A Pursuit of Passion: Becoming a Novice Baker & Cook

    


    Over the past couple of years, whenever people try something I have baked or cooked (that tastes delicious haha), they normally ask me when I started to become interested in baking and cooking. I have always enjoyed good food and I have always loved watching Food Network, but I did not become interested in actually baking and cooking on my own until college when I discovered that both activities were therapeutic for my soul and it was fun way for me to express affection and care towards my friends and InterVarsity family. Therefore, whenever I had the chance, I always volunteered to cook or bake something. Some of my college food endeavors included guava cake, dessert nachos, sweet and sour pork, and spicy crispy tofu. 

    After I graduated from college, made some money, and settled into a home with some friends, I was able to develop my baking passion even more. Whenever I had the chance, I tried baking up something delicious... and sometimes they resulted in epic fails. I was not able to fully lean into baking and develop my skills though until I started my job at Trinity Lutheran Church. Since TLC loves fellowshipping over food, I had several opportunities to hone my baking skills--including baking a black forest cake for a youth fundraiser. I even started baking mini cakes for the kids in our after school programs on their birthdays! It was during this time I started watching more baking and cooking videos on YouTube so that I could perfect baking cakes WITHOUT a box mix and so that we always had something tasty to offer our kids for weekly youth gatherings. I became so serious that I decided to buy myself a KitchenAid stand mixer so that I could make larger batches of baked goods! 

    My baking skills were slowly progressing until the pandemic though; I suddenly had more free time and decided to do what a lot of people were doing: bake! It was during these months that I scoured YouTube for the best cake, cookie, and baked goodies recipes. I eventually landed on three main channels to help inspire me whenever I wanted to concoct something sweet to eat:

Religiously watching the content on these three channels have helped me become the baker I am today. I have learned the importance of using a food scale, investing in high quality ingredients, and doing research to come up with the best recipe that suits my tastes and preferences. I have invested in a lot of baking supplies so that I can do more than just bake cookies and cakes. I love baking even more today than I did ten years ago and still find it therapeutic. Although one day I might open up my own bakery, for now I will continue to bake for the fun of it and share the love when I am able to! 

    With that said, my research led me to develop an original recipe - my Tiramisu cookie! It's a tiramisu sugar cookie stuffed with espresso chocolate chips and topped with mascarpone mousse. I hope you enjoy it!  

Tiramisu Cookie 

Ingredients
Cookies
  • 500 g AP flour (alt. 100 g self-rising flour + 400 g AP flour)
  • 320 g sugar (alt. 160 g sugar + 160 g brown sugar)
  • 3 tsp baking powder (alt. 2 tsp if using self-rising flour)
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 230 g cold unsalted butter (about 2 sticks)
  • 1-2 tsp espresso powder
  • 1-2 bags Espresso chocolate chips
Mascarpone Mousse
  • 1 cup or 8 oz. mascarpone (alt. Cream together 6 oz. cream cheese + 2 tbsp sour cream + 3 tbsp heavy cream)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup (71g) sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp espresso
  • To stabilize, add gelatin or vanilla pudding mix
Directions
Mousse
  1. Beat heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form.
  2. Add in mascarpone cheese and espresso and continue to whip to stiff peaks.

Cookies
  1. Beat cold butter on low for about 30-45 seconds
  2. Add sugar(s) and mix on low until nuggets form
  3. Add dry ingredients and mix on low until mixture becomes sandy
  4. Add eggs and espresso and mix on low for about 30-45 seconds or until mixture is well-combined
  5. Weigh out cookies; after, create a well and place espresso chips in middle. Form dough around chocolate.
  6. Freeze dough for at least 90 minutes.
  7. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
  8. Five minutes before baking, place baking sheet(s) in oven
  9. Place cookies on heated baking sheet(s) and bake for 12-14 minutes (depending on size)
  10. Take out of oven and cool for at least 15 minutes
  11. Top with mousse and cocoa powder

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