Hello Kitty Cake 3D

What did you make for a xmas party?
I had a fun time with my husband's family in socal! They got 5 girls, so decided to make a hello kitty cake for them. I thought about making it more xmasy, like coloring  the ribbon with green x red, making a nose with red chocolate or something like that. However, I just felt like making a original version after all.

Hello Kitty Chocolate Cake (9in)

-9in sponge cake ( I made chocolate one)
-Chocolate cream
         350ml  Heavy whipping cream
         160g  Chocolate (chopped)
-Whipped cream
         one pint Heavy whipping cream
         70g   Granulated sugar
         a little, vanilla extract
-Fruits (optional, but strawberries go well with this cake I think)

-Pocky (whiskers)



1. Slice a sponge cake into 4. Line a 9in bowl with plastic wrap. Cut the 2 slices of the cake to line the bowl as shown in the picture 1. It's like a puzzle, kinda..

2. Make chocolate cream. Put 160g chocolate and 160g whipping cream in another bowl. Mix then in a double boiler. Slowly melt the chocolate. When chocolate melt, take the bowl out from the double boiler and add the rest of the whipping cream. Mix carefully until thicker. Pour it in a bowl from step 1. (picture 2)
Make ears with a slice of the cake.  Lay the extra cake between cream. (picture 3) Put fruits if you want. Pour the cream to the top. (Picture 4).

3. Put a lid with the 4th slice of the cake. Refrigerate for a couple hours.

4.  Take it out on a cake plate. ( picture 6)

                        *I took this picture when I made a smaller size cake.

5. Connect the ears and the face with Pocky.

6. Make whipped cream by mixing heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Pipe around the face.

7. Make the face parts. (eyes & ribbon: chocolate, nose: ;lemon cream covered almond)

　

Moo Moo Marshmallow

It's officially a marshmallow season!!!!!!!
Hot cocoa with warm milk and marshmallow is a must item of this season♪
(for me, warm soy milk^^)
Make your winter drink warmer with moo moo cow marshmallow.

Here is my favorite hot chocolate recipe. Adapted from Hot Chocolate recipe.

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup 1% milk, divided  (I used 1/2 soy milk + 1/2 vanilla flavor almond milk)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract ( I skipped this)
• Pinch of ground cinnamon

1. Mix sugar, cocoa and 2 tablespoons cold milk in a mug until smooth. Heat the remaining milk in a small saucepan on the stovetop or in a 2-cup glass measure in the microwave until steaming hot but not boiling. Stir in the cocoa mixture and vanilla.
2. To froth the hot chocolate, whirl a whisk in it by rubbing your hands back and forth. (Alternatively, pour the hot chocolate into a blender, cover with the lid and a kitchen towel and blend until frothy.) Pour it back into the mug and sprinkle with cinnamon.

This cow marshmallow is great for decorating your cake too.
Especially when you make white, black or marble cake!
Try this soft and moist steamed cake. It's daily free^^


Daily Free Steamed Cake (about 6 cupcakes)

White batter
100g Flour
30g Sugar
1tsp Baking powder
pinch, Salt
110ml Soy milk

Black batter
100g Flour
30g Sugar
1tsp Baking powder
pinch, Salt
2tsp Cocoa powder
110ml Soy milk


1. Make white and black batters. Mix dry ingredients and then add soy milk.
2. Put paper or silicone molds in ramekins. Pour the white batter into each cups.
3. Drop the black batter on top with a spoon. Gently mix with a tooth pick or something like that.

4. Put a little water in a pot and place the ramekins. Boil water and then put a lid. (cover the lid with a towel. See the older post.)Steam for about 15 minutes over medium-low heat.

Let's make marshmallow cows!

You need,
Marshmallows
Sliced almonds
Dark chocolate
White chocolate

1. Cut slits where you will make ears and insert sliced almonds. Melt white chocolate and dip the marshmallow as shown.

2. Put a tooth pick on the back of marshmallow and stick to a style foam tray. Cool in a fridge.

3. Melt dark chocolates and color one ear and draw eyes and nose. See the final picture.

Santa Claus and Snowman Pancakes! (Vegan)

Start holidays with this healthy & happy breakfast!
I found this no daily pancake recipe on a Japanese recipe site. Original recipe here (in Japanese)
They got more than 100 good reviews!
Original recipe calls for butter to cook pancakes, but I used canola oil instead,
 I think it tastes better than store bought pancake mix.
My husband loved it too:)
I made coconut whipped cream to avoid daily. Find out recipe here.
It's much cheaper than buying soy whipped cream!
Oh don't forget to like us on facebook! You will get a free ebook, "Fun Japanese Bento Styling!"
See the review from the link on the left :)!

