almond irish coffee bites and job training

this past week i've been training for work, and it's just been busy busy busy lately. it's hard to imagine how busy and rushed we'll all be once the restaurant actually opens! there are quite a few things i learned from training, though. for one thing, a lot of times prep cook = slave. okay, maybe that was a slight over exaggeration. but you know how slaves do the same menial tasks over and over again? that's kinda what i was hinting at. okay, maybe it's not really AS BAD as slavery, because we get two days off a week, we don't get physically harmed or anything, and at some point we'll start getting paid for doing this! so i take that last statement back, because i like money! and i also enjoy not wasting away at home all day hahaha.

so let's move on. another thing i learned from training: always, ALWAYS wash the vegetables! ESPECIALLY if it's organic! no joke, dude. because some of the things i saw in there are just NOT pretty.

one more thing i learned: quality over quantity (or at least while it's still training time)! i learned this after making tray after tray of shitty-looking ravioli. i don't know why the HELL i thought i had to rush, it's not like they told me to make a certain amount or anything. once i finally slowed down and put more care into each ravioli, they actually started to look pretty decent :)

anyway, onto this week's dessert! it was actually a result of two ruined sheet pans of biscuit jaconde (siiighhh). basically they just decided that they did not want to separate from the paper, so after scraping piece after piece of the cake off and deciding i didn't want to waste any of it, i crumbled it all and combined it with some irish coffee buttercream that i whipped up, compressed them into a large square, and cut them into cubes. it's basically the same principal behind cake balls, but i just got tired of making them round.

i know i know, they look like rice krispy squares. well they're not, so cut it out!!

my original plan was to dip them in white chocolate ganache so that you couldn't see the sides and then just decorate the top. well, as you can see here, that didn't work, as my ganache turned out to be too runny. well, EFF YOU, white chocolate. why do you always have to eff things up for me?!! pfft. what i ended up doing was just brushing the tops with some thick, glossy dark chocolate sauce that i had left over, which was also thick enough to pipe a little design on top too. see that, white chocolate? dark chocolate will ALWAYS be better than you. don't even think you're better, you supremacist jerk!


things i learned from this experiment:
1. i officially HATE white chocolate. YOU'RE NOT EVEN REAL CHOCOLATE! what percentage of cacao do you have? that's right, zero! get out of here, FAKER!!
2. apparently coffee and chocolate are a winning combination for my dad, who seemed to enjoy these more than some of my other experiments...
3. i found an egg with 2 yolks in it! okay, maybe i didn't learn anything from that, but it's still cool in my book! they're like twins!!! :D

drunken peach cake

another summer day, another day of sweltering in the heat. so what to do when stuck in a hot home with barely functioning internet, nothing on TV, and clearly irritable family members? make a cake, of course!

drunken peach cake. i could tell that even the peaches were suffocating in this heatwave, and i just HAD to take them out of their misery. i had half a sheet of genoise mousseline left over from the mango charlottes, so i decided this would be the best way to go. it has layers of genoise mousseline soaked in brandy syrup, a layer of peach puree gelee, peach and honey mousse, and torched meringue on top.

standing tall and proud :) i'm surprised (and happy) that it didn't totally fall apart once i took it out of the fridge. the brandy syrup kept it very moist, and the whole thing had a nice subtle sweetness. the only thing i would change about it if i decide to make it again is to use a little more brandy for a more pronounced flavor.

some things i learned from making this cake:

1. torching things is fun when your torch actually works! i can recall a totally burnt and not bruleed creme brulee from the past due to a dysfunctional torch, which still haunts me to this day...

2. if you don't have an aluminum square to mold the cake/mousse/gelee in, a square cake tin plus foil and wax paper makes a (somewhat) suitable replacement. innovation in the face of obstacles!

