Daring Bakers July: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

MY FIRST DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How exciting! So for the longest time I've been hearing about the Daring Kitchen but I never really knew what it actually was. It wasn't until around mid-June that I found it online and applied to join. It's a baking/cooking online community that sets out a secret challenge every month, and all members are required to whip up his own version of it from scratch. However, because it's a secret, no one is allowed to post his actual creation until the end of the month.

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home. It was a huge creation that is probably one of the most ambitious things I've ever tried to make. Actually, I ended up with too many ingredients, and bowls that were too small, so I made 2 of them (which also gave me more chances to experiment with different flavors). Unfortunately, the vanilla cake didn't come out quite as pretty as the chocolate, but oh well.

Keep in mind that this isn't just any ordinary ice cream cake. The entire process can be broken down into 5 different components: the cake, the cake filling, 2 flavors of ice cream, and chocolate fudge sauce. Needless to say, it was quite a time-consuming project. But, at the end of the day, it was quite well worth it :) I would say that for the most part, this Daring Bakers Challenge was a success (though I still wish the vanilla cake came out prettier).

Shanghai Stirfry Gluten (KaoFu)

This is officially my last full day in California. My last day!! I'm pretty excited about flying out tomorrow, but to be honest, I'm also a little sad to be leaving the place I called home for the past 20 or so years of my life. Although I've been gone for most of 4 years and have really spent only the past 3 months here in NorCal, it really had started to feel like a stationary home once again. Plus, it's been nice being with my parents after so long away in college.

Yesterday, I visited Hunter's Point during my run for the last time (at least for a while). There is this really steep hill about a mile or two from my house that I've gotten to running or walking up every day after dinner. It's quite a workout, but when you get to the top, view makes it all worthwhile. The place holds a lot of memories for me: from the ridiculous 5am sunrise runs to the exciting explorations of unknown paths to the occasional solo time of contemplation on a lazy afternoon. It encompasses everything I love about my hometown - peaceful, innocent, and beautifully naturesque in a very down-to-Earth sort of way. I don't think I'll ever find that again in the East Coast.

Shanghai 2010: City Temple

Yes, it is another random and long-overdue update of my March excursion to Shanghai. I've been putting this off for a while, but I knew at some point, I had to dedicate a post to the City Temple (or ShengHuangMiao) which originally began as a religious place but has since evolved into a tourism/food extravaganza.


City Temple is one of those places that you have to visit at least once when you go to Shanghai (we visit it every time). Unfortunately, like most places, it's slowly losing the genuine "feel" of a cultural center and has over the years become much more commercialized and tourist-trappish. When I first visited 4 years ago, I remember going to a small, humble restaurant to eat the most delicious xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) I have ever tasted in my life. However, this last March, I noticed that the street food and sights no longer seemed so authentic. Still, a lot of the fun remains, so I advise anyone who wishes to visit to go as soon as possible - before it disappears entirely!

Wedding Favors: Jams!

Last week, a member of Mom's church got married, and Mom and her gang of friends attended to help out. I think Mom was in charge of the seating arrangements or something...I'm not even sure what she went for. All I know is that she and her friends ate a LOT and had more fun than some of the guests, I think. My mom is funny - she'll appreciate any reason to have a good time.

Anyway, she brought home some of the wedding favors - little jam jars tied with ribbon and cloth. I'm not a huge fan of jam, but they were so cute that I had to take a picture.

Anyway, last night was probably one of the last times I would see many of the friends with whom I grew up and got to know here in NorCal. I'm certainly excited to be starting my new life in Philadelphia, but at the same time, I know that my chances to meet with these people will be hard to come by - especially with the hassle and cost of airplane tickets across the country.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Mmm...nothing beats a kitchen scented with the aroma of cinnamon baking in the oven...

It's almost time for me to leave for Philadelphia and medical school (4 days!!!), and I've limited myself to only making foods that use up any leftover ingredients in the pantry. So this morning, I figured Mom's probably not going to find any use in the leftover raisins from my granola, or the small jar of cinnamon from God knows when. Luckily, the two pair together pretty well, and it wasn't long before I narrowed down my options to reach (can you guess it) cinnamon raisin swirl bread! Plus, I had leftover bread flour, and Dad is a sucker for French Toast (back when I used to work at Panera Bread, I used to bring back leftover cinnamon raisin bread loaves home all the time for that alone).

The bread itself is really not hard to make. I think in general I've found that the more fat content is in the baking, the more baker-friendly it usually is. More savory things like sourdough or French baguettes are far harder than your average sweet-tooth quick bread.

Tiramisu

As you may have noticed, my blog is currently going under some major re-construction. I figured that it was about time I stopped depending on my pre-designed template (which was also very constricting) and revert back to the basics...and slowly construct it via my own html. Of course, that's going to take a very very long time...but then again, my blog's not going anywhere anytime soon.

So as previously mentioned in my ladyfingers post, I've been working hard in my attempt to make homemade tiramisu from scratch...and it came out quite pretty, I must say! It doesn't exactly look like the traditional tiramisu, but I had to make a few changes for the sake of photography. I would have wanted to take a shot of a slice with the ladyfingers poking out, but I was afraid that cutting into such a delicate custard might just make the whole thing cave in...still delicious but not very pretty. Plus, I actually froze this one for a bit so that I wouldn't have to freak out rushing back and forth between the fridge while my custard melted during the photography. It's okay...it still tastes good, and I still have another tiramisu that is actually legitimate.

Shanghai 2010: World Expo, Nanjing Road, and HuangPu River

Once again, this is a much-delayed continuation of my April trip to China (yes, I know, it's random amidst all the recent food posts)...and although this post isn't about food, I thought it would be nice to put up 3 of the hottest attractions in Shanghai.



Unfortunately, the Expo hadn't opened yet in April, but we got to check out the site beforehand (which might have turned out for the better; I heard the place was literally a zoo the day it opened...a very hot, stuffy, humid one).  It's strange that we haven't heard much of it back in the U.S. but apparently it's a huge deal everywhere else in the world. I think a lot of different countries come to one specific site (it changes every 4 years) to set up an exhibit and show off some of its newest technologies to the public. We posed in front of the red building on the left - it's supposed to represent China. And, needless to say, security was incredible. I don't mean policemen, I mean soldiers. Very angry-looking ones who were probably sick of the numerous tourists peeking in and unintentionally edging over the boundary line in attempts to take better pictures.