Perfected Baked Coconut Rice Cake 椰汁烤年糕

Chinese New Year, the time of year to take advantage of the special dishes that only make an appearance once a year and as kids, gather our year's income from red envelopes. Of all the traditional new year foods, my favourite has always been the sweet rice cake, known as nian gao (年糕). In Korean it's called dduk (떡) and in Japanese it's mochi. 

I can use the Chinese characters to further explain what nian gao is; the word nian 年 means 'year' and the word gao 糕 is 'cake'. However, there are a lot of different types of gao. The cake we know in English is dan gao, literally translated into 'egg cake'. There is also savoury so-called cakes, such as the radish or taro cakes that are also served during new years. Chinese is kinda confusing like that.

Back to talking about nian gao, the most traditional version of it is flavored with sugar (brown, white, or sometimes red sugar) and simply steamed. Once the nian gao is completely chilled, it is sliced up, dipped into beaten egg, and pan fried to a golden brown. A crispy layer on the outside and super chewy on the inside. I drool at the thought. My grandma makes an amazing lower sugar version, since she is diabetic, and it I look forward to a pan of it every year. 

Another childhood memory of nian gao is eating the baked version at church potlucks. Other aunties would bring a big pan of it and I'd be the one to constantly re-visit the table to grab myself another serving. Now that I'm a cook myself, I want to recreate it at home. Two years ago, I began baking my own nian gao. I remember baking three or four batches in a week, tweaking the recipe each time, to achieve the perfect baked nian gao. And oh ho ho, whaddya know, my version is packed with coconut flavour! 

"Define perfect", okay, I accept the challenge.

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Raspberries and chocolate, a dreamy combination of sweet and tart. My family is down to the last few raspberries from our trip to Krause Berry Farms so I took the opportunity to incorporate them into some kind of chocolate dessert. This recipe is a no bake, super easy, and uses minimal equipment. It's a tart that looks extravagant enough to bring to a dinner party. No one has to know it is vegan and can also raw!

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

I managed to put this tart together in one hour, the pressing in of the crust taking most of that time. It sat in my fridge while my mom took us grocery shopping for our upcoming 'glamping' (glamorous camping) trip. By the time we returned home with an entire cooler of food for the barbeque, I was hungry and ready for a sweet snack. So hungry that I forgot to sift icing sugar over the tart to make it prettier. All that was on my mind was "photograph then eat". Oops~ Natural animal instincts, okay?

The vegan mousse is quite impressive. If made with a stronger machine like a Vitamix, the texture could become a lot smoother. My 'antique' food processor did an okay job but I could still feel a few clumps of mac nuts. I was so surprised as to how airy and light the mousse is! Looks like real mousse and feels like it. It's amazing what nuts can turn into whether it be a custard for Nanaimo Bars or a crust for a Banana Cream Pie, nuts are a healthy and satisfying alternative to highly processed store-bought food with zero nutrition and who-knows-what in it. Plus, it's been loving made with your own hands and effort~

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Raw Vegan Tart

Next time I make a this tart, I'll have to either make the sides shorter or double the mousse filling. The final product will look more 'normal' and less like a boat (as my mom described it as). But aesthetics aside, this is absolutely delicious. I couldn't stop eating after one slice and helped myself to another. The chewy and naturally sweet crust is just as good eaten alone. This wetter version of the crust used in my Nanaimo Bars holds its shape a lot better and doesn't crumble at all. I can imagine it working beautifully in mini individual tarts.

The overall tart is very lightly sweet with no refined sugars whatsoever. Most Asians prefer less-sweet desserts so this tart suits those with that preference. As for myself, I would probably add a tad bit more honey and cocoa into the mousse to give the dessert a more robust flavour. I mean, if you're going to eat dessert it might as well be one that truly satisfies your craving for glucose. 

When in a rush and need a delicious and nutritious dessert, try making this Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Tart! It won't disappoint any taste buds ;)

Click below for the recipe

Healthy Banana Walnut Bread (with Coconut!)

Healthy Banana Walnut Bread with Coconut

Recently, I've returned to my obsession with Despicable Me minions. Last year, us Nutty Crumpets were crazy enough to put the Banana Song at the end of our YPI presentation. We thought it would be funny and end the seemingly depressing topic on a light-hearted note, but that nearly cost us not advancing to the semi-finals. Although I can't say the second movie was the best movie I've ever seen, it was definitely an entertaining movie to watch. Yes, it completely contrasts the first movie as Gru the villain is no longer doing evil deeds, but the increased amount of minion action makes up for it. 

