ingredients

for the chiffon cake (makes three 9" round thin layers or three 6" thick layers):

• 4 eggs, separated

• (optional) 1 extra egg white

• 100g granulated sugar

• 80g milk

• 50g oil (I used vegetable oil)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 84g all-purpose flour (alternatively, use 100g cake flour and remove cornstarch)

• 15g cornstarch

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cocoa powder

for the brownie ganache cake:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup egg whites

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate, either chips or chopped finely

for the espresso mascarpone whipped frosting:

• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 16oz mascarpone cheese

• 1 tsp instant espresso powder

for assembly:

• 2 shots of freshly made espresso

steps

for the chiffon cake:

1. Separate the egg whites and yolks into two large mixing bowls (put the egg whites into your stand mixer bowl if using one which I'd highly recommend). Set the yolks aside.

2. Whisk or beat the egg whites until frothy. Sprinkle in the sugar 1 spoonful at a time as you continue to whisk the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks.

3. Preheat the oven to 350F.

4. In the bowl with the egg yolks, add milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined. In a separate small mixing bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Whisk until evenly mixed and then add this into the egg yolks mixture. Fold until no flour clumps remain and mixture is smooth.

5. Add 1/3 of the egg yolk-flour mixture into the egg whites mixture. Fold gently until mostly mixed. Add the rest of the egg yolk mixture in and repeat until no streaks remain.

6. Prepare your cake tins by cutting parchment paper rounds to fit the bottoms. Do not oil the tins. 

7. Divide and pour the cake batter evenly into the tins. For the chocolate chiffon layer, I added cocoa powder into the last 1/3 of the batter before pouring it into my final cake tin. You may use a spatula to spread it out if making thinner layers like I did. Tap the tins on the counter 2-3 times to get larger air bubbles out.

8. Bake until the tops are lightly golden brown - for ~20-25 minutes if making thinner cakes, or ~25-27 minutes if making thicker cakes.

9. Turn pans upside down on wire rack to cool without deflating. Once cooled, use a spatula or knife to run around the edge and turn out to release the cakes. If not assembling same day, gently wrap in 2 layers of plastic wrap and place in fridge until assembly.

for the brownie ganache cake (similar to the cake pop method):

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Whisk well.

3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well.

4. Add the flour ingredients into the egg white mixture. Use a spatula to fold until just combined. Do not overmix.

5. Pour into a greased cake tin. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Don't worry if this cake seems too dry or dense.

6. Let it cool.

7. In a heatproof bowl, warm the milk in a microwave ~30-60s. In a large mixing bowl, add the chocolate. Pour the warm milk over the chocolate until the chocolate is all covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 5 minutes.

8. Whisk until the chocolate and milk are completely combined and no chunks of chocolate remain. Crumble the cooled brownie cake into this mixture. Combine until a dense, moist cake mixture is formed.

9. Line two cake tins with plastic wrap. Place one piece of round parchment paper on the bottom of each. Divide the cake mixture into the two tins and press to mold and form the rounded layer. Once formed, wrap the plastic wrap over and around the cake. Place the layers into the fridge to set until ready for assembly.

for the whipped frosting:

1. On the day of assembly, prepare the frosting.

2. To a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add mascarpone cheese and heavy whipping cream. Whisk until soft peaks. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder, and continue to whisk to stiff peaks.

for assembly:

1. I alternated by adding brownie ganache cake, chiffon cake, chocolate chiffon cake, brownie ganache cake, chiffon cake, with frosting in between each layer. I brushed each chiffon cake layer with freshly made espresso.

2. After smoothing a base layer of mascarpone whipped frosting on the assembled cake, I added the remaining frosting to a piping bag with a Wilson 2D piping tip. I then added flowers all around and painted a few decorations with the remaining fresh espresso.

(this is a fantastic way to get familiar and comfortable with bread dough before trying sourdough-- you can practice building gluten, shaping, and baking using methods similar to sourdough but with the forgiveness of yeast)

ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp active dry yeast

• 1 cup warm water (100-110F)

• 1-1/4 cup room temperature water (decrease to 1 cup if you'd like a drier dough that is easier to shape)

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

steps

1. In a small bowl, add the warm water and active dry yeast. Whisk until dispersed. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until frothy.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and salt. Stir until combined.

3. Once yeast mixture is frothy, add it to the large mixing bowl with the flour. Add the additional 1-1/4 cup of room temperature water. Stir until it all comes together into a loose wet dough without any dry flour clumps.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.

5. Uncover and do a few sets of stretch and folds (either use a wet hand or you can use a spatula like what Nick did) to help build some additional gluten. You should see the dough come together into more of a ball form. Recover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2-4 hours or until doubled.

6. Once doubled, prepare a medium or large mixing bowl with parchment paper.

7. Lightly flour a clean surface with either rice flour or all-purpose flour (rice flour will help a lot more if your dough is very wet/sticky). Gently stretch the dough out into a rectangular shape. Fold in the sides into thirds like a letter. Then, tightly roll from bottom to top to create an oval shape. To form into a round, use a quarter turning motion and pull on the dough towards you while using surface tension to tuck the sides of the dough under. Keep doing this until a round is formed.

8. Use a bench scraper to scoop and lift the shaped dough into the bowl with parchment paper. Cover while preheating.

9. Preheat the oven to 450F with the dutch oven inside (no lid).

10. Once preheated, score the dough in the bowl with a sharp knife ~1/4" deep. Lift using the parchment paper to carefully drop it into the hot dutch oven. Optionally add a handful of ice cubes under the parchment paper to create more steam. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes.

11. Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes.

12. Let cool to room temperature before slicing. Enjoy!

ingredients

• 5-6 apples, diced into small cubes

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1/4 cup apple juice

• 4 tbsp brown sugar + 1 tbsp for topping

• 3 tbsp white sugar (I've successfully used 1:1 sugar substitutes like monkfruit sugar before too)

• 1 cup water

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

steps

1. Combine the apples, lemon juice, apple juice, brown sugar, white sugar, water, and cinnamon in a small pot. Simmer on medium-low heat.

2. Mix while simmering until liquid thickens and coats the back of a spoon (~25-30 minutes). Apple pieces should be completely cooked and fall apart easily when mashing with a wooden spoon.

3. Either let the mixture cool before blending into an applesauce, or you can transfer to a large mixing bowl like I did and mash into applesauce with a wooden spoon and let it cool.

4. Preheat oven to 350F.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk until well combined.

6. Add the dry ingredients into the applesauce mixture. Fold together with a spatula until just combined and no dry flour clumps remain.

7. Prepare a loaf pan with either oil or an oil spray.

8. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Top with a sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon if desired.

9. Bake for 30 minutes.

10. Let cool ~20 minutes before turning out and slicing. Enjoy!

ingredients

for the BBQ sauce:

• 1 cup ketchup

• 1/2 cup apple juice

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup white vinegar

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 tbsp paprika

• 1/2 tbsp dark chili powder

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp black pepper

for the ribs:

• 1 rack baby back ribs

• seasoning salt or just kosher salt

steps

for the sauce:

1. Combine ingredients in a small pot, simmer on medium-low heat. 

2. Mix while simmering until sauce is even. Continue to simmer if you want it thicker (otherwise it will thicken when you broil it on the ribs).

