A Vietnamese Moment

Adapted from NY Times INGREDIENTS   Butter, for greasing pan 1 ¾   cup all-purpose flour, more for pan   Zest of 3 lemons (original recipe called for 2 lemons) 1   cup sugar ½   cup buttermilk (swapped out for sour cream 1:1) 4   tablespoons (original recipe called for 3 tablespoons) 3   large eggs 1 ½   teaspoons baking powder ¼   teaspoon baking soda ¼   teaspoon fine sea salt ⅔   cup extra-virgin olive oil 1.5-2   tablespoon poppy seeds (original recipe called for 1 tablespoon) ½   cup confectioners’ sugar PREPARATION Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch loaf pan. In a bowl, combine lemon zest and sugar and rub with your fingers until it looks like wet sand. Whisk in buttermilk, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk dry ingredients into the batter, then whisk in oil and poppy seeds. Pour b...

I got this recipe from bonappetit.com and it was completely delicious! I like the extra crumbly pie topping crust which gives it nice texture. For the bottom pie crust, I used my friend's vodka pie crust recipe. You can make the topping and crust ahead of time, preferably a day before if you can. https://www.bonappetit.com/RECIPE/BERRY-STREUSEL-PIE CRUST 2 and 1/4 cups of all purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1/3 cups chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2 inch cubes *I actually used my friend's crust recipe so haven't tried this. TOPPING 6 tablespoons (packed golden brown sugar) 6 tablespoons whole almonds 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 4 and 1/2 tablespoons of old-fashioned oats 4 and 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1. Combine all in a food processor and process until moist clumps form . 2. Cover topping and c...

I got this recipe from a friend of mine who has been baking pie in his family for years. He definitely makes one of the best pies I've had so I FaceTimed him when making this crust. I believe it's based off an old Cook's Illustrated pie crust recipe from over a decade ago. Ingredients - 2.5 cups of flour (separated into 1.5 cups and 1 cup) - 1 teaspoon table salt - 2 tablespoons sugar - 12 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices (this is 1.5 sticks of butter) - 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small bits (if no shortening, you can exchange for butter 1:1, which is what I did) - 1/4 cup vodka - 1/4 cup cold water (can do a little less) Some things I learned from this recipe for an ideal crust: #1 Cold, cold cold - have all the ingredients cold - including the butter, water, and vodka. Prior to starting, place the water or vodka in the freezer or fridge. #2 Visible butter = visible flakiness Flecks of butter when melted wi...

We've been doing a lot of baking during this quarantine time. Double Tree recently released their famed cookie recipe and it is great! Definitely a keeper. It's so moist!  DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe Makes 26 cookies ½ pound butter, softened (2 sticks) ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar ¾ cup packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 ¼ cups flour 1/2 cup rolled oats 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt Pinch cinnamon 2 2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips --- (we only 2 cups of chocolate and that still worked!) 1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts  1. Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  2. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl.  3. With mixer ...

This recipe was taken from Smitten Kitchen. My roommate made this once and it was amazing! Definitely a keeper.  Makes 24 cupcakes (or one two-layer cake, instructions at end) 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon table salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2 cups granulated sugar 1 1/4 cups canola oil 4 large eggs 3 cups grated peeled carrots (Shuvani says it's about 2 carrots to 1 cup) 1 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional) 1/2 cup raisins (optional) 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. Line 24 cupcake molds with papers, or butter and flour them. 3. Dry ingredients: Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in medium bowl to blend. 4. Wet ingredients: Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. 5. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and raisins, if using them. Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/...

- cooking spray - 1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour - 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder - 3/4 teaspoons baking powder - 3/4 teaspoons fine salt - 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar - 3/4 cup canola oil - 2 large eggs - 1 ounce bottle red food coloring - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract - 1 cup buttermilk - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 1. Mix together dry ingredients: 2. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. 

