Drag Queen Cooking

Meeting the Very Sweet and Talented Peachy Queen & Pete-O Daguyo

by Leave a Comment

As Part II of our series, I’ll be introducing this amazingly talented friend and chef – the charismatic and lovely burlesque dancer Peachy Queen and handsome drag king Pete-O Daguyo. Stay tuned with this interview series to get to know other Drag Performers who bake and cook – from the bay area and beyond.

Tanisha McClain / Peachy Queen smiling in a blue apron
Pete-O DaGuyo smiling

Who is Peachy Queen & Pete-O Daguyo?

I first met the person behind the personas – Tanisha McClain – at the Rebel Kings of Oakland show. We consistently had an amazing cast – but something about Pete-O / Peachy Queen stuck out. Well, maybe it was because they baked amazing cornbread for a performer to help them with their number! I couldn’t get enough of it.

During the pandemic, I also hosted my Hennessy’s Great Baking Show Twitch Stream where I featured Pete-O Daguyo as a guest performer. They shared with me & the audience, their iconic performance which involves eating a can of peaches and dancing in a bathtub. It’s very much, pull back that shower curtain, for a sweet sticky surprise! Just like a sticky cinnamon roll, watching Peachy Queen and Pete-O Daguyo is always a treat.

  • a shot of Pete-O DaGuyo performing with a can of peaches
A screen clip of that fun number!

In the words of Tanisha, “my burlesque self (Peachy Queen) is a Salty and Sweet southerner Daunty (Daddy Aunty) and my Drag self (Pete-o Daguyo) is an Afro Daddy Dude as well as a goofball.”

Let’s learn more about the world of this performer, who’s based in Merced.

So, in your words, how did you get started with drag and how long have you been doing it?

  • Peachy Queen performing
    photo by Heather Schofner Photography (@olyheather)

I got started in burlesque a bit under 3 years ago, but we will say 2 and some change with the whole panini. I have only been doing drag for under 2 years.

My style for both is just whatever makes my heart happiest. I love being silly, whimsical, playful, and a little saucy. During spooky season, I love gorelesque and bringing out my darkness. 

Nice! Additionally, how does food/baking play into your art as a performer?

Food and baking play into my performing arts because in the pre-pandemic days, I would always try to bring some snacks for my fellow castmates so that we could share joy before or after a show. (And thank you for that!!!)

    Tell me more about baking. What are some signature bakes you have as a baker or a chef?

    Some of Peachy Queen’s incredible bakes!

    My most talked about treats are the Rosemary Sea Salt Shortbread, Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, and a red walnut praline blondie. I make traditional, vegan, gluten-free, and keto goodies.

    I’m obsessed! Tell me more about your business, Quichey Creations. Also, how people can find out more or order from you.

    • Peachy Queen’s logo is by Madison Chaddock

    People can find out what I’m up to via my Facebook, Instagram, or my website.

    Does culture play a part in your art as a performer & baker? Or how does your story and identity make your art unique?

    • Tanisha McClain / Peachy Queen smiling in a yellow dress

    I am Fat, Black, Queer and Southern. All of those components have shaped me as a person and as a performer. There are elements of the South that I miss and try to bring into my food, art, and life… but I have since stepped away from the less desirable parts of that upbringing.

    Work!! Thank you for sharing that. What else should we know about you?

    Besides food, Burlesque and Drag, I am a Spoken Word Artist. I actually Combine Burlesque and Poetry to create Burletry sometimes.

    Thank you all for reading this interview! Check out their website for all of the food & baked goods “goodness” here and check out their Instagram here.

    Also, follow this blog for more future interviews of drag performers that cook and bake!

    How to Make the Very Best Earl Grey Blueberry Muffins!

    by 3 Comments

    With hints of honey & lavender, these robust and sweet Earl Grey muffins will take your tastebuds on a decadent journey of aromas and sweetness!

    Recently, I’ve been looking for the perfect Earl Grey Muffin recipe. I scoured through different Earl Grey muffin recipes, but couldn’t find one that had the right oomph of Earl Grey flavor. Whilst experimenting with different muffin recipes, I ended up creating my hit Orange Cardamom muffins. The success of these made me super confident – why not be the muffin queen? So I did some more experimenting, and ta-da! Try these delicious Earl Grey muffins on for size!

    Look at that golden color! It’s deliciously moist inside with a huge burst of tea flavor.

    What’s the Tea?

    These muffins are doubly infused with Earl Grey flavor – both in the topping and the muffin itself. For this recipe, you’ll need 4 tea bags of high-quality Earl Grey tea. I used Harney & Sons, which yielded a very aromatic result. As a huge tea aficionado, I also recommend Numi and Twinings tea. You can also use loose-leaf Earl Grey! Just measure out 1 teaspoon of Earl Grey for each tea bag.

    Here, you have my teabags swirling in the saucepan.

    Here’s a tip if you do use teabags though – make sure you snip the paper dangly thing off when you add it to the saucepan. There’s been too many times where I noticed it burning since it’ll hang right by the convection coils. Oops! No kitchen fires, please.

    Best of Toppings

    For the topping, I improvised and threw together honey, lavender, and loose-leaf tea. It worked amazingly! The double honey in the topping and the milk mixture ties the muffin together, and lavender perfectly accentuates the Earl Grey without overpowering it. Each bite becomes a delicious, textured mix of sweetness, tea flavor, and fresh blueberries. Using loose Earl Grey does mean that some of the dark tea leaves will appear on the topping. It can look a little confusing for some people – like did a leaf get shredded in these muffins? but the taste is 100% worth it.