3. make sure the area is cleared of clutter or weird things in the background before taking pictures. if you couldn't tell before, the first picture includes my sister's legs, and the last picture includes her purple shorts and butt -__- she decided it would be fun to take a hot (and sweaty) nap on the couch :/

mango charlotte royale and the HOTTEST DAY EVARRR

today was a fun (although HOT) summer day and night; the friends and i had a picnic at the Fullerton Arboretum (free!), we went around Brea mall where i bought some white tshirts for work and some black sandals which i was in DIRE need of because my last pair broke, then we explored and took pictures around IKEA, and ended the day by playing in the park in the dark and cooling off in the grass. all in all, one of the funnest days i've had this summer :) it was a good end to my so-called "break" because next monday i start job training! WOOT!! i'm excited and nervous and just anxious all over about this. hopefully it won't be too bad!

lately the weather has not been kind, staying among the 100's (my car said it was 108 degrees today -___-) and i heard that tomorrow won't be any cooler. and AND lately there has been flash flood warnings around the LA county area...? so i really don't know wtf is UP with alla that nonsense. SOO, because it was so hot, i decided it would be nice to have a fruity chilled dessert to have on hand. i present to you: the Mango Charlotte Royale. yes yes yes, i know the last post i promised a layered jaconde cake, but that dream was swiftly taken away when i realized that i was ONE OUNCE short of the amount of almonds i needed :/

it's mango bavarois lined with genoise mousseline, garnished with mango slices, strawberries, and chocolate. originally i was going to make a little chocolate fence around it just to cover up the sides, but apparently it was so hot that after the chocolate set up in the fridge, it would immediately melt once i took it out. siighhh. anyway, it was the perfect little pick-me-up for this afternoon: cool, smooth, creamy, and deliciously fruity, with just the right amount of subtle sweetness :p

soooo... things that i learned from making this dessert:

1. i need aluminum cake rings! i didn't have any on hand, and so instead i used ramekins lined with saran wrap (which explains all the ridges along the top). "well why didn't you just cut up some cans and use those instead like Alton Brown did?" you ask. well i already tried that, and to tell you the truth, i'm just scared of cutting my hand. so i mean, which would you rather have, a ridged-y sided dessert, or no dessert at all because it was covered in blood? i rest my case.

2. sometimes it's just too hot for chocolate :( unless you want it super melty-like. then it's alright.

3. according to my baking book, the name "Charlotte Russe" is actually the name of a dessert! who knew? it's just another version of the charlotte, just like the Charlotte Royale. it makes me feel slightly better knowing this, so that i won't always have to associate it with just a cheap clothing store :)

4. fruit Bavarian Cream (or Bavarois) is RIDICULOUSLY easy to make :)

strawberry and white chocolate cake and a breezy summer week

i've decided to take full advantage of summer and this week was basically all about sleeping in, hanging out with friends, and pretty much doing whatever i want :) i also came up with what kind of design i wanted for this cake that's been sitting in my freezer (although that didn't really turn out the way i planned... still pretty, though!)

vanilla cake filled with strawberry whipped cream, topped with strawberry slices and surrounded by white chocolate shards. this was basically my attempt to utilize whatever i had in the pantry and the fridge (i just saw an episode of Chopped last night, and i was thinking i should be a little more inspired by what i already have on hand!)

things i learned from decorating this cake: white chocolate doesn't melt the same way regular chocolate does... actually, i already knew this, but THIS time it was being a total bitch. WHATEVER, white chocolate. i OWN you. nomnomnom.

also, making the chocolate shards requires a lot of measuring with a ruler, so make sure when you measure that you can actually SEE the marks you made! sighh. grey pencil mark + grey sheet pan = invisible marks! who knew?

since i'm getting a little bored with circle cakes, next time i plan on making a layered jaconde. wish me luck! :)

kiwi gelato and an update on the job hunt

remember my last post i mentioned a job fair in Newport? well, i MIGHT get the job! or i MIGHT NOT! i know, this whole thing makes me kinda nervous, too. basically, whether i get the job or not (a part time prep cook position) depends on my fall schedule for school, which i won't know until July 7th. sooo, at this point i'm hoping and PRAYING that they'll still want me by then! i was one of the VERY FEW people who actually bothered to dress well (i swear, over half the people just came in tshirts and jeans and flip flops -__-), so i'm hoping that worked well to my advantage.

anyway, onto the gelato!

probably one of the easiest frozen desserts i've ever made, as it has no eggs, and no cooking process whatsoever! :)

kiwis were on sale at my local mexican market for 8 for $1, so of course, i had to take advantage of that...

