tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73893802024-03-14T05:12:07.149-03:00Jacki's Bento BlogJackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-42276290380526860642009-11-03T19:31:00.003-04:002009-11-04T19:35:22.445-04:00November 3rd Bento LunchI love Chinatown.<br /><br />It's definitely in my top five favorite things about living in Toronto.<br /><br />BF and I went there this weekend and bought homemade dumplings from a dumpling shop, homemade barbecue pork pastries from a Chinese bakery and all kinds of yummy produce.<br /><br />So, I figured that calls for a bento!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SvC9b-BCymI/AAAAAAAAA5A/RFeyztrFimw/s1600-h/BentoNov3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SvC9b-BCymI/AAAAAAAAA5A/RFeyztrFimw/s400/BentoNov3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400024241418717794" border="0" /></a>My lunch today consisted of one barbecue pork pastry (my favorite food in the world) cut in half, three gyoza, fried then steamed, and veggies consisting of steamed broccoli, asparagus and lotus root slices (boiled with a little water, sugar and vinegar). For some fruit, I packed pomegranate seeds, raspberries and persimmons. I also included a little sauce bottle filled half and half with soy sauce and rice vinegar for the gyoza.<br /><br />This lunch was a little heavy on the fried foods and a little light on protein, but it's what I was in the mood for, so it's all good. It was probably one of the most delicious bento lunches I've made. There were lots of great textures with the crunch of the lotus root and pomegranate seeds, the softness of the pork and dumplings and the smooth sweetness of the persimmons. I'm tempted to have the same thing for supper!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Edited on November 4th to Add:</span><br /><br />Hello again!<br /><br />I enjoyed yesterday's lunch so much that I decided to make it again today. I guess that practice makes perfect because I thought it turned out much cuter than yesterday's. So much so that I decided to show it to you.<br /><br />Here it is:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SvIO2LuO9jI/AAAAAAAAA5I/5Qb5VQJO2Z4/s1600-h/BentoNov4.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SvIO2LuO9jI/AAAAAAAAA5I/5Qb5VQJO2Z4/s400/BentoNov4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400395227193079346" border="0" /></a>The only changes I made were to add a few carrot flowers and I switched out the sauce bottle for a panda one because my other bottle developed a leak.<br /><br />Much better!Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-7293373089167384102009-10-09T22:10:00.002-03:002009-10-09T22:35:38.041-03:00And The Winner Is.......<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Ss_fPJnlA4I/AAAAAAAAA4I/Fl9NU5bDNcQ/s1600-h/random.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 204px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Ss_fPJnlA4I/AAAAAAAAA4I/Fl9NU5bDNcQ/s400/random.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390772730358727554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BentoBeginner!!!</span></span><br /><br />BentoBeginner of <a href="http://bentoforbeginners.blogspot.com/">http://bentoforbeginners.blogspot.com/</a>, lover of cute shaped onigiri, picked the same number as the random generator so she is the recipient of the free book!<br /><br />Congratulations BentoBeginner! If you could please email me your mailing address (my email is jackisbentoATgmail.com), I will see that it gets to you.<br /><br />Thank you, everyone, for your participation. I truly enjoyed reading all of your wonderful comments<br /><br />I have to say that I was really touched by how many of you said you were happy to see me back. I want to apologize for not posting more frequently. This has been a year full of changes for me and making bento lunches kind of fell off my radar for a bit, mainly because I took quite a bit of time of work so there was no need to pack lunches. BF and I decided we needed a fresh start so we tossed all of our stuff in a U-haul and drove for two days until we hit Toronto. That was two months ago, and for the first month I barely had a kitchen to cook in! I seriously suffered from cute food withdrawl, although it was a good opportunity to explore the cupcake shops in my new neighbourhood.<br /><br />I'm back at work now, and while I do expect I will pack a lunch sometimes, I'm in a fortunate position where I'm able to come home for lunch, so I'm not sure yet whether I will be able to update as often as I used to. But on the plus side, there are much better resources where I'm living now for different ethnic foods, which I find so exciting! Although I'm still trying to locate a place to buy bento supplies in Toronto. If you have any leads, let me know!<br /><br />So that's where I'm at right now. This weekend I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner (My first turkey! Eep!) so I will be putting together a batch of <a href="http://jackiw.blogspot.com/2008/10/thanksgiving-turkey-cupcakes.html">turkey cupcakes</a>. On one of his many travels, BF found me a bottle of root beer extract, so I'm going to try to make root beer cupcakes! I'm pretty excited by this prospect. If they turn out any good, I will share the recipe for sure!<br /></p>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-57721097530677295762009-10-02T17:43:00.003-03:002009-10-02T18:42:28.812-03:00Book Review + Free Give Away! Book Title: Cute Yummy TimeLa Carmina, author of the new book <span style="font-style: italic;">Cute Yummy Time</span>, offered to send me a copy of her book to review. I love any opportunity to check out some new, cute foods so I was happy to oblige, but I couldn't forget about you guys! So I asked if she would send a copy to one of you as well and she said sure!<br /><br />Here is my review, and at the bottom of this post are the instructions for what you need to do to enter the very first giveaway contest here at Jacki's Bento Blog.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SsZmbk1Rs0I/AAAAAAAAA34/bG2eKeX62nY/s1600-h/cute+yummy+time.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 395px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SsZmbk1Rs0I/AAAAAAAAA34/bG2eKeX62nY/s400/cute+yummy+time.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388106628125012802" border="0" /></a>I love that the art of the bento lunch is becoming more and more popular here in North America because as anything grows in popularity, more information becomes available on the subject. When I started making bento lunches about two years ago, it felt like although there were great English books available about Japanese cooking, and even specifically with bento recipes, all of the <span style="font-style: italic;">kawaii</span> bento books were in Japanese. To find the really cute stuff, I resorted to attempting to mimic things I saw on Japanese language blogs.<br /><br />But it seems that over the past few years, more and more books have been entering the North American market that specifically focus on the cute, artistic elements of bento lunches. While this is a good thing, most of the ones I have read have had lots of great artwork, but not the clear instruction I was looking for<span style="font-style: italic;">,</span> this is the niche that <span style="font-style: italic;">Cute Yummy Time</span> attempts to fill.<br /><br />The book contains 70 recipes for cute foods. Each has its own two page spread that contains an ingredient list, detailed instructions and coloured photographs. Although the pictures only show the end result (there are no step by step pictures), after reading through this book I feel confident that I can recreate any of the recipes and designs. They all seem really straight forward and use ingredients that I can pick up at my regular chain grocery store, no trip to the Asian grocery store is necessary.<br /><br />I believe the author is a very creative person as there are ideas in here that I've never seen before, and I spend a lot of time looking at people's pictures of bento lunches! There are little things I never thought of, like using my nori punches to make shapes out of spinach, and there are lots of foods I've never thought of trying to make cute before (I can't wait to try her recipe for piggy bread!). Some of the recipes are very clever, like her Puffin Sushi, a<span style="font-style: italic;"> maki</span> sushi roll where the slices look like puffin heads.<br /><br />The healthiness of all of the recipes really impressed me. She uses whole grains, high antioxidant foods, low fat dairy products, natural sweeteners and lots of fresh produce in her recipes. The recipes are all from scratch, right down to things like doughs and soups. The meals are smartly balanced, for example her recipe for Panda Tofu Soba. It has lots of lean protein in the tofu, soba noodles for carbs and lots of brightly coloured, fresh vegetables. It's perfectly healthy and balanced meal, and it's just adorable.<br /><br />That said, half of the book, called the "To Go" section, contains recipes that are not portable and therefore not suitable for bento lunches, although you will find lots of great ways to make a cute breakfast. Many of them also require special bento equipment such as animal shaped cutters, and ice cream sandwich molds. A lot of people have these already, but I know there are also those who have a hard time getting ahold of these things.<br /><br />My only criticism of the book is that for a few of the recipes, it's difficult to identify exactly what animal I'm looking at. I was excited to see a recipe for Hedge Pork Loin because I adore hedgehogs. When I saw the picture, however, it didn't really look like a hedgehog to me, so I won't be making it. But some of them, like the Polar Bear meringues, are spot on.<br /><br />All in all, I like the book and will definitely be trying some recipes from it. It's well put together, easy to understand and none of the recipes appear to be overly complicated or time consuming. Everything looks yummy and they will definitely add some cuteness to our meals.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Book Giveaway Contest Rules:</span> To enter, leave a comment on this post that tells me your favorite cute food to pack in your lunch. Mine? Checkerboard cut apple slices.<br /><br />The cutoff is Midnight (Eastern Time) on Thursday, October 8th. On Friday, I will select a winner using a random number generator. So if the random number generator picks 6 and your comment is the sixth one, you win! I suggest that you include a way for me to contact you in your comment (for example, through your blogger account if you have one or by posting your email address). Otherwise, I will post the name of the winner on my blog next Friday and they can contact me through my email address which I will post at that time as well.