    Let’s get started with these delectable Earl Grey Muffins!

    delicious earl grey blueberry muffins

    The Best Earl Grey Blueberry Muffins

    These robust and sweet Earl Grey muffins contain hints of lavender and honey, and a powerful kick of tea flavor. They're absolutely addicting!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 3 hours 18 minutes
    Rest Time 5 minutes
    Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 people

    Equipment

    • Muffin tin
    • Muffin foil or paper holders
    • sauce pan
    • food processor

    Ingredients
      

    Earl Grey Blueberry Muffins

    • 1¼ cup all-purpose baking flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¾ cups milk
    • 1 teaspoon honey
    • 1 teaspoon almond extract
    • ½ cup canola oil
    • ½ cup white sugar
    • ¼ cup brown sugar
    • 1 cup blueberries

    Lavender-Honey Crumble Topping

    • 2 tbsp brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon honey
    • 1 pinch dried lavender
    • ½ teaspoon lemon zest
    • ½ teaspoon loose Earl Grey tea

    Instructions
     

    Earl Grey Muffins

    • First, preheat your oven to 395°F.
    • In a small saucepan, heat up your milk. Once it is simmering, add in 3 tea bags & honey. Let simmer for 5 minutes, and then turn off the heat and let the tea bags sit for another 5 minutes in the sauce pan before discarding.
    • Mix the dry ingredients together – your flour, salt & baking powder. Then in another bowl, whisk your white & brown sugar with the canola oil. Add in the almond extract.
    • Carefully combine your wet ingredients with your dry ingredients. The add the tea mixture – make sure to measure it in cups because some of the tea may have evaporated. Fill any missing tea mixture with fresh milk. Stir together, and then fold in the blueberries.
    • Scrape the mixture into 12 equal cupcake liners of your muffin tin.

    Lavender-Honey Crumble

    • In a food processor, add brown sugar, lavender, lemon zest, loose Earl Grey tea, and honey. Mix until it forms a crumble, and then add it evenly to the tops of the muffins. You may have a little left over.
    • Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes. A skewer inserted should come out clean. Rest for 5 minutes, and enjoy!
    Keyword earl grey, Muffins

    These muffins are mouthwateringly delicious, but in case you and your folks can’t finish it in time, these will keep for a week easily refrigerated, or 1-2 days at room temperature. They taste best after they’ve cooled to room temperature from baking, but they’re still delicious right out of the fridge – that crumb topping and crunch is absolutely to die for!

    Variations

    • Want to make it vegan? Super simple – just swap the honey with maple syrup and swap cow’s milk with almond or oat milk.
    • Change it up! Try experimenting with other ingredients as well, like nuts and cranberries. Note that if you sub the blueberries with dried fruit, it’ll require likely a shorter baking time.

    I’m super proud of this recipe and glad I can share it with all of you! Feel free to experiment on this recipe as well.

    delicious earl grey blueberry muffins fresh out the oven
    So amazing fresh out of the oven!

    Maybe add more lemon zest & lemon juice, or experiment with another kind of black tea. Maybe next time, I’ll make boba milk tea muffins with tapioca ball toppings?

    If you enjoyed this recipe, don’t forget to give it a rating. See you all next time!

    How to Make Orange Cardamom Chai Blueberry & Cranberry Muffins

    by 9 Comments

    What a mouthful! Orange Cardamom Chai Muffins – with a blueberry and cranberry filling, chai spice, and a delicious black tea taste. These addicting muffins are topped with nutmeg and brown sugar, and they’ll have you begging for more!

    This recipe came about when I was experimenting with muffin recipes to create the most delicious Earl Grey muffins. While, I haven’t succeeded yet, I found adding orange zest and cardamom made absolutely the most delicious tea muffins. This is an original recipe that’s been received well by my partner’s entire extended family.

    orange cardamom chai muffins on a plate with blueberries
    Absolutely addicting!

    My Special Chai Mix!

    This recipe contains 1/2 teaspoon of special chai mix, or chai patti, that I use to make non-dairy chai. I’ll share the recipe eventually, but for now, you can make your own chai patti with these ingredients and a grinder.

    • 1/4 cup green cardamom pods
    • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon or 3 cinnamon sticks
    • 2 tablespoons ground cloves
    • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
    • 1 tablespoon ground ginger

    You can find cardamom pods at your local health & organic store, or any Asian & Indian market. If you can’t get ahold of it, two tablespoons of ground cardamom will also suffice.

    Additional Directions

    This recipe is an oil-based mix, with tea-flavored milk and canola oil. No eggs are needed for these muffins. After the adding the sugar-oil mix and heated milk to the dry ingredients, you should have a sticky, gluey batter.

    • the sticky batter
    • the sticky batter, with blueberries and cranberries

    You should have enough batter to fill the tins like so, and don’t worry if they’re not even – they will spread out nicely in the oven. Just add the topping and bake at 395 F for 18-20 minutes. Once you can slide in a skewer with it coming out clean, you’re ready!

    batter in muffin tins

    Here’s how to make my fragrant and delicious Orange Cardamom Chai Muffins!

    Delicious Orange Cardamom Chai muffins on a white plate with cranberries and blueberries

    Orange Cardamom Chai Blueberry & Cranberry Muffins

    These delectable Orange Cardamom Chai Muffins have a blueberry and cranberry filling, chai spice, and a delicious black tea taste. The topping contains a zing of nutmeg and sweet brown sugar. These are absolutely addicting and you'll be begging for more!
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert
    Cuisine American

    Equipment

    • 2 bowls
    • silicon mixing spatula
    • grater/zester
    • saucepan
    • whisk
    • 12-count muffin baking tin
    • muffin holders

    Ingredients
      

    Orange Cardamom Chai Muffins

    • ¾ cup milk
    • 2 black tea bags
    • ½ teaspoon chai spice mix or ¼ tsp ground cardamom, ¼ tsp cinnamon
    • 1½ cup all-purpose flour
    • ½ cup canola oil
    • ¾ cups sugar
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
    • 1 tsp lemon zest
    • 1 tsp orange zest
    • ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
    • ½ cup dried cranberries

