Pao De Queijo

At the bakery that I used to work at, we used to make pao de quiejo, or Brazilian cheese bread. It is lightly cheesy with a crisp exterior and a soft, chewy interior due to the use of tapioca flour in it. It was quite popular among the customers also because it was gluten free. I remember that none of us in the kitchen particularly liked making it because it was quite laborious and very temperamental (and the fact that our hands smelled like cheesy tapioca flour afterwards).

However, I stumbled upon this recipe on a great website containing lots of asian recipes where the method is super simple and the result is fantastic! I used parmesan cheese this time but I think I may add some cheddar and chopped chives to the mixture next time as well.

Hockey Season

For a hockey fan and a great goalie.

Apples

Apples are so good right now and there are so many varieties to choose from. I remember back when I was a kid, all I knew were green apples and red apples. Now there are Ambrosias, Pink Lady apples, Fujis, Transparents, all with their own unique flavors and textures.

I decided for this dessert to use Fuji apples and Honeycrisp apples. For the Fuji apples, I sliced them thinly and layered them with vanilla cinnamon sugar, baked them with weights for 3 hours after pouring melted butter over it, and sliced it up, reheating later on. I made an apple fluid gel with some apple cider and decided to keep the honeycrisp apples as they were, just cutting rounds to showcase their perfect rawness, and doing some thin sheets for height. I dipped them in some water spiked with citric acid to prevent them from browning. I made cinnamon ice cream and an oatmeal almond streusel for crunch.

I was really happy with the way this turned out. The slow-roasted apples were delicious. Not too sweet and had that apple pie taste but richer. The cold cinnamon ice cream lent a great contrast for the hot apples and the creaminess carried the apple gel well also.

Raspberry Lemon Tarts

These tarts have a layer of crushed raspberries on the bottom, then filled with lemon curd and topped off with luscious whole raspberries. I started running low on them so I did some with just three raspberries on top which I think still look adorable.

Moving On

The best thing to do when something in your life crumbles is to just pick yourself up and keep moving on or at least do your best to. I need to keep working. Keep myself distracted from all the negatives and move forward with the rest of my life.

This wedding cake is probably my favorite of all the ones I've done. Very simple and elegant and above all, clean. Covered in just buttercream, the inside is vanilla sponge cake filled with lemon curd and fresh raspberries. A cascading shower of pale pink rose petals are the highlight .

Here's to moving on and more baking:)

Everyone Could Use Some Chocolate

Chocolate cupcakes with rich chocolate frosting and crunchy chocolate pearls.

Monkeying Around

Vanilla sponge, chocolate wafer, ganache, vanilla mousse (tastes like vanilla ice cream, so good!), chocolate mousse. Covered in buttercream with a semi-island theme. The monkey was the star though:)

Lemon and Vanilla

This is a cake done for a function for tonight. Lemon and Vanilla layered cake. Vanilla sponge, tart lemon curd, topped with a vanilla mascarpone cream. Served with a vanilla crumble and strawberry salad.

A Hawaiian Dessert Buffet

Last night, I went to a fabulous Luau themed birthday party that included, shell leis, hula dancers, fire throwers, and a whole roasted suckling pig! I provided the desserts in a buffet style along with some beautiful fruit platters done by my friend. The birthday cake had a coconut sponge cake, coconut mousse, pineapple lime compote, and coconut cream cheese frosting on the outside and coated with shredded coconut.

These chocolate shells were filled with chocolate mousse and decorated with crunchy chocolate sticks.
I had some strawberry guava sorbet sandwiches and mini banana splits that had a cherry compote, homemade vanilla ice cream, and caramelized bananas. Pineapple macarons filled with a roasted pineapple jam. Coconut marshmallows atop the cake platter.
Mini pavlova shells filled with whipped cream, fresh fruit and passionfruit pulp.

Angry Birds Part Two

Another take on the Angry Birds Cake I did before, this time with more pigs and obstacles. The interior is a fluffy red velvet cake with lots of cream cheese frosting.