Chocolate Expresso Dacquoise 朱古力咖啡杏仁蛋白餅

I had a hard time finding the English or Chinese translations for "dacquoise" (pronounced da-kwaz). Basically, it is a meringue baked with ground nuts, such as almonds or hazelnuts, for an extended amount of time in a warm (250F)--not hot--oven. Usually it is left inside the oven to further dry out the meringue resulting a crisp texture. The aroma of almonds from the oven is irresistible! It is then layered with an expresso flavored buttercream and dark chocolate ganache. Both of them blend so well to make a delicious dacquoise!

Christmas Cake Pops 聖誕蛋糕棒棒

I guess everyone is familiar with popsicle or icicle but how about cake pop? Instead of using fruit juice or ice cream to put on a stick, it is basically a stick with cake crumbs and frosting. It has been around for a while and mainly popular among the younger demographic. It can be molded into different shapes and decorated with colorful candies or other edible ornaments. No wonder it is so warmly welcomed by the kids. Instead of making cookies for Christmas, it is a nice change to make cake pops!

Another Great Year--2nd Anniversary 两週年慶

Do you have a dream? I would describe myself more as a down-to-earth person than a dreamer. Why? Maybe too many unfulfilled dreams or unattained goals? But we all know that having a goal or dream is important to press a person to go forward. Being a Christian, I believe in the sovereignty of the loving God over my life.

Looking back this year, there are things that happened in my life that I never dreamt of. Being an introvert and a low key person, I do not like being under the spotlight. If given a choice, I would prefer to be a listener than a speaker. I would never dream of myself doing a cooking demonstration in a public library. Days before the event, I tried to prepare myself, thinking the better prepared I was, the less nervous I would be. But no matter how well prepared I was, I was still very nervous. Ultimately, the performance was far from ideal....However, the demonstration was well received. The audience was very interested and this outcome was way better than I anticipated. And in the following months, five more libraries sent me invitations...I never dreamt something like this would happen!