Cadbury Cream Egg Brownies

There's one particular candy that stands out for me during Easter, and it's Cadbury's Cream Eggs. I've recently been told that they sell this sweet all year round in England, which is a bit strange for me! And to be honest, I was never a huge fan of them. The fact that they had this gooey center that looked like a raw egg somehow put me off. Imagine eating a raw egg. Lol. I don't think I've had one in 15 years, so maybe I will like them again?

I got the idea from a friend to make Cadbury Cream Egg brownies. Now, normally I would've just declined if I didn't like the idea of eating what I was making, but since he asked, and I was feeling particularly festive, I've decided to give it a go.

I haven't got a recipe for these yet, but I don't think they'll be that difficult.

1. I'm going to make chocolate brownies, with slightly less sugar than normal, and bake them.
2. Refrigerate, or freeze the Cadbury Cream Eggs
3. Once the brownies are half done, cut each cream egg in half, and top them on the brownies, and bake for another 10-15 minutes or so.

I will keep you posted with how they turn out. I hope they look half as good as the ones up there!

<3 Trinhie

Melbourne goodness & the bakeries of St. Kilda

I've just gotten back from a trip to Melbourne with a friend of mine. You know when you're on holiday, and just want to splurge on everything? Most people do heaps of shopping. Some buy clothes, others shoes, but I can't stop myself from buying pastries. Luckily, I didn't go to Melbourne alone, because otherwise, I would have purchased something at every bakery I saw. I suppose what's the point of going on holiday if you're not going to live alittle right? Or at least that's what I keep telling myself. :-)

The first baked good I tried in Melbourne was at a patisserie called Gânache Chocolate. They have two stores in the Melbourne area, one in South Yarra, and one in the CBD. They had a plethora of baked goods to choose from!

 
The problem with having so many options is that I always have an internal debate with myself every time I go to a patisserie, about which one to get. I couldn't decide on whether to get the salted caramel or pistachio macaron, but with the help of the person behind the counter, I opted for the salted caramel, and it was yums! I've noticed that almost every patisserie I go to nowadays seem to have both flavors. Perhaps next time I should try one of the more exotic flavors, and let you know how that goes. 

If you ever get to go to Melbourne, a trip to St. Kilda is a must for all pastry lovers. Now, I haven't tried every pastry shop in St. Kilda, and that may be hard in one go, because there really is 4 all within two blocks of each other. It is a must because of the abundance of shops. I loved peeking in all of the windows and smelling the baked goods from the street.

I made my way down St. Kilda, and by the time I got to the third shop, I had to go in and try something. I'd like to say that I chose this shop, Le Bon Cake Shop, because it seemed to have the best looking pastries. In actuality, I chose this shop because it was the third shop I saw, and I had exhausted all of my self control by that time. Also, because out of the three shops, this one had the most to offer. It's probably not the best way to chose a pastry shop to eat at, but it worked for me. I ended up getting an apple something-or-other.

It was pastry dough sliced open, filled with apples and whipped cream, and topped with powdered sugar. As apple pastries go, it was just alright. It was oddly not very sweet, and the apples inside were a bit tasteless, they could have even been pears, or another fruit. You know that's bad when an apple pastry has no distinguishing apple taste to it. I've actually had better at a french bakery in Sydney called De La France on George street, although it wasn't cream filled, it was still better even on the 2nd day. Lesson of this story- hold out until you've seen all of the options first. Gah, that could even be a life lesson regarding other things, if you catch my drift. ;-)

All in all, Melbourne was really great. I had a fantastic time! The Great Ocean Road and the pastries were the highlights of my trip. I highly recommend a trip to Melbourne if you're ever in Australia, after Sydney of course! :-P

Definitely a must see!!!

Until my next adventure (STATESIDE!!!!),

<3 Trinhie

Chinatown & Asian treats

One of the best things about growing up Asian has to be the food. I feel especially lucky because I've tried so many different types of cuisines, and consider myself to be an expert at eating Asian and Mexican food (lol). Of course I have the home court advantage with Asian food, but growing up in California really gave me a Mexican edge.

Anyways, to the point... I visited Chinatown recently with a friend in hopes of getting some congee, but ended up not getting much food, just desserts. I stopped at a few bakeries and dessert shops. I am really thankful to live in a city where there's a big Asian influence, because I don't know what I'd do if I had to forgo Vietnamese and Chinese food! For the evening, I ended up getting a sesame ball, which was great! I also popped in a shop and shared a mango cake. It was mangoes and whipped cream wrapped up in something similar to a crepe. It was actually very good, and surprisingly, it was the first time I had it. Don't get me wrong, of course I've tried a lot of different Asian treats over the years, but I had never had this particular cake before. I'm sure it won't be the last.

My friend and I stayed and admired the cakes in one of the shops for a moment while in Chinatown. I'll need to try something else, the next time I'm there... maybe one of the other cakes? I really love how Asian cakes are not overly sweet, and always has a fruit component, usually topped with and in the filling. I love the whipped cream used to fill and ice the cakes too. Have a look yourself...

Here's even one from my best friend's birthday last year, which was purchased at a Vietnamese bakery in San Jose, CA. I'm not really sure which one, but supposedly it's the best, and her favorite. In any case, it was damn good.

Until my next find,

<3 Trinhie

Mushroom & cheeseburger cakes... Yep.

So far, I'm really digging the new 'hood. There are bakeries, shops, cafes, and crack heads galore.. it really reminds me of the good times in San Francisco.

I recently stumbled upon a cake and gelato shop while wandering the streets aimlessly. It was called Gelato Messina. Their cake shop is in a separate store, and the gelato shop is next door. They had bigger versions of the mushroom cake, but the miniature versions are so adorable aren't they? The cheeseburger and popsicle cakes were really cute too, but there is something about the mushroom cake that I really fancy... perhaps that it reminds me of Super Mario Bros? Lol.