    Almond, Brown Sugar & Honey Crumble Topping

    • 2 tbsp brown sugar
    • 2 tbsp almonds
    • ½ tbsp melted coconut oil
    • 1 tsp honey
    • ½ tsp ground nutmeg

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat your oven to 395°F degrees and line your muffin tins with liners. If you don't have liners, make sure to grease the tins well.
    • Pour ¾ cups of milk into a small saucepan and heat it over medium heat. Once simmering, add in 2 black tea bags. Cook for 5 minutes, and then take sauce pan off heat. Leave teabags in for an additional 5 minutes and discard.
    • While the tea cooks, prepare your dry ingredients. Add your flour and baking powder to a medium mixing bowl.
    • In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together your canola oil and white sugar. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice. Zest your oranges and lemons in a separate container and add ½ a teaspoon of each into the wet ingredients.
    • Pour your wet ingredients into the medium mixing bowl. With a silicon spatula, mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Take the tea mixture and measure ¾ cups into the bowl. Some of it may have evaporated, so substitute any that is gone with fresh milk. Mix well, and then fold in your blueberries and cranberries together carefully.
    • Pour even amounts into your 12-count muffin tin.
    • Now, combine your almonds, brown sugar, coconut oil, nutmeg, and almonds in a food processor. It should crumble together. Sprinkle an even amount over the tops of your muffins. You may have some left over.
    • Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
    • Cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

    Notes

    This recipe contains 1/2 teaspoon of special chai mix, or chai patti, that I use to make non-dairy chai. Here’s how you can make it with a grinder.
    • 1/4 cup green cardamom pods
    • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon or 3 cinnamon sticks
    • 2 tablespoons ground cloves
    • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
    • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
    Cardamom pods can be found be at your local health & organic store, or any Asian & Indian market near you. If you can’t get ahold of it, two tablespoons of ground cardamom will also suffice.
    Keyword Blueberry, chai, Cranberry, Dessert, Muffins

    These muffins are spoil-your-diet delicious, but in case you and your folks can’t finish it in time, these will keep for a week easily refrigerated, or 1-2 days at room temperature. They taste best after they’ve cooled to room temperature from baking, but they’re still delicious right out of the fridge.

    What do you think? If you enjoyed these, don’t forget to try my amazing Lavender Blueberry Muffins as well! I can’t wait to experiment with more recipes, and finally make that perfect Earl Grey muffin recipe as well.

    orange cardamom chai muffins for pinterest

    See you all next time! And if you’re interested in seeing me bake live, don’t forget to check out the Pride version of Hennessy’s Great Baking Show this Sunday at Media Meltdown, 1pm on June 27th.

    How to make a Watermelon Lime Tequila Cooler!

    by 3 Comments

    Happy first day of June! I’m celebrating the start of summer with a repost of this winning Watermelon Lime Tequila Cooler recipe.

    In the hot days of summer, my mouth waters whenever I pass by a watermelon in the grocery store. I love watermelon so much, but like many melon fruits, it’s a lot of trouble to cut and eat. This recipe for Watermelon Lime Tequila coolers is so easy that you won’t mind hacking open a watermelon for the sweet fruit. All you need a blender, a handful of ice, one lime, and fresh, ripe, watermelon. Don’t forget a kick of tequila for a brunch booze or a splash of simple syrup to satisfy your sweet tooth.

    And all you need is half a watermelon and a lime!

    This delicious and refreshing drink can also easily be made virgin – just take out the tequila, and sub for a splash of simple syrup instead. This pairs quite nicely with my vegan beef crumbles quesadilla recipe.

    delicious glass of watermelon juice with tequila

    Watermelon Tequila Lime Cooler

    This sweet and refreshing watermelon cooler has a delicious boozy kick and is perfect for the summertime!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Course Drinks
    Servings 2 people

    Equipment

    • Blender

    Ingredients
      

    • half a watermelon
    • juice of 1 lime
    • 1 shot tequila
    • handful of ice

    Optional

    • 1 tsp simple syrup

    Instructions
     

    • Cut your watermelon into chunks and add it to the blender.
    • Cut your lime in half and squeeze the juice with a lime/lemon squeezer or your hands.
    • Add tequila to your liking & ice cubes. Blend & taste. If you prefer it sweeter, add just one teaspoon of simple syrup.

    Notes

    A lime squeezer is a great investment love using limes as flavorings for fruits, cocktails, and coolers. If you don’t taste enough of the lime by hand squeezing, you can use two.
    The drink should be sweet enough on its own, but a teaspoon of simple syrup will give it more of a sugary bar cocktail taste. 
    Keyword cooler, simple syrup, tequila, watermelon

    What kind of Tequila?

    Cocktail makers typically recommend a silver tequila for mixed drinks, but I’m not one for tradition. At the time I wrote this recipe, I used Casamigos Añejo. It’s delicious and yes, I like to be fancy! Feel free to go lower-shelf with your tequila though, as this won’t be drunk straight-up.

    One shot is definitely more than enough if you want a light buzz. If you want to go harder, you can definitely do another shot before it gets bitterly strong. But that’s just me though, whatever floats your boat or cooler!

    Drink this immediately, as watermelon tends to separate after some time. If you have a few friends or roommates, it definitely won’t stay for long.

    So what do you think of this Watermelon Lime Tequila Cooler? I’ve made this a dozen times, and don’t feel the need to change the recipe – it’s just that good! Salud!

    How to Reconstruct the Nailed It Emoji Cake Recipe

    by 3 Comments

    Want a fun decorated cake that’ll put a smile on your friend’s faces, that’s also delicious and chocolatey? Check out my Nailed It Emoji chocolate cake recipe!

