For the next 3 months…

Saboba Medical Center, during the wet season (I'll be going during dry season!)

For the next three months, I will be posting on a new blog, Serving in Saboba, dedicated to chronicling my medical mission to Saboba, Ghana. I will be volunteering and living with an American missionary named Dr. Jean Young at Saboba Medical center. She is a surgeon extraordinaire and a strong woman of God, and I am so excited to learn from her! If you like gory surgery stories, adventures, or safaris, please follow along during this time! The first post is already up!

Tags: Ghana, Mission

Cadbury Fingers

Hello there, all!

Did you know that Ghana is the #3 Cocoa-producing country in the world? Yep, it’s right up there with the Cote d’Ivoire (neighbors!) and Indonesia. The English company Cadbury (Ghana was an English colony until 1957) is the largest producer in Ghana, pumping out tons of deliciousness every year, most of it being uber sweet milky kind.

To commemorate my trip to Ghana (less than one week left in America!), I decided to whip up a quick batch of these traditional Cadbury Fingers. Have you ever tasted them? They are my mom’s absolute favorite–she has admitted to regularly consuming a whole box after school as a little girl. I got to try them for the first time two years ago, and boy are they addictive! Consisting of a crisp shortbread biscuit cookie covered in a layer of creamy Cadbury milk chocolate, and in pinkie-finger-size form, I can definitely see how easy it is to eat a dozen no problem. ;)

Stock Photo from foodireland.com

Of course, they were so much easier to purchase in England, and are common imports to France, but here in America you rarely see them at the grocery store. I find them (and more Cadbury chocolate, and more international treats) at World Market in my town. As a special treat or a way to say “I love you” to my mom, I pick up a box on occasion. Do you have a World Market near you? They’re almost the best things ever!

This homemade version I adapted from a traditional shortbread recipe is quite delicious, if I do say so myself! They are slightly more buttery and rich than the store-bought ones, because of the recipe and because they are about twice as big, but who’s complaining? :) They consist of about 5 ingredients–butter, flour, salt, sugar, and Cadbury chocolate so they are super simple and easy to make!

Here’s the step-by-step–full recipe at the bottom!

First cream the room-temperature butter in your mixer (hand-held or standing). In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add it to the creamed butter and continue mixing until it forms a dough.

Ball up that dough and turn it out onto a clean floured surface. Flatten it out into a disk with your hand and flour the top. Roll out to an even thickness, about 1/4 inch.

Use a pizza cutter or another such device to square off your edges. Cut finger-sized rectangles out of your square.

Place those suckers on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes at 350, or until lightly browned on the top.

Cool them on a wire rack

Meanwhile… melt some milk chocolate in the microwave! For these fingers specifically, Cadbury would be best, but whatever you have is fine, too! I actually want to make these again with super rich dark chocolate. :)

When your babies are cooled, take a fork and sink them into this chocolate, like they’re Augustus Gloop in Willy Wonka’s chocolate river. If you didn’t think he was the luckiest kid of the bunch, I don’t know where your priorities lie.
Oh, and tapping the fork against the edge of the bowl helps to drip the excess chocolate off the cookie.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and stick them in the fridge for a little. Resist the temptation to touch or lick!

They’ll come out looking deliciously smooth. In the middle they are SERIOUSLY buttery, crisp, and delicious! These were a perfect after-school snack for my mom, and a perfect anytime snack for me!

Cadbury Fingers
2 c. All-purpose flour
2/3 c. Powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 c. Unsalted butter, room temperature
About 6 oz. of Cadbury milk chocolate

1.  Cream the butter in an electric mixer. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Mix in the dry ingredients with the butter until it forms a dough.
4. Turn out the ball of dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 1/4 of an inch thick.
5. Square off the edges of your dough and continue by cutting finger-sized sticks out of the dough. I cut out about 42 little fingers, and the rest of the edge dough I used for traditional shortbread wedges.
6. Place the fingers on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes on the middle rack, or until lightly browned.
7. Cool the fingers and melt the chocolate in the microwave in a deep bowl.
8. Using a fork, completely submerge the fingers in the chocolate. Tap the fork on the side of the bowl to drip the excess chocolate off the finger.
9. Place the fingers on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate until the chocolate has set. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

The deliciousnes to easiness ratio of these cookies is SKY-HIGH, people. Make them tonight for your little taste of Ghana! Your roommates/parents/significant other/dog will thank you immensely.

-ATP

Tags: Chocolate, Cookie, Ghana, Cadbury, Milk Chocolate, Shortbread

I’LL BE BACK…

Greetings y’all,

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has put up with my month-long hiatus and supported me during my MCAT cramming time. Your patience has been much appreciated :)

Well, the big day is TOMORROW at 1pm! I am so excited to have time to finally post something delicious after this exam (epic birthday cake and a lot of other treats coming up), to get all this testing stress over and done with, and to pretty much finalize all the things I am preparing for my application… except for one thing!

As many of you know, I’ll be jetting off to Ghana on February 7 for a medical mission! This plan has been in the works for quite a long time, and if I really reflect, even to the point of four years back! God is good all the time. I am so grateful for your prayers and other means of support and will continue to be throughout the trip.

