Magnolia Bakery - Cupcakes In New York

Magnolia Bakery needs no introduction. Most of us who enjoy baking would have heard about this famous bakery ,possibly like myself, through its famous cookbooks. I do not own any of the cookbooks from Magnolia Bakery...was almost tempted by the array of powdery pastel cupcakes on their covers but the lack of photos inside the book had failed to appeal to my weakness for visual stimulation. Magnolia Bakery's cupcakes are legendary and I was eager to try them on this trip. I was literally brimming with a jittery sense of excitement as I joined the bustling crowd in front of the shop.

A lovely cosy shop with pretty sweets decked out in homely display, I thought the bakery exudes an old fashioned southern charm. It was easy to get carried away by the array of cupcakes. Although the flavours available were limited (mostly were just vanilla cupcakes with different colour butter cream frosting), the lovely signature swirl of the fluffy pastel frosting had the ability to beckon. When I left the shop, I was a happy girl with 2 cupcakes and a banana pudding in my bag. When I took my first bite of the vanilla butter cream cupcake at a park nearby, I was crest fallen with disappointment! The frosting was so tooth achingly sweet that I had to scrape it off the cake. As fluffy as the frosting looks, it was, I felt over saturated with sugar, giving it a sandy/gritty texture. The cake itself was ok but I have baked cup cakes which are fluffier and moister myself. The caramel meringue butter cream was much smoother and a little less sweet than the vanilla butter cream. What saved the day was really the Banana Pudding. Creamy and smooth, it was the perfect dessert to be enjoyed on a cool sunny day in the park. I am now contemplating to reproduce it at home.

Following my previous disappointing experience at the very popular Crumbs, this is my second lack luster encounter with the American Cupcake. I am struggling to understand what is it about these cupcakes that make them so popular, is it the fist size portion at Crumbs or is it the pretty frosted swirl at Magnolia? The frosting is not piped but twirled skillfully using an icing spatula. It was bewitching and inspiring to watch the staff work effortlessly with the fluffy icing. For those who are keen to create the signature swirl, watch the little video I had shot with my little compact camera. Enjoy!

The Purple Pig- Chicago

I have been on the road for the last 6 weeks and am now feeling extremely zonked out both physically and mentally. I don't wish to get on another plane for as long as I possibly can! Travels take its toll but I have to admit it is sometimes not without its perks. I was in Chicago for the first time 2 weekends ago. I have possibly been to the US not fewer than 20 times over the last 10 years but have always only limited my visit to the immediate vicinities of New York City.

There only for a short weekend break, the snapshot I was exposed to was sufficient to have me yearning to be back for more. The limited culinary scene I was exposed to in Chicago was refreshingly exciting- it reminded me a little of Sydney. At the recommendation of Jared and Alice of EatADuckIMust, I sauntered off to The Purple Pig for lunch on my last day there. A stone's throw away from where I was staying in downtown Michigan Ave, I went into the restuarant without the slightest idea about its fame and their specialty.Touted as one of the Top 10 Restaurants In America by Bon Appetite (I found out later) , the resturant serves, as its gate (see photo) indicates, Cheese, Swine and Wine. The menu featured lots of pork, cured meats, smears and cheeses. The flavours and atmosphere were very clearly mediterranean / spanish. It soon became clear that most of the dishes came in the form of a substantial tapas serving. There were too many things on the menu which I was curious about but eating there by myself did not allow me to order too many variety. The 2 generous tapas portions of Calamari With Fregola, Radish, Cucumber and Milk Braised Pork Shoulders With Mashed Potatoes would have filled me up more than adequately. However, a table with just 2 tapas dishes was just too sad-looking... I had to fill it up with one more. The deep fried Pig's Ears with Fried Kale, Pickled Cherry Peppers and Fried Egg was their specialty which, as the very friendly waiting staff told me, people would come and queue for.

All 3 dishes did not disappoint. The Calamari Antipasta was light and refreshing. Eating fregola pasta for the first time, I thought they tasted a little like a cross between nuts and coucous. Mixed this up with the tender calamari and the crunchy radish and cucumber, the texture balance was quite brilliant.I could eat this everyday.

