Mango & Tomato: baking

4/26/23

Lemon Yogurt Cake with Hibiscus Glaze

Are you looking for a super fast dessert recipe that doesn't require any complicated ingredients or equipment? Well, let me tell you that this yogurt cake from Mon Petit Four fits the bill!

To make it a bit more special, I found an incredibly gorgeous hibiscus glaze from Butter Be Ready that only requires two ingredients.

I shared this cake with a few friends (and froze a few slices), and everyone is a fan. I seriously want to make more of the hibiscus glaze and dip everything into it. I am not clearly going to do that.

3/30/23

Birthday Dessert: No Bake Mango Cheesecake

This year for my birthday I decided to make a dessert with mangoes (shocking) and pistachios (double shocking)!

Lucky for me, I found a great looking (and easy to make) dessert on Every Little Crumb blog.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but did not (again, shockingly!) add cinnamon.

What's not to like about graham cracker crust topped with a mixture of cream cheese, heavy cream, sugar, a splash of vanilla, and pureed mangoes?

I do wish I used fresh mangoes instead of frozen ones to make the puree.

I made the desserts in individual little jars for better portion control and to share with friends.

For the topping I made candied pistachios with cayenne! SPICY.

The texture of these cheesecakes is quite a bit lighter than the regular baked cheesecake: I loved that!

1/26/23

Let there be CAKE: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Cayenne

You know what kinds of things I love in life? Those that are low effort and high reward! This Flourless Chocolate Cake with Cayenne is exactly that!

Last weekend I went to visit my friend Laura and her family and was encouraged (ha!) to bring dessert. I asked if Laura wanted tres leches (I've never made one) or something chocolate'y, and she said definitely chocolate.

Anna (my twin for those of you who are new to this blog) suggested flourless chocolate cake.

Genius! I've made several versions of flourless chocolate cake in the past, and they are seriously one of the most ridiculously easy desserts to make (not counting fudge or boxed brownies). Most of the recipes are very similar: chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs. This time I used this one from Epicurious, but added a bit of cayenne and baked it in a springform pan. Home made whipped cream (unsweetened) was the perfect topping!

The cake was such a success, I made it again the next day to share with my friends Emily and Olivia.

1/12/23

Russian Recipes Revisited: Pirozhki (Piroshki)

Every cuisine has a dish of a filling stuffed into dough. Dumplings, pelmeni, empanadas, and then there are pirozhki or piroshki. The latest ones are these wonderful baked Russian pockets of thin dough stuffed with a variety of fillings.

This past weekend my friend Jazmin and I got together to make them! This was the first time I made pirozhki, and the first time Jazmin made and tried them!

For the dough and the filling/baking process we used a recipe from Sonya. It was pretty easy to follow, but I did have to add quite a bit more flour. The dough puffed up beautifully and smelled so deliciously yeasty.

For the fillings, we made two:

1) sauteed onions, cabbage, and scallions seasoned with salt and pepper and mixed with chopped hard boiled eggs

2) sauteed ground beef seasoned with salt, pepper, and adjika and mixed with little cubes of a cooked potato

Definitely have a friend when making these because it'll halve your job ;)

I give us a B- for the crimping job, but an A for the taste!

It took longer to bake these than the recipe called for in order to get a golden brown top, and we ended up putting them under a broiler for a bit.

I served these with pickled okra and peppers, and adjika. This is definitely not authentic. My mom said she normally likes them with a bowl of broth or a cup of tea with sugar and lemon.

Other fillings: rice and chicken, potatoes with sauteed onions, or you can even do something sweet like farmers cheese with cherries.

You do you!

1/3/23

New Year, New Recipe: Layered Pistachio Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting & Mango Jam

Happy 2023! Can you believe we are in a new year!? Here's to it being sweeter, more fun, and healthier than 2022, with many new opportunities and possibilities!

Anna, my twin, suggested I start a tradition of making a new recipe for a new year and sent me a recipe for a pistachio cake she had at one of the restaurants in Chicago. That recipe was too complicated for me, so I asked Google to find me a 6" layered pistachio cake recipe, and it did: Broma Bakery!

Layered Pistachio Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting & Mango Jam

I followed the original recipe pretty closely but made a few changes:

1) I used salted butter and so did not add salt to the batter or the cream cheese frosting

2) I strongly dislike almond extract (especially when the flavor I want is pistachio): no thanks

3) I added a layer of homemade (not by me) mango jam!

