What to do with leftover Chocolate Ganache… (Chocolate Tiramisu)

Quick and Easy Chocolate Tiramisu

So after making a large dark chocolate sheet cake with chocolate ganache frosting a few days ago… I found myself with about 1 – 1 1/2 c. of leftover ganache taking up space in the refrigerator.  What was I going to do with it?  Sure, I could make some cupcakes and use the ganache as [...]

Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake (and birthday sheet cake)

dark chocolate ganache cake

  Sometimes I feel like eating a really rich, decadent dark chocolate cake.  Butter cream frosting simply does not satisfy when I get in that CHOCOLATE mood.  This is one of my most favorite chocolate cakes to make for those times – but consider yourself warned: it is a really rich cake – a little slice [...]

Chicken Katsu and Japanese Curry

chicken katsu and curry

Growing up, we ate tonkatsu (pork katsu) all the time.  While I love tonkatsu, I much prefer chicken katsu for ease of preparation.  I always keep a bag of frozen chicken tenders in the freezer – which are great for making chicken katsu. Japanese curry was also something we had for dinner often – at [...]

Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes

Taiwanese pineapple cake

A few years back, my husband’s aunt came to visit from Taiwan and brought us some wonderful Pineapple Cakes from a famous bakery in Taipei.  Apparently, people stand in long lines to buy these specific pineapple “cakes” (pineapple jam filled shortbread) – and after tasting them, I understand why!  Not too long ago, I saw [...]

Easy Rustic (No-Knead) Bread

rustic no-knead bread

(Original Post Date:  January 31, 2011) Did I ever mention my husband bought me a KitchenAid Stand Mixer as a surprise gift a few years ago?  He thought I would like it, since I bake so much.  His heart was in the right place, but just like I shouldn’t be picking out tech gadgets for [...]

Costa Rican Fried Rice: Gallo Pinto

gallo pinto

(Original Post Date:  January 24, 2011) When I lived in Costa Rica for the summer, many years ago, one thing you could always count on was being served some form of black beans and rice at EVERY meal.  I was staying the La Selva Biological Research Station in the heart of the rain forest, and [...]

Hawaiian Butter Mochi

butter mochi

(Original Post Date:  January 16, 2011) Mochi is probably one of my most favorite things to eat.  I prefer my mochi plain and fried with just a little bit of soy sauce.  Yum!  But when it comes to dessert mochi… I’ve never really been a fan of azuki (red) bean filled mochi.  It’s ok… but [...]

Banh Bo Nuong (Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake)

banh bo nuong

(Original Post Date:  Jan 9, 2011) Who knew that Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake (Banh Bo Nuong) would end up being one of the most difficult cakes I’ve ever tried to make?  My friend gave me a delicious homemade Banh Bo Nuong around Christmas time, and I’ve been trying to duplicate it ever since.  The more I [...]

Blackberry Muffins

blackberry muffins

(Original Post Date:  January 07, 2011) Blackberries are high in phenolic acids – antioxidant compounds that are anti-carcinogenic.  I’m always trying to find ways to incorporate healthy foods into our daily diet.  When blackberries went on sale the other day (two packages for $3), I thought it was time to try these muffins. Use low [...]

Chestnut Rum Torte

Chestnut Torte

(Original Post Date:  December 28, 2010) I was intrigued by these packages of vacuum-packed chestnuts (already peeled and roasted) that I found at the Chinese Market a few weeks ago.  I tend to stay away from chestnuts in coking/baking, since I find them so hard to peel…  So I thought why not give them a [...]