VINTAGE AND MODERN RECIPES COME TOGETHER!! The vintage and the modern get discovered together!! PLEASE JOIN ME on my journey discovering the world 🌍 of vintage and modern!!
Chinese New Year cake is known in Mandarin as nian gao (“higher year”), and eating a piece of it is supposed to improve your luck in the coming year. Similar in texture to mochi, our nontraditional version is a baked coconut cake that has a moist, almost bouncy quality.
What to buy: Sweet rice flour, also known as glutinous rice flour or mochiko, is produced from sticky rice grains and is actually gluten-free. It’s available at Asian markets in the starch section. Regular rice flour, which is produced from long-grain rice, will not yield the same results.
We prefer to use organic coconut extract, such as this one from Flavorganics, rather than imitation extract, which has a chemical aftertaste.
••INGREDIENTS
••2 tablespoons shredded sweetened coconut
••4 large eggs
••1 pound sweet rice flour (about 3 cups)
••3 cups whole milk
••2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
••3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for coating the baking dish
1Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with butter; set aside.
2Place the coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until toasted and golden brown in color, about 5 minutes; set aside.
3Place the eggs in a large bowl and lightly beat to break up the yolks. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut, rotate the dish, and bake until the edges are just starting to brown and the top is just set (a bubble may form, but it will flatten as the cake cools), about 20 to 25 minutes more.
4Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes before serving. Wrap leftovers tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
(Source: Better Homes and Gardens.com recipe & photos & Meredith women’s network & google..com)
••••NEW YEAR’S DAY DUMPLING SOUP!!
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New Year's Day Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
1 32 ounce box mushroom or vegetable broth
1 cup water
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 10 ounce packages frozen pork potstickers or dumplings with sauce
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thin 2-inch strips, or 1 cup shredded carrots
1 small bunch green onions, trimmed and diagonally sliced
Directions
In a Dutch oven combine broth, the water, ginger, and seasoning packet* from one package of potstickers. Bring to boil over high heat.
Add potstickers, carrots, and most of the green onions. Return to simmering. Reduce heat and cook, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until potstickers are heated through.
Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining green onion slices.
From the Test Kitchen
*TIP:
If no seasoning packet is provided, add 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil.
Nutrition Facts (New Year's Day Dumpling Soup)
Per serving: 369 kcal cal., 16 g fat (6 g sat. fat, 0 g polyunsaturated fat, 0 g monounsaturated fat), 18 mg chol., 1207 mg sodium, 42 g carb., 4 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 14 g pro. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup champagne and 1/2 cup sour cream (mixture will fizz and bubble a little). Add flour and Champagne mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Batter will be thick.
Fill cupcake papers with 1/4 cup level measures of batter. Bake for 17-22 minutes. Set aside.
Make the pastry cream filling: In a medium bowl, whisk cornstarch in 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Combine the remaining heavy cream, sugar and 1/2 cup Champagne in a saucepan;
bring to a boil then remove from heat.
Beat the whole egg and egg yolks into the cornstarch/heavy cream mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling champagne mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not cook. Return the remaining Champagne/heavy cream mixture to a boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.
Cut a divot into the top of each cupcake and fill with pastry cream. Trim the cut-out cake pieces flat to make a "lid" and place on top of the filled divot.
Make the frosting: Place 1 cup of champagne in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Transfer to a small bowl or condiment cup and allow to cool.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream softened butter and powdered sugar together. Once the frosting is thick and fluffy, pour in the reduced 2 tablespoon Champagne plus 1 tablespoon Champagne from the bottle and mix well.
Frost the cream-filled cupcakes and decorate with pastel dragées.
6cupscranberry juice or pomegranate cranberry juice*
3cupspineapple juice
1Tbspalmond extract
3 liters ginger ale
112 oz. bag fresh cranberries(optional)
2fresh limes, sliced (optional)
Ice
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Instructions
Pour pomegranate juice, pineapple juice, and almond extract into a large drink dispenser and mix. Pour in ginger ale and give it one quick stir.
Add in cranberries, ice and ginger ale. Serve within a few hours for best results as it will start to go flat.
*This is not 100% cranberry juice, it is 100% juice but it has a blend of other juices in it such as grape, apple, pear. 100% cranberry juice would be much too tart here. Use something like Oceanspray.