Sesame Chestnut Mountain Cupcakes Chestnut Caramel Cake With Black Sesame Cream And Chestnut Cream Frosting With Black And White Sesame Chopsticks Recipes

RICE FRITTERS WITH SESAME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Make the caramel: Toast the sesame seeds in a skillet over medium heat until golden. Transfer to a dish. Remove the peel from the orange in wide strips, then squeeze the orange juice into a separate dish; set aside.
• Cook the sugar in a skillet over medium heat, swirling the pan, until deep amber. Whisk in the butter, cream and salt until dissolved. Add the orange peel and juice. Cook, whisking, until the sauce thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the sesame seeds. (You can refrigerate the sauce, covered, up to 1 day; reheat before serving.)
• Make the fritters: Bring 4 cups milk, the salt and cinnamon to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the rice, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons sugar; cook, stirring, until thick, 5 to 10 more minutes. Stir in the vanilla and let cool completely.
• Roll tablespoonfuls of the rice mixture into balls. Put on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; cover and chill until ready to fry.
• Make the batter: Whisk the flour, baking powder and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl. Whisk the egg and the remaining 3/4 cup milk in a liquid measuring cup; gradually whisk into the flour mixture until smooth.
• Heat 2 inches vegetable oil in a wide saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350degrees F. Working in batches, dip the rice balls in the batter using a fork, then fry until golden, turning once, about 8 minutes per batch. (Return the oil to 350degrees F between batches.) Drain on paper towels. Drizzle with the caramel.

SESAME CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN CUPCAKES (CHESTNUT CARAMEL CAKE WITH BLACK SESAME CREAM AND CHESTNUT CREAM FROSTING WITH BLACK AND WHITE SESAME CHOPSTICKS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a regular-size cupcake or muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together and set aside. Combine the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl, and then add the vanilla and egg mixture, one egg at a time, with the mixer on low speed. Add the Caramel. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, and then increase the speed to medium and combine thoroughly. With the mixer the lowest speed, add the flour mixture and the sour cream, alternating between the two, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix only until just combined, do not over-mix.
• Fill the cupcake liners with a 16-size ice cream scoop, or about half full, and bake until dark golden and baked through, about 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely.
• To assemble: Core each cupcake using an apple corer. Fill each cupcake with the Black Sesame Pastry Cream and generously frost with the Chestnut Cream Frosting so that the frosting resembles a mountain of noodles. Top each cupcake with a pair of the Black and White Sesame Chopsticks.
• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan (or preferably an unlined copper pot), combine the sugar with 4 tablespoons water to moisten. Place over medium-high heat and, without stirring, cook until the sugar is dark amber in color. Meanwhile, place the cream in a saucepan over medium heat and warm to a simmer. Turn off the heat on the caramelized sugar and slowly add the warmed cream while stirring the caramel with a wooden spoon. Be careful as the mixture will splatter. Allow to thicken slightly over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice if using. Cool completely.
• Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk together the yolks with the sugar and cornstarch until smooth and well blended. While whisking, slowly pour in one-quarter of the milk into the yolk mixture to temper the yolks. Add the remainder of the milk, while whisking. Pour back into the saucepan and place on medium heat. Whisk vigorously and constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter, piece by piece. Add the tahini and black sesame powder, and whisk to blend. Cool completely.
• Cream together the chestnut paste and chestnut puree in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until smooth. Add the softened butter, powdered sugar, rum and vanilla extract, and continue to process until well blended. If chunks remain, press the cream through a fine sieve to remove any large chestnut chunks. Place the cream in a piping bag with a "spaghetti" tip.
• Line a half sheet pan with a sheet of parchment paper. Coat the paper with cooking spray. Coat a wide spatula and a rolling pin with cooking spray.
• In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan or unlined copper pot, combine the sugar, vinegar and 1 teaspoon water. Cook over low heat until the sugar is melted and the mixture is thick. Stir a little. Cook until the sugar reaches 248 degrees F on a candy thermometer. At this point, add the sesame seeds to the sugar and stir well with a wooden spoon. Quickly scrape the mixture onto the parchment and spread evenly, first with the prepared spatula and next with the rolling pin. The desired thickness is about 1/16-inch thick. Cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
• Cut the candy into 12 chopstick shapes, each about 3 inches long, with the aid of a Chinese cleaver and a heavy pan. This technique makes cutting easier, even when the candy gets a bit hard. Let the candy cool completely.

BLACK-AND-WHITE CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the butter and then the vanilla, mixing until combined.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Add the milk, mixing until combined, and then the remaining flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Transfer one-third of the batter (about 1 cup) to a small bowl and stir in the cocoa powder. Alternate dropping spoonfuls of each batter into each cupcake liner, using a larger spoon for the white batter and a smaller spoon for the chocolate batter. Swirl the batters with an offset spatula or a skewer.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the tin on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool completely.
• Beat together the cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the confectioners' sugar, beating until well combined.
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag or a resealable plastic bag and pipe the frosting onto the tops of the cupcakes.

BLACK SESAME CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
• Toast sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring and tossing constantly, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Omit this step if the seeds are already toasted.
• Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer until creamy. Add toasted seeds, eggs, sesame paste, and vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Gradually beat in flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and beat for a few more minutes until combined.
• Fill cupcake liners with the batter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes.