Large Chinese scallion pancake (蔥油大餅)

Ever since I was little, I've always loved scallion pancakes. My mom would make these from scratch at home, and we sometimes would order them at dim sum houses in Philadelphia. It was fun to judge the restaurants' versions because some of them would be too crispy, too oily, or too thick. In my mind, my mom's version was always the best.

Many years later, my mom was inspired by some of her friends and some of the restaurants in Taiwan. They made a very large scallion pancake called da bing (大餅).  She kept experimenting with the recipe to successfully recreate what she loved about this appetizer. It was crispy on the outside, fluffy like a bread on the inside, and contained the scallions and salt that she loved about a traditional scallion pancake. After many rounds of tweaking, she finally nailed the recipe.

I am fortunate that Mom gave me the completed recipe so I didn't have do all the trial and error myself. Having a toddler at home makes it hard for me to spend the time to experiment on my own, so I am glad that I didn't need to make any additional revisions for this da bing.

My husband and I recently joined a CSA, and in our very first box was a bunch of large spring onions. It was the perfect way to showcase this fresh produce while also tackling one of Mom's recipes. I found that I needed more flour than what my mom listed, but otherwise, the flavor and texture of the da bing is just as Mom makes it. My husband noted that this rivaled my mom's version, and I take that as the highest compliment.

You can serve this plain, or like my husband, dip it in some Asian sweet chili sauce for an added kick. The da bing will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Just make sure you wrap it tightly with tin foil or put it in an air-tight container. You can reheat in the microwave (about 30 seconds or so for a wedge) or in the oven (350 for about 5 min).

Ingredients

• 2 cups of water or milk (Mom and I use milk but she says water could work too)
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups of all purpose flour (I probably used up to 4 or 5 cups)
• 1 packet of yeast (not the instant kind)
• Sugar (about 1/2 tsp)
• Salt
• Scallions, chopped
• Oil

Directions

Warm the milk in the microwave so that it's no longer cold. Do not scald or boil the milk.

Add the sugar to the milk and stir. Then add the yeast and let it proof for about 5 minutes.  You should see the top get foamy.

Add the milk mixture to the flour and mix until just incorporated. Set it aside and let it rise for about 10 minutes.

Roll the dough into a rectangle about 1 cm thick. Then, using a brush, coat the top of the dough with some oil. Sprinkle the surface with salt and chopped scallions.

Roll, jelly-roll style into a long rope. Coil the rope into a circle and flatten/roll out with a rolling pin. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rise for another 2 hours. Your da bing should end up being about 10 inches in diameter and at least 1 inch thick.

Lightly oil a large nonstick skillet or pan. On LOW heat (do not turn this to medium or high heat!), slowly pan fry the dough. Once the bottom starts to get crispy and the dough looks done on one side (about 10 minutes later), flip the pancake over and brown the other side. This pan-frying step should take about 20 minutes total - 10 minutes on each side. Remember to go low and slow!

Once done, the top and bottom of the pancake should be crispy and the inside should be fully cooked. Cut into pie-sliced wedges and serve.

Recipe featured on the Family Challenge

on Very Good Recipes

Source: My mom (original source unknown)

Profiteroles

I first had a profiterole at a local steak house. I had never heard of them until then, and I was smitten. These cute little puffs were nice and delicate and contained one of my favorite things - vanilla pastry cream! And then they were topped with a glaze and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Even though I was full of steak, I of course made plenty of room to eat a few one of these.

Although it has been years since I have eaten a profiterole, I am ecstatic that I have successfully made them! I have been intimidated by French baking and decided to just bite the bullet. What's the worst that could happen?

As I mentioned before, I wanted to make both chocolate éclairs and profiteroles, so I made both of these in one day.  I made the éclairs first and kept the oven on at 375 and then piped the profiteroles and baked those.

This recipe was remarkably easier than I thought. Had I known that pastry cream was so easy to put together, I would have been making Boston Cream Pie and other desserts a long time ago. Now I just need to find something to do with the leftover egg whites... Stay tuned to see what I came up with!

Ingredients

• 1 recipe cream puff dough, which can be found here
• 1 recipe vanilla pastry cream, which can be found here
• 1 recipe chocolate glaze, which can be found here

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

Mix the cream puff dough as instructed.