<br /><br />Limit of one entry per person.Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-81997749009769778342009-07-11T19:41:00.010-03:002009-07-12T11:25:53.589-03:00My Picks for UFC 100. In Cupcake Form of Course!Is anyone else excited for UFC 100?? I have been anticipating the rematch between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir for months and months and months!!!<br /><br />BF is rooting for Mir. I'm a diehard Lesnar fanatic. So I decided this time to let the cupcakes do the talking!! As always, just click on the picture for a closer look.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlkZLglW8rI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/p50-Fj5IZnk/s1600-h/UFC+Cupcakes+all.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 205px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlkZLglW8rI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/p50-Fj5IZnk/s400/UFC+Cupcakes+all.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357340917249798834" border="0" /></a><br />They turned out awesome, but it was a long time getting here. First I made a batch of Chocolate Raspberry cupcakes, using the recipe from the book <span style="font-style: italic;">Crazy About Cupcakes.</span><br /><br />They were by far the worst cupcakes I've ever made. I was so disappointed. Usually the recipes in this book are really good, but this one was the exception I guess. While I was mixing the batter I fell in love. There were so many fabulous ingredients, like cocoa, raspberries, sour cream and toasted almonds. The batter was so soft and luxurious, I had never made anything like it.<br /><br />Into the oven they went and when they came out, they had hardly risen at all. As they cooled, the centers sunk into the middles of the cupcakes and the cupcakes pulled away from the liners. The taste was awful. They were gritty, and tasted like unsweetened cocoa despite the 1 1/2 cups of sugar in them. I was so sad. I almost gave up.<br /><br />Then BF brought me a brand new stick of butter, a bag of sugar and a carton of eggs, gave me a kiss and asked me to try again. I found a jar of cherries in the fridge and made a batch of my tried and true <a href="http://jackiw.blogspot.com/2008/09/cherry-and-almond-cupcakes.html">cherry cupcakes</a>. Perfect. I topped them with swirls of chocolate buttercream and popped my fondant decorations on top.<br /><br />I'm especially pleased with how my fondant rendition of Mir turned out. This was the first time I've ever made a face out of fondant, I'm more of a flower person to be sure. Here he is in real life and in beaten up fondant form:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlkY8AvpNkI/AAAAAAAAA0I/KqmXgQyzbeY/s1600-h/MIR.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 221px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlkY8AvpNkI/AAAAAAAAA0I/KqmXgQyzbeY/s400/MIR.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357340651004966466" border="0" /></a><br />I cut out all of the pieces (except the letters) freehand. I was a little stumped with how to make his hair look textured, and ended up using the rough edges that occur naturally when you roll out the fondant. I think they turned out great.<br /><br />BF was very unhappy with this cupcake.<br /><br />So we've got cupcakes and I made a batch of <a href="http://jacki2.blogspot.com/2009/02/greatest-pulled-pork-recipe-of-all.html">pulled pork</a> for sandwiches for the party tonight.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesnar, GSP, Henderson, don't let me down!!!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Post Fight Thoughts:</span> Hey, all three of my guys won! Maybe my cupcakes are lucky? Now if only the Atlantic Lotto Commission would extend their sports betting to include the UFC, lol.Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-7584096295143361272009-07-08T13:21:00.003-03:002009-07-08T14:08:27.540-03:00Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes! With Recipes!Oh, these were too much fun to make!!<br /><br />I know I'm a couple weeks late, but these were actually Father's Day cupcakes, I just wasn't able to get together with my dad on the actual holiday (his work sent him to Australia, how awesome is that?). My Dad has a definite silly side, so I thought he would appreciate some cupcakes in disguise. When I saw this idea for spaghetti and meatball cupcakes in the book <span style="font-style: italic;">Hello, Cupcake!</span> I knew it would be perfect!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlTHv3t9x7I/AAAAAAAAAz4/hewEmXxr-TA/s1600-h/spaghetti+cupcakes+close.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlTHv3t9x7I/AAAAAAAAAz4/hewEmXxr-TA/s400/spaghetti+cupcakes+close.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356125482074884018" border="0" /></a>They really look like spaghetti, don't they?<br /><br />I loved the concept of these cupcakes, but the actual recipe in the book includes more premade ingredients than I am comfortable using in my baking, so I made everything (except for the meatballs!) from scratch. I made peach cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting, strawberry sauce and Ferrero Rocher chocolates. If you've never had a Ferrero Rocher, I have to say they are probably my favorite chocolate that you can buy at the drugstore. Starting from the center and working out, they consist of a hazelnut in the core, surrounded by chocolate hazelnut cream, a thin chocolate wafer shell, and a chocolate and crushed hazelnut coating on the outside. Just the perfect combination of crunchy and smooth. So decadent! Their size, colour and outer texture make them perfect fake meatballs.<br /><br />Here are my recipes and the assembly instructions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipe: Peach Cupcakes<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><br />Ingredients:</span><br /><ul><li>1/2 cup butter, room temperature</li><li>1 cup sugar</li><li>2 large eggs, room temperature</li><li>1 tsp vanilla<br /></li><li>1 1/2 cups flour</li><li>1 tsp baking powder</li><li>1/2 tsp salt</li><li>1/3 cup milk</li><li>1 large can of peach slices</li></ul>Drain peaches. Cut slices in half lengthwise and then into small pieces crosswise until you have 1 1/2 cups of peach pieces. Set aside.<br /><br />Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a full minute after each addition. Add vanilla.<br /><br />In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to the cream mixture, alternating with the milk and mixing after each addition. Mix for an additional two minutes after all the dry ingredients and milk have been added so that the batter is nice and fluffy. Gently fold in peaches.<br /><br />Bake at 350 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes until cupcakes test done with a toothpick. Allow to cool completely before decorating.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipe: Vanilla Buttercream frosting (Spaghetti colour)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients<br /></span><ul><li>1/2 cup butter, room temperature</li><li>1/2 cup shortening</li><li>1 tsp vanilla</li><li>2 to 3 Tbsp milk</li><li>4 cups icing sugar</li><li>1/2 tsp cocoa<br /></li><li>small amount of yellow icing colour (only use a tiny bit, we want the frosting to be more of an off-white than a bright yellow)<br /></li></ul>Beat butter and shortening together for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix. Add icing sugar about 1 cup at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Add cocoa and icing colour and mix until colour is uniform. Add milk 1 Tbsp at a time until the frosting reaches the proper consistency.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipe: Strawberry sauce<br /><br />Ingredients</span><br /><ul><li>1 pint of fresh strawberries, halved<br /></li><li>1/3 cup sugar</li><li>1 tsp lemon juice</li><li>2 Tbsp water</li><li>1 Tbsp cornstarch</li><li>1 Tbsp water<br /></li></ul>Combine the first four ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened somewhat.<br /><br />Allow the sauce to cool and then puree in a blender or food processor. Return the sauce to the saucepan and return to a gentle boil. Combine cornstarch and remaining water in a separate bowl. Slowly pour into the strawberry mixture, stirring the sauce as you pour. Continue to cook the sauce for another minute or two until it has thickened. Allow to cool completely before using it on the cupcakes.<br /><br /><br />Now, time to put it all together! (this is the easy part)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipe: Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients<br /></span><ul><li>24 cupcakes</li><li>1 batch of vanilla buttercream frosting, spaghetti colour</li><li>1 batch of strawberry sauce<br /></li><li>24 Ferrero Rocher chocolates</li><li>1/2 ounce white chocolate, finely grated</li></ul>Using a spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting on each cupcake. Arrange cupcakes in a rectangle on the dish you want to serve them on.<br /><br />Place remaining frosting in an icing bag with a #5 tip (alternately you can just cut 1/8" off of the tip of a disposable bag. I don't use this method because I find it puts a seam in the icing from the seam in the bag).<br /><br />Squeeze out the icing on to the cupcakes sort of randomly, making sure to cover all of the areas (including the gaps between the cupcakes), so that there is spaghetti icing mounded on top of each cupcake and draping down the sides a little bit.<br /><br />Coat each chocolate with strawberry sauce. The thinner the coat of sauce, the better because it allows you to see the texture of the meatball better. Set aside.<br /><br />Take the remaining sauce and gently spoon it onto each cupcake, making sure not to deform the 'noodles'. Again, a thinner coat is better. I recommend putting a little bit of sauce in the center of each cupcake and gently working it over to connect to the other cupcakes using the back of a spoon, adding more sauce where required.<br /><br />Place a chocolate in the center of each cupcake and sprinkle some of the white chocolate on top of each cupcake. You're all done!<br /><br /><br />Here are a dozen packed in a foil tray ready to be taken to my Dad's house.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlTHvrY7-4I/AAAAAAAAAzw/isddvfX9IHQ/s1600-h/spaghetti+cupcakes+all.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlTHvrY7-4I/AAAAAAAAAzw/isddvfX9IHQ/s400/spaghetti+cupcakes+all.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356125478765460354" border="0" /></a>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-76238505633566158672009-07-07T14:58:00.002-03:002009-07-07T15:40:54.542-03:00New Bento Book! And my bento lunches are in it!