3. Cool to room temp before transferring to a container. Store in fridge.

for the ribs:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Season top and bottom of a rack of baby back ribs (we use a seasoning salt or at a minimum, use salt).

3. Wrap in foil to create a neat, tight packet. Place on baking tray.

4. Bake for 75 minutes. Foil will expand.

5. Cut foil on one end to release steam. Pour out excess juices into a grease bucket. Unwrap foil.

6. Baste underside with BBQ sauce. Broil for 5 minutes.

7. Flip and baste top side with BBQ sauce. Broil for 5 minutes.

8. Cut and enjoy! We love having it with rice and pickles.

ingredients

• 100g active sourdough starter, fed

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 450g water

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

steps

1. (8:00pm) The night before, feed your sourdough starter and leave it on the countertop overnight.

2. (7:15am) In a large mixing bowl, add your starter, water, and salt. Mix until the starter is completely dispersed into the water. Add the flour and mix until shaggy. Then use your hands to stretch and fold the dough a few times until flour and water are well mixed and there aren't any dry spots of flour clumps. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside to rest for 10-15 minutes.

3. (7:30am) Uncover the bowl and using a wet hand, grab one side of the dough and gently pull it (let it stretch without tearing), then fold it across the dough, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

4. (8:00am, 8:30am, 9:00am, 9:30am, 10:00am) Repeat step 3 every 30 minutes until 6 rounds of stretch and folds have been performed between these two steps. After the last round, cover and let it rise for 2 hours.

5. (12:00pm) Prepare a bowl with parchment paper. Use a bit of rice flour if you have it and flour your surface (if you don't have rice flour, it's okay - it might be a little more wet and sticky causing it to be more difficult to shape but you can also use a spray bottle to mist your surface to help). Turn out the dough onto the surface and shape using your favorite method. Then, place the dough seam-side down into the bowl with parchment paper. Cover and let rise for another 2 hours. My favorite method for shaping is the following:

   1.  Stretch the dough into a rough rectangle. 

   2. Fold the bottom up 1/3 of the way, then fold the left and right sides in to meet in the middle. 

   3. At the top, use a "stitching" motion to stitch the two sides in towards the center all the way down to the bottom. Once you reach the bottom, fold and roll the dough starting from the bottom to the top.

   4. Use surface tension and a bench scraper to shape the dough into a circle.

6. (2:00pm) Preheat the oven with the dutch oven inside to 500F (I do this without the lid to make it easy). Move your mixing bowl with the dough into the freezer (fridge is ok if you don't have room in the freezer) during preheating ~20-30 minutes. 

7. (2:20pm) Once the oven is preheated, turn the oven temperature down to 450F. Get the dough from the freezer. Score the loaf across ~1/4" deep. Carefully, grabbing the parchment paper, lift the dough and place it into the hot dutch oven. Cover with the lid. Bake covered for 5 minutes.

8. (2:25pm) Optional: remove lid and carefully score the same area again to help get a more prominent "ear". Add a handful of ice cubes outside of the parchment paper to create extra steam. Re-cover and bake covered for 20 more minutes.

9. (2:45pm) Remove the cover, turn the oven temperature down to 425F. Bake uncovered for another 20-25 minutes.

10. (3:05pm) Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

ingredients

for the cake (makes three 9" round thin layers or three 6" thick layers - I doubled this to make six 9" round thin layers for my cake):

• 4 eggs, separated

• (optional) 1 extra egg white

• 100g granulated sugar

• 80g milk

• 50g oil (I used vegetable oil)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 84g all-purpose flour (alternatively, use 100g cake flour and remove cornstarch)

• 15g cornstarch

• 1 tsp baking powder

for the compote:

• ~2-3 cups frozen berries

• 50g water

• 50g granulated sugar

• (optional) 1 tsp lemon juice

for the whipped frosting:

• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• optional for stabilization:

  • 1 tsp unflavored gelatin

  • 1-1/2 tbsp water

for the swiss meringue buttercream:

• 6 egg whites (180g liquid egg whites)

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1-1/2 cups softened unsalted butter

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

steps

for the compote:

1. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, add the berries, water, sugar, and optional lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and let it simmer ~10-15 minutes until the liquid has mostly evaporated and mixture coats a spoon (it will further thicken once cooled too). 

2. Pour into a heatproof bowl and let cool. Set aside.

for the cake:

1. Separate the egg whites and yolks into two large mixing bowls (put the egg whites into your stand mixer bowl if using one which I'd highly recommend). Set the yolks aside.

2. Whisk or beat the egg whites until frothy. Sprinkle in the sugar 1 spoonful at a time as you continue to whisk the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks.

3. Preheat the oven to 350F.

4. In the bowl with the egg yolks, add milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly combined. In a separate small mixing bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Whisk until evenly mixed and then add this into the egg yolks mixture. Fold until no flour clumps remain and mixture is smooth.

5. Add 1/3 of the egg yolk-flour mixture into the egg whites mixture. Fold gently until mostly mixed. Add the rest of the egg yolk mixture in and repeat until no streaks remain.

6. Prepare your cake tins by cutting parchment paper rounds to fit the bottoms. Do not oil the tins. Divide and pour the cake batter evenly into the tins. You may use a spatula to spread it out if making thinner layers like I did. Tap the tins on the counter 2-3 times to get larger air bubbles out.

7. Bake until the tops are lightly golden brown - for ~20-25 minutes if making thinner cakes, or ~25-27 minutes if making thicker cakes.

8. Turn pans upside down on wire rack to cool without deflating. Once cooled, use a spatula or knife to run around the edge and turn out to release the cakes. If not assembling same day, gently wrap in 2 layers of plastic wrap and place in fridge until assembly.

for the whipped frosting:

1. On the day of assembly, prepare the frosting. If making the stabilized version, add the gelatin and water to a small heatproof bowl. Whisk until combined and let sit for 5 minutes.

2. To a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until soft peaks. If not stabilizing, continue to whisk to stiff peaks. I also added a couple tablespoons of my berry compote in during whisking for a light purple/blue color.

3. If stabilizing, the gelatin should've solidified by the time you've reached soft peaks. Microwave the gelatin for 5-10 seconds until liquid again but not hot. Drizzle it into the whipped cream while you continue to whisk into stiff peaks.

for the swiss meringue buttercream:

1. In a small to medium sized heatproof mixing bowl, add the egg whites and sugar. Whisk together.

2. Create a double boiler by bringing a small pot of water to a simmer. Ensure that the water level isn't too high and won't touch your mixing bowl bottom. Place your mixing bowl with the egg whites over the simmering water and continue to whisk for about 4 minutes until the mixture is thin and frothy, sugar has completely dissolved, and mixture is at 160F.

3. Do not cool the mixture - transfer it to your stand mixer bowl (preferably metal since this is hot). Use the whisk attachment to beat until soft or stiff peaks. This may take a while so I don't recommend using a hand mixer.