    Note: This recipe was updated on December 18th, 2021. My old video still shows the process for the vegan chocolate cake base, and the marshmallow fondant. I’ve kept it up, but I recommend this new method instead.

    finished Emoji Cake face with fondant, like the one from Nailed It!
    can you say “uwu?”

    Here’s my Nailed It emoji cake recipe! I recently binged the Netflix series Nailed It! recently, and it’s been an absolute hoot.

    One of my new aspirations is to appear on this zany reality baking show, especially as a baker with not a lot of experience decorating. Oddly enough, looking up the recipe for an emoji cake yielded few to no good results. This cake is originally made by Yolanda Gampp, who has her own unique formula.

    So to create this cake, I’ve reorganized my own cake from scratch, using Rose Levy Berenbaum’s chocolate layer cake base, almond buttercream, and Satin fondant.

    The original video on YouTube of me creating this cake!

    The Emoji Cake Recipe Components

    I took the cake base from Rose Levy Berenbaum’s Basic Chocolate Layer Cake from her book Rose’s Baking Basics. This cake is melt-in-mouth, though the downside is that it is a little softer and harder to decorate with buttercream. But the taste is absolutely worth it. Because the original cake is fit for two 9×2 rounds, you may have about a third of batter left over.

    I adapted the buttercream from this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I’ve made a quick change to her buttercream since I’m a huge fan of almond. This is an almond-vanilla hybrid buttercream. Yum!

    As for the fondant, I found that Satin Fondant yields a very professional result. Originally, I tried this cake with a marshmallow fondant. In order to get the right color, you’ll have to use professional food coloring rather than the cheap kind you get in supermarkets for that vivid bright color. To do it all yourself, you can check out this online recipe from Bigger Bolder Flavor.

    Otherwise, Satin Fondant is affordable and tastes surprisingly good for something that came in a plastic container. You’ll only need about 4oz in black and white, and I bought 2lb in yellow, which is more than enough.

    And those are the three components that make up my version of the Nailed It Emoji Cake recipe!

    The Emoji Face

    Rather than using the laughing, heart eyes, or sunglasses faces from the show, I’m going to do my own unique challenge… Let’s recreate the “bottom eyes” “yes sir” “uwu face” emoji which I love the most. (Don’t judge. This is a judgment-free zone, unlike Nailed It!) You’ll only need yellow and black food coloring, with the white being the natural color of the fondant.

    cute pleading emoji
    None of the gradient or orange outline though. I don’t have time for that sort of cake wizardry nonsense.

    My First Emoji Cake Attempt

    I first made this in the amazing span of about an hour and 30 minutes, while hosting my monthly baking show, on Twitch. It was a little rushed towards the end, and hard to get my fondant color right — I had to use a lot of yellow food coloring and for some reason, the black color kept diluting. Plus, it didn’t help that my buttercream wasn’t cold enough and the fondant was far too warm in the summer!

    • Emoji cake made out of fondant with the "pleading eyes"
      Look at that fondant face!
    • Hennessy Williams smiling while holding their nailed it emoji cake creation
      Ta-da! Nailed it!

    This was also before I had access to an xacto knife, or a cake decorating stand! D’oh! After this, I decided to try using store-bought fondant to avoid the same food coloring issue.

    My 2nd Attempt (and the recipe you see here today)

    Wanting to rectify the mistakes I made earlier, I decided to go with a different recipe that would be appealing to your typical Nailed It! cake audience. I decided to try a more standard chocolate cake recipe from the Baking Bible writer herself, Rose Levy Berenbaum. This cake is from Rose’s Baking Basics, which I highly recommend for any beginner or novice baker. She has great tips, without having the recipes be too intimidating for newbies.

    I found that this cake was softer and crumblier, so a little harder to decorate with buttercream. You’ll want a decorating spatula or a sharp nice to round off the top for decorating, as you’ll see below.

    • rounded dome chocolate cake
      The finished chocolate cake
    • shaved chocolate emoji cake
      Shaved to get it ready for decorating

    But wow, was the the taste worth it! I made a snack out of the extra chocolate cake shavings and leftover buttercream after I gifted the finished product. As for the buttercream, my recipe largely stayed the same, though I increased the proportions so there would be enough to use.

    Emoji Cake Buttercream Tips

    This buttercream is simply heavenly, and I love the almond taste. You won’t be able to get enough of it!

    One mistake I made during my second attempt was that I didn’t cool the cakes long enough so that they would be firm enough to withstand the decorating. I only cooled my cakes for 30 minutes, so I recommend sticking them in the fridge for 1 hour to really get them to harden, since it is a soft cake. As you can see in the pictures below, the fully decorated cake on the right ended up being messy and a little more than a crumb coat, since the chocolate kept breaking off! I didn’t want it to crumble more so my application was a little more messy.

    Luckily, the fondant comes in to save the day.

    • covered the top of the chocolate cake with buttercream
      Got to make sure to get a layer of buttercream in here. Yum!
    • buttercream covered cake
      A little messy here, but if your buttercream is warm and cake is cold, you should be fine!

    Fondant Application Tips

    Using store-bought fondant was a game changer. While it was fun to make my own fondant, the Satin brand is easier to roll out, pliable, and has a rich color that you won’t have to worry about recreating on your own. Emojis are known for their yellow faces after all.

    What I’ve learned about fondant over the years is this:

    1. Make sure your workstation, hands, and rolling pin is properly dusted. Seriously! Once sticky, fondant will stick everywhere, and it coming off on your table or hands will ruin the cake.
    2. It’s better to roll too much than too little. Trying to take it off your cake once it touches buttercream or frankenstein-ing the fondant together will be a mess.
    3. Make sure it’s the right texture/flatness before it goes on the cake. If it’s lumpy and hole-y before you place it on the cake, it’ll only get worse once you’re trying to flatten it out. It’s okay to re-roll and try again.