Daily free pancakes

150g Flour ( I used whole wheat)
10g   Potato starch
30g   Sugar (I used beet sugar)
Salt   pinch
10g   Baking powder
200ml  Water ( I used soy milk)

Mix the dry ingredients and add water.
Heat oil over medium heat and pour the batter. Brown on both sides.

You need a large round and a snowman shape pancakes to make the holiday pancakes!
Also, you need:

Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries (of any fruit you like)
Whipped Cream of your choice ( I used coconut whipped cream)
Chocolate syrup
Chocolate chips
Marshmallow



*Santa*

1. Make a round pancake. Cool it a little bit so that whipped cream won't melt.

2. Cut strawberries and fill the top space. (about 1/3 of the top)

3. Pip whipped cream to make beard and brim.

4. Cut strawberry to make nose and draw mouth and eyes with chocolate syrup. Put marshmallow on top.

*snowman*

1. Make snowman shape pancake. (Just simply make small rounds next each other so that they will connect) Cool a little.

2. Put whipped cream on the pancake.

3. Make eyes with chocolate chips, nose with strawberry, buttons with blueberries and mouth with chocolate syrup. Decorate the plate with raspberries. 

Halloween Smoked Salmon Sushi

Happy Halloween!
This is our tonight's dinner.... Smoked salmon sushi Jack!

What you need
-about 600g sushi rice See sushi cake post for sushi rice recipe
-smoked salmon
-7 shiso leaves
-a cake mold  (18cm, about 7in. I don't have it, so I made it with a paper milk carton)
-nori seaweed


1. Layer a cake mold with plastic wrap.
2. Cover the bottom of the mold with salmon and shiso leaves.

3. Put sushi rice over the salmon and shiso leaves.
4. Push the rice over plastic wrap.
5. Flip it over on a plate.
6. Make face parts with nori seaweed

Meat Loaf Cake!

Made a Halloween meat loaf cake for my first girl's bunco night!
I always wanted to make this, but it's kinda too much for just two of us, so thought it was a good chance to make this big meat loaf cake this time!!! Great for parties♪♪


8in Cake
Meat loaf
850g  Ground beef
1 1/2 cup  Japanese bread crumbs
1 cup  Soy milk
1 Large onion
3 Eggs
1 1/2tsp  Salt
a little   Ground nutmeg
a little  Pepper

Sauce
12tbs  Ketchup
12tbs  Worcestershire sauce
300ml  Red wine
1tsp    Vegetable broth powder
50g     Butter
Juice from the meat loaf

Mashed potatoes

2 Russel potatoes
1 Golden potatoes
60g Mayonnaise
Heavy whipping cream
2tbs butter
Salt

Meat loaf
1. Minced onion and saute until translucent. Soak the bread crumbs in soy milk. Preheat oven at 400F.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a ball and knead until combined.
3. Put in a cake mold and cover the top with tin foil. Place on a baking tray and bake for 40-50 mins.
4. When it's cooled down a little, take the meat out of the mold. Keep the juice from the meat for the sauce.

Sauce
1. Mix the sauce ingredients except butter in a pot and simmer until reduced by about 2/3.
2. Add butter and stir. Turn off the heat.

Mashed potatoes
For the nappe
1. Cut the Russel potatoes and steam in a microwave. (about 7min at 700W)
2. Cool it down a little, peel and put in a blender.
3. Add mayonnaise and a little salt and blend. (use more or less mayonnaise until your desired consistency)
    A little hard is better to nappe, I think.

4. Let it cool in a refrigerator a little and put it around and top of the meat loaf by hands.
    The key is to put the potatoes thick.  It's easier to smooth out later.
5.Smooth it our with spatula.

For the piping
1. Cut the golden potatoes and steam in a microwave.
2. Cool it down a little, peel and put in a blender.
3. Add butter, whipping cream and a little salt and blend. (use more or less cream until your desired consistency)
4. Let it cool and put in a piping bag and decorate the cake!