creamy, soft and tart :p it even managed to stay soft after a day in the freezer, whereas most of the ice creams i've made in the past have just hardened. the only thing i would really change about this recipe is to use powdered sugar instead of granulated white since it's not cooked, and the granulated sugar doesn't really dissolve. other than that, it's a good 8 out of 10 :)

mini cake and trying to make progress

another day, another addition to the portfolio. it turns out, i REALLY need practice, especially with beadwork. looking back on the pictures of the cake i made for the debut, it looks like i haven't improved at all! i'm hoping that maybe that photographer just took the pictures from reeeally good angles.

thank GOD for good lighting. this way it's harder to see some of the less obvious problems. and at least now i know how to make proper buttercream instead of that lame "7-minute" buttercream that i had to make TONS of for the debut cake.

i know that this picture makes the cake look big, but in reality it's only 6 inches in diameter hahaha. that's why those beads look so honkin' huge here. it's half almond, half vanilla cake with a strawberry whipped cream filling. it tastes like the cream from those strawberry Yan Yans haha :p

my sister said it looks like a hat (-___-). sighh... i made one more 9-inch cake but haven't decorated it yet because i ran out of buttercream, but i'll probably get that done soon. tomorrow there are open interviews for a restaurant in Newport, and hopefully i'll have some luck there...

cupcakes and building a portfolio

looking for a job is stressful, people! i should know, because i've been on this job hunt for what feels like FOREVER now. sooo, since many websites suggest making a portfolio and several bakeries have asked for pictures of my work, i've decided it's time to make a portfolio to show them what i can do. BUUUT then i realized i haven't really been taking pictures of some of the more professional-looking things i've made, and the only thing that i think is really worth showing there is the cake i made 2 YEARS AGO for my cousin's debut (back when i really knew NOTHING about making tiered cakes). so to make up for that, i'll be busy the next couple of days baking and decorating as much as i can to take pictures of. here are a few things i made this morning:


almond cupcakes...


orange creme cupcakes...


vanilla cupcakes with crushed almond praline.

i know that these are super plain but for now they'll have to do. right now i have a 6-inch cake in the freezer just waiting to be filled and decorated :)

black and white cake balls, a.k.a. what to do with leftovers

since the bombes i made only used a little cake for the bases, i was left with a whole sheet pan of leftover chocolate cake with no clue as to what to do with it. sure, i could have just eaten it plain, but what kind of aspiring pastry chef would i be if i did that? no, they must be dressed, and they MUST be gorgeous.

so i remembered what we did for Honors Night when we had excess devil's food cake: Bakerella's cake pops, except i didn't really have the time (or money) to go out and buy lollipop sticks to make pops so i opted for the cheaper version and just made cake balls... besides, this way they look prettier, and a lot like chocolate truffles :)

i used just plain semisweet and white chocolate to coat the cake, and i took the leftover almond praline i had, crushed it, and topped half of the cake balls with it.

i remember one time when i was in middle school, i went out with my friend and her family to a chocolate shop that they frequented and they had something that was exactly like this, except their version was freakin' gigantic, almost the size of my fist! it's good to know that i can replicate a bite-sized version of such chocolatey goodness :p

caprese salad canapes from ze garden :)

one problem that i seem to have with my tomato plants is that for some reason they only grow ripe tomatoes two at a time. not even enough to make a proper salsa, i say! soo, what to do with so few tomatoes? make the perfect mid morning snack, of course!

i put it in the oven for a couple of minutes just to melt the cheese. mmmmm... melty cheese :p


i didn't bake this one, but i wanted to put in the pic just because you can see the inside of the baby tomato better:) drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar after i decided it looked a little naked...

as for my life, not mucho to update on! i'm waiting on a callback after the interview today, and tomorrow is Jaegerhaus day! which is great cuz i'm totally up for some overpriced german food and a little get-together :D

parppadelle with creamy almond basil pesto and a new pasta maker!