    Also, in the past I used confectioner’s sugar or even oil to make sure it didn’t stick. This time I tried cornstarch since it was the cheapest option anyway, and it worked like a charm! Even better, cornstarch comes right off when you are trying to dust it off to make it look presentable. It was so much easier the second time around.

    Once you carefully place the fondant over the cake, flatten it out with your dusted hands, or fondant shapers, if you have them. This cake was easy enough so that I was able to flatten it out without shapers. Any lumps you see on the cake are largely due to the lumpiness underneath rather than the fondant itself.

    • Rolled out fondant over cornstarch
      Nice and rolled out
    • The fondant-wrapped cake!

      Ta-da! A little lumpy, but no one’s perfect

    Once you’re done covering the cake, you will likely have leftover fondant. Simply cut it off cleanly with an xacto knife and you can save the fondant for later. (I actually ate mine, it was delicious, and I’m not really a fondant person.)

    Ready for the endeavor? Let’s begin!

    finished Emoji Cake face with fondant, like the one from Nailed It!

    Hennessy’s Nailed It Emoji Cake

    Here's my own version of the Nailed It Cake! with a delicious chocolate cake base, with vanilla-almond buttercream icing and Satin fondant.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 40 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    decorating time 30 minutes
    Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 5 people

    Equipment

    • 2 8-inch cake pans
    • Parchment Paper
    • stand mixer
    • xacto knife
    • icing spatula
    • cake decorating stand
    • Rolling Pin
    • measuring cup
    • Satin fondant in black, 4oz (found online)
    • Satin fondant in white, 4oz (found online)
    • Satin fondant in yellow, 2lb (found online)
    • cornstarch or confectioner's sugar for fondant

    Ingredients
      

    Chocolate Cake Base

    • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1 cup boiling water
    • ¼ cup canola or safflower oil
    • 16 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
    • 4 eggs room temperature
    • 3 tablespoons water
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 3⅓ cups cake flour
    • 2 cups superfine sugar
    • 5 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt

    Vanilla-Almond Buttercream

    • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
    • 3 cups confectioner's sugar
    • 3 tablespoons heavy cream room temperature
    • ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • optional: food coloring of choice
    • optional: fondant shapers

    Instructions
     

    Chocolate Cake Base

    • First, preheat your oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Prepare the cake pans with baking spray and lined parchment paper.
    • One hour before baking, in a glass cup measurer, whisk cocoa powder with the boiling water until smooth. Add the oil, and then let cool until room temperature. Make sure to also leave out the butter and eggs to room temperature.
    • Add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into your stand mixer and then whisk on low until blended.
    • Add the butter and cocoa mixture and manually mash the butter and cocoa before mixing so it doesn't get everywhere. Then, mix on low speed until moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1½ minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
    • In a small bowl, crack the eggs, and add water and vanilla extract. Whisk until lightly combined. On medium-low speed, add the egg mixture in three parts, waiting 20 seconds between each part to let the egg incorporate gradually.
    • Pour the batter into each pan until they are about half full. (Don't overfill!)
    • Bake for 38-40 minutes, or until a skewer poked in the cake comes out clean.
    • Once done, let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in their pans on wire racks. Then, let the cakes cool in your fridge for 1 hour.
    • Once the cakes are cool, run a spatula around the pans and carefully invert the cakes so they come out. The cakes have likely risen to domed tops in the oven, so gently slice the tops off so they are even and ready to decorate.

    Vanilla-Almond Buttercream

    • With a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy.
    • Gradually add 2 cups of confectioner's sugar, about ¼ at a time, as it blends with the butter. Then add heavy cream and beat together. Then add the extracts and beat on medium speed until the icing is soft and buttery. If you want the buttercream to be colorful, add two drops of food coloring of choice.

    Decorating with Buttercream

    • Spread room temperature buttercream over the top of the first cake, then set the other cake on top. Using a spatula, carefully spread buttercream around both cakes. Note that the cake will crumble if not cold. Set aside.

    Decorating with Fondant

    • Flour your work station with corn starch or confectioners sugar.
    • Open your yellow Satin fondant container and take out about half of the fondant. Roll it out with dusted hands so it doesn't stick. The fondant will gradually soften as you knead it. If it is hot when you are baking, you'll have to work faster. Taking a dusted rolling pin, roll the fondant until it is evenly flat.
    • Then gently pick up the fondant and hold it over the buttercream-covered cake. Lay it over the cake and flatten over the cake as well as you can. You can shape with fondant shapers but I was able to do this with my hands. Then cut off the excess pieces of fondant with an xacto knife.
    • Tidy your workstation, and then open up the packet of white fondant. Roll out two large circles for the eyes, and two medium & small circles for the irises. Flatten the circles evenly, and then press them into the yellow fondant "face" of your cake. Set the other circles aside.
    • Finally, open up the packet of black fondant and roll out medium circles for the slightly smaller blacks of the eyes. Once they are even and fit on top of the whites, press them into the eye whites.
    • Then, roll out 3 small black cylinders for the eyebrows and the mouth. Evenly arrange them on the cake as well.
    • Wash your hands, and then finally press the flattened white irises over the blacks of the eyes. Enjoy, and don't forget to take a picture!
    Keyword buttercream, emoji, emoji cake, Nailed It

    What do you think? Did your emoji cake turn out like mine?

    I would love to know what you think of this recipe!

    For more of the popular baking show recipes that I’ve recreated, check out my desserts section here.

    If you liked this cake recipe, please rate it below!

    Making a Victoria Sponge Sandwich Cake, Great British Bake Off style!

    by 1 Comment

    Here’s how you can make a classic Victoria Sponge, Great British Bake Off style!

