Baby Jake's First Birthday

So sorry it's been a while since I've updated the blog. Life and work are both SO busy right now, which leaves little time for inspiration and creativity... Luckily, I've been asked to do some desserts here and there, which always makes for some good content :) Read on and scroll on to see one of the more recent events I got to help out with!

I was asked if I could make some fun desserts and a cake for this precious baby's first birthday. Jake recently turned one! It was a great privilege to be able to contribute to this celebration for this sweet family.

For this event, Jake's family had requested some strawberry and blueberry champagne tarts, a two tier funfetti and lemon cake, and the cutest "1" shaped rice krispies for the kids. It was a perfect choice for the season- so refreshing and summery! 

A huge thank you to Tiny Atlas Photography (link to the website here), who took these amazing photos. Esther and I have actually worked a few events together, and I am always amazed at how stunning the results are. When I got to the venue, the lighting was pretty difficult to work with, but somehow Esther and her team worked magic! I would highly recommend Tiny Atlas for any photography needs. 

Also a big thank you to Julie, James, and baby Jake for letting me be a part of the celebration. I hope you all loved it!

Strawberry Champagne Tart

Strawberries are in season! Summertime is just about here, bringing the sweetest strawberries! Speaking of sweet- happy mother's day! I have been blessed with the sweetest mothers :) One of the memories I have is with my stepmom making fruit pizza- it's basically a bigger version of a fruit tart.

I guess you can call the fruit pizza a bit of an inspiration for this post. Fruit tarts are one of my favorite desserts, and I couldn't help but use the beautiful, ripe strawberries. The champagne cream filling is a perfect compliment, offering a creaminess with slight kick.

Strawberry Champagne Tart
For the crust
1 stick Butter
1/8 cup Sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup Flour 
pinch Salt

1. In a bowl, cream softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg yolk and incorporate well.
3. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and mix until combined.
4. Pour your dough out onto a plastic wrap and allow to rest in the fridge until firm.
5. Once firm, roll out until about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Line greased tart shell with the dough, trimming the edges. Repeat if you have multiple mini shells. Poke holes with a fork to vent.
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake the shell until golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Champagne Cream
1 cup Milk
1 tbsp Butter
1/4 cup Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
2 tbsp Corn Starch
4 oz Champagne
.5 oz Gelatin Powder
3.5 oz Water
1 Cup Heavy Cream
3/4 cup Confectioner Sugar

Strawberries

1. Put 3/4 cup of milk into a pot with the butter.
2. Add half the sugar to the milk in the pot, and the other half into a bowl with the remaining milk.
3. Add yolks and corn starch to the bowl with the 1/4 cup of milk. Whisk to make into a slurry and combine well.
4. Heat the milk in the pot until it is scalding. Pour slowly into the bowl, while whisking. Pour the mixture back into the pot.
5. Whisk the mixture on low heat until it thickens. The mixture will boil, and the starchy flavor will cook out.
6. Immediately pour the mixture into a bowl.
7. Mix water and gelatin together. Melt in a microwave with champagne.
8. Add the gelatin mix to the pastry cream. Mix until combined.
9. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream and confectioner's sugar to soft peaks.
10. Fold the heavy cream into the pastry cream into incorporated.
11. Pipe the cream into the cooled tart shells, and top with strawberries.

This is a great, refreshing summer treat! The sweet strawberries work perfectly with the crispy crust. It's best served right away, garnished with a little mint. It's the perfect treat for any occasion :)

Korean Shaved Ice Dessert: Bing-Soo (빙수)

It's Labor Day weekend! Usually this means the end of the summer- and everyone is trying to squeeze in the last of it! I'm celebrating the end of summer with a cool treat! This is a simple Korean dessert that you usually find at every Korean bakery during the summertime. It's a simple classic that never goes out of style!

The best part of this dessert is that it doesn't require measuring! You can really just choose whatever you think would taste good, and put it in there! It works best if you have an ice shaver or snowcone machine, but if you're able to crush the ice into small pieces, it should work too! I'm including a recipe that I used, but you're always able to change it to whatever suits you!

Bing-Soo (빙수)
Ice Cubes
Strawberries
Roasted Grain Powder (미숫가루)
Rice Cake Pieces (Mochi)
Green Tea Ice Cream
Sweetened Condensed Milk

1. Shave the ice using a shaver or snowcone machine. If this is not available, be sure you crush the ice to tiny pieces. 
2. Place the ice into the freezer while you get the rest ready. 
3. Slice strawberries. 
4. Scoop ice cream. 
5. Arrange strawberries, mochi, and ice cream onto the ice. 
6. Sprinkle roasted grain powder. 
7. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over the dessert. 

This dessert is usually made with sweetened red bean paste also. I'm not a huge fan, so I decided to go without it this round. This dessert is totally up to your own interpretation, which allows you to express your own creativity! Post your creations on Facebook or Instagram and tag @deliciowhso!

Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry season is upon us! What better way to celebrate than with some delicious ice cream? This is a creamy, rich ice cream with a load of roasted strawberry goodness. The caramel notes from the strawberries makes this the perfect way to transition into summer!

Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream (Makes about 1 quart)
1 cup Milk
2 cups Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Sugar
1 pinch Salt
6 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 package Strawberries
1/4 cup Sugar

1. Prepare an ice cream base. Do this by placing milk, cream, sugar, and salt into a pot.
2. Whisk the eggs in a large, heat-proof bowl.
3. When the liquid in the pot comes to a boil, slowly whisk it into the eggs. Then, pour it back into the pot.
4. Whisk it on medium heat until the mixture thickens, and coats the back of a spoon.
5. Immediately pour it through a strainer into a clean bowl. Stir in vanilla.
6. Allow the mixture to cool.
7. Place strawberries and sugar into a casserole dish.
8. Roast in the oven at 350 degrees F until soft and mushy. Turn every 5 minutes or so to prevent burning.
9. Once the strawberries are done, allow to cool, mash with a fork, and then add into the ice cream base.
10. Prepare your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions and spin the ice cream to a soft-serve stage.
11. Place into a freezer safe, airtight container and allow to harden for at least 3 hours in the freezer.
12. Allow to thaw slightly before scooping into a frozen bowl  or cone and serving.
 

School is out for a lot of students- and many of my friends are graduating! Congrats to everyone who has graduated/is graduating this year; hooray for the end of finals for current students; and keep on trekking on for those already in the working world... Let's all take a break with some delici-owh-so ice cream :)

And of course we can't forget about our mothers! I am extremely grateful for both my moms. My biological mom has been an essential part of my life, and influenced me greatly with my passion and excitement for food (both making and eating, haha). She's always there when I need, and supported me in my decisions. She makes the most delicious food in the world, and always fills it with her generous love. My stepmom hasn't known me all of my life, but she's been a really great role model, loving mother, and provider to me as well. She's got a big heart and loves me and Josh as her own, and I respect her so much for it :) Here's to being thankful and celebrating our mothers!

Summer Berry Bread Pudding

I am so sorry for the late post! I am moving away from Providence to Atlanta this weekend, and I have been attempting to prepare by spending time with friends, packing, and of course getting ready for graduation on Saturday! But first, I have to get through finals...

I recently made some delicious bread pudding with summer berries! It's a great, simple treat for summer, and quick and easy to make! I used Portuguese sweet buns from a local bakery. Croissants would also work well with this recipe.

Summer Berry Bread Pudding (Makes 1 9x13" pan)
Portuguese Sweet Buns (enough to overfill a 9x13" pan)
1 cup Milk
1 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Dried Orange Peel
1/2 tsp Dried Lemon Peel
9 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
Berries (Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Slice the bread into large cubes.
3. In a pot, heat milk, cream, ginger, cinnamon, lemon peel, and orange peel to a boil.
4. In the meantime, whisk eggs, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl.
5. Once the milk comes to a boil, remove from heat and gently pour into the bowl with the eggs, whisking the eggs the entire time.
6. Once incorporated, add the bread into the bowl and move the bread around to soak in the mixture.
7. Put the bread into the casserole dish after it has soaked slightly. As you do this, place sliced berries throughout.
8. Pour any remaining batter over the bread, and place into the oven. You do not want berries to exposed at the top because they may burn.
9. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the bread pudding is set.
10. Remove from oven and serve warm.

I like to serve this bread pudding with a scoop of delicious ice cream :) The ice cream will melt slightly, creating a cream that soaks into the bread pudding. It's a refreshing, comforting summer dessert!

Stay tuned for my goodbye Providence post on Sunday! I will do my best to be on time!

Strawberry Champagne Macarons

These macarons are luxurious, flavorful, and colorful. The bright pink is perfect for springtime! Sadly, I was preparing these on a rainy day... The humidity affected the rise, so the macarons didn't have a great foot. Try to prepare these on a dry day so that the shell does not crack, and the food will form nicely.

When making these macarons, be sure to make the ganache and jam at least 4 hours before you make the shell. I made mine the day before so that the flavors would have plenty of time to develop.

Strawberry Champagne Macarons (Makes about 20 Macarons)
Shells
100g Almond Flour
120 g Confectioner's Sugar
50 g Granulated Sugar
70 g Egg Whites (2 large whites)
1/2 tsp Red Gel Food Coloring

