Day of the Dead Li Hing Mui and Lilikoi Pops

Halloween Eve is always frantic. I’ve got a cooking project, plus costume materials to get ready, and it converges into one evening of ambitious time canoodling and usually, a pretty messy kitchen. I can’t say that this method works for everyone, but it does result in some late night productivity for me.

I live fractiously, about as close as I’ll get to dangerously. My usual “objects are closer than they appear” way of scheduling deadlines combined with deadlines that adhere to their normal pace without much concern for my existence, such as Halloween, give me enough adrenaline to spare.

So that’s why I found myself making four (five? I lost count) batches of lollipops, having never ever done so, on the evening of October 30th. Recipes written by someone else always take troubleshooting or have a learning curve, and I’d certainly discovered by 9pm that the variation in candy making techniques and measurements could not be trusted to be left in Google Search’s hands.

After much error, I think I’ve discovered a combination that works. I’ll take credit for being an example of failed batches. These skull shapes are my favorite, since the seed ends up becoming its brain, but you can use any shaped mold.

Day of the Dead Li Hing Mui and Lilikoi Pops

• 9-10 4” lollipop sticks
• 2 molds for lollipops—I used skulls, but round molds will work
• cooking spray
• 2 C sugar
• 2/3 C water
• 2/3 C light corn syrup
• 1 tsp citric acid powder
• 1/2 tsp lilikoi extract
• 9-10 li hing mui seeds (the ones with the seeds still intact look the most like brains)

1. Prepare the molds by spraying lightly with the cooking spray. Place a seed in the back of the skull area and the sticks with the end sticking to the halfway point of the mold.
2. Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a small sauce pan and heat until boiling. Do not stir. Insert a cooking thermometer into the sugar syrup and remove the pan from the heat when it reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit, or alternatively, have a cup of water on the side, and when a drop of the sugar syrup into the water keeps its shape, the candy is ready. Prepare an ice bath for the saucepan when the syrup is getting close to the right temperature.
3. Immediately plunge the pan into the ice bath up around 2/3 of the sides of the pan (without getting any water inside) and hold it there for 15 seconds. Stir it slightly so it cools evenly.
4. Remove the pan from the ice bath as long as the candy is not bubbling any longer. Working quickly, pour in the powder and extract. Whisk together quickly until incorporated. If you don’t move quickly, you will lose a lot of the syrup to be stuck to the pan.
5. Immediately pour the contents into a glass measuring cup with a pour spout. Pour the molten candy into the molds, being careful to put a little sheen over the seed and coat the top of the lollipop stick
6. Let cool for about 20 minutes before popping them out of their molds.

*Alternatively, you can make vanilla flavored lollipops by omitting the citric acid and substituting 1 tsp vanilla extract for the lilikoi extract.

To clean the pan afterwards, and any utensils coated in sugar syrup, put everything in the pan and fill with water—simmer for a few minutes until the sugar melts.

Fudgy Brownies

Are these grain free? Yes.

Are they healthy? No.

Do they taste healthy? Heck no.

I wouldn’t be eating the whole pan if they did.

You know how some people stick their non-fat vegan paleo allergen-free desserts in your face and say, “This is the most delicious food ever and when you eat it, you will vomit rainbows?”

Let me just tell you, everyone vomits rainbows. Pukey looking rainbows.

You, however, will want to keep these in your tummy, even if you do feel a little sick from eating 6 brownies, like me.

I made some health-IER substitutions, but don’t go thinking I think it’s diet food. I’m not one of those people who adds coconut sugar and thinks “It’s ok to eat 6 brownies, it’s got healthy sugar in it.”

(Ok, maybe I do, but I know I’m lying.)

These really are the best brownies I’ve ever made that don’t come from a famous-brand box you buy at Costco. Slightly more work, but you’ll be so proud of yourself for coming close to that box.

Grain Free, Super Dark, Fudgy Brownies (adapted from Martha Stewart)

(makes 16 brownies) 20 minutes prep time, 30-35 minutes baking time.

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 C plus 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 scant C tapioca flour (if you don’t care about being grain free, use cornstarch)
• 1/4 C dark cocoa powder (I used extra brute)
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper (butter the sucker a little first so the parchment paper stays in place).

2. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and the butter in 30 second spurts, stirring after each round. They should be completely and perfectly melted after stirring the second time, and if not, go for another 15 seconds and try again.

3. Stir in coconut sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla too.

4. In a small bowl, sift or whisk together the tapioca flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the flour to the chocolate and stir vigorously for 2 minutes. The batter should be dark and smooth with no streaks or lumps.

5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Check with a sharp knife—the brownies should be moist but not totally dry either. If the toothpick or knife comes out with a few crumbs, that’s ok, but not batter laden.

6. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Then use the parchment paper to take the brownies out of the pan and cut them into 16 squares.

(These are probably, in my opinion, even better cold, the next day. But if you think that’s going to happen, you should make a double batch in a 9x12 pan.)

German Chocolate Cake, Momofuku Style, and a recipe for Pecan Crunch

So many people love a German Chocolate Cake, and it has never been my favorite, until I reimagined it. It’s not really that chocolatey, and sometimes the nuts get in my way, but I won’t say no to a slice.

Then there was that time I made two of them in one week. (I won’t tell you how many slices I should have said ‘no’ to.).

Making cakes like this bring out the kid in me. I am always totally inspired by Christina Tosi’s recipes and even though it takes hours and hours to make one cake, I am always thrilled with it.

I’ve been having fun playing around with the Momofuku recipes and design, and this week I made an Oreo flavored cake for Amaya’s birthday.

Lucky for me Tosi’s chocolate crunch recipe just tastes like Oreo cookie crumbs.

The Layers:

*German Chocolate cake and frosting, minus the pecans in the frosting, and I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. You could probably use your favorite recipe. Bake it in a quarter sheet pan lined with a silpat.

*Chocolate Ganache layer (Guittard dark chocolate chips melted in the microwave with a touch of cream) 16 oz chocolate, 1 C heavy cream. Salt if you like a teensy bit.

I can’t take credit for the recipes, except one, which was still inspired by the Tosi genius

*Pecan Crunch (inspired by hazlenut crunch) (RECIPE)

Make pecan brittle;

• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 3/4 C pecans

1. Line a sheet pan with a silpat. The silpat is necessary, here, folks. Heat the sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. As it melts, stir it around constantly with a heatproof spatula. The sugar will turn into a caramel—dark amber. Take it off before it burns—It will happen quickly—about 3-4 minutes.

2. Stir in the nuts, coat them well, and dump it out quickly onto the silpat. Spread it out as evenly as possible! Let it cool.

3. Break it up into smaller pieces. Grind the brittle in the food processor until it’s the size of short-grain rice. Eat some. Because it’s good.

Make the crunch

• 1/2 C Biscoff Spread
• 1/2 C pecan brittle (pulverized)
• 1 1/4 C feuilletine (I made my own from scratch from Brave Tart’s recipe)  Snackalicious.
• 1/2 C powdered sugar
• 1/2 t kosher salt

Combine the spread, brittle, feuilletine, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Paddle on low speed until evenly mixed and the crunch is in little, amazingly edible clumps. If you’re me, you immediately make the rest of your brittle into this crunch, because you “accidentally” ate most of the first batch. Store in a ziploc bag in the freezer. It’s great in a compost cookie.

Assemble the layers. You’ll need a cake ring (6”), and acetate strips. I bought both on-line). I have a spool of acetate strips 3” wide that will last me until the end of forever.

1. Stamp out three cake layers with your ring. One will be a whole circle, one will be half and half circle, and the other will be edges of the circle and filled in with the leftover pieces.

2. Line the cake ring with an acetate strip. Place the pieces of the most fragmented cake on the bottom. Brush the cake with about 3 Tbsp of milk.

3. Spread a layer of ganache (not too thick), sprinkle on 1/3 of the crunch. Spread 1/3 of the frosting over the crunch.

Cut a second strip of acetate and tuck it in between the ring and the first acetate strip so that you’re extending the acetate to hold in the next 2 layers of cake.

4. Put on the second layer of cake (the 2 half circles) and repeat.

5. Save the whole layer of cake for the last. Don’t brush this one with milk. Put just the frosting and a sprinkle of the crunch on the top.

