Baking can be a therapy for some people to destress. But it's not always easy to decide what to bake up next when inspirations are running dry. Great thing about baking is that you could experiment combinations of flavours that will help break out of the baker's rut.

Finding something unique to bake often isn't too tricky. You could experiment with the different flavourings at home, and don't be afraid to use some quirky pairings. If you lead a busy life, like most bakers, and don't have time to come up with new inspiration day after day, here are some simple baking ideas for you when you don't know what to bake.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Rainbow cupcakes have become popular over the past few years. Who doesn't love the winning combination of delicious cake with bright, playful colours? To make your rainbow cupcakes a success, you'll need to use your whitest cake recipe to allow the colours to show up well.

You'll also need quality gel food colouring to get the most vibrant colours. You could get gel in all the colours of the rainbow or save some money by getting primary colours and mixing them to create orange, green and purple. The frosting you use for your rainbow cupcakes can be anything your desire. But often a simple buttercream is perfect to complement the bright colours of the cake. Try vanilla or honey mascarpone buttercream.

Biscotti

Bakers often shy away from bakes like biscotti because they think they're complicated to bake, but this is actually not true. There are some excellent, simple biscotti recipes out there that will give you the perfect accompaniment to your morning cup of coffee.

You can bake biscotti using some of the most common ingredients in the kitchen: flour, eggs, sugar and oil. You can also spice up your biscotti recipe with additional flavours like cinnamon, espresso, chocolate or fruit. Try this classic biscotti recipe in 4 ways.

Banana Bread

Banana bread is another crowd-pleasing bake that can be easily customized. This bake is simple to make, and you might already have all the ingredients you need at home. You could spice up your banana bread by adding some chocolate chips, nuts or peanut butter. If you really want to step outside the box, consider adding a little cayenne pepper for a spicy kick. Try this banana bread recipe.

Paleo Baked Goodies

A paleo diet is often considered a healthy option and can help weight loss or manage some chronic conditions. The paleo diet involves eating foods that early humans would have eaten before the advent of farming. This means plenty of fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, meat and fish. Dairy products, processed foods, grains and legumes are usually avoided.

You might think that incorporating a paleo diet could make baking a challenge, but there is actually a massive range of delicious and unique baked goods for those following a paleo diet. You can find some of the tastiest options from Nora over at A Clean Bake or check out these paleo baked goods recipes.

Breakfast Muffins

Breakfast muffins can be an excellent baking choice for you and your family to enjoy in the morning. All you need is a muffin tray and some of your favourite breakfast foods. Eggs are essential, as they will bind together the rest of the ingredients, but aside from that, the opportunities are endless.

You could start with some chopped-up bacon, cheese and eggs. Whisk the eggs up, add the cheese and bacon, spoon the mix into the muffin trays and pop them into the oven until crispy and cooked through. You could try the same with some onions and tomatoes for a healthier omelet-style muffin. Try this breakfast egg muffin receipe - 3 ways.

Extra Puffy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love the classic chocolate chip cookie? If you want to make your cookies a bit more exciting, you could try baking an extra puffy batch to delight your kids and loved ones. All you need is your go-to cookie recipe and a package of instant pudding mix. Add the pudding mix to the cookie batter and bake as usual. The result will be chunky, puffy bites of goodness. You can experiment with different flavours of pudding to make tasty, unique cookie combinations.

Microwave Cake In A Mug

A microwave mug cake can be a great solution for anyone who are really strapped for time. You don't need to use self-raising flour to ensure the cake rises properly, all-purpose flour would suffice. Mix the batter in the mug to minimize cleaning and just pop it into your microwave. In less than 2 minutes, you'll have a cup of decadent cake! Serve with some ice cream or whip up a quick batch of frosting to go with the cake. This type of cake is a quick and easy option for when you just want something sweet without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Try this microwave cake in a mug recipe.

It's been a while since I last shared a recipe! I've partnered with What's Cooking (website available soon) to create this delicious burger recipe you can try at home! If you're stuck at home (like me), this may be a great time to explore something new and excite those tastebuds. This burger is juicy and flavourful all thanks to the homemade glaze. And the kimchi coleslaw adds a little extra kick!

This recipe will be available on their website once it's launched. If you try this out, be sure to tag me and #whatscooking on Instagram for a chance to be featured on their channel!

 

Fiery Bulgogi Kimchi Burger Recipe

Ingredients for glaze:

• 1 tbsp Gochujang
• ½ cup Premium light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1-inch slice of ginger
• ½ of medium-sized Asian pear
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Ingredients for burger (makes 4 burgers):

• 1 lb of fatty ground beef
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Montreal steak spice
• Coleslaw mix
• Kimchi
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• Sesame seeds (toasted)
• 4 eggs
• 4 Brioche buns (toasted)

Directions for glaze:


Mix soy sauce and brown sugar in a pot with low heat. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Set aside.

Directions for the burger:

1. Divide ground beef into 4 equal portions and shape each into a patty about 4 inches wide.
2. Season with salt, pepper and steak spices.
3. Lay patties on hot grill and cook patties with lