Have any of you tried the cake pops over at Starbucks? My son loves them and each time we walk past a starbucks, we need to get him one. Bad habit, I know, but sometimes it’s just easier to deal with than a tantrum.  And they’re just so tiny! What harm could they really do, right ?

So when we were recently visiting Singapore, I had prepped my son that even though there will be a Starbucks on every corner, Singapore won’t have cake pops, so let’s not bother going even asking about them.

Well, I was SO wrong! Having just introduced cake pops in Singapore, there were mega cake pop campaigns, gigantic billboards everywhere for these cute little delights, thus fueling his cake pop eating habit.

Anyhow, just the other day, my baking goddess friend told me she was going to try to make them! So naturally, I decided to tag along and experiment with her. She used this recipe from Bakeralla as a guide for the cake pops.

I was really quite surprised that they’re easy to make. Nothing complicated. Just a few extra steps after baking a cake, and voila. Beautiful and delicious cake pops!

So here’s how we did it!

1 box cake mix (We used Barefoot Contessa’s Red Velvet Box Mix).
1 container Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup of Yellow candy melts
Lollipop sticks

Method:

1) Bake cake according to instructions.  Allow to cool completely and then crumble.

2) Mix 1 container of the cream cheese frosting into the crumbled cake.  Just add enough so you can form round cake balls that are bite-sized, approximately 1in in diameter, unless of course, you have a bigger mouth This is a great recipe to do with your kids! They love getting their hands dirty – you just have to make sure they can resist the temptation of licking their fingers!

(I know, they kinda look like meatballs! Well, it IS red velvet cake

3) Melt the candy melts in a microwave according to the instructions. Dip the tips of each lollipop stick into the candy melt and insert into the cake balls (approximately halfway). Arrange on a tray. Place the balls on a lined baking tray and freeze for about 10 minutes until firm.

4) Remove the cake ball lollipops from the freezer.  Melt additional candy melts if necessary.  If the candy melts get harder as you work through the process, reheat them in the microwave. Dip each cake ball into the melted candy melts, so they form an even coating on the cake balls.  Repeat until all cake pops are coated. Bakerella suggests that you gently tap the excess candy melts off the cake balls as you rotate the sticks.  This worked quite well.

5) Push each cake pop gently into some styrofoam, for drying. Bakerella suggests drawing smiley faces (SO CUTE!) onto each cake pop. We tried it using some food-grade inks from Michaels, but they didn’t work very well, so we gave up. Instead my friend made a cute flower arrangement using the cake pops and decorated the flower pots with some candy grass.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

On my recent trip to NYC, I had stopped by this lovely french patisserie for some french macaroons.  These decadent little meringue-like cookies are such a wonderful treat, but honestly, at $2.50 each, it’s hard to stomach more than one or two.  When we returned from NYC, I happened to mention this to my baking-goddess friend of mine (who has shared some recipes on my blog in the past), and she just mentioned that she’s made them before! What? You can make french macaroons at home? And they actually turn out well? That’s crazy! So she proposed that we make them together. I was all over that!

(I’ve posted a recipe below that we used, and I’ve got a lot of pictures for each of the steps, which makes this post particularly long. I’m apologizing in advance, since I know we’re all busy, BUT these macaroons came out so professionally that I just had to share So now that that’s out…on with the post!)

After doing a bit of research on the making of french macaroons, I realized that they’re not exactly difficult to make. There are a few somewhat annoying steps (like the sifting) but otherwise, it didn’t seem too technically difficult to do. There are few things to keep in mind, however.

1) People say never make macaroons on a humid day. I’m not really sure that’s true, given the day we made them was pretty darn humid and they came out perfectly!
2) Only bake one layer of macaroons at a time. We tried two layers, and the top layer baked perfectly, while the bottom layer appeared slightly overcooked.
3) Weigh the ingredients you are using for your french macaroon recipe. The quantity of ingredients used have to be near perfect. So cup measurements won’t do.
4) Sift the heck out of the powdered sugar and almond flour mix.  We sifted it three times, which took a while, but it’s worth the effort. Several recipes call for sifting, four, five, or even six times! I may try four times the next time I do it, but the three times we sifted this time was just fine.