The Milk Braised Pork Shoulder With Mashed Potatoes would have you swoon at first bite. Briased to the perfect fall apart texture, the Pork Shoulder is comfort food at its best. Great luscious food like this is best shared with someone - the generous chunk of swine was too much for me to finish by myself.

The signature Deep Fried Pig's Ears lived up to its name. Crispy and savoury, it went brilliantly well with the runny egg yolk of the fried egg. I have always shunned away from the Braised Pig's Ears found in some Chinese restaurants but I am glad I went without reservations with this one.

This is definitely a restaurant I will want to return to... there are just too many interesting dishes on the menu which I am dying to try and this time round, I shall make sure I go with friends in tow!

New York Central Park - A Little Photo Gallery

I must have traveled to New York more than 10 times over the last 15 years. During the earlier years, I would travel there to visit my grand uncle and grand aunt in Brookyln. I recall how their neighbourhood at Prospect Park populated by blacks and hispanics would morph to become rather hip and cosy. Subsequently, when I started working for my current American employment, I would frequent Connecticut and New Jersey at least once a year. Hence I am not totally unfamiliar with Manhattan. I am very comfortable with the subway and am used to walking 40 to 50 blocks in the city.

My visiting habits in Manhattan has gradually changed over the years. My 'free days' to roam get shorter so I no longer go to the musuems (I lost count of the number of big and small musuems I had visited). I am also no longer excited about department stores like Birmingham, SAKS Fifth Ave etc. Now when I do get to Macy's I would head straight for the household department and I would never pass by a Williams Sonoma store without just popping in for a quick twirl (even though all of them carry the same merchandises). Fine food stores like Dean & Deluca, Zbar and Wholefoods are also my favourite haunts.



Despite it all, there remains one place which I will always set aside time for when I am in Manhattan... It has become somewhat of a pilgrimage for me... going to Central Park. Summer in Central Park bustles with energy when buskers perform and superfit rollerbladers power glide through the park. Winter in Central Park is a little more pristine and quiet.... the trees are bare, the ponds are frozen...the joggers looking more austere in their long tights, hats and gloves.

I was lucky that the only free Saturday I had was not too cold to walk and sit around in the park for immediately the next day, temperature dropped and the big chill set in.


I started my walk from Strawberry Fields, the little plot dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. It was only a few days earlier that the public was commemorating John Lennon's death anniversary on the 8th Dec.

Loved the rows and rows of benches where people would sit and enjoy the scenery or read...

Whoever thought of putting the park in the city was brilliant and for me this is possibly the strongest identity of New York City yet....

More Inspiration From Donna Hay - Blue Cupcakes

There is something rather magical about the soft teal blue colour... For generations,Tiffany's little blue box has set every girls' heart aflutter. Then there is Homemaking Guru, Martha Stewart's signature blue logo and blue packaging which renders everything more pristine and perfect. Donna Hay, Australia's own accomplished food stylist, cookbook and magazine editor, too chooses to work with the soft powdery blue as one of her dominant trademark colour. I am guessing that somehow, the Tiffany Blue (that's what I like to call it) hue has the magical ability to conjure up an impression of the demure, well bred and... blue bloodedness. That rank within the social hierarchy that very few belong to but many are fascinated by... and some quietly covet at....

No, I am no Bree Van de Kamp or Charlotte York... I am most likely their anti-thesis. However, I do admire and appreciate polish, perfection and beauty... and if by adding a dash of Tiffany Blue to my photos can afford me a few short lived illusional moments of grace and polish, I would gladly do it.
I know I am a quirky free spirit by nature and therefore to help distract from my shoddiness, are pretty white pleated paper cups from Donna Hay, the blue cupcake liners that came in the same collection as the pink ones I used earlier and my favourite purchase from the store.... the ornate wire cooling rack. (I still have a stash of goodies from the store... but it wouldn't be tasteful to jam pack everything into the same photo....:) )


The cupcake recipe I have chosen here is one from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. Swiss Meringue buttercream paired with a rather unusual white cupcake.... not my favourite cupcake recipe, I have to admit. This tastes a little like a dense egg sponge. I prefer my cupcakes to be moist and fine crumbed... a blondie or a basic yellow pound would be my choice if I were to do this over again.


Recipe
White Cupcake from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

3 1/4 cups                 Sifted cake flour
1 1/2 tsp                    Baking powder
1/4   tsp                     Salt
1 tbsp                        Vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tbsp        Milk
1 3/4 sticks                Butter, softened at room temperature
1 3/4 cup                   Sugar
5                                Large egg whites

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Cream butter with sugar together until pale. Add Vanilla extract.
3. Add dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder) in 3 batches, alternating with 2 additions of milk.
4. In another mixing bowl beat egg whites until firm peaks are formed.
5. Mix 1/3 of meringue with (3). Fold in rest of meringue gently in 2 additions.
6.Spoon batter into cupcake liners until 3/4 filled.
7. Bake in oven for 18 -20 mins.
8. Cool down on wire rack for 10 mins. Turn out cupcakes onto wire rack to cool completely.
9. Frost with blue swiss meringue butter cream.

Swiss Meringue butter cream recipe here. (tint with blue colour gel)         

Sydney Inspiration - Donna Hay's Double Chocolate Cake

I don't normally travel down under for work but last week, a rare issue came up and I had to make my first ever trip to Sydney. It was a 2 day work trip but I took the opportunity to stay on for 2 more days on my own. As for most trips I make nowadays, I have ceased to be ambitious and stopped bothering with pre-trip research. There was only one thing I knew I wanted to do and that was visiting the Donna Hay general store. I had first read about it at Not Quite Nigella's blog and had been quite fascinated by it ever since... and who wouldn't? Having been captivated month after month by the bright and breezy pages of the Donna Hay magazines,I knew I simply couldn't miss the one and only Donna Hay General Store on this planet.

Nestled in a trendy residential district, it is definitely outside the main tourist belt. I took more than an hour getting there from City Center by train,bus and alot of walking. However, I really didn't mind, I loved wondering in the suburbs,feeling the local pulse. Situated away even from the main commercial section of the suburb, this was an unlikely location for a store which in my opinion,makes this boutique store even more charming.

I was able to recognise styling props used in Donna Hay's beautiful photos among the merchandises. It wasn't a big store and the price tag was not exactly pocket-friendly but still that didn't stop me for lingering there for over an hour and leaving with a bunch of merchandises. The biggest draw has to be the chic and colourful cupcake/muffin liners. Unique in design, these are more expensive than your usual liners but not unreasonably exorbitant.


Then there were the ceramics and cake stands that came with clean lines and neutral pastel colours that are so Donna Hay.


To celebrate my purchase at Donna Hay, I decided to make the Donna Hay Double Chocolate Cake which I had first seen at Evan's blog. I had dreamt of creating the photos with the same fresh and luminous aura that is the signature of Donna Hay's magazines but shooting the cupcakes at night was tricky and I would have to admit that I haven't done justice to Donna Hay's beautiful cupcake liners.


The cake is absolutely delicious - fiercely chocolatey without being overly rich. It went really well with the fluffy Swiss Meringue Butter cream frosting-  This is definitely a cake that does not require fancy liners to shine, I hope you get to try it too.


Recipe :

Cupcake
125g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1.5 tsp double acting baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
150g dark chocolate, melted

For Frosting
227 g unsalted butter, slightly softened
3 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cupcake
1. In a bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together
2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar until pale and creamy.
3. Add egg one at a time and continue to mix until homogenous.
4. Add Vanilla extract.
5. Add flour and . Alternate with milk addition. Drizzle in melted chocolate and mix well.
6. Scoop into paper liners and bake in a 160C pre-heated oven and bake for 20mins.
7. Cool down cupcakes completely and frost the cupcake using butter cream below.