Since I just tried out my new oven, and it works, I really need to get some bakeware so that I can attempt to make these mushroom cakes. Why wouldn't my oven work you ask? Because for some odd reason the starter on my gas stove doesn't work, so if that was the case for the oven, then there would not be a chance in hell that I'd stick my damn arm in there to light it. Haha... luckly for me the ovens starter works just fine.

Until my next yummy find,

<3 Trinhie

Peeps!!!

Now I know they're not exactly the same fluffy sugar laced marshmellowy goodness that we get back in the states, but I found a few shops that sold something that resembled peeps!!! Without the sugar coating, these almost look like doves.. or the more unsightly seagull?

Either way, it was a wondrous sight to behold that reminded me of the good ol' days of running to the liquor store with my brothers and sisters, and trying to see how many peeps we could eat without feeling sick. Usually a package.

Until next time,

<3 Trinhie

Coffee, booze, pastries, and chocolate... all the things that sustain life.

What I don't miss from home would be the coffee. Don't get me wrong, San Francisco has one of the biggest coffee cultures that I've known, but Sydney also does it justice. Even though they might have drinks like the flat white (I've yet to figure out what it is exactly, but I'd prefer a tall dark and... nevermind), the cappuccinos I get here are on par with what I can get back home.

Moving onto the pastries. The pastries here are way yums. I especially loved my trip to Melbourne because where I was staying (St. Kilda), had a street filled with bakeries. I wanted to get something from each bakery, and decided not to. I couldn't help myself, so I got something from the first two that I saw, and couldn't force myself to eat anymore (this is actually a lie, I could have forced myself to eat more, or I could've just gotten pastries, and eaten them later.. but I was feeling guilty about indulging). I've also been kind of naughty and haven't taken many photos of goodies that I've found, but I will. I've been busy taking photos of cruise ships and my drunkness, that I've forgotten all about showing everyone the pastries that Australia has to offer. Stay tuned! I may even make a thing or two.

About the food, its not that great here, compared to what I can get in the states (namely SF). I know, call me biased, but the food here is definitely lacking. I'm missing my burritos hardcore, and even the pastries can satiate my craving for good, authentic, Mexican (I mean the food btw). If I never eat steak and potatoes again, I won't be all that sad. Although, one thing Australia has on SF is meat pies. Think of a chicken pot pie, but will all types of meat filling, like beef and tomato chutney, curry chicken, mushroom and chicken/beef. Mmm... Still, I'd take Mexican over any food that Australia has to offer. Sigh...

The drink... well, I've been drinking much more than I'd care to admit, but hey, I'm on holiday (kind of). I've been more of a hot drunken mess these past 8 months, than all of my time in SF. Well, not all of my time, but a majority of the last 3-4 years I spent there. One drink that I had, that's non-alcholic, and thoroughly enjoyed, was hot cocoa at Max Brenner. They're everywhere here, and funny because they're hardly anywhere in San Francisco. It seriously reminds me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I even had a cookie there, and it was YUMS!

Until I write or bake again,

<3 Trinhie

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

If I were to own a bakery, I would want it to be very similar to Miette. I know, I know, I am seriously obsessed with this place, but it's so cute, and kind of french looking (lol). So my next project was shortbread cookies. Is it weird to say that I don't remember how shortbread cookies are suppose to be like? I bought some at Miette one day, because I was feeling particularly down in the dumps (probably work related), and they were so YUMS! I got the walnut shortbread cookies, so when I had some free time, I decided that it would be my next project to recreate!

So, I first started to research recipes. I didn't really want to wing it, as I'm really clueless as how to make them. Of course I knew the basics: flour, butter, sugar! I love how you can bake something really yummy with very little ingredients. Baking is not like trying to make your own chicken tikka masala or anything, or I guess it can be sometimes, depending on how fancy you want to get. For me, for my first time at it, I decided to stick with something basic: Ina Garten's shortbread cookie recipe (see below). Don't you love it when a recipe has 5 ingredients or less, and they're the staples? I wanted to make my cookies a bit snazzier, so I decided to flavor them with some hazelnut butter (I used Kettle's Hazelnut Butter, but I suppose you can use any kind you want).

I followed the recipe, but also added about 2-3 tablespoons of hazelnut butter for a half batch, and used my Kitchen Aid mixer, which made it easy on the hands. I decided to do a chocolateless shortbread cookie because that would've added a degree of difficulty, and I was having a lazy Sunday. Also, the recipe says place the dough in plastic wrap, then chill, then roll out. This too added another degree of difficultly, or I guess made things not as easy. LOL I know, I'm lazy, can't you tell? So what I decided to do was put the dough in a ziplock bag (just because I didn't have plastic wrap), and molded it into a long rectangular block. See:

Then I chilled the dough, and removed them from the ziplock bags, then cut them into half inch pieces.

This was such an ingenious idea! Not only did I save time, I also cut out some of the mess. I mean, who really likes rolling out dough, and getting flour everywhere?!? Secretly, even though I'm a bit of a neat freak, I do sometimes enjoy it.

So once the dough is cut, you need to apply a liberal amount of sugar to the top, then place them on your baking or cookie sheet, probably good 1/2 inch to inch apart, as they get alot bigger than you'd expect. And... voila!!!

I couldn't wait to try these right out of the oven. But just a heads up, you should probably wait. Something about it being really soft and crumbly and hot, made them taste weird, or at least to me. Once they sat, and became room temperature, they were scrumdidiliumptious!

Good luck!!!

<3 trinhie

 

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (optional)
• 6 tablespoons of hazelnut butter (or any nut butter, optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.


Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.



When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.


Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.