Taiyaki filled with Nutella

When I was young my parents used to take me to this Asian market then called Yoahan and now Mitsuwa, where my uncles worked.  I used to get happy on Saturday mornings because I knew we were going to see my uncles and also to eat.  The market section is full of delicious exotic fruits and different kinds of veggies used in Asian cuisine.  There is also a food court with different little shops.  My favorite part was the bakery section where you found pastries filled with sour pork, chicken curry and my all time favorite sweet bun with red bean paste, I love it!  There was also a little Taiyaki sweet shop which was my dad's all time favorite, so we couldn't leave without stopping by it.  I always amazed how the workers were so fast turning those huge multiple cast iron pans and how fast they moved.  Now days when I take my children to Mitsuwa everything is the same including the long line we have to make to get these delicious treats.  My daughter Mei-Li loves them so about 2 years ago I decided to buy a cast iron Taiyaki pan ( I got mine from eBay) and ever since I have been making these Japanese pancakes(that's what she calls them).  You can filled them with what ever you like, we usually do nutella, strawberry marmalade with cream cheese or peanut butter.  Well, here is my favorite recipe for Taiyaki, I hope you enjoy it!

Taiyaki filled with Nutella 
makes 6

Ingredients:

2/3 C. cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2Tbsp. sugar
3/4 C. milk
1 egg
1/2 C. Nutella or filling of your choice

Directions:

1. Heat up the Taiyaki pan over medium heat.

2. while the pan is heating up mix all ingredients together except for the nutella.

3.  Grease the pan with a pastry brush or you can use a non-stick cooking spray.
4.  Pour a little bit of batter in each fish (about 2 Tbsp.)
5.  Put about a Tablespoon of nutella in the center or with a stick spread it all the way to the tail. At this point make sure not to put to much of the nutella or it will ooze out and cause the fishes to stick to the pan, which makes it a bit difficult to remove.
6.  Cover the nutella with some more batter and cook until bottom is nicely golden brown.

7.  Then close the pan and flip, cook for a few more minutes until is golden brown.

Enjoy!!!

FUNFETTI CUPCAKES WITH BUTTERCREAM

My daughter Ana school is raising money for school trip and like always she volunteer me to bake cupcakes for the sale.  This recipe is one of my favorites for birthdays.  I hope you guys enjoy it.

Funfetti Cupcakes

Ingredients:
3-1/4 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1-3/4 cups of sugar
1/4 cup butter
1-1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1-2/3 cups of milk
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (3) oz. jar of sprinkles

Instructions:
1.  In a bowl with a wire whisk mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda, set aside.
2.  In another bowl mix together milk, yogurt and vanilla extract, set aside.
3.  With a paddle attachment cream sugar, butter and oil.
4.  Add egg whites.
5.  Incorporate flour mixture alternating with milk mixture.
6.  With a spatula fold in the sprinkles.

7.  Pour batter in prepared cupcake pans.

8.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

I had some time in my hands so I decorated  them in different ways:

Carrot Cake

One of my favorite cake is carrot cake and is enjoyed by everyone in my family.  When I make this cake my daughter usually calls my brother (my baby brother who is only 20 yrs. old) to tell him that she is having carrot cake and he is not. I get a call from him telling me.... yes, telling me to send him cake with my hubby.  You see Paul is a slick little man  who is used to getting his way so, when I am about to start to say no because he lives about an hour away from us he cuts me off and propositions me  to 2 nights of babysitting my kids.... now,  how can i say no to that.  Anyways I baked him his own cake, and he was very happy the next day when my hubby took the cake to him, my mom told me that he had made a "Do Not Touch" sign in case my other brothers stopped by and were tempted.  This cake is so moist and delicious you can't go wrong with it.

CARROT CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup of crushed pineapple without the juice

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven at 325 degrees and butter and flour (3) 9" pans or (2) 10" pans.
2.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, set aside.

3.  Beat together on medium speed eggs and sugar until well combined.

4.  Add the oil and vanilla extract.

5.  Add dry ingredients.

6.  With a spatula mix in the carrots, walnuts or pecans, coconut, and pineapple.

7.  Pour batter on prepared pans.

8.  Bake for 40-50 minutes

Look at how moist this cake is, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as my family and I do.

I am back!!!

Hello everyone I know i have been away for a while but during that time a lot of crazy stuff happened. My husband got deployed  overseas then we moved from upstate NY back to NJ with orders to Fort Dix and after a month of moving we got affected with hurricane Sandy.  Well we just recently got settled in late November in another new home and we had to start from scratch, I have to say many of the things we got at the house were all donations from many wonderful people.  But i have to specially thank my daughter's   Mei-Li school for being so helpful and supportive, as soon as we got the house the nurse from the school and my daughters teacher brought us all the essentials, blankets, cloth, dishes, pots and food. I went through all of this while my husband was away because I thought that it would be much easier for the kids if they started school in NJ instead of taking them out half way from NY.  He is home now thank God for that.  

Thank you everyone for your patients and I will be posting lots of delicious recipes.  