Using about 1 tablespoon dough for each puff, drop the dough from a spoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of puff space between the mounds of dough. (The puffs can be frozen for up to 2 months.) I decided to cut a hole in a pastry bag, filled it with the dough and swirled 1 1/2 inch circles.

Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pans. Continue baking until the puffs are golden, firm and puffed, another 12-15 minutes or so (mine baked for 12). Allow the puffs to cool on the baking sheet.

Using a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, you can simply cut off the top quarter or third of each puff, fill them with the pastry cream and top with the little caps. I drizzled mine in the chocolate glaze at this point.

Chill for at least an hour (up to 8 hours) before serving.

Yield: I used a full recipe for cream puff dough and split it in half - half for éclairs and half for profiteroles. I got about 9 éclairs and 9 profiteroles.

Source: Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan

Strawberry Greek frozen yogurt

This is my first month participating in a new baking group, What's Baking. Each month, an assigned member of the group chooses a theme that everyone has to follow. The theme for May was "Bake In Season with Spring Produce," which was chosen by our host, Ammie of Adventures In My Kitchen. I was excited about this theme because our local farmer's market just opened, and I couldn't wait to check out what fresh produce the vendors had to offer.

On opening day, I browsed almost all of the stalls at the farmer's market and saw something that immediately caught my attention - fresh strawberries! Several vendors had freshly picked strawberries for sale, and I bought a pint of them. I knew right away what I wanted to make with my haul: strawberry Greek frozen yogurt.

 

My fresh pint of strawberries from the farmer's market!

Greek yogurt has been one of the latest food trends, and I was not an adopter at all. I tried it once, and it was way too tart for my tastes. I gave it a second try, but this time I bought the kind with sweetened granola and was hooked. Then my husband saw that Ben & Jerry's came out with a line of Greek frozen yogurt. We bought a pint, and it was really, really good. I decided that I needed to make my own and stop paying the $4 per container that the grocery store charged us.

This strawberry Greek frozen yogurt is still a bit on the tart side, but you can certainly add more (or less) sugar to adjust it to your palate. One other thing to note is that many websites said that you need to let the frozen yogurt thaw a bit on the counter before you scoop. I tried scooping immediately from the freezer to take a photo of my frozen yogurt, and chunks flew everywhere! After a few minutes, the yogurt was soft enough to meld together so I could take this photo.

Ingredients

• 1 pound strawberries, rinsed and hulled (I used a pint of fresh strawberries)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vodka or kirsch  (optional - I used vodka)
• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt (I used three 7 ounce containers of plain FAGE lowfat Greek yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I omitted)

Directions

Slice the strawberries into small pieces. Toss in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch (if using) until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, stirring every so often.

Transfer the strawberries and their juice to a blender or food processor. Add the yogurt and fresh lemon juice. Pulse the machine until the mixture is smooth. If you wish, press mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any seeds.

Chill for 1 hour (I chilled overnight), then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

 

Source: Slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz; recipe can also be found David's website here

Chocolate éclairs

I've been seeing some gorgeous photos for chocolate éclairs lately and got jealous. I haven't eaten one in a really, really long time and don't actually know where to buy one around here. The idea of making a pâte à choux and pastry cream seriously freaked me out, but I somehow found the courage to try them both out.

I also wanted to make myself something special for Mother's Day since it was coming up, and éclairs just sounded really tempting. I had a few hours to spare, so why not give it a try?

You know, I've got to say that this is one of my proudest baking moments. It takes courage to accomplish something you've been afraid of, and éclairs was definitely intimidating. I guess any type of French desserts just sounds difficult. But in reality, these weren't hard to make at all!

I made the pastry cream first and split it in half so I could have both a vanilla one and a chocolate one (I'm greedy like that). And then I wanted to have both éclairs and profiteroles (told you I was greedy), so I made both - I'll post about the profiteroles soon. I didn't have any heavy cream so I used a different chocolate glaze topping that I am familiar with.


These are one of my absolute favorite desserts to date, but probably because I am partial to pastry cream and chocolate. I'm usually not one to brag, but these really do taste like they came straight from a professional bakery. The pastry was light and airy, and the pastry cream was smooth, rich and flavorful. And the chocolate glaze on top? Well, that was the perfect topping to a delicate French pastry. And this was the perfect dessert for Mother's Day!

Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients

• 1 recipe cream puff dough (recipe follows)
• 1 recipe vanilla pastry cream, chilled (recipe follows)
• 1 recipe glaze (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.  Fit a large pastry bag with a large (2/3-inch diameter) plain tip.

Fill the pastry bag with half of the dough and pipe out strips of dough that are 4" to 4.5" long onto the first baking sheet; keep the strips about 2 inches apart so the eclairs will have room to puff.  Pipe the other half of the dough onto the second baking sheet (the eclairs can be frozen for up to 2 months.).

Bake the éclairs for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Continue baking another 7 minutes, then wedge the handle of a wooden spoon into the door so it stays slightly ajar, and bake for about 3 minutes more, or until the éclairs are golden, firm, and puffed. Transfer the éclairs to a rack and cool to room temperature.

To fill the éclairs, cut them horizontally in half using a serrated knife.  Whisk the pastry cream lightly to loosen it a bit, spoon it into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, and pipe enough into each éclair base to fill it. Put the filled bases on a baking sheet, cover them lightly, and refrigerate while you make the glaze.

To make the glaze, heat 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate with 4 tablespoons of butter. Whisk until combined and let cool slightly. (Dorie heats up 3/4 cup of heavy cream to a boil and adds 3/4 pound of bittersweet chocolate and stirs gently to blend. Chill the mixture slightly.) If you want your glaze less runny, use more chocolate and less butter.

Using a small icing spatula or a butter knife, glaze the tops of the éclairs (since my glaze was runny, I simply dunked the tops into the chocolate), then settle the tops gently over the filled bases. Refrigerate the éclairs for at least 1 hour (up to 8 hours) before serving.

Vanilla pastry cream ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits, at room temperature

Vanilla pastry cream directions

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan or in a microwave oven.

Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended.  Whisking without stop, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk - this will temper the yolks - then, still whisking, add the remainder of the milk in a steady stream. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly, and thoroughly (make sure to get into the edges of the pan), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil -still whisking - for 1 to 2 minutes, then pull the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until the butter is fully incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the custard to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold. 

I divided my pastry cream into two halves so I could have both vanilla and chocolate pastry cream. To make chocolate pastry cream, I simply added 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate after I added the butter.

Cream puff dough ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 tablespoon sugar (if you're using the puffs for something sweet)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

Cream puff directions

Bring the milk, water, butter, sugar (if you're using it), and salt to a rapid boil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium low, and immediately start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon or heavy whisk. The dough will come together, and a light crust will form on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring--with vigor-- for another minute or two to dry the dough. The dough should be very smooth.

Turn the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can use an electric hand mixer or mix by hand if needed). Let the dough sit a minute, then add the eggs one by one and beat until the dough is thick and shiny. Make sure that each egg is completely incorporated before you add the next, and don't be concerned if the dough falls apart. By the time the last egg goes in, the dough will come together again. Once the dough is made, it should be used immediately. 

Yield: I used a full recipe for cream puff dough and split it in half - half for éclairs and half for profiteroles. I got about 9 éclairs and 9 profiteroles.The pastry cream recipe was enough to fill all my éclairs and profiteroles, but they did not fill them as generously as I would have liked.

Source: Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan 

Hawaiian mango bread

Those who are close to me know that I am absolutely in love... with the Hawaiian Islands!  Well, that and my husband and daughter, of course!  But that's to go without saying. My husband and I have visited Hawaii on three separate occasions, with our inaugural trip during our honeymoon. We fell in love with the island so much that we are determined to retire there. Hey, we can dream, right?

One of the highlights of our trip to Maui was this little roadside stand on the way to Hana.  We were embarking on the famous Road to Hana and heard that we absolutely had to take a pit stop near the beginning to a little fruit stand. We bought a loaf of banana bread and some ordered-to-cut fresh pineapple. Little did we know that the little road stand would change our lives forever.

The pineapple was so fresh and sweet that it almost tasted like it was spiked with rum! The juices in the fruit started caramelizing a bit that we could faintly taste the fermentation of alcohol.  To this day, we still have not had pineapple as good as the one sold by that one fruit stand.

And the banana bread was out of this world! It was full of banana flavor, super moist, and practically melted in our mouths. I haven't found a recipe that has even come close to imitating it, and I hope that I do find it one day. While doing a search for Hawaiian banana bread, I came across this mango bread recipe on A Dash of Sugar and Spice that I knew I had to try. If I couldn't have my Hawaiian banana bread, then I would have to try another recipe from the islands!  This mango bread recipe comes from a Hawaiian cookbook, so I knew that it would taste authentic.

