Swedish Cardamom Buns

Here to report after 5 years! In this time, I’m almost finished with med school and had our daughter. Early motherhood caused a massive shift in priorities, but as she has grown a bit more independent I’ve returned to my favorite hobby. I can’t wait to continue baking and creating consistently before residency starts in July! Also unrelated but I’ve attached a keyboard to my iPad and find this so handy for getting things done (like this post) while also moving around with our daughter. 

While the early months had me in survival mode, motherhood has taught me how important it is for my daughter to see me as an individual, and also as a mother, involving her as much as I can in my hobbies and interests. To us this meant putting her in a carrier and hiking baby-friendly trails. Putting her high chair (and hopefully toddler stool) by the kitchen countertop to have her enjoy the process with me, even if it takes longer. 

I used Moribyan’s recipe and technique, but recommend baking it at 450 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. 

 

Iftar 2021

After finally getting ourselves and our close friends vaccinated, this was our first time hosting an iftar in two years. Most of the food was prepared by my sister who nailed every appetizer and dessert. Hope everyone has a wonderful Ramadan with their vaccinated friends and family! 

Chocolate Babka — Bread Bakery NYC

I had a few baking goals to accomplish this quarantine pre-Ramadan, one of them was babka. Apparently some types of Babka are made with a laminated dough (like croissants), which would be heavenly. I decided to follow and halve the Bread Bakery recipe, which apparently sells the best Babka in the states. It turned out amazing and they even responded to my insta post!

Easy Chocolate Cake

My mom's birthday is our annual way of celebrating her and chocolate cake. I used this Bon Appetit recipe and it turned out easy and decadent. 10/10 would recommend. I made 2 layers and had a strawberry filling

Chocolate Almond Croissants

Hey guys, hope everyone is at home and safe during this difficult time.

I know that everyone's at home and trying their hand at baking/cooking, so I wanted to encourage you guys to attempt making croissants. They are a bit finicky but I followed the Flour recipe by Joanne Chang and thankfully it worked out. I would recommend a few things.

1. Before lamination, ensure your butter and dough are the same temperature. I think my butter was too cold that it didn't spread as evenly as it could have during lamination, but I still got good layer distinction!

2. I used almond paste I had in my pantry to make the frangipane, just added some whipped egg from the egg wash mixture and some flour to make it more spreadable. 

3. Take the entirety of the 3 days to make them! Don't try to rush the process and do it in 1.5 days. Give the dough it's time. 

My timeline was:

Day 1: 8 pm, make the dough and butter square, proof #1 and cool in fridge overnight. 

Day 2: 8 am, lamination process and formation of croissant shape, let proof for a second time and cool in the fridge overnight.

Day 3: 8 am, bake. 

I'm honestly so proud of how they came out. It's a good quarantine bake because although it was probably just an hour max of work, it really occupied my mind for the entirety of the three days and took my mind off the anxiety of the uncertainty of the global pandemic situation. 

I wish I had watched more videos on lamination beforehand. The cookbook by Joanne has a step-by-step process with pictures, which was exceptional. But it always seals the process in my mind better when I watch it happen a few times beforehand. I wish my lamination was more distinct and much more flakey. Overall, these tasted better than Costco and TJ's croissants and honestly proved to be some of the best I've had.  

Cardamom-Pistachio Carrot Cake

Hope everyone is well during this lockdown. Praying this all ends soon, but in the meanwhile, I'm home and trying out new recipes almost every week. I keep thinking to myself, I don't really bake out of my evident sweet tooth, but more as a coping mechanism to keep myself busy and mind occupied during this uncertain time.

I used the Bon Appetit recipe for this cake, which is meant to be a fusion of South Asian gajar ka halwa and carrot cake.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Swiss Roll

This quarantine I've been trying to find loads of new recipes to attempt and challenge myself at what I love best. I managed to make a swiss roll and it's one of my proudest baking attempts. I followed this foolproof recipe.

