Molten Chocolate Cake

hmm...I just realized that 3 of the 5 posts that I have been posting so far are chocolate-related recipes. That is why they say that chocolate is a girl best friend. In fact, chocolate contains a chemical called phenylethylamine which is the same hormone that brain triggers when you fall in love. That's why we always cheer up ourselves with chocolate and feel happy when we eat it. Did you know that?

Another interesting story is that this molten chocolate cake is only 23 years old (hmm...couple years younger than me). It was claimed to be invented in 1987 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten in New York City. I'm glad that he discovered this irresistible cake that has a deep rich chocolate flavour with a warm gooey centre. So, thank you for that Mr. Vongerichten!

Japchae (whisk the pantry's version)

Today is one of those days that you prefer to stay inside. It is cold, wet, cloudy, and kind of snow outside. Well, maybe I shouldn't complain about it since we pretty much get less than half of snow this year(which  is weird because in the States, they get tons of snow and we get pretty much nothing up here). Still, I hope spring is coming soon!

Because of the weather, I feel like making something easy, simple and ,of course, fast.

When I was in university, my roommate always made Korean food. Her mom made lots of Bulgogi (marinated beef) for her. So, we always had tons of these in our freezer. Because of her, I fell in love with Korean food. I love Korean food because they use lots of vegetable in their dishes and also have so many numbers of side dishes. My favorite Korean dish is probably Bibimbap. This dish is served in a super hot stone bowl. Rice is placed in the bowl and topped with sautéed vegetable (including cucumber, zucchini, mushrooms, soybean sprouts, and spinach), beef bulgogi, and a raw egg. The way you eat this dish is you put the Korean chili pepper paste (gochujang) and mix everything together. Because of the bowl is super hot, anything that touches the bowl sizzles and gets golden and crispy. I love it when the chili paste get caramelize.

Another korean dish that I like is called Japchae. It’s a noodle dish that stir-fired in sesame oil with various vegetable. So, what I made today is my version of Japchae. I hope you like it.

Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops & Caramel-topped Flan

My best friend came to visit me from Edmonton for the last 5 days. We did a lot of cooking, baking, eating and Winter Olympic-watching which were very enjoyable and fun. It was very nice to be able to share this with her. On her last day here, we spend all day baking these goodies, so that she can bring some back and snack during her flight back to Edmonton. She picked out these two recipes from Baking From My Home to Yours which are Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops and Caramel-topped Flan. Both of the recipes turned out wonderful. No one can say no to these chocolaty cookies and this classic caramel custard!

Malted milk powder reminded me of my childhood. Grew up in South-East Asia, we were familar to malted milk powder especially Ovaltine and Milo. It is pretty much a substition for hot chocolate in North America. In my opinion, the best way to make this malted milk drink is to make it with the sweetended condensed milk, no sugar. The condensed milk makes the drink creamier and gives more depth to the drink. Another way that I liked to make when I was young was to mix the malted milk powder with the sweetended condensed milk without water added. So, you get this sweet chewy frosting-type dough or whatever you call this brown gooey thing. To be honest, it was really good!  

Linzer Heart Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day!

For those of you who might need a very last minute idea for Valentine's Day, here it is Linzer Heart Cookies. As you can see, my heart is orange, not red. (Oops! no raspberry jam in the fridge at the moment) Plus, I'm posting this on its acutal day. So, it's very last minute as it can be!

Even thought it's a last minute thing, but they were made from LOVE!

I use the recipe directly from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. However, you can also get the recipe through Serious Eats.

A new beginning with a touch of sweet

Welcome to whisk the pantry!

I never thought that one day I would have my own food blog. For the past 4-5 years, I have been enjoying looking at great food blogs out there. Many of them inspire me to bake, cook, and photography more. Since school is officially over, it's the best time to do what I love to do! So, here I am...writting my first post!

My love for baking and cooking started because of my mom, I believe. She loves to watch cooking shows and loves to bring delicious cakes back home to share with me. I think this is how it all started. I want this blog to document my culinary journal. There are so many of recipes out there that I want to try. Having this blog, it will give me a chance to bake, cook and photograph more, and moreover it gives me a chance to develop new skill both baking/cooking and photographing.

I have been thinking for awhile about what I should make for my first post. I want to start this exciting journey with a touch of sweet. So, I'm presenting you Chocolate Spice Bread. I got this recipe from The Modern Baker cookbook. It is a quick recipe that you can make when you are craving for chocolate! It just gives you a right amount of chocolate flavour that makes you satisfy.