The bread is super moist, and the mango has a bit of tartness that is nicely counterbalanced by the brown and white sugar. I immediately think of palm trees, sandy beaches and fruity drinks when I take a bite of this bread. In fact, I think I could eat this all day long! If you want, you could even substitute 1 cup of the mango and replace it with banana to make this a mango banana bread.

Since we're not in Hawaii right now, this is a perfect way to bring the islands to us! Aloha!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger (I didn't have any, so I omitted)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup canola oil
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups diced mango, about 3 mangoes (I used two large mangoes)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5″ loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine and make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. 

Add the eggs, oil, sugars, vanilla, and mango to the well. Stir to combine, until just mixed. Pour into the loaf pan. 

Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let bread cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Variation: Mango Banana Bread – Replace 1 cup of mango with 1 cup mashed banana

Yield: One loaf

Source: A Dash of Sugar and Spice

Chocolate peanut butter ice cream

You all already know that I'm not a fan of peanut butter (yes, I am weird like that). But, my husband is quite the opposite of me in that department - he is quite possibly the world's biggest fan of peanut butter. I'm only slightly exaggerating. When he mentioned that our homemade ice cream supply was dwindling, I set out to rectify the situation and started digging through my newly purchased copy of The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.

It didn't take me long to decide on this chocolate peanut butter ice cream from the book. I know that my husband is a fan of chocolate and peanut butter, and this ice cream only used 5 ingredients (no egg yolks!), so I had to try it. The ice cream mixture came together really quickly, especially since I didn't have to crack any eggs and temper the custard. I think the total process took about 10 minutes.

My husband loved this ice cream! He already has a favorite chocolate peanut butter ice cream (from Woodside Farm Creamery in Delaware), but he said that this version was also very good. He noted that the peanut butter flavor was well-pronounced and came through. I think I may have added a bit extra peanut butter to give it that extra flavor boost, but we'll keep that secret between you and me.

Unless you're able to make it to Woodside Farm Creamery, I'd recommend trying this recipe from David Lebovitz. While I can't vouch for how good the ice cream is, I have a peanut butter expert who can!

And a happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there - especially to mine!

Ingredients

• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's dark)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

Directions

Whisk together half-and-half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk  until it comes to a full, rolling boil and starts to foam up.

Remove from heat and mix in peanut butter. Stir until thoroughly blended.

Chill mixture completely, then churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Source: The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz

Chocolate chocolate chunk muffins

Boy, do I love a deal. It makes me happy when I use a coupon or a gift card and end up paying a fraction of the retail price of something. One of my online cooking friends posted an Amazon deal that was too good to pass up. Two of Dorie Greenspan's cookbooks, Baking: From My Home to Yours and Around My French Table were being sold as a bundle for $5. Total. I couldn't believe it! The retail price for each book was $40, and I was getting both for $5?? Sounded almost like a scam, but it wasn't. I placed my order immediately and the books arrived within the week.

I can't tell you how many hours I've spent looking through these cookbooks. There is always a new recipe I want to try, and I am sad that I missed out on the Tuesdays with Dorie online cooking club.  I know that there is a new group going on that is focusing on Around My French Table, but I'm more interested in the baking recipes. Obviously.

This is the first of many recipes that I hope to make from Dorie. I chose these chocolate chocolate chunk muffins because 1) I love chocolate, 2) I love chocolate, and 3) I had leftover buttermilk.  As Dorie states in her book, these muffins are only slightly sweet and could be considered either muffins or cupcakes.  I'd like to call them muffins so I can eat them for breakfast! These muffins got an enthusiastic thumbs up from my husband!

Ingredients

• 3/4 stick (6 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Lindt 70% dark chocolate)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (I used Hershey's Dark)
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cups buttermilk (I only had 3/4 cup so I used 2% milk for the remainder)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter or spray a regular-sized muffin pan or insert with paper liners. I decided to use an ungreased silicone muffin pan.  Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet..

Melt the butter and HALF of the chopped chocolate together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Or, you can do this in the microwave (which I did - I zapped for 30 seconds). Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and vanilla together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients and melted butter/chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients, and with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough - a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Yield: 12 muffins

Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan; page 19