I promise that in between Sunday and when I leave, there will be lots of yummy things up on this blog to ogle/drool over (or is it just me?). There will also be a personal blog devoted to sharing my experiences in Ghana with you, if you are at all interested. :) I will link up as soon as it’s created!

And when I’m back in San Diego I will have even more than 10 days to bake, take photos, EAT and write!

Me da wa se (as they say in Twi)!

or Thank You :)

Tags: Ghana, Hiatus, MCAT

Gingerbread Valley Life Sciences Building

This Christmas season, I haven’t had as much time to do all the baking or cooking that I would have liked. I was planning on making a towering cake, mixing a festive cocktail, trying my hand at decorating sugar cookies with royal icing, and assembling large batches of other treats to give out as gifts, etc. Sadly, with the MCAT looming, I’ve had a hard time justifying time spent on things other than studying (even blogging makes me feel guilty)! That’s what I felt so lucky that I did get the chance to spend some time with my boyfriend and his sister constructing this awesome gingerbread house!

I know my readers mostly consist of my friends from college… So does this structure remind you of anything? I’ll give you a closer look…

Why yes, bravo! This is indeed a small model of Valley Life Sciences Building, fashioned in gingerbread. This building is where I spent most of my days–either in class, lab, office hours, or the Biosciences library (perfect spot for studying). Even the pre-med chapter of American Medical Student Association met in this building for our evening meetings! My boyfriend was a different major, so his department was in another building, but he was still here very often even when fulfilling all his pre-req’s.

Both of us being recent graduates, and missing our alma mater and all the wonderful people we don’t get to see anymore, this tribute to VLSB in gingerbread form seemed quite fitting. What do you think–should I email a photo of our masterpiece to Chancellor Birgeneau? Or are we just waaaaay to nerdy for our own good?! Comment below and state your opinion!

This is how we started the project! The first step was making the dough. With a few modifications, I used a gingerbread recipe from King Arthur Flour, a trusted resource for aspiring bakers like me!
First, heat the butter and milk until just melted. Then whisk in the molasses, brown sugar, and egg.

While you’re waiting for the butter to melt into the milk, whisk together some of the flour, salt, baking soda, and the spices.

Next, you want to pour the liquid mixture into the bowl, and using a STRONG electric mixer, add in the bowl of dry ingredients. The dough becomes really thick, so I am really grateful that I got to bake the gingerbread at my boyfriend’s place, which has a Kitchenaid.

Continue adding the additional flour until you reach a play-doh like consistency. Once all the flour is just incorporated, turn out the dough onto plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Wrap the disk up and let it rest in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Once you’ve patiently waited an hour, roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Based on our rough estimate of the ratios of VLSB, and how many square inches of dough we had, we went for a building that measured 12×6 inches (golden rectangle)! After you’ve done some similar planning, cut out the shapes of the walls, roof, and other architectural adornments. :) We had 38 separate pieces of gingerbread of all different shapes and sizes to match the basic outline of VLSB!

Pop those in a 350 degree oven, and wait 15 minutes! These cookies don’t spread much, so it’s OK to place them close together on the baking sheet. Additionally, the larger pieces baked to the same hardness as the smaller pieces, so don’t worry about varied baking times. :)

Gingerbread for Gingerbread House
Makes about 450 square inches, rolled out to 1/8 inch thickness

3/4 stick. Unsalted Butter (6 tbsp)
3/4 c. Milk
1 c. Brown sugar
1/2 c. Molasses
1 Egg
5 c. Flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp Ground ginger
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Salt

1. Melt butter and sugar together
2. Add molasses, sugar, and egg
3. Transfer to bowl of mixer and incorporate 1 c. flour, spices, salt, and baking soda.
4. Gradually add the rest of the flour until just incorporated
5. Turn out dough and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
6. Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness, and bake on 350 for about 15 minutes.

While the gingerbread is cooling, whip up a batch of easy-peasy royal icing. This icing is the perfect consistency for constructing a gingerbread house because it is quite sticky and dries relatively quickly. That means you don’t have to be concerned about your building collapsing, as long as you’ve held the pieces in place for maybe 20 seconds, and the walls have another structure to attach to other than the ground. Make sense? For example, there would be a reduced risk of a vertical wall falling down if it also had an an adjacent wall that it was glued to. Free-standing vertical walls? Meeeh, not so much.

I don’t have photos of making the icing or the process of erecting Ginger VLSB (my new name for our magnum opus), but it’s pretty simple!

Royal Icing for Gingerbread House
makes just enough for one Ginger VLSB, plus maybe 1/2 c. extra (so accurate, my measurements)

3 Egg whites
1/2 tsp. Cream of tartar, or other egg white stabilizer (white vinegar, lemon juice, meringue powder)
1 lb (about 4 cups) Confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

1. With the egg whites in a bowl (we used the Kitchenaid), whip with an electric mixer until frothy, like bubble bath.
2. Add the cream of tartar (or your alternative), and mix a little more.
3. Slowly add in the powdered sugar. We went about 1/2 cup at a time. Finito! If you’re not using the frosting right away, make sure it is well covered and air-tight (tupperware, or in a closed piping bag). This frosting dries out really quickly!