FREEZE the cake for at least 6 hours. Better if you do this overnight or even a whole day. Pull it out a few hours before eating, pop it out of the mold, pull off the acetate, and let it defrost in the fridge for a few hours.

Email me if you have questions about this. It takes a little practice. It took me a while to figure out that I needed to use a quarter sheet pan (which is half the size of my cookie sheets) for the cake.

Also, if you want to make a 10 inch cake, you’ll need to triple the recipe for the cake, double it for the fillings/frostings. I bake the cake in one full sheet pan AND a quarter sheet pan. You’ll have some left over cake pieces, which are great for making cake truffles.

Happiness and Chocolate Lava Cake

My husband is both hard to please and easy to please. If he doesn't like something, there is absolutely no convincing him that he will like it (change, vinegar, painful comedy, and dark chocolate), but if he does like it, he will stay unconditionally true to it (me, Hawaii, and milk chocolate). 

Jake and I have been talking more about things that we don't like. We’re frustrated with certain elements of our lives and are being more daring in our possible plans, most of which involve leaving Hawaii, the place we've made our lives together. I’ve been looking forward to how some of our ideas would play out and the feeling of change in the air.

Immediately after having these thoughts, we had a string of gorgeous, heart of the watermelon kind of days. Days that only could have happened in Hawaii. Suddenly, everywhere I look, Hawaii is the most amazing place on the planet. I've had this feeling before, but honestly, what am I thinking? Why would I ever want to leave this?

I I know some people are thinking, “Oh, you. You would have great experiences in other places too.” I’ve thought long and hard about this very claim. I don’t think it’s as true, for us. 

We have so much and we have been blessed with so many advantages. Jake heard a podcast recently about happiness, and according to these researchers, people that invested in experiences rather than material items seemed to be happier. Well, this is certainly our investment. So right now I'm trying to shift my thinking to figure out how I can make what we have, work even better.

I'm willing to eat the crusts of life, if there's a promise of dessert.

Part of me thinks, “Duh, you obviously knew this.” But that’s the funny thing about being happy. You have to keep remembering. You have to keep being reminded. You have to keep saying, “Duh, I knew this.” Otherwise you think how you feel in a moment is how you’ve felt the whole time. This principle has had many applications in my life.

Despite his supposed hatred of dark chocolate, or however fancy I get with my Momofuku cakes, he’ll always come back to requesting a chocolate lava cake for special occasions. I've pretty much got the recipe down pat, it’s easier than easy, and this is the best one out there. I love the flowing lava the first day, and I really like the dense truffle cake out of the fridge the next day just as much. It improves with time.

As long as he keeps liking chocolate lava cake I think we’ll be ok. He wrote me a note today and he said, “It’s amazing we still have things to talk about after all this time, and hey! I still like you.”

Yes. I do. I would say it as quickly today as I did then, and 32 is way smarter than 20.

Here's to 12 times 12 more years (and more) of married life with this guy and being happy wherever we are.

Chocolate Lava Cake (makes many, depending on your ramekin size)

• 8 oz dark or semisweet chocolate chips (or good quality dark chocolate is better)
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (extra for ramekins)
• 1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
• 6 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 4 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter the whole inside of 6-8 ramekins. The number you use will depend on the size. I have 4 oz and 6 oz ramekins, I used 3 of each. Don’t be shy with the butter.
2. Put the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl with the butter. Microwave for 1 minute, stirring after thirty seconds. After 1 minute stir and make sure it is completely melted. Microwave 20 seconds more if needed. Stir and stir. It may appear to be not melted and then suddenly meld together. Let cool while preparing the rest of the batter.
3. In a separate bowl, mix up the sugar, eggs, and flour until uniform
4. Stir the chocolate into the eggs and incorporate completely.
5. Pour the batter into the ramekins until about 2/3 the way full. Put into the oven and bake for about 12 minutes. Check the doneness. The thickness of the ramekin walls can change this. The edges should be drip, the middle should have just the slight appearance of wetness but should seem a bit thicker. Bake for a minute or two more if it is too liquid. Pull them out and let sit for a few minutes. 
6. Use a sharp knife to release the edges from the sides of the ramekin, and invert very quickly onto a plate. You can also eat it straight from the ramekin. If you want to have it the next day, you can eat it cold or heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Paleo Shamrock Shake

Generally, this diet has definitely made me want the nasty processed stuff less than usual. But the thing that always gets me--

LIMITED EDITION HOLIDAY SPECIAL ONLY GOING TO BE AROUND WHILE YOUʻRE ON A DIET AND YOUʻLL ALWAYS WONDER IF ITʻS GOOD

in bold.