that's right, muthhas! i got a shiny red pasta maker, all for $10!!! from where you say? well, yesterday just happened to be a good day for thrift shopping. and yes, i was slightly skeptical myself. buuutt after carefully checking to see if there was anything wrong with it, it turns out it just needed a little cleaning. it was basically brand new, and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time because i was about to ask my parents for one for my birthday :)
it looks a lot like this one. snaaazzyy ;D

i used the school's pasta recipe and it wasn't really the same cuz i had to use AP flour instead of bread flour but it was still pretty good. ALTHOUGHH one thing that i should have considered first is that they might stick together after i rolled & cut them out so i had to deal with that mess too -__-

for the pesto i used raw almonds instead of pine nuts after i saw it on a recipe from foodwishes.com, plus i never buy pine nuts anyway cuz they're soo freakin' expensive for some reason. also, i used the basil from my mini herb/vegetable garden in the backyard. yay for home-grown and a sustainable supply! :D

all in all, it was a delicious & filling meal. aaannd, i had some leftover pesto for future use on mah lazier days.

coming up later this week, a job interview this thursday! last week i went around to a bunch of different bakeries around where i live, and since NONE of them were hiring, i finally stumbled upon this place. it's for a line cook position at a place in brea, so wish me luck on that :)

AnQi garlic noodles with beef

in my Dining Room Service class, we pooled all the tips we earned during the semester and on our last day we used that money to eat at AnQi, a Vietnamese/fusion bistro in South Coast Plaza. with the tips and money from the restaurant, we had a budget of $50 per person, and it should have been enough for an appetizer, entree, dessert, and service.

AnQi is supposed to be famous for their garlic noodles, and when we had them as our entrees, it was without a doubt, very tasty. but in my mind, it also seemed deceptively simple... soo, of course, i went browsing around the interwebz looking for a recipe, which i found almost immediately! yay internet! and yes, it was INCREDIBLY easy... the recipe only had 5 ingredients! FIIVE!!! (six if you count salt, but why would you?)

chewy, garlicky, and buttery noodles, topped with sauteed beef i marinated the night before and scallions. while i doubt this dish is Vietnamese AT ALL, at this point i really don't care because it tastes good, and that's all that matters :)

so let's look and compare the differences: the slices of beef i used were thinner, and i sliced the scallions in rounds instead of strips. i also probably marinated the beef differently because i was kinda winging it with that last night haha. it's crazy how much people will pay for something so simple! i guess i have to give AnQi props though; the interior is swanky and the tofu banana cheesecake tasted WAY better than it sounded. but now that i know i can make the dish they're famous for, i probably won't ever go there again (unless someone else is paying hahaha).

moist cherry brownies and bonfires

yesterday we celebrated my cousin's 20th birthday party at Corona Del Mar beach, and since she decided to hire someone to bake cupcakes for her (-___-), i decided i still wanted to bake a little something just to contribute. what was funny was that people were telling me how great the cupcakes were that they thought i baked haha.

anyway, onto the brownies! *drool* they were sooo gooey and chocolatey. also, instead of using dried cherries like the recipe suggested, i bought some fresh cherries and used those instead, because i wanted them to help make the brownies extra moist :) and and and i pitted each individual cherry BY HAND, because THAT is how i like to include the looove that was needed in baking this! :)

soooo good :p it's kinda hard to see the cherries in here cuz they were so dark, but i didn't care because you could TASTE them :D also, apologies for the terrible lighting in these pics, but i finished baking them around 11:30 the night before, so you can imagine how late it was when they actually cooled down so i could cut them and take the pics. if you can't tell, that's supposed to be a fresh cherry in front of the brownies, but you can see how dark those cherries were...

right out of the oven. the only problem i had with this recipe is that it didn't specify how big of a pan was needed, and it said that it only makes 12-15 brownies. all i have to say to that is GOOD LORD how big do you cut your brownies, woman? i would say i got AT LEAST 24 fairly-sized portions out of there (and when i say "fairly-sized," i mean HUGE).


the bonfire! my god we had to work hard to get to this point. and i'm not just talking about making the actual fire, but some people actually came there at 4 pm saying it was their bonfire pit, and the arguing and raising of voices ensued. i swear, this happens every time i go to the beach! apparently people are really defensive about their fires...

dark chocolate raspberry and marzipan truffles

the first half of yesterday was spent trapped in the house, as construction workers were fixing the asphalt outside my house. the SECOND half was spent exploring the West Covina Mall and looking for work. by the time i was done i had applied to 7 different places, both in food and retail. hopefully this will result in a callback! i didn't even really finish going around the mall, as i realized there were a bunch of restaurants in the surrounding area that i didn't visit.

