Classic Tiramisù – For Valentine’s Day

Have you check out my last blog post and video on how to make the parchment pastry bag and white chocolate decorations?  If not, click here to check it out!  I’m very excited to share today’s recipe with you.  It’s one of our family’s all time favorite dessert: Classic Tiramisù!



Tiramisù is an Italian (no-bake and layered) dessert usually made with ladyfingers, espresso, rum, egg yolks, mascarpone cheese, and cocoa powder, etc.  Check out my video tutorial and you’ll see how easy it is to prepare.  If you have concern consuming raw egg yolks, you may use pasteurized egg yolks instead.  You can find them in most major supermarkets in the States.  This Tiramisù is packed with wonderful espresso and chocolate flavors, along with a hint of rum.  We love this dessert because it’s not too sweet and has the right balance of flavors. 



Tiramisù means “pick me up” in Italian.  Why?  Because it’s texture is tender, soft, and fluffy.  The mascarpone cream in between the layers is silky smooth and melts in your mouth.  To ensure your cake will have the right texture, you need to start with the right ladyfingers.  Make sure to use the crispy one from Italy and not the soft, cake-y one from the U.S.! 



Also, be sure to check out my video tutorial on the “dipping time”.  Last but not least, after assembling the cake, let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours before serving!  I usually leave it in the fridge overnight.  That way, the ladyfingers will have enough time to soften and soak in all the flavors from the other ingredients.  Trust me, your patient will be rewarded! 



I’ll list all the ingredients and tools used below for your convenience!  I hope you’ll try out this recipe and share with your loved ones.  Stay tuned for more fun and sweet recipes.  Stay sweet!




Tools and Ingredients Used:

Ladyfingers (Click here for more information)
Valrhona Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (Click here for more information)
Mascarpone Cheese (Click here for more information)
Heavy Cream (Click here for more information)
9 x 13-inch Glass Baking Dish with Lid (Click here for more information)
Stand Mixer (Click here for more information)
Stainless Steel Spatula for Serving (Click here for more information)
Silicone Spatula for Folding Ingredients (Click here for more information)
Mixing Bowl Set (Click here for more information)
Small Sift for Dusting (Click here for more information)
 

How to Make Parchment Pastry Bag – for Cake Decorations

In just a few short weeks, it’ll be Valentine’s Day.  Do you and your sweetheart celebrate?  I usually make a special dinner and dessert at home to celebrate.  If you will be preparing a special dessert at home, I have a wonderful recipe for you coming very soon on the blog soon.  You’ve guessed it right, it’s the Classic Tiramisù that you see in the pictures below.  But before that, I wanted to show you how to make the white chocolate decorations on top first!



Instead of using a regular pastry bag to pipe the chocolate decorations, a smaller one that’s made with parchment paper would be a better option in this case.  That way, you can use just a small amount of melted chocolate or icing instead of a big batch.  Besides, you can also cut out the size of the tip to tailor to your needs.  Remember! The bigger the cut, the thicker the line/drawing it will be for your decorations.  I’ll also post the link below on how to temper chocolate for your reference.   



If you haven’t done so, be sure to check out the video tutorial above to see how to make the pastry bag.  It’s the perfect decorating tool for cakes and treats.  I hope you enjoy today’s quick video tutorial.  Stay tuned for the Tiramisù recipe soon. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel here.  This way, you won’t miss out on any video and you’ll be the first to know when I have a new tutorial published. I share a new video tutorial/recipe every week.






Tools and Ingredients Used:

Parchment Pastry Bag (Click here for more Information)

White chocolate (Click here for more information)

Pink Pearl Dust (Click here for more information)


Click here to read more about tempering chocolate:
https://goo.gl/adYD17

Firecracker Shrimps 黃金炸蝦卷 – For Chinese New Year 賀年食品

Chinese New Year is just around the corner.  This year, it falls on January 28th.  Check out my previous blog posts for other Chinese New Year dishes and treats that I shared.  Or, click here to for more popular Chinese New Year recipes that I compiled last year.



Today, I wanted to share with you these delicious Firecracker Shrimps 黃金炸蝦卷!  You can serve them as an appetizer or as an entrée.  These Firecracker Shrimps are fried to golden brown perfection.  They are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  The marinade for these shrimps adds so much wonderful flavors to these little golden gems.



I served them with a sweet chili sauce, but you can dip them in whatever sauce that you like.  A Chili Mayo, Roasted Garlic Mayo, or even homemade ketchup would be nice too. 



These Firecracker Shrimps are perfect for the Chinese New Year.  During the Chinese New Year, we like to serve dishes that represent good health, good fortune, or other well wishes.  As for this particular dish, it represents happiness for the family and wealth.  The pronunciation of shrimp in Chinese sounds similar to laughter (ha).  So, the more you eat, the happier you’ll get!  Also, the shape and the golden color of these Firecracker Shrimps resemble the golden nuggets that ancient Chinese used.  Now, you know why you should make this dish for Chinese New Year!  



I hope you enjoy today’s recipe and tutorial.  Please stay tuned for more fun and delicious recipe next week! 預祝大家金銀滿屋, 日日笑哈哈!



 
 
Ingredients and Tools Used:
Egg Roll Wrapper (Click here for more information)
Microplane (Click here for more information)
Sambal Oelek Chili Paste (Click here for more information)
Light Soy Sauce (Click here for more information)
Sweet Chili Sauce (Click here for more information)
Rice Vinegar (Click here for more information)
Corn Starch (Click here for more information)
Sesame Oil (Click here for more information)
Asian Spider Strainer (Click here for more information)
 

Yum-Yum Bento All Year Round Giveaway Winner Announcement

Thank you everyone who participated in the “Yum-Yum Bento All Year Round”giveaway.  Special thanks to Quirk Book for providing the prize.  We have selected a winner through Random.org!