4. While waiting for soft or stiff peaks, cut the butter into 1 tbsp pieces.

5. The bowl should be cool to touch once you've reached soft to stiff peaks. Switch to a paddle attachment and set to medium speed. Add the softened butter in 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting for each piece to completely mix in before adding the next one. Once butter is all added, add in the vanilla and salt and continue to mix in. The frosting may look split while adding the butter, but just continue to beat the mixture and it will eventually come together.

for assembly:

1. I alternated by adding cake, whipped frosting, a few spoonfuls of compote, then repeat until all cake layers were used. Once fully stacked, I created a light crumb coating using the remaining whipped frosting outside the full cake. I transferred this to the fridge to chill for 1 hour.

2. After chilling, I applied the buttercream to the outside by piping the sides and top, then using an offset spatula and bench scraper to smooth it out. I then added a little bit of berry juice to my remaining buttercream to create a pink color, added this into a piping bag with a Wilson 32 piping tip to create the flowers.

3. I microwaved the remainder of my frozen berries to defrost them completely, strained the liquid with a sieve, and then topped my cake with the berries for an extra punch of acidity.

ingredients

for the dough:

• 100g sourdough starter, fed and active

• 240g water

• 200g apple juice

• 4 cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour)

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 2 tbsp cinnamon

• olive oil

for the apple filling:

• 3-4 apples, diced or grated

• 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (you can make your own mixing a 1:4 ratio of cinnamon to sugar)

• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

for the glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 1/4 cup milk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

steps

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the starter, water, apple juice, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until dispersed.

2. Add in the flour and mix with a spatula until no flour clumps remain. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 10 minutes.

3. Prepare the apple filling. Dice 3-4 apples and put into a container with a cover (I used a deli cup). Add in 1 tbsp cinnamon sugar and the flour. Cover and shake to coat the apple pieces well. Optionally, you can cook this in a medium pan to reduce liquid and thicken into something similar to apple pie filling to make things easier later. Refrigerate.

4. Perform 2-3 sets of fold and turns until the dough stretches a bit more easily without tearing. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. 

5. Perform 1 set of fold and turns every 30 minutes for the next 2 hours (4 sets total). After the last set, cover and let rise for 1-2 hours until doubled or almost double.

6. Prepare a 9x13" baking pan by drizzling some olive oil to coat the pan.

7. Turn the dough out into the baking pan. Drizzle some more olive oil on top of dough.

8. Using your hands (get some olive oil on them to prevent sticking), spread the dough out to roughly stretch it into the shape of the pan.

9. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar and all of the apple filling to coat the top. Roll the dough from one side to the other. It's okay if some of it dough tears - just try to envelop the filling as best as possible. Rotate the dough so its long edge is aligned with the long edge of the pan. You can repeat the roll if you'd like to spread out the filling a bit more. Use your hands to gently press this out to roughly fit the pan again. Cover and either let rise at room temperature for another 2-4 hours until doubled, or place in fridge to let it slowly rise overnight.

10. Preheat oven to 425F.

11. Rub some olive oil onto your fingers. Dimple the focaccia all over. Sprinkle the remaining half of the cinnamon sugar on top. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

12. 5 minutes before baking is done, prepare the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract (optional: add some cinnamon). Immediately when the focaccia comes out of the oven, pour the glaze over the top while it's still hot.

13. Let cool ~20-30 minutes until the glaze has hardened and set before cutting. Enjoy!

ingredients

• 4-5 bananas (as ripe as you can find them)

• 1 egg

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 3 tbsp brown sugar

• 2 tbsp white sugar (I've successfully used 1:1 sugar substitutes like monkfruit sugar before too)

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp cocoa powder

• (optional) chocolate chunks

steps

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, peel and add your bananas and mash them. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until completely combined.

3. In a small mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk well to combine.

4. Pour the dry ingredients into the banana mixture. Using a spatula, fold to mix until no flour clumps remain. Pour half back into the smaller mixing bowl.

5. In the smaller mixing bowl, add the cocoa powder and fold to mix it in. In both bowls, add chocolate chunks and fold.

6. Oil a standard sized loaf pan or use nonstick spray. Use a spoon or cookie scoop to alternate between the two batters when adding into the loaf pan.

7. Bake for 35 minutes or until a wooden skewer (or chopstick) comes out clean - it might have chocolate on it which is fine but you don't want to see any bananas/batter. Let cool before slicing. Enjoy!

(feel free to experiment with different cheeses - just keep in mind you'll want to keep it low moisture so it doesn't weigh down the dough)

ingredients

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast

• 1/4 cup warm water (100-110F)

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 egg

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

• 2 tbsp garlic parmesan seasoning

• olive oil

• 3 cups cheese (shredded or chopped into small cubes, I used cheddar & mozzarella)

for the tangzhong

• 4 tbsp milk

• 2 tbsp water

• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

for the garlic butter topping

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 tsp parsley (fresh minced or dried)

steps

1. In your stand mixer bowl, add the yeast and warm water. Set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.

2. In a small pan on medium-low heat, add the tangzhong ingredients (milk, water, flour). Whisk well and then use a spatula to stir until it thickens into a paste. Transfer to a small heatproof mixing bowl to let it cool.

3. In your stand mixer once the yeast is foamy, add the flour, milk, sugar, salt, and garlic parmesan seasoning. Use the dough hook and set it to a low speed. Once it forms a shaggy dough, add the egg and softened butter in and continue to let it knead until a wet and sticky dough ball is formed. You may need to use a spatula to help scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. In another large mixing bowl, drizzle some olive oil and coat the bowl to prevent sticking. Transfer the dough ball into this bowl and roughly fold it into a round shape. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours until doubled.

5. Prepare your cheese (either shredded or chopped) and mix in a small bowl if using different kinds.

6. Once doubled, prepare a 9x13" baking tray with raised edges by drizzling some olive oil and coating the pan. Lightly flour a clean surface and turn out the dough. Punch the air out and roughly knead into a round ball. You can either divide it into 8 pieces (larger rolls) or into many small pieces ~2" large (smaller bites like what I did). 

7. For each piece of dough, roll it out into a circle ~1/4" thick. Add as much cheese as you feel comfortable into the center of the circle while leaving a border around the edge, similar to dumpling folding. Fold the circle in half and pinch together all around the edges to seal in the cheese. Using a circular rolling motion with your hand, reform it into a smooth ball. Place onto the baking tray side-by-side (leaving a little space is okay). Repeat for each dough piece.

8. Cover the baking tray with plastic wrap or a cover and let rise on the counter for another 1-2 hours until doubled.

9. Preheat the oven to 350F.

10. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. 5 minutes before the bake finishes, prepare the garlic butter - in a small heatproof bowl, melt the butter, add the garlic and parsley, and mix.

11. Let the bread cool for ~5-10 minutes before brushing the garlic butter to the top of the rolls. Enjoy!

(thin, chewy with crispy edges - if you bake them 2-3 minutes longer, they're similar to Tate's thin & crispy cookies)

ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, browned

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1-1/2 cup AP flour

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• Dark choc chips and/or chunks

steps

1. Brown the butter and then pour it into a heatproof bowl to cool down. Add the brown sugar and white sugar in (this can be done while the butter is still hot). Whisk until smooth.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, mochiko flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined.

3. Once the butter is at room temp, add the vanilla extract and eggs. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F.

5. Add the butter mixture into the medium mixing bowl with the flour. Fold in the ingredients with a spatula until no flour clumps remain.

6. Fold the chocolate into the cookie dough. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Scoop the cookie dough into balls ~2 tbsp each and place them with ~2 inches of space around each one onto the tray. Bake for 8-10 minutes. I've found that if you bake them for 10-12 minutes, you'll get crispy cookies similar to Tate's thin & crispy cookies.

8. The cookies will firm up a bit as they cool so give it ~20 minutes before trying to transfer them off the tray. Enjoy!

(note: these use mochiko rice flour to help with a softer & chewier texture. However, since I made these on accident by messing up my baking soda measurement which created more of a puffy cake-y texture, I can't say I really recommend this recipe)

ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, browned

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1-1/2 cup AP flour

• 1/4 cup mochiko sweet rice flour

• 1 tsp baking soda (supposed to be 1/2 tsp in my original recipe)

• Dark choc chunks

steps

1. Brown the butter and then pour it into a heatproof bowl to cool down. Add the brown sugar and white sugar in (this can be done while the butter is still hot). Whisk until smooth.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, mochiko flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined.

3. Once the butter is at room temp, add the vanilla extract and eggs. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F.

5. Add the butter mixture into the medium mixing bowl with the flour. Fold in the ingredients with a spatula until no flour clumps remain.

6. Fold the chocolate into the cookie dough. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Scoop the cookie dough into balls ~2 tbsp each and place them with ~2 inches of space around each one onto the tray. Bake for 8 minutes.

8. The cookies will firm up a bit as they cool so give it ~20 minutes before trying to transfer them off the tray. Enjoy!

(active dry yeast)

ingredients

for the dough:

• 2 tsp active dry yeast

• 1/2 cup warm water

• 1/4 tsp sugar

• 1-1/2 cups apple juice

• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 2 tbsp cinnamon

• 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (you can make your own mixing a 1:4 ratio of cinnamon to sugar)

• olive oil

for the glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 1/4 cup milk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

steps

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together yeast, water, and sugar. Set aside for ~5-10 minutes until foamy.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until well combined.

3. Add activated yeast into the large mixing bowl. Add in apple juice. Stir with spatula until no more flour clumps remain. Dough should be wet and loose. Cover and let rise for 2-3 hours or until doubled.

4. Prepare a 9x13" baking pan by drizzling some olive oil to coat the pan.

5. Turn the dough out into the baking pan. Drizzle some more olive oil on top of dough.

6. Using your hands, spread the dough out to stretch it into the shape of the pan. Fold the two short sides of the dough inwards into thirds like a letter. Roll the dough from top to bottom. The dough should now roughly create an oval dough ball form. Use your hands to gently press this out to fit the pan again.

7. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar to coat the top. Roll the dough from one side to the other. Rotate the dough so its long edge is aligned with the long edge of the pan. Use your hands to gently press this out to roughly fit the pan again. Cover and let rise for another 1-2 hours until doubled.

8. Preheat oven to 400F.

9. Drizzle the top of the dough with some olive oil. Dimple the focaccia all over with your fingers. Sprinkle the remaining half of the cinnamon sugar on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

10. 5 minutes before baking is done, prepare the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract (optional: add some cinnamon). Immediately when the focaccia comes out of the oven, pour the glaze over the top while it's still hot.

11. Let cool ~20-30 minutes until the glaze has hardened and set before cutting. Enjoy!

(2-day process)

ingredients

• 500g all-purpose flour (you can up this to 600g to decrease the hydration so it's easier to handle)

• 90-100g active sourdough starter, fed the night before

• 440g water

• 15g kosher salt

• Olive oil

steps

1. The day before, prep the dough:

   1. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add the active sourdough starter, water, and salt. Stir until well combined and starter is dispersed. 

   2. Add the flour. Mix and knead until a smooth wet dough is created. Cover, let rest for 15-20 minutes.

   3. Using wet hands, perform stretch and folds every 30 minutes for 3-4 hours (minimum 6 sets of stretch and folds). Dough should start to strengthen and become less "wet" by the end of this.

   4. Cover and let rise for 2-3 hours or until doubled on countertop.

   5. Prepare 5-6 containers (I used deli cups) and drizzle a small amount of olive oil to coat the bottoms and sides.

   6. Turn out the dough onto a clean surface. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 5-6 equal pieces. For each piece, fold the edges into the center and use tension to form a round ball. Place each ball into the oiled deli cups.

   7. Refrigerate the deli cups of shaped dough overnight.

2. The day of, make the pizza:

   1. Preheat your pizza oven (I aim to set mine at around 740-780F).

   2. Generously add flour to a clean surface. Turn out one of the deli cups of dough onto the flour and gently press it into the flour. Turn it over and do the same. From the center, gently press outwards to stretch the dough. Continue doing this until you've formed your pizza crust.

   3. Transfer the crust to the pizza peel. Add your toppings.

   4. Cook in the pizza oven until crust shows bubbling, is golden brown, and toppings are cooked (I typically quarter-turn the pizza every 1-2 minutes so each pizza takes about 3-6 minutes to cook).

   5. Cut and enjoy!

I followed Sally's Baking Addiction recipe for handmade puff pastry here and then used the following method for the pesto mozzarella & braiding:

steps

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 

2. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp pesto with about 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella. Stir until thoroughly combined.

3. After rolling out the pastry dough, use a knife or dough scraper to cut an equal number of cuts into the two sides of the pastry dough. Each cut should be about 1/3 of the width of the pastry dough sheet so you end up with 1/3 of uncut space in the middle.

4. Spread the pesto mozzarella into the center of the pastry dough where there are no cuts.

5. Alternating sides, pull each pastry cut strand across to create a zigzag pattern over the pesto mozzarella. Pinch together the open ends and tuck underneath to seal.

6. Apply an egg wash (1 beaten egg) over the pastry.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

ingredients

• 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2/3 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup milk

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp cocoa powder

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• (optional) 1 tsp cardamom

steps

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and oil a loaf pan.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.

3. Create a well in the flour mix and add olive oil, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Whisk into the flour mixture.

4. Add lemon juice and stir until completely combined and there are no lumps.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, pour about half of the batter in. Add cocoa powder, cinnamon, and cardamom. Stir until completely combined and no lumps.

6. Alternating between the two batters (I'd recommend using a 1/4 measuring cup to make this easy), pour into the loaf pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Let cool ~15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

(with timestamps)

ingredients

• 100-150g active sourdough starter, fed the night before

• 350g water

• 480g flour (I used all-purpose but bread flour probably would work better)

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

• 1 tbsp gochujang (increase if you want a stronger flavor since this turned out pretty mild)

steps

1. The night before - feed your starter as usual and leave it on the countertop.

2. 8am - add your starter, water, gochujang, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix well until starter and gochujang paste are well dispersed and combined. Add in flour and mix with spatula until shaggy. Then use your hands to knead. Once a wet sticky dough is formed, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 45-60 minutes.

3. 9am - uncover the bowl and using a wet hand, grab one side of the dough and gently pull it (let it stretch without tearing), then fold it across the dough, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

4. 9:30am, 10am, 10:30am - repeat step 3.

5. 11am - perform one last round of stretch and folds, and cover to let bulk ferment for 2 hours in a warm area.

6. 1pm - dough should've doubled by now. It should have a smooth surface with visible bubbles. If the dough is domed in the bowl it is ready to work with, if flat it may need more time in the bulk ferment. Crumple a piece of parchment paper and line a medium mixing bowl with it. Shape the dough - turn it out onto a lightly floured or nonstick surface. Fold the edges into the middle and alternate sides as if lacing the dough together. Then starting from the top, fold the dough into thirds like a letter, but pull the bottom all the way over and around to tuck it underneath. Tuck in the sides and use tension to pull in a circular motion to form a round ball. Use a bench scraper to lift and place into the mixing bowl with parchment paper seam-side down. Cover and proof for 2 hours.

7. 3pm - preheat the oven with the dutch oven inside to 500F. Move your mixing bowl with the dough into the freezer during preheat. Once the oven is preheated, turn the oven temperature down to 450F. Get the dough from the freezer. Score the loaf ~1/4" deep. Carefully, grabbing the parchment paper, lift the dough and place it into the hot dutch oven with the cover on. Bake for 25 minutes.

8. 3:30pm - Remove the cover, turn the oven temperature down to 425F. Bake for another 20-25 minutes.

9. 3:50pm - Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

ingredients

• 4-5 bananas (as ripe as you can find them)

• 1 egg

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 3 tbsp brown sugar

• 2 tbsp white sugar (I've successfully used 1:1 sugar substitutes like monkfruit sugar before too)

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup water

• (optional) 1/2 cup chocolate chips

• drizzle of olive oil

steps

1. Heat up a nonstick pan on medium heat. Roughly slice your bananas. Drizzle some olive oil into the pan, add the bananas, brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon. Use a spatula to coat the bananas in the sugar and cinnamon. 

2. Let the bananas caramelize and brown 3-4 minutes. Flip and move them around every now and then to prevent sticking. Let cool for ~5 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk well to combine.

5. In a small mixing bowl, add the caramelized bananas and beat one egg in until well combined.

6. Add the banana mixture into the flour mixture in the medium mixing bowl. Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients in. Add 1/2 cup water and mix until well combined. Batter should be thick and pourable almost like a waffle batter - if it's too thick and looking dry, add a little bit of water at a time.

7. Fold in chocolate chips or any other add-ins you'd like.

8. Oil a standard sized loaf pan or use nonstick spray. Pour the batter in.

9. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer (or chopstick) comes out clean - it might have chocolate on it which is fine but you don't want to see any bananas/batter. Let cool before slicing. Enjoy!

ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 4 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 cup milk

• 1/4 cup oil or melted butter (I used olive oil)

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp cardamom

• 2 tsp cinnamon

steps

1. In a medium bowl, add dry ingredients: flour, sugar,baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

2. In another medium bowl, add wet ingredients: milk, oil (or cooled melted butter), egg, vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to fold and combine. Set batter aside and let rest while waiting for pan to heat up.

4. Heat a nonstick pan or griddle over low-medium heat and use a small amount of butter or oil. Pour ¼ cup of batter onto the pan and spread out gently into a round shape.

5. When the underside is golden and bubbles appear on the surface, flip to the other side and cook until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

6. Serve with butter, syrup, or whatever else you'd like. Enjoy!

ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup warm water (100-110F)

• 2 tsp active dry yeast

• pinch of sugar

• 1 tsp liquid sweetener (like honey or agave syrup, can use sugar as well)

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• toppings

• olive oil

steps

1. In a small bowl, add the warm water, sugar, and active dry yeast. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

2. In a separate large mixing bowl, add the flour and salt. Mix with a whisk until well dispersed.

3. Add the yeast mixture into the flour in the large mixing bowl. Mix and knead until a round moist and firm ball of dough is formed. If too sticky, add a small amount of flour in at a time during kneading.

4. Drizzle some olive oil (not much is needed) into the mixing bowl before adding your dough back in. Use your dough to spread the olive oil evenly around the bowl to prevent sticking. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for ~1 hour or until double.

5. Punch the dough down and let rest 10 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 425F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp of sugar or liquid sweetener into the water.

7. Prepare a baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.

8. While waiting for water to boil, divide the dough into 8 pieces. For each piece, roughly knead into a smooth round ball and then form a hole in the center using your finger to create a ring shape. These will puff up so it's okay if you stretch out the hole a bit too large.

9. Gently place 2-3 rings into the boiling water at a time. Boil each side for 1-2 minutes (the longer, the chewier of a bagel it will create). Once done, place them on the baking tray and sprinkle toppings on immediately while hot. Repeat for all rings.

10. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 5-10 minutes before cutting (or enjoy hot like I did with some butter - so good). Enjoy!

(I feel somewhat ashamed to call this pizza so let's just call it a little flatbread snack)

ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

• 1/3 cup warm water (between 100-110F)

• pinch of sugar

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil

• toppings

steps

1. In a small bowl, add the warm water, sugar, and active dry yeast. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

2. In a separate small mixing bowl, add your flour and kosher salt. Whisk until well mixed.

3. Add the yeast mixture into the flour in the small mixing bowl. Mix and knead until a round sticky ball of dough is formed.

4. Drizzle some olive oil (not much is needed) into the mixing bowl before adding your dough back in. Use your dough to spread the olive oil evenly around the bowl to prevent sticking. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for ~1 hour or until double.

5. Prepare your toppings. Tip: hands down, my favorite pizza sauce is just taking a can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, taking the tomatoes out, crushing them with my hands, adding a pinch of kosher salt, and mixing.

6. Preheat your oven to as high as it goes, aiming for between 500F to 525F. You can use a pizza stone if you have one and let it heat up in the oven during this, or if you're lazy like me, we'll blind bake the crust before adding toppings to do our best to prevent soggy bottoms.

7. Once the dough is doubled, lightly dust some flour onto a clean surface. Turn out the dough and without punching out the air, just gently start from the middle and press the dough outwards to stretch it into a round shape. The dough should stretch really easily so be careful and gentle. Turn the dough over every now and then to ensure it's not sticking to your surface.

8. If you're not using a pizza stone: Once stretched out, place onto a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray if you're not using a pizza stone. Blind bake for 3-4 minutes or until pale but starting to lightly brown. Take out the pizza crust, add toppings (be careful since it's hot!), and bake again for another 3-4 minutes or until the outer crust is browned and toppings are bubbling.

9. If you are using a pizza stone: Once stretched out, add the toppings and carefully use a pizza peel to transfer it onto the pizza stone. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until the outer crust is browned and toppings are bubbling.

10. Wait a couple minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

(very time intensive)

I followed the well-known recipe from Claire Saffitz (video, written recipe) but took a few shortcuts since I'm impatient and didn't want to wait for a multi-day process 😅 

I froze my dough and butter for about 15-20 minutes instead of using the refrigerator to chill each time she mentioned it. As noted in my reel, I also accidentally doubled the butter in the dough which I wouldn't recommend (still turned out good though!).

I probably wouldn't recommend trying to rush the process of the croissants since clearly mine didn't turn out perfect, but if you really want croissants in one day and you have the time and "good enough" is okay for you, you can definitely end up with some buttery, flaky treats within a day.