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlOOb3-RNjI/AAAAAAAAAzo/I5lG17qmvqw/s1600-h/Cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SlOOb3-RNjI/AAAAAAAAAzo/I5lG17qmvqw/s400/Cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355780991406388786" border="0" /></a>I'm too excited!!<br /><br />The photos and recipes for some of my bento lunches have been included in this brand new book called <a href="http://www.graffitobooks.com/bentobox.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">501 Bento Box Lunches</span></a>. I've known about it for a while, but I was waiting until I actually had the book in my hand before I was ready to tell everyone.<br /><br />When I first sent my photos and recipes to the publisher (twenty of which have been included in the book) and she told me she was compiling a collection of 500, I couldn't even begin to imagine the work that would go into organizing all of that information. But somehow, she pulled it off! There are pages and pages of recipes, and pictures of each and every bento lunch. It's all compacted into a neat little package. Like many of the bento boxes I've ordered online, the book was smaller than I expected but it's exactly the size it needs to be to include all of the information.<br /><br />If you want to check it out, I've included links to some sample pages below (with the publisher's permission of course). I've also included it in the list of my favorite bento cookbooks in the left column of this blog so that you can link to its listing on Amazon.<br /><br />I love this book and I'm not just saying that because I'm affiliated. I think it is an amazing source of inspiration and I can only turn a few pages before I see something new I want to try. I don't think it's a great beginner book, as it doesn't cover off a lot of the basics of bento making (like how to make onigiri, ratios of rice to meat to veg content, speed tips, etc.) but if you ever need a place to go for new ideas, this book is the best one I've seen.<br /><br />Here are the links to the sample pages:<br /><br /><a href="http://jbbfiles.googlegroups.com/web/p18-19.pdf?gsc=xjYwXRYAAADyXYuGYXhytq3g9k6jzIPBCtpUPP_jsdbKMm7AevvFgA">Pages 18 - 19</a><br /><a href="http://jbbfiles.googlegroups.com/web/p80-81.pdf?gsc=xjYwXRYAAADyXYuGYXhytq3g9k6jzIPBCtpUPP_jsdbKMm7AevvFgA">Pages 80 - 81</a><br /><a href="http://jbbfiles.googlegroups.com/web/p94-95.pdf?gsc=xjYwXRYAAADyXYuGYXhytq3g9k6jzIPBCtpUPP_jsdbKMm7AevvFgA">Pages 94 -95</a><br /><a href="http://jbbfiles.googlegroups.com/web/p126-127.pdf?gsc=xjYwXRYAAADyXYuGYXhytq3g9k6jzIPBCtpUPP_jsdbKMm7AevvFgA">Pages 126 to 127</a>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-92123687525177670702009-05-30T23:22:00.002-03:002009-05-30T23:52:11.030-03:00Butterfly Fondant Cupcake ToppersAfter the <a href="http://jacki2.blogspot.com/2009/05/wilton-course-3-final-cake.html">rose cake</a> I made earlier this week<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>, I had all kinds of marshmallow fondant left over. My grandmother said that she had never had a fondant covered cake before, so I decided to make some fondant cupcakes just for her.<br /><br />This is my first foray into the world of fondant cupcake toppers and I am really pleased with how they turned out (although there is always room for improvement of course!).<br /><br />The cupcakes are plain chocolate with chocolate buttercream and marshmallow fondant toppers. The recipe for the fondant can be found <a href="http://jacki2.blogspot.com/2009/05/wilton-course-3-my-first-fondant.html">here</a> and the recipe for the cake is <a href="http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=4608&page=1&per=25&keyword=chocolate%20cake#content_area">here</a> (it's the one on the side of a can of Hershey's cocoa. Such an amazing cake recipe! And great when you don't have any butter on hand). The design for the toppers was based on some cupcakes I had seen on Flickr earlier this week, so I can't take the credit for that.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SiHqBHAIMqI/AAAAAAAAAzY/_ENruUomj_8/s1600-h/FondantCupcakes3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 385px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SiHqBHAIMqI/AAAAAAAAAzY/_ENruUomj_8/s400/FondantCupcakes3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341807937818473122" border="0" /></a>I already had lots of blue and white fondant left over from the cake, so I just needed to make some pink by kneading in some colour (I used Wilton Aster Mauve icing colour) with some of the white fondant.<br /><br />I made the butterflies and the flowers ahead of time, using three different sized blossom cutters and a butterfly cutter (all Wilton) and allowed them to dry overnight so that they would hold their shape. For the butterflies, I left them to dry in folded pieces of cardboard lined with wax paper, laying the center of the butterfly in the crease of the cardboard so that it would dry in the correct shape with its wings angled up. For the larger flowers (although they're all quite small), I first used a small ball tool to made a round dent in each of the petals and then a large ball tool quickly pressed in the center of the flower to give the blossom an overall rounded shape. For each of the two smaller flowers, I used the small ball tool in the center of the flowers. I dried the flowers in Wilton <a href="http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30D6BC-475A-BAC0-52D7BCD556CBFD28&killnav=1">flower formers</a>.<br /><br />This morning when I made the cupcakes, I assembled the toppers as the cupcakes cooled after coming out of the oven. The first step was to roll out the blue fondant to a little less than a quarter inch thickness and punch out circles the size of the cupcakes. Next I piped on the most of the green frosting, starting with a dot in the center to anchor the butterfly (using tip #12) followed by the vines piped with tip #3. Then I placed the butterflies and flowers on the cupcakes, secured by the buttercream and finished off the vines by piping some leaves on them using tip #352 (I love this tip!! It makes gorgeous leaves of all sizes so easily). The last step was to pipe little yellow dots in the center of each of the flowers and then the body of the butterfly, all using a #2 tip.<br /><br />Once I got going, I was able to make thirty toppers fairly quickly. I think they look quite nice for how little work they were. After the toppers were complete, I frosted the cupcakes and gently placed a topper on each one. The frosting holds it in place.<br /><br />I brought some over to my mother's house for Nanny to try and she liked them, so I call that a success. Most of the rest of them will be accompanying BF to his scuba class tomorrow. As of tomorrow afternoon he will be a certified rescue diver! I am so proud of him (not to mention happy that if I get in trouble when I'm learning to dive this summer, he will be able to rescue me, lol)<br /><br />I can't wait to try this technique again. I think I need to work on getting the edges of the toppers to line up properly with the edges of the cupcakes as you can still see parts of the wrapper when you look at the cupcakes top-down. Suggestions welcome as always!<br /><br />And here is another picture of my army of butterflies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SiHqCICBXcI/AAAAAAAAAzg/QfNAJb3BAhU/s1600-h/FondantCupcakes1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SiHqCICBXcI/AAAAAAAAAzg/QfNAJb3BAhU/s400/FondantCupcakes1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341807955274718658" border="0" /></a>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-67690545192751825562009-04-26T18:42:00.002-03:002009-04-26T18:52:05.772-03:00Earth Day CupcakesToday BF and I connected with a bunch of his scuba diving buddies and celebrated Earth Day with a good old fashioned beach cleanup. Of course, I made cupcakes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SfTVgtm7jDI/AAAAAAAAAyg/v5Uz0TmHJKY/s1600-h/EarthDayCupcakes.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 377px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SfTVgtm7jDI/AAAAAAAAAyg/v5Uz0TmHJKY/s400/EarthDayCupcakes.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329119017061551154" border="0" /></a>I thought they turned out pretty cute. The cupcakes are cherry flavoured with almond buttercream (The recipes are on one of my previous posts, <a href="http://jackiw.blogspot.com/2008/09/cherry-and-almond-cupcakes.html">here</a>). As usual, when baking for people I don't know well, I went with a tried and true recipe that has gotten good reviews in the past.<br /><br />To keep with the Earth Day theme, I swirled the icing by colouring half of it leaf green and the other half sky blue (nice nature colours!) and filling the pastry bag with half of each (one on each side of the bag). In the center of each, I placed a foil-covered chocolate planet Earth. I picked these up at a local candy store (Sweet Janes near Spring Garden Road for all of you Haligonians out there) and did my best to match the frosting colours to them. The frosting was piped with a 1M tip as usual.<br /><br />Everyone really liked them and there were none left to bring home, so I think that counts as a success!Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-35183475632074578822009-04-10T22:28:00.004-03:002009-04-10T22:50:14.447-03:00Easter Bunny Mango and Coconut Cupcakes RecipeIt's BF's birthday tomorrow!!!<br /><br />And it just so happened that his birthday fell on Easter weekend this year, so that means Easter themed cupcakes!<br /><br />Since it's his birthday, I let BF pick the flavour of the cupcakes and he decided on mango. I saw <a href="http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/bakers-bunny-chocolate-cupcakes-109500.aspx">this</a> idea for Easter bunny cupcakes on the Kraft website and I thought they were too cute so I decided to do something similar. Instead of marshmallow bunnies I used these adorable belgian chocolate bunnies that I found. They are wonderfully detailed with cute little faces. I fell in love as soon as I saw them. Each bunny sits on a bed of grass (just mix 1 tsp water with some green food colouring, throw it in a ziplock bag with some shredded coconut and shake!) and is watching over a couple of the tiniest Easter eggs I've ever seen (Cadbury Micro Mini Eggs).<br /><br />When they were finished I thought they looked like a little army of bunnies. BF approved.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Sd_ydcf32XI/AAAAAAAAAyY/Zl-wBP7q4y0/s1600-h/BunnyCupcakesAll.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323239872255220082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 282px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Sd_ydcf32XI/AAAAAAAAAyY/Zl-wBP7q4y0/s400/BunnyCupcakesAll.JPG" border="0" /></a> Here's the recipe:<br /><br /><strong>Mango Cupcakes </strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature<br />1 1/2 cups sugar<br />4 eggs, separated and at room temperature<br />2 tsp vanilla<br />3 cups flour<br />4 tsp baking powder<br />1/2 tsp salt<br />1 cup mango puree (it comes in a can)<br />1 mango, peeled and diced finely<br /><br />Recipe makes about 3 dozen cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins.<br /><br />In a large bowl, cream butter on medium speed for about a minute. Slowly pour in sugar and beat for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Add yolks, two at a time, beating for a full minute after each addition.<br /><br />In a second bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture in three additions, alternating with the mango puree.<br /><br />In a third bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the batter.<br /><br />Fold in diced mango pieces. Fill cupcake cups 2/3 full and bake for 22 to 25 minutes until tests done with a toothpick. Allow to cool before frosting.<br /><br />I topped these cupcakes with coconut buttercream, the recipe for which I previously posted <a href="http://jackiw.blogspot.com/2009/02/coconut-cupcakes-recipe.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Sd_yXbE0NyI/AAAAAAAAAyI/pk52rpQ2Fjw/s1600-h/BunnyCupcakesFew.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323239768794085154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 265px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Sd_yXbE0NyI/AAAAAAAAAyI/pk52rpQ2Fjw/s400/BunnyCupcakesFew.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-74856838767829209412009-04-10T22:10:00.003-03:002009-04-10T22:28:15.165-03:00Easter Basket Cheesecake CupcakesThese cupcakes were also inspired by the Kraft website. I had never made cheesecake cupcakes before and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it. Because the cheesecake doesn't rise and puff up like a regular cake, they don't quite reach the top of the cupcake cup, leaving ample room to fill them with Easter goodies.<br /><br />I think that no cheesecake is complete without a crust, so I started with a vanilla wafer crumb crust topped with vanilla cheesecake. Once that had was finished baking, I allowed the cakes to cool completely and then refrigerated them. I finished them off with a chocolate topping and basket decorations made from shredded coconut, green shoelace licorice and jelly beans. They turned out wonderfully rich and decadent, I can't wait to serve them at BF's birthday party tomorrow!<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Sd_uOljqINI/AAAAAAAAAx4/QOvNXC4hs-4/s1600-h/BasketCupcakesAll.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323235218942468306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 277px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Sd_uOljqINI/AAAAAAAAAx4/QOvNXC4hs-4/s400/BasketCupcakesAll.JPG" border="0" /></a> Here are the recipes. Makes approximately 20 cupcakes.<br /><br /><strong>Recipe: Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />1/3 cup butter<br />1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs<br /><br />Melt butter. Mix with crumbs until fully combined. Spoon 1 Tbsp of the crumb mixture in each muffin cup. Firmly press the crumbs into the base of the cups using the back of a spoon. Be sure the crust reaches out to the edges of the bottom of the cup.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Recipe: Vanilla Cheesecake</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />3/4 cup sour cream<br />2 8oz packages of cream cheese<br />1/2 cup sugar<br />1/2 tsp vanilla<br />1 Tbsp flour<br />2 eggs<br /><br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees.<br /><br />Place sour cream in mixing bowl and beat for a few seconds until fluffy. Add cream cheese and continue to beat until evenly combined and fluffy. Add sugar, vanilla and flour and mix until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed just until combined.<br /><br />Spoon into muffin cups on top of the vanilla wafer crumb crust, so that muffin cups are 3/4 full. Bake for 22 -25 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for about an hour.<br /><br /><strong>Recipe: Chocolate Topping</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />5 oz semisweet chocolate (5 squares)<br />1/2 cup sour cream<br /><br />Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Place a thin layer of the chocolate on top of each cupcake using the back of a spoon (to avoid getting chocolate on the paper wrapper).<br /><br />Take a 4" length of shoelace licorice and press each end through the cheese cake about 2mm from the edge of the cake, forming the handle of the basket. Sprinkle the cupcake with coconut and place a few candies in the center of the cupcake.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323235222361497538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 307px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Sd_uOyS0X8I/AAAAAAAAAyA/Z1FJkkqbkyI/s400/BasketCupcakes1.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-85695436289852059642009-02-26T11:50:00.004-04:002009-02-26T12:49:05.941-04:00Coconut Cupcakes RecipeOnce in a while, something will come out of my kitchen that truly amazes me.<br /><br />These coconut cupcakes definitely qualify.<br /><br />I was inspired to make these by an episode of <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/coconut-cake-with-7-minute-frosting-recipe/index.html">Good Eats</a>. The talented Alton Brown was on a quest to make the perfect coconut cake, and I was so intrigued by his recipe, that I had to try it out.<br /><br />There were two reasons I wanted to try out this recipe.<br /><ul><li>It uses not one, not two, not three but <strong>four</strong> different forms of coconut</li><li>I get so excited when I see a recipe that uses a fresh ingredient where I've always been using ready made ingredients, in this case shredded coconut. I've always used the dessicated kind that you buy in a bag so I was stoked to try to take a whole coconut and make it into a bowl full of perfect shreds of fresh coconut.</li></ul>Lastly, I'll say that I was extremely tempted to add pineapple flavour to these. It took all of my self control to just allow them to be plain coconut flavoured, without so much as a hint of vanilla. And am I ever glad! They turned out light and fluffy with the most exquisite coconut flavour I've ever experienced. The light, airy texture of the cupcakes meant that too much frosting could overpower them, so rather than pipe a big swirl, I just spread the frosting with a spatula and then flipped them upside down and dipped them in a bowl of the fresh, shredded coconut.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Saa6bHswKdI/AAAAAAAAAxw/USJBKwRipRw/s1600-h/coconutcupcakes.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307134185988696530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 365px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/Saa6bHswKdI/AAAAAAAAAxw/USJBKwRipRw/s400/coconutcupcakes.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />To make the shredded coconut, first drain the coconut by using a hammer to poke holes into its three 'eyes' with a screwdriver and then placing over a bowl until all of the coconut water drains out. Place the coconut on its side and hit with a hammer a few times until it cracks and you can split it in half. Separate the meat from the shell by sliding a dull knife (I used a butter knife) between them, and then cut the brown rind from the meat using a paring knife. Wash the white parts of the coconut to remove any bits of fibre and place pieces in a food processor using the grater disk.<br /><br />Here is the recipe, which is Alton Brown's with the following changes:<br /><ul><li>Adapted from a cake recipe to a cupcake recipe</li><li>Used buttercream frosting rather than 7-minute frosting (I ran out of eggs)<br /></li></ul><strong>Recipe: Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream frosting</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /><ul><li>14 1/4 oz cake flour,approximately 3 cups </li><li>1 1/2 tsp baking powder </li><li>1 tsp salt </li><li>1/2 cup coconut milk </li><li>1/2 cup coconut cream </li><li>8 oz butter, room temperature </li><li>16 oz sugar, approximately 2 1/4 cups </li><li>1 tsp coconut extract </li><li>4 egg whites </li></ul><p></p><ul><li>1/2 cup butter, room temperature</li><li>1/2 shortening</li><li>1 tsp coconut extract </li><li>4 cups icing sugar</li><li>5 Tbsp coconut milk </li><li>Grated coconut from 1 coconut, approximately 8 to 10 ounces<br /></li></ul><p><em>For the Cupcakes:<br /></em>Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Makes about 30 cupcakes. </p><p>Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. </p><p>Combine the coconut milk and coconut cream in small bowl and set aside. </p><p>Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, cream on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and gradually add the sugar slowly over 1 to 2 minutes. Once all of the sugar has been added, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Turn the mixer back on to medium speed and continue creaming until the mixture noticeably lightens in texture and increases slightly in volume, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the coconut extract. </p><p>With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture to the butter and sugar in 3 batches, ending with the milk mixture. Do not over mix. </p><p>In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the batter, just until combined. Fill cupcake cups about 2/3 full. Place in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 25 minutes or until cupcakes start to become golden brown around the edges and a toothpick pressed in the center comes out clean. </p><p>Cool the cupcakes in the pans for 10 minutes then remove and transfer to a cooling rack. </p><p><em>For the Frosting</em>:<br />Cream butter and shortening together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed.Add coconut extract and mix to combine. </p><p>Gradually add icing sugar until combined. Add coconut milk, 1 Tbsp at a time until the frosting reaches desired consistency.</p><p>Spread frosting on top of each cupcake and then dip cupcakes in shredded coconut to coat the tops.</p>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-59337972571124140032009-02-24T19:31:00.002-04:002009-02-24T19:47:53.417-04:00Feb 24th Snack BentoMost of my time this morning was spent making breakfast (four-grain strawberry and banana pancakes. Yum!), so I just threw together the quickest of snack bentos as BF was getting ready to leave.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SaSDfoH_DEI/AAAAAAAAAxo/BY9fuspN34M/s1600-h/gyoza+snack.