milk&honey cafe

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Wordless Tuesdays

bridal shower

bridal shower

bridal shower

bridal shower

P.S. Okay. I've never done this "Wordless Tuesday" thing before and I don't think I'm going to do it again. But today, I just don't feel like talking much. Sorta really stressed about about finding a job, ya know? Hmph. It's a lot harder than I thought...

P.P.S. By the way, these cupcakes were for a bridal shower favor. I used a new cake recipe from Martha's Baking Handbook and they turned out pretty good. Amanda from slow like honey suggested it to me (when I realized I had the recipe right in my bookshelf!) The cake was light and moist -- yes, but I felt that I could taste the eggs a lot. I don't really like eggy. But other than that, it was pretty darn tasty!

P.P.P.S. I do realize that wordless tuesdays means this post should be wordless. Hehehe. Apologize for the use of words. I'm done now!

P.P.P.P.S. Oh but you need to see the recipe, don't ya? Here it is!

Yellow Butter cake

makes about two-three dozen

recipe from Martha's Baking Handbook (but cited from Slow Like Honey)


ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp. dark rum (optional)
1 1/4 cups milk


directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners. Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. If you are using the rum, add it in here. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.

Divide batter between the prepared pans. Bake until cupcakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 17 minutes. Make sure to check with a cake tester! Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool before icing.



Cream Cheese Frosting

for two-three dozen cupcakes


ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter
1 8oz Philly's Cream Cheese Bar
4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (really important that you sift!!)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)


directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add vanilla extract and one cup of sifted confectioner's sugar and beat until smooth. Add remaining sugar, one cup at a time, beating until smooth each time. Mix in drops of food coloring, if desired.



bridal shower

I'm not too good at this wordless thing, eh? :P

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

California Dreamin'

for cheryl

Actually, this post has nothing to do with the sunny state of California at all - only the fact that I seem to be living in "Cali time" nowadays. What I mean is that my "internal clock" or "Circadian rhythm" is set to three hours later than it should be. When it is midnight here, I feel like it's only 9 pm (which would be the present time for western states/provinces). And so even if midnight is usually my sleep time, I am awake and struggling to fall asleep. By the time it is 3 am, I am finally getting some shuteye. But it's not like I'm not getting any sleep either! I'm waking up at noon (haha!) just as if it is only 9 am! Plus I squeeze in some naps here and there. I've been doing this every day for a week now.

for cheryl

My sleeping pattern has definitely changed as all those late work nights have built up over the month. And now all the fatigue from the stress and restlessness is hitting me. I've never been an easy sleeper, but this is getting a bit ridiculous. It doesn't help that I'm done school now and I have no set schedule and so I've been sleeping and waking up whenever I want to. My family has been quite generous and letting me relax a bit after finishing all my school stuff, but it's starting to get a bit embarrassing. My mom once sweetly said, "You know the saying, the early bird gets the worm? Just thought you'd like to know.." Haha.

for cheryl

I think it's about time I get back to Toronto time and get it altogether again! Sometimes, self-motivation seems to be the hardest thing, especially after a long journey already. I'm still terribly worried about my new career situation but I feel tired and unmotivated. :( BUT, life is not just about "feelings". It's about doing the right thing even if it's hard, sowing the seeds, and passing through the tunnel! I really should get out there and look hard! There's bound to be a window open somewhere! I'm sure there is a good place waiting for me... I just need to find it.

raspberry white chocolate truffle cupcake

Anyways, how self-indulgent of me. I've just been ranting on and on about myself without even telling you about the delicious baked goods you've been eyeing on this page so far. Am I right? Well you're in for a treat! Three treats, to be exact. These three goodies were for a very special picnic for a very special girl: Cheryl! It was my favorite Cheryl's 22nd birthday picnic, ever so sweetly organized by her boyfriend. It was a fantastic picnic with gourmet sandwiches, delicious antipasti, champagne and - you bet - cupcakes. I always like to bring baked goodies as gifts for my friends' birthdays, so this time it was no different. Just times three.

