Korean Spicy Tofu in Japan

A couple of months ago my husband and I took a vacation in Asia. We visited Hong Kong, Macau, China, and Tokyo. We had a splendid time eating our way around Asia. We are already planning our next trip!

This was our first meal in Tokyo. We headed towards the new Muji in Shinjuku (there are 2), and we found a nice little Korean tofu restaurant across the street. The waiter was very friendly and tried very hard to communicate with us in our non-existing Japanese and his almost non-existing English. We all had a good laugh, but we managed to order with a lot of finger poking and head shaking.

We had a choice of soup base, either miso, soy, or pork broth (we both chose miso). We then had to choose the level of spice (I went for 2 chilis and D went for 4). Then we picked our main ingredient. D had the chicken, and I had the beef.

Afterwards the waiter brought us each a bib which he demonstrated how to tie around our necks. We looked around, and every single patron had one on. We love messy eating, but D is one of those men who would rather wear his food over a bib. But when in Japan, we did as the Japanese do.

A few minutes later our bubbling hot pots arrived on trays with veggie condiments, a bowl of steamed rice, and a light dessert. I've eaten many pots of Spicy Korean tofu, but WOW! The tofu was so smooth and so tasty. The beef had a little bit of fat on it just like bacon. It just melted in my mouth. Plus the miso soup really added some richness. I had a taste of D's. It too was delicious. The hot pot was definitely lighter in taste and much spicier. We both ate greedily and finished every drop of soup. We were so satisfied, but not overly stuffed that we were able to walk out of there and did a full day of exploring! YEAH!

Chris and Carly's Engagement Cupcakes

My good friends Chris and Carly asked me to make cupcakes for their engagement party. They gave me full range to do whatever I wanted. I was so honored and excited. This gave me the perfect opportunity to make a cupcake tower.

I've been craving to make one since I saw Sharon Wee's first cupcake tower (Sharon got her instructions from CakeJournal). It's so elegant and yet so simple to make.

They were expecting 60 guests and preferred a variety of flavors. I decided on making a combination of minis and regular size cupcakes, so everyone could have one of each flavor. I ended up making cupcakes in four flavors - vanilla, chocolate, chocolate peanut butter cup (Carly's favorite), and raspberry cheesecake.

The wedding colors are brown and blue. As it turns out Carly told me the wrapping paper I chose for the tower is the exact same print as their invitations! I also made tiny Italian flags for Chris and his family. They are proud Italians!

Everyone at the party was so impressed with the cupcakes and the tower. I was quite touched by their comments. Plus there wasn't a single cupcake left. Now that's the best compliment ever.

Cupcake Fundraiser for Haiti

Dear Family and Friends,

As you all know Haiti is in a crisis right now and needs our help. I want to do more than just donate a few bucks, so I am fundraising on my own. I am selling cupcakes and will donate 100% of the proceeds to the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Fund.

Cupcakes are sold in an order of 6 for $12. You can have any combo of cake flavor and frosting (but please one combo per 6 cupcakes). I hope to send orders out once every 2 weeks for the next little while (first orders sent out the last week of January - however I did take an order for Super Bowl weekend, so drop me a line if you need a special date).

Please consider this for the next party, get together, or rainy day treat. If you and anyone you know is interested, please drop me a line ( or email me at cpwong00@hotmail.com). I am not a professional baker, just a home baker, but all my goodies are made from scratch with alot of love and care.

THANK YOU!!!

Cake flavors:

Vanilla

Chocolate

Lemon

Coffee

Sponge

Frosting Flavors:

Vanilla

Chocolate

Cream Cheese

Peanut Butter

Cayenne Dark Chocolate (my Iron Cupcake Entry)

Lemon

Orange

Strawberry

Mint

Chocolate Mint

P.S. I apologize to those living outside of Vancouver, but at this time I can only accommodate those in the Metro Van area.

Brenner's Birthday Cake

I made this cake for my cousin's son Brenner's second birthday. He is very much into trucks, so when he asked for a truck cake, this Wilton's dump truck cake was perfect.

It was my first 3-D cake, and boy was I nervous. But I think it came out pretty cute. Despite the detachment of a couple of tires during transport, everyone at the birthday BBQ seemed to love it, all 50 of the guests! But all that mattered was that Brenner liked it. Or at least I think he did. (lol) What do you think?

Birthday boy confused about his cake/ toy?

Justin's Super Mario Cake

Back in June was my baby nephew Justin's first birthday. Now, he's a kid who's spent his entire life getting hand me downs and being neglected for his diva of a brother Jayden. Poor kid even eats left overs that his big bro can't finish! (Lol) I had made Jayden a three tier Elmo cake for his first birthday. Yes, I know... a three tier cake for a one year old is a bit much, but that's what my sister wanted.

Justin needing attention on his birthday.

The boys LOVE Super Mario Kart. I think Jayden's first words were Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Bowser, mom, then dad and in that order. Justin mimics all the cars and cheering noises. It's hilarious to see my parents playing the game with so much concentration you'd think they were defusing a bomb while the two grandkids are squished between them screaming out their Mario lingo. I don't think we could have choosen a better theme.

My sister started giving me pictures of extreme cakes which were way beyond my skill level. There was one with Mario punching out of the cake (I think it's from Su-Yin) and my favorite, one that was four tiers with a castle and all the Mario Kart characters.

I searched high and low and couldn't find one I liked or could make, so instead I designed one from scratch. I used Cake Journal's tutorial to make a fondant plague that goes on top of the cake. I googled the internet and picked a Super Mario's coloring page. My original picture was a Super Mario Kart one, but it was too detailed to make the plague. Instead I opted for the Mario and Luigi a.k.a. Justin and Jayden. (Lol) My royal icing and the weather did give me some difficulty, but I think the outcome was not bad for a first try.

I made the rest of the decorations with marshmallow fondant. The stars were made with star cookie cutters, the clouds from five petal blossom cutter, the trees from circle cutters then I elongated then with a rolling pin, the mushrooms were cut from tiny circle cutters then smooshed into shape, and the turtles were just rolled into little ovals wrapped with white fondant strips and imprinted with crossing lines using the back of a knife.

Oh, and the cake was a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting layered with mini chocolate chips and toasted pecans. It was good. In the end, Justin was king for the day and that was all that mattered. :D

Hello Kitty Pops

Hello again!! I know, I've been bad. Even I was starting to think I had truly given up on the blogging. Blame it on my new time consumer, Facebook. :P

However, recently I've been baking again and am excited about some of the creations I have made. Like these Hello Kitty Cake Pops. Aren't they just the cutest! I got my inspiration from Bakerella. She comes up with the best cake pop ideas.

My sister asked me to make the desserts for her house warming party. I made a pineapple upside-down cake, a chocolate cheesecake, key lime tarts, and chocolate truffles. She's not really into Hello Kitty, but her two little boys always fight over our baby sister's stuffed Kitty, so I thought I would make them some pops just for fun.

They were mint chocolate pops and were consumed quite greedily by my nephews and all their guests. Now if only I knew how to make Super Mario pops, then I would be the best aunt ever!! Oh, Bakerella, I have a challenge for you. :P

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hello, everyone! I'm so excited to be back. It has been a crazy few months, but I'm so happy to be able to write again. This is a little late, but I made red velvet cupcakes for Valentine's Day. Even though I grew up in the south, I'd never had red velvet cake before. It's an all time favorite among Southerners and is perceived as a decadent treat for special occassions. It was the flavor of Jessica Simpson/ Nick Lachey's wedding cake, and remember on Steel Megnolias, it was also the groom's armidillo cake. (lol)


I searched my cook books and the internet. Most recipes were fairly similar for the cake, so chose the one from Martha's 2002 Holiday Baking Magazine. However, it was very interesting to see the variety of frosting. According to several sites, the original red velvet frosting is cooked with butter, sugar, milk, and flour. It seemed a bit weird, so I opted for a popular topping of cream cheese frosting. And YUM-MO!! I'm in love!! Hope ya'll like it. :)

Recipe:
Red Velvet Cupcake
makes 12
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 large eggs
* large squirt red food coloring
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* The recipe actually asks for 4 tablespoons red food coloring, but I couldn't bring myself to add that much. Since the only purpose was for coloring, I just eyeballed the liquid red food coloring (which I purchased at the grocery store) to my liking. The vinegar and baking soda combo is also suppose to change the brown cocoa red which is where the name comes from.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat sugar and oil on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add food coloring and vanilla, and beat until well combined.
4. Add flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating batches, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.
5. In a small bowl whisk together baking soda and vinegar. Add to the batter, and beat 10 seconds.
6. Evenly divide batter among cupcake liners. Bake in oven for 20-23 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean from the center of the cupcakes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting (from allrecipe.com)
Ingredients:
2 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted powder sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter until creamy.
2. Mix in vanilla, gradually add sugar until all combined and smooth.
3. Store in refrigerator after use.