🥴  "it's not bad actually"

ingredients

• 2 unsalted rice cakes

• 1 small container of vanilla greek yogurt

• 1 scoop protein powder (vanilla or chocolate)

• cocoa powder for finishing

• 1 cup of coffee

steps

1. In a flat bowl larger than a rice cake, pour your coffee.

2. Mix the protein powder into the greek yogurt.

3. Dip each rice cake on both sides into the coffee for ~3 seconds until soaked through but not falling apart.

4. On a plate, assemble - first place a rice cake, then spread some greek yogurt on. Repeat again for a second layer.

5. On the final layer of greek yogurt, use a sieve (or a spoon if you're like me) to sprinkle some cocoa powder on top to finish. Enjoy! (?)

(2 day process)

ingredients

• 100g active and fed sourdough starter

• 10g kosher salt

• 440g water

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 heaping tbsp pesto

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• seasonings

steps

1. Add starter, salt, water, and pesto into a large mixing bowl. Mix well until starter is completely dispersed.

2. Add flour. Mix until flour is completely combined.

3. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes. Perform one round of folds (turn bowl 90deg and "fold" the dough over itself - repeat 4x). Cover and let rest another hour.

4. Perform a second round of folds. Cover and let rest another hour. Repeat a third time before covering and letting it rise for 4-6 hours until double.

5. Drizzle about 2 tbsp olive oil in a 9x13" baking pan with raised edges. Once the dough is doubled, turn it out into the baking pan.

6. Drizzle another ~1 tbsp olive oil on top of the dough. Using your hands, gently press and spread it out as best you can to fill the pan - don't worry too much if the corners are empty since the dough will relax over time and fill the pan.

7. Cover and refrigerate - let it rise overnight.

8. First thing in the morning, preheat your oven to 425F.

9. Take out the dough and using your hands, press and dimple the focaccia gently. Sprinkle any additional seasoning or toppings you'd like (I like adding smoked paprika and pizza seasonings and salt). Bake for 25-35 minutes or until top and bottom are golden brown and crispy.

10. Let cool 20 minutes before slicing (otherwise the dough will compress). Enjoy!

(the following is adjusted from what I tested with corrections I think will help)

ingredients

for the butter mochi

• 8 oz mochiko sweet rice flour

• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1-1/2 cup milk, warmed

• 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract 

for the streusel topping

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled

• 1 tsp cinnamon

steps

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, add mochiko, baking powder, kosher salt, sugar. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

3. In a heatproof bowl, add milk and coconut oil. Microwave for 30s until warm but not hot.

4. Pour the milk and coconut oil into a small mixing bowl, whisk together until frothy. Let it cool a little bit so it doesn't cook the egg. Add in vanilla extract and egg - whisk well. 

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix well until combined.

6. Pour the batter into a 9x9 (or close to that size) pan with walls. Bake for 30 minutes.

7. While baking, make the streusel. Add the flour, sugars, and cinnamon into a small mixing bowl. Whisk well.

8. Melt the coconut oil in a small heatproof bowl (~30s in microwave). Pour it into the small mixing bowl and mix until combined.

9. Add the streusel topping to the butter mochi. Bake for another 15 minutes until streusel is browned.

10. Let cool before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

(small batch, eggless, the recipe honestly probably still needs to be developed more)

ingredients

for the gochujang paste

• 1 tbsp butter, softened

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp gochujang, heaping

for the cookie dough

• 2 tbsp butter, melted

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp oil (this helps with the eggless part)

• 8 tbsp all-purpose flour

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 2 tsp cinnamon

steps

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Prepare the gochujang paste - in a small bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, and gochujang until well combined. Set aside.

3. Work on the cookie dough - In a heatproof bowl, melt the butter and add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and oil. Mix until combined.

4. In a small mixing bowl, add the flour and baking soda. Whisk until combined.

5. Add the butter-sugar mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until combined.

6. Put 3/4 of the cookie dough into a separate mixing bowl. Add the gochujang paste into the bowl with the 3/4 cookie dough. Mix until well combined.

7. Roll the gochujang cookie dough into ~1" balls. Flatten slightly into discs, about 1/4" thick. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

8. Then, using the 1/4 plain cookie dough, form heart shapes either as best as possible with your hands or use a tiny heart cookie cutter (the smarter method, unlike what I did lol).

9. Place the hearts in the center of each gochujang cookie dough disc. Gently press each heart into the cookie dough disc - don't worry, they'll melt a bit into the cookie during baking.

10. Bake for 11-13 minutes. They'll be a bit soft when they first come out but they crisp up and harden as they cool. 

11. Let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

(try at your own risk because if you watch my reel, you'll know I kind of winged it)

ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter, melted

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp oil (this helps with the eggless part)

• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour

• 1/8 tsp baking soda

• 2 tbsp chocolate chips (or more...put as much as what makes sense to you)

steps

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a heatproof bowl, melt the butter and add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and oil. Mix until combined.

3. In a small mixing bowl, add the flour and baking soda. Whisk until combined.

4. Add the butter-sugar mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Roll into ~1" balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake for 11-13 minutes. They'll be a bit soft when they first come out but they crisp up and harden as they cool. 

7. Let cool (or not if you're like me) and enjoy!

ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, some additional for optional topping

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 2-1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold (frozen even better)

• 1/3 cup milk

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2-3 large lemons for zest and lemon juice (or 2 tbsp lemon juice)

steps

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

2. Grate butter into large mixing bowl. Using hands or pastry cutter, pinch and combine until crumbly with no large chunks.

3. In a small bowl, mix milk, egg, vanilla extract, lemon zest and juice.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix until coming together into a shaggy dough. Pour onto a clean surface and start folding to "laminate" the dough and create those flaky layers. Continue until the dough comes together and isn't falling apart too much. Press into ~8" round circle.

5. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut into 8 even triangles.

6. Place triangles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate while preheating oven.

7. Preheat oven to 400F.

8. Bake the scones for 18-23 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

please help me figure out what went wrong

ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 4 large eggs

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a brownie pan (or cake pan in my case) with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and frothy. 

3. Mix in the cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.

4. In a heat-safe bowl, add butter and chocolate chips. Microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth (~60s for me).

5. Pour melted chocolate into the large mixing bowl and mix to combine. The consistency is thick and similar to brownie batter.

6. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

(to make this easier just buy wonton wrappers or just turn it into wonton meatball soup lol)

ingredients

for the wrapper

• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup warm water (I mix 1/2 cup boiling water with 1/2 cup room temp water)

for the filling

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 1/2 yellow onion, finely minced (or a bunch of scallion is typically used)

• 2 inch piece of ginger, finely minced

• 5-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced

• (optional) a bunch of cilantro, finely minced

• 1-1/2 tsp white pepper

• 1-1/2 tsp chinese five-spice

• 1-1/2 tbsp sesame oil

• 1-1/2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1-1/2 tsp kosher salt

for the soup

• 2 tbsp chicken bouillon

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• (optional) cilantro

steps

1. For the wrapper, in a medium mixing bowl, combine flour and water. Mix until shaggy, then knead into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes while you make the filling.

2. For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix well until completely combined - I like putting on gloves and mixing it with my hands. Set aside.

3. The wrapper dough should be easier to handle and softer now - knead for 3-4 minutes and form a smooth round ball. Cut into 4 pieces. For each piece, roughly roll into a rectangle about 1/4" thick.