And the winner is….Michelle M., who said:

“The Fall is my favorite season as the leaves start turning beautiful colors and a nice breeze starts developing in the air.”

Congratulations, Michelle.  I’m sure you’re going to enjoy this book a lot!  I’ll be contacting you soon.

For those of you who didn’t win, you can still get your own copy of  Yum-Yum Bento All Year Round here. 

Thank you all for reading.  Stay tuned for more fun recipes and giveaway soon.

Hello Kitty Red Bean Dumplings (凱蒂貓紅豆湯丸) for Chinese New Year

Do you enjoy Asian Style dessert dumplings (湯丸)?  Eating dessert dumplings is one of the “must-have” Chinese New Year tradition as the pronunciation of dumplings in Chinese represent the whole of the family, or the united of the family (團圓).  Many traditional Chinese New Year dishes represent good luck or some types of well wishes.  That’s because we all wanted to kick off the new year with a great start, don’t we?   



As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I want to pass on as many of the Chinese cultures and traditions to my kids as possible.  One of my favorite ways to pass on the traditions is through food.  To get them more interested, I often get them into the kitchen to cook with me.  As I was testing recipes last week, My Baby Girl joined me in the kitchen to create these adorable Hello Kitty Dumplings together.  If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my “recipe testing video”.   You might have noticed that the Kitties on the Instagram video had much bigger noses, and they looked more like piggies!  So, I made some adjustments for this week’s video tutorial to reclaim Kitty’s beauty!   



These dumplings turned out so adorable and delicious.  It was so much fun to make them together with my Kids.  If you haven’t done so, check out the video tutorial above for the step-by-step instructions.  In respond to many of my Dear Readers’ requests, I did a voice over on this video instructions instead of the usual captions-only format.  But by all mean, click on the “cc” button on lower right corner of the YouTube video for Close Captioning if you prefer.   



In my video tutorial, I included a few tips to make these cute dumplings.  So, be sure to turn up the volume and follow along! 



Last year, I shared with you the Black Sesame Dumplings with Ginger Syrup post.  (Please click here to get the recipe).  For these Hello Kitty Dumplings, I filled some with my homemade Red Bean Paste and left the remaining dumplings as plain.  I’ll post the homemade Red Bean Paste recipe below for your reference.  Or, you can also use canned/ready-made red bean paste from the Asian Supermarkets. 



I hope you enjoy today’s recipe and tutorial, stay tuned for more fun Chinese New Year Recipe next week!

Tools and Ingredients used:
Glutinous Rice Flour (Click here for more information)
Food Decorating Tongs/Tweezers (Click here for more information)
Organic Dried Red Beans (Click here for more information)
Ready Made Red Bean Filling (Click here for more information)
Wilton Edible Candy Marker (Click here for more information)

 

Matcha Cookies with Cranberries and White Chocolate - for Chinese New Year

Happy New Year!  Did you go somewhere fun to count down to the new year?  As usual, we stayed home for the count down and had a wonderful feast along with some bubbly to ring in the new year!  While the vacation and days off might be over for some people, the celebration is still going on in my house.



This year, January 28th marks the first day of the Chinese New Year!  In Asia, Chinese New Year is the biggest celebration of the year, comparable to Christmas and Thanksgiving in the U.S.  It’s a 15 days long celebration!  Schools, most shops, and businesses are closed during the Chinese New Year so that everyone can spend time with the family to celebrate. 



Although we don’t get any days off for Chinese New Year in the States, I try my best to pass down the traditions and culture to my Kids, mostly through story telling, and more often, through food.  There are many traditional food and special dishes that we prepare mainly for the Chinese New Year.  But some are so good that I pretty much make them all year round, such as these Matcha (Japanese Green Tea) Cookies with Cranberries and White Chocolate.



These cookies are quite simple to prepare.  They are the “slice and bake” type of cookie which you can (and should) prepare the dough ahead of time.  When it comes time to bake, you simply slice the cookie dough into disks and bake them off.  If you haven’t done so, watch my video above to check out my secret/tip on how to keep the cookie dough nice and round instead of having a “flat bottom” while it’s chilling in the fridge.  And you’re very welcomed!  Consider this tip as my Chinese New Year gift to you!  



If you like Matcha, you’re going to love these cookies.  They are packed with the matcha flavor and go nicely with a cup of hot tea.  However, Matcha could be an acquire taste for some people though. 



These matcha cookies are not too sweet, therefore, the white chocolate chips add a nice touch of sweetness to balance out the flavors.  The dried cranberries not only add a nice contrast of color to the cookies, but also a little tartness and texture as well. 



Make a batch to share with your friends and family during this Chinese New Year.  I’m sure they’ll love these gorgeous and fun cookies.  What other family traditions do you celebrate?  Do you have any special Chinese New Year dishes that you would always prepare for your family?  Leave a comment below and let me know.  I can’t wait to hear from you!





Ingredients and Tools used:
Matcha Powder (Click here for more information)
Dried Cranberries (Click here for more information)
White Chocolate Chips (Click here for more information)
Cooling Racks (Click here for more information)
Baking Sheets (Click here for more information)
Silpat (Click here for more information)
Rolling Pin (Click here for more information)