We used this recipe from Tartellete (with a few modifications of course) and the chocolate ganache from David Lebovitz. The end result was astonishing! These french macaroons were perfect! I just couldn’t believe it.  With a little bit of patience, french macaroons are certainly doable at home.  And I really think I’ll  probably never pay for another macaroon again!

Here’s the recipe:

Preheat oven at 280F
For the cookie:
90g of egg white (approximately 3 egg whites. Also note that we only took the eggs out of the fridge that morning, as opposed to most macaroon recipes that call for the egg whites to be left on the counter for up to five days!)
25g granulated sugar
200g powdered sugar
110g almond flour (We used fine ground Red Mill Almond Flour)
Approximately 5 drops of food coloring of your choice (we used red, which ended up making the cookies pink).

For the chocolate ganache filling:
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

Method for the macaroons:

In a standmixer with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until it froths.  Gradually add the granulated sugar to the egg whites and whisk until it forms peaks, just shy of stiff peaks.  Add the food coloring at this point and whisk a little further until slightly stiff peaks form (See images below).  Set the egg whites aside when done.

In the mean time, measure out the powdered sugar and the almond flour.  Blend the powdered sugar and almond flour together in a food processor.  Once combined, start to sift the mixture.  Once you’ve sifted the mixture at least three times (more like four or five, if you have the patience), fold it into the egg whites.  According to Tartelette, you shouldn’t fold it more than 50 times.  I counted about 35 times and it was well incorporated.  Spoon a tiny amount of the mixture onto a plate.  If the mixture flattens on its own, the batter is ready.  If a small peak is seen on the top, the mixture needs a few more folds.

Our mixture flattened quite easily, so it was on to the next step.  Using a spatula, we spooned the mixture into a ziplock bag (because we didn’t have a piping bag).

Once you seal the ziplock bag, cut the tip off the bag and pipe a quarter-sized circle onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.  The mixture will spread, so make sure you pipe a smaller circle than what you’d like the final size to be.

Once the macaroons have been piped, allow it to sit for 30 minutes for it to harden slightly before placing it in the oven.  Place them in the middle rack of a preheated oven (at 280F) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  The macaroons should rise and form “feet”, which are the spongy bases of the macaroons. Once removed from the oven, allow them to cool completely (DON’T be tempted to eat them right away  If you aren’t using them right away, the cooled macaroons can be stored in an airtight container (not in the fridge) or placed in the freezer.

For the ganache:

Heat the cream, butter and syrup in a saucepan until bubbles form on the sides.  Remove from heat.  Pour the cream mixture over the chopped chocolate and stir until the ganache is formed. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes for it to harden slightly and thus make it more spreadable.

Once the macaroons have completely cooled, spread a little of the ganache between two macaroons. There you have it ! Absolutely sinful

For father’s day, we decided to treat ourselves to brunch at Tom Colicchio’s Craftbar in NYC.  We’d heard about their “pain perdu”, in that it was probably THE BEST french toast out there. I mean I love a good french toast, but given that practically every review of the restaurant mentioned the mouth-watering pain perdu, I was intrigued.

So naturally, at brunch we ordered the pain perdu, amongst other things. After sipping on some really good coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice, the french toast arrived.  The plating was simple – 3 slices of brioche with a light dusting of powdered sugar.  I believe that was it.  The maple syrup and strawberry compote arrived on a separate tray.  The pain perdu was actually for my son, so we waited eagerly for him to declare he was done.  Thankfully, he stopped after one toast (although he DID eat it rather quickly, for him).