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306510840319380546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 339px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SaSDfoH_DEI/AAAAAAAAAxo/BY9fuspN34M/s400/gyoza+snack.JPG" border="0" /></a> The dumplings are gyoza from a batch I made this weekend (recipe: <a href="http://jackiw.blogspot.com/2008/04/gyoza-recipe.html">here</a>). I couldn't get my hands on round gyoza wrappers so I ended up buying square wonton wrappers instead. Originally I had planned to cut them into circles, but when I discovered that you can fold the square ones into these adorable pyramids, I left them the way they were.<br /><br />To fold dumplings this way, first brush the outer perimeter of the square with water and then place about a teaspoon of filling in the middle. Fold in two diagonally opposite corners and pinch the tip to connect them together. Fold up the remaining two corners and press together the seams to seal them. Pinch the tip once more.<br /><br />I like the way these look so much that I might start doing them this way on a regular basis. I cooked them by frying them until the bottoms were brown and then steaming for an additional 7 minutes. Wonton wrappers are thicker than round gyoza wrappers so they hold up really well when frying.<br /><br />To add some colour and to stabilize the gyoza, I included a few pieces of steamed broccoli and some blackberries. The sauce bottle contains a mixture of rice vinegar and soy sauce.Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-41131727355771821782009-02-19T13:57:00.002-04:002009-02-19T14:44:16.109-04:00February 19th Bento LunchThe honest truth is that I've been making more bento lunches than I've been posting.<br /><br />The thing is though, because we're in the middle of winter (There's a blizzard raging outside as I type this!) I've been using the <a href="http://jackiw.blogspot.com/2008/09/new-thermal-bento-boxes.html">thermal bento sets</a> almost exclusively. I am so in love with these bento boxes! I packed hot yakiudon in them this past weekend for a ski trip. The lunch boxes sat in a freezing cold car for 4 hours while we skiied and by some miracle, they were still warm at lunch time. I was amazed.<br /><br />When I first purchased these, my intention was to pretty much live off Thai curries for the winter, and although I've definitely had my share of curries, I've expanded into soups, stews and chili as well.<br /><br />And the thing is, those kinds of foods are...well...ugly.<br /><br />So, given the fact that I already find it challenging to make the thermal bento lunches look cute just due to the size/shape of them, and then compound that with the fact that most of the foods I've been using have been inherently not cute, I've been a bit reluctant to post most of the lunches I've been making.<br /><br />On the positive side though, the lunches have been incredibly delicious! Here is today's:<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SZ2dpnRiMDI/AAAAAAAAAxg/eoa57SEX5Ls/s1600-h/BentoFeb18.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304569274355036210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 368px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SZ2dpnRiMDI/AAAAAAAAAxg/eoa57SEX5Ls/s400/BentoFeb18.JPG" border="0" /></a> In the main container, there is some home made lamb stew (the recipe is <a href="http://jacki2.blogspot.com/2009/02/lamb-stew-recipe.html">here</a>, on my other blog). Although hideous, it's an incredibly hearty and flavourful mix of carrots, potatoes, onions and the softest bites of lamb you can imagine.<br /><div> <br></div><div>In the container on the right, I first placed a sweet potato biscuit in the bottom. The <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/sweet-potato-biscuits-recipe/index.html">recipe</a> is from Paula Deen's website and they are heavenly. I've made two batches in one week! For the bento, I've sliced it in half, buttered it, and then cut it into bite sized pieces. On top of that are some cheddar cheese flowers to go with it. I've also included a Valentine's heart shaped truffle for dessert.</div><div><br> </div><div>The container on the left contains simple apple pieces (rubbed with lemon so that they don't brown) and some blueberries.</div><div> <br></div><div>I would love to hear any ideas that you have to make these types of lunches cuter!</div>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-82651307473373859772009-02-18T15:27:00.003-04:002009-02-18T16:38:12.371-04:00My Biggest Baking Project Ever! Valentine's Day Cupcakes with Sugar CookiesI love any excuse to bake. I especially love any excuse to bake cupcakes.<br /><br />BF knows this, so he will often volunteer me to provide the baked goods for events we go to, and then he lets me know later.<br /><br />Last week he came home from work and said "I may have mentioned to my boss that you would make Valentine's cupcakes for everyone in the office."<br /><br />Me: "How many are we talking?"<br /><br />BF: "No more than 70 I think."<br /><br />I mulled that over in my mind for a moment. I had never made 70 cupcakes at once before. It seemed like a whole lot of work, so why stop there?<br /><br />I said "What if you brought me a list of everyone you work with and I'll make everyone a special sugar cookie with their name on it and then put the cookies on top of cupcakes?"<br /><br />BF said that sounded like a great idea, and that's how I dug myself a huge hole.<br /><br />Oh my.<br /><br />What a lot of work it was.<br /><br />In total I made 85 cupcakes. 81 were personalized and I included 4 extras in case I missed anyone and because if there's one thing I know, it's that a batch of cupcakes will always attract more people than you expected.<br /><br />Making treats for such a large group of strangers presented some new considerations from my usual cupcake making. I had to be careful to choose flavours that were widely appealing and to accomodate any allergies. As it turned out, only one person had an allergy and that was to wheat, so I made her marzipan covered cherries since they are quick and easy to make and anything with flour was out of the question. I chose to do plain vanilla cupcakes with a dollop of chocolate batter on top of each one for a sort of marble cupcake. Knowing that the cupcakes were plainly flavoured and that the cookies would be plainly flavoured, I kicked up the frosting a notch, using a <a href="http://jackiw.blogspot.com/2008/11/matcha-green-tea-cupcakes-with.html">pomegranate buttercream</a> rather than something plain.<br /><br />I made the cookies using the same method and recipes as the <a href="http://jacki2.blogspot.com/2008/12/holiday-baking-part-1-snowflake-sugar.html">snowflake cookies</a> I made at Christmas, sugar cookies with royal icing. Where I was baking such a huge quantity, I decided to use only recipes and techniques that I've used before and loved rather than trying something new and risking making a mistake or an inferior product. I love to experiment, but not when people are counting on me.<br /><br />The pomegranate molasses in the frosting lent itself best to making the frosting a pale pink, so I chose colours for the cookies that would go well with pale pink and keep with the Valentines theme. I went with purple, white and a bright pink. I reserved about 1/4 cup of each colour of icing to do the lettering.<br /><br />At first I was a little shaky with the writing (and daunted by the thought of fitting some of the longer names on the small cookies. It took me three tries to fit "Anastasia" on a cookie) but as I progressed, the letters became neater and the spacing of the letters became more consistent. This project definitely increased my confidence in my piped lettering. I used a Wilton #1 tip. The end result was absolutely adorable cookies that sort of resembled Love Hearts candies. I was so thrilled when they were done and they were all perfect.<br /><br />Once the cookies were done, I started on the cupcakes. I made two batches of vanilla cupcake batter and one batch of chocolate and then combined them in each cupcake. The last step was to frost them and place a cookie on each one.<br /><br />Here is a close-up of some of the cupcakes so you can see how they looked. Click on the picture to enlarge it.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SZxhmdZLfTI/AAAAAAAAAxY/CAXK0pw6DwI/s1600-h/ValentinesCupcakes1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304221774488763698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SZxhmdZLfTI/AAAAAAAAAxY/CAXK0pw6DwI/s400/ValentinesCupcakes1.JPG" border="0" /></a> I didn't have a big enough cupcake carrier to hold so many, so BF brought home some lids from paper boxes and we filled them up. It completely filled three of them.<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SZxhlYP4JVI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/dROykKlqVE4/s1600-h/ValentinesCupcakes2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304221755927700818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 260px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SZxhlYP4JVI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/dROykKlqVE4/s400/ValentinesCupcakes2.JPG" border="0" /></a>To make distribution easier for BF, I ordered them by the seating arrangement at his work, separating the cupcakes by team, and then indicating where a team ends by placing a manager's cupcake which had a larger cookie. That way he could easily scan the cupcakes to determine which section of cupcakes went to which section of his office floor.</div><div><p></p></div><div>Amazingly, the whole thing went off without a hitch. There were enough cupcakes for everyone and by the end of the day, there were none left for BF to bring home. I'm so proud of myself for pulling this off and it's reaffirmed for me that I would like to be a baker as a profession. Spending an eight hour day in the kitchen flies by for me. I just love to bake! BF said that everyone loved them and was excited that they were personalized. It was definitely worth the effort.<br /><br /></div><div></div>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-29955640589979911912009-02-05T17:45:00.004-04:002009-02-11T09:12:42.186-04:00Bailey's Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting RecipeMy friend had a birthday celebration this past weekend (his champagne birthday, no less!), so of course I made cupcakes. He asked for Bailey's flavoured, so that's what I made!<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SYteZFxOr9I/AAAAAAAAAxA/YQhQICpZpew/s1600-h/BaileysCupcakes.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299433171669921746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SYteZFxOr9I/AAAAAAAAAxA/YQhQICpZpew/s400/BaileysCupcakes.JPG" border="0" /></a>I was worried that these would come out boozy, with that unmistakenable alcohol taste because there is so much Baileys in them, but they actually turned out really nice. The Irish cream flavour of the Bailey's is definitely present and bold, but they don't have an alcohol aftertaste. I was really pleased with them.