A while ago it was the Oreos in every possible new flavor... And I love Oreos. So that was killing me. I caved and ate the lemon, birthday cake, and berry ice cream flavors probably all in the same week.

I started seeing the Shamrock Shake pop up and I thought, oh no. Here it is. Another thing that Iʻm going to have to wait a year for. I adore holiday themed foods. Especially holidays like St. Patrickʻs Day which have very little meaning whatsoever. (Sorry, Irish peoples, if I just offended you.)

To try to talk myself out of it I looked at this: Whatʻs Really In That Shamrock Shake?

Ok, so maybe itʻs not such a good idea.

Iʻm sure even a homemade just pain olʻ icecream shake would be better than that.

So I made my Paleo Version. And Yes, itʻs healthy. I mean, spirulina is some seriously natural food coloring and freaking good for you too.

Iʻve also seen a couple of versions using avocado, which is a fantastic idea. Thatʻs what Iʻm going to try next. Maybe just frozen bananas and avocado and there will be no need for ice cubes. I also like coconut milk but I wasnʻt so sure about coconut milk and mint together.

I really like dates. So good.

This is all it is. Blend it together. Really well. The straw is optional. Be careful with that mint. I prefer not to drink toothpaste.

Mango Tart with White Chocolate Pastry Cream (and Lilikoi Glaze) and Momentum

I am currently in survival mode.

I’m 80 days into diets and exercise and I’m looking for a more appropriate name for what I’m doing, perhaps, the, “I hate food” phase.

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and looking at a lot of tumblrs of a completely foreign variety for me. There’s a group of people that get off on how ridiculously healthy they can be and not be turned off by the fact that their food looks like dog barf. 

It makes me realize that you have to be a little obsessive to lose a significant amount of weight. I’m not even the least bit interested in “thigh gap” so I know I’m not in danger of eating disorders, but you have to think about food and exercise pretty constantly. It’s easy to see how people cross that barrier between healthy and unhealthy thinking about the human body.

There’s something to be said for momentum. I’ve always been pretty fit, and still can run and hike despite any of my sizes, but now that I’ve finished Insanity once I can’t seem to stop myself from waking up at 5:30am every morning. I also am not interested in any workout that seems easier than Insanity.

I went from a diet of five 300-calorie meals a day (including carbs and occasional desserts) to Paleo about a week ago. I don’t think this will be a forever thing for me, but I’m trying it out for a month. So far I hate it but it’s more effective. The momentum helps keep me going.

I made this tart several weeks ago. It was a little easier to cheat on that diet. A huge thing I’ve missed while I’ve been doing all of this is the lack of pretty food.

I’d like to get momentum for blogging again. I’m starting a series of posts of foods that have been getting me through these last couple of months and what helps me stick to it. Probably most of you don’t have the same difficulty with all of this that I have, but if you do, I totally get it. It sucks. And almost nothing anyone says helps.

Tip #1: Gain Momentum. Make a commitment to a week (making a public announcement helps) and pretty soon you’ll feel like you have to do it because you’ve been doing it so long. Because, yes, a week feels like forever in the “I hate food” phase. You can email me and complain about it if you like. I know that’s what I like to do.

Does it seem weird to start a series of diet posts with a gorgeously fatty dessert? Not in my mind.

When I’m 30 lbs lighter, I might eat a whole one myself, if I ever get there.

Mango Tart with White Chocolate Pastry Cream (and Lilikoi Glaze)

1 tart crust (pate sucree), baked and cooled (I used the Cook’s Illustrated recipe), still in the pan.