Swiss Meringue Butter Cream:
1. Place egg white and sugar in a mixing bowl. Place this over a simmering water bath and whisk with a hand whisk until sugar dissolves.
2. Transfer egg white into a mixing bowl and whisk with a bubble whisk , until peaks are firm but fluffy.
Add butter, one spoonful at a time. Change over to a paddle fixture and contiue to beat the butter cream to remove bubbles. At this point, you can add your flavourings or colours. For this, I added a few drops of pink colouring.

What I Ate In Bangalore....

India, is not a favourite business trip destination for most of us. I have yet to come across any one colleague or business contact who honestly looks forward to going to India for business. I cannot say I do either... but then when one travels too often for business like I do, one will no longer look forward to going any where for business trips anymore. Still, I need to find motivation to sustain my energy and ethusiasm. I always believe that positive energy begets positivity in what one does. No matter how dreadful and uninviting the destination may be, I have learnt to find interesting elements to keep me engaged. Very often, these elements are related to gastronomical or retail adventures - I am, after all, a true blue Singaporean.

My trip to India last month left me a little weary about my dining experiences. Limited to eating at the same multi-cuisine restaurant in the industrial estate for most part of the week, my initial excitement for Indian food  waned quickly and I started to feel cranky and yearn for variety.  As a result of which, when I had to travel to Bangalore again last week, I half loaded my luggage with biscuits and cup noodles. However, I am happy to report that these really became irrelevant as I had the best Indian food I've eaten for a long time. I share with you the one restuarant that impressed us so much that we returned for a second meal immediately the next day after our first meal.

Situated in the swanky UB City Shopping Complex in Bangalore, Khansama marketed themselves as the Royal Indian Master Chef. Khansama is a Persian rooted Indian term that translates to mean, a man servant who acts as a cook or a household butler.  While working in the stately royal palace kitchens, the Khansamas were known to' generate rare and flavoursome recipes to satisfy their King's gastronomic fancies....' and  'the Khansamas kept their recipes, a closely guarded secret'.  When one steps into the Khansama Restaurant, one feels like one has gained privy and access into the private dining hall of the royalties and statesmen of bygone Mughal era.




The Mughal Empire, for those who are not familiar refers to the Indian-Islamic power that ruled a large portion of India from 15th to 18th century. Almost all of the outstanding architectures we see in India now were built by the Munghals (E.g. Taj Mahal). The North Indian cuisines ( The Tandooris, Kebabs, Naan...) which we have become so familiar today originates from the Mughal -an era of conquest, construction, wealth and relative stability, Khansama brings back the magnificence of the Mughlai period with rich tapestry, golden copper tablewares, beautiful wall murals and emblems of conquest.

I remember poring through their pictureless menus, salivating over the description of each dish.There are so many dishes which I would love to sample but because there were only 3 of us, we couldn't order too much. We have learnt from our Indian dining experience, that we should never be greedy. One appetizer to share and 2 main dishes with bread or rice is more than enough. Indian cooking is generally so rich and heavy that eating any more than that would leave one uncomfortably full and flatulent. During this second dinner at Khansama, I started my meal with Chicken Shorba which is a chicken soup simmered in Indian spices with a drizzle of lemon juice and coriander. Vaguely similar to the Ayam Soto, this is richer and feels many times more comforting and nutritive than Ayam Soto - definitely going to be a repeat order for me if I get to go back again.


The appetizer, Garlic & Butter Prawns is another impressive dish made up of tandoori prawns embedded in a fragrant bed of spiced fried garlic. It was so good that my Chinese colleague requested to order a second portion.


As a result of the double portion appetizer, we only had one main dish to eat with the gorgeous rotis.(flat bread) My colleague picked a Curry Lamb dish which was so rich in flavours and spices that no hint of  'lamby' smell could be detected. However, I did find the dish a tad too salty for me.





Finally, I must write about the Masala Pan,the typical 'breath freshner' served after the meal. Masala Pan is usually a mixture of nuts and herbs which standardly consists of cardamon, menthol, fennel seeds with a little sugar chips. When the attentive staff at Khansama brought over the intricate copper bowl, I was intrigued.



