The ABC’s of Asian Bakery Cake
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, I attempt to make the Asian Bakery Cake. Check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate.
https://fivethingsiate.substack.com/p/a-salute-to-chinese-bakery-cake
DIY Asian Bakery Cake at my place
Why not make it at your place, too?
At the end of a rough week, there’s no better self-care than dedicating Sunday evening to a soothing baking project. This week, I tackled the hero of my childhood, the queen of ABC (American born Chinese) folklore, the other ABC: Asian Bakery Cake. You know what I’m talking about: It’s eggy. It’s fluffy. It’s frosted with whipped cream that never melts. It’s sandwiched with strawberries. And most of all, it’s Not Too Sweet. The cake is definitely still a work in progress — the overall verdict is that my attempt, although very very delicious, is an entirely different animal from the store-bought staple. For the cake, I used this recipe from a blogger (also suspiciously named Sophie). It’s very eggy, which I liked, but unfortunately collapsed after cooling so parts were a bit dense. (Aside: This would be a great breakfast cake, served plain!). For the stabilized whipped cream, I used this recipe. Instead of simple syrup, I let the sliced strawberries sit in sugar before assembling and used the leftover syrup to soak the cake, which all who ate agreed was a good choice. Oh, and it really doesn’t keep — on the second day the whole thing sogged up — so eat it quickly. It’d make a great birthday cake!
Sheet pan chicken thighs with curry, smoked paprika, and cumin at my kitchen
Chez moi
This is a great fast and cheap emergency weeknight dinner for two (aka me and lunch the next day) that costs something like $5. Just pick up a pack of 2-4 chicken thighs (with skin and bone, please) on the way home from the subway. As soon as you get in the house, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle some olive oil on a sheet pan. Pat dry the chicken thighs, and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, curry powder (seriously — drown them in curry powder), smoked paprika, and cumin. Lay them on the baking sheet, skin-side up, and if there is excess skin stretch it out a little bit on the pan (sorry, vegetarians! I am definitely not). Roast for 30-40 minutes, until the skin is delightfully crispy (the extra bits will taste almost fried). Serve with a simple salad, like the one below, and never underseason your food again.
Blood orange vinaigrette at my kitchen
Try this at home!
I swear that my love for blood oranges aren't based solely off the fact that they sound macabre (although the jury may disagree). I'm addicted to the flavor of its flesh. Sharper and more delicate than navel oranges, blood oranges remind me of raspberries. It turns out they also make an excellent easy three ingredient salad dressing. (Sidenote: I hardly ever buy salad dressing anymore; it's so much easier and cheaper to just toss greens with olive oil and vinegar and whatever else inspires me.) Thinly slice some red onions in a bowl and toss with two big handfuls of spring mix. Squeeze the juice of half a small blood orange over the greens, drizzle with olive oil and rice wine vinegar. Toss the salad, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Almondina cookies at Trader Joe’s
Y’all can get them online, too
I have a soft spot for anything that looks like it could be a health food from the 90’s. You know what I’m talking about: Prepackaged flat stuff advertising whole grains and weird seeds. Usually low/no fat but misleadingly high in carbs and/or sugar. Includes the “lesbian bread” Ali Wong roasted in her stand-up, and also anything that would make a Keto dieter faint. Anyways, that’s the vibe of these Almondina cookies, which are basically paper thin slices of biscotti with excessive amounts of packaging. I really like biscotti (and I’m not talking about the chewable kind, you cowards, we only accept the rock-hard OG varieties here) but I also like having all my teeth so these are a great compromise, especially with a morning cup of tea.
Chicken mole burrito bowl from Burrito Box
885 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Listen. While I usually agree that the rules of the subway include not eating a whole damn sit down meal on it, exceptions apply. Like when dance rehearsal runs till 10pm on a work night and the trains are running slow as per usual, so you won’t get home till midnight. Times like that mean I’m going to eat my goddamn burrito bowl on the corner bench and I will put hot sauce and a fork in it and if you so much give me a look I will slice you with my glare in sweaty gym clothes. The burrito bowl is warm and hot and heaped with chicken mole, my absolute favorite. They even give you soy sour cream and cheese, no extra charge! Tomorrow, maybe it'll be me, glaring at you, eating Chipotle. It’s a dog eat dog (or rather burrito eat burrito) world.
Until next time,
Soph