Now you’re ready to start construction! We lined a tray with foil, piped frosting on the the edges of the gingerbread pieces, and after sticking all 38 pieces together, ended up with this! For decorations, we used thin black licorice ropes to emphasize some of the different long, dark windows of VLSB, as well as for the overhangs and doors. Mini marshmallows cut in half were used for the big white steps, and white Life-Savers were used for further adornment. It didn’t turn out as big or detailed as I wanted it to be (I went slightly OCD and wanted to be able to pipe the Egyptian hieroglyphs, columns, and other bas-relief sculptures, but that just didn’t work out, hehe).

For our first time making a gingerbread house completely from scratch (no graham crackers on milk cartons), I’d say we did a pretty bang-up job! Austin and Emily, you rock! This project would have been a complete mess without you!

I think it still looks awesome even without the green sanding sugar I wanted to use for the banks of grass!

So there you have it, folks! Merry Christmas from two devoted biology nerds and one awesome younger sister! We hope you have a wonderful season, spent with your loved ones, and full of delicious treats and merry festivities. Maybe that includes making a gingerbread house of your own! Have you already constructed this year’s? Post a picture of your obra de arte, or tell me in the comments below what you did to make yours special. Or are you inspired to make one of your own? Share your ideas! Do you have other Christmas or holiday traditions you’d like to share? Let me know below as well–I’d love to hear about them. :)

Tags: Christmas, Cookie, Ginger, licorice, Marshmallow, Project, Royal Icing

Triple Chocolate Tart

Sorry for the blur, y'all. This tart is from the archives... when I lived in my old apt!

Hello! I hope you’ve had a good last couple of weeks after Thanksgiving! Hopefully you’ve recovered from the massive amounts of turkey and/or candied yam leftovers, and have had the chance to get started on all the new holiday flavors that surround Christmas! I’ve been loving all the cookie ideas, hot beverage recipes, and other festive treats I’ve been seeing on my regular food blog list. They’ve definitely got me in the mood for Christmas cheer. :)

Well, this chocolate tart is no different. I don’t know about you, but in my family, the Christmas season is always accompanied by a (maybe a few) box(es) of chocolates on the coffee table. I’ve always been the family member known to eat about 5 a day, until my sister opens the box and notices there are none left for her. :[ Sorry sis. I’m definitely an extreme chocolate lover (if you couldn’t already tell from the high ratio of chocolate recipes on this blog), so I thought this Triple Chocolate Tart would be a perfect holiday recipe.

Yes–triple, my friends, I mean business. This tart is overloaded (in the best way possible) with chocolate crust, chocolate truffle filling, and a chocolate ganache topping. But even if you’re not the biggest chocolate fiend out there, this delectable dessert won’t taste too rich or strong. The tart is at a maximum 1-inch tall, so there isn’t much filling in each slice as there would be in, say, a deep-dish pie pan. It delivers just the right amount of richness for the average tart-consumer, but will leave the chocolate-devotee craving more. :)

Moreover, this tart is truly striking, with the matching deep brown colors of the chocolate crust and filling together, all in the dainty tart pan. Garnish the center with a sprig of mint, pipe whipped cream swirls along the edge, or dust the top with powdered sugar, and you’ve got a real showstopper. All the more reason to bake this treat up for a holiday party! Your guests or your host/hostess will really be impressed. But don’t tell them this took merely all but 1 hour of hands-on kitchen time. ;) That will be our little secret.

 

Here’s the simple and easy recipe! It takes no fancy techniques or special skills. The hardest part for me was the 1-hour resting time for the chocolate dough (that’s because I’m impatient, and a bad planner).

Triple Chocolate Tart
Makes about 8 servings

Chocolate Crust
1 1/2 c. All purpose flour
1/4 c. Powdered sugar
1/4 c. Cocoa powder
1/2 c. Unsalted butter, at Room Temperature
3 Egg yolks
1/4 tsp. Salt

1. Cream the butter and sugar until well beaten.*
2. Add the yolks and salt, and beat until incorporated.
3. Dump in the flour and cocoa, and mix just until incorporated.
4. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form a flattened disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
5. Preheat your oven to 350. Roll out your dough on a floured surface, and press it into your 9-inch tart pan. Bake in the center rack for about 10-15 minutes. After you take the tart out, keep the oven on 350.

*Notes: Since the crust is chocolate and we want a homogeneous distribution of this flavor, the typical “cutting-in” method of preparing tart/pie dough won’t work. We want to use this creaming method instead.

Truffle Filling
1 1/3 c. Semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 Sticks of butter (3/4 c.)
3 tbsp. Sugar
1/4 c. Strongly brewed coffee

1. While the tart is baking, you can prepare the filling. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, sugar, and coffee together.
2. Put your chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the hot liquid over the chocolate and let it stand for about 3 minutes to melt the chocolate.
3. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until smooth.
4. Pour this mixture into the tart shell, and bake about 20-30 minutes, or until the center has set.
5. Cool on the counter.