<br /><br />I went with chocolate buttercream for the frosting because it seemed like a natural pairing, inspired by one of my favorite winter drinks, Bailey's and hot chocolate. My friend appreciates silly things, so I went with a traditional kid's birthday cake sort of look, with purple polka dotted cupcake wrappers and dinosaur sprinkles (both Wilton). He loved them!<br /><br /><div><strong>Recipe: Baileys Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting</strong></div><br /><div></div><div><strong>Ingredients</strong></div><div><br /></div><div><em>Cupcakes</em> (Makes approx. 30 cupcakes)</div><div><br /></div><div>1 cup of butter, room temperature<br />2 cups of sugar<br />4 eggs, separated and at room temperature<br />2 tsp vanilla extract<br />3 cups flour<br />4 tsp baking powder<br />1/2 tsp salt<br />1 cup of Bailey's liqueur</div><div><br /></div><div>Preheat oven to 350 degrees.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (about 3 or 4 minutes). Add egg yolks one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until combined.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture, alternating with Baileys and mixing well after each addition. Batter should be thick, but if it comes out dry, add a splash of milk.</div><div><br /></div><div>In another bowl, beat egg whites with clean beaters until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the cupcake batter until the colour of the batter is uniform.Fill lined cupcake cups half full. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><em>Frosting</em></div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Ingredients</strong></div><div><br />1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature<br />1/2 cup shortening<br />3 1/2 cups icing sugar</div><div>1/2 cup cocoa<br />1/2 tsp vanilla<br />3-4 Tbsp milk<br /><br /></div><div>Cream together butter and shortening. Add vanilla and milk and mix well. Combine icing sugar and cocoa and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Add more milk if necessary.</div>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-64746661981790084702009-02-04T14:20:00.004-04:002009-02-04T15:16:56.562-04:00February 4th Bento LunchI broke out the thermal bento box today. Please excuse the condensation on the lids. I keep the lids on until I'm ready to take the picture to keep the heat in the thermal container and to keep the other two containers from drying out.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SYncZ-QG-gI/AAAAAAAAAww/SclSi_mrhsw/s1600-h/BentoFeb4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299008775343503874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 333px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SYncZ-QG-gI/AAAAAAAAAww/SclSi_mrhsw/s400/BentoFeb4.jpg" border="0" /></a> The main component of the lunch is a delectable Thai red curry soup (the recipe is <a href="http://jacki2.blogspot.com/2009/02/thai-vegetable-and-noodle-soup-recipe.html">here</a>) that is full of noodles and veggies in a yummy coconut milk broth.<br /><div><br></div><div>In the container on the left, I also threw in a heart shaped bonito onigiri for some additional carbs. I had some yummy honey mustard chicken I wanted to put in this bento, but BF said he would rather have more pulled pork so that I what I used. There are a few pea sprouts for colour and crunch in there as well.</div><div><br></div><div>In the second container there are three stalks of steamed asparagus along with some tangerine wedges and a few honey dates. Once everything was packed up, I put a little individually wrapped After Eight mint for a sweet bite.</div><div><br></div><div>In hindsight, I realize that I forgot to pack a spoon for the soup! Hopefully BF can snag one while he's at work.</div>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-73351595516689283502009-02-02T12:58:00.002-04:002009-02-02T13:10:13.063-04:00February 2nd Bento LunchI was determined to get back into the bento lunch making habit this week, but I ended up not having much time this morning, so this is what I managed to pull together.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SYcm3ctHy-I/AAAAAAAAAwQ/ANUDG5G_uQM/s1600-h/BentoFeb2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298246220664785890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 262px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SYcm3ctHy-I/AAAAAAAAAwQ/ANUDG5G_uQM/s400/BentoFeb2.JPG" border="0" /></a> There are two onigiri filled with a mixture of bonito flakes and soy sauce. One is upset that he is going to be eaten for lunch while the other is happy to see that I'm making bento lunches again! I decided to cut out the nori by hand rather than with punches because these are quite large onigiri and I think the punches would have made eyes that were too small. It's actually not to hard to hand cut the eyes if you start with a small square of nori. For the mad eyes, I cut two small triangles from the square and cut off the outer corner. For the happy eyes, I just cut out an even smaller square from the original nori square.<br /><br />For protein, there is some pulled pork leftover from the weekend (the recipe for it is <a href="http://jacki2.blogspot.com/2009/02/greatest-pulled-pork-recipe-of-all.html">here</a>). For veggies we have zucchini, carrots and bean sprouts that have been steamed as well as some raw red pepper strips. For fruit there are some peeled blood orange segments (the colours aren't as bright if you don't peel them) and I included a little green tea flavoured tea cake for dessert.<br /><br />Quick and simple!Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-82920422731599732082009-01-03T22:26:00.002-04:002009-01-03T22:33:54.712-04:00New Year's CupcakesA little late....<br /><br />BF was supposed to go scuba diving on New Years day, but it got cancelled because we had a blizzard (I have no idea how he can hang out underwater when we have snow on the ground, but he swears he doesn't get cold). It got rescheduled for tomorrow morning, so I decided to make New Year's themed cupcakes anyway, even if we're four days in.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SWAefaMaVKI/AAAAAAAAAu0/JyQcOgbVHq0/s1600-h/New+Years+Cupcakes.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287259487489119394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 347px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SWAefaMaVKI/AAAAAAAAAu0/JyQcOgbVHq0/s400/New+Years+Cupcakes.JPG" border="0" /></a> These are pretty simple. Chocolate and beer cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, as per BF's request. I used a wheat ale this time (Rickards White) and it really toned down the beer taste. At some point, I'd like to try these with Guinness to see how they turn out.<br /><br />To decorate them, I did a mound of blue frosting using a Wilton 2D tip, and then a white swirl around it using a 1M. The year is piped with a #3 tip.<br /><br />I think they turned out pretty cute for how simple they were. Just a tiny bit of extra work, but I think they get the message across.Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-21543722176870066582008-12-13T00:05:00.004-04:002008-12-13T00:38:04.703-04:00Candy Cane CupcakesI feel like I've been making cookies all week, so I decided to take it easy today and make some cupcakes.<br /><p></p><br />Here they are; candy cane cupcakes!<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279121208788153634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 395px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SUM0xPgMdSI/AAAAAAAAAuk/ckJ60E1gpQo/s400/CandyCane1.JPG" border="0" />I'm not going to post the recipe because these were really simple. I took a vanilla cupcake recipe (makes 36 cupcakes) and crushed about a dozen candy canes and added it to the batter along with 1/2 tsp peppermint flavouring. I crushed the candy canes by putting them in a ziplock bag and hammering them with the bottom of a wine bottle for about three minutes before deciding that the food processor would be easier (which it was!).<br /><p></p><br />The frosting is a plain, white buttercream with peppermint extract instead of vanilla. To get the red and green swirls, I 'striped' a disposable icing bag. Just use a small paint brush to paint a stripe of icing colours up the inside of the bag. I did one green stripe and one red stripe opposite the green. The only downside to using this method is that you have to use a new bag every time you need to refill. The last touch was to use cupcake cups with candy cane coloured stripes. They're made by Wilton.<br /><p></p><br />Here's a picture of the inside of the cupcakes. The candy canes melted while the cupcake baked, leaving little flecks of colour and a mild minty flavor.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279123531549692658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SUM24cds0vI/AAAAAAAAAus/uHCbIk2Zti8/s400/CandyCane2.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><p>I think the trick with these is to make sure the mint is present but not overpowering. I think I managed a pretty good balance with a mildly minty cake and a stronger flavour (but not toothpaste strong!) in the frosting.</p><p>Yum!</p>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-45108775954959105032008-12-06T11:04:00.005-04:002008-12-06T12:09:35.433-04:00Two Types of Christmas Cupcakes + RecipesTwo Types of Christmas Cupcakes + RecipesChristmas baking is my favorite kind of baking.<br />I have a whole list of things I plan to make this year and all kinds of pretty boxes and cellophane to package it and give home baked gifts to friends.<br /><br />For the past few weeks, I've been trying to wrack my brain for a way to include cupcakes in my holiday baking, given their relatively short shelf life compared to something like cookies which can be frozen and thawed as needed. I generally don't like to serve cupcakes past their second day.<br /><br />So, in the end I decided to make cupcakes all month before Christmas and distribute wherever I see the opportunity, and save the traditional baking for the week before Christmas. I came up with three types of cupcakes that I want to make this Christmas, two of which I made yesteday.<br />BF has a "Christmas Dive" today, where he and his scuba diving buddies are actually decorating a tree underwater. And what is a Christmas party without cupcakes?<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/STqf4_FaNjI/AAAAAAAAAuE/OWQl_L8DU0c/s1600-h/CupcakesDec5.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276705714773571122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 337px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/STqf4_FaNjI/AAAAAAAAAuE/OWQl_L8DU0c/s400/CupcakesDec5.JPG" border="0" /></a> I decided to go with contrasting flavours; one light and airy, and one dense and rich. I made gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and eggnog cupcakes with eggnog and orange buttercream.<br /><br />Wait, eggnog and orange?