Hard lesson to learn: regardless of what the recipe says, always layer your cake pans with buttered (on both sides) parchment paper to avoid the headache of removing the cake layers from the pans. I ended up putting the cake pans in the freezer for about an hour, then dunking them in very hot water before banging out the cake from the pans. OOOF

Layered Pistachio Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting & Mango Jam

I love the texture of the cake but think I slightly overbaked it. The frosting was smooth and quite easy to make...I still have some leftovers in the fridge.

I shared the cake with four friends, a few buy nothing fb group friends, and had 3 (!!!) slices myself: I call it a success. There's one slice in my freezer!

Going forward, I will try my best to post more photos and links to recipes I've made or the ones I've created.

Happy 2023!

11/29/22

Winter Dessert: Upside Down Cranberry Cake

3 cake slices on 3 plates with spoons and whipped cream

You know how they say (whoever they are) not to make a new recipe for a dinner party? Well, I did just that when I went over to my friend Jazmin's house for Thanksgiving.

I wanted to try a new recipe and happened to see a recipe for Upside Down Cranberry Cake on Simply Recipes website.

The recipe could not have been easier to follow even though it was my first time making caramel (I know!). Luckily, the combination of butter and brown sugar did not burn (neither did it burn my hands when I poured it into the cake pan).

The cranberries went in next, followed by a pretty simple batter which included sour cream. Any time a cake or muffins recipe has sour cream or yogurt, you are almost always guaranteed a success.

The only deviation I made from the recipe was to not use cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. I know, I know, I know! I just do not like those spices. Instead, I added a splash of vanilla extract Jazmin made and gifted me.

The cake smelled and looked incredible! To make the cake even more festive, I topped it with homemade whipped cream and sugared fresh cranberries.

The cake was quite a success at Thanksgiving and tasted equally as great the next day, and the next, and the next! The last few slices are safely wrapped in plastic and stored in my freezer.

9/14/22

Mango & Raspberry Pavlova

While in Seattle, I made my first full-sized pavlova using Mary Berry recipe under my twin Anna's supervision.

I topped it with slightly sweetened homemade whipped cream and fresh raspberries and mango. A bit of powdered sugar was the final touch.

Everyone, especially my mom, loved it!!

11/9/21

The Best Japanese Milk Bread Recipe

My discovery of The Best Japanese Milk Recipe** all started with me wanting to make Japanese egg salad sandwich with Japanese mayonnaise and a fun way of presenting the sandwich (when cut in half, you see a cross-section of an egg). Why not also bake Japanese Milk Bread then, I thought!?

Never having even tried Japanese Milk Bread, but hearing quite a bit of praise for it, I googled for a recipe and found Caroline's Cooking blog. I followed Caroline's recipe exactly and was stunned at the results. My friends were too. The bread was so pillowy and slightly sweet and smelled divine. The sandwich did not disappoint either.

**This is The Best recipe because it's the only one I've baked and have no need for another one.

I don't know if anyone is even reading this, but if you are, please leave a comment and tell me the latest new recipe you tried!

9/18/21

Cooking Inspirations: What I've Been Cooking and Baking

And so it's the weekend again! I thought I'd share with you a few of my latest inspirations for cooking and baking.

First up, Marnely's Vegan Tofu Bolognese: such an easy to follow and satisfying recipe. I had seconds and thirds the first time I made it. Bonus points: Marnely is a friend (and I really hope we meet in real life one day). The leftovers are great on top of white beans.

Next up, Joan Nathan's challah, but with chopped crystallized ginger on the inside and a combination of black and white sesame seeds and sugar in the raw on the outside. This was by far one of the best challah recipes.

I made half the recipe and then divided it into 2: one round, one regular topped with za'atar. I'll definitely be making this recipe again and again.

Thanks Jenna for inspiring me!

The confetti plate is from one of my favorite businesses: Felt and Fat.

And finally, Olive Oil, Honey, and Apple Cake from Pickled Plum. I literally googled those terms and found the recipe: easy to follow, gorgeous, and something fun for Rosh Hashana or any fall day. I served mine with vanilla ice cream and powdered sugar.