Fresh Strawberry Daifuku Made With Rice!

150g  Uncooked sweet rice (I use organic sweet brown rice from Whole Foods Market)
150ml Water
1.5 tablespoon Brown Sugar
Corn starch  for coating rice

4~5 Strawberries
Sweet beans


1. Wash rice.
2. Soak the rice in the water over night.
3. Add sugar and mix. Shift in a FP and mix well.
4. Place in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap.
5. Cook in a microwave for 2mins. Take it out and mix with wet wooden spoon or something.
6. Cook in a microwave again for 2mins. Mash up rice with a wooden pestle.
    If there is still a little hard rice, cook for another 2 mins.

7. Wrap strawberries with sweet beans.

 8. Dust the work surface with corn starch.

9. When the rice cooled down a little, divide in 4 or 5 with a wet spoon and place on the coated surface.

10. Dust your hands with corn starch and push and flatten the rice with your hands.
11. Wrap the strawberries with rice.

If you don't eat right away, wrap it with a plastic wrap and place in a refrigerator. Don't keep more than 2 days.

Pumpkin whiPOOHed 3D cake

Saw this cake on CookPad, a popular Japanese cooking website and fell in love!

Changed a recipe and direction to make it easier and healthier!!

What you need....

(cake size of Japanese rice bowl )

Base cake (12cm size)



Your favorite cream ( I used homemade black bean cream)

100g ish Mashed and strained pumpkin

1p Very firm vacuumed tofu (or heavy whipping cream)

5 Tbs Maple syrup



1. Cut the cake in 3 layers. Cut 1 of them into 4 and line a rice bowl with it. (picture top on right)

2. Put the cream in a rice bowl

3. Cut another layer of the cake to make the lid. (picture 3rd from top on right)

4. move it over to a large plate

5. Make ears with the last layer, using a heart shaped cookie cutter

6.Put the ears with toothpicks or fried pasta.

7. puree the tofu and maple syrup with FP and strain. Or whisk heavy whipping cream.

8. mix with pumpkin

9. just decorate the cake! (nose part is just creme)

10. make eyes and eyebrows with chocolate:)



Cheese Souffle with Japanese Panko Crust

Japanese panko(bread crumbs) is not only for fry! You can use it for sweets too.
This panko crust is very easy to make!
You need just 3 ingredients each for the crust and cheese souffle. Simple is the best:p

*Crust
90g  Japanese Panko
50g Butter (room temperature)
2Tbs  Honey

Place all the ingredients in a Ziploc. Mix well.
Push the mixture into a cake mold.
Bake at 320F for about 15mins.
(That's it!)

*Cheese Souffle
150g Creme Cheese (room temp)
3 Eggs
80g Sugar

Mix creme cheese and egg yolks.
Make meringue with egg whites and sugar.

     <some tips to make meringue>
Use cold egg whites
Put a hint of salt in egg whites before you start whisking.
Whisk egg whites slowly until it gets smooth.
Add 1/3 of sugar and whisk fast.
Add another 1/3 of sugar and keep whisking.
Add the rest of sugar and whisk again.

Mix meringue and creme cheese mixture.
Pour into the crust.
Bake at 320F for about 30-40mins.

Xmas tree cupcakes

Looking for some cute holiday cupcakes?
Put green tea cream leaves on your favorite cupcakes and make sweet xmas tree!

Maccha (green tea) cream
200ml Heavy whipping cream
3tsp Maccha(green tea powder)
3tbs powdered sugar


Beat all the ingredients in a chilled ball.
When it gets thick enough to pipe, put it into a pipping bag with tip of star shape.
Pipe on each cake.


Decorate with dried fruit.
To make the stars, cut out fruit sheet using a star shape cookie cutter.

Toaster Pastry ~ Easy Mille-feullie (Napoleon)~

One of my favorite kinds of cakes is mille-feullie<3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">Sheets of puff pastry sandwiched with pastry creme.

This recipe is very easy. You can bake a pie in a toaster oven:)

★Pie crust
-1 frozen pie sheet

Move the frozen pie crust to the fridge a day before you plan to use it.
Cut into desired sizes.
With a fork poke small holes in the crust.
Line toaster oven tray with aluminum foil.
Bake until pastry is golden brown.
Cover the pastry with another sheet of aluminum foil to prevent it from burning and bake until it swells. ( about 10-15mins)


To make mille-feullie, You can just spread pastry creme between the layers of pies. I made the creme from soy milk this time! It tastes like custard creme.


