Islands in the sky, food & travel

How about a pecan-like pie but made with a layer of mochi for a change?  This is a recipe I found on the Bon Appetit website and it is so good I had to share.  The pecans are so tasty with the miso base and the mochi so spongy and a great contrast to the crunchy pecans.  It's also quite easy to make and honestly, everyone loved it. Here is the recipe : Pecan topping 2 cups (220 g) coarsely chopped pecans 2 tablespoons maple syrup or corn syrup 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 teaspoons miso paste 1 tablespoon of truffle oil or olive oil (optional) Mochi cake 6 tablespoons (melted) unsalted butter 2 large eggs 1/14 cup (250 g) sugar  1 teaspoon sea salt 13.5 oz (382 g) can unsweetened coconut milk  2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste 1 2/3 cup (200 g) glutinous rice flour  1 teaspoon baking powder Mix all nut ingredients (pecans, maple syrup, brown sugar, miso, oil) in a bowl. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or slightly oil, then roast the pecans...

(Better late than never...) It's time for an upside-down cake, this time with berries.  I had initially wanted to bake a pandan chiffon cake but, slight drawback... I didn't have any pandan leaves or extract.  Since it's summertime, I had lots of berries instead, so the decision was made.  By the way, you can use this batter base to make all kinds of chiffon cake flavors : mocha, ube, pandan, cider, berries... It's my go-to batter nowadays, the cake is so delicious and pillow-soft (the secret is in the meringue you fold in). Here's the recipe :       3 eggs, separated     1/4 water or milk (this is what you can substitute with flavors like strong coffee, pandan extract, juice, ube, cider, lemon...)     1/4 cup vegetable oil     1 cup cake flour       1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup sugar     1  teaspoon baking powder     1/2 teaspoon salt      1 teaspoon vanilla     ...

I must say this is the most wonderful cinnamon rolls dough I've discovered to date. Light, fluffy, delicious, what more could you ask for?  I filled half the dough with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts, while the other half was filled with some homemade strawberry jam. Here is the recipe for the dough, inspired by Foodess.com, which has the best explanation for the dough, go to the website for more info.  I will always use this dough to make these buns from now on. 240 ml warm milk 2 large eggs 570 g all-purpose flour 100 g sugar 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 115 g unsalted butter (softened) Cinnamon filling 200 g brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 115 g softened butter 1/2 cup nuts (cashews, walnuts, almonds...) Strawberry jam 12-15 strawberries 50 g sugar (or more if you like it sweeter) 1 tablespoon of cornstarch Cut strawberries in 1/4 or 1/8ths and simmer with the sugar until softened, about 3-5 minutes.  Add a spoonful of this in a cup with the ...

How about a birthday cake this time, festive and full of flavor? Surprisingly, I was able to slice this one into 25+ pieces so everyone could get a taste. It's got a 7 layers including 3 layers of butter cake and 3 layers of cream with an inside layer of fresh strawberries in syrup and another layer with mandarine orange slices. All this topped with chocolate dipped strawberries nestled in cream.  On a side note, I made this cake while away on vacation in the US, meaning, I used ingredients I could find readily, I had to deal with cream and rising factors that are different from what I'm used to, eggs and strawberries that are so much bigger, flour is enriched..., none of this is bad, you just have to adjust.  To add to this fun experience, I made the chocolate-dipped and drizzled strawberries 2 days before with family, and the cake and frosting 24 hours before.  That way on the day of the party, I just had to dress the cake. Here's the cake recipe :     ...