today i used this morning to continue my workout plan, which basically just reminded me that i can't do a proper push-up -___- siiigghh. i hope that by the end of the 6 weeks, i'll at least be able to do that! after taking a shower and eating a late and somewhat healthy lunch, i began to work on these babies, which tasted soooo decadent. :p what? i can't eat desserts when i'm trying to work out? WELL EFF THAT. don't bring your negativity in here!

dark chocolate truffles with fresh marzipan-stuffed raspberries. yummm.

right after i decorated them. i love making truffles because they are so surprisingly easy to make and very easy to make them look pretty :)

cross-sectional of one truffle. it's basically a raspberry stuffed with marzipan and double dipped in dark chocolate ganache, then decorated with that same ganache. easy, right? and so so so cute :D

tomorrow i plan on going back to the mall and going around to other places i didn't visit, and maybe bake something as well...

waterfalls and coconut tapioca with mango and banana verrines

yesterday i had quite an interesting Memorial Day; i went hiking with my cousin and my aunt at a place in Rancho Cucamonga, and the trail led to a waterfall! and it wasn't like those pansy trickles of water they call waterfalls at the parks here, it was an ACTUAL FREAKIN' WATERFALL, with ropes tied to the rocks on the top so you can climb up and jump off. it actually wasn't even a trail; there was a path cleared off in the beginning, and when we were getting closer to the water there was a lot of climbing rocks and walking across logs over the water. dangerous stuff! and i suppose if we had been more cautious people we would have brought first aid kits, because by the end of the hike my aunt had scraped her knee and i had scratches all over my shins from climbing the rocks and sliding down. but oh wells! i guess we like to live dangerously ;) later when we went home i went on GoogleMaps to see if that waterfall had an actual name or if it was a landmark of some sort, but i guess no one really knows about it because that whole trail was just a grey area on the map! it's crazy how we can have these things so close to us but never even know it's there!


today is my first official day of summer break, and i spent the morning starting the 6-week program on Wii's EA Active workout. hopefully i will begin to see results soon! this will probably be kind of hard to detect though, seeing as how i can't seem to find my weighing scale anywhere... since i was practically trapped at home today (my sister took my car to school -___-), after taking a bath and doing some laundry, i decided to spend some time relaxing and cooking with a few of the ripening fruit we have in our kitchen.

these tasted SOOO GOOD. OMG. you don't even understand. i know that the recipe said to chill them, but when it was warm it tasted a lot like the ginataan my grandma made a few years ago, which happens to be my favorite filipino dessert, so i decided it was best to leave it warm. also, i recall from my Pantry class that food loses flavor when it's colder, and i couldn't possibly do that to these babies!

this was my first time ever working with tapioca, and i have to say it was pretty easy :) i never realized how much starch is coating these things though; after boiling it once to remove the excess starch, it still managed to make the coconut cream nice and thick once it cooled down.

i garnished the mango verrine with mango slices and a raspberry, and the banana verrine with a triangle tuile and mint leaves.

a close-up of the layers of mango compote and coconut tapioca. the recipe i used said it only made 2 servings, so i doubled it thinking it would make 4. WRONG. instead i ended up with enough of the coconut tapioca to make 8 servings, but only enough mango compote for 5... and since i'm not one to just let it go to waste, i decided to use a couple of the ripe bananas we had as the base of the verrine instead. turned out to be a pretty good idea :)

blackberry ganache tartlets, almond biscotti, and reasons i don't study for finals

last week was elaine's birthday, and as part of her gift i wanted to bake her something, as per tradition. last year it was a strawberry tartlet, and this year it's chocolate galore! eee! the other part of her gift was a very embarrassing picture of us at prom that i had blown up and printed to almost poster size, and i would show that here too if i didn't find it so ridiculously horrifying haha (in retrospect i probably should have had someone else do my makeup for prom -____-)