Dark Chocolate Soufflé

Making a souffle has been on my mind for quite some time since I watched the semifinal of GBBO Collection 4 on Netflix. I found a free NYT recipe and halved it to keep myself and the family mildly healthy during this quarantine. 

A Parisian Bridal Shower

One of my friends is getting married to a guy from Paris and so it was only opportune to have a Parisian themed shower for her. Here are some photos. I'm so sad I wasn't able to get a picture of a slice in all its glory displaying 4 layers with strawberry + jam in the middle filling.

First Bake of 2020: Earl Grey Yogurt Cake Recipe

I used the BA recipe to make the Earl Grey Yogurt Cake. First proper bake of 2020! Alhamdulillah (Thank God) I finally found the time to bake. The cake turned out amazing. I whipped vanilla yogurt as the glaze on my own accord. I would definitely make this again because the Earl Grey flavor mixed with yogurt blends well together. I think that it is a bit dense, but I went by the recipe and maybe it called for too much vegetable oil?

Homemade Doughnuts with Saffron-Infused Creme Patisserie Coated in Cardamom Sugar

Made these on a whim, and regretted it because of all the mess it left in my kitchen. Frying and sugarcoating requires a lot of cleanup. However, the end product tasted amazing, but this probably isn't something I'd do more than a couple of times every few years.

Deep, Dark, Spicy Gingerbread with Caramel Glaze

My sister and I made these on a weeknight for her coworkers. Definitely one of the best ways to get your gingerbread fix during the holiday season.

Blueberry Hand Pies

I made these because I was in the need of pie in spite of fall. I didn't host a Friendsgiving, which is when I get my pie fix for this time of the year, so I decided to make small pies for a few friends and family this autumn. 

Strawberry Creme Danishes

My mom had leftover puff pastry so we decided it was time for strawberry danishes. This is also one of the easiest and best things I've made. The pastry dough is tricky though — try not to roll out the dough too much or add too much flour. Strawberries are always amazing on danishes and was the available fruit at the time but the original recipe called for figs. 

Persian Love Cookies

This was an attempt at Persian Love Cookies from a new cookbook I received called Pastry Love by Joanne Chang.

Chocolate Brioche

I made chocolate brioche on Eid ul Adha and while it does take a while, it's one of the best things I've made. As is the trend lately, all my recipes are from Joanne Chang's cookbooks.

Peony Season

This is a classic vanilla cake, with dark chocolate chips and a hint of coffee for a client's bridal shower. Halfway into making it, I spent the longest time looking for the right flowers for this and decided to go with a few peony stems (might I add these were $3!!!)

If I had an engagement/nikkah cake it would look something like this.

Iftar 2019

Ramadan Kareem! Hope everyone has been able to make the most of this blessed month while trying not to be too sleep-deprived. I hosted my annual iftar this past Saturday with a few close friends and I wanted to share some tips and ideas. I was really happy with how everything turned out but I do think that it did take quite a toll on me (it's Sunday night and I'm still recovering, and I have a full schedule all of this week while still needing to catch up on my Ramadan goals). My mom kept saying that I chose a difficult menu, and I realized that after I made everything LOL.

Chocolate Coffee Cake

Been busy with the flow of things lately, but I woke up at 7 am to make this chocolate coffee cake I made for my mom's birthday. It took about 3 hours from start to finish including baking and cooling time.

Eclairs

I've been meaning to test my baking fluency by having a go at eclairs, but didn't find a reliable recipe until my sister showed me one from a cookbook called Flour. 

A few tips: 

1. The creme patisserie is the hardest part of the process and I'd recommend having someone help out with this step as well. Even a mere 10 seconds of not whisking the egg into the mixture properly can result in a scrambled egg/curdled mixture. 

2. The choux pastry should be made first, since it takes a while to cool down as well. 

3. Dusting pistachios is totally optional. 

4. Most videos show that injecting the creme pat from the bottom of the eclair is the way to go, but I'd recommend the GBBO method of just injecting it from opposing ends of the eclair.