Taste of home

Happy Labor Day!

I kinda think it's a pseudo mother's day in disguise.
> More Mother's Day treats

Besides being in labor for a good many hours to bring us into the world, moms constantly labor over their children - feeding, schooling, nurturing, dressing, fussing over.

A lifelong stint.
No return policy :)

And for this reason, home truly is where mom is.

Moms have a magical power (also known as 'sheer love') to create warmth, and we've 2 desserts that are the quintessential taste of home.

Sesame Matcha Cupcakes

This is such a warm, earthy cupcake that pairs

perfectly with a very grown-up matcha frosting. 

The slightly bitter edge from the sesame seeds 

keeps each mouthful light, and fills you with the 

warmth of home, especially on a cold rainy day.

Recipe from 6bittersweets here. I prefer a slightly
stronger sesame taste, and upped the amount of seeds
to nearly half cup; you can always adjust as you like it.

 Toast the sesame for 3-5 min in a dry pan to release
the oils and flavors, then give it a blitz in the food
processor or mortar and pestle. The toasting brings
out the most amazing aromas.

Resist temptation to gobble seeds up; you'll either
burn your tongue from the heat, or be left
short of seeds for your cupcakes.

Either way, it doesn't end well!

The smell of pastries fresh out of the oven is heavenly.
My favorite time to take a bite or two out of the bakes -
when they're barely cool enough to hold!

The key is to get good sesame. The black seeds
have a stronger aroma, and look gorgeous
coloring the cupcakes a milky ash.

To complete the look, save some
of the toasted seeds to sprinkle on top.

Zingy Ginger Crunch

Ginger is a flavor that I only grew to appreciate 

in my early adulthood. It used to be 'that 

weird yellow spice' in stir frys and steamed 

dishes, but I've since since learnt the error of my ways. 

It's a magical elixir that gives a dessert an 

extra taste dimension, and lifts warm drinks

 from the ordinary to extraordinary.

This recipe is from Taste.com, and the baked crunchy 

base is a superb counterbalance to the ginger 

layer that would otherwise be too sweet on its own. 

I like to serve these in little cubes. They pack
quite a punch, and go blissfully with green tea.

 More homey desserts:
> Fruity chiffon cake
> Sweet, sweet strawberries
> Double chocolate chip shortbread
> Rich red velvet cake
> Ombre swirl cookies

Christmas wreaths - the edible kind!

Photo by: Little Birdie Secrets

There are plenty of stories about how the Christmas wreath tradition started.

But what I love is how one thing stands out so clearly in all the different stories - the wreath is an unwavering symbol of hope and light.

Now that is Christmas beauty.

Some wreaths have candles that are lit in the weeks leading up, with the final candle bursting to light on Christmas day.

Just lovely.

Now there are all sorts of wreaths.
Pine, fir cones, paper, garlands, fabric, twigs, twine, laurel leaves, gold, silver, blue, green, red...

So many awesome manifestations.
> Red is Christmas!
* Rich, red velvet cake
* Never too much red with Elmo
* Baked with love

I worked on my lemony version for Christmas, cuz I like edible wreaths best!
> What's baking this Christmas?

The recipe I used was from one of the happy COOKIE
books (it's literally titled 'Cookies'!) I have on my bookshelf,
which makes it a little hard to transport to share here.
But Martha Stewart has an amazing version, check out her recipe here.

Another recipe for Christmas: Sugar Cookies - perfect for festive icing!

Start by rolling out little lengths of dough ropes. Take 2 ropes,
twist them together like you're braiding hair. Circle the braided
ropes to form a wreath, tucking the ends together where they meet.

The dough softens when it's been out of the fridge for a while,
just pop them back in to firm up if it gets too soft to handle.

When they're slightly browned, they're ready to be taken out.
The final baked wreath is still fairly pale in color, so don't get alarmed. 

As it bakes, the braids expand so remember to
leave a little space in the center for the dough to fill out.

After cooling, the braids are ready to be glazed (see recipe for Lemon Glaze).
While the glaze is still wet, add your sprinkles and decor to make them
Christmassy. I added little fondant angels and stars to mine here,
great variation that's quick to make and keeps well.

Bag the little rounds of Christmas spirit in clear
pouches so they can peek out and say hi, and you're all set!

Busy day at the construction site

This has got to be one of my favorite cakes by far. 

• Tell story with cake - check
• Freeform landscaping ie. any shapes and sizes I like - check
• It's messy, and it's alright - check
• Plenty of cute details - check

So. Much. Fun.

After playing architect/baker and planning and designing for a week or so, I started building my construction site birthday cake:

I like using toys on themed cakes, kids get to keep and play with them after. 

Laying foundations: chocolate cake with lemon filling, covered with a layer of crushed graham crackers for sand, and smashed oreos for road rubble.

It's messy and if you crush by hand like I do, your fingers will be seriously cramping up by the time you're halfway through construction destruction. At this point, you have some options:

1) Employ child labour and let the kids in the house do the smashing (my fave method!).

2) Do finger crunches to build up stamina - but I can tell you from first hand experience, that if you're doing the crunches at the time you're making the cake, it's too late. Give up already.

