Out & About #774 | Week #93 Quarantine Update Feat. Holiday Baking

Unlike the procrastinative nature of many smaller name bubble tea chains, CoCo is proactive in announcing their limited time specials. Knowing myself, I tend to act as I see circumstances unveil, and was keen to obtain their new holiday duo at the sight of its announcement. Needless to say, I hadn't read thoroughly enough to process that its official release would be two days later.

The following week, I undertook the mild winter trek. Cycling would have likely proved faster, but unexpected patches of compacted ice would have posed dangerous conditions for inexperienced riders (ahem, myself).

​Neither of the drinks could be customized for ice and sugar levels; the same would apply to the ever-dreaded topping of whipped cream. By the time I had reached home though, majority of the volumized garnish had disintegrated, yielding overly milky beverages. The Grinch Matcha was a bland matcha latte with chewy bits of strawberry jam at its depths. Not particularly memorable, it was a downgraded knockoff of the Strawberry Matcha Lattes I had crafted long before the pandemic.
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Black Forest Chocolate was the more preferable of the two. The harmony of chocolate and strawberry was unmistakable, yet again fell victim to poor execution. It was with disappointment that I learned of the concoction's cherry-less ingredient list, despite its celebrated name.

​I took matters into my own hands shortly after, combining my go-to strawberry jam with melted Surfin, milk, and a dusting of cocoa powder.

An resolved craving for pajeon led to the impromptu order of Arirang. The dinner bundle would comprise of: Jjajangmyeon, Tangsuyuk, and Haemul Paejon (Seafood Onion Pancake).

A first bite into the pajeon delivered sadness: it was neither as fragrant nor crunchy as Maangchi's recipe had provided. That said, I had neither the energy, time, nor constituents to produce a version deemed satisfactory.

On the other hand, the Tangsuyuk was quite enjoyable: crunchy with a wispy thin layer of breading and an appetite-stimulating, sweet-sour sauce for dipping (or pouring) as one saw fit. I was less appreciative of the barely cooked carrots though.

​The Jjajangmyeon also took us by surprise, offering a flavourful sauce with sizable chunks of pork (not ground!) and even zucchini bits. Admittedly, the noodles could use room for improvement - soggy and starchy they were, adopting cohesiveness and fragility. Refrigerating the noodles for later consumption earned them some structure, but broken strands were inevitable.

​With Winter Solstice around the corner, the days are looking brighter, literally. Staring out my window in the early evening reveals darkness still, but the ever-evolving sunset scenery brings hope.

On an oddly sunny weekday morning, I dug out one of two boxes of DIY LINE Friends bracelet kits and attempted to assemble. The struggle proceeded for upwards of two hours, involving confusion with printed instructions for a four-strand braid and misinterpretation of the cord lengths.

​Eventually, after many chipped nails and a decent dose of frustration, a Leonard bracelet emerged - wrapped twice due to a doubled cord length and deficient of its corresponding cloud charm. The remaining nine projects were set aside, as brain capacity for do-it-yourself activities had officially been depleted.​

Several errands took place in advance of the holiday rush. Ranging from paramedical appointments to grocery scrambles to post office runs, the amount had just about shoved work responsibilities out of focus.

Creations of the week included:

1) Candied Ginger Banana Bread

"How do you come up with these ideas?" I was once asked. Honestly, it's not as extensive and thought out as you may imagine:

It commences with a concept - the taste and profile I'd like to achieve in reality. Then, I proceed with a guideline. I have a few go-to sources, as avid readers may have observed, and rarely stray unless I'm looking to investigate beyond their array of recipes. Over the years, I've grown accustomed of their formulas, and, more importantly, have established a sense of faith in their processes and corresponding productions.​​

Banana Bread isn't a typically festive treat, but I wanted it transformed as such. My mind trailed to the spicy notes of gingerbread, but was quickly reminded that those undertones had minimal following in our household. Moreover, the results could be absolutely dismal if executed poorly.
I settled on SK's Marbled Banana Bread as the foundation of my experiment. The original intent had been to swirl the banana bread with a gingerbread base; a lack of energy and time persuaded me otherwise. A single batter (in a single bowl!) was adopted instead. Atypical add-ins began to fly in: orange extract, black pepper, and nutmeg in addition to pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
On the side, a small saucepan was retrieved. In it would brew a ginger syrup - my makeshift, sporadic attempt at candied ginger without  ̶p̶a̶t̶i̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶i̶n̶g̶  proven articles.