for cheryl

Her boyfriend requested some goodies along with birthday cupcakes for a group of ten or so. I decided that super sweet and sour lemon squares, and a fun and colourful m&m cookie would be perfect for a summery picnic! I also considered blueberry crumb bars as well, but it was just too much to make. Anyways, I'm so excited to introduce you to my new favorite recipe for lemon squares, which were much much much better than my last try. I really loved them because they were super lemony - but beware, the sugar level is crazy in this one. Only people with a true sweet tooth will appreciate this square. It was received very well among many, but my daddy did not approve. Next was my m&m cookie which just needed a terrific cookie dough recipe. I used allrecipe's Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie. It wasn't exactly the chewiest, but it was still great with the crunchy candied chocolates. By the way, I looove how it looks on the back of the cookie. The candies look like they were drawn on by colourful chalk! It's so cute!

for cheryl

Lastly, my white chocolate cream cheese frosting on raspberry dark chocolate cupcakes. Well, see, I once tried this most fantastic cake which consisted of a moist deep chocolate cake, raspberry jam, a terrific white chocolate buttercream, and lots of white chocolate shavings on top. This was one memorable cake. I've always dreamed of recreating that with my cupcakes and this was my chance. I really had to investigate different ways I could make this cupcake because there are so many possibilities! I considered putting the raspberry jam right into the buttercream, or making a raspberry mousse to swirl with the buttercream, or to fill the cupcakes with raspberry jam... and it goes on. In the end, I sorta just settled on a easier and simpler method. I simply spread the rapsberry jam (which was DELICIOUS, and should be, because I spent lots of money on it) on top of the cupcake, and then I iced the buttercream on top. It turned out great... until I had to leave it in the hot car for a few hours. O DEAR O DEAR. Bad idea. It was a smoltering day and I should've known!! But baking till 1am did not do me too good so the next day I was a bit slow in realizing I should've kept it cold. The cupcakes were pretty gross looking by the time it was picnic time... but my friends didn't care. So sweet of them, they still ate it with much glee and praise. Thanks guys!!

for cheryl

Yummy M&M Cookies

adapted from allrecipes

makes 3 dozen


ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups mini or regular m&ms


directions

1.Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.


for cheryl

Lemon Squares

makes 30 squares


ingredients

CRUST
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
6 oz. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

FILLING
6 large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

GARNISH
about 3 tbsp of confectioner's sugar


directions

Crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour and confectioner's sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on low speed until mixed. Add butter and continue to mix until the butter is the size of small peas, about 30 seconds. The mixture will be very dry. Gently press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Filling: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and then flour. Pour the filling on top of the crust.

Bake until the lemon filling is set, about 40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and then put in the refrigerator for an hour or keep at room temperature for three hours before cutting. Cut into squares, about 2 1/4 inches. Dust tops with confectioner's sugar.

Note: The squares can be made a day in advance, covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving. Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.


Friday, June 05, 2009

Summertime

brownie
brownie

So it really is that time now. The blue sky and the bright sun is out. The days are getting longer and longer. And if I'm lucky, I even catch old men in their sandals with their socks on. That really must mean that summertime is here! Yay! (Although, Toronto weather has been really sucky lately and it's back to chilly Spring weather.) Anyways, I just felt that it was fitting to talk about summer because I baked brownies! I don't know if you've read my last entry on brownies, but I actually talked about the new snow of last winter. So now my brownies re-enter milk and honey with a backdrop of greenery!

brownie

The truth is, I'm not really a brownie person at all. But my brother-in-law is. And he and my sister were coming over after their lovely honeymoon in Hawaii, so I thought I'd bake some for them. He's one of the greatest supporters of my baking talent, so I'm always so very very happy to provide sweets for him.

brownie

brownie

I found the recipe here. I've never been to this blog before, but I love it when bakers reveal their "mom's" recipe cuz it just has to be killer, doesn't it? Don't we all swear by our mom's recipes? But I think I'm a bit unlucky when it comes to brownies. This brownie was very light and moist and almost spongecake-like. My sister really liked it. But I didn't like that at all. If I'm going to have brownies, then they better be rich and dense. Chewy and chocolatey. YEAH.

brownie

I waited till the next day to eat them, hoping it would've improved the texture and flavor a bit. But it was lacking still, in my opinion. But it's not sucha bad brownie either. If you like light fluffy ones, you'll like these babies!

brownie

Brownies


makes 20 pieces


ingredients

3/4 cups butter, melted
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt


directions

1. Preheat oven 350°F. Grease 8×8x2 pan.
2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
3. In medium bowl, blend melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well.
4. Gradually add dry mixture to egg mixture. Beat until well blended.
5. Pour chocolate mixture. Place in oven for 35-40 minutes.



brownie
brownie
We have a little farm in the backyard that my grandma tends to. Meet our homegrown chives in the backyard. Mmm I love fresh chives...