What the banana minion says when you pull the banana

Mc Donald's currently carries minion toys as part of the kids' Happy Meal. It's extremely strange for me to want to visit Mc Donald's much less beg to go. The toys certainly do their job very well of luring children (or children at heart, ahem) into buying their food. Thankfully, Happy Meals are not the worst thing to force down your throat and are fairly priced. The portion control and healthy options like milk and apples makes for a acceptable fast food meal. By the way, the hamburger is the 'healthiest' entree option, Happy Meal or not. Anyways, back to the toys. I was disappointed to find that my preferred minion toy was not available on the first trip to get a Happy Meal with Az. Since then, I have dragged my parents to five different locations in search of the 'banana minion'. A successful Coconut Crumpet feels happy about her accomplishment. But my mother says I need to become more mature. I beg to differ.
 
Not only is the banana minion my favourite, but I've become addicted to playing Minion Rush on my phone. And I rarely ever play games, mainly because I'm terrible at them. Something about collecting bananas and running other minions over is so amusing to me. Evidently I seem to have some bias towards the combination of minions and bananas. So, with the bananas that have been sitting frozen in my freezer for months, I dedicate this beautiful banana bread to all 10 million of the minion fans out there.

Super tall Healthy Banana Walnut Bread

Flavours of Nanaimo Cake

Flavours of Nanaimo Birthday Cake

The Nanaimo bar. The no-bake three-layered bar is named appropriately after its city of origin and has been given the title of British Columbia's favourite dessert. Now, I'm not sure if all British Columbians love the Nanaimo bar, but I do know it is my brother's favourite dessert. Very well, he is a British Columbian...

Born on the seventh day of the seventh month, my brother must be a lucky boy, in certain ways. I have saved my family a lot of money baking cakes for birthdays and special events (and also doubling them up as gifts, puahahaha!) and his birthday is no exception. The reason why I didn't just make an actual Nanaimo bar is because of the few days expired carton of whipping cream sitting in my fridge door. The fastest way I could think of using it is by icing a cake. Too bad there aren't enough people to eat a two layered cake, that would've used even more whipped cream. I had to brave the hot oven on a summer day to make this cake -wipes imaginary sweat-.

Holey cake, revealing the bottom, texture of the cake

Chocolate Banana Cookie Dough Cream Pie

Who says a vegan can't have pie?!
A pie that is so delicious and good for you at the same time? Yes please!
Your family and friends would NEVER believe this pie isn't laden with processed sugars, butter, lard, modified corn starch and all that "natural and artificial flavouring" junk. But i don't blame you if you decide you want the whole pie to yourself because I grant you permission to eat this whole pie! 
But do try controlling yourself eh? ;)

Vegan whipped cream is the best thing I've ever experienced in my life. It tastes so. freaking. delicious. 
Coconut whipped cream= happy peanut crumpet

Chocolate Banana Cookie Dough Coconut Cream Pie

yield 1 pie that would make you go "MAMA MIA" 

Crust:

1 c. almonds

1 c. walnuts
1 1/2 c. dates

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Layer:

4 large bananas (set 2 aside for slicing)

3 tbsp. agave

1/4 c. almond butter

1 tbsp. coconut oil

dollop of vanilla paste (or splash of extract)

Pinch salt

1/4 cup cacao

splash of almond milk

Whipped Cream:

1 can full fat coconut milk, in fridge overnight (I used Thai Kitchen organic coconut milk)

1/8 - 1/4 tsp. stevia

splash of vanilla extract

For the crust, put everything into the food processor and pulse until it forms a sticky gooey delicious mass of dough. Remember to pulse so the oils of the nuts don't release as much to prevent it from being too oily! Take a generous amount of dough to press into your pie pan. Put your crust into the freezer to firm up while you make the filling. 

For the leftover "crust", roll them into cookie dough balls the size of the nail of your thumb and set those aside. 

For the chocolate layer, put all of your ingredients in the food processor (except the almond milk) and just give it a whirl until super smooth with the consistency of a thick pudding. If you think your mixture should be a little runnier, add a teensy weensy splash of almond milk, but don't add too much or the filling won't hold its shape!

Pour this lovely concoction into the prepared crust and let sit in fridge until it firms up a bit.

Once firm, slice your 1 banana thinly (so you get more slices), and scatter them in addition to some of the cookie dough balls all over the chocolate layer. Bat your eyelashes at the pie and admire for 1 minute (optional step ;) ). TIME TO MAKE THE COCONUT CREAM!

