Truffle Therapy

Now that AnimeFest is over, I can move on to other things...like preparing for Ikkicon! Conventions are addictive, I'm always looking forward to my next one. While that may be my first hobby, I do not neglect my second love: cooking!

I must confess that while conventions are some of the most fun weekends of my year, they are not exactly the most relaxing hobby. I have to make sure I have my badge, hotel accomodations, and transportation to and from con squared away in addition to planning all the things I want to do at con and packing all of the pieces of my cosplays while not forgetting the things I need to exist as a human, like shampoo and contact solution. So, after con, I needed to recover. Recovery involves me watching any new anime I bought, checking out some recommendations, and making repairs to my coplays (why do I keep liking characters with long hair? long wigs are a pain) But, I also like to recover with a new recipe. Okay, maybe a few new recipes. If you follow me on Facebook, you saw the chocolate banana pancakes that I made (and might end up in a future post), which were just what the doctor ordered. That gorgeous plate was all for me. But, of course, I needed to make something for sharing, because that is what I do. Truffles have become a staple in my recipe roster because they are so versatile. They're a nice size for sharing, and they're not very difficult. The amount of hands-on technique is something I find relaxing. Rolling out the little balls, then dipping them in warm chocolate or topping them are things I take pleasure in. It's a process that can't be rushed, so I enjoy taking that time. I decided to make some truffles for sharing.

These truffles. They are wonderful. They are sweet, the flavors work well together, and the soft buttercream with the crunch of the nuts is an experience from the second you crack the shell. Probably my favorite part of making these truffles was the way it made my kitchen smell. Maple extract is strong stuff for sure, and my house smelled like a diner at 10 am on a Saturday by the time I was finished. I'm saving the buttercream recipe by itself as well, because I have a feeling it would be amazing spread between the layers of a pumpkin cake or on a slice of nut bread.

They may not be much to look at, but truffles are like people, it's the inside that makes or breaks it.

If you want a breakfast-scented kitchen and some very happy friends, here's my recipe:

Maple Walnut Truffles

Sprinkles of Kim:
-These do very easily run the risk of becoming too sweet, so you can use dark chocolate for dipping if that is a concern
-I kept mine in the fridge while dipping and only took out five at a time because I live in the 24/7 oven known as Texas
-I added a few extra drops of maple extract to make sure the flavor came through
-Ignore the exact powdered sugar measurement and mix in increments of powdered sugar until the buttercream is stiff enough to hold its shape

Enjoy the recipe, and remember to take the time and do whatever you consider therapy!

Sweets for the Sweet

For those of you who also follow my Facebook, you will notice that I was at AnimeFest this weekend. But fear not! I still have a new recipe for you, and it's one of my best ones if I do say so myself.

My good friend Emily had a birthday a couple of weeks ago, and since she lives in Maryland, I was not able to properly celebrate with her. But she flew to Texas to attend AnimeFest with me and the rest of my crew. Of course, I had to make her something special. The poor girl gets tortured by pictures of my food on a regular basis, I can't deprive her of the chance to taste it. So, the search began for the perfect recipe. If you've read my previous post, you'll know I love searching for flavors and recipes that suit the person's taste or personality to a T. I decided on cupcakes because they are easy to transport and share with other con friends.

Emily had an interesting challenge in the search for a recipe. She is allergic to dairy.  With baked goods, it's generally not too difficult to use non-dairy butter and milk, but I wanted these to be special. I wanted them to taste like something she can't normally have. So, I searched Pinterest for ideas. (Side note: Pinterest, dairy-free does NOT mean healthy. Don't give me this paleo, sugar-free, all natural nonsense. I want junk food sans milk, is that too much to ask?) I found a recipe that just sounded awesome. Cookie dough cupcakes with a frosting that was cookie dough meant to be eaten raw. I loved the frosting idea, but the cupcake recipe seemed a bit boring. I wanted a flavor to compliment the frosting. What goes with cookies? Milk! .....oh, wait, no dairy..... hmmmmm .....IDEA!! In many a Mexican restaurant, I've ordered horchata, a rice milk drink with cinnamon and vanilla that tastes very sweet and creamy. I recommend trying it, it's a bit like an iced vanilla latte without coffee. And because it's made with rice milk, It's already non-dairy. So, I settled on horchata cupcakes with cookie dough frosting. Emily loves her treats as much as I do, so this wonderful sugar bomb combo was the perfect recipe for this sweet girl.