    The Big Book of Amazing Cakes is one of my favorite cookbooks in my baking collection. I’ve tried a variety of recipes there, from Lemon Squares, to Parkin, to creamy, creamy cheesecake. This Victoria Sponge Sandwich Cake is a classic signature recipe from the Great British Baking Show, and for good reason. It’s a delicious mouthful of buttercream, jam, and sponge, without being overly sweet. It’s also quite easy to make, so making this cake is addicting! With such a classic recipe, it’s also easy to put your take on it. Try adding apricot jam, or a different flavor of buttercream. Or maybe make mini cakes!

    Victoria Sponge cake. it is on top of the amazing cakes book from great british bake off
    Absolutely decadent and delicious!
    Victoria Sponge cake. it is on top of the amazing cakes book from great british bake off

    Classic Victoria Sponge

    This classic British sandwich cake is both beautiful and delectable! Once you've made it once, you'll want it again and again.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine British
    Servings 8 people

    Equipment

    • Two 8-inch cake pans or springform pans
    • Parchment Paper
    • piping bag (optional)

    Ingredients
      

    Sponge

    • ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter softened
    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • 4 eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1¾ cups self-rising flour
    • ½ cup homemade or storebought strawberry jam
    • optional: fresh strawberries to garnish
    • optional: confectioners' sugar to garnish

    Buttercream

    • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
    • 1⅔ cups confectioners' sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Instructions
     

    • Heat your oven to 350°F and grease and cover pans with parchment paper.
    • Using a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla for 5-6 minutes, until pale and creamy. Then add the eggs until well-combined.
    • In another bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Then, fold it into the stand mixer bowl and mix on low until incorporated.
    • Divide the mix into two pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and springy and a skewer comes out clean. Cool them in their pans for 5 minutes, and then turn them onto a wire rack carefully to cool completely.
    • For the buttercream, beat room temp butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
    • Then, spread the jam evenly on one of the cake halves. Fill a piping bag with buttercream, and snip a ½-inch hole into the bag. Pipe the buttercream in little blobs around the cake, or just spread it on with a spatula.
    • Carefully place the second sponge on top and press together. Dust with confectioners' sugar and garnish with fresh strawberries.

    Notes

    This cake is even more delicious with homemade jam! I hope to make my own from scratch one day, but until then, I highly recommend the Comte de France brand of strawberry jam.
    Keyword Cake, Sandwich Cake, Victoria Sponge
    Delicious Victoria Sponge on a plate
    I had to control myself to only eat one slice each morning… I didn’t always succeed!

    Helpful Tips

    The Amazing Cakes book is from the UK, so as usual, there are some UK-isms. I explored this in my Mary Berry Apple Cake recipe, but in case you don’t have self-rising flour, here’s how to easily make it at home.

    To make self-rising flour, just combine 1 cup of all-purpose flour with a quarter teaspoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. It’s easy! I like to make two cups at a time and store it in a large porcelain jar for later.

    As with other recipes in my Amazing Cakes book, it writes instructions for using a stand mixer. Many of these recipes aren’t that complicated, and I believe this sponge cake could easily be made with a hand mixer. I don’t really recommend doing it by hand, especially since hand mixers are fairly affordable. To adjust the recipe for the hand mixer, be prepared to mix for a few minutes longer, and keep an eye on the mixture to make sure it’s the right consistency.

    Pinterest image for the Victoria Sponge Cake

    By the way, here’s another tip from my amazing baker friend, Matt! To make a decorative design with your confectioner’s sugar, simply cut a snowflake shape out of parchment paper. Then sprinkle on your sugar, remove the paper, and voila! Bakery & afternoon tea ready cakes.

    What do you think? I can’t wait to make more Victoria Sponge cakes! For more recipes like this, see the Amazing Cakes book, or my other dessert recipes!

    Note, this blog post contains an affiliate link from Amazon. I get a small commission if items are purchased through the link at no cost to the buyer.

    Let’s make Lavender Blueberry Muffins for Spring!

    by 1 Comment

    Springtime is here and lavender is in full bloom. A friend told me recently that lavender grows like a weed and you can pretty much find out all over the bay area where I live about this time. Try plucking a few flowers and see if you can make these delicious lavender blueberry muffins for yourself!

    lavender, for lavender blueberry muffins
    lavender blueberry muffins

    I decided to experiment with a classic Blueberry Muffin recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Rose’s Baking Basics, which I highly recommend as a starter baking book for beginners. It’s simple enough not to be intimidating, (unlike the Baking Bible) but has enough to get you thinking about all of the baking possibilities!

    I consulted some other lavender bake recipes and added lavender to the sugar. There is just a hint of lavender in the muffins, but not enough to overpower the delicious blueberry, vanilla, and lemon flavors. Lavender is best used in moderation, but it’s so good addicting once you get started!

    lavender blueberry muffins

    Lavender Blueberry Muffins

    These lavender blueberry muffins are soft, sweet, and delicious, with a lovely hint of lemon zest – perfect for spring!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Course Breakfast, Dessert
    Cuisine American

    Equipment

    • Cupcake Liners
    • Cupcake or Muffin Pan
    • Ice Cream Scoop (optional)

    Ingredients
      

    • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
    • 1 egg room temperature
    • ¾ cups blueberries
    • 1 tablespoon lemon zest from about 1½ lemons
    • 1¼ cups bleached all-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ⅓ cup sour cream
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ cup sugar
    • 2 teaspoons fresh lavender buds
    • sugar for topping
    • nutmeg for topping