 

 

Chocolate Ganache
2/3 c. Semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 c. Whipping cream
2 tbsp. Unsalted butter

1. Scald the whipping cream on the stove (heat to just under boiling).
2. With the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, pour the cream over the chocolate. Let stand for about 2 minutes.
3. Whisk in the butter. When the ganache is smooth, pour over the cooled tart, and smooth out with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until ganache has firmed up or until ready to serve. Then eat and enjoy!

Adapted from Tartlette

 

One more thing before I go! Last night, I finished up a little of my Christmas shopping at the malls, and had the opportunity to go and support one of my fellow San Diego food bloggers, Brandon Matzek! He was doing a live demo on 4 scrumptious recipes, and the BF and I got to go and see just how simple it is to prepare these delicious dishes, and even got to taste all of the food he made! They were downright delectable, and we both had seconds of everything. Seriously, friends, this guy has got talent! Not to mention, meeting him was such a pleasure! Really a down-to-earth, funny, super-nice guy. We chatted briefly about food blogs we like, and the challenges of posting regularly. He encouraged me to set goals, so this blog won’t fall to the wayside. So you can thank Brandon for this blogpost!

Brandon runs the ever-so-tasty Kitchen Konfidence, and has just released a new book, The Home Distiller’s Handbook, in which he took all the photos! If you’re a fan of interesting and novel flavors like Jalapeno Pepper vodka, or Chinese 5-spice and Pumpkin ice cream, definitely check out his blog (he’s got lots of equally delicious and easy recipes like this), enter the contest (just comment!) to win The Home Distiller’s Handbook, or pop over to Amazon/Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy for yourself!

Tags: Chocolate, Ganache, San Diego, Tart, Truffle

Thanksgiving, and the Verdict – Triple Silken Pumpkin Torte

Hello again, everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of family, friends, love, great food, and of course thankfulness. :) I had a great double thanksgiving–one on Thursday, and one on Friday! I love this time of year. There are so many things to be thankful for– for my family with all their wonderful imperfections and amazing love, for my friends with all their steadfast support, for the blessing of an education, for the opportunity to live in this great country (despite its issues), and most of all for the free Grace we’ve been given in Christ. It’s times like these when I am reminded most that I am still a work in progress–I fail so many times, but with His gift of the good news of grace I can stop trying to be perfect with my own will power, stop feeling guilty, and instead turn my life into a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1) out of gratitude for what He’s done for me. And I can hold onto this and be full of gratitude despite my circumstances. And gratitude is what Thanksgiving is about, right? This is a perspective I must remember and foster all year round. What are you thankful for this year? It could be a job in these tough times, a new friend, warm Fall clothes, a fabulous new book? Leave a comment below to share what you’re thankful for!

What did you eat for Thanksgiving? On the first Thanksgiving I had with one half of my family, we had a lot of delicious Vietnamese food, and then on the second day, a more traditional fare of Cornish game hens and all the wonderful sides that go along with it (chestnut stuffing, SO YUM). Of course, we dug into the Triple Silken Pumpkin Torte that I shared with you all on Wednesday!

First slice

Since I had never made this torte before, and wanted to save cutting into it for our Friday dinner, I didn’t know exactly 100% what to report back on the flavor, or what I might have changed in the recipe at the time of my first post. Here’s a little update on all of that, based on my preferences, so you have  some ideas on how you might want to alter the recipe for the future.

Tastes: I loved this torte! As someone who isn’t a huge fan of the homogenous pumpkin filling in traditional pies, and who appreciates a greater mix of flavors, this was the perfect Thanksgiving dessert for me.

• One thing I loved about this pie was the pumpkin/ginger flavor. I opted to use fresh ginger root instead of the more common ground ginger spice (in the little jar from McCormick or the like) and it was phenomenal! I’ve tasted many desserts made with that powdery-like cabinet spice, and never really thought much of the flavor it brought through. On the other hand, I noticed that the fresh ginger immediately made my ingredients fragrant and heavenly smelling. A big plus! This may be because of my strong affinity for ginger, so you may or may not agree with me, but I think this addition really added a wonderful dimension to the torte. Verdict: Stick with fresh ginger.
• I was a little concerned that the maple cream layer didn’t have enough maple taste–when I tasted it before I put it into the mold, it tasted more sour (like the creme fraiche) than maple-y. After I got feedback from my family, however, they loved how the cream layer tasted, and thought that more maple sugar would have overpowered the pumpkin layers and not really allowed them to shine. Verdict: Keep the cream layer sweetened with 4 tsp. maple sugar. :)
• The top layer (caramel pumpkin chiboust) was very sweet! I moderately liked the way it tasted, but my family likes subtley sweet desserts, and commented on this strongly sweet flavor. To remedy the possibly over-sugary taste, next time I will reduce the amount of caramel made, or allow it to “burn” a little longer to get a warmer flavor, or both! Verdict: Modify top layer recipe to contain less sugar, or cook the caramel longer.

Textures: The overall texture of this torte was very light, which I enjoyed. Although each slice contains a lot of carbohydrates and fats, the texture made me believe I wasn’t eating a ton of dessert.