1 recipe chilled White Chocolate Pastry Cream (Recipe Below)

1 mango, thinly sliced

1 recipe lilikoi glaze (recipe below), still warm

1) Assemble the tart by filling the crust with the pastry cream. Spread it evenly over the bottom of the tart. Fan the mango slices starting from the middle and working outwards. Dip a brush into the glaze and flick the glaze all over the fruit. Chill until serving, several hours is best. Remove the tart from the pan just before serving.

White Chocolate Pastry Cream (adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Pastry Cream Recipe)

• 1 Cup cream
• 1 Cup milk
• 6 Tbsp sugar, divided
• pinch table salt
• 5 egg yolks
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 4 oz chopped white chocolate
• 3 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1. Heat cream, milk, and 4 Tbsp sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until simmering.
2. While the milk is heating, whisk together 2 Tbsp sugar with egg yolks until the sugar dissolves and it looks very creamy. Whisk in the cornstarch and stir rapidly for 30 more seconds. The liquid should be pale and thick. Once the cream and milk is simmering, temper the yolks by slowly streaming in 1 Cup of the hot cream as you whisk. Whisk constantly while doing this. Then combine the yolks into the pan, whisking as you pour, and stir constantly until the pastry cream becomes thick and barely begins to bubble. This should take about 30 seconds. Don’t wait too long or the cream will curdle.
3. Take the pan off the heat and toss in the white chocolate. Whisk constantly until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the unsalted butter.
4. Put the hot pastry cream in a pan or wide bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface and let the cream chill in the refrigerator until very cold, about four hours or overnight.

Lilikoi Glaze:

• 1/2 Cup lilikoi puree
• 1/3 Cup sugar

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the lilikoi and sugar over medium high heat. Stirring often, bring the lilikoi to a high simmer. Stir until the lilikoi is reduce and thick enough to spread. Make sure the lilikoi glaze is still very warm when you apply it to the mango. Flick and paint the glaze on the top of the mangos.

A Disneyland Adventure

Today I am breaking my number one rule about narrative writing:

“Don’t write about Disneyland.”

I have a few other rules (no broken bones, trips in general, or the time you almost died), but I totally freak about Disneyland essays. There’s always one kid who isn’t listening or just assumes that the rule does not apply to his or her Disneyland vacation. Kids think that Disneyland is the greatest place on earth and who would not want to hear about riding on Space Mountain and spinning on the Tea Cups, because this was the greatest and most exciting vacation of all time. I just can’t stand event driven essays. It’s all about “and THEN,” and then, and then, and then…

We get it. But obviously I didn’t get it. I thought there was no point.

It is a purely hedonistic glee where you completely do not care about anything beyond the gates of Disneyland, except maybe California Adventure. And when you leave you just want to come back.

I was a total Disney unbeliever. I assumed I was going to be ho hum about it all and sick of it after day three. I could remember liking it as a kid, but kids are easy to please.

When we got there I totally tricked Amaya into going on The Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain. We were running from Fast Pass to Fast Pass and my eyes welled with proud tears when Amaya told me how much she loved Captain E.O. and that she wanted to go to it again.

I’m already planning a trip for when Mozely is old enough to go on Space Mountain and appreciate the night time sky in Peter Pan’s flight. Even the Finding Nemo submarine ride had fantastic sights. I don’t know how people even think of this stuff. Disney Engineers or Ride Makers or whatever they’re called—they’re geniuses. We even saw a Broadway version of Aladdin in a theater. Every little detail is amazing, every worker is nice, and it’s completely contagious. We left the stroller with stuff in it wherever, and not one person messed with it. I wasn’t even worried about losing Amaya after the first few hours, because it just felt like everyone could be trusted.

Damaris and I took the three kids. Amaya was the perfect age to go, I think. If you go there with kids, get the parent swaps after you get fast passes. The system is perfect. We rarely waited for more than 15 minutes, and even though we waited for an hour for Toy Story Mania (the longest by far) it was totally worth it. We went on the supposed busiest days of the year.

Several times Amaya said to me, “This is the Best Day EVARRRRR!” I felt the same way.

If you’re interested in a Disney Vacation check out Enchanting Vacations and get hooked up with Lindsey. She can book your vacation, hotel, food, and/or just park tickets. She also sent me a complete itinerary for each day with waiting/walking/riding times for all the best rides as well as advice on fast passes, etc. She’s the Disney guru and helped me with all of my questions. It’s a totally free service, and I could not find cheaper tickets anywhere else.

