A Farewell to May
Things I baked that made me happy, movie nonsense and...potential future bake boxes?
Hello!
I don’t have much of an intro, but it’s hot in Texas and we are melting.
<3
Baking in May: What I Made and What I’m Excited About
Masa Harina Chocolate Chip Cookies by At Heart Panaderia
I didn’t realize I was missing out on the most perfectly textured chocolate chip cookies until I made Teresa of At Heart Panaderia’s recipe for Masa Harina CCCs. The recipe calls for masa harina (I used yellow) in place of some of the flour. I also added a bit of toasted milk powder in addition to the brown butter.
The results were a satisfyingly chewy cookie with warm and slight earthy undertones. Seriously, these cookies are so texturally satisfying. They were the only self-care bake I managed to squeeze in for May, which honestly - good on me anyway because they were a hella tasty choice.
Cajeta Tres Leches Cake
Maybe my most romantic bake recently, for my one and only Mother. Egg-based sponge cake, tres leches soak and mascarpone whipped cream. House-made cajeta is mixed in with the milks (cajeta substitutes the traditional condensed milk as the milk sweetener). This cake is slightly tangy, not too sweet and ultra-custardy. I loved the little cajeta pools as well. Cajeta > Dulce de Leche. Not sorry.
This cake got me thinking about other ingredients that could sub in as condensed milk for future tres leches cakes. Chocolate sauce, fruit preserves or CURD, and coconut condensed milk would be amazing. Now I’m thinking of like…a mango sticky rice sort of tres leches situation…
Miso & Black Sesame Cinnamon Rolls
My new favorite sweet breakfast treat. Black sesame, miso and cinnamon are best flavor friends. Paired with the deep molasses undertone of dark brown sugar, these rolls are like a flavor playground of sticky, caramelized and nutty + umami goodness. Imagine being so happy in the morning because you ate something so damn delicious? I’ve experienced it, I’ve been there.
I’ll be testing these rolls again with white miso (all I had was dashi at the time) and more black sesame, which is a mostly personal preference. I have a feeling I may like using the dashi miso more, since white miso is more mellow. We’ll see. You can expect to see the recipe sometime this June. <3
Roasted Strawb & Chamoy Pan Cortadillo
I was screaming on insta about this cake because CHAMOY. Did y’all like cortadillos growing up? I usually avoided them because they often were really dry.
Making them at home has been a bit of a challenge - I’ve seen some recipes work with a butter/buttermilk based cake, while others are egg and oil based and sort of like a yellow cake (which I believe is more traditional). I’m trying to accomplish something in-between both versions, where the cake is light and the texture resembles a sponge cake, but still maintains a bit of density and moisture (like what you would find in a butter cake).
I was mostly happy with my first test, however it needed more chamoy. It really should be the star, and it’s been a challenge trying to figure out how to make the spicy jam shine when it’s sandwiched between two slices of sweet cake and buttercream.
I don’t give up though, and this cake was a strong start.
I’ll keep y’all posted. <3
Bake Boxes and Pop-Ups: Soon???
I took a break from baking for people at the end of 2021. I’ve had a year to reflect on…a lot. Do I want to get into all of that right now? No.
I do, however, want to mention that I am thinking of ways to connect my pastries to people that is healthy and enjoyable for me.
I used to offer a monthly bake box, which included an assortment of 4-5 pastries and always featured a concha. Serving up these boxes to people was such a huge highlight for me, and I have been missing it bad.
I will bring bake boxes back eventually, when I have a more reliable space to work from (Dallas peeps, where do y’all see/do/host pop-ups??).
With all the recipe testing I do, I may start offering pastries on the weekends. I always end up having so many leftover pastries (that I usually give to coworkers and friends, but I’d love to offer them to others for a price!). Small-scale stuff too, like a half dozen conchas, donas or cinnamon rolls.
I’ll make more announcements about it soon, I’m just dropping little things here and there. <3
May Movies
This is the part where I talk about movies in the worst way possible. Don’t listen to me or take any suggestions, please.
New Releases
The Little Mermaid ★★★★
Halle Bailey IS The Little Mermaid. I remember seeing Chloe & Halle back in 2019 when they opened for Beyoncé and Jay-Z and the crowd was so lame, no one paid attention to them. I was actively listening to their music at the time so I was excited to see them. Anyway, I’m glad Halle is finally receiving the attention and recognition she deserves. She shines!! I won’t even talk about the movie! lol
First Time Watch
Virtuosity ★★
What the hell???? This movie was honestly so hard to watch, so I’ll save you time by showing you the best part which was Denzel in this suit. But if you’re into weird, cyberpunk cop vs. evil AI (aka Russell Crowe) this movie still isn’t for you, it’s so bad.
The Host (2006) ★★★
Really bad CG water monster born out of the recklessness of humanity kidnaps/kills people, which eventually leads to a chaotic false virus outbreak…other things happen. Did I mention the CG is really bad? It’s a horror film so if the CG isn’t good, it automatically falls under this other category which is CAMP.
Other/Favs
Howard the Duck ★★★
I am honestly…ashamed at how much I enjoy this movie. Please do not associate me with this movie.
Ponyo ★★★★★
We are a mermaid household. We are riding this mermaid wave for good.
Godzilla (2014)★★★, Kong: Skull Island★★and Rampage★ (first time watch though second attempt at watching)
Godzilla is fine, it holds up. I enjoy it for what it is. There are some crazy scenes where my mouth just hangs open because it looks so good. It is a very good looking Kaiju movie. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is there, also.
Kong???? The way Tom Hiddleston wants to be Michael Fassbender SO bad. This whole ass movie looked like Call of Duty or something. What are thoughts anyway?
I wanted to have fun with the Rampage movie! But I did not, it was not fun!
9 to 5 ★★★★★
“And up to now, I've been forgiving and forgetting because of the way I was brought up. But I'll tell you one thing: If you ever say another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I'm gonna get that gun of mine... And I'm gonna change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot!”
If you made it this far, thank you for reading all my nonsense. I’ll be back soon with more recipes!
Channey <3