So my husband and I each took a bite out of the remaining two toasts. I was nearly speechless (that’s a bit hard to do for me). The pain perdu was literally to die for. There was something about the combination of crunch and softness of the brioche.  It was very rich, so I threw my diet out the door that day, but it was certainly worth every pound I put on with each bite. I’ve never had french toast so light, yet crisp, and that just melted in your mouth.

As soon as we got home, I obsessed online looking for the recipe and just couldn’t find their official recipe for the dish. I then came across this blog, about one woman’s quest to find the recipe for Craftbar’s pain perdu! I couldn’t believe. I wasn’t the only one out there looking for it.

Well, it turned out that after almost a year of testing and retesting recipes, the blogger at Culinary Musings had finally figured it out! And boy was I thrilled! She said there were 3 important elemtents to the dish 1) if you didn’t have stale bread, you had to simulate it by toasting the sliced bread first 2) instead of the usual egg and milk mixture, you had to create a custard using egg yolks only and 3) the bread, the essential part of the dish had to be brioche (which we all knew from the menu) but not just any brioche, but brioche from Balthazar!

My heart sank a bit when I read that. I’m wasn’t about to trek over to Manhattan just to pick up a loaf of Balthazar Brioche for this recipe, which at this point, I could only hope it would be similar to Craftbar’s.  So instead, I headed over to Whole Foods in the next town over, looking for some local artisan brioche bread. Lo and behold, right there staring at me was a loaf of Balthazar Brioche!! I couldn’t believe it! I inquired about the bread and was told that every morning, just two loaves of this spectacular bread comes in.  Since it was only Tuesday and I wanted to make the french toast on Sunday, I was told to come back. I guess there’s a fine line between stale and moldy!

So I returned on Saturday morning thrilled to pick up the brioche and everything else I needed to make this. But the brioche loaves were nowhere to be found! It turns out that two other people had beaten me to it! I was crushed! We were having guests over and I was determined to make it, and make it right ! But alas, some challah bread was all I could find, so that’s what we had.

I still followed the recipe exactly as Culinary Musings had suggested, and the end result was a pretty fantastic french toast. But I was determined to get it right.  A week later, I returned for the bread, this time practically stalking the store, hoping to get my hands on the Balthazar Brioche. It was my lucky day! And the bread was 3 days old! Even better!

As soon as I got home, I got to work! Even though I made a few modifications to the recipe (which you’ll see below), it was EXACTLY like Craftbar’s Pain Perdu. Something I could probably only eat once a year, due to the richness of the dish, but having tasted this, there’s just no going back. So thanks to Culinary Musings for doing the hard work! I’ve now tasted THE BEST french toast ever, and it’s going to be pretty hard to beat.

Here’s how I made it (using Culinary Musings’ recipe with some minor modifications):

Ingredients::

1 loaf of Balthazar Brioche, cut into 12 slices

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 egg yolks

1 TBS sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

butter as needed for frying each slice of french toast.

Yields: 12 slices

(Note: This recipe is easy to do ahead. Complete all steps a day ahead except the final oven-heating step.  Place the cooked slices in the fridge, and on the day of the event, return  them to room temperate and place in the oven for 10 minutes as directed.)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F

Slice the loaf of brioche into 12 pieces. Arrange on a baking tray and toast in oven at 350F for 7 minutes. The slices should just be starting to get crunchy when you take them out. They shouldn’t be brown like toast.

In a pot, heat 2 cups of cream along with the vanilla extract. Allow the cream mixture to simmer on very low heat. In the meantime, whisk 2 egg yolks along with the sugar until the egg appears pale yellow. This took me approximately 4-5 minutes to achieve using a stand mixer (Setting no. 6).

Reduce the speed and gently add a ladle of the cream at a time to the egg.  Continue until all the cream has been incorporated into the egg. Pour the cream mixture into a flat dish.  You’ll notice quite a bit of froth, but if you wait about 10 minutes before proceeding, most of the froth will be gone.