One of Emily's favorite anime characters is Seitarou Tanabata from Nanbaka, who has blue hair and is named after a star festival. He is her star child, so I decorated the cupcakes accordingly.

When I combined these two recipes, I was worried that the combination of two very sweet recipes could become cloyingly sweet, or the horchata flavor wouldn't be present in the cupcakes, or, worst of all, the inferno known as Texas in August would melt the frosting because it's coconut oil based. But all of my worry was for naught, they were a hit. the general consensus was that they were cookie dough ice cream in cupcake form, and if that doesn't sound delicious to you, then you are reading the wrong blog.

Okay, here's my recipe for the cupcakes:

Horchata Cupcakes

Sprinkles of Kim:

-Because I was only making the cupcakes and not the frosting, I halved the recipe for the horchata

-I cut the sugar in the horchata to 1/4 cup rather than 1/3 because with the very sweet cookie dough, I didn't want the sweetness to be overpowering

-I put extra cinnamon in the horchata because the cinnamon flavor really compliments the cookie dough

-Dairy-free butter, of course

And now for the frosting:

Cookie Dough Cupcakes (frosting)

Sprinkles of Kim:

-I left out the chocolate chips because I realized that the ones I had contained dairy. Oops.

-Instead of scooping the dough, I made little balls and flattened them and laid them on top of the cupcakes. It gives a better distribution of flavor.

-I used almond milk rather than coconut milk because that's what I had

-I added a bit of extra oat flour (which you can make by running regular oats through a food processor) to thicken the dough. I would probably not have to if I was making this recipe in the winter because coconut oil has a really low melting point.

If you have someone in your life who can't/doesn't consume dairy, I would highly recommend these cupcakes. No one would ever know it's dairy-free, they're just flat out good. They really are the sweet treat worthy of one of my sweetest friends!

Dragonball Birthday Cake

Last week, my wonderful boyfriend turned 27 years old (I know, I'm dating an old man). Being a good girlfriend, I scoured the mall looking for the perfect nerdy gift for my nerdy man. This is an unpopular thing to say, but I love shopping for gifts for people. It's fun to think about what they would like and give them something they will appreciate. Shopping for geeks is actually easier than shopping for non-geeks in my opinion because you always have a good starting point. My biggest obstacle was figuring out what he already owned. But, with some searching (and possibly getting distracted by all of the nerdy stuff I liked), I found a gift that he loved. Success!

Being a cooking fanatic, I would be remiss in my girlfriend duties if I didn't make him some sort of birthday treat. I claimed the task of making his birthday cake. I wanted it to be special, one that was tailored to what he would like. When I'm designing a recipe for someone, I go full Sherlock Holmes, replaying conversations in my head and thinking about past meals I have shared with them to figure out the exact flavor combination that will make the person happy. Jay is a man of simple taste, which makes my job both easier and more difficult. Easier because I don't have to hunt down any exotic ingredients or learn any finicky new techniques, more difficult because simple is hard to make special and personalized. Let the over-analysis begin! I knew I wanted to start with a yellow cake, as he mentioned that it was a favorite of his. I had mentioned Boston Cream Pie at some point and he had said he'd never had it, but it sounded good (he has been deprived). So, I decided to do a yellow cake with a custard filling similar to a Boston Cream. Now the topping. He prefers white chocolate over dark, and a previous conversation had revealed that he loves coffee ice cream. White chocolate espresso ganache would go perfectly with the vanilla cake and custard. And finally, a personal touch. Dragonballs. In the Dragonball world. when you gather all seven Dragonballs, you get to make a wish, so they're the perfect topping for a birthday cake. Plus they're little yellow orbs with stars on them, talk about easy. What should these orbs be made of? Peanut butter dipped in chocolate. One of the best combinations in the dessert world.

Delicious level: 9001

The cake was loved by everyone who tried it, including the one person I most wanted to please, Jay. I'm so happy that I have him in my life and I get to celebrate moments like this with him.

So, once I had used my powers of deductive reasoning to detemine the perfect cake (this is what they teach you in college, kids), I set about finding my recipes. I'm not going to just use any old yellow cake recipe for this, I used the "perfected" yellow cake recipe from Pinterest. This is a very specific recipe and I followed it to the letter. The resulting cake was a Goldilocks texture, not dense, but not so light that I was worried about it collapsing. The flavor was the perfect amount of sweetness to go with the custard. This recipe made a huge mess in my kitchen, but if you want to put in the effort, it makes a really good cake.

