My Valentine's Day sweets

I'm resigned to the fact that the week or so before valentine is a very busy time for me. And last week didn't let me down. Started out with my meringue kisses dipped in chocolate ganache and sprinkles. And . . . I forgot to take a picture of it. I didn't do the technique I tested a week before--too messy and sticky so I stuck to the pale pink kisses. 

I brought back the old favorite --red velvet cupcakes filled with chocolate ganache and topped with cream cheese frosting. I need to make another batch tonight all gone in 3 days. I guess they missed their favorite cupcakes.

red velvet cupcake--everyone's favorite

I was talked into making this next dessert by the chefs, wait staff and friends. I didn't think it would do well but I thought I'd try. Although it is one of my favorite sweet, most people don't like the the chewy texture of chi chi dango. Chi chi dango is a sweeten mochi made with mochiko [sweet rice flour], coconut milk and sugar, flavored with vanilla and tinted with food coloring. I used a this recipe from justjennrecipes. Really simple and makes a lot.

Decided to fancy it up cut the dango into heart shapes and added matcha and raspberry sauce with a strawberry. [all the extra dango I sliced up for samples for the customers and the any extra for the restaurant staff]

slightly creamy and bitter

plated!

I made two more desserts for the valentines weekend--chocolate molten cake and coconut lime pie. No time for the cheesecake or the flourless chocolate sesame cake, it was just too much.

But I did me something on Sunday--Korean sweet potato doughnuts. These are made with mochiko and has a chewy texture similar to mochi. I posted about these doughnuts here. I was inspired by friend's post on doughnuts. This is what I made. Shared with the staff at the restaurant. I think I made the happy.

getting golden brown

cinnamon sugar coated

I survive the making of 100+

To be exact 101 cupcakes for office event, 15 macarons [dumped almost a full batch. I had no patience left to gently remove from the slipat sheet because they were slightly overmixed and underdone again and kept cracking. Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!] and 1 batch of cupcakes for the restaurant's valentine sweets. Pictured above are the 101,  pre-frosting and filled, waiting to get all dolled up for the big event.

100 cupcake plus and incredibly busy menapausal woman

It just started a hour ago. Cleaning, organizing and prepping before the real baking start. Have already prepped 2 batches of swiss buttercream [I think I need make another], 2 batches of cream cheese frosting [for sure I need another], lemon curd, raspberry jam, steeped the milk with earl grey tea and measure out 3 batches of dry ingredients. 

I'm still working out what I'm making, this is what I have committed to so far:

• Earl Grey cupcakes with lemon curd filling and cream cheese frosting
• Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry jam filling and strawberry cream cheese frosting
• Blackberry Jam cupcakes with vanilla swiss buttercream
• Red Velvet cupcake with chocolate ganache filling and cream cheese frosting
• Chocolate cupcake with fudgy chocolate frosting [may have a little surprise filling]
• I'm thinking of doing an apple spice cupcake or orange cupcake that probably will be the last batch I'll make

And I'm hoping that I get all of these done so I can whip up a couple of batches of macarons for the restaurant as valentine's promotion. I haven't even promoted that yet as I don't know if I can make it. But if I do, it will be raspberry and meyer lemon macarons. I'm making them smaller than I've testing so I can give out 1 per person or 2 per couple. There will be lots of piping in my future--my arm already hurt.

Okay, off I go to prep some almond flour for my macarons. I have faith that I can do it all. Pictures to come. 

100+ cupcakes Part II

I'm baking up another order for a 100+ cupcakes for a Valentine's function @ my office.  I'm hoping to make up 6 batches, but not sure if I'm making 6 flavors or if I should make a gluten-free version--most people don't like the rice flour version  as texture is too chewy [unless you are crazy for mochi, like me].

This is the menu so far but it will changes as it gets closer

• red velvet with ganache filling and cream cheese frosting
• earl grey with lemon curd filling and cinnamon cream cheese frosting
• blackberry spice with blackberry jam filling and vanilla swiss buttercream
• chocolate with raspberry jam filling and ganache frosting
• vanilla with raspberry jam and ganache frosting
• strawberry with strawberry buttercream

Maybe's

• coconut with coconut buttercream
• carrot with cream cheese frosting
• mocha with ganache filling and  mocha buttercream
• tiramisu with marscapone frosting

The maybe's are ones that I'd like to try and need to test out. The coconut one as I've been itching to try out the recipe. I hope to better prepared as I have at least of year more under my belt of baking in mass quantities. 

Anyone has a favorite or a suggestions. I'll try and get some pictures as I test. February 13th will be a crazy day for me. Here's my last 100+ cupcakes I did.