Flan

Posted on April 1, 2012 by carlaarodriguez

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Flan
Story and Photos by Carla Rodriguez

Growing up in a house overflowing with family members, Anastasia Zavala needed a form of escape that eventually led her to a devotion for pastries. As a biology major at St. Mary’s University, Zavala doesn’t have a lot of time to work on her beloved hobby.

“I love the school, it’s so small and quaint. Whenever I’m sitting outside with my coffee, I can’t help but be just as relaxed as I am when I’m baking,” she said.

“It’s a nice trade-in, but I still wish the school had a kitchen students can go to.”

Aside from reading and painting, Zavala taught herself how to keep busy in the kitchen by baking.

“One day, I was craving some cookies. As everyone was off to work, at soccer practice, or running around, I walked into the kitchen and just so happened to find all the ingredients I needed to make some.”

She began small, slowly making her cookies more complex.

After about one month, Zavala had prepared nearly a dozen different forms of cookies and wanted to venture off deeper in the world of baking; today, she now is able to turn any ordinary dessert into a mouth-watering piece of joy.

Awkwardly enough, if you give her a spatula and tell her to cook dinner, you’re more than likely to become good friends with the neighborhood fire department than end up with a delicious plate.

“Food in general is too complicated, or at least I’ve subconsciously tricked my body into thinking so,” she says. “Sweets can help any day turn into an even better one, so I would much rather bake a brownie than, say, meatloaf.”

Zavala considers flan as her favorite treat that requires a little amount of ingredients and effort.

She first taught herself how to make flan for a Christmas dinner with her family.

Since then, she realized how a delicious-caramel-dripping plate could come from such an easy recipe; it has become her go-to dessert for all sorts of dinner events with friends and family.

Although she has only recently begun conquering the world of sweets and chocolatey delights, one of Zavala’s goals for the future is to become the wonderful grandmother everyone sees on television: cookies always in the cookie jar, along with the main reason why her grandchildren have a mouth full of cavities.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 c of sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 13 oz cans evaporated milk
  • 1 T of vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Pour 1 cup of sugar in warm pan. Stir sugar until brown and caramelized. Quickly pour 2-3 T of caramel in bowl. Blend eggs together with wisk. Mixing in milk slowly. Mix in 1/2 c of sugar, then vanilla. Pour custard into caramel bowl. Place bowl into a larger bowl with 1 to 2 inches of water. Bake for 45 minutes. Makes 3 medium sized servings.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Brissa Jaqueline Renteria

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Story and Photos by Brissa Renteria

Warm spices flowing through the kitchen. Conjoining smells of autumn and baking. A great season approaches us, and Tanya Compean shows us how to start the last months of the year off right by sharing a great family recipe.

Never having to worry about cooking in the dorms, Compean finds it easy to relax on an evening after school and work and find a kitchen through her friends who live off campus.

“I chose this recipe because the ingredients used together make a pastry that a lot of people have not heard of,” says Compean. “When one thinks of the ingredient pumpkin, what usually comes to mind is Thanksgiving and pumpkin pies. However, this recipe can be made year round and the pumpkin and chocolate chip mixture is very unique and delicious.”

With baking being one of her passions and hobbies, Tanya says she favors pastries, especially Mexican-styled pastries. Her favorites include sweet bread, flan, and pastel de tres leches.

Compean is a full-time senior at St. Mary’s University and will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing in December 2011. What she enjoys most about being a Marketing major is the opportunity for creativity. “I am a very creative person and there is a wide range of areas where I can apply myself to express this and much more.”

Originally from California, Compean says she chose St. Mary’s because she likes the professor to student ratio in the classroom. “When applying for colleges four years ago, my main focus was if I was going to get a better education from one university over another. Now that I am a senior, I have grown close to my professors where I can ask for help and guidance with ease and realize that St. Mary’s was one of the best decisions I have ever made.”

Presently, Compean works part-time at a marketing agency in which she will have an entry-level position when she graduates in December. Compean says this will allow her to “learn more about the world of marketing and advertising. I have never been too busy with work or school not to bake, so I know I will continue doing so in my free time!”

When out of the classroom, Compean says she likes to visit new and native restaurants. As a daughter of two Mexican nationals, she grew up eating a lot of Mexican and Spanish-styled foods. “A favorite entree of mine is green chile enchiladas and Spanish rice,” Compean says.

Compean offers this advice: “Stick to your passions! Mine is baking, and since I do live on campus with no kitchen available to me, I can always find a way to bake, that doesn’t stop me!”

Ingredients

  • 1 c canned pumpkin
  • 1 c white sugar
  • 1/2 c vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 2 c all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp milk
  • 1 T vanilla
  • 2 c semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, baking soda,milk, vanilla and salt. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Add chocolate chips. Scoop dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350° F for approximately 10 minutes. Makes 24 cookies.

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Macadamia Blondies with Caramel Maple Topping

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Veronica Luna

Macadamia Blondies with Caramel Maple Topping by Kimberly Vela
Videography and Production by Veronica Luna

Kimberly Vela is an alumna and graduate student at St. Mary’s University. As a vegetarian for six years, Vela learned how to cook for herself and loves to share her recipes with her friends.