Yellow Cake Recipe

The custard and ganache came from this Boston Cream recipe, but of course I altered it as I always do. The custard is probably my favorite part of this cake, it's the perfect texture and the vanilla flavor comes through nicely.

Boston Cream Recipe

Sprinkles of Kim:
-Cook the mixture until it thickens. Mine went from liquid to thick pudding texture so fast I thought I had messed something up, but that's actually supposed to happen
-Because I only have a small blender, I whipped the cream separately and folded it into the custard.
-For the ganache, I used white chocolate and put in a couple teaspoons of espresso powder instead of vanilla. It turned out a bit thi, so if I make it again, I'll cook it longer to hopefully make it thicken a bit more.

And finally, the Dragonballs. These little orbs of happiness will not last long at any gathering. If you've ever had buckeye balls, they're basically that. So good.

Peanut Butter Truffles

Sprinkles of Kim
-Don't bother measuring the powdered sugar, just add and mix until you can form it into a ball that you can handle without it sticking to your hands
-Keep the peanut butter balls in the freezer up until right before you dip them. The colder they are, the less likely they are to melt in the chocolate
-If it's warm and humid in your kitchen (it's August in Texas, warm and humid is currently my life), put the dipped truffles in the fridge to set the chocolate
-I used white chocolate with yellow food coloring to get the yellow, and the stars are star-shaped sprinkles

Even if it's something simple, it can still be incredible. Okay that was sappy, I'm out.

Cookies with a Smackerel

As most of you with children (or who, like myself, are basically oversized children with jobs) have heard, Christopher Robin was released this weekend. Much like old fairy tales, Winnie The Pooh and his friends have been a quintissential part of childhood for what seems like forever. Since the character's creation in the 1920's, A. A. Milne's characters have been adapted to radio, television, movies, and even several stage plays, but the tubby little cubby hasn't graced the theater screen since 2011. Now, I'll be honest, I was very skeptical about a the idea of a live action Winnie the Pooh movie. So many of recent live action adaptations have been, shall we say, less than stellar. But after seeing the trailer, I went in expecting at least something worth my time.

Okay, I'll start by saying, I really enjoyed the movie. It was cute, it had some good heart, and the characters felt like the ones I had grown up with. I had bought a teddy bear in my bag because some movies just require a stuffed animal to squeeze, and this movie was full of squeeze-worthy momoents. Kids will enjoy it and parents will be able to enjoy the nostalgia. The message of the movie is one I have seen a thousand times, but it was well executed enough to ring true. Take time to do nothing. Be present in the moment and enjoy what's around you, be it nature, your family, your friends, or simply the comfort of your home. It's a reminder we all need. I like to do a lot of different things and have a lot of friends and hobbies, but when I am doing so many things that I cannot stay present and enjoy those things, it's not worth doing to begin with. I have had times where I have had to plan to do nothing, and then having to force myself not pick up a chore or start planning something else and just enjoy this doing nothing. Wow, deep thoughts for a Monday. Let's get back to sweet treats and teddy bears!

In honor of the release, I decided I wanted to make honey cookies. It wouldn't be Winnie the Pooh without the constant search for honey. These spiced vanilla and honey cookies are just the thing for a sentimental, childlike movie that adults can also enjoy. They remind me of gingerbread and spiced chai with a  nice honey undertone, and they make the kitchen smell incredible. I took these to a party and they received rave reviews. Much like the movie I baked them for, these are soft and VERY sweet. Not too sweet, I was careful to ensure that, but they can easily become so. Use a very light hand when glazing these and feel free to add extra spice to keep the flavors balanced. They would definitely go well with something that has a more bitter flavor to balance, like coffee or an earl grey tea.

No picture can do justice to how good these things smell and taste.

Recipe:

Spiced Vanilla Honey Cookies

Sprinkles of Kim:
-I added extra of all of the spices in the cookie dough to my taste, meaning about half again more cinnamon and an extra dash of all the other spices because I like strong spicy flavors
-One more spice for good measure: coriander. I added a couple dashes to round out the flavor
-To add more honey flavor, I warmed up some honey and drizzled it very lightly over the cookies just like I did with the frosting.

Remember to take time to enjoy the moment, and maybe treat yourself to a samll smackerel