4. Roll each piece through a pasta roller machine - start at the 1 setting and roll 2 times through. Then increase the setting as you would rolling out pasta until you pass it through the 6-7 setting.

5. Cut the wrapper into ~4" rectangular pieces. It doesn't need to be exact.

6. Get a small container of water to dip your finger into while folding and sealing the wontons. 

7. Apply water to the border of one wrapper. Then, using a small spoon, I use the back of the spoon to scoop and smear some of the turkey filling into the center of the wrapper - make sure it doesn't touch the border of the wrapper or else it'll prevent the wrapper from sealing.

8. Use one of the methods outlined here to fold the wonton wrapper. It doesn't need to look pretty - just make sure the filling is completely sealed in! Place the completed wontons on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

9. Once completed, boil a pot of water. Add in chicken bouillon, soy sauce, salt, sesame oil, and cilantro. Mix and let simmer for 2 minutes.

10. You can scoop and add in any leftover wonton filling to creat meatballs. Otherwise, add in the wontons into the boiling soup. Let cook for 5 minutes. Make sure to stir after first adding to prevent any sticking to the bottom of the pot after dropping them in.

11. Feel free to add chili oil or soy sauce as you'd like when serving. Serve hot and enjoy!

(easy)

ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tbsp baking powder

• 1-1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 egg (separated)

• 1/4 cup oil (I used vegetable)

• 1 cup milk

• (optional) 1 tsp vanilla extract

steps

1. Preheat your waffle iron. 

2. In a medium mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, sat, and cinnamon. Whisk well until combined.

3. In two bowls, separate the egg yolk from the egg white. Beat the egg white until stiff peaks (I used a milk frother without issue if you don't have a hand mixer).

4. In the bowl with the egg yolk, add oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.

5. Add the egg yolk mixture into the medium mixing bowl with the flour. Mix well until combined.

6. Gently fold in the egg white into the flour yolk mixture until combined.

7. Pour the batter into your hot waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions.

8. Serve with your favorite toppings or by itself. Enjoy!

(easy)

ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 1-1/2 cups warm milk

• 1 egg

• 2 tbsp melted butter

steps

1. In a heatproof bowl, microwave milk for 30-60s until warm but not boiling.

2. Add active dry yeast to warm milk. Mix and let it sit for 5 minutes or until frothy.

3. In a large mixing bowl or using the dough hook attachment in a stand mixer, add flour and salt. Mix so that flour and salt are combined.

4. Add the yeast and milk mixture to the bowl. Mix and knead until shaggy.

5. Once shaggy, crack an egg into the dough. Continue to mix and knead until a soft dough forms.

6. Knead the dough into a round ball. Drizzle some olive oil into the mixing bowl to prevent sticking.

7. Place dough ball into the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled.

8. Deflate the dough gently. Knead for 2-3 minutes and form a smooth dough ball.

9. Pinch off pieces of dough ~2oz each and form into small balls. Place rolls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

10. Cover rolls with a kitchen towel and let rise for another 30 minutes.

11. Preheat oven to 375 and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

12. Brush hot rolls with melted butter immediately after removing from oven. Enjoy!

(easy)

I adopted Little Spice Jar's recipe here for lemon olive oil pound cake into muffins and added blueberries - when baking, I'd recommend lowering the oven temp to 325F and baking for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

(easy)

This is using the same steps as what I typically follow to make Chinese scallion pancakes but swapped since I didn't have any scallions.

ingredients

• fresh basil, the more the better

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• black pepper

• olive oil

• kosher salt

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 30mL warm water

• (optional) shredded cheese, garlic

steps

1. In a food processor, combine basil, lemon juice, black pepper, olive oil, salt, and any other seasonings (like garlic). It only needs to be roughly processed to create a paste.

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and water. Knead into a ball. Add a little more flour or water if too dry or too wet. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

3. On a lightly floured surface, turn out dough and press lightly into flour on both sides to prevent sticking. Roll out with a rolling pin as thin as possible without tearing.

4. Spread basil paste onto dough leaving 1" along the edges. Wet the border with some water to help with sealing.

5. Roll similar to when making a cinnamon roll - pinch ends and seam to seal.

6. Roll inwards to create a spiral. Tuck the end under and using a rolling pin, roll flat until ~1/8 inch thick. It's okay if some of the paste mixture comes out - just spread it back on top if you'd like.

7. Heat a large pan to medium heat. Drizzle some olive oil and transfer the pancake onto the pan.

8. Cook each side for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown with some brown spots. If adding cheese, add it after turning over to cook the second side.

9. Let cool slightly about 2 minutes. I like using my hands to tear it apart to enjoy the flakiness texture. Enjoy!

I very loosely followed this recipe from Joy The Baker - while it didn't turn out great (definitely due to my own user error), you should give it a try and let me know how it goes!

This isn't meant to be "the perfect sourdough focaccia" - it's "good enough" for when you're short on time and just want some sourdough focaccia asap.

ingredients

• 100g sourdough starter or discard (I just feed my starter 1:1 without discarding, then pour 100g into a deli container to keep on the counter for use)

• 500g all-purpose flour

• 10g kosher salt

• 350g water

• seasonings

• olive oil

steps

1. After feeding your sourdough starter, let it sit on the counter for 1-2 hours.

2. In a large mixing bowl or using a stand mixer, add flour and salt. Mix well, then add water until all is combined and there are no flour clumps.

3. Add in the sourdough starter and mix until fully combined. It should be a wet sticky dough.

4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 15-30 minutes.

5. Lightly drizzle a rimmed baking tray (I used a 9"x13" brownie pan) with some olive oil.

6. Scooping out the dough onto a clean surface, give it one or two stretch and folds and shape into a round ball similar to the beginning steps of shaping a sourdough loaf after bulk fermentation.

7. Place the dough into the oiled baking tray and rub a small amount of olive oil onto the top of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 3-4 hours. It'll relax and spread out a bit during this time too.

8. Preheat the oven to 425F.

9. Gently dimple the dough by pressing your fingers into the dough to form the focaccia. Push and stretch it out to fill the baking tray as much as possible.

10. Top with seasonings of choice and some flaky salt. Drizzle with some more olive oil.

11. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before cutting and serving. Enjoy!

(no sieve, try at your own risk since mine weren't great)

For this, I used a slightly modified recipe by Preppy Kitchen here and swapped out the buttercream filling for chocolate ganache!

ingredients

for the cookie

• 100g egg whites (3 large eggs)

• 140g almond flour

• 90g granulated sugar

• 130g powdered sugar

• 7g dark cocoa powder

• 1 tsp vanilla

for the ganache filling

note: same ingredients as my 2 ingredient chocolate truffles!

• 150g dark chocolate (chips or bar chopped finely)

• 150mL heavy cream

steps

for the cookie

1. In a large mixing bowl, weigh out the almond flour and powdered sugar. Whisk until all clumps are removed.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar and dark cocoa powder. Whisk until all clumps are removed.

3. In the stand mixer bowl, add your egg whites and use the whisk attachment. Whisk until foamy.

4. Add in vanilla. SLOWLY add in the the granulated sugar/cocoa powder mixture while continuing to whisk the egg whites. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

5. Using a spatula, start by folding in 1/3 of the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture. Once combined, add in the next 1/3 and fold in. Continue until all flour is completely mixed in. Mixture should be of a sticky, stiff, airy consistency.

6. Spoon into a piping bag with a medium round tip.

7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe one inch dollops onto the sheet. I'd recommend watching Preppy Kitchen's video on how to pipe macaron shells.

8. Tap on counter several times to release air bubbles. Allow to sit for about 40 minutes before placing in oven. 

9. Bake at 300F for 12-16 minutes, rotate tray halfway. Cool completely before removing from baking tray.

for the ganache filling

1. In a heatproof bowl, add your heavy cream. Microwave in 30s intervals until hot but not boiling.

2. Add your chocolate into the same bowl, ensuring all chocolate is covered by the cream. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Remove plastic wrap and whisk the mixture until smooth. Let chill to room temperature or until it's thickened before using.

for assembly

1. Pipe the filling onto the back of half the shells. Form a sandwich and repeat. 

2. Preppy Kitchen recommends that macarons should be placed in fridge for 1-3 days for best results. This allows the filling to soften the shells inside.

(single serving, easy)

ingredients

• 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1/8 cup warm water

• 3/8 cup flour

• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

steps

1. Activate the yeast - combine yeast, sugar, and water. Stir and let sit for 10 min. 

2. In a small mixing bowl, add flour and salt and mix. Add yeast mixture in. 

3. Mix until combined to form dough. Knead until smooth ball is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour. 

4. Shape the dough into a bagel form using whichever method you prefer. Cover with kitchen towel and let rest. 

5. Preheat oven to 475F. 

6. Boil a small pot of water. Once boiling, place shaped dough into and boil 1-2 minutes on each side (longer = chewier). 

7. Add seasonings/toppings if desired immediately after removing from boiling water. 

8. Place on baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for ~17 minutes or until golden brown. 

9. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

I loosely followed the NYT chocolate babka recipe here and used the instructions here on how to form the winston knot.

You can view the recipe I followed by Teak and Thyme here!

(can be used in pizza oven or regular home oven)

ingredients

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast

• 500g warm water

• 1 tsp sugar

• 5c flour

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

• Olive oil

steps

1. Stir active dry yeast into warm water with sugar. Let sit 10 min until frothy. 

2. Combine flour, salt and yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl. Knead until it forms a smooth dough ball or use a stand mixer on level 1. 

3. Turn out the dough and form into a round ball. Drizzle olive oil into a large mixing bowl and place dough in. Cover with plastic wrap. 

4. Let rise for 2-3 hours until double. 

5. Punch dough down, turn onto a lightly floured surface, portion dough into 5 balls ~250g each. 

6. Form and shape each dough portion into a round smooth ball using tension. 

7. Place balls on a large flat tray. Put a small amount of olive oil on top of each dough ball to prevent sticking. Cover sheet tray of dough with well oiled plastic wrap. 

8. Let rise on counter for 4-6 hours or in fridge overnight. 

9. If using pizza oven, preheat pizza oven to 750F. If using home oven, preheat oven to max temp (500-550F).

10. Flour your surface well, place dough ball on flour. Gently press the dough into the flour on both sides. Starting from center, gently press and flatten the ball into pizza shape. Flip sides to ensure it doesn’t stick to surface.

11. If using home oven, blind bake the pizza crust by itself for about 5 minutes before adding toppings to ensure crust stays crispy. You may also drizzle olive oil after blind baking but before topping to help. After adding toppings, bake ~8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

12. If using pizza oven, add toppings directly to the raw pizza dough crust, transfer to pizza peel, and bake ~30-60s before rotating. For each 90deg rotation, let bake 30-60s until crust is golden brown.

(easy, two ingredients, recipe can be scaled accordingly)

ingredients

• 150g chocolate

• 150mL heavy cream

• cocoa powder

steps

1. Chop up chocolate into fine pieces— skip this step if you’re using choc chips. Add to a heatproof mixing bowl. 

2. Pour heavy cream into a heatproof container. Microwave in 30s intervals (~1.5min total for me) until cream is simmering/hot but not boiling. 

3. Pour hot cream over the chocolate in the mixing bowl. Make sure all chocolate is covered with the cream. Don’t mix!

4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for 10 minutes. 

5. Removal plastic wrap, gently whisk the chocolate & cream mixture until smooth and all chocolate has melted. 

6. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. 

7. Prepare a tray with parchment paper. Add cocoa powder to a bowl. 

8. Take out the chilled chocolate mix, spoon 1 tbsp and shape into round balls with hands. Roll each ball in cocoa powder to coat. Repeat. 

9. Place tray of truffles in fridge to chill for another 1-2 hours or until firm. Transfer to a ziplock bag or Tupperware, and store in the fridge. Enjoy!

(no banneton, stand mixer, easy transfer to hot dutch oven)

ingredients

• 100g fed & active sourdough starter

• 350g water

• 500g AP flour

• 10g kosher salt

steps

1. Feed sourdough starter in the morning. Let it sit on the counter until it’s about double and bubbly.

2. Add 100g fed & active starter to stand mixer bowl. Add 350g water. Mix gently for a few seconds until starter is dispersed and cloudy. 

3. Use dough hook attachment. Add flour & salt to mixing bowl. Turn mixer to stir/low and let knead for 5 minutes.

4. Let dough rest in bowl for 5 minutes.

5. Knead dough again for 5 minutes. Dough should be elastic but no longer stuck to the bowl (all of it should be forming a ball on the hook).

6. Remove bowl from stand mixer, cover in plastic wrap. Every 30 minutes to 1 hour for 4 hours, do a stretch & fold. Dough should be ~double by the end of this.

7. Line a medium bowl with parchment paper.

8. Remove dough from bowl onto countertop or silicone mat surface.

9. Using a bench scraper to help, turn the sides of the dough into its center to form a round shape. Using tension and a gentle rotating motion, shape into a smooth ball.

10. Use the bench scraper to scoop the ball into the bowl with parchment paper. Cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Set in fridge overnight.

11. The next morning, take dough out of fridge. Place dutch oven without the lid in oven and preheat to 500F.

12. Using a sharp knife or scoring tool, score the dough from one side to the other ~ 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep.

13. Lifting using the parchment paper, drop the paper + dough into the preheated dutch oven. Cover with dutch oven lid. Lower oven temp to 450F and bake for 15 min.

14. Remove dutch oven lid. Reduce oven to 400F and bake for 25 min.

15. Let cool for ~1 hour before slicing.

(perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches!)

ingredients

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast

• 2 cups warm water

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 4 cups AP flour

steps

1. Mix yeast, sugar, water in large mixing bowl. Rest 10min until foaming. 

2. Add oil, salt, flour. Mix to combine. 

3. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. 

4. Grease large bowl with oil and place dough inside, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours until double. 

5. Oil two bread pans. 

6. Punch dough down, divide into 2 portions. Shape into long logs and place in bread pans. 

7. Cover pans with oiled plastic wrap or light dry dish towel. Rise for 45min. 

8. Preheat oven to 350F. Remove plastic wrap or towel covering. Bake 30 min. 

9. Let cool 1 hour before slicing.