These sweetened ginger bits were laid atop roughly half of the batter (sprinkled above, not folded), then again at it surface. The sugar content caramelized nicely over the course of its 60-minute baking period to yield an impressively crunchy and positively gingery peak.

Thin, perfectly set edges and an impeccably moist interior greeted my tastebuds. I had succeeded, astounding even myself for the unplanned feat.
Further images of the loaf failed to be captured, for the slices vanished, one by one, from its foil-covered container, in a matter of 48 hours.

​2) Christmas Cookies

Let it be known that my default rollout cookie originates from the almighty SK. Sometimes I forget egg, and sometimes I alter it beyond workable nature. Regardless, the final yield never strays from enjoyable. Her formula utilizes one whole egg, which makes most sense to me. The downside, as I have learned recently, is the constant need for temperature control and eliminating accident sources of heating.

​For our purposes, the recipe is doubled, requiring a whopping eight egg yolks for the full spread. It didn't require chilling of any sort, but remained malleable without veering into breakable territory even as I leisurely worked my way through. My unresearched conclusion was that: Since the overall composition included no protein whatsoever, chilling would not have made a difference. Protein (egg white) is liquid at room temperature, though fat (in the form of butter) is solid. Cutouts were formed with minimal hassle, but I took the same amount of care in pressing and transferring the shapes to maintain integrity.

​I put my new Christmas cookies stamps to use, and in that process stripped several of their pillowy nature via compression. It was the inevitable trade-off for cookies requiring no further decoration.

But I decorated them anyway - colourful sprinkles on most and a ginger-cinnamon sugar coating on the mini gingerbread men.

​3) Macarons

This undertaking is especially ironic. I favour neither meringue nor any aspect of this French delicacy's excruciating sweetness. Yet, the previous day's Christmas Cookie making had left me with a total of eight egg whites. Financiers or even chiffon cake would have resolved my dilemma, but I was averse to a mane of buttery fumes for the second day in a row.

​Patiently reviewing macaron tips from Preppy Kitchen (as a new subscriber!), I took mental notes of the appropriate consistencies and appearances before forming a solid knot in my apron. Opting to proceed with an open mind, I was prepared that the shells may not result in the anticipated image: crisp on the edges, slightly hollow, with airy in the centre. My experience with choux pastry warned against high expectations, thus I didn't commence on the buttercream filling until they materialized.

By carefully reading the written recipe and recalling snapshots from the troubleshooting guide along the way, I successfully arrived at the piping stage, though not without a heavily fatigued shoulder; mixing and folding are not the most beneficial for musculoskeletal balance, which is likely the reason for stand mixers in commercial kitchens. The uneven circles rested for a total of 60 minutes, delayed by lunch and cookie-eating.

I had rapidly dropped my oven temperature from its preheating 350 F to 320 F as soon as the first tray was slid within. This baking temperature was fine for the first batch, though the fluctuating heat levels proved detrimental to the second tray. Despite being more evenly sized, they fell victim to too intense a baking temperature, leading to browned tops and noticeably moist centres. I quickly learned that macaron baking temperatures should be maintained at 300 F or lower, and merely baked longer if necessary rather than increasing heat. "Low and slow" applies to these coloured components as much as it does to shortbread.

Redeeming them were the formation of "feet", a ruffled hem along the circumference, as well as a generally smooth, level surface that did not crack even after cooling. Extreme caution was utilized to detach them from the parchment liner after cooling completely.

​I had intended to revert to Sunday Baking's Italian buttercream once more, though misinterpreted the amount of egg whites remaining in the bowl. While not part of the original recipe, a dash of cream of tartar had been incorporated in a fit of zealousness. The sugar syrup was too much, and the formula quickly became runny. Adding in softened butter failed to fix the issue, and neither refrigerating nor the addition of gelatin could compensate for my mistake. The final product was acceptable after chilling, and even surprisingly decent, though the loss of texture in the filling was a dismal scene to witness, serving as a reminder that baking is not nearly as forgiving as cooking.

The macaron shells themselves were quite good though, if I do say so myself. Albeit the somewhat moist, sticky centres, they did not crack, furthering revealing crunchy edges with prominent notes of almond. Feedback received also spoke of a delicate nuttiness, too-soft cores, a surprisingly crunchy shell, and smooth, supple buttercream. That said, I stand by the declaration that they are too sweet for my liking.