are out of the oven, let it cool for about 5 minutes so it will still be warm. With a toothpick, poke a few holes in the cupcakes. Brush the syrup mixture over the cupcakes. After another 10 minutes, brush the cupcakes again. 

Lemongrass Ginger infusing it's flavor

Lemongrass Ginger syrup

For the frosting-it is a whipped butter powdered sugar frosting. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of milk. So I use the same lemongrass ginger milk mixture from the cupcakes in the frosting also. I also use the syrup mixture in the frosting also. 

Whipped butter Sugar frosting

From my test taster, you can get the taste of the ginger but not so much of the lemongrass. I still have to figure out to get more lemongrass flavor in. The syrup helps a little bit but I think some grated ginger into the cake batter will make it more gingery. Now...the lemongrass....

The finished product

September

Oh September is here! I am just waiting for the cool weather to kick in. When that kicks in, the colors of fall should start appearing. That means more baking for me. Cooking of stews, soups, the crock pot will be dusted off, and hot drinks! Tea with some fresh baked scones, hot chocolate with some fresh baked graham crackers, smeared with freshly made marshmallows. With autumn coming soon, it means that summer has ended. 

My daughter is now 2 and as energetic as ever. Her 2nd birthday was an intimate affair and that is what I wanted. Good friends and family and that is all that is needed. She originally was to be a September baby but just like her mom, she feels that to be on time, you have to arrive early. Now at 2 years old, she is starting pre-school on Tuesday. Such a stereotypical image that I have in my head. My daughter in her cute back to school outfit, with a backpack and all ready to absorb all the information that will be taught to her. However, she is only 2 and that cute outfit will be smeared with finger paint, dirt, and food. I guess my image can wait when she enters kindergarten. 

With school starting or already started for some, fall is right around the corner. I don't want an Indian summer but I want fall. To me fall seems to signal even more recipes idea and more baking adventures. Only because the holidays are around the corner and it seems like every holiday season, I want to include something new and different in my array of expected goodies. I can't wait to try the new recipes and hope these new recipes will be included in my permanent recipe box. But also, it means boots, jackets, blazers, coats, and hats. I do have to look fashionable when I bake right? After all, just because I am clumsy ninja doesn't mean I have to look like a clumsy ninja! 

First try-Croissants

Here is the thing, I LOVE French pastries. I am not a sweet/dessert person but when it comes down to French pastries, I can be pretty indecisive. That is the problem when you go to Paris for the first time at age 14 and fall in love with everything that is Paris. I am still in love with Paris. I can't wait to take Adia there and just expose her to everything. The one thing that really remember is walking from my grandmother's apartment to the corner bakery. There, I would but the banquettes that I am suppose to and I would grab myself a croissant. Not a pan au chocolate or a jambon au chocolate. Just a simple plain croissant. I fell in love. After a while, the bakers there would just give me one and teach me a few french words here and there. Since then, the croissants here are no match. They are good don't get me wrong but it isn't the same. 


So, I finally gave in and decided to make to make these flaky, buttery, crispy pastry. I was so afraid that I would fail. It isn't like baking a cake or baking other things. I am actually talking about intense patience, a lot of patience, and a whole lot of love for the croissant. Making the dough, making the butter square, then the rolling, folding, waiting, rolling, folding, waiting, rolling, waiting folding. It is a true labor of love to create this piece of bake dough.


The thing is, it just isn't a piece of baked dough. When you tear into a really good croissant, you will instantly see the layers of dough that has separated from the rolling and folding of the dough. You will taste the buttery goodness without it being overly buttery greasy. You will feel the crispness of the croissant and see the beautiful golden color on it. Please, I am not saying this is the love of my life but when you bite into a really good croissant, you can feel and taste the hard work and love that the baker put into it. 


My croissants will probably not be up to those French baker standards. Yet, it doesn't mean I won't keep trying. How did my first try at making croissants turn out? I was damm proud of myself. I made pan au chocolate too. The next morning, I had just baked a fresh batch for my friend Brooke. Eric, my guy, came downstairs after he got up and asked if the batch cooling on the rack was for him. I told him no and baked him up some. I was flattered to know that he like it. Having a boyfriend as a chef can be intimidating at times. 


This is one of those things that I know I can do and if I can do it well on the first try, I am sure on the next few tries, I can come close to perfection. 

The butter square. The main thing that makes it so flaky!

Just the beginning to the folding, rolling, chilling stage.

Pan au Chocolate

The melty chocolaty goodness of the pan au chocolate

The first croissant

A peek inside-see the layers? Yeah, I did that!

Just to say I am proud that I can do this and know that, hopefully, the next few batches will come out better and better. I am willing to to try to perfect this even though perfection is hard to come by. But I am going to share this all with you.