Chocolate Covered Kiwi Pops

I decided that this year, I'd post more recipes coincide with the holidays. With baking, I find it to be a challenge to make desserts appear in pretty holiday-ish color. Without food color, I can only make something brownish looking. Thanks to chocolate chips.

Last month, I made Candied Heart Beets for Valentines. So I was thinking, maybe I should look more into fruits and veggies. For St. Patrick's Day, I started the search for green things in the produce section.

You may have notice juuust a little bit that my favorite color is green. Hence, my blog is in green. I just luv all shades of green. I feel so Zen when I look at green things in nature... except crawly stuff. And there are so many greenish choices in the produce section. Asparagus and lettuce are the obvious ones. But I also found kiwi, and they were on sales. Well, I went through the same dilemma with beets. I bought the kiwi, walked pass them, and just couldn't think of what to do with them. So I searched for images of kiwi desserts. WOW!!! So many!!! The one that caught my eyes what looked like a frozen kiwi covered in chocolate.

Living in Texas, there are days that are warm enough to have something sweet and cold in the winter. I decided to take up the challenge of making chocolate covered kiwi pops. They were pretty easy to make. The time consuming process was waiting for the kiwi slices to freeze up. AND what surprised me the most was that Brek ate the whole pop. Yeah, he did. He didn't like kiwi at all. It was hard for Camden to bite it though. I made a smaller version especially for him.

I'm so glad I found a way to add vitamin C to my kids' diet. These pops are frozen, so they can sit in the freeze for a long, long, long time. Now that's a bonus. They are definitely the perfect summer treats. And this gets me thinking... what other colorful fruits can I experiment with next.

Chocolate Covered Kiwi Pops
makes 6

1 kiwi
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Line a baking tray with a nonstick mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Peel the kiwi then slice it to 1/2 inch thick.
3. Pierce a 3 to 4 inch bamboo skew (or paddle pick) into each kiwi slice.
4. Place the kiwi slices onto the prepared baking tray.
5. Freeze the kiwi slices for 4 hours or overnight.
6. When the kiwi slices are frozen, melt the chocolate chips either in a microwave or on a double boiler.
7. Dip the kiwi slice into the melted chocolate, using a spatula to smooth off the excess.
8. Place the chocolate kiwi pops back onto the baking tray.
9. Freeze for at least 15 minutes before serving. Keep each pop in a sealed plastic bag.

TIP: Right after kiwi is dipped into the chocolate, sprinkle something special such as toasted nuts or chia seeds.

Allergy Info: These chocolate kiwi pops are free from or can be made without dairy, eggs, corn, legumes (soy), nuts, wheat, and fish.

Steamed Bao

Here's the thing about being on an allergy free diet, especially to corn or to soy. Cannot eat out without a risk of getting a food allergy reaction. When I had cravings, oh boy, you betcha I wasn't in good company. One of many meals I missed when I couldn't eat out was dim sum. I luv the little dishes and the fun of picking out my favorite dishes. Of course, these little dishes definitely come with MSG and so many other ingredients I cannot pronounce. But I really wanted to eat the little dishes without getting Camden's sick. So for my 2012 New Year's resolution, I wanted to master the art of making dim sum.

After searching, scanning, and reading many dim sum recipes in cookbooks and on the internet, I came across a few recipes that looked promising. I highly recommend a cute children's book called Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin. Check out the back of the cover and the back pages where there are drawings of ingredients and little dishes. For cookbooks, I highly recommend Dim Sum: The art of Chinese Tea Lunch by Ellen Leong Blonder. The ingredients are easy to find in Asian markets, and her instructions are easy to follow.

Of course, making the dim sum to eat at once was impossible. Too many techniques. Too many little dishes. I did it a few times, and it took a lot of planning. Did I master the art of making dim sum? Not even close. These little dishes are really difficult to master. BUT I did accomplish a few things like steaming bao buns. Since I already master the art of making bread (from my 2011 New Year's resolution), making bao buns is like boiling water. Yup, it's that easy.

Steamed bao is one of Brek's favorite homemade breads. When my mom came to live with us last year, I made steamed bao for dinner one night. Between steamed bao and chicken lunch meat, she was very impressed. She kept asking me how did I managed to pull these off. Well, I told her, I can pretty much bake and cook anything. It's the matter of researching the recipes and techniques, and taking the time to test the recipes.

Are you wonder what is the difference between the pizza dough and the bao dough? Baking powder and among other things. The ingredients are what make the difference texture in the steamed bao. So let's start measuring, mixing, and kneading the dough.