7/25/21

Cherry Oat Bars With Frozen Yogurt And Pistachios

Cherry and oats bar dessert on a plate topped with frozen yogurt and pistachios

Cherry Oat Bars With Frozen Yogurt And Pistachios is a perfect dessert to bring to a last minute get together because one of the lessons my parents taught is to never show up empty handed.

Last week I was invited to a get together with a few neighborhood girls, but had zero desire to go grocery shopping: I had cherries in the freezer and a large bag of oats, and so I searched for cherry and oats recipe. That's how I landed on Copycat Starbucks Michigan Cherry Oat Bars from Sandra of Dash of Sanity (who can't use some sanity!?).

Surprisingly, and luckily, I had all the necessary ingredients other than quick oats. I ended up using regular oats, adding orange zest to the filling and then topping cooled and cut bars with frozen yogurt and chopped roasted and salted pistachios.

The recipe was so easy to follow and left my condo smelling sweet and fragrant. Speaking of sweet, I highly recommend cutting the brown sugar to 2/3 cups from a full cup.

To make the frozen yogurt, I took 2% yogurt, put it into a small container and put it in the freezer. After an hour I fork'ed the yogurt and put it back into the freezer. Repeat a few times.

These were a HUGE success!!! You can easily make these bars with any type of berries or stone fruit or even apples. I bet they'll be stellar with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips under the filling.

Please don't use canned filling: fresh one takes just a few minutes to make.

6/28/21

How To Make Creme Brulee In A Pressure Cooker

2 mini creme brulee desserts in Le Creuset with blueberries

A few weekends ago I made my first ever dessert in a pressure cooker and my first ever creme brulee all thanks to a review copy of Lauren Keating's Instant Pot Cookbook For Beginners.

I've had my pressure cooker for at least 3 years, but have only used it for savory recipes. The idea of making a dessert in a pressure cooker, especially in the hot summer months, was enticing. I was also curious whether Lauren's simple recipe would be as good as the dessert I occasionally order in restaurants. It was!!!

In fact, the dessert was so great, I'm glad I only made a third of the recipe (enough for 2 portions) and shared one with a friend: otherwise I'd eat it all in just a few days. Since then, I've ordered a professional torch to brulee the sugar directly instead of putting the mini desserts under the broiler.

Lauren's book covers the basics of pressure cooking and provides recipes for each meal of the day, dessert included.

Reprinted with permission.

Cooking creme brulee under pressure ensures it comes out perfectly creamy and evenly cooked every time. Be sure to plan ahead, since this will need to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Creme Brulee

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 4 1/2 teaspoons, for topping

6 large egg yolks

2 cups heavy (whipping) cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 6 tablespoons of sugar and the egg yolks. While whisking constantly, add the cream, vanilla, and salt. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.

2. Divide and fill six 6-ounce ramekins three-fourths full and then remove any air bubbles with the back of a spoon. Cover each ramekin tightly with aluminum foil.

3. Set the trivet in the inner pot and pour in 1 cup of water. Place 4 ramekins on the trivet and stack the remaining 2 on top.

4. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Set the pressure valve to seal and cook for 10 minutes on manual low pressure. When the time is up, allow for 15-minutes natural release of pressure; then quick release any remaining pressure.

5. Carefully transfer the ramekins to a baking sheet and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

6. Spread 3/4 teaspoon of sugar evenly on top of each cooked creme brulee. Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar and make a crispy top. Let them sit for 5 minutes before serving.

3/25/21

Olive Oil Citrus Cake With Candied Tangerine Peel

Olive oil citrus cake topped with crystallized tangerine zest, blueberries, and powdered sugar

Back in the summer I tested a recipe for Olive Oil (Citrus) Cake for Polina Chesnakova's upcoming cookbook Piece of Cake and loved it so much, I made it again this past weekend but with a few changes.

Instead of making the cake in a round pan as the recipe called for, I divided the batter into two loaf pans and baked the rectangular cakes for about 10 minutes shorter. I also topped each cake with candied tangerine peel. This was my first time making candied citrus peel, and I followed Domenica Marchetti's recipe but cut the time for each step by half because I used an oxo zester to make ribbons of tangerine skin which were quite a bit thinner than the orange peel Domenica used in her recipe.