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat your oven to 375° F.
    • Take your fresh lavender buds and mix it in your cup of sugar. Stir with a spoon until it is incorporated.
    • In a medium bowl, prepare the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, in a measuring cup, add the egg and whisk in the vanilla.
    • Add the butter, sugar mixture, and lemon zest to your stand mixer bowl and mix for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy. Then add in the egg mixture until it is mixed in.
    • Gently add in your flour mixture and sour cream and beat on low speed until incorporated.
    • With your silicon spatula, fold in the blueberries.
    • Take an ice cream scoop or spoon and add the batter evenly to 6-8 cupcake liners in the muffin tin. Then, sprinkle a dusting of sugar and nutmeg over the tops.
    • Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when pressed lightly and a skewer/chopstick comes out clean.
    • Cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

    Notes

    Don’t over-zest the lemons, as the lemon flavor might overpower the other flavors.
    If you don’t have fresh lavender buds, dried lavender buds can work as well, or one teaspoon of lavender essence.
    Keyword Blueberry, lavender, Muffins

    What do you think? My partner liked these lavender blueberry muffins so much, he ate six out of the eight muffins I made! That means he’s doing the dishes and I get to make more muffins.

    lavender blueberry muffins
    Yum!

    This recipe is also featured for my Springtime Edition of Hennessy’s Great Baking Show. Check it every month on Media Meltdown to see me bake new recipes. Until then, I’ll see you next time!

    Happy Spring! Let’s make dairy-free lavender chai

    by 4 Comments

    I’m a huge fan of honey, lavender, and chai. Now that I live in an area where Spring is actually a season, I’m able to experience gorgeous blossoming flowers in my neighborhood, plus take advantage of some local herbs growing nearby. Here’s a lovely dairy-free lavender-flavored chai latte drink made with lavender buds picked by my local church!

    honey and lavender chai tea
    Foraged lavender courtesy of the church near me.

    Springtime Yumminess

    For this refreshing and yummy lavender chai drink, I adapted a recipe from Vegan Richa‘s book, for Indian Spiced Milk Tea and made it my own with a honey and lavender twist. For even better results, see if you can find some lavender honey near you! The type of flower pollinated by bees affects the taste of the honey, so lavender honey is made with bees that have pollinated lavender!

    By the way, do you know what works well with this plant-based chai latte?

    How about some Earl Grey and Blueberry Muffins? Let’s make a Lavender & Earl Grey brunch together!

    Make it Vegan

    This drink is dairy-free, but it can always be easily made vegan. Just substitute the honey with some maple syrup, agave sweetener, or simple syrup.

    Enjoy your vegan plant-based drink!

    lavender chai tea

    Plant-Based Lavender Chai Latte

    This delicious dairy-free lavender chai latte is flavored with fresh lavender & honey. Delicious hot or iced, it's the perfect drink for spring.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 16 minutes
    Course Breakfast, brunch, Drinks
    Cuisine Indian

    Ingredients
      

    • 1½ cups water
    • 2 tablespoons white sugar
    • 2 Chai tea ¼ bags
    • 2 cups almond or oat milk
    • 1 teaspoon Chai Masala mix see notes
    • 1 teaspoon lavender buds
    • 1 teaspoon honey

    Instructions
     

    • Heat the water over medium heat and add sugar, tea bags, chai masala mix. Let it boil for 8 minutes.
    • Once it comes to a rolling boil, add in the almond milk and lavender buds. Let it boil again for another 5-6 minutes. Taste the tea, and then add honey if desired.
    • Strain the tea into a cup and serve, or pour over ice for an iced chai.

    Notes

    Chai Masala is a mix of spices to add to your tea for that traditional chai flavor you’ll find at restaurants. To make it, you grind up the spices in a grinder and store them in an air-tight container. There are variations of it, but here is my quick and easy mix, adapted from Vegan Richa’s book.
    • 1/4 cup green cardamom pods
    • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon or 3 cinnamon sticks
    • 2 tablespoons ground cloves
    • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
    • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
    Cardamom pods can be found be at your local health & organic store, or any Indian market near you. If you can’t get ahold of it or any other ingredients, have no fear, your drink will still be delicious!
    Keyword almond milk, chai, chai latte, dairy-free, honey, lavender, non-dairy

    What do you think? I find this dairy-free lavender chai latte to be absolutely delicious! You can easily remix this recipe to your liking. Add fresh ginger, or increase the amount of sugar or honey. You can also make it sugar-free, or sub maple syrup with honey to make it vegan.

    dairy free lavender chai for pinterest

    If you like this drink, be sure to check out my many other recipes for smoothies & Indian-inspired drinks, like Strawberry Lassi or this Peach Mango smoothie.

    Note, this blog post contains an affiliate link from Amazon. I get a small commission if items are purchased through the link at no cost to the buyer.

    Getting to know Bibingka Mama, Pinay Drag Queen & Baker

    by Leave a Comment

    As part of a new series I’m starting, I’ll be interviewing Drag Performers who bake and cook – from the bay area and beyond! This is the first part of a whole series to shed light on the world of cooking, baking, food, and drag. Let’s get to know Bibingka Mama, our first guest.

    Bibingka Mama in purple outfit on a washing machine
    Photo courtesy of John Dionisio.

    Who is Bibingka Mama?

    Bibingka Mama is a Pinay Drag Queen, Baker, Songwriter, and Entertainer, serving Filipino cuisine with a funky twist. Their namesake comes from their signature dish, the bibingka, which is an ooey-gooey, coconutty Filipino rice cake dessert. After perfecting their family recipe, they realized that most Americans weren’t familiar with bibingka, and decided to share their culture through food and entertainment. They modified the family recipe and began selling the delicious rice cakes at local New York pop-up events. With this, they hope to build an empire and share the Filipino culture and food with the world.

    I’m honored to be able to know Bibingka Mama through a mutual friend and excited to know another Asian American baker & drag performer!

