Happy Easter!

Happy Easter=)

Kee Wah Chinese Bakery, Rowland Heights, CA

I stopped by Kee Wah Bakery to get some mooncakes for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival last month.  Of course, I didn't take home with only one item, beside a case of mooncakes, I also got some Chinese pastries.  By saying Chinese pastries, they are not quite "Chinese".  However, I am sure you won't see them from any American bakeries.  A lot of the pastries sold here are crossover with Asian and Western styles (aka fusion).

Except for these fusion pastries, they also offer traditional Chinese pastries.  I tried to take couple pictures inside the shop; I immediately got caught by the staff and asked me not to take pictures ;(

Here are some background information about this bakery from Wikipedia:


Kee Wah Bakery is a chain of bakery stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco area of the United States (California). Kee Wah was originally founded in Hong Kong in 1938 by Mr. Wong Yip Wing (1911–1999). The company is well known in Hong Kong and overseas for its signature products ― Chinese Bridal Cakes and mooncakes ― though a wide range of Chinese and Western delicacies is equally popular.  
They have few different locations through out California.  If you would like to stop by to get some yummy Chinese pastries, or fusion pastries, click here for their locations.

A case of lotus paste mooncakes ($28.00usd)

Mooncake=)

Assorted baked treats - coconut cream bun on the right bottom
Char siu buns in the middle
Curry empanada on the top
Pineapple bun at the top right corner

A box of assorted baked goodies

I also picked up few Portuguese egg tarts for my in-laws to try.
 Of course, these tarts can't compare to the ones I had in Macau.

Inside the char siu bun

How to make your cupcakes look like a super model (without fondant)?

Mrs. G has heard a lot of people expressed how much they dislike about gum paste and fondant decoration on their cupcakes.  Most of them agree that they make the cupcakes look like a "super model", but those decoration kill the flavor of a cupcake.  So if you don't like gum paste and fondant, what could you/C for Cupcake Cupcakery do to make your cupcakes look as amazing as their taste? 

There are quite a few alternatives -

Seasonal fresh fruits - such as strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. 



Home made candied orange

Dried fruits and nuts



Cashew Nut Brittle Cupcakes (Picture from Blog - Our Eyes Eat First)


Candies and other treats - or if you like a treat on the top of your cupcake, we could use candies, cookies, coconuts, etc.



Easter chocolate candies with toasted coconut

Belgium waffle

Powder sugar, powder chocolate or shredded chocolate 

Using powder sugar for decoration on cupcakes
(Picture from the Cupcake Blog)

Mixing fresh fruit and powder sugar for decoration
(Picture from 123RF)



Mrs. G home made vegan chocolate cupcake topped

with shredded chocolate

Fresh flower petals - some flower petals are edible, some not!

Mixing fresh fruit and fresh edible flowers for decoration
(Desert from Extraordinary Dessert; picture from Flickrfan Stan)

Cupcake topper - you could get the toppers from any craft store or baking supply store.  Or you could even make your own toppers. 

Picture from Epicute

There are so many ways to make your cupcakes look great without sacrificing the taste of them.  I hope that this post could help you to decide what you could do with your cupcakes the next time without those fancy gum paste and fondant decoration.  Mrs. G personally thinks that these non-gum paste or fondant toppings are classy and tasty!

"If cooking is an art, baking is a science..."

This quote is so true!  Not everyone is born to be a baker.  I know numbers of amazing cooks, who could not bake.  Baking is harder than cooking, in my opinion.  Measurement is the KEY!

I am going to share one of my all time favorite recipes with you.  This recipe is also a very good cupcake recipe for summer party.  I hope you enjoy getting your hands dirty.

Don't want to do the dirty work, but want to enjoy the result.  Send me an email or leave me a comment to order some.  It's just a click away and you could enjoy these cupcakes.

Pineapple coconut cupcakes:

Make about 12 regular size cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
A little more than 1/2 cup juice from canned pineapple juice
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside
3. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs
4. Alternately add dry ingredients and pineapple juice
5. After batter is well blended, fold in pineapple and shredded coconut
6. Spoon batter into cupcakes pan
7. Bake cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes
8. Cool down
9. DONE AND ENJOY!