Take the coconut milk you've been hiding in your fridge and spoon off all the thick goodness from the top. You will be left with clear liquid which can be used for smoothies, or any coconutty baked goods. It tastes sort of like a coconut syrup/extract. I know coconut crumpet would approve. After the scooping of the yummilicious full fat coconut milk, it's time to whip it up baby! Use a handmixer or stand mixer for optimum fluff, but because I don't have a hand mixer and I didn't want to wash the large bowl of my stand mixer, I decided to whip by hand. Wheeee! When you get soft peaks, add your stevia in and whip until you get moderately stiff peaks! Now, you don't want to eat this whole bowl because your pie will make it all up to you later. So just spread this goodness on your pie and lick ALL the equipment that touched this luscious cream. 

Garnish your pie with another sliced banana and your remaining cookie dough balls, and stick it into the fridge for at least 1 hour before eating! (or you can eat it all gooey and melty :) )


Lots of nuts,
Peanut Crumpet xoxo

A Day of Coconut Bliss

Exam time has come for us students, which means study time occupies (or should occupy) the majority of our time and effort. Seven tests coming up in the next two weeks for Coconut Crumpet, such joy. I'm not even sure my brain has the capacity to hold four full courses worth of information at one time. And to add to my troubles, I have been feeling sick for two days now. Congested nose, headaches, fatigue... It seems like viruses and bacteria happen to only love me during test times.

Coconut Pancakes

To relieve some of this stress and pressure, I decided to allow myself to enjoy a fancy Sunday morning breakfast. Surely I can use some time to appreciate the most important meal of the day before studying for another few hours. After watching Leaftv's drool-enducing video, my mind has been set to make these pancakes. The time has come for Coconut Crumpet to do so. Although my pancake-making skills are still lacking, I thoroughly enjoyed my coconut pancakes. Get the recipe at A Cozy Kitchen and make these filling pancakes! Using my silver dollar pancake pan, half the recipe yielded me exactly 4 pancakes. My new found way to eat my pancakes is with a generous dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of honey. In this case, with the best coconut yogurt I've encountered so far, Liberte's coconut yogurt. Yes it's fruit bottom (meaning lots of sugar) and almost 9% milk fat, but everything in moderation is okay~

Coconut Bliss 'Ice Cream' in Naked Coconut

So far my weekend has consisted of eating, or studying. A pile of physics review, social studies vocabulary and 410 Mandarin vocabulary words sit on my table longing for my attention. Since studying requires a lot of brainpower, and the majority of calories are burned to function the brain, it's important to fuel the body when doing some serious studying! When my tummy started asking for food again, I went to grab my newly bought tub of Coconut Bliss. You can read about my first experience with this genius masterpiece here. Eating this just alleviates some stress and brings me to bliss~ I can't wait to eat more of it over the course of the upcoming summer season. That is, if I live to see the end of June..

Sunday is the day that passes by much too quickly; church in the morning then afternoon and evening zooms by. Before I can fully recover, is Monday again. A funny quote I saw a while back said "Why is Monday so far from Friday and Friday so near to Monday?" I wholeheartedly agree. To some, summer is right around the corner. For me, summer is so distant, it's almost unattainable. To help me get through busy times, I tend treat my tongue to some of my favourite foods, like coconut. How do you keep yourself motivated during a hard time?


Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

As I was searching the internet for baking inspiration, I came across the To Die For Lemon Loaf. The description made me drool: "organic coconut, organic millet, coconut milk and the juice of fresh organic lemons", totally a loaf made in heaven for Coconut Crumpet! Hunting down a slice on my next trip Downtown was immediately put on my to-do list, but I can't wait that long and had to formulate one for myself.

This recipe was created by me, based on a bajillion different lemon loaf recipes I researched. Many lemon loaf recipes call for a mere 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Nononono, that's not enough lemon-ness for me! In my recipe, I added a heaping third cup of lemon juice; that should do the 'lemon' part of its name justice. Also, being Coconut Crumpet, it's important that the coconut flavour shines through too. Coconut oil adds a fabulous aroma, but doesn't contribute much to the tastebuds' experience. Shredded coconut also doesn't add flavour, but gives texture and fragrance (if it's been toasted!) The coconut flavour comes mainly from the rich and thick coconut milk. Not the kind that you get in tetra boxes that substitutes cow's milk in your cereal bowl every morning. The kind that comes in a can. It's much too heavy in calories to drink, but it works wonders to enrich cooking. I recommend you use one similar to Rooster Brand's Gold Label Coconut Milk. 