Take a toasted piece of brioche and dip each side into the cream mixture for NO MORE THAN 7 seconds.  Pan fry the bread in butter, cooking each side for approximately 2 minutes each, on medium flame. Once each slice is done, place it back onto the baking tray.  When all 12 pieces are cooked, place them into the oven at 350F for 10 minutes. And there you have it! The best french toast you’ve ever tasted!  I served the french toast with a bit of powdered sugar dusted on top, as well as a mixed berry sauce and some maple syrup.

For the mixed berry sauce, I just emptied a bag of organic frozen berries into a pot, and added about 1/4 cup of sugar.  I added a splash of water to help the ingredients break down and simmered the mixture for about 20 minutes, until the liquid reduced.

Hope you decide to try this recipe! Do you have a french toast recipe you just love?

My husband and I spent a lovely weekend in NYC to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.  The entire weekend revolved around food! Nothing else. Sad, but true!

So here are some of the images of the food we ate!

For lunch, we stopped at Caracas Arepa Bar for some delicious Venezuelan arepas. Simply delicious.

Photo courtesy of caracasarepabar.com/

Photo courtesy of caracasarepabar.com/

For dinner we ate at Wylie Dufresne’s wd-50.  This restaurant that features molecular gastronomy cooking styles, was good, but I’m sad to say, not worth the price.

A deconstructed Eggs Benedict.

Photo courtesy of wd-50.com

Mediterranean Sea Bass with artichokes, fried forbidden rice and served with a white chocolate-green olive sauce (which was surprisingly quite good).

Photo courtesy of wd-50.com

And finally dessert at wd-50, which was actually the highlight of the meal. I ordered the panko-crusted spice cake which was fried and served along some tamarind ice cream, corriander foam, ceviche of pineapple and some dehydrated corn! It was actually REALLY good!

Photo courtesy of wd-50.

The next night, we ate at Aquavit, a high-end Swedish restaurant. Wow, the food was really amazing, down to the quality of ingredients and the presentation.  I’d definitely spend my money here again!

I know this looks like something you’d find at the IKEA cafeteria, but it was so much more than that. The swedish meatballs were really seasoned so nicely and the lingonberry sauce just burst in your mouth. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of the incredibly fresh glassblower herring or the lovely swedish cheesecake we ordered. But you’ll have to trust me on it, that the entire meal was to die for.

Photo courtesy of Aquavit.org.

We ended our lovely culinary trip with a visit to La Maison du Macaron at 132 W 23rd Street.  Their french macaroon selection is mesmerizing but at $2.50 a pop, I only indulged in one, the white chocolate-coconut.  It’s a lovely little french cafe with great coffee and pastries. Here’s a picture of the incredibly delicious french macaroons.

Photo courtesy of La Maison du Macaron.

I know I’ve mentioned in my prior food posts, about the cultural diversity of Singapore and thus the vast array of foods you find at hawker centers across the island. Well, I just couldn’t resist putting up some of my favorite dishes. The above is an entirely vegetarian meal, which is easily found at hawker centers.  The red item is supposed to be “char siew” or barbecued pork, while the black item is black pepper chicken, served alongside some “bee hoon” (or vermicelli) and a spring roll. And a healthy dose of chili sauce (which isn’t pictured).

Here are my other favorites:

Another vegetarian meal, full of flavour

otak otak – this dish is made of fish, garlic, chillies, coconut milk and is stuffed into a banana leaf and roasted over hot coals.

otak otak – a closeup

Murtabak – a type of flat bread stuffed with mutton (or chicken), onions, garlic and eggs

Murtabak – a closeup

The chicken curry that you dip the murtabak into.

AND, for my all-time favorite……..

Char Kway Teow – a stir fry of flat rice noodles, with yellow “mee” (noodles), soy sauce, egg, chilies, chili sauce, chinese chives and fish cakes. Simply heaven!

Hope you have a great Memorial Day Weekend! See you next week!