<br /><br />I was amazed to discover that these two flavours combine so naturally and deliciously, like a spicy creamsicle. I was doing some Christmas shopping yesterday and stopped for a smoothie break and the holiday flavour they were serving was eggnog and mandarin. I was a bit apprehensive (I automatically thought it would be curdle-y) but decided to give it a shot and was instantly in love with this combo.<br /><br />In keeping with the light and airy theme, I used blue snowflake cups and sprinkled the cupcakes with a little icing sugar to represent snow. I think they turned out beautiful and were incredibly fluffy.<br /><br />For the gingerbread, I had wanted to use a whipped cream frosting, but since it would be about 5 hours between when they left the house and when they would be eaten, and BF wasn't sure he would be able to refrigerate them, I went with cream cheese frosting instead. Whipped cream shouldn't be left to sit out more than 1.5 hours max.<br /><br />You can't see from this picture, but they're packed in adorable cupcake cups with gingerbread men on them (they're Wilton, but they're not on the site, so I can't link to them). I also found tiny gingerbread man shaped sprinkles at my local bulk food store.<br /><br />BF brought both flavours to work yesterday as well. He said that people immediately went for the bright eggnog cupcakes, but that the people who were 'stuck' with the gingerbread ones ended up being really impressed by them. Despite their modest appearance, they are truly rich and delicious.<br /><br />I expect I will end up making more of these before Christmas (I've already gone through two batches of the eggnog ones!), and I plan to make some candy cane cupcakes as well. I'll post pics and a recipe when I do!<br /><br />On to the recipes! The eggnog cupcake recipe is adapted from the vanilla cupcake recipe I've cited many times. The gingerbread recipe is adapted from a recipe from allrecipes.com.<br /><br /><strong>Recipe: Eggnog Cupcakes with Eggnog and Orange Buttercream Frosting</strong><br /><br />Makes about 3 dozen<br /><br /><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /><br />1 cup butter (room temperature)<br />2 cups sugar<br />4 eggs separated (room temperature)<br />2 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />3 cups all-purpose flour<br />4 tsp baking powder<br />1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />1/4 tsp nutmeg<br />pinch of cloves<br />1/2 teaspoon salt<br />1 1/4 cups eggnog<br /><br />1/2 cup butter (1 stick)<br />1/2 cup shortening<br />4 cups icing sugar<br />1 tsp orange extract<br />6 Tbsp eggnog<br />Orange icing colouring (just a tiny bit!)<br />Icing sugar for dusting<br /><br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins.<br /><br />In a large bowl, cream together first portion of butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 4 or 5 minutes). Add two egg yolks and mix for an additional minute. Add remaining egg yolks and mix for an additional minute.<br /><br />In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Alternate between adding dry ingredients the eggnog to the butter mixture, a little bit at a time.<br /><br />In small bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula, add about 1/2 cup of the egg whites to the mixture and fold in gently, to separate and lighten the batter. Add remaining egg whites and fold in gently until no white streaks are present.<br /><br />Fill cupcake tins half full and bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for ten minutes before removing to a wire wrack. Allow to cool completely before decorating.<br /><br />For the frosting, mix remaining butter and the shortening in a medium bowl until light and fluffy (about three minutes). Add orange extract and mix until combined. Add icing sugar a little at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Once all of the icing sugar has been mixed in, add eggnog 1 Tbsp at a time until icing has reached desired consistency. Mix in a small amount of orange colouring to acheive a colour that will contrast with the white icing sugar dust, but is not too dark.<br /><br />Frost cupcakes using a 1M tip to make a swirl and dust with icing sugar by placing a few tablespoons of icing sugar in a small strainer and gently tapping the side.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Recipe: Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting</strong><br /><br />Recipe makes about 2 dozen cupcakes<br /><br /><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /><br />1/2 cup white sugar<br />1/2 cup butter<br />1 egg<br />1 cup molasses<br />2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour<br />1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda<br />1 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />1 teaspoon ground ginger<br />1/2 teaspoon ground cloves<br />1/2 teaspoon salt<br />1 cup hot water<br /><br />1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), room temperature<br />1 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature<br />1 tsp vanilla<br />3 cups icing sugar<br /><br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease or line muffin pan.<br /><br />In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg for an additional minute, and mix in the molasses.<br />In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water.<br /><br />Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for ten minutes before removing to a wire wrack. Allow to cool completely before decorating.<br /><br />For the frosting, cream butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about three minutes. Add vanilla and mix. Add icing sugar and blend until consistency is uniform.<br /><br />Frost cupcakes by piping a swirl with Wilton tip #2A. Garnish with sprinkles.<br /><div></div>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-6253428218446709662008-11-07T18:05:00.005-04:002008-11-07T19:18:31.447-04:00Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes with Pomegranate Frosting RecipeFor the past month I've been taking Wilton cake decorating classes at Michaels. I thought I could use some help learning how to pipe flowers. It's been pretty fun so far, my sister is taking them with me. We started course 2 yesterday and we finish course 1 on Monday. So far we've worked on how to assemble and frost a cake, transferring patterns onto a cake, piping stars and shells, and piping roses, rosettes, rosebuds and chrysanthemums. Next week is royal icing.<br /><br />I've had to make a cake every week for the classes, so making cupcakes on top of that seemed excessive. Which is sad, given the quality of my class cakes. I've just been using cake mixes and they require you to use the Wilton recipe for the frosting (translation: <span style="font-style: italic;">Waaaaaaaayyyyy</span> too much shortening and tasteless). The frosting tastes so terrible I'm almost embarassed to give them away but I do anyway because they wouldn't get eaten here. I think it's worth making a few terrible cakes to learn some new skills though, so I plan to take all of the courses.<br /><br />My aunt is visiting this weekend, and as a regular reader of my blog, she requested cupcakes so I made a batch especially for her.<br /><br />I'd been planning to make matcha cupcakes for a long time now. I've made matcha frosting successfully, and I wanted to see how it would work in the actual cake. I was going to make these for Halloween because of the freaky green colour, but I made a Wilton cake instead, lol.<br /><br />The cupcakes themselves turned out dense and moist and not too sweet, and the green tea taste is really mild but nice. I'm happy with them. The frosting is a buttercream made with pomegranate molasses and it's incredible. Definitely one of the best I've made. The two flavours work together well. All in all these are some pretty yummy cakes!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SRS8-ZHTzjI/AAAAAAAAAtE/yGsxUNsspak/s1600-h/November7cupcakesPomegranateMatcha.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 305px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SRS8-ZHTzjI/AAAAAAAAAtE/yGsxUNsspak/s400/November7cupcakesPomegranateMatcha.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266041644382408242" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipe: Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes with Pomegranate Frosting<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Cupcakes</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">(Makes approx. 15 cupcakes)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients:<br /></span></span><ul><li>1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), room temperature<br /></li><li>1 cup of sugar</li><li>2 eggs, separated and at room temperature</li><li>1 tsp vanilla extract</li><li>1 1/2 Tbsp matcha powder plus enough all-purpose flour to make 1 1/2 cups</li><li>2 tsp baking powder</li><li>1/4 tsp salt</li><li>1/2 cup milk</li></ul>Preheat oven to 350 degrees.<br /><br />In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (about 3 or 4 minutes). Add egg yolks one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until combined.<br /><br />In a separate bowl, combine flour, matcha, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture, alternating with milk and mixing well after each addition.<br /><br />In another bowl, beat egg whites with clean beaters until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the cupcake batter until the colour of the batter is uniform.<br /><br />Fill lined cupcake cups half full. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until tests done with a toothpick.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Frosting</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients<br /><br /></span><ul><li>1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature</li><li>1/2 cup shortening</li><li>1 lb (500g) bag of icing sugar</li><li>1/2 tsp vanilla<br /></li><li>1/2 Tbsp milk</li><li>2 1/2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses</li></ul>Cream together butter and shortening. Add vanilla, milk and molasses and mix well. Gradually add icing sugar. Add more milk if necessary.<br /><br />Note: The pomegranate molasses turns the frosting an ugly shade of brown, so you may wish to add a little bit of red icing colouring for a frosting a little more reminiscent of pomegranate.<br /><br />The flavour of this frosting is relatively mild. If you want to kick it up a notch with some sourness, I recommend drizzling a little more of the pomegranate molasses on top of each cupcake.Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-31186598961803437532008-10-12T20:17:00.002-03:002008-10-12T20:32:59.094-03:00Thanksgiving Turkey CupcakesThese were so much fun to make!<br /><br />For Canadians, this was Thanksgiving day weekend. I hadn't made cupcakes for a week or two, so I went all out for this one!