~soy creme~

almond flour 90g (1cup)
soy milk 300g (1&1/2cup)
grated *yamaimo 90g
agar 1/2tsp
Maple Syrup 75g (1/4cup)
*(nigari 1/2tsp) - if you have.
corn or potato starch or arrowroot 2tbs dissolved in 3 tbs water
almond oil 60g (1/3cup) (5tbs)
vanilla extract 1/2tsp

*Yamaimo is called Japanese Yam. It is a root vegetable that is viscous in texture like okra.

*nigari is the most common tofu coagulants used. It is composed mainly of magnesium chloride and other minerals found in seawater.

You can find both nigari and yamaimo at Japanese grocery stores.

Direction:
place the top 6 ingredients in blender and mix well.
move the mixture to a large skillet and brig it to a boil.
Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir well.
Reduce heat and simmer about 10 mins.

Let it cool and put in fridge over night.
Place the mixture into the blender and mix well.
Heat oil in a microwave for about 1min and add it to the mixture. Mix well.
Add vanilla extract and blend well.

Raw Pecan Crusted Cashew Creme Tart

Made with only nuts and dried fruit. Very natural, simple but yummy tart!
Recipe adapted from Whole Living.

Quick Apple Pie

Who says you need nice pie crust to make yummy apple pie?? Not me!
All you need is the filling and....GYOZA SKIN!
You can make it with your frying pan. Can't be easier!


For the filling (for about 10 pies)
1 apple
1/4cup sugar
1TBS lemon juice
Cinnamon

Cut apple into small pieces.
Mix all the ingredients and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Bring it to a boil.
Let it cool.

For the pie
The apple filling
20 gyoza skins
Almond oil

Place the filling on the gyoza skin. (double wrap)
Roll it up.
Fry with almond oil.

Vegan cupcake with Cashew frosting

I found a post about the vegan frosting made from cashews on a food blog, Roost and it sounded very interesting! What a clever idea.
I gave it a try and it turned out very good. It's a good alternative to buttercreme.
I followed the recipe below, but replaced coconut oil with Tahini.

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The cashew cream (The recipe from Roost)

2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 3 hours, drained and rinsed
juice from 3 lemons
4 dates, pits removed
1 TBS coconut oil (this does not need to be warmed just scoop it right out of the jar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
orange juice

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender (a rinky dink blender will not do the trick!) and blend until you have a very smooth consistency. Add more OJ if you need to thin it out.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Since the frosting is vegan, I wanted to make some kind of vegan cupcakes.
I was browsing around for it and found this interesting cupcake recipe on a Japanese website!
This recipe requires no egg, no milk(even soy milk)........ but the chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar to increase the volume!!
I've used this reaction for cleaning......
When those two are combined, it starts bubbling up and breaks down stains.
Well you might say "Seriously? Vinegar for cupcakes?".
But trust me! It doesn't taste vinegar at all.
I changed some ingredients of the original recipe to make it healthier.

Vegan cupcakes

100g Whole what flour
3TBS Cocoa powder
3TBS Brown sugar
1.5tsp Baking Powder
1/2tsp Baking Soda
2TBS Oil
110cc Water
2.5TBS Vinegar

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine dry ingredients.
Add wet ingredients except vinegar and mix well.
Add vinegar and mix quickly.
Bake for about 25mins.

*Don't try to make many at a time.. You might not be able to get the volume you want.
The softest cupcake I've ever had! Enjoy:)

Kyotofu's Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes

4/23 was my boss's 40th birthday, so I decided to make 40 cupcakes for his birthday party. I was browsing recipes online for something new to try, when I came across this Kyotofu's chocolate souffle cupcake.
It won New York Magazine's best cupcake award in 2007:"Imperceptibly enriched with soy milk, tofu, and just enough miso to give it a slight, delectable tang."

Kyotofu is a Japanese dessert bar in NY.
New York Magazine say;"with its focus on the flavors of Japan and the gracefully subtle incorporation of soy into eleven out of the fifteen items on its short menu, Kyotofu is making its own distinctive mark on an increasingly crowded postprandial market."
Zagat says Kyotofu is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the US.