We also went to Legoland before the Disney adventure. It was perfect for the kids but didn’t live up to Disneyland, for sure.

The San Diego Zoo was fantastic, and thanks to Full Circle Foodie’s darling Kimmie, we got a deal and a tour guide. She also tipped us on to the just barely opened Bardot, which sells Love on a Stick (aka Ice Cream bars), but it really is love on a stick. I had the Ebony and Ivory, first, a mascarpone cheese ice cream with dulce du leche covered with milk chocolate. I was in love with that stick, for sure. Amaya got the kid’s sized Cotton Candy beauty. We weren’t sure we had enough, so we went ahead and got a box of them to take back and eat later. Thank goodness for a friend with the same obsession with food (especially one who can keep up with me eating Trader Joe’s Jo Jo’s). The kids picked Oreo bars and we sampled the Southern Belle (key lime pie with crust and a layer of frozen meringue, covered in white chocolate). Absolutely gorgeous in my mouth. I’d go back right now. But only if you throw in Disneyland and great friends, too.

All I Want for Christmas

After searching the entire island of Hawaii and Internets of Amazon.com for 2 months we have finally bought an acceptable computer desk.

I was stoked. I would finally get to blog. I only have photoshop for my raw photos on my desktop.

But no! The table is unfinished and has to be stained. Jake says it will take a week. He could tell I was disappointed and got started on making it right away.

I couldn’t take it. So I am sitting on the floor with the keyboard, sweating after dragging all of my desktop computer parts out of the extra room where 20 unpacked boxes still sit. The computer is covered with furry dust and is screaming at me to update five billion virus scanners and security updates and also wants to reformat my camera card.

I don’t care. I am blogging. And we finally have curtains. I am happy.

I got an early Christmas present when Dianne Jacob came to give a workshop on food writing.

I don’t recommend moving and trying to organize a workshop at the same time, just FYI, but it was totally worth it in the end. About 5 bazillion people had to help me out, a lot, to make it happen, and I owe them so many favors that I will be repaying in baked goods for the rest of time.

Dianne was even better in real life, which is really hard to believe, I know, because I already liked her so much. She was warm and funny and really has such great taste, as she loved my Lantern Ilima lei. It matched perfectly.

We picked her up at the airport before the workshop and ran into Chinatown to get some food. She bought my friend and I each two char-siu buns (which are ten thousand times better in Chinatown than 7-11) and we got a couple of smoothies to go.

At the workshop she prompted our creativity with writing exercises, examined a favorite post, told us the hard truth about cookbook writing, and we shared our frustrations with blogging.

I think the advice that stuck with me the most, weeks later, has been: “Have an opinion. it’s so much more interesting.”

She has lots of opinions and she conveys them in a smart and funny way. It’s possible to be positive without being gushy, I’ve decided. I was really trying to learn from that. I’ve been fired up again to write more and write well.

Dianne bought me lunch nearby. We ate some garlicky ong choi and some stir fried mochi (only in Hawaii!). Dianne said that the mochi had great char from the wok. She told me the technical term but I can’t remember. My internet research led me to Wok Hei.. That smokiness was the smooth edge between burnt and savory. It made me want to go to Chinatown every day.

Catherine Toth met us for the last five minutes of lunch and gave us cake pops. I unfortunately had to share with my kids. I have no idea why I didn’t take a picture of how cute she is and how cute her cake pops were. Shame on me.

After the workshop we went to eat again with the ladies and gentleman from Les Dames I drove Dianne to the airport again, and raced home with a head full of food writing. I have too many New Year’s resolutions that have nothing to do with dieting.

I have been making way too many of these.

In between batches there are neighborhood kids trying to “Catch That Chicken!” whilst scrambling underneath our house.

Then there’s the Jackson chameleon in our car port. He must’ve been looking for his relatives.

We are alive, eating, and Hawaii-living.

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?