1. Pulse almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor until very finely ground. Be careful not to grind too long, because it will release all of the oils, ruining your final product.
2. Sift the powder with a medium-mesh sieve.
3. Place the particles that are too large to fit through the sieve back into the food processor, pulse, and sift again. Throw out the excess pieces.
4. In a grease-free bowl, place your egg whites and sugar. Allow to sit for a few minutes to begin to dissolve.
5. Use grease-free beaters on high speed to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
6. As the meringue reaches stiff peaks, add food coloring until you reach the desired color.
7 Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until the batter moves slowly, like lava. If you run your spatula through it, it should fall together after 5-7 seconds.
8. Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (3/8 inch). 
9. Pipe rounds that are about an inch apart onto a nonstick baking mat (silpat) that is placed onto a cookie sheet. 
10. Do this by holding the bag straight up about half an inch above the silpat, applying pressure to the bag until about 1 inch in diameter, stopping pressure, and then removing by moving hand in a very small circular motion to release the tip from the macaron shell. Make sure there is enough space to spread.
11. Rap your cookie sheet/sheet pan on the table a few times to make sure there are no bumps on the macaron shells.
12. Let rest until dry to the touch (about 30-45 minutes, longer on rainy days).
13. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. If you have a convection oven, use convection.
14. Bake macaron shells on the second shelf of the oven for 14-17 minutes, until they do not wiggle when nudged.
15. Remove from oven and allow shells to cool completely before removing from the silpat.

Champagne Ganache
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Champagne
8 oz White Chocolate

1. Place white chocolate into a bowl.
2. Heat the champagne and heavy cream until they boil.
3. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate. Gently stir until combined.
4. Cover the ganache with a piece of plastic wrap. Allow the wrap to touch the surface of the ganache so a film does not develop.
5. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
6. Then, whip the ganache on high speed until it thickens and holds peaks.

Strawberry Champagne Jam
8 oz Strawberries
1/4 cup Champagne
3 tbsp Sugar

1. Place the ingredients into a small pot.
2. Cook on low heat until the mixture becomes thick and pasty.
3. You want to be sure that almost all of the moisture is cooked out. When that happens, remove from heat and transfer to a container to cool. 

Assembly
1. Pair the shells by size. You should have about 20 pairs of shells.
2. On the surface of the bottom of the shell, place a small pinch of jam in the center. It should be enough for a small surprise. 
3. Put the ganache into a piping bag with the same tip that you used to pipe the macarons.
4. Pipe the ganache so that it is covering about 1/2 of the surface of the bottom of the shell.
5. Put the pairs together to create a "sandwich". 
6. Place in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to develop.
7. Let the macarons come to room temperature before you serve them.

These macarons are the perfect gift for Mother's Day, Easter, or any springtime celebration. I hope everyone had a wonderful, restful Easter. 

Lemon and Strawberry Button Cookies

During culinary school, I took a class where we made bite size desserts. Petit fours are generally one bite, and are often served for high tea. These cookies are generally made with a plain short dough and are called harlequin cookies. Harlequin doesn't really sound very appetizing, so I don't refer to them as that. These cookies are cute little buttons and are simple to make!

Instead of using a regular short dough, I gave it a twist with a lemon shortbread. The tangy lemon compliments the sweet strawberry for a perfect balance!

Lemon and Strawberry Button Cookies (makes 24 cookies)
1 stick Butter, softened
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Egg Yolks
1 tsp Salt
1 1/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Strawberry Jam 
3 tbsp Powdered Sugar

1. Cream butter and sugar together with lemon juice using an electric mixer. The mixture should be well incorporated, and there shouldn't be any lumps of butter.
2. Add the egg yolks and mix to incorporate.
3. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed until mostly incorporated. Use your hands to incorporate the flour fully.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap in a flat rectangle. Making this shape will make rolling it out much simpler.
5. Place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick.
8. Cut out 1"x1" squares. You can do this by using the width of a ruler as a guide/straightedge to cut the dough with a paring knife. If the dough is not cold, the squares will not keep the shape well as you cut.
9. Any scrap pieces can be re-rolled and re-cut.
10. Punch button-holes onto half of the unbaked cookies. I used an icing tip to do this.
11. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the dough is set. These cookies should not have much color on them. When they are done, you can press the cookie gently, and it shouldn't be too soft. The bottom of the cookie will also become golden brown.
12. Allow the cookies to cool completely. In the meantime, if the jam has strawberry pieces in it, you should push it through a medium mesh sieve so that the pieces do not block the piping tip.
13. Put a small sized round tip (about 1/4" in diameter) into a piping bag (or a ziploc bag) and then pour the jam into the bag.
14. Match plain squares with squares with holes on the top. Do not invert the plain squares when you fill them. Piping jam on the top ensures that the cookie will lay flat.
15. Pipe the jam onto the cookie. You should only put about a dime sized circle.
16. Sift a small amount of powdered sugar over the tops of the cookies to give them a light dusting.
17. Sandwich the tops onto the bottoms of the cookies, being careful to not touch the powdered sugar on top.
18. Apply a little pressure so that the jam comes through the holes of the top cookie.

These cookies can be made into any shape, but I would recommend maintaining a similar size. These cookies are meant to be bite-size, so that jam doesn't ooze out of the sides.

These are great for any springtime tea party! With Easter celebrations drawing closer, this is a great way to enjoy the flavors of spring and share with loved ones :)