Thursday, June 04, 2009

About Me

Hey

You know what? I realized I didn't have an "About Me" section on my blog. I usually love reading about the author when I visit other blogs, so I thought I'd add one too. It's more like a timeline, but maybe you'll find something interesting about me. Heehee.

Get to know sarah the baker yoon!

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

How Precious

how precious

There are some really talented people in this world. Let's take Sally Han for example. She is a Toronto-based jewelery designer and owner of Psalms 91:1 Accessories. I'm very proud to call her a friend of mine, because she's a small lady with big dreams! She's got awesome talent for beautiful accessories, with a sweet and grounded philosophy behind it. Her stuff is super modern, but vintage, and never ever tacky. We all know she's going to make it big -- she already is! Runway-ing it at the Toronto Fashion Week, having TV appearances, lots of celebrity love, and praise from magazines. Pretty cool huh?

how precious

So last weekend Psalms 91:1 had a special private event, and she actually ordered some cupcakes from me! It was a super cool kind of event, where she rented out a photo studio in the fashion district, displayed her beautiful accessories, had a photo shoot going on, and people sipped on wine. And my cupcakes were going to fit right in! Heehee.

how precious

The theme was "How Precious" with purple hearts. She ordered two flavors: Van ♥ Choc (Vanilla cake with Chocolate ganache frosting) and Choc ♥ Van (chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting). And I made pretty little purple hearts with royal sugar icing.

how precious

I decided to take a chance and try two new recipes for the order. Sorta risky but I thought it was a good time to go for it. First one was a new vanilla cake recipe. I've been using Billy's Vanilla Vanilla for the longest time, and it was a trusty one I guess. It was an error-proof, easy, and pretty yummy recipe. But never really amazing. And I wanted something amazing. Something really moist and flavorful and fluffy. So as I was researching some recipes, and I encountered the Amy Sedaris one. I've seen her cookbook I Like You before, and I came across her recipe a few times on the net. There was a divided opinion on her recipe, so I thought I'd be in on this and try it myself. I thought to myself, what if... what if this one was the the end all and be all of vanilla cakes? What if the search was over?? Ahaha.... not so much.

how precious

Unfortunately, this recipe was a big big let down. But honestly, it could have been my fault, so please don't write off her recipe. You should give it a try to, and maybe you'll do a better job at it! In my case, the cake was dense, dry, and needed a big gulp of milk every time I bit into it in order to wash it down my dry throat. The flavor was great, however. There was real vanilla-y buttery goodness, without being overbearingly sweet. I really liked that. I just wish it had that soft fluffiness that we all cake lovers yearn for. I regretted using this recipe for the event, and pictured people being disappointed in the cake. I usedthis recipe for the the frosting, and it did not disappoint at all.

how precious

Okay. Let's talk about the good stuff now. The difference of the two recipes were truly black & white because the new chocolate cake was just awesomeness. Soooo moist, so soft, and soooooo chocolatey. It's Hershey's Black Magic Cake, and it really was both black and magical. I found this recipe on someone's blog a while back, and she was rambling on how this was the one recipe that made her turn into a chocolate lover and how great it was. I bookmarked it and couldn't wait till I got a chance to use it! Everything about the cake was the perfect chocolate cake. Plus it was a great partnership with the creamy and tangy vanilla cream cheese frosting.

how precious

I wish vanilla cakes could have the same texture as chocolate cakes. Maybe it's the buttermilk? Herm. Does anyone know a fabulous vanilla cake recipe? But like I said before, don't always take my word for the recipes I try. I don't mean to bad-mouth other people's recipes, you know? It's just my opinion so please try it for yourself and it might work out perfectly for you! Ah, I guess it just means that the search for the perfect vanilla cake is still on for me.. :D

Black Magic Cake

recipe from Hershey's Kitchens
makes 2 dozen cupcakes


ingredients

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
1 cup strong black coffee OR 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line pans with cupcake paper.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost as desired. Yields 10 to 12 servings.
* To sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup



Oh, and Sally's BEAUTIFUL necklace that my boyfriend bought for me at the event! And the pair of earrings she gave me as a gift. :) I love them both!!

how precious
how precious