<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SPKFl0KpXjI/AAAAAAAAAi8/5CTmd8Z1AxA/s1600-h/Turkey1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256410599799742002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SPKFl0KpXjI/AAAAAAAAAi8/5CTmd8Z1AxA/s400/Turkey1.JPG" border="0" /></a>I don't usually go to this much trouble to decorate cupcakes, but when I saw this idea in the book <em>Hello Cupcake!</em> I couldn't resist.<br /><br />The cupcakes are pumpkin pie flavoured. I picked this flavour because it's a good traditional Thanksgiving flavour and because BF is allergic to it, so now that he's out of the country for a bit it's one of the few chances I have to make it (although of course I would rather have him back than all the pumpkin cupcakes in the world). They turned out perfect! So moist and fluffy, I was really pleased. The recipe is from <em>Crazy About Cupcakes</em> and it's basically a regular golden cupcake recipe with less milk and 1 1/2 cups of pureed pumpkin and lots of spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves). They were so good!<br /><br />The tricky part was getting the same number of regular cupcakes and mini cupcakes. I basically just filled the muffin pans one cake at a time. It was a little nerve wracking though, because since I had exactly the same number of small cupcakes and regular cupcakes (the recipe made 20 of each), I couldn't eat one before decorating to test them out. This is the first time I've ever served something to people that I haven't tested myself so I was a bit scared, but luckily they turned out great.<br /><br />The frosting is just a plain vanilla buttercream, spread on with a spatula rather than piped. The eyes are piped frosting.<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SPKFmF6OZgI/AAAAAAAAAjE/kZSs006HQgs/s1600-h/Turkey2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256410604562703874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SPKFmF6OZgI/AAAAAAAAAjE/kZSs006HQgs/s400/Turkey2.JPG" border="0" /></a>For his tail feathers, I used maple cookies that are pretty common around here. They're sandwich cookies like Oreos, so I just split them in half and scraped off the frosting with the back of a butter knife. I think they turned out really pretty because they're such a nice shape for feathers. On each one, there are three pieces of candy corn attached with frosting. The nose is also made of candy corn, with a waddle cut from a piece of Fruit-by-the-foot. </p><p>For added decoration I used some cute Wilton autumn cupcake cups and rolled the cupcakes in some sprinkles (before the rest of the decorations of course).</p><p>I'm really pleased with how they turned out and they weren't nearly as difficult or time consuming as I would have expected. My sister helped out too so we were done really quickly. They were definitely a hit! </p>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-28858875304974821632008-10-03T15:38:00.003-03:002008-10-03T15:47:27.125-03:00UpdateHi Folks,<br /><br />It's been a bit of a crazy week so I haven't been making bento lunches or posting.<br /><br />BF was offered an opportunity to go the the Phillipines for the next couple of months. We weren't given much warning, so the last week has been pretty hectic while he gets ready to go.<br /><br />I thought it was important to let everyone here know because, given that he's the one I make the bento lunches for, it means I won't have anything to post for the little while. I expect to be going back to work in the next couple of weeks though, so I'll be making bentos for myself then.<br /><br />In the meantime of course, I will continue to post the cupcakes I make (I'll have to find new people to eat them!)<br /><br />So I do apologize for the lack of bento lunch posts. I'm pretty excited though about everything that's going on around here. Positive change is a good thing. Although I will miss him a lot!Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-47434330156832267412008-09-27T11:28:00.006-03:002010-04-13T10:22:58.163-03:00Cherry and Almond Cupcakes RecipeI've wanted to make these cupcakes for about a week now but I had a tough time finding a recipe for cherry cupcakes that used maraschino cherries and wasn't chocolate. In the end I wound up adapting a vanilla cupcake recipe myself. They turned out incredible! These are might just be the best cupcakes I've ever made. They are incredibly moist and fluffy andthe different flavours are strong but not overpowering.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SN5DOZkMOgI/AAAAAAAAAhw/fEhFeEV0C9E/s1600-h/CherryCupcakes.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250708130220489218" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SN5DOZkMOgI/AAAAAAAAAhw/fEhFeEV0C9E/s400/CherryCupcakes.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Recipe: Cherry Cupcakes with Almond Frosting</strong><br /><br />Ingredients<br /><br />1 cup butter (room temperature)<br />2 cups sugar<br />4 eggs separated (room temperature)<br />1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />1 teaspoon almond extract<br />3 cups all-purpose flour<br />4 tsp baking powder<br />1/2 teaspoon salt<br />1/3 cup milk<br />2/3 cup marashino cherry juice<br />1 10oz jar of marashino cherries, finely chopped<br /><br />1/2 cup salted butter<br />1/2 cup shortening<br />1 lb bag of icing sugar<br />2 tsp almond extract<br />4 to 5 Tbsp cold milk<br /><br />1/2 cup slivered almonds<br /><br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins. Recipe makes about 3 dozen cupcakes.<br /><br />In a large bowl, cream together first portion of butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 4 or 5 minutes). Add two egg yolks and mix for an additional minute. Add remaining egg yolks and mix for an additional minute. Add vanilla and almond extracts and mix in.<br /><br />In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine milk and marashino cherry juice. Alternate between adding dry ingredients and liquid ingredients to the butter mixture, a little bit at a time.<br /><br />Fold in chopped cherries.<br /><br />In small bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula, add about 1/2 cup of the egg whites to the mixture and fold in gently, to separate and lighten the batter. Add remaining egg whites and fold in gently until no white streaks are present.<br /><br />Fill cupcake tins half full and bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for ten minutes before removing to a wire wrack. Allow to cool completely before decorating.<br /><br />For the frosting, mix remaining butter and the shortening in a medium bowl until light and fluffy (about three minutes). Add almond extract and mix until combined. Add icing sugar a little at a time, mixing until combined after each addition. Once all of the icing sugar has been mixed in, add milk 1 Tbsp at a time until icing has reached desired consistency.<br /><br />In a dry frying pan, toast almond slices over medium heat until they become fragrant and turn light brown. Keep the almonds moving and flip frequently so that they don't burn.<br /><br />Pipe a swirl of frosting on each cupcake using a Wilton 1M tip. Place three or four toasted almond slices on each.<br /><br /><br />Here's a picture of the inside so you can see the pretty pink colour. Somehow I managed to cut this one where there were no cherries, but in general, there were a lot of cherries in each cupcake. You may decide you want to add more though.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SN5DOV3xCHI/AAAAAAAAAh4/_9HpVw3N-vw/s1600-h/CherryCupcakes2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250708129228851314" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SN5DOV3xCHI/AAAAAAAAAh4/_9HpVw3N-vw/s400/CherryCupcakes2.JPG" border="0" /></a>Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389380.post-71483047909749611592008-09-26T12:24:00.002-03:002008-09-26T12:46:28.885-03:00September 26th Bento LunchI've had a bunch of early morning dentist appointments this week, so I haven't been around to make bento lunches. Poor BF has been eating food court food. Today I was home though so he got a home packed lunch.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SNz--AZhBbI/AAAAAAAAAho/r7sesd-34DE/s1600-h/BentoSept26.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250351606819521970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KRujTYazvSQ/SNz--AZhBbI/AAAAAAAAAho/r7sesd-34DE/s400/BentoSept26.JPG" border="0" /></a>On my trip to the grocery store yesterday, it seemed that the store had transitioned overnight from light summer foods to autumn foods. What immediately caught my eye was a bin of fresh chestnuts. When I got home, I went through my Japanese cookbooks for a chestnut recipe. In <em>Japanese Cooking - A Simple Art, </em>I found a recipe for chestnut rice (kuri gohan) that was described as "as autumnal in Japan as pumpkin pie is in America". BF is allergic to pumpkin pie, so I immediately wanted to make this in the hopes that it it would be a nice fall food for him although I made it in onigiri form rather than served hot.<br /><br />To prepare the chestnuts, they should be soaked for two hours to soften the shell. The shell can then be cut off and the inner layer of skin can then be removed from the nut. It's a painstaking process to peel off the inner layer, but it removes any bitterness.<br /><br />I made the rice by combining 3/4 cup rice, 5 chestnuts cut into sixths and 1/4 tsp salt in the rice cooker. The onigiri is filled with a little lotus seed white bean paste.<br /><br />For protein there are some breaded pork strips that have been fried in a little oil as well as two gyoza.<br /><br />The vegetables include steamed broccoli, asparagus and sugar snaps, as well as julienned carrot that has been fried in a little sesame oil and wrapped into bundles with chives.<br /><br />For the first time in months, I couldn't get my hands on any blueberries. I think this may be the very first bento lunch I've ever made without them. I lucked out though because they had miniature kiwis instead which are about the same size. They're called grape kiwis and they don't have furry skin so you don't have to peel them. I like to cut them in half so that you can see the seeds inside.<br /><br />I also included a few raspberries and slices of a pepino melon, which is a small melon (about the size of pear) with a thin rind that can either be peeled or eaten. In this case I left it on to protect the dumplings from the moisture of the fruit.<br /><br />For dessert I included half of a dorayaki pancake sandwich (recipe is <a href="http://jacki2.blogspot.com/2008/09/dora-yaki-recipe.html">here</a>) although it was probably overkill given that I also packed a dozen cupcakes up to take with him. I'll post pictures of them as soon as I get the recipe typed up.Jackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18345886709385495819noreply@blogger.com4