This recipe is definitely Rachel-ified since it's low in sugar and only made with a small amount of healthy fats. Don't worry, it won't sabotage your diet. I'm very thankful that this loaf actually worked; the loaf came out tall and cooked in the time I predicted. Besides the fact I overdid it with maybe more than 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds and my splash of vanilla was slightly too much, the flavour and texture of the resulting loaf is wonderful! Not too sweet, prominent meyer lemon taste, a bit of a crunch from the toasted coconut shreds and poppy seeds, richness from the coconut milk, and even moistness throughout the loaf...mmm~ It was the perfect way to use up the last three meyer lemons sitting my fridge. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my taste test of this loaf during school today. Once I get a hold of a real slice of To Die For Lemon Loaf, I shall make necessary adjustments to make this even better. So...without further ado, I proudly present to you (that rhymed!), Coconut Crumpet's interpretation of the To Die For Lemon Loaf! 

Coconut Crumpet's 'To Die For' Meyer Lemon Coconut Loaf

By Coconut Crumpet and inspired by Erin Ireland's To Die For Lemon Loaf

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• Zest of 2 meyer lemons
• 5 tbsp coconut oil, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ⅓ cup meyer lemon juice
• 1 ½ tbsp poppy seeds
• ¼ cup unsweetened medium shredded coconut, toasted
• Large flaked shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In a custard cup, gently toss lemon zest in sugar to draw the oils from the peel out.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together coconut oil and sugar until combined. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
5. Add coconut milk,lemon juice, and poppy seeds to wet mixture and stir until well combined.
6. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and fold until halfway combined. Add toasted coconut and continue to fold until just combined. 
7. Pour into prepared pan and top with large flaked coconut.
8. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick check comes out with moist crumbs. Broil on high heat for about 3 minutes at the end to achieve a golden brown top crust. 

 Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Kitchening & Co.

Kitchening & Co. Macarons and Chocolate Ginger Cookie

During my visit to the Eat! Vancouver festival this year, I picked up a few goodies from Kitchening & Co. to bring home. I had a few extra tickets to spend and the flavours were appealing so it seemed like perfect chance to try something new. 

I first ate the Chocolate Ginger Cookie. I prefer the soft, chewy cookies over crisp, thin ones, so this one was right up my alley! It was surprising to find chunks, large chunks, of chocolate within the cookie. I appreciate that they didn't skimp on the chocolate (the cookie itself should already have cocoa powder), but I think the cookie would be better without the massive slabs of chocolate. The ginger flavour and texture was just right; it's a delicious cookie, just as I had read from Foodology while eating breakfast the morning of my visit.

Black Sesame Macaron & Toasted Coconut Macaron

The amount of coconut-flavoured products I consumed at the Eat! Vancouver festival was innumerable. Peanut Crumpet and our fellow 'Clumsy One' can confirm that. So, seeing that Kitchening & Co. carried a Toasted Coconut macaron, I couldn't pass it up. Obviously, toasted coconut tastes so much better than just coconut. Just like how toasted nuts are more fragrant that raw ones. Anywho, the smell of the coconut was present before I even bit into it. The taste of the coconut wasn't as strong as the smell, but it wasn't too lacking. I'm not quite sure what the filling flavour was, but I remember it to be a bit tangy. The Toasted Coconut macaron was the better tasting one out of the two I tried.

The Black Sesame macaron let me down. There was no black sesame flavour, or aroma. In fact, it had a bit of a strange taste to it... The filling was too sweet and overpowered the already nonexistent black sesame flavour. If you're looking for a good black sesame treat, this one isn't it.

Despite that one disappointing flavour, I am still interested in trying more of their macarons. Macarons are finicky so the same recipe can yield completely different results depending on the flavour. The macarons themselves were well made and looked cute, small and tall. If you're a macaron fan, Kitchening & Co. is worth a try. They don't have a store front but check their website for events they'll attend or go to any Urban Fare market and they'll carry the macarons.

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

3rd Tier: Mocha Cheesecake Squares, Coconut Muffin, and Green Tea Cream Puff

DIY Mother's Day High Tea at Coconut Crumpet's Home

As a dessertatarian, this is obviously the most exciting tier. The fact that I prepared an excess amount of each recipe didn't really bother me. That meant I would have dessert to last me a week, mwahahaha! There were a few bumps along the way during my baking of these desserts. A malfunctioning convection oven, running out of all purpose flour, burning this, burning that... Nevertheless, the guests didn't notice so let's just keep it between us, ok?