Here is the recipe courtesy of New York Magazine;
Ingredients
2 cups dark chocolate (preferably Valrhona pellets, 64 percent)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon white miso
3 eggs
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup Japanese bread flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona)
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup silken tofu
1/4 cup soy milk, unsweetened (preferably Vitasoy)


Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
(1) Melt chocolate, butter, and miso in double boiler over low heat, stirring occasionally. When only small lumps remain, remove from heat and stir until completely smooth. Whip eggs until they reach “ribbon stage,” then pour chocolate mixture into mixing bowl with the eggs, varying the mixing speed to incorporate chocolate.
(2) Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, mixing together with hands or a whisk. Fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate, mixing until fully incorporated. Add tofu and soy milk slowly, mixing until fully incorporated.
(3) Scoop batter almost to the top of 24 wax-lined mini–panettone cups arranged on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating tray halfway through, until center springs back when touched. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
(Published 2009)

Sushi Cake!

Made a sushi cake for my friend's birthday party.

8inch sushi cake

3cup sushi rice
*5tbs vinegar
*4tbs agave (You can use sugar instead)
*1tbs salt
*1.2inch ish Dried Kombu(edible kelp) optional

Prepare sushi vinegar. Mix all the * ingredients well and let it cool in a fridge over night.
Add the sushi vinegar to hot steamed rice and mix well.

Cover the mold with plastic wrap.
Fill the mold with the half amount of sushi rice. Place plastic wrap on and press the rice.
Spread the avocado salad and put another half of sushi rice over the avocado and press the rice using plastic wrap.
Remove plastic wrap and unmold. ( the bottom-side up)
Garnish the cake.


★recommended ingredients for garnish
salmon sashimi (Roll up 2 slices of the sashimi together to make a salmon rose)
crab meat
tomatoes
egg
shrimp
avocado
okura

I used avocado and crab meat mixed with my favorite creamy tofu savory sauce from the vegetarian restaurant in Hermosa Beach, The Spot.
The recipe is here:http://www.food.com/recipe/creamy-tofu-savory-sauce-277729

Love this sauce! So good with brown rice and steamed vegetables.

Also, I put some pickled onions under the salmon roses, like Salmon carpaccio.
The pickles recipe is here:http://taste-of-japan.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-favorite-pickles.html

savory cupcakes with onion rosemary cakes and goat cheese frosting

Non sweet cupcake!
Found the recipe here.

Blueberry Basil Tofu Goat Cheese Cake

Saw a guy eating a goat cheese blueberry basil pie on Food network yesterday.
It looked so delicious and unique! I had never hear basil cheese cake before.
I got so many dozens of tofu from a client and was wondering what to make with them...so I decided to give it a try with tofu.


For the crust(Easy!)
1cup Pancake mix
3tbs Butter
1tbs Soy Milk

For the filling
1/2pkg Silken Tofu
4oz(1/2pkg) Goat Cheese
3tbs Tahini, Butter or Peanut butter
1/4cup Sugar
1/4cup Lemon Juice
1 Egg
2tbs Dried Basil
1pack Blueberry


Combine all the crust ingredients. If the mixture crumble when you squeeze it together in your hands, add more butter.
Press the mixture into a pie mold.

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Wrap your drained tofu in a few paper towels.Press with something heavy for about 30 mins. Mix all the filling ingredients except blueberries with a blender.
Add blueberries and mix easily.
Spread the filling over the crust.
Bake for about 20-30 mins.
Let it cool and enjoy!

Black Bean Cake with Tofu Creme

Black Bean Cake
1canned black bean
1/2cup steel cut oats
1banana
3tablespoon cocoa powder
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4cup agave or maple syrup

1.Preheat oven to 350F. Line a mold with parchment paper.
2.Add all the ingredient to a blender and blend until smooth.Place into the prepared mold.
3.Bake in preheated oven for about 4o mins and cool in a fridge for about 3hours.

original recipes
http://cookpad.com/recipe/1218179


Tofu creme
1pack silken or firm tofu(if you prefer hard creme)
1tablespoon lemon juice
Agave or maple syrup

1.Drain tofu between paper towels with a heavy weight on top for 1 night.
2.Add to a blender and blend for about 3mims until to be free from tofu smell.
3.Add lemon juice and syrup and blend.