This cake is simply a slice of heaven in your mouth. My friend's boyfriend made this once for us and I was hooked. It's a recipe you definitely want to keep and pass down for generations to come. Recipe credits: https://thewoksoflife.com/pumpkin-tres-leches-cake/ Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake with Spiced Cream This pumpkin tres leches cake is a light sponge cake that gets soaked in a mixture of three milks. Our pumpkin tres leches cake is pumpkin-y and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice and topped with spiced whipped cream. Prep Time 20   mins Cook Time 35   mins Total Time 55   mins Course:  Dessert and Sweet Stuff Cuisine:  Latino Keyword:  pumpkin tres leches Servings:  24 Calories:  303 kcal Author:  Sarah Ingredients For the cake: 2   cups   flour 2   teaspoons   baking powder 2   teaspoons   baking soda ¼   teaspoon   salt ...

My mom recently visited me in Chicago and asked what I wanted to eat. Immediately I had childhood cravings of her soy, which is a sweet sticky rice. It's a very simple sweet rice that requires minimal ingredients.  Yellow soy 1. Soak grains overnight. Place 1-2 cans of coconut juice in the refrigerator overnight to harden the juice.  2. Add mung bean. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of salt.  3. Scoop out the coconut juice into a small boil. You can also substitute in 1 fresh coconut. Add 2-3 soup lades of sugar to the boil and mix.  4. Add to taste the coconut and sugar combination.  Red soy Recipe pending ...  You can make the sticky rice less sweet and eat with a sugar, salt, peanut topping. My mom initially made the soy less sweet than I would have liked. She then created a sugar, salt, peanut topping mix and we used that as a dipping for the sweet sticky rice. It worked out well! 

I have a new interest in Julia Childs. I have been looking up her recipes and found this one so decided to try it. Luckily, I had most of the ingredients in my kitchen - all I need to get was an orange! It reminded me of a cake my mom used to make when I was younger. It's very delicious! A great first foray into the world of Julia Childs. Ingredients: 2/3 cup granulated sugar 4 egg yolks Grated rind of 1 orange 1/3 cup strained orange juice (about 1 orange) Pinch of salt 3/4 cup cake flour (scooped and leveled, turned into a sifter) 4 egg whites Pinch of salt 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9" round cake pan and measure out all ingredients. 2. Separate egg yolks and egg whites.  3. Gradually beat 2/3 cup sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating until the mixture thickens to form a ribbon when the beaters are lifted.  4. Add the grated orange peel, orange juice, and a pinch of salt.  5. Beat for a ...

I needed a dessert to bring to a pot luck so decided on making an all american classic ... blueberry cream pie! Got the recipe from my friend Tessa who is one of the best bakers I know. Pie filling: - 1 egg - 1 cup sour cream - 2 tbs flour - 3/4 cup sugar - 1 tsp almond extract (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract) - 1/4 tsp salt - 2 1/2 - 3 cups blueberries *optional: lemon zest Pie crumble topping: *can be done ahead of time, and store in fridge  - 4 tbs flour - 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter - 1/3 cup chopped pecans 1. Beat egg lightly in bowl. Add sour cream, 2 tablespoons flour, sugar, almond extract, and salt. Whisk until smooth. 2. Stir in blueberries and spoon filling into pastry shell. 3. Bake pie on center shelf @ 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven for the topping. 4. Combine remaining 4 tablespoons flour, pecans, and butter in bowl and mix well. Sprinkle mixture on top of pie. 5. Rebake @ 400 for 10 minutes - topping should only be slightly br...

Okay, I know this next recipe isn't Vietnamese... but it's French. And the French occupied Vietnam for over 100 years. And Vietnamese people love egg-based desserts. Does that count? Whatever, this is my blog and I can do whatever I want. :) I wanted a place to store my creme brûlée recipe so decided to put it on this site. This comes from experimenting with several other recipes and finally coming up with something I like. It's a very basic recipe and I change it based on my mood. 2 cups heavy cream 5 egg whites 1/3-1/4 cup of sugar 1 tsp of vanilla extract some brown sugar (to carmelize the top) 1. Boil water. 2. In small pot, heat 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of sugar. You can add more sugar if you want more sweetness. Stir and heat until you see steam rising from the mixture. 3. Beat egg whites until it forms small peaks at the end of your whisk and slowly add to the heated cream mixture. Taste it and add a little bit of suga...