Scattered with fresh blueberries and heavily dusted with powdered sugar, this was such an easy to make but satisfying dessert to share with a few friends. The ingredients included buttermilk, olive oil (of course), citrus zest, and eggs, just to name a few. You'll not need any special equipment nor hours to put this cake together.

I guess you'll just have to wait for the book to come out!

1/25/21

Mango & Blueberries Napoleon

Stacked puffed pastry with buttercream, mango, and blueberries

Last week was my friend Sindy's birthday and I made her Mango & Blueberries Napoleon cake. One for her, one for her boyfriend, and one for me (because I had to try it before gifting the cakes to Sindy).

Even though these Napoleons look gorgeous and fancy, they were quite simple to make. The hardest part, in fact, was the buttercream recipe. Find the recipe that's not too complicated, and you'll be all set. Then tell me about it ;)

I baked the store bought puffed pastry cut into pieces and then cut each piece lengthwise after it cooled. Then, I layered each piece with buttercream, diced mango, and fresh blueberries, finishing the top layer with a pretty mango rose and a dusting of confectionery sugar. All done!

Napoleon with mango and blueberries plated and dusted with sugar

9/18/20

Weekend Inspiration: Shana Tova with Dahlias

Shana tova, l'shana tovan, jewish, kosher, challah, apples, honey, new year, labneh

Shana Tova to all those celebrating! Wishing all of us a year of peace, health, beautiful surprises, content, and beauty. I defrosted a turmeric challah roll with pistachios and nigella seeds for my celebration and to go along with labneh drizzled with olive oil and topped with honey and smoked honey.

May we all be and do better in the new year.

dahlias, flowers, hgtv, home decor, vases, flower power, pink, yellow, blooms, flower arrangment

8/6/20

CRAVINGS: Homemade Buns for a Burger

Burger, bun, homemade bun, pickle, lunch, green beans

If you are craving a burger, may I highly recommend you bake your own burger buns? Trust me, it's really not that hard.

After my friend Jazmin brought burger buns for our social distance picnic last month, I thought I should try baking them too.

The recipe from Love & Lemons is ridiculously easy. I used all white flour and was so happy I did not freak out when the dough did not come together immediately. Have faith!

Jazmin told me to only glaze a few buns at a time with the egg wash so that the egg wash doesn't dry out on the piping hot buns, which will stop the toppings from sticking.

Speaking of toppings, why use 1 when you can use 4? From top to bottom: black and white sesame seeds, everything but the bagel, togarashi, and za'atar.

I had two of these and froze the rest sliced in half. Next time I'll do a better job at making the buns more uniform.

And what about that burger above? I used ground beef, raw red onion, salt, pepper, and a bit of cumin. Mayo on both sides of the bun, plus thinly sliced red onions, and Dubliner cheese. A side of green beans and pickles.

7/10/20

Crystallized Ginger, Dried Cherries & Tangerine Zest Buttermilk Scones

What can you do with crystallized ginger? That's the question my friend Sylvie asked me when we hung out this past Monday. SCONES was my answer.

Alas, her daughter did not feel like baking scones, so we made friendship bracelets, went on a walk to see turtles, had a dance party, watched episodes of Bluey, and made lasagna.

But the idea of scones lingered in my mind. I found a recipe for basic buttermilk scones on Wild Wild Whisk blog and added chopped crystallized ginger, dried cherries, and zest from 3 tiny tangerines.

The recipe could not be easier to follow. I wish I would have refrigerated the dough before cutting it into scones and also that I would have made them smaller. The scones turned out the size of my head (maybe a slight exaggeration!), and I'm planning on cutting them in half and freezing most of them.

These are slightly sweet with great crumbly texture, and a great flavor coming from the add ins. I'm looking forward to eating one of them Saturday morning with iced tea!

7/8/20

No-Knead Sandwich Bread & Ricotta Toasts

I've been baking no-knead bread for years, but this is the first time I baked it in a loaf pan instead of a large Dutch oven. This happened because my twin sister told me she found a recipe for no-knead sandwich bread and was going to bake it. After she did so successfully, I decided to make a loaf as well.

This recipe was even easier than the one I typically use. AND it comes from my friend Carey!

First, I combined all the ingredients (I halved the recipe) in a bowl with a wooden spoon: no need for a stand mixer.

Second, although the recipe requires the dough to rise for 5 hours, that's not really a negative. I have plenty of time. The dough bubbled up amazingly well.

