Cakey Brownies

I do not know about you guys but finding the right kind of brownies is VERY tricky. The recipe always comes either too soft, too fudgey, too dry, or even too crunchy. But this recipe is perfect for those of you who love cakey brownies! Follow me on this blog for more blog updates!

Cakey Chocolate Brownies

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 8x8 pan (or smaller pan) with butter.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt; set aside.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and water; continue to stir until boiling. Remove from the heat and add in the chocolate chips until all is incorporated. Then add in the eggs and vanilla until blended.
4.  Combine the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and add in the chocolate chips. Carefully, pour in the batter into prepared dish and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean. DO NO OVER BAKE! 
5. Take out the brownies, and resist the urge to eat it before it cools :) enjoy!

Vanilla Cake w/ Chocolate Buttercream

A lovely sorry cake for my awesome sister! Extremely moist, soft, and light thanks to the help with cake flour. I was up until 3 A.M  trying not to wake others who are asleep . . . sorta hard to do when you are basically half awake :) 

For the Vanilla Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cup milk

For the Chocolate Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• Decorations

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease 2 round 8 or 9 inch cake cans with butter, flouring sides and bottom evenly. 
2. For the Cake: In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Turn the mixer off and scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well on medium speed after each one. 
3. Turn off the mixer and add about 1/3 of the flour, mix on low speed until blended. Pour in 2/3 cup of milk and mix until smooth (Do not over mix!). Repeat, alternating the flour with the milk until fully blended. Pour half other the batter into the prepared pans and the other half in the second. evenly smooth the top with spoon. Gently tap the pans against counter to get the air bubbles out of the batter. 
4. Bake fore 30 to 35 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes. Turn each pans upside down onto cooling rack and gently lift off parchment paper, cooling the make completely.
5. For the Frosting: In a small saucepan, or a heatproof bowl over simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring often until smooth. Turn off heat and let the chocolate cool slightly. 
6. In a medium bowl, using electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is smooth with no lumps. Turn off mixer and scrape down the bowl. Add in the powder sugar, vanilla, and salt, beating on low speed until smooth. Add in the melted chocolate and heavy cream on low speed until blended. Decorate on cooled cake.

Vegan Basil Fettuccine Pasta

I never have thought that vegan foods would be this good! Unforgivably, I have always said to myself that vegan foods are always bland since they basically have no sugar in their foods. But I was wrong. After tasting this amazing pasta, I now pledge that I will never, ever doubt the different forms of food, ever again! Follow me on this blog for more blog updates!

Ingredients:
1 pound fettuccine noodle, uncooked

1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1. Cook the pasta following package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Place toasted pine nuts, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper into food processor and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. Blend for 10 seconds until chopped. Stop the motor and drizzle with remaining oil. Process again for another 30 seconds, or until almost smooth. 
3. Toss and mix into the cooked pasta. Serve warm.

***Pesto sauce can by covered in a tight container for one week. Makes 1/2 cup of pesto

Crispy Fried Donuts

Breakfast is my ultimate favorite time to feast on sweets and candies. Weird right? I just love to cram on crackers, and sweet cupcakes for breakfast when I was a kid. Things never changed but the fact that I now eat tons of my favorite muffins and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereals :) Today, I made my famous pan fried donuts, and they taste just like the ones in Dunkin' Donuts! Follow me on this blog for more blog updates!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
2 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Oil

1. Heat a deep fryer pan or fill a saucepan with oil halfway, and heat it up to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, fist together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and sugar until blended together. Mix in the melted butter until crummy, then stir in the milk until incorporated. Add in the egg until smooth.
3. On a floured surface, knead the dough and roll it out into 1/4 inch thickness.
4. Cut out the dough into desired shape (I used cookie cutters), and carefully insert the shaped dough into the preheated fryer. Cook for 3 minutes then flip to the other side, frying again for another 1 minute (or until both sides are golden brown). Drain fried donuts on a dry paper towel.
5. Cool completely before glazing/sprinkling 

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie

Oh. My. Gosh. This is the most epic looking cookie I made so far. I absolutely love Oreo's, even better, stuffed in chocolate chip cookies! Easy to make and very unforgettable! Follow me on this blog for more blog updates!

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package Oreo cookies

1. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Slowly add the dry mix to the wet mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Refrigerate the dough for an hour.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Scoop a ball of cookie dough on top of the Oreo and another below, sandwiching the Oreo in between. Flatten the cookie dough and seal the sides, completely covering the Oreo.
7. Place the cookies at least two inches apart on a baking sheet and bake for 9-13 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE

Vegan Apple Muffins

These are bursting with apple and cinnamon flavor every time you take a big bite of it! Super duper healthy with no dairy or eggs inside. While I was making this for my vegan friend, I noticed how the batter was way, way too stiff, so I added my favorite Vanilla Soy Milk to thin it out a bit, and they came out perfectly!

Red Velvet Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

These are so amazingly cute! I was so surprised about the color when I ate one cupcake for testing. They were shockingly bright red and it had a distinct taste of humble chocolate. Follow me on this blog for more blog updates!

For the Cupcakes:

2 ½ cups cake flour (sifted)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles)
½ cup unsalted butter (not in microwave)
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (at room temperature)
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2.      Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.  In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.

3.      In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, and then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture; beat until well combined.

4.      In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter ¾ full. Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Check early and don’t over bake!

5.      Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.  

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

2(8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter; beat until creamy. Mix in vanilla, and then gradually add the powdered sugar. 
2. Mix until frosting ingredients is completely combined. Check the consistency at this point. If it seems too soft, go ahead and add a little more sifted powdered sugar. If it seems too thick, mix in a teaspoon or so of milk. 
3. Use the frosting to frost your cake or cupcakes immediately- either by spreading or filling a piping bag, or store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use (should be used to frost the same day).

Humble Banana Bread

Ah yes. Banana Bread. This was one of the first thing that I have ever baked. Simple yet glorious. Sure I have made super easy rice krispies when I was little, but banana bread was something that I actually had to BAKE. This is about my ninth (not to brag) time that I have made this kind of bread and I have finally mastered it by adding some good old spices. Now sorry but I cannot just give out my own secret recipe ;) it is a secret that I must keep to myself!