My Favorite Donut

EPISODE

Learn how to make a classic “dump and stir” doughnut that is amenable to modern twists. You’ll learn how to fry without a fryer, how to make a simple chocolate sauce, and most importantly how to make perfectly cooked Churros. You will be able to impress your friends and family with fresh, homemade doughnuts.

Show Outline: 

• Churros

• Chocolate Sauce: 10:52

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Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts

SHOW NOTES:

Recipes:

1. Churros Recipe - One of my favorite recipes 🙂

2. Chocolate Sauce (below)

Easy Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup chocolate pieces
1 cup milk (dairy free works fine too)
Salt to taste

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, microwave 1 cup chocolate pieces and 1 cup milk (dairy free works fine too) for 30 second increments whisking thoroughly in between heating. Then stir in some salt to taste. If you like, you can even add a dash cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder or vanilla. 

Frying Doughnuts - Tips & Troubleshooting

• Follow the recipe carefully.

• Oil Temperature: For optimal frying the oil needs to be between 360-375F (182-190C).

• If your doughnuts come out oily the frying oil is likely too low. 

• If you flip your doughnut over to cook the second side and it tries to flip back over to the first (cooked) side, this is probably because your churro was slightly overcooked on the first side. 

• Make sure your oil is preheating before you mix the wet and dry ingredients together. 

Dumplings, Crispy Vietnamese Crepes & A Savory Rice Cake

EPISODE

It’s time for some savory meals. Join me to learn about homemade Asian mains that will help you expand your repertoire. 

Show Outline: 

• Dumplings 

  Vietnames Crepes 8:28

  Savory Rice Cake 14:18

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts

SHOW NOTES:

In this episode I reviewed recipes from The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen cookbook by Laura Russell.

Recipes discussed:

1. Gingery Pork Pot Stickers

2. 3-Ingredient Crispy Vietnamese Crepes (vegan option) This was my favorite recipe. You can fill it with whatever you like, but I have a fairly traditional option and a vegan option.

3. A Savory Rice Cake. You can find these cakes in Singapore and China. The Singapore version has simple ingredients while the Chinese version is more complex and flavorful, incorporating things like dried shrimp or mushrooms. It makes a great accompaniment to a meal. 

I love the Vietnamese Rice Crepe recipe. One common filling you can find in Ho Chi Minh is a combination of pork, shrimp, mung beans, and mung bean sprouts which are flavored with garlic and eaten with lettuce, mint and cilantro. You can find a recipe here. 

See an example of these crepes being cooked in Ho Chi Minh in an open air restaurant.

Cookie Baking Secrets: Chocolate Chip Cookies & Butter Cookies

EPISODE

If you have ever wanted to know how to make your cookies more chewy or crisp or moist the next day, you have come to the right place. In today’s episode I’ll discuss aspects of baking that affect texture. Furthermore, if you would like to learn about how specific ingredients affect cookie texture, check out the show notes below.

Show Outline: 

• Butter Cookies 3:44

• Experiment with Flavor (butter cookies) 6:44

• Chocolate Chip Cookies 13:00

• Bake Time 13:37

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts

SHOW NOTES:

Recipes:

1. Classic Butter Cookies 

2. Chocolate Chip Cookies 

3. Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars

4. Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies 

5 Factors that Affect Cookie Texture, Broadly Speaking

-Recipe 
-Rest time (resting the dough in the fridge overnight)
-Size of cookie
-Oven temperature 
-Bake time - Most people over-bake chocolate chip cookies! Take them out of the oven as soon as the middle loses its sheen. 

Troubleshooting - Recipe Adjustments 

Cookies can spread too much, be domed and dry, or otherwise be subpar for a number of reasons. When troubleshooting, always first check bake time, cookie size, rest time, etc. The causes of a problem can vary but if a cookie is too dry or domed, you can try reducing the flour by a tablespoon, or two tablespoons if it is a large recipe. If your cookies spread too much you can try reducing the sugar some (assuming you’ve already tried refrigerating the dough overnight). If your cookies have an off flavor, try reducing the baking soda. And, lastly, if they are falling apart, try adding a little more psyllium husk powder (or xantham gum, gaur gum, chia seeds.. whatever your recipe calls for) and/or 2-3 teaspoons of water. However, if your cookies aren’t holding together always try letting rest for twenty minutes  after baking before removing them from the cookie sheet. If that doesn’t work, then adjust the gums. Psyllium and gums also help keep cookies moist for a few days. Now go forth and bake exquisite cookies 🙂 

Let’s recap, check out the notes below. Always change only on factor when testing a recipe. Changing the recipe is the last thing you should try.

Dry cookie Try in the following order: reduce bake time, reduce flour, add more psyllium husk powder or xanthan gum (using more than 1 teaspoon of gum per cup of flour is very unusual and probably not needed)

Spreading Too Much To reduce spreading allow the dough to rest in the fridge overnight (unless it has whipped egg whites), reduce the sugar

Off Flavor Reduce the baking soda

Falling Apart Let the cookies rest for 20 minutes on the tray after they are baked, add 2-3 tablespoons of water, add more psyllium husk powder or gum

Bake Time

I came across an interesting article on Bon Appétit: How to tell when anything is done baking

Classic Chocolate Cake with a Ganache Frosting

EPISODE #25

This cake is one of my favorites. It is a classic chocolate cake with a classy ganache finish. And the ganache frosting takes less than 5 minutes to make! Hard to beat. This recipe also has a dairy free option which I love. I hope you give this cake a try and feel confident adding a new technique to your baking repertoire. Enjoy! 🙂

Ganache 9:45

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts

SHOW NOTES:

Recipes:

1. Classic Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting

   Video: To see the video, click on the recipe link above. Enjoy!

View the recipe above to learn how to make the ganache. Note that I use a slightly different method for this recipe. Traditionally, ganache is made by boiling the cream and then pouring it over the chocolate and letting it rest, before stirring into a smooth ganache. If you prefer this method, you can use it instead.

When making ganache, you can vary the chocolate to cream ratio for different consistencies/uses and whether you are using dark or white chocolate. Ganache can be made many different ways, but the 1:1 chocolate to cream ratio is a classic. If you use two parts cream to one part chocolate and chill it, you can then whip the mixture and frost a cake with it or serve it with fresh fruit.

Here is a quick demonstration on how to cover your leftover ganache in chocolate to make truffles. Alternatively, you can shape it into balls and roll them in: crushed nuts, coconut, or cocoa. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could try rolling your ganache balls in powdered freeze dried raspberries. Or rub some orange blossom oil onto almond pieces before rolling your ganache in the almonds. Or you could even try a more savory flavor like matcha or curry powder—just be sure to start small so you don’t overwhelm the chocolate flavor. I have actually had curry in chocolate before and it can be delicious.

Troubleshooting: If your ganache breaks and looks curdled, you can usually rescue it. Try adding a tablespoon of hot cream at a time and stirring until it comes back together.