DIY High Tea for Mother's Day

DIY Mother's Day High Tea by Coconut Crumpet

To celebrate Mother's Day, as well as my mama's birthday, I prepared a high tea lunch for her and a group of close friends to enjoy. It took three or four days to prepare as one would never have enough time to cook, bake, and assemble everything in one day. With some helping hands and baking elves, this ambitious project of mine was successfully presented. Even if it was with [not purposely] mismatched dishes and a plastic tablecloth...

Sharing high tea with a group of friends is truly an experience every foodie should have, whether it be at a restaurant or hosting one yourself. It's a rare chance to dress up and act like a bunch of rich old grannies sitting at a beautifully adorned table having quality gossip time. That is the Crumpets' dream life as retirees.   

My love for high tea has grown significantly after this party. I just picked up 3 sets of tiered trays from Costco in preparation for any other opportunities for me to host another high tea. They only have 2 tiers, but hey, it was $6!

Below is the menu for that day's high tea. Recipes for select goods will be accessible through the links. The ones with no links are because there isn't really a recipe, the words you read are all the ingredients used. There just ain't much to it.
 

Open-faced Cucumber Cream Cheese Sandwich

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Sandwich

Tuna Salad Sandwich

Bell Pepper, Mushroom, and Cheese Quiche

Shrimp and Avocado Crostini

French Onion Crab Round

Mini Bacon and Cheese Scone

Lemon Cranberry Scone

Devonshire Cream

Mocha Cheesecake Square

Coconut Muffin

Green Tea Cream Puff

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries with Toasted Almonds

Purple Sweet Potato Loaf...That's Green!

I am a firm supporter of eating a rainbow of food. Whole foods to be exact. Not only does it make any dish look more appealing and impressive, it's also an effective way of consuming many essential nutrients. It's easy to incorporate reds and greens, oranges and yellows. But what about blue and purple? Those two colours are probably the hardest to even find.

Purple Sweet Potato

Chocolate Coconut Pudding

Chocolate Coconut Pudding

Yes, another coconut post. What can I do, I am Coconut Crumpet and therefore must live up to my name.

Mango Coconut Mac-nut Bread

Mango Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread and the star ingredients

We have been experiencing near 30 degree weather; summer is near, summer is near! As you may already know, my mood is heavily influenced by the weather. Sunny days make me very happy, which aids me through a week of tests at school. On weekends, it is my time to relax and take a break.

A weekend is not complete without doing some baking (but it can be complete without studying biology...-guilty-). This loaf is my attempt at packing Hawaii into a pan. Hawaii is truly paradise, and I am eager to return there. But for now, this loaf will have to do. 

Healthy Carrot Morning Glory Muffins

Healthy Carrot Morning Glory Muffin

This is the one and only carrot muffin recipe you need; it's flavourful, healthy, and jam-packed with delicious ingredients. Truly a glorious way to start the day (I'm so poetic).

I can rest assured knowing I've gotten my daily intake of veggies. This muffin includes all my favourite things: coconut, nuts, fruit, and veggies. It's filled with fibre too, as you can use whole wheat flour or add flax seeds like I chose to do. Remember the importance of scrubbing the colon everyday!

My mom always complains about my muffins that barely reach the rim off the muffin liner. No need to worry about that with these muffins; they rise nice and tall and have a beautiful dome-shaped top. Smear a little frosting and top with some toasted coconut flakes like Ambitious Kitchen's photo and you've got a presentable gift!

Enough of my blabbering, just go and make these muffins nowwwww~

Healthy Carrot Morning Glory Muffins

Adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Yield: 12 full muffins

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flour
• ½ cup ground flax seed
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• Pinch of nutmeg
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup milk (try coconut milk!)
• 2 ½ cups shredded carrots (about 1 jumbo carrot, or 2 ½ medium carrots)
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce (or date paste)
•  ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup coconut flakes, toasted*
•  ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted**

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line or grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
3. In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, vanilla, oil, and eggs until combined. Add in the milk and mix again.
4. Mix the carrots, applesauce, and raisins into the wet mixture.
5. Add all of the dry mixture, coconut flakes, and walnuts into the wet mixture. Fold until just combined. Be sure not to over mix!
6. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups with your handy-dandy muffin scooper. Top with some walnut bits or coconut shreds if it pleases you to do so.
7. Bake for 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out dry.
8. Cool on completely on a wire rack before attempting to peel the paper liners off, they stick a little bit.

*Toast coconut flakes in a preheated oven at 350°F for 2 minutes. Stir once and bake for 1 more minute. It smells ah-may-zing~

**Please refer to this recipe for directions on how to toast walnuts

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