Steamed Bao
adapted from Dim Sum: The art of Chinese Tea Lunch by Ellen Leong Blonder
makes 15 buns (2 to 2.5 oz each)

Starter ingredients:
1 cup (8 oz) warm water (105° to 115°F)
2 teaspoons yeast (Red Star)
1/2 cup (2 oz) granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) all-purpose flour

Dough ingredients:
2 cups (8 oz) all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon (0.5 oz) coconut oil
1 Tablespoon (0.5 oz) rice vinegar

1. To make a starter, mix all of the starter ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside until the mixture is foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on a room temperature.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Whisk the oil and vinegar into the starter mixture.
4. Add the flour mixture to the starter mixture.
5. Knead the dough on the non-stick mat until it comes together, about 3-4 minutes. (See my pizza dough recipe's step 5 for the kneading technique.)
6. Place the dough back into a bowl.
7. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rises in a warm and draft-free place until double in size, about an hour. NOTE: I usually make the dough in the morning, then I'd let the dough sit at the room temperature until I am ready to make dinner. 
8. In the meantime, cut out 15 one-inch square of parchment papers and set aside.
9. When the dough is ready, punch it down and knead it for a minute.
10. Divide the dough into 15 equal parts or using the kitchen scale, measure the dough to 2 to 2.5 ounce each.
11. Shape each dough into a ball by continuously fold the side of the dough to the middle. Keep doing this step until the dough feels smooth on top.
12. To steam the bao dough without a filling, place it on a parchment paper and place it in the steamer. NOTE: The steamed bao will double in size. Make sure the dough are about an inch apart when placing them in a steamer. 
13. To steam the bao dough with a filling, flatting the dough with your finger, add the filling, then pinch the edges to seal. Place the dough seam side down on a parchment paper and place it in the steamer.
14. Steam the dough for 12 minutes. NOTE: Start the clock when the steam is visible.  
15. Serve the bao warm. Keep them in the steamer to keep warm. Store the leftover bao in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat them using a steamer.

TIPS: You can pretty much use any steamer to steam the bao. I use the stacked steamer. For presentation, I place them in the bamboo steamer before serving. The stacked steamer can be purchased at the Asian grocery stores, and it is really inexpensive. I bought a medium-size steamer for about $30.

The possibilities to having different steamed bao versions are endless. Split the unfilled bao in half, then add any favorite filling, from deli meat to pulled pork, just like you would use with regular sandwich bread.

Allergy Info: The steamed bao is free from or can be made without dairy, eggs, corn, legumes (soy), nuts, and fish. Make the filling according to your allergy free diet.

Coffee Cake (dairy free)

I discovered Joanne Chang while I was watching Unique Sweet and other cooking shows. She was pretty fun to watch in the Sticky Buns Throwdown with Bobby Flay. When I realized she wrote a cookbook, I searched for it at my local library. Flour is the name of her cookbook and also the name of her pastry shop. If I ever visit Boston, I will have to check out her café. 

After scanning through her cookbook, I bookmarked so many recipes and couldn't hardly wait to test them all. Most of her recipes called for dairy like butter and cream cheese, so I did make changes to her recipes to make them dairy free. 

I tested her coffee cake recipe because I was looking for something to bake for Brek's school breakfast. Her recipe called for cream cheese which I hate. I mean, I love to eat it. If cream cheese is called for in a recipe, it is very difficult to find a substitute as I don't use soy cream cheese. I decided to test it out with mashed ripe banana. Surprisingly, it turned out very moist and reminded me of a banana bread with crunchy streusel. Brek loves it, and I do too. It's been my go-to breakfast to bake for Brek ever since.

This is also a great way to use that ripen banana that I don't know what to do with it. When I have too many ripen bananas, I peel and freeze them for future baking. I usually add nuts to my recipes when I can. For the crunch. My favorite nuts are almonds and cashews. If you cannot have nuts in your diet, omit it in the streusel. I haven't tested this recipe without nuts or with other substitutes, but I think replacing the nuts with rolled oats or seeds is a good alternative.

I wrote this recipe using regular muffin pan. I've successfully baked this coffee cake using the half round loaf pan, a 8-inch square pan, and a bundt cake pan. The reason I've bake this recipe in many baking pans is because my kids eat with the eyes. Same recipe but different impressions. Feel free to explore the baking pan options. You may need to bake the cake a little longer so check the cake doneness using a toothpick technique after 15 minutes of baking. If I bake this coffee cake for Brek's breakfast, I usually bake it in a muffin pan for the easy grab-n-go.

Coffee Cake

adapted from Flour's New Old Fashioned Coffee Cake

makes 6 regular-muffin size

Batter

1 1/4 cups (5 oz) all-purpose flour

1/3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

5 oz granulated sugar

1/4 cup (2 oz) coconut or safflower oil

1 large egg

1 ripe medium banana (3 oz), peeled and mashed 

Streusel

1 1/2 Tablespoons (1.5 oz) light brown sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons (1.5 oz) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (1.5 oz) preferred nuts, toasted and chopped

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 1/2 (0.4 oz) all-purpose flour

1/2 Tablespoon (1 oz) coconut oil, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F degree. Line a 6-cup regular muffin pan with cupcake liners or spray the pan with vegetable oil. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking power, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg, sugar, and oil until creamy.
4. Whisk the flour mixture to the egg mixture until just combine.
5. Fold in the mashed banana.
6. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, making sure the batter is divided evenly.
7. To make the streusel, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
8. Divide the streusel evenly on top of the batter.
9. Using your finger, press the streusel right into the center of batter. Then spread the streusel to cover the hole.
10. Bake in a preheated oven until the toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.
11. Let cool before serving. Keep them in an airtight container at a room temperature for up to 3 days.  
     
Allergy Info: This coffee cake is free from or can be made without dairy, corn, legumes (soy), and fish. For nut free, substitute nuts with rolled oats or seeds and coconut oil with safflower oil.