Island Style Filled Chocolate Bon Bons

Lilikoi Filling

• 1/2 Cup lilikoi puree
• 1/4 Cup white chocolate chips
• 5 marshmallows
• 1/2 Cup powdered sugar

Heat the lilikoi puree, white chocolate, marshmallows, and powdered sugar in the microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring after each. Once it is completely melted, whisk in the powdered sugar. It should be very thick soup. Let cool for 5 minutes and then put in the fridge until you need it. If it is too liquid you can add more powdered sugar. I put in even more lilkoi puree to one batch for extra punch.

Christmas Style Filled Chocolate Bon Bons

Eggnog Filling

• 3 Tbsp eggnog
• 1/4 Cup white chocolate chips
• 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 Cup powdered sugar

Heat the eggnog and white chocolate chips in the microwave for 20 seconds, stir, and return to the microwave for 10 more seconds if needed. Whisk in the cream cheese and powdered sugar and beat until thick. Put in the fridge until needed. Add more eggog for stronger flavor (but you’ll need a little more powdered sugar).

Peanut Butter Bonbons

• 1/2 Cup chocolate chips, melted
• 1 Cup natural style peanut butter
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar

Combine the melted chocolate, peanut butter, and cream cheese in a stand mixer (with the regular paddle). Beat it together for 30 seconds, scraping the sides twice. Add the powdered sugar and mix again until it is crumbly but can be rolled together in your hands.

Making Bonbons

You’ll need some plastic molds that are dome shaped. I had success with many different domes. Milk chocolate is the hardest to unmold because it is so soft. Darker chocolate and even white chocolate for some reason is easier.

For the chocolate, it does work with chocolate chips but I recommend going with something a little better. I used Trader Joe’s huge dark chocolate bar (well, just a part of it) with good success.

Get a glass bowl with a lip and place it over a sauce pan that has an inch or so of water in the bottom. The bowl should not be touching the water (this is a double boiler). Heat this over medium heat until the water is simmering. Place about 1 Cup chocolate pieces in the bowl, and stir with a silicone spatula until melted and very shiny. If you have a candy thermometer heat the chocolate until about 110 degrees. To tell the truth, I don’t use mine usually. I heat it until it’s pretty hot when I stick my finger in it, but I can still barely stand it.

(Don’t you love my instructions?)

Then remove the chocolate from the heat, throw about 1/3 cup more of chocolate pieces in there, and stir it around until the chocolate is all melted.

Immediately put a little dollop of chocolate into a few of the molds (work with only a few at a time as to not let the chocolate cool down too quickly) and then start brushing it (yes! with a paintbrush!) in the inside of the mold. You don’t want the light to show through the chocolate. You may have to do two coats with a cooling in the refrigerator session in between.

Once you’ve painted the inside of the molds (up to the top! But not over the edge.) place them in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

When the chocolate is hardened in the molds then add the filling. Fill just under the top level so you have room to drop a little more melted chocolate over the filling. You will probably need to reheat the chocolate to hot again over the double boiler before doing this. If the chocolate is too cool with this last step, the chocolate will not harden properly and will feel too soft.

Put the chocolate molds back in the fridge and wait until they harden. Then pop out the chocolates. Usually I have to kind of tap and press a little on the molds to pop them out. The milk chocolates were the hardest—I ended up freezing them for a little while to get them out.

Clean your molds between batches. Do NOT put them in the dishwasher even though you just got a new dishwasher and you think it’s a miracle. Lesson learned.

Now, what do you do if you have some leftover chocolate?

Why, I can think of at least one thing.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

I have a problem with pumpkin. Call me an addict. When the season comes around I want to bake pumpkin non-stop. Poor husband isn’t as in love with the sweet, wet squash as me. No matter. More for me.

I made two pumpkin cakes in two days. The first one was a bust (I still ate it), and the second was sweet victory. I was inspired by the infamous pumpkin crunch cake that is floating around the internet, which has very little pumpkin flavor and HORROR of horrors, is made entirely with boxed cake mix and is essentially a dump cake. I know, it’s tasty, but this just blows all of those others out of the water.

I think this cake needs no other explanation than the sum of its parts:

Pumpkin cake layers (thanks to David Leite for his perfect pumpkin cake)

Pumpkin pie layers

Cream cheese frosting layers

Crunch in the frosting

Amaya said, “Thank you for making this cake! You make the best food Mommy.”