Laden with crushed ice, the bowl consisted of 3 carefully prepared Masala Pan bundles. Wrapped in a silver foiled raw betal nut leaf is a mixture of  what I could identify as, rose jam, cardamon, menthol, toasted dessicated coconut and sugar chips. As I followed my colleague's example and chewed on the Pan, I was rather quick to frown and declare that it tasted wierd but as I continued to chew on it, the raw taste started to grow on me...I was able to finish the whole Pan bundle. These pretty little packets that came nestled in the copper bowl, had my breath smelling of roses....I wasn't sure if it was the roses or the intricate copper bowl but for a fleeting moment, I felt like a royal concubine!

Khansama

UB CITY
2ND Floor, UB City Mall,
Vittal Mallya Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.
Tel : +90 080-41114499

What I Ate In Korea....

Just a quick post to publish photos of what I ate during my last business trip to Seoul. The highlight of the whole trip must be Mister Donut. I am no fan of donuts - I have difficulty trying to understand what is there to like about Krispy Creme or Dunkin Donuts. Mister Donut over threw all my negative preconception of donuts a few years ago when my Korean colleague had strongly recommended that I try it while we were traveling in Taipei. Originally an American brand, this was bought over by a Japanese company and ever since, they have been serving donuts that are quite different from your normal Krispy Dunkin fare... Totally innovative in their use of ingredients and flavours, Mister Donut is less greasy and very very soft!  Biting into their signature soft ring donut is like biting into the softest bread you can find. You will be hooked at first bite! The other signature of Mister Donut is of course, the famous Ponde Ring - shaped like a wreath of 8 donut balls, these are really mochi donut. I once tried to make these using a Ponde Ring recipe I found on a Japanese site - with tofu and tapioca flour - it left me wondering why are there people out there who feel so adamant that tofu is an ingredient in the Ponde Ring. I have eaten the Ponde Ring numerous time, and I am always convinced that it is a mochi based bread. So anyway, I had 6 donuts in 2 days - definitely went terribly overboard- but hey, there are only 3 places in Asia now that I can get these (Japan, Taiwan and Korea) so I am going to stuff myself to content.







 



I chose to stay at the quiet Walkerhill in Seoul this time, away from the dreadful temptations of easy shopping. Perched on the hill with a view of the Han river are the W hotel and Sheraton Grande. What is impressive is that there are 17 restuarants on this little hill. W Hotel, famed for it's modern, avant garde design theme is exactly that. I had the chance to check out the 2 main restaurants there The Kitchen, which is a somewhat international fusion restaurant and Namu, the modern Japanese restaurant. Arriving late at the hotel on the first day, I decided to just dine at the Japanese restaurant. Working with my camera at the dining table is not what I do best - I feel rather silly and am always trying to snap the photos as quickly as I can so that I can put away my camera. Hence, I hardly document what I eat at restaurants - but I told L I want to practice and get comfortable and thick skin about sharing my dining table with my camera...

And I didn't even get to finish snapping my whole course because the battery went dead on me... :-p

Here's what I ate at Namu :

Tofu Steak Appetiser : The tofu tasted a little like Goma(sesame) Tofu, thinly coated with a membrane of sticky yam. This is one of the few things in the course that I find memorable.

Chicken Breast Salad - a big put off. The chicken was dry and hard. KFC's popcorn chicken would have beaten it hands down.

Sashimi Platter - The fish was very fresh and with fish this fresh, there is no reason to have this go wrong.

Ginger Mirin Glazed Pork Belly : This actually tasted nice. It didn't feel oily. The sweetness of Mirin provided a good balance to the soya sauce. The little drop of citrus mustard on the pork fascinated me.

What followed was the Deep Fried Oyster rice and a Ginger chocolate mousse cake.

The whole dining experience wasn't bad but it was not memorable. The donuts overshadowed all other eating memories for this trip... LOL