Ingredients

  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 6 ounces firm silken tofu
  • ¼ cup rice or soy milk
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups raw macadamias, partially chopped and partially ground

Ingredients for the topping:

  • ¼ cup nonhydrogenated margarine
  • 2 tablespoons turbinado or other brown sugar
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 cup raw macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 9 x 13 inch pan. In blender or food processor, blend tofu and soy milk until smooth. Add oil, sugar and vanilla, then blend. Combine the dry ingredients in mixing bowl and mix well. Fold in nuts. Dough will be thick. Spread in baking pan, bake 25 minutes.

Prepare topping: Mix all ingredients except nuts in saucepan. Heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat, bring to boil one minute. Stir in nuts, remove from heat. Remove blondies from oven, pour on topping, then bake 10 more minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

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Tropical Pineapple Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Frosting

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Denice Hernandez

Tropical Pineapple Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Frosting
Story and Photo by Denice Hernandez

A genuine love for food, a sweet tooth and a curious desire to try new desserts is all it takes to turn an ordinary chef into a cupcake fanatic.

Ari Rivera graduated from St. Mary’s University with a bachelor’s degree in English-communication arts, and is currently pursuing her second degree in forensic science.

“I would like to get into serology, pathology, or even research. I would really like to get into that and open up a bakery later in life,” she says.

From an early age, Rivera began exploring the world of baking with her mother and sister, and her love for oven treats has been growing ever since.

“I remember my favorite being pecan pie. My mom had me make it every thanksgiving since I was 12 I think,” she says. “My mom showed me different recipes and my sister has always been supportive of my cupcake love.”

In fact, Rivera’s recently perfected dish, tropical pineapple cupcakes with citrus cream frosting, was created from a recipe she selected from a cupcake book given to her by her sister.
Rivera brought baking back into her life after being inspired by a feature film she saw some years ago.

“My passion for baking was left on the back burner for a really long time, until 2007 when I watched Stranger than Fiction. I loved Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character and I realized, I definitely want to own a bakery like her one day,” says the aspiring pastry chef.

Although cupcakes and science seem to be worlds apart, Rivera says baking is a scientific process.

“It is scientific—the way chemicals, ingredients and flavors come together,” she says. Getting proportions right is often the most challenging part of the baking process, she added.

According to Rivera, the best part of a cupcake is, simply, the cake.

“So many times a cupcake is merely used as a vehicle for frosting that is often too sweet,” she says. “I prefer to focus on the quality of the cake in moisture and flavor and having frosting that tastes like more than just sugar.”

Spicy Asian foods are also a favorite of the cupcake chef.

Rivera says she enjoys the nurturing and feminine aspects of baking, but she also loves the art of making a mess.

The cupcake enthusiast admits to a couple of kitchen blunders in the past.

“I have spilled more mixes than I would like to admit,” the pastry chef says with a grin.

“I have even dropped completed pies outside. It was not funny at the time, but now I can look back and laugh.”

Rivera encourages beginners to have a sense of humor when learning how to bake, and most importantly, dare to experiment.

“You have to try new things all the time if you are going broaden your horizons. Take a recipe and give it a twist, you might be surprised!”

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

  • 2 slices canned pineapple in juice
  • 6 tsp butter
  • 3/8 c superfine sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 5/8 c self-rising flour
  • 1 T pineapple juice

Frosting:

  • 2 T butter
  • 3/8 c cream cheese
  • 1 c confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon or lime juice

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Directions
First, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place twelve cupcake papers in a muffin pan. Then, finely chop pineapple slices and set aside. In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in the egg. Add the flour to the mix and, using a large metal spoon, fold all the ingredients in the mix. Next, fold in the pineapple and pineapple juice. Finally, Spoon the batter into the paper cases. While cupcakes are baking, prepare the frosting. Mix the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Then sift confectioners’ sugar into the mix and beat it all together; gradually beat in the juice from the lemon. Let the cupcakes cool before applying frosting. Once frosted, store cupcakes in refrigerator and serve cool.

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Turtle Brownies

Posted on December 1, 2010 by tasteofstmu

Turtle Brownies by Bianca Martinez
Videography and Production by Loriann Garses

Bianca Martinez is a senior at St. Mary’s University and will be graduating in May. She learned to cook at a very young age by watching and helping her mom in the kitchen. Bianca’s favorite thing to make is Ghiradelli Turtle Brownies.

Ingredients

  • 1 box (18.5  ounces) Ghirardelli Brownie Mix, Caramel Turtle
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine brownie mix, water, oil and egg in a large mixing bowl and stir at medium speed until well blended. Lightly grease the bottom of an 8×8 pan, then pour brownie mix into the pan. Take the pouch of caramel topping and squeeze caramel on to the top of the brownie mix in 5 horizontal rows. Then take a knife and pull the end of the knife vertically across the 5 previous horizontal rows. Bake brownies at 350 degrees for 38-42 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before eating.

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