• The pie crust recipe used was the typical short crust pastry (recipe in this post) that I utilize in most of my pie desserts. It’s formulated for tarts and the like, because its higher flour to fat ratio makes it crumblier rather than flakier. However, I find it so easy and almost just as tasty as real pie crust (I’m not super picky in this area). It’s flaky enough for not containing any shortening, but I would really have loved to get the traditional pumpkin pie feeling of a real pie crust in this torte. Especially since the filling is so light, I would have liked to feel a heavier crust. Verdict: Next time, use a pie crust.
• The term that describes this torte is silken, so the fact that I didn’t add gelatin to the top layer really screwed that part up. The top layer was more of a very light mousse-y texture than a silken, creamy texture. The lightness of the folded-in egg whites needed to be complemented by the stabilization of gelatin, but wasn’t, which resulted in quite a foamy top layer. This created a bit of interest because the torte got lighter in density as you rose up the layers, but even so, I really made a mistake in not adding the gelatin. There was very little “silken” nature, and because there was no gelatin, I doubt that what I made qualified as a true “chiboust.” Verdict: Don’t skip the gelatin! The recipe in the post reflects this addition.

Second Slice

There you go–a little bit of my personal take on Thanksgiving, and a little bit of my deliberation over perfecting this recipe. I hope this helps any of you who were thinking about making this treat for a holiday meal/party/potluck, and who wanted a little bit more information on the final taste test! Are there any other tweaks or alterations you would make? Any tips that pop into your mind that would make this torte more phenomenal? Please let me know in the comments! I appreciate constructive criticism–I love to learning about baking, and it can only make me better, right? :)

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend, friends! I’ll be reuniting with a bunch of old school friends that are in town for the holiday. It’s going to be pretty epic, and I am way excited!

Tags: Caramel, Chiboust, Crust, Custard, Fall, Ginger, Gospel, Pie, Pumpkin, Shortcrust, Spice, Torte, Whipped Cream

Triple Silken Pumpkin Torte

It’s the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving! I hope all of you are joyful and full of peace at this happy season. There is so much to be grateful for! If you’re hosting your Thanksgiving dinner, you’ve probably got your menu planned out, most of your food prep waiting in the fridge, and your house all cleaned and shiny. If you’re like me, however, and only think about dessert, I bring you the mother load of pumpkin treats! YES. Or at least that’s according to several pie contests in which this torte won the Grand Prize. :)

Can I tell you about this torte?! (Rhetorical question, because I’m going right ahead and doing it anyway). This torte contains three different, perfectly complemented flavored layers that are light and creamy. I have yet to taste this baby (waiting till Thanksgiving), so I’m judging all this based on the quality of the recipe. And it’s a good one, peeps. But I will let you know exactly what the final verdict is once I’ve tasted it , with a picture of it plated and all. :) I just wanted to get this recipe up in case any of you wanted to try this tomorrow. Although it may be time-consuming and may produce a sink full of dishes, this torte is truly a showstopper. Check out this picture I found via Google on this website:

Of course, mine doesn’t look as impressive. I’m going to have to work on the photography/food presentation skills. Anywaaaay, since this is a pretty long process, I took the liberty of taking some step-by-step pictures, in case those help you at all. I know I loved step-by-step photos when I first started reading food blogs!

Triple Silken Pumpkin Torte
Makes 8-10 servings

Pumpkin Custard Layer
Dough for a 9-inch pie crust. (If you need a good recipe, this post [or this post] contains the shortcrust recipe I use 75% of the time.)
1/4 c. Granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. Finely minced ginger
1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
2 Eggs
1/2 c. Dark Brown Sugar
3/4 c. Pureed Pumpkin (canned, or the like)
1/2 c. Sour cream
3/4 c. Heavy cream
2 1/2 tbsp. Brandy

1. Roll out your pie crust and place it into a 9-inch springform pan, with a little lip on the sides. Make sure you allow your pie crust to rest for 30 minutes so that it doesn’t shrink when you bake it blind. Allow the crust to cool.
2. Heat your oven to 325 F. Whisk the sugar, ginger, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs and whisk till smooth. Then add the pumpkin, brown sugar, brandy, heavy cream and sour cream, mixing until smooth.
4. Pour this mixture into your pre-baked pie shell, cover the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil, and bake the custard layer in the oven for about 1 hour, or until just set. The middle will still be jiggly, but when you cool it, it will firm up nicely. Refrigerate

Maple Cream Layer

3/4 c. Heavy cream
1/2 c. Creme Fraiche
4 tsp. Maple sugar

1. Combine the cream and the creme fraiche, and whip it until it starts to gain volume and thicken.
2. Add the maple sugar and continue to beat until the cream is stiff.
3. Pour this layer into your springform pan and smooth out the top with an offset spatula. Refrigerate!