but ANYWAY, here it is: almond biscotti that i brushed with chocolate and mini blackberry ganache tartlets. sooooo good :p
gettin' nice & golden in the oven. before i put chocolate on it my brother said he thought it was garlic bread -__- i GUESS i could understand that assumption just based on the pictures, but did it SMELL like garlic? huh?!
after i brushed them with chocolate :)
i guess it's berry season? i went to HMart this weekend to buy some bulgogi for my mom (which is RIDONKULOUSLY good btw) and guess what? 6 oz packages of blackberries there were 2 for $1!!! my first thought when i saw this was "WTF? WWHAT IIS THIS?!!!" mainly because Fresh & Easy was selling the same amount for $4, which at the time, i thought was a good deal. WTF kind of shieet are you trying to pull, Fresh & Easy?! also, raspberries! how i long for you so! HMart was selling 12 oz for $1.79!! Stater Bros. sells the same amount for $8!! so since i obviously stumbled upon a treasure chest of some sort, i grabbed as much as i could get, and now my refrigerator is chock-full of berries. "but what are you going to do with said berries, elaine?" WELL, i plan on making something delicious. that's what.

as for school, right now i'm kinda crawling along finals week. i had a 3 hour period between my classes today so i could study for my Anthro final, but i just COULDN'T do it. i really tried. basically i opened up my Nonverbal Behavior book and immediately fell asleep. i tried this twice, and fell asleep twice. it's boring; go figure. this morning i took my menu planning final (which i only somewhat regret not really studying for haha) and i have my Baking 2 final tomorrow, which i don't really need to study too much for since it's open note/open book; i figure since i did pretty well on the previous tests and quizzes that it shouldn't be too bad this time since i have the notes right in front of me.

finals always seems to come along when i feel totally drained and sooo so so much over it, whatever "it" is. i've noticed that every semester is pretty much like that. so i'll study at the beginning and throughout the semester, but once it's coming to an end i pretty much just lose interest. sighh. maybe someday i'll find a lecture class that can keep me attentive throughout the entire semester. but until then, i probably won't ever do anything more than cram sessions for finals :p

rose milk tea ice cream and moving woes

so, if you haven't heard yet, moving kinda sucks. but you know what doesn't suck? ice cream :p

there's this cafe along colima called La Kaffa, and one time (years ago) i went there and had their rose milk tea, which was (of course) bombtastic. since then, i've been trying to find other ways to incorporate that rose flavour, but haven't really come up with anything blog-worthy until now.

i present to you: rose milk tea ice cream, a concoction that i actually came up with myself! (tee hee!) i'm kind of excited because this has been the only actual noteworthy and successful dessert for which i came up with my own recipe.

mmmm. this stuff was pretty good, especially if you are into floral-y flavours. if you look close enough, you can see a few black flecks from the tea leaves that didn't get strained out.
as garnish i added a meringue cookie that i made from the leftover egg whites (as if it needed more sugar) and a dried rosebud just so it looks a little prettier (total non-functioning garnish, i know. whatevs! don't tell me how to live my life!)
the entire freezing process took WAAAY longer than i thought it would, as i don't have an ice cream machine, and right in the middle of freezing it, my refrigerator decides to poop out :/ so, instead of this being a one day process, it ends up being a 2.5 day process. but whatever. the outcome was worth the wait! :)
it was super rich and creamy, and the rose flavour was just the right strength, although it could have used more tea leaves in it. ohhh wells. another good thing: my family actually liked it! yay! usually when i come up with things that are out of the norm, they don't really warm up to it, but this time they did, which was pretty awesome. plus, i'm totally psyched that i actually made ice cream at all, as i've always been discouraged from trying it before because i didn't have an ice cream maker.

as for moving, (big sighh) i kind of didn't want to make an entry about it at all because this whole process has been one big disappointment after another, but i guess i have to update you guys about it somehow. we basically got a downgrade. the house is almost the same size as the last one, but it's like everything is slightly smaller than in our old house. plus, even though the ONE thing that i was looking forward to was getting my own room, my parents said i can't have one. sighhhhhh. this was also after a couple days of me arguing and complaining to them about it. they also said i could have a garden in the back, which now, apparently, i can't. lamesauce. the backyard is super small anyway. and to top it all off, i timed myself driving to school on friday, and the extra distance from here to school added TWENTY MINUTES to my commute. and that was on a friday, when there is typically less traffic than the rest of the week. -____-

okay, well, i really don't even want to think about it right now. let's just think about something pleasant. like ice cream :p