Dang it. She tricked me into giving her another piece.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake (click to print)

If you don’t know David Leite’s website, Leite’s Culinaria, you’re in for a treat. Tested, awesome recipes, and David’s writing make a great website. This was the best pumpkin cake recipe I’ve made as most pumpkin cakes are dense, soft, and not suited for layering, however tasty. This one was perfectly pumpkin-y without being too soft.

This is a really long recipe. So worth it. Husband approved, and he only got one bite because he’s off sugar until Halloween.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees

Prepare two 8” round cake pans. Place cut circles of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan and butter the bottom and edges.

Pumpkin Pie Layers:

• 1 Cup and 2 Tbsp canned pumpkin
• 1 Cup canned table cream (found in Latin food aisles or supermarkets)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 Cup sugar
• 1/3 Cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spices

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients and divide equally between the two cake pans. Cook for 15 minutes in the oven. While it’s cooking prepare the pumpkin cake layers.

Go to David's web site to get the cake recipe:

David Leite’s Pumpkin Cake Make just the batter.

I did not put in all of the spices. Just the cinnamon and just a pinch of black pepper. I'm sure it's good with all of it though.

1. Remove the pumpkin pie layers from the oven. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees.

2. Spoon the cake batter over the pumpkin pie layers, evenly and gently. You don't want to mix the layers. Smooth it out with the back of a spatula and firmly hit the pan on the counter a few times to remove the air bubbles.

3. Return the cakes to the oven and bake for about 37-45 minutes. Check the cakes with a toothpick or sharp knife after 35 minutes and remove when just done. The toothpick, when removed from the cake, should have just a few crumbs clinging to it. If it comes out with raw batter, cook for longer. This part really depends on your oven. If your oven cooks unevenly, probably rotate the cakes a couple of times during cooking.

While the cakes are cooking, make the cream cheese frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 12 oz cream cheese, softened slightly (1 and a half boxes of cream cheese)
• 8 Tbsp butter, still cool, but not cold
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 2 Cups powdered sugar

1. In a food processor/cuisinart fitted with the blade, process the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream until uniform and whipped. Add the powdered sugar and process until completely mixed, about 20 seconds. You will have to scrape down the sides a couple of times. Put it in the fridge until ready to use.

When you remove the cakes from the oven, turn on the broiler and prepare the crunch. Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cakes from their pans. Run a knife around the edge of the cakes and invert to remove. Let cool completely.

Crunch for pumpkin cake

• 1 cup yellow box cake mix
• 8 tbsp butter, divided
• ½ Cup walnuts, chopped into small pieces
• ½ Cup brown sugar

1. Sprinkle the nuts and cake mix over a quarter of a baking sheet. Don’t worry about being exact, but the cake mix should be in an even layer. Break up the largest pieces of cake mix, but little pieces are fine.

2. Drizzle four tablespoons of butter over the cake mix. It’s ok if it isn’t completely wet, just try to sprinkle it over as evenly as possible.

3.In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar and remaining butter. Spread this evenly over another unused portion of the baking sheet in a thin layer—about 1/8”.

4. Broil for 3-5 minutes, pulling it out when the brown sugar layer is bubbly and glossy and the cake part looks still yellow but just barely getting browned on the edges. You have to watch this very closely and it depends on the heat of your broiler.

5. Let the crunch cool completely. Then use a metal spatula and remove the brown sugar layer to a cutting board and chop it up. Mix the pieces in a bow with the cake crunch part and set aside for assembly.

Assemble the cake.

1. Place the first cake on a serving platter with the pumpkin side up. Put about 1 cup of frosting on the cake and spread over the top of the cake. Layer the second cake on top of that with the pumpkin pie layer on top, again.

2. Spread another cup or more of frosting on the sides and top of the cake in a thin layer to seal in the crumbs. Put the cake in the fridge for an hour or two to let seal.

3. Remove the cake from the fridge and put another layer of frosting on the whole cake—use as much of the rest as you like—I didn’t quite use all of the frosting.

4. Sprinkle the crunch all over the cake, also on the sides. Serve. Serves a lot, or just you. I won't tell.