Pork and Bok Choy Stir Fry

After a week of being away for training my hubby finally got home last night.  We were very happy to have him back home, most of the time he is gone for months at a time but this time thank God was very short.  One of his favorite dishes is pork and bok choy stir fry, the first time he ate it was when we first met and my mother had us over for dinner.  I still remember it like it was yesterday...it was too funny he did not want to try it, he saw to many greens and was not used to eating different kinds of food.  But now is one of his favorite dishes, I have to say that now he is not afraid to try any kind of food.  Well I leave you with this delicious recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as he does.

Pork and Bok Choy Stir Fry

Ingredients:

2 Lbs pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2 small slices of ginger

1 Tsp. garlic, minced

1/2 cup of carrots, sliced

1/2 of broccoli, cut small

2 small heads of bok choy, leaves chopped and ribs sliced

1/4 cup of soy sauce

salt

pepper

Directions:

1.  Place sesame oil and ginger in a cold wok, gradually heat over medium-high heat until oil is hot and ginger is fragrant.

2.  Add the pork and garlic and stir fry for a minute or two.

3. Continue by adding half of the soy sauce and stir fry for another 3 minutes until pork is fully cooked

4.  Turn off heat and add vegetables and cover with a lid, leave it cover for 5 minutes and then stir.

5.  Serve with white rice

St. Paddy's Day: Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Ganache

So.....I have been a bit busy and I am so sorry I haven't been posting, In January I decided to go back to school and I thought it would be easy but the honest truth is that is not.  With the children and the house work and the hubby is just gets a little hard.  I decided to go to school for Pastry Chef (what a change from Electrical Engineer to Baker).  My kids think is "awesome" and I have to agree with them.  My hubby most of the time is not here, he is always in training with the Army and when he is here the only thing he asks is to dedicate ourselves to him, which is understandable since he hardly sees us.  He likes the idea of me going back to school and he likes more the idea that I will be able to make him more delicious sweets.
Yesterday my daughter Nellybe had to take "something" that's what she says to school.  "Nelly, so what do you need to take to school?" and she says "I don't know mom something...something to eat".  Well I decided to make this "something" Guinness Chocolate cupcakes since we are so lose to St. Paddy's Day.  I have to tell you this recipe is so delicious, the cake is so moist and the ganache is just out of this world, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did, oh yes we had some too.


GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE
Ingredients:
Guinness Cupcakes:

1 Cup Guinness Stout
1 Cup Unsalted Butter
¾ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1½ Teaspoons Baking Soda
¾ Teaspoon Salt
2 Large Eggs
⅔ Cup Sour Cream

Ganache Filling:

8 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate

⅔ Cup Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter, room temperature
3 Teaspoons Baileys Cream
1 Teaspoon of Whiskey

Baileys Frosting: 

3 Cups Confections Sugar
½ Cup Unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 Tablespoons Baileys
1 Teaspoon of Green Food Coloring

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.

2.  Put the butter with the beer in a sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. 

3.

Whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Cool slightly.

4.  In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. 

5.  In a mixer bowl, beat the eggs and the sour cream together. 

6.  Add the cocoa mixture and beat to combine. 

7.  Add the flour mixture and beat briefly just to combine. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined.

8.  Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way 

9.  Bake for about 17 minutes, or until a toothpick or a slim knife inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely to room temperature.

                                                               Very moist and incredible flavor

Make the filling: 

1.  Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. 

2.  Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. 

3.  Add the butter, whiskey and Irish Cream and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: 

1.  Using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer or in my case a cupcake corer cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. 

2.  Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: 

1.  In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter for several minutes until very light and fluffy. 

2.  Slowly add the powdered sugar, letting it incorporate, until the butter becomes thicker and stiff.

3.  Slowly drizzle the Bailey’s and whip until combined. 

4.  Add green food coloring to desired hue. Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

Fried Pork Wontons

I have to say that one of my favorite food is Chinese, and I have learned through out the years to cook some of my favorite dishes.  Fried wontons are one of my favorite dishes, they are just so addicting, once you have one you keep on eating more and more, and before you know it you have eaten about 15 of them,  yup that happens to me all the time.  The best part is that you can fill them with chicken, shrimp, vegetables and my favorite, pork.  My recipe is very simple, and the only thing that is time consuming is folding the wonton wraps, making the filling and frying them is fast and easy.  I hope you guys enjoy them as much as my family does.

Fried Pork Wonton

Ingredients:
40-50 wonton wrappers 
1 lb minced pork
3 Tbsp light soy sauce 
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup green scallions (chopped, small)
1 tsp fresh ginger (minced)
2 tsp salt 
1 tsp white pepper
* you can add also to the recipe vegetables of your choice (carrots, mushroom, etc..) 


Preparation:
1. In a small bowl combine all ingredients.

2.  Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper.

3.  Grab a small bowl with water and dip your finger into the bowl of water and run your finger along the edges of the wrapper. Fold bottom corner of the wrapper over the filling  and press all edges to close the wrapper, you’ll have a triangle.

Note:When making these use a damp paper towel to cover the wonton wrappers, otherwise they may dry out before you have a chance to fill them.


4. In a large pot, preheat the canola oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry until golden brown. About 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Enjoy!!!