MacDaddys

I almost forgot to share these photos of the gigantic macarons I made for James. He was definitely spoiled with sweets this past Valentine's Day! I made these for him in addition to the cute chocolates and homemade kit kats :)

These were the biggest macarons I've ever made; almost 4 inches in diameter! Here they are compared to my regular macarons. (You can see more of the cute little bear ones and how I painted the gold design here!)

James loved them and it only took one to satisfy his sweet tooth. It has to! It was the size of a small hamburger lol.

I named these humongous macarons MacDaddys! :)

Left one was Orange Grand Marnier and right one was Earl Grey tea

The happy recipient :)

Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding

February has been such a sweet month! I've made so many treats including these cute cups of banana pudding. I made these along with the Orange Grand Marnier macarons for Lunar New Year. I had the idea to make them after visiting my sister in NYC. I was craving Magnolia's Banana Pudding and it was sold out when we stopped by. We finally got it the next day and the pudding is just as good as I remembered; sweet and comforting :) No wonder it's their second best selling item. I have the Magnolia book at home and thought that it would be the perfect dessert for New Year. (You can also find the recipe here.) I was able to make 15 of these individual cups so it's really great for a large party.

Btw, here's a cute instagram that my sister made of my little visit :)

Clockwise from top left: Sis and me with silly headbands on in the Sanrio store; Pretty roses at Wholefoods; The famous banana pudding and white chocolate macademia cheesecake (in the back); Yummy burgers and fries at Shake Shack

I went to NYC with my mom to attend my sister's benefit concert. Her group, SHe, did an amazing job and we're so proud of her. Please check out their music on www.shepopmusic.com and become a fan on facebook! I am so in love with their new single "I wanna be with you". Listen to it! These ladies rock!

Blue Flower Earl Grey Tea Macarons

I'm working on a new macaron flavor. It's Blue Flower Earl Grey tea. I fell in love with this tea when I worked at Flour Bakery. The blue cornflower petals make this Earl Grey extra special. This macaron was inspired by one of the handmade chocolates that Flour offered one year for Valentine's Day. Nicole, the executive pastry chef, made a rich Earl Grey tea ganache dipped in dark chocolate and accented it with a single blue petal. Its been years but I still remember how beautiful it looked and how good it tasted. So thank you Nicole for the inspiration!

Most Earl Grey tea-infused ganache are made with either milk or dark chocolate. With my macarons, I decided to use white chocolate instead for a more delicate flavor (and just to test it out for fun since I haven't seen it done with white chocolate yet!). This was the first batch I made and I definitely want to add more tea next time. I think the Earl Grey flavor is more prominent when I've made it with milk chocolate. I don't know for sure yet until I test out another batch with more tea but I'm happy with this first trial :)

Cute Chocolates

These are the chocolates that I surprised James with for Valentine's Day. Aren't they cute? This little couple and the house are my favorites. It's me and James! hehe

I made these chocolates from molds that I bought in Seoul. They were too cute to pass up! This was my first time making chocolate with molds and it was really fun. I need to work on tempering my chocolate correctly because some of it bloomed. They were still tasty though and James didn't mind one bit :)

Chocolate candy mold I bought in Seoul :)

Btw, I used Guittard white and milk chocolate and pink candy melts for the details.

Happy Valentine's Day!

EEek! These turned out so cute! I love them so much! Wishing everyone a wonderful Valentine's Day. Hope these little cute faces made you as happy as I am :)

Like the New Year's macarons, I used edible Pearl Dust mixed with a little vanilla extract to paint the gold details. I "glued" on the heart sprinkles with a bit of melted white chocolate. As for the faces, I made tiny stencils with cute animal craft punches that I bought in Japan. I then place the stencils onto the macarons and filled them in with edible markers. It's really simple. I will make a tutorial post soon :) You can also draw it free-hand if you like but I like how uniform they all look with the homemade stencils.
 

I also made some heart-shaped ones :)

The whole gang hehe

Close-up of the tiny bear face...too cute!

Homemade Kit Kats

Here's a simple treat to make for Valentine's Day! I was inspired to make my own Kit Kat bars after seeing so many cool Kit Kat flavors in Japan :)

All you need to do is buy wafer cookies and cover them with melted chocolate (so easy right?!) Here I used white chocolate and strawberry wafer cookies. You can find wafer cookies in many different flavors. I even saw taro-flavored ones at my local Asian supermarket!

I made these on a whim so I don't have exact measurements but 5 ounces of chocolate should cover at least 4-6 wafer cookies depending on their size.

Ingredients
wafer cookies (any flavor you like)
white, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate (look for good quality brands like Guittard, Valrhona, or Scharffen Berger)
 
Directions
1. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place a cooling rack on top.
2. Place the wafer cookies about an inch apart on the cooling rack.
3. Chop the chocolate with a serrated knife. The smaller you chop up the chocolate, the easier it will be to melt it.
4. Put the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Remove, stir, and continue to do this (heat for 15-20 seconds, remove, and stir) until the chocolate is just melted. Stir until it's completely smooth.*
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the wafer cookies; making sure to cover them completely.
6. Decorate with sprinkles if you like. 
7. Let the chocolate set/harden (about 30 minutes) and enjoy!

*Here after the chocolate has fully melted, I also stirred in a small packet of strawberry-flavored crystals called "Strawberry Crunch" that I bought in Japan to boost the strawberry flavor.

I haven't tried the strawberry-flavored Kit Kats in Japan yet but these will do. They were so good! The high quality white chocolate gives it a very gourmet taste. I can't wait to make other flavor combinations :)

Have you tried any fun Kit Kat flavors from Japan?

Party Interrupted

Lunar New Year is this Sunday and my mom and I have been busy preparing for the celebration. However, we are being hit with a major blizzard. Nemo, as it's being called, is going to bring 2-3 feet of snow by tomorrow night. Everyone is pretty much stuck at home and our party tomorrow is cancelled. Hopefully, it won't be too bad and we can celebrate on Sunday instead.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful New Year full of good health, prosperity, and lots of happiness and laughter. And please stay safe if you are in the Northeast! This Nemo is not looking too friendly!

Btw, I'm so excited about these Orange Grand Marnier macarons. I wanted it to taste like an orange creamsicle and it's pretty close! As for the design, I painted the macarons with edible Pearl Dust mixed with a little vanilla extract. I was inspired by the Year of the Snake and started to paint all these crazy wavy lines. Gold shimmers make everything look prettier :)

(I'll have to play with this recipe a couple more times before I can share it. It's always hard when I'm tweaking and making my own recipes. I want to be sure that it works. I don't want to waste anyone's time and money for the ingredients.)

P ♥ J

Here's a cute idea for anyone who's planning to make macarons for Valentine's Day. Just make two different color batters and pipe a simple design (with a tiny round tip) onto the macaron rounds before they set. I love how fun these macarons turned out :)

Sweet-hearts

Valentine's Day is coming up! I love holidays and celebrations so I'm happily planning the sweet treats I'm going to make. Maybe I'll make these heart macarons again. I made them sometime last year but forgot to share the photos! I love the edible heart glitters. They made them extra cute! Are you planning to bake anything sweet this Valentine's Day?

Btw, I made these heart macarons by piping a short v-shape with a 1/2-in round tip :)

Banana Milk

Banana Milk is one of Korea's most popular drinks. It's not too sweet and has a nice subtle banana flavor. The container is super cute too. Disco Bob is a huge fan but he always needs help finishing it! Not that I'm complaining :)

Btw, you can read more about this drink and its history here. Happy Friday!