Caramel Pumpkin Chiboust Layer

1/2 c. Heavy cream
2 tbsp. Brown sugar
1/2 tsp. Finely minced ginger
1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
3/4 c. Granulated Sugar
3 tbsp. Water, divided
1/2 tsp. Lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. Unflavored gelatin
3/4 c. Pureed pumpkin
3 Egg whites
1/8 tsp. Cream of tartar
3 tbsp. Granulated Sugar, divided

1. In a bowl, whip the heavy cream until it forms soft peaks.* Try not to whip it too much, or it will curdle.
2. In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, minced ginger, and cinnamon. Mix well.
3. In another separate small bowl, bloom your gelatin by combining it with the 2 leftover tbsp. of water. Stir well and set aside.
4. In a non-corroding saucepan, make the caramel. Put 1 tbsp of water and the lemon juice into the pan along with the 3/4 c. of granulated sugar. Stir this until you get a homogenized mixture, and then don’t touch it anymore. Heat this over medium-high flame until you get a deepish caramel color, or 335 F. As a reference, this may take about 5 minutes. Remove this immediately.
5. While the caramel is cooling down, whisk in your gelatin, brown sugar mixture, and pumpkin. Set this aside.
6. With an electric mixer, whip your egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat, adding the 3 tbsp. of sugar in a steady stream. Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.
7. To break up some of the caramel pumpkin mixture, add about 1/3 of your egg whites and fold in. Then fold the remaining 2/3 egg whites gently. Fold in the whipped cream.
8. Pour this chiboust into your springform pan over the cream layer, and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 2 hours.

To serve, run a knife around the edge of the springform pan, and gently unmold. You can set it on a fancy cake plate and garnish with additional whipped cream, if you like. Use a hot knife to cut each slice. Enjoy!

*TIP* It helps to whip cream in a cold metal bowl. Don’t ask me why. :)

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Adapted from LA Times Food

Tags: Brandy, Caramel, Chiboust, Cream, Custard, Fall, Ginger, Maple, Pumpkin, Shortcrust, Thanksgiving

Pumpkin Belgian Waffles

Hello again, long lost blog.
Yes, it has been over a week since I’ve posted anything delicious! Bad blogger, bad! I’ve been pretty busy y’know, just studying for the test that will determine my future, aka the MCAT (I’m signed up for January 28–crazzzzy).

However, it ISSS Thanksgiving week, one of the best weeks of the year, and I would be remiss if I didn’t post at least one Fall-y treat for y’all, especially since this is the holiday that’s mostly centered around food. Hence my return! On the other hand, it is called Thanksgiving, so  more importantly than enjoying food, it’s time to be grateful for all that we’ve been given, and to re-commit to using those blessings to bless others. D’awww :) Now before I waste any more time, let me bless you with these scrumptious waffles.

Oh my goodness folks. These waffles made my life. They’re supposed to be “Belgian,” but I read somewhere that authentic Belgian waffles are yeasted, and these are not, so I decided to put some bananas (quotation marks) around the word. Do not be concerned, however! These are still SO delicious, and on the plus side, the lack of yeast makes it very quick to whip up a batch! I served some to my mom in bed because she was having a bad week, poor mom. Yeah, these crisp, pumpkiny, clouds of air definitely do the trick!

The vegetable oil is the secret ingredient to creating a crunchier waffle, and distinguishes this batter from pancake batter, which makes a soft and pillowy product. I loaded these with pumpkin pie spices (all the ones you see below), and they turned out the most gorgeous orange color, perfect for a cool fall morning. Serve these with generous helpings of powdered sugar, maple syrup, apple butter (SO YUM), just plain old wonderful full-fat real butter, chocolate chips, cinnamon sugar, caramel sauce, anything your heart desires. Yum, I want seconds.

I hope you enjoy, and that they can brighten your Thanksgiving week! I know there’s so much food prep that goes into Thanksgiving, but if you want to go the extra mile, make these in the morning for the loved ones that you stay with before/after Thanksgiving! These would be the perfect breakfast treat to surprise them with when they wake up from your couch, or when they stagger in the door from the outlet mall/Best Buy Black Friday sales. :)

Pumpkin “Belgian” Waffles
Makes about 6 Waffles

2 scant c. sifted All-purpose flour
3 tbsp. Granulated sugar
2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Eggs, separated
1 c. Milk
1/3 c. Vegetable oil
1/2 c. Pureed pumpkin (canned or freshly made)
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp. Allspice/Mace/whatever other yummy warm spice strikes your fancy

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff (forms peaks on beaters that do not fold over).
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks well and stir in the milk.
4. Combine the egg yolk mixture and the dry ingredients until just moistened.
5. Mix the pumpkin, the spices, and the vegetable oil together, then add the mixture.
6. Fold in the egg whites gently just until no streaks remain.
7. Your batter is ready! Ladle dollops onto your waffle maker as instructed. We have a Krups, and it takes approx 4-5 minutes to make them brown and crisp! *

*TIP* If you have a toaster oven, crank it to 200F and put all of your finished waffles in there until ready to serve! A regular oven works as well, but takes a lot more energy, and being the half Nor-Cal girl that I am, I must say that waste would be quite undesirable. ;)
*TIP #2* Make sure your baking powder is nice and fresh for this one, otherwise you may end up with a tough and chewy waffle instead of a crisp and airy one.

Do you have a waffle maker? Are you a fan of pumpkin? Who do you think would enjoy these? Let me know in the comments below if you tried these, and how they turned out!

Tags: Fall, Pumpkin, Spice, Waffles

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies <3 Happy Birthday Tiffany!

Today is a special day! If you couldn’t already tell, today is my dear friend Tiffany’s birthday! For the occasion, I baked up some very simple but very delicious “mocha chocolate chip cookies,” which should be sitting on her kitchen counter right now, along with some other goodies, if USPS did what they were supposed to! :)

These cookies are basically a glorified chocolate chip cookie recipe, infused with a good helping of cocoa powder and a couple spoonfuls of instant espresso powder, a.k.a. a match made in HEAVEN. I made these for Tiff’s birthday because of our shared love of mochas, and the many times we indulged in these drinks over our college years together. In making these, I didn’t do much in the way of fancy techniques, intricate decorating, or innovative flavor additions–these morsels are just full of plain good old espresso and chocolate flavor.

That’s OK with me though. This post is mostly about how wonderfully awesome and fabulous my good friend Tiffany is. I am writing this post as a little addition to what couldn’t fit on her birthday card, because I know she’ll be reading this eventually. Right now, however, she’s out celebrating with friends and a fishbowl margarita while I study for the MCAT all by my lonesome. I’m totally not joking either, she even sent me a picture text of it all! Yeah Tiff, thanks for that. ;]

Anyway, I must warn you that this may get a little warm… a little fuzzy… maybe even a little (OK, A LOT!) mushy. So if you’re here purely for the cookie recipe, scroll to the bottom and enjoy the sugary goodness there. I don’t presume that y’all want to know every detail that follows (this is really for her). But if you’d like to stay a few minutes and hear about an example of a true friend, keep on reading. :)

HOMAGE COMMENCES: Tiffany and I met on the very first day of our sophomore year in college. We got all settled into the dorms, and wanting to get a head-start on meeting my floormates and being social, I (and a bunch of other people) ended up in Tiffany’s double, just shootin’ the breeze about our summers. I remember how excited I felt, because here was this girl speaking in such an earnest and passionate manner, and I could see right away how easy it would be to get to know her an be friends. What made it even better was that she was a pre-med just like me, and we were even enrolled in some of the same classes! On the other hand, Tiff was so darn beautiful and vivacious, and she seemed so pulled together and outgoing that I was a little intimidated. Little did I know that Tiffany would turn out to be one of the most down-to-earth, easy-going, fun-loving, hilarious girls I would ever meet.

Here we are at a splinting workshop!

Three years later, we’ve accumulated these (and many more) memories:

• Me (sometimes futilely) knocking on her dorm room door, trying to wake her up for our 8am bio class
• Subsequently staggering to class, and consistently being unable to resist the call of mochas and bagels from The Coffee Spot on campus
• Then being faced with more than 6 chalkboards full of color-coded notes that were written by our professor before anyone even showed up in the lecture hall… and then furiously trying to copy them all down before he started talking.
• Solidarity in pain and suffering after a physics final, which included a shared pint of haagen dazs and The First Wives Club dvd. Ballin’.
• Tiffany introducing me to the Dance Fail, Can I Have Yo Numba? (best things evar), and Glee.
• Our shared affinity for 80′s songs we’re embarrassed to admit we love (Don Henley’s Boys of Summer, George Michael’s Faith, to name a few). I have to text her whenever I hear these songs playing in my local Safeway.
• Random crazy Irish men
• AMSA national conference at the Disneyland Resort, churros, and karaoke
• Being stuck in a tiny elevator with 12 people for 45 minutes, and then being broken out by firemen with axes (AMSA, again)
• Basically every Monday and Thursday night for the past two years of our lives (AMSA, what else?)
• Tiffany giving me the SUBLIME gift of Philz Coffee
• Long study sessions at The Beanery coffee shop… and basically our entire obsession with coffee.
• Talking about everything– friends, school, guys, faith, our goals, our families, fun we’d currently be planning…
• Shopping, need I say more?
• Dancing in SF!
• By chance always wanting to do the exact same thing at the same moment. This girl is “down to hang,” as she puts it :)
• Sharing the same heart for serving in the medical field
• Being Toasts. ’nuff said.

Wow, I did not mean for that list to get so long, but what can I say–this girl is amazing! I know all these things may sound only fun and lighthearted… The truth is, we shared a ton of those awesome carefree memories, but most of the times our friendship is a little more serious–Tiffany is constantly inspiring me with her example to be the best that I can be, to never shrink from challenges, and to not be afraid to give all of myself for my beliefs, my passions, and my goals. She may be embarrassed if I reveal these things about her, but I am actually proud of her for them. She is such a hard worker, she never settles for the status quo, but always strives for something better. That’s the way she is–a woman with a clear vision, complete confidence, but also complete humility.

We're about to walk!

Even with her many accomplishments and her bright future, above all Tiff is a friend whom I can lean on. Throughout all my ramblings, problems, insecurities, she’s always the one to listen, encourage, and strengthen me in that calming, compassionate, realistic manner that she has. Even though we are individuals and may not share the same perspective all of the time, or even though we may disagree about something, my friend will always completely consider what I’m expressing because she values me. Of course, I also value her more than I could ever say. I am so thankful for this 3-year friendship, and am SO excited for the years that are to come.

