Bear Claws

After many years of baking the basics, I've finally mustered up the courage to make a pastry. This is a very late Mother's Day post, but I can't pass up this opportunity to share my experience. Before moving to Shanghai, mom's favorite pastry from any place was always the Bear Claw. A few weeks before Mother's day, I thought about what I'd make and this is what came up.

Since I won't be in close proximity to my family next mother's day, I stepped it up a notch. Bear Claw Pastry is the perfect thing to make if you'd rather spend the time instead of money to show how much you love someone (mushy gushy).

Or you could just treat yourself to a nice pastry. They smell and taste heavenly.

I've been wanting to post this since the day I made it, but with school I've been extremely busy...but now it's over! Happy graduation!

Yesterday was our last day of school. With the Baccalaureate Service and then graduation rehearsal, it finally hit me that I wouldn't be going back to this school after summer. After four years here, my school has sort of become my second home (as much as I hate to admit it). I'll really miss the community and the relationships I've established. While I'm beyond excited to start the new chapter of my life, I don't think I've been this anxious for anything. Ahh separation anxiety starting already?!

Anyways... I digress. 
If you're looking for more of a challenge, make your own pastry puff. Seeing the results of the flaky dough is greater than what I imagined. Despite my worries that this would turn into the biggest failure of Mother's day, it turned out to be a huge success! Before I knew it was even Tuesday, 6/6 pastries were gone. Lucky for my mom, I had frozen the other six.

In fact, I encourage that you make a large batch and freeze them for whenever you'd like to enjoy a delectable breakfast with a nice cup of dark roast coffee.

Enjoy!

Bear Claws: makes 12
Recipe: adapted from here
2 Tbsp & 2 tsp almond paste
2/3 cups ground almonds
2/3 cups finely chopped walnuts
1/8 cup white sugar
1/2 pinch salt (1 smidgen)
1 Tbsp butter
1 egg white
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp amaretto liqueur

1 1/2 pounds puff pastry (ingredients from here and directions from here)
1/2 egg
1 1/2 tsp water
1 1/2 Tbsp sliced almonds for garnish
1 1/2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Beat almond paste with an electric mixer to break it apart. Add the almonds, walnuts, sugar, and salt; continue mixing until the almond paste is no longer lumpy. Stir in the butter, egg white, almond & vanilla extract, and amaretto liqueur on high speed until it's as fluffy as possible. We'll finish working with this in a bit.
2. Split the dough in half and place half in the refrigerator. Roll half of the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle that is about 8 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. Trim the edges and cut the dough in half lengthwise to make two 4 inch wide strips. On each 4 inch wide strip, divide the dough into three sections, totaling to six rectangle pieces. Place these in the refrigerator, and take out the other half of the dough. Repeat step 2. In the end, there should be 12 smaller rectangles.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
4. Whisk the egg and water together. Spoon a scant Tbsp of filling in the center of each strip. Brush the egg mixture onto the edges of each strip. Fold each strip over the filling and press gently to seal. Use a knife to cut "claws". 
5. Brush the egg mixture on top of each claw. Sprinkle almonds over the top. Refrigerate and repeat with the other half of the dough.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until almonds are toasted and the pastry is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Cool and dust with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

Notes:

- After step 4, you have the option of freezing the pastries. I individually wrapped each Bear Claw. When I baked the frozen half, I just preheated the oven, brushed the top with egg and water, and then sprinkled almonds over the top. The time should be around the same, just watch for the color changes

- Baking the Bear Claws, or any pastry, is best baked when the dough is cold.

- Keep in mind when making pastry dough, that the more you fold and roll your dough, the more layers and more flaky the dough will be. 

 

With Love,

Grace

Healthy Cinnamon "Ice Cream"

Rise and shine...for those of you on the other side of the world. You may be able to tell from all my posts that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. 

But, ice cream for breakfast? Yes! It's über healthy, too. If you're a regular blog surfer, you probably have a good guess as to which one ingredient this is made of -- frozen bananas! 

I'm yet to explore all the different varieties I could try with the ice cream.The few that I already have in mind are: nutella-peanut butter, blueberry, vanilla bean, and chocolate. Let me know if you try any different flavors!

What I really love about this breakfast is that it keeps me going for the entire morning. Two bananas is more than enough and is plenty to share. I was just feeling a bit selfish this morning (but I did share a few bites) so I ate most of it myself.

This is another recipe like this one that I've had a miserable experience with. The first time, I didn't slice up the bananas before freezing. Long story short, the banana didn't blend, so I let it thaw and ate it, which turned out to be ridiculously bitter. Anyone else have this happen to them?

If you're planning on making your lovely momma waffles or a tall stack of pancakes for Mother's Day, this would be a healthy alternative to the regular milk-based ice cream to put on top.

 Hope you enjoy this very simple treat!

Chocolate Jar Cake

OK...don't hate! This was the only photo of the actual cake that I have. Down below I have photos of before the cake was cooked and after the cake was eaten. After the jar cake was ready, I was way too eager to eat it. This pictured bite was right before I remembered I was supposed to take photos before scarfing the cake down. Oops, guess you'll have to make one yourself! After all, it only takes a few minutes :)

This is a perfect pre-mother's day food to show Mommy some extra love, right?

My first time making mug/jar cake was when I was still in middle school. It seems like ages ago. Perhaps it's been seven years? What I remember is browsing on Internet Explorer on the huge monitor that seems obsolete these days. I'm not quite sure how I found it, but boy oh boy, I was beyond excited.

How it ended was with a spongy, rubbery cake overflowing my souvenir mug with a middle school girl sighing in disappointment. Since then, I've been skeptical of every mug cake I've come across.

No fears though! This is very cake like, what I desire in every chocolate cake: moist, chocolatey, fluffy, satisfying... It's perfect for satisfying that sweet tooth. 

Now I know it's not "healthy", but it's healthy for the soul (I've been doing too much yoga these days if there's such a thing). Plus, it's a single serving size, so you can't really over-indulge, right? (Unless you're actually not lazy and make another one.) Anyways, enjoy!

Vanilla Coconut Rice Pudding

Summer's quickly approaching and graduation is in only 19 days. I've begun thinking about how I'll keep blogging and cooking/baking in college. Perhaps I'll befriend a bunch of upperclassmen and use their kitchens....I really don't know. Any suggestions?

Vanilla bean and coconut combos have always been able to cozy up a warm and fuzzy feeling. Before I could even help myself to another serving two days later, I found out that my mom had eaten the other portions. Sigh..

What I love about this particular rice pudding is that it's not too sweet or rich.You need to make this!

Coconut Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding adapted from here
Recipe: serves 6 - 8
1 1/2 cups of water
3/4 cup basmati rice
1/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise with seeds scraped out.

Directions:
1. Boil the water, salt, and rice in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the water has been absorbed. 
2. Add the both the regular and coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla bean and seeds to the pan. Increase the heat and and stir continuously to avoid burning. Stir for about 35 minutes until the rice is tender and the mixture is thick and creamy. 
3. Remove the pudding from the heat and divide evenly into bowls. The pudding can be served warm or chilled. 

Notes:
- This can be made 2 days ahead of serving time
- Add toppings if you wish. Dried berries are very good with it!
- Instead of discarding the bean after you've cooked with it, wash it off and store it in sugar to make vanilla-infused sugar

With Love, 
Grace