Third, you can then put the dough into the refrigerator for days!!! This develops the flavors and gives you a bit of a breather.

The final product was lovely: salty, slightly yeasty, with soft texture. I liked the bread both as is dipped in olive oil, and also toasted.

It's also awesome as toast! I slathered both slices with home made ricotta from my friend Sylvie, and topped one with tomatoes, basil, and salt, and the other with grapes and chocolate halva.

This recipe will definitely go into rotation.

6/22/20

Turmeric Challah With Pistachios And Nigella Seeds

Hi, friends! It's been silent here for a bit, but I've been still cooking and baking and eating: check out my instagram if you have any doubts.

Over the weekend, I baked Turmeric Challah With Pistachios And Nigella Seeds. I came up with this idea for multiple reasons:

1. I finally have a scale!! (a kitchen scale that is)
2. I've not baked in a while.
3. Turmeric makes any baked good so beautiful.
4. I received a sample of Hebel & Co pistachio and nigella halva that also came with a little jar of pistachios and nigella seeds
5. Anna, my twin, made King Arthur challah recipe before and highly approved of it

What I did:

1. I made the challah recipe from King Arthur Flour, but added a few dashes of turmeric, about 3 tablespoons of pistachios, and 2 teaspoons of nigella seeds. Also, I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
2. Using a kitchen scale for measuring the ingredients and to divide the dough into equal amounts was such a game changer! Why did not I do this earlier?
3. I made 3 challah rolls and one braid from the full recipe.
4. My condo smelled DIVINE.

Just look at the gorgeous yellow color!!! The turmeric gives an almost earthy savory flavor to the bread. I think it would have been better to add pistachios at the very end because they got a bit soggy after the 4 hours of proofing process. The nigella seeds were a surprise to me as this was the first time I've tried them: they have a hard to describe flavor of an almost earthier/deeper cumin!

And what did I do the the pistachio nigella halva you may be wondering? I crumbled it on top of Greek yogurt and fresh apricots.

5/11/20

Garden Vegetable Focaccia

After seeing photos of gorgeously decorated focaccia all over social media, I finally decided to give it a try yesterday. After all, what else do I have to do Sunday during quarantine? I mean other than yoga, reading, sewing face masks, trying to keep anxiety in check, going for walks, chatting with friends and family, cooking, and admiring my plants....

Garden Vegetable Focaccia

I used a recipe I made 8 years ago, but instead of adding sauteed onions, grated cheese and herbs, I added these fun garden ingredients:

fresh asparagus, sliced lengthwise
pickled carrots I ordered from Phickles
parsley
dill
grape tomatoes, sliced in half
red onion, sliced into circles
mini peppers, sliced into circles

Use your favorite focaccia recipe and press your garden ingredients lightly into the dough after spreading focaccia onto your baking sheet.

Allow the dough to rise again for about 30 minutes lightly covered with a clean kitchen towel, then lightly brush the top of focaccia with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt before baking it in the oven.

I think my Garden Vegetable Focaccia turned out pretty!! It smelled amazing. I gave part of it to my friend who ate it to break her fast!!!

4/29/20

Sourdough Za'atar & Cayenne Crackers

Remember Bubbly Olguita? That's the name of my sourdough starter for those who haven't been following my adventures in sourdough baking.

As I mentioned in in my earlier post, I used part of the starter to make crackers. I followed the recipe from King Arthur, but made a few changes following my twin's advice: mainly the use of olive oil instead of butter.

Sourdough Za'atar & Cayenne Crackers
Adapted from King Arthur

1 cup flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sourdough starter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons za'atar
cayenne powder to taste
more salt as a finishing touch

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

On a piece of parchment, roll out the dough to 1/16" thickness. Use flour if the dough is slightly sticky.

Use a ravioli cutter to stamp out your crackers. Alternatively, use a knife or a pizza cutter to cut the dough into desired shapes.

Prick each cracker with a fork to make sure they'll bake evenly without puffing up.

Sprinkle the crackers with kosher salt, slightly pressing the salt into the dough.

Carefully transfer the parchment with the cut up crackers, you do not need to separate them at this point, onto the back of the cookie sheet (this is much easier!) and bake for about 18-20 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through the baking process.

Once the crackers have cooled, break them into individual pieces.

These freeze amazingly well!

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