Quay Po Cooks: plum dessert

Showing posts with label plum dessert. Show all posts

Monday, November 21, 2011

I DO! DO!!

So when my plum cupcakes were baked, I took a bite to taste before frosting them. Yik!! It was so saltish!! I thought there was something wrong with my taste bud. I asked my mum to taste it and she asked me what kind of cup cake was that. I think she was being kind not to tell me that it tasted horrible! Then I asked my Quay Lo to taste. He shooked his head and said "This does not taste right Honey". I was so puzzled and wondered what went wrong. I went back to read the recipe carefully and there I found the mistake I made. It called for ¼ tsp salt not 1!! I think it is time to go check my eyes. Aiyoh, this time, I really can’t think of a way how to salvage them. I have to toss away all the cupcakes and redo another batch. SOB! SOB! I really hated it when I had to throw away food.

So are you ready to hear the verdict of my second batch? I love that this cake turned out moist and the slices of plums in them gave a little crunch and a slightly sour taste to it. The red skin of the plum also enhanced the look of the cupcakes. They are not too sweet and had a little smokey flavor from the smoked paprika I added. Oh I can read your mind, you must be thinking “Is this Quay Po gone nuts? Adding paprika to a cake batter?” Am I right or not? I don’t blame you because I did not know what to expect too at the time when I sprinkled the paprika onto the batter. But then, like the saying goes, no venture no gain. What’s the worst that could happen? To tell you the truth, that was a good add. It not only added color to the cupcakes but it gave a little zing to the taste and the flavor was complex but very pleasing to the palette. The combo with roasted chestnut butter cream frosting was a perfect match. My mum does not take butter or cream so she ate it without and she said it tasted fantastic this time. As for me, I love it even more with the frosting. So will I make this cupcake again? What did I say when I took my marriage vows twice? I said, “ I DO, I DO!!”

You must be curious to know where I got those beautiful and elegant cupcakes paper liners from. They flew here all the way from USA. My step daughter, Erin bought them for me. Erin, your selection was superb and thank you for shipping them to me. I wish you are here to taste these delicious cupcakes.

Plum Cupcake with Butter chestnut frosting

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s recipe with modification

Makes 10 medium size cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

smoked paprika for to sprinkle

5 tbs unsalted butter

3/4 C packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 C vegetable oil

Grated zest of one lemon

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 big plums, pitted and sliced

Method:

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and ground cardamom. Cream the butter with the brown sugar.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in the oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full and place some cut slices of plum on each one. Sprinkle with smoked paprika. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they bounce back when touched lightly. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before frosting. This cake taste good without frosting too.

Butter chestnut frosting

Click o the pic to get the recipe. Note: rum is optional

ENJOY and have a Wonderful week ahead of you!

Hugs to all!

Note: I am submitting this cupcake recipe to Aspiring Bakers #13: Enjoy Cupcakes! (November 2011) which hosted by Min of Min's Blog

A LITTLE ABOUT THIS QUAY PO

Before I was married to my "Quay Lo" (Guaylo) husband, I did not know how to bake or cook. Subsequently I learned some baking and cooking Western cuisine from him, and providing his food for him launched an interest in cooking in general. Many of my Chinese friends and family told me that "Quay" is the wrong spelling for devil in Cantonese. The right spelling should be "Kwai" or "Guay". Well, somehow I like the spelling "Quay" better although I have to agree that it does not sound very Cantonese. Try asking a Westerner to pronounce "Kwai" and you will probably hear "Quay" haha. Whether is "Quay" or "Kwai" or "Guay, just know the devil woman is me when you see Quay Po Cooks. My hubby said if people pronounce "Quay" as "Key" is even better because I am the key to his heart. LOL!

Only now, have I started to learn the traditional Cantonese cuisine of my Mum. She cooks fabulously and all her specialties are divine. These two interests, my husband's Western food, and my mother's traditional food, prompted me to document them so they will not be lost.

Here, I wish to share my cooking and baking experience with my readers. I also hope to inspire those who do not know how to cook or bake to do so because, trust me, if I can, you can too.

Something I'd like to mention is that I find that many people are rather unwilling to share their recipes. However, for me, I think differently. I think good recipes should be shared thus allowing as many people to enjoy it as possible. Unless those recipes are for doing business, I don't see why we want to keep them all to ourselves. So if you are generous in sharing your recipes, you are welcome to share on my blog. Send the recipes to me and better still with pictures of the final products and I will be very happy to post them them with credits to you of course.

Our cuisine is a deeply embedded part of our culture. When two cultures come together under the same roof the results in the kitchen can sometimes be comedic, sometimes confrontational, but more often it is a journey full of surprises and discovery. There is joy in our food. If we think upon this, it is intuitively obvious. This blog is a journey of joy and sharing, reflecting what the French like to call "joie de vivre" (joy of living). No one could be more different from one another then my husband and my mother. Yet one thing they share in common is knowing intuitively that food, cooking, and sharing can be avenues of joy in life itself. So herein, help yourself, to a little joy and , if you like it, share it with your own family and friends. Joy is something that should be shared.