Baked Buns

I'd been meaning to make Baked BBQ Pork Buns because it's something both my mom and I enjoy eating when we go tea houses together. It's funny because we both don't like the steamed ones but we love the baked ones. I wanted to make them and surprise her one day, so today I tried to make some, except it was kind of late of the day to go get some pork. I decided to go ahead and substitute it with chicken in the mean time.

Oh yes, I also got adventurous and made some with Italian-style fillings with mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, spinach and turkey.

I just took some chicken breast and minced it myself. Then I also chopped some napa cabbages and red onions into the mix. Then, I seasoned it and cooked it.

The buns turned out pretty good. The only thing I didn't like about it is that I let it baked too long after the egg wash. So it got a little more brown, but not burnt. Next time I'll just bake it less. Also, I find it very entertaining watching the buns rise and bake in the process. It's mesmerizing for some reasons.



I will make this again, but with BBQ Pork next time. I should present them to my mom and see if she thinks it's store bought.

Chinese Sponge Cake

As much as I think Chinese birthday cakes are plain sometimes, I am always amazed at how fluffy and light they are! I decided to learn to make the cake base...the fluffy sponge cake. I found a recipe for rolled sponge cake with cream filled center from this Chinese cookbook from Hong Kong, so I used the recipe for the cake part.

Sponge cakes are tricky to make because if you don't whip the egg whites right, the cake will not be fluffy. Also, make sure the cake gets into the oven right away after scrapping it into the baking pan because egg whites in the batter will lose their airy texture if let out for too long. Lastly, the trick to not make the cake collapse is to turn it upside down with the pan during cooling.

I forgot to let it cool with the pan, but good thing I turned it upside down, so the cake remained in shape. The fresh out of oven cake smell so good and eggy. It was soft but not as fluffy as I wanted since I didn't put it intto the oven right away.

Afterward, I decided to try frosting it with some homemade whipped cream and fruits like a Chinese cake. Because it was a quick practice cake, I didn't bother to decorate it. I just want to eat it, haha.