Brownie Bites

Man, it's been awhile since I last updated....MY BAD! Baking at home is tricky and sadly the lazy side of my personality hasn't been all that helpful in getting me into the kitchen. But, when my Mom asked me to bake something for a small party at her workplace, I couldn't say no. I mean, I've wanted to bake these past few weeks but the all too familiar scenario of having to deal with my aunty and cousins (who think I get special treatment because I can do things, such as bake, at my own leisure) has made me apprehensive about turning the knob to preheat the oven to the magical 350F temperature setting. But I mean, come on, it's for a party. Do they expect me to deprive a group of people of good dessert? Seriously, if that's what they expected, they need to get a reality check or re-examine their family ties to me because they OBVIOUSLY don't know me as well as they should.

After processing all these thoughts in my head, which was a bit cloudy from the lack of sleep and sewing overdose, I was pumped and ready to create masterpieces. I was ready to make something crazy to show off what skills (still lacking refinement...but getting there) I had when my Mom says, "I wanna use up our brownie mix." My heart about sank right then and there. MIX FROM A BOX? Now how is that supposed to impress people? For those of you who know me personally, you should be able to figure out what I did next, but for those of you who don't know me so well, a short explanation is of the essence. Biggest thing about me is that I'm stubborn. If I say I'm going to do something, I'll do it. So there was no way in hell I would leave my mom dessert-less. I would make magic with the brownie mix (which does yield some spectacular brownies btw). This is what I came up with.

To make the brownies a bit more interesting, I decided to add a hint of mint to one batch and a hint of coffee so they wouldn't just be...brownies. I mean, fudgy, gooey, chocolatey goodness can make anyone smile, but I wanted to do a bit more than just make them smile. It had to be...orgasmic.


After baking them. I thought that if I broke the brownies down to a dense mass of chocolatey mint/coffee goodness, then formed them into brownie bite-size spheres doused in chocolate, they would be the hit of the party. Well, not really. I did think that it would be cool, but the main reason for concocting this creation was because my mom wanted to used up the mini cupcake liners and the regular cut brownies didn't really...fit.


You have to admit though, the idea is pretty stellar. I mean, recipes for cake pops, cheesecake pops, and other similar creations have been popping up like damn bunny offspring. I just made those ideas better. I'm not proclaiming that I created the idea, so don't sue me, I'm just saying that I made a pretty awesome version. ^__^ The brownies worked well because the super moist texture and the rich decadent taste of the brownies made the finished products taste like truffles in a sense. Of course the texture wasn't as smooth as a real truffle and it sure as heck didn't melt in my mouth after biting into it (especially after setting the chocolate in the refrigerator) but it was similar enough to help the mind make the connection between: brownie bite and truffle.


I was a bit disappointed that the chocolate didn't come out as silky smooth as it could've, but in my defense, I'm in Hawaii. It's hot and humid, and trust me, both of these factors don't make the for the most relaxing of work atmospheres. By this point in the baking process, I just wanted to toss them all into the refrigerator so I could escape from the fiery hell of our kitchen for the sweet breeze of the fan in my nice. cool. room.



Obviously, I'm lacking pictures of the final product, nicely packaged in the mini cupcake liners they were specifically made to fill. It's partially because I didn't have the will to take the pictures in the heat, but it was also because they left the house in a jiffy, leaving me no time to document the fruit of my labor. Also, part of me felt like taking a picture would just lead to melted chocolate all over the place instead of beautiful pictures. But from these last two pictures (and the fact that they've been disappearing like crazy) has led me to believe that the finished product was awesome.

Since I'm leaving to go back to LA in a couple weeks, I'm going go on record and say that I will bake (like a crazy woman) before I leave. I have a couple of things I have on my "to bake" list, one of which is a curry-coconut cake for my friend, so I better get crackin. But I'm outiez for now. I'm tired and all this talk of food has made me hungry.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Mr. Chocolate Mousse cake, you are now a part of history. Not only are you the first dessert I have ever given to a friend as a present (specifically birthday present), you are also the subject of my first post on the Nirai Patisserie blog. Be proud and stand tall while you still sit in my fridge awaiting your day to be devoured.



The birthday girl (the one on the left in the picture below) has been my friend since we were in the second and third grade respectively. I love her to death and I thought an awesome cake would be fitting for her belated birthday present. Obviously from the picture below, she couldn't wait to eat the cake. Can't you detect the beast emerging from her otherwise sweet and lovely self? Even her mouth is open and ready to destroy that cake! This was my first attempt at making a mousse so I was a bit hesitant to present it to her (especially since I hadn't tasted the finished product) but I had faith that all would be well. Things always seem to pan out magically when she's involved.


Once I cut the cake there was no time to explain what it was exactly to her since she was already eating it. But I concluded that I could just do that on this blog. Makes sense right?

The cake itself was a chiffon cake recipe that I adapted a little by changing it to a chocolate chiffon cake. I was generally pleased with the texture and taste of the cake, but there are some things I would want to change the next time I make it. The chocolate flavor in the cake was settle and not overpowering, making it easier to eat more than one slice (to our own demise), but I want to increase the depth in flavor the next time I make it. Perhaps I'll play with different flavor combinations so there will be a little hint of something special left on your tongue after the initial bite. I did brush the cake with a coffee syrup, but it was hard to detect the flavor and it didn't accomplish what I originally wanted it to. I'll definitely keep working on this cake though. The texture is soft enough to easily match it with any type of frosting and it matched very well with the light mousse.

I was very excited about using the mousse as the filling between the two cake layers since I knew that the texture would compliment the cake nicely. The richness of the mousse added just the right amount of punch to bring a smile to your face and the urge to lick the plate and fork clean. What I liked the most about the mousse was the fact that it wasn't overpowering. The only thing I would perhaps try to improve on the next time I make it is the technique. My technique and comfort making all these desserts still isn't where I'd like it to be and I think it's affecting the quality of the final product. Definitely something I will try to fix.


That's it for the first post. Hopefully it wasn't that bad. If it weren't so late, I'd go grab a slice of my cake just because it would feel right to eat some of it after finishing a post about it. Don't you think that would be a fitting way to finish this post instead of just clicking the: PUBLISH POST button?

~Mayumi