Muffins you see at shops, like CoxxCo, all have big domed tops.
They look good, but personally I like ones like these I just baked.
I love the soft and moist texture, and the crispy edge of the top is my favorite part.
My first attempt to make vegan and gluten-free cream puffs.
Not bad, but it could be improved.
*I had success on my second try! Take a look!
Just like avocado banana can be tricky in terms of when to buy and when to use.
When I want to eat or use banana, I usually don’t have any or the ones I have are not ripe.
Then when I buy some, they quickly become ripe and dark and I don’t have any ideas to use them!
So my new strategy is that I go get banana only when I need it and buy the one that is perfectly ripe for what I want to use it for.
It’s not easy, and sometimes I have to check two or three different grocery stores just to find the right one.
I love this rustic crust.
It was filled with custard cream and then decorated with banana slices and blueberries.
A little trick to this tart is spkinkling a little bit of Kosher salt on the cream.
The custard cream and banana both have mild sweetness, and the salt brings out the sweetness well.
This pudding is very chocolaty but not heavy.
As a matter of fact, it’s so light that you can (and want to) keep eating, and before you know it the jar is empty!
My mother-in-law gave me these jars a while ago.
She said she was going to get rid of them but thought she would ask me first if I could use them for something.
At that time I didn’t have any specific idea, but I’m glad I kept them.
I liked the shape, and the pudding looks so good in these jars.
(The “WECK” lids are from other jars, but they fit well.)
I added a little cinnamon to the pudding only to create flavor depth rather than to add strong cinnamon flavor.
When you have a bite, you know there is something but cannot really pinpoint exactly what it is.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
This year I decided to make a chocolate cake with a hint of whiskey, served with lots of berries.
It’s vegan AND gluten-free.
I was never a fan of gluten-free baked goods, but many vegan restaurants in Japan we ate at served gluten-free desserts, and they were so good!
They were not just delicious for gluten-free, but delicious period.
Not only is this cake vegan and gluten-free, it’s packed with ingredients that appeal to me.
What if I tell you the main ingredient of this wonderful ganache is tofu?
Believe it or not, I’m not a big fan of donuts.
No, that’s not the right statement.
I should say, I’m very particular when it comes to donuts, so it’s hard to find ones that I like.
I have been in a mood for donuts lately, but the ones I buy from stores never satisfy my craving.
When I found a recipe using tofu, I thought this would be interesting.
I had no idea what to expect because it was my first tofu donuts.
Wow!
I was pleasantly surprised by them.
The texture is very unique.
This is definitely not the cake type.
They have slightly crispy outside, soft and slightly chewy inside, and overall, they are light in a very good way.
I loved them!!
I made half fried, and the other half baked in the oven.
These are the baked version.
They resulted in slightly different textures.
It’s hard to say which is better.
They are simply different.
My husband said he liked the baked one a little better.
I used this recipe (Japanese).
(The recipe instructs you to fry them.)
I try not to buy dishes, because I already have plenty and I don’t have room!
But I was at a vintage shop last weekend, and I fell in love with these beautiful brown dishes.
Have a great weekend everyone.
This is originally from France, but it’s a popular cake in Japan as well.
It’s a custard-like cake packed with apple slices.
The cake has this name “invisible” because it is hard to see apples.
I lined the apple slices in the wrong way, so it’s a bit visually unimpressive.
But it was delicious!!
Next time my gateau invisible will be delicious AND prettier!
I made pumpkin cookies, per my hubby’s request.
He is usually pretty laid-back when he asks me to make something, but this time he was quite specific about his preferred texture.
He made it very clear that he wanted “chewy” not “cakey” cookies.
It was funny he said that because when I really thought about it I realized that many pumpkin cookies are the cakey type, not chewy.
I did a little thinking, and I decided to do something different.
I used pumpkin “powder” instead of puree, hoping this would result in the texture I wanted.
And it worked!
These cookies are definitely chewy and not cakey, AND they taste plenty pumpkin for sure.
My husband likes his any cookies with icing, so I dressed them with spiced rum icing.
He was happy with the cookies, and I was happy seeing him happy with them.
I shared my story about Chinese steamed buns in my previous post.
Since I was making dough myself, I decided to make another version, sweet red beans.
These buns are so tasty, either savory or sweet.
I can’t decide which is my favorite because they are both so good.
They are so pretty (pre-cooking) that I have to take pictures.
These buns are traditionally steamed (at least in Japan).
But I decided to fry both sides, top and bottom, after steaming them.
This process resulted in crispy top and bottom, which I absolutely loved!
They were so delicious, and I loved them so much.
The homemade dough really makes a huge difference.
I can’t wait to make more again, and maybe experiment with other filling options too.
I always keep a can of sweet red beans in my pantry.
It’s my favorite, and I know once I open a can, I will have a hard time stopping eating the whole thing.
So I resist it as long as I can.
Last weekend I was finally ready to have some, and after giving some thoughts to what I should make with it, I decided to go for Daifuku.
It’s a mochi-like chewy ball stuffed with sweet red beans.
This time I decided to give Matcha and coffee flavor to the outer part.
For the stuffing I used both sweet red beans and homemade cashew cream cheese (regular and Matcha).
They were both so good!
Daifuku is easy to make and so tasty.