Happy Birthday, Tiffany! YOU ROCK!

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Tiffany’s Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 30 4-inch cookies

2 c. All purpose flour
1/4 c. Cocoa powder
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 c. (2 sticks) Unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. Granulated sugar
3/4 c. Brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 tbsp. Espresso powder
2 Large eggs, room temperature
2 c. Semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F
2. Whisk/sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. With a stand mixer or a hand-held electric mixer, cream the butter till it is light and fluffy. Add the sugars and continue beating till fluffy, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the vanilla, and add the espresso powder. Beat the espresso powder into the wet ingredients until it is dissolved.
5. With the electric mixer again, add the egg/espresso mixture in a steady stream to the creamed butter. Beat till smooth.
6. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. Turn off the electric mixer, and add in the chocolate chips with the rubber spatula.
7. Place spheres of roughly 1.5-inches onto your baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake about 15 minutes. After baking, let the cookies sit on the sheet for about 2 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool.
8. Package these up and send them to your best friend, birthday or not!

Tags: Chocolate, Coffee, Cookie, Friends, Mocha

Harry Potter-Inspired Pumpkin Pasties

Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t love Harry Potter? Nor have I! I’ve been a big fan of the books ever since my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Kraus, introduced them to our class. I would wait patiently until that time after P.E. when we would finish up assignments quietly while she read to us out of the first, and then the second book. I just loved that imaginary, exciting, and magical world, and hoped that in a couple months when I turned 11, I would receive a letter by owl asking me to attend Hogwarts.

Unfortunately I never was visited by an owl, so now I must resort to other ways of coping with being a muggle–hence, these Pumpkin Pasties, inspired by the Harry Potter Cookbook! I don’t own this cookbook, so I am improv-ing this recipe from what little I know of pumpkin pies. :) These palm-sized treats are perfect for Fall because of the deep/spicy/warm flavors, and are also great for this Halloween weekend, especially if you’re planning on enhancing the spirit of your Luna Lovegood costume with some Harry Potter foods!

Being so portable, these little empanada-type hand-pies are also wonderful for popping into your hubby’s lunch for work, or your daughter’s brown bag for school (this is one thing she won’t be trading with friends)! They’re also awesome for people who prefer a larger crust-to-filling ratio. Do I need to say anything more? Probably not, but I will– the ingredients are SO simple and basic, and these hardly take up any time. Literally, I only spent about 30 minutes of actual hands-on action in the kitchen making these delectable treats. Honeydukes, meet your match. ;)

I decided to make these because my bf’s sister is coming home for the weekend from college! She is a huge Potter fan (we saw the last installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at midnight together), and I think she would appreciate these. Here’s to you, Emily!

Short Crust Pastry
Makes about 7 pastry shells

2 c. All-Purpose flour
1 c. Unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tbsp. Granulated sugar
2 tbsp. Cold water
1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1. Sift your flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl.
2. Cut the butter into slices about 1/4-inch thick and put these into your flour mixture.
3. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until it looks like cornmeal. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you can also use two knives or merely your fingers, but I find that it works much better with the tool. Read more about this cutting technique in one of my posts here.
4. Mix the vanilla and the water together, and sprinkle it over your mixture in the bowl. Use a fork to toss. After about 30 seconds of tossing, I like to start pressing my fork into the dough that is starting to form, causing it to lump together more. If your dough looks too dry… I say trust in this recipe, it’s my go-to ultimate favorite! Don’t add more water, just press as much as you can with your fork. The dough will come together in large lump.
5. Dump out your lump onto a piece of plastic wrap. Press the lump together with your hands to form a ball, flatten the ball, and wrap in the plastic wrap. Put this in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let the gluten proteins develop.

Great, now you’re finished with the crust! This takes about 10-15 minutes

Pumpkin Filling
Makes enough for 7 hand-pies

1 can (15 oz.) of Pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2/3 c. Granulated Sugar
1/8 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/8 tsp. Ground Ginger

1. Merely stir all these ingredients together with a spatula or what have you!

Easy as… dare I say it?… PIE?

Assembly

1. After your crust has rested, take it out of the fridge for about 5 minutes. At this time, set your oven to 400 degrees F. Then flour your surface and your rolling pin, and roll the dough to 1/8-inch thick. Try roll from the middle, and not back-and-forth.
2. Use a 6-inch saucer or other template to cut circles out of your dough.
3. Place about 1/3 c. of the pumpkin filling on one side of the circle. Fold the other half over, and press the edges together with the tines of a fork. Continue until all the dough is used, gathering the scraps and re-rolling as you go. Cut slits in the tops of the pasties to let steam out.
4. Place all the pasties on a baking sheet. Beat one egg, and brush the egg over the pasties with a pastry brush. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden-brown. Cool before digging in!

So, what do you think? Are you a fan of pumpkin? Would your special someone like to take this handy taste of fall with them to the office? Who in your life is a die-hard Potter fanatic? Got any tips or tricks that I could use to hone my baking skills? Leave a comment below to let me know!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Stay safe :)

Tags: Empanada, Fall, Harry Potter, Holidays, Pie, Pumpkin