    So, in your words, how did you get started with drag and how long have you been doing it?

    BIBINGKA MAMA: I have always enjoyed going to drag shows, but it wasn’t until I starting dressing up for parties in the Brooklyn club kid scene that I started getting into drag myself. In 2017, I  was invited by the Bubble_T Party producers to perform for their first annual Halloween Event “Cosplaysia”. Since that first moment on stage, I knew drag was something I wanted to continue doing. 

    That’s Incredible. I think I see a little bit through your drag performances, but how would you describe your style?

    BIBINGKA MAMA: I would describe my style as “Glampy” Glam Campy drag. I sometimes like to incorporate some cosplay and cartoon scenes into my drag routine. 

    bibingka mama posing in front of confetti made to look like noodles and a giant spoon and fork
    Photo courtesy of Bibingka Mama.

    Tell me more about this signature dish!

    BIBINGKA MAMA: My Signature dish is the Royal Bibingka, its the famous Filipino dessert that I am named after. Royal Bibingka is an ooey-gooey rice cake, baked without banana leaves. It’s very similar to the Hawaiian Butter Mochi cake with roasted coconut flakes. It’s one of my favorite desserts.

    I saw on your website that you have this amazing Balikbayan box! Also, what other sort of cool drag and cooking things are you doing?

    BIBINGKA MAMA: A Balikbayan box is a Filipino care package, they are typically large freight shipments sent by families in the U.S. to the Philippines. This has been a long-standing tradition in the Filipino community and I wanted to introduce a new way of celebrating this tradition by making my own care package for my friend and family in the US. I decided to curate a monthly box full Asian treats that aren’t available at local grocery stores. This is the perfect way to share Asian food and culture to those without easy accessibility.

    I am also working on other projects, like expanding my YouTube channel with more cooking/baking content as well as fashion and style videos. I am hoping to launch these videos within the next month. 

    • bibingka mama in front of a fake oven for a drag show
    • bibingka mama dancing and performing

    Coming from one Asian performer to another, tell me more about how your culture inspires your drag and art.

    BIBINGKA MAMA: When I took on the name Bibingka Mama I didn’t realize how much of an impact I would have in the Brooklyn Filipinx community. I loved seeing people get so excited to see Filipino food in a place where they typically wouldn’t see any Filipino representation. A lot of people also didn’t know what a bibingka was, so I had to take the opportunity to share my culture and start baking these cakes for my shows. Soon after I started selling them at pop-up markets and special online orders. I eventually expanded my menu to other Filipino dishes like chicken adobo sliders and rice bowls for larger events like the Bushwig festival. 

    I would also incorporate cultural elements into my performance, Such as adding Asian design and motifs in my costumes, or cultural references in my dance routine. For my first Lunar New Year event I did a Tahitian dance that transitioned into a fan dance to the song “Attitude” By Leikeli 47.

    a poster of bibingka mama performing. they are holding fans.
    Photo taken by Mathew Dean Stewart.

    That is so incredibly amazing! Last question. What else should we know about Bibingka Mama?

    BIBINGKA MAMA: If you haven’t had bibingka, you can go to Bibingkamama.com/shop to buy a Royal baking Bibingka kit, you can make Bibingka in your own home. 

    Thank you all for reading this interview! You can (and should) follow Bibingka Mama on their Instagram here and check out their amazing website. Also, follow this blog for more future interviews of drag performers that cook and bake!

    Let’s Make this Creamy, Dreamy, and Lightly Sweet Peach Mango Yogurt Smoothie

    by 3 Comments

    Got a hankerin’ for a delicious smoothie but wanna stay healthy? Try this simple Peach Mango and Yogurt smoothie, made with orange juice, Greek yogurt, and just a little bit of sweetness. It’s just the thing for the start of a warm and sunny spring.

    This smoothie is simple enough that you can find all of the ingredients at your local grocery store. Check out frozen mangos and peaches in the grocery aisle and you can grab your pick of Greek Yogurt. Chobani is a favorite of many, but I usually go for the more inexpensively-priced Fage. The only item that might be harder to find are Medjool dates, which you can find at health food stores. If you don’t have that, honey is a simple sub. And as always, I like to top my smoothies with a delicious garnish of mint. Mm. What do you think?

    Let’s go and make this Peach Mango and Yogurt Smoothie!

    mango-peach smoothie

    Creamy, Dreamy, and Lightly Sweet Peach Mango Smoothie

    This delicious smoothie brings to mind yummy peaches and cream, a touch of honey, and a bit of a tropical tang with mango. It's healthy but still tastes indulgent!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Course Breakfast, brunch
    Servings 2 people
    Calories 220.5 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1½ cup Greek Yogurt
    • ½ cup orange juice
    • 1 cup frozen mango
    • 1 cup frozen peaches
    • 1 medjool date, or 1 teaspoon honey
    • mint leaves as a garnish optional

    Instructions
     

    • Add orange juice and Greek Yogurt first, and then top with frozen fruit and your Medjool date or honey. Blend for 1 minute. If the mixture is too thick, try adding a little more orange juice.
    • Serve and top with mint or peach and mango pieces.
    Keyword Greek Yogurt, Mangos, Peaches, Smoothie

    Hungry for more? I’ve made other smoothies in the past using this same combination. I have Kate from Love Real Food fame to thank for her idea of the Greek Yogurt choice and Medjool dates to go with smoothies. Ever since then I’ve been remixing and playing with my smoothie combinations. What do you think of this combination?

    a bowl of peaches
    Peaches always remind me of summer.

    By the way, this recipe can definitely be modified to use fresh peaches and mangos as well. Just add in a handful of ice to make it cold. Let me know what you think I should try next!

    Note, this blog post contains an affiliate link from Amazon. I get a small commission if items are purchased through the link at no cost to the buyer.