3) Seal the biscuits up in a ziplock bag, throw it repeatedly against the wall. You'll have to do another round of crumbling the pieces further by hand after, but the wall-smashing is superbly satisfying. Highly recommended.

Big pieces go in first - toys, big sign plates. They anchor the landscape, and we fill in the smaller bits after. Stones, pebbles, rocks, stop sign, u-turn signs, barriers, construction cones. Go wild.

There are a lot of details to this cake, but it's the details that make cakes come alive. The teeny tiny pieces take some time and planning, and it's all worth it when it comes together, and you see the birthday boy's giant grin. Time to dig in!

'Nekkid' series: Sweet, sweet strawberries

I'm quite in love with strawberries.

Hokkaido has the best ever. Sweet, alluring, beckoning, juicy.

Strawberries sing of spring.
Ooh, almost got a whole line of alliteration in there.

Strawberry jam. Strawberry ice-cream.
Mmm-mmm good ....

My strawberry epiphany happened in Phuket. Strange... yes, I think so too.

As a child, I had not-so-tasty King's strawberry ice-cream and chucked strawberries in the 'ulgh' part of the food spectrum. Won't miss that for sure.

On a steaming hot Phuket afternoon about 7 years ago however, we were seeking sun refuge at a cafe. We sat down, and I was drawn (I could not look away, I kid you not) to a mountain of strawberry ice-cream piled high at the next table. A little boy was polishing it off with extreme gusto, his dripping shirt pulled back around his head, a temporary hairband as he tunneled through his mission.

The ice-cream beckoned. It called my name. It singled me out.

I caved.

It was such excellent ice-cream, I tasted meadows and happiness.
I'm serious.

I'm now a strawberry-holic, and proud of it.

Ok, that was a long intro for this post.
I'd meant to talk about two strawberry desserts I'd made recently - Chocolate Strawberry Cake, Classic Cheesecake with Strawberries.

Maybe too much strawberries makes you forgetful.

I'm willing to risk it.

Oh yes, back to the desserts. 

Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Start with a rich chocolate cake,
doesn't matter if it aian't too pretty yet...
make sure it tastes good though!

Mix up a batch of strawberry happiness,
also known as strawberry frosting. 

Pile on frosting, lick fingers,
stack on strawberry mountain.
All done.

Need some help with the recipes?
> Fantabulous chocolate cake from IAmBaker
> Strawberry frosting that actually tastes GOOD - I just swapped the raspberry for strawberry in IAmBaker's awesome recipe 


Classic Cheesecake with Strawberries

Assemble your classic cheesecake. Make sure there's plenty
 of crust (double's a good place to start) cuz everyone loves crust.
Me and my greedy family and friends can vouch for that.

Whip up fluffy cream cheese topping. Feel free to make
a little extra, just for you and anyone who walks through
the kitchen when you're working on the cake.

It takes steel will to resist the wafting smells of freshly baked
cheesecake, you WILL need that extra frosting.

  

Crown with strawberries - the key to making any cake look delicious!

The cheesecake recipe I used came from one of the many baking books on my shelf, so it's a little hard to teleport that here. 

But no fear, I will lead you to my Cake Oracle - Bakerella! 

She can do no wrong, and you're in good hands with her cheesecake recipe.

Other crimson bakes:

> Red Velvet cake

> Red Santa hats

> Never too much red with Elmo around

> Baked with love

Sit back, smell the strawberries and enjoy!

Psst... a Mother's Day secret... licking beaters!

Be adventurous, be bold!
Ok, but we really don't want to see what happens when you lick those beaters if mommy forgets to turn them off.

Take all that danger out of Mother's Day (yes you, find another way to live life on the edge), and let Petite Pops do the baking for you ... uh-huh, we do love getting our hands dirty.

> Click above mailer for clearer pop up

Cake Pops are a lot of fun - pop it, bite it, trash the stick. Easy as that. We can play with colors and designs for something that fits mommy.

If you're looking for rustic bakes, the Chocolate Berry Cake & Key Lime Pie should hit the spot. Nekkid, yummy. That's all you need.

> Read about other rustic bakes
Rich Red Velvet Cake
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Cupcakes are awesome for a party. Everyone grabs one, problem solved. *dust hands, stand back, enjoy!*

It's always nice to bring a smile and remind people around us they're loved.
Make sunshine, and be safe this Mother's Day!

It's Spring-time, thanks to Easter!

So we live in eternal summer here. The blazing heat is absolute, unequivocal proof... we're feelin' it all right, phew!

But if we've connected with the idea of a winter wonderland Christmas, Spring is far less of a stretch ;)

Easter is a period of fresh beginnings, symbolized by Spring and its chirpy glow. So we've put together some Springy-ness to help welcome Easter, dessert-style.
> Click on image above for clearer pop-up

The Chunky Chocolate & Banana Brownies are wonderfully decadent, and you could wash it all down with tea - we've got Chamomile Easter Muffins to help with just that ;)

Cake Pops are always a lot of fun at any party - pick up, pop in mouth, trash the stick. No fuss at all. Butterflies, flowers, lil' spring chix are perfect, mmm mmm yummy!
> Hop Right In With These Rabbits!

Get ready for Easter, it'll be a blast of fresh air!

xoxo,
Petite Pops