It has awhile since my last post as I was busy with work, kids, and a lot of "lemons" being thrown at me (and of course, all of us) in 2020. This has been an unprecedented year with all of the craziness that one cannot imagine in her wildest dream. It was beyond words that we are now experiencing a pandemic in modern times; a year that should have hold a tons of adventure for us. We coped the vast disappointment from not having a picnic at the Eiffel Tower, watching a sunset at the Seine River, or enjoying an afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton in London. And here we are about to transition into Fall of 2020. My kids will be starting virtual school in a few days and we are somewhat used to the long stay-at-home days. One of the silver linings of this pandemic is that I get ti work from home, which gives me more time to explore many new baking recipes. Mid-Autumn Festival will be upon us in a few weeks, and finally, I'm able to experimenting Snow Skin Moon Cake recipes. These are my favorite moon cakes to eat during this season. However, I was always intimidated by the extensive preparation that I never attempted to make them...until now. I will admit they are very time-consuming yet they not too difficult to make once I get a hang of it. Tips and tricks that I used when making these moon cakes:
Snow Skin Moon Cake RecipeIngredients Sugar syrup
Fillings Mung Bean Paste
Dough 150-gram cake
Instructions Sugar syrup
Filling
Dough
Assemble a snow skin moon cake For 100-gram cake
For 50-gram cake, the filling contains about 18 gram of mung beans and 2 gram of candied winter melon. For 150-gram cake, the filling contains about 54 gram of mung beans and 6 gram of candied winter melon.
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He's my love at first sight... I made this cake for DinhPhong 7th birthday party. This year, we decided to stay away from the usual big party and geared toward a simple gathering with a handful of friends and cousins instead. We had the party at the local community pool and a penguin birthday cake, per the birthday boy's request. Just like every kid, my son has his favorite stuffed animal that he plays and sleeps with. The green "Penguiny" was named after it was given to him about four years ago by his best cousin, Ivy. He confides his daily problems, and seeks comforts from this Penguin ever since. He is never without this stuffed animal unless he’s at school. So, when he asked for a penguin cake, I know that I need to try to mirror his birthday cake to his all-time favorite toy.
It has been a lazy summer for me. I decided to take a break for the last few months to complete a handful of home projects, to master a selected dishes for the hubby, and to spend some quality times with the kids. We had a wonderful summer where we made a new mudroom in our garage, took a short road trip to Vancouver, British Columbia to savor several amazing tropical fruits, and enjoyed an 8-day long in Florida to explore South Beach Miami and Disney World. It was our first time in Florida, and we know we will be back for another visit in the future. My goal is to roam around the entire World case at Epcot the next time I visit Disney World.
So, here we are back at the first posting in "awhile." Before I went on our last trip, I have accepted to bake for an old, elementary school friend for her baby shower. I was lucky that she's one easy gal to bake for. With her love of fruits topping, we both agreed to try lemon sponge cupcakes with coconut whipped cream. And that’s how this posting comes to live... Happy Father's Day!!! Can you believe that June is already half-way passed? May was hectic for all of us. We are the process of re-decorating and furnishing our home, so I was extremely busy with multiple projects. This is a never-ending task if you ask me. I almost got carried away before I started to make sweets again. However, I just have to put up my hands and admit that home projects will NEVER stop. So, I head back to my blog and decide to bake...or in this case, cook more desserts. This time, I'm back with another authentic Vietnamese dessert that I was craving to eat, but was too intimidated to make until today.
It is doubtful that you have not heard of this dessert if you are a Vietnamese American. And if you have read some of my previous postings, you would know that I am a big fan of Vietnamese sweet desserts. Chè is my favorite and I love almost all of them. It is really one of the main reasons why we like to visit Orange County so I could satisfy my sweet tooth. Everyone knows that Southern California houses some of the very best Vietnamese food, and that is the same truth for Vietnamese desserts! Although I love eating all of these sweet soups, I have yet to make them. I think part of me was scared that I would fail. And to make the matter worse, my fear came true and I failed miserably with my first attempt. Then, I did some more research and I tried it again. I finally got this down on my second time. I failed because I was not familiar with the ingredients used in these Vietnamese recipes. I misread the ingredient list and bought rice flour instead of glutinous rice flour. There is a big difference between the two types! If you did what I have done, your dough will not be soft and won't cook properly. But mind you, I'm reading these recipes in Vietnamese and trying to translate them into English is already quite a task. And my Mom laughed at me after I told her about my failed experiment. I quickly learned that I needed to consult her before attempting to make more Vietnamese desserts. ~ This posting is dedicated to my beloved niece, Thy Thy ~ Today, heaven has gained an angel, and I have lost a niece. Though I know we will meet again, it is never easy to say goodbye... Generally, April is a relaxing month for me—a time for me to catch up from the earlier months of baking and to prepare for the transitioning of the warmer months. I usually try to catch up on projects around the house or making new plans for the upcoming months. However, this year April has brought a different meaning to my life. I stopped everything for the last few weeks as I am trying to pick up the pieces of my heart, and to allow myself to accept this new concept to sink in—the concept of losing a loved one. It is very difficult. I am going to take a moment to share about my niece who has recently passed away, so unexpectedly that there was no time for those last goodbyes. It was so sudden that I could not digest the news immediately. It has been more than two weeks and I still cannot accept that this world no longer has her in it.
Thy was 5 years younger than me, and a first born of my father’s first nephew. We grew up together in the same neighborhood for the short four years. I could still remember that she was just a short-haired, 4 year-old little girl when my family left Vietnam to search for opportunities in the new land of America. I did not grow up with her, but we were re-united 3-4 times when I came back to visit my homeland. The most recent visit was just before I got married in 2010, which was also the last time I saw her (of course I did not know this). I can still recall the last lunch we had together more than 8 years ago, and the conversation she had with my husband about some computer problems later that night. She called me by my nickname "Co Nha" which means "Auntie." Although we were not extremely close, partly due to the thousands of miles apart, we started to chat online more often after she got married and had her first born. She usually sought out to consult me questions about newborn struggles, side effects of medications, and recommendations for medical problems. And just a few months ago, I was just telling with her about staying at her new house the next time I come back for a visit. Another thing I'd remember of her was that she’s a big fan of my son, as she often called him “Hot Boy” on Facebook. I am disappointed that he will never get to meet her in person. Has it been more than a month since my last posting? Blogging has been on hold the last month, as I am scrambling to plan our family annual vacation trips all at once. To top this with some added stress, my husband decided to take me on a mini weekend getaway. This is BIG for us as it was our first trip away from the kids in seven years! And we had never been away from them more than one night, so this was difficult as well as exciting at the same time. We endorsed that this is about the first trip we take to celebrate mid-thirty milestone. The main purpose of the trip was to try the food at a well-known three-Michelin-star restaurant on the Las Vegas strip. Though it came with a high price tag, Joël Robuchon restaurant located at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, did not disappoint us with their savory dishes. I must say that this experience was beyond expected, as the food tasted delicious--every bite was overflown with flavors. The complimentary unlimited, freshly baked breads and forty-two mini bite-sized sweets were to die for. As a friend claims, this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
I have been lazy for the last couple of weeks, which is why you only saw a posting from February. I am not busy, at least not as busy as I was during the holiday seasons, so I really had no excuse to not complete a post. Actually, I was almost sure that I was able to finish and publish this post last Sunday. But that did not happen. I was eager to start this past week fresh, but then I was bombarded with an "unusual" week of mixed news and has allowed emotions engulfing all over me. Let's just say that there was some good news, along with a few bad ones. I won't go into details, as this could get a little too personal. However, I was a little overwhelmed with the news that was delivered to me. This announcement did not directly affect me, but it made me sad. My resident informed me that she was preparing for a letter of resignation. This is definitely the first conversation I had over the past eight years as a preceptor. I was caught off guard because she had just started her rotation with me the week before. I don't know her story behind that closed door, but I am sure that the decision did not come easy for her. Although it is not required, residency is difficult to obtain in pharmacy; especially in this era where students are gambling their faith to find the "right program" in hope the experience could define the course of their entire career. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes things don't. This incident makes me start to wonder about the path that each of us take in life...one way or another.
Whew! I just spent the last few days wrestling with these sugar cookies. I made it just in time again to have them leave the house with the kids on Valentine's Day to pass out to their classmates and teachers. Like every year, I told myself that this time I will be ahead of the game, but I'd always ended up at the same time-crunching spot I did the year before. And, it does not help when the Vietnamese (Lunar) New Year falls so close to Valentine's Day either. Not that I have to do much cooking on the new year (thanks for Mom and Mother-In-Law), but my husband wants to clean the house and to attend all of the family functions, leaving me little to no time for baking. There is really no such a thing as "free-time" when you're a working mom.
Pâte à Choux is definitely one of my favorite childhood pastries. If you add to this soft shells the most delicious filling in the world, Crème Pâtissière, and I'm in heaven! Growing up, I only knew of this pastry as "Bánh Su” and nothing more. I'd finally learned of its real name, choux à la crème, while researching the internet for a good recipe a few years ago. Of course, it is French! I love the taste of the lightly sweetened crème filling when you bite into the soft fluffy, buttery shells. As a child, every time Mom took me to the bakery, I had to have these choux—the taste was so enticing to the point that I recalled stuffing one after another until I was too full to eat. And I definitely did have them for breakfast.
When we arrived to America, it took me a while to locate these thin, soft-shell pastries with the smooth crème filling again. I never attempted to make these because they “looked” too intimidating. By no means I could duplicate the bakery-style Pâte à Choux with the amazing egg custard filling...until now! But I finally understood the old say, “You will never know until you try…” I found these choux are fairly easy to make. Although it did take a few trials to mimic the same childhood taste of Crème Pâtissière, I have successful made this filling over the past weekend. It is the BEST choux à la crème I have had in a while. I can proudly tell you that I will no longer be purchasing these at the bakery anymore. I can square an hour of my day to get fresh off the oven bakery-style choux à la crème any time I crave them. And that is so exciting to me! After about two weeks off, I am ready to head back to work tomorrow. But, I want to make use of my last non-working day wisely and that is to finishing up this posting before the kids wake up (yep, it is pretty darn early right now). I need to get this done just in time because I have a day filled of activities to do with them before they return to school as well. Well, here it is.
One of the holiday cakes I made for Christmas was a bûche de Noël cake. I'm going to be fancy and named this posting in French, but it is really a well-known Yule Log cake. I have been wanting to create this cake for quite some times, but I never had a chance until this past Christmas. It was a very simple cake to make that combines with both buttercream, chocolate and fondant decorations. It is simple enough to bake and decorate the entire cake within 2-3 hours, and this is including all the wait time throughout the process. |
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesAboutTristina TiepNhu Nguyen is a pharmacist by weekday and a baker by weekend. She is also a wife and a mother of two children. Free Cake Tutorials!Sign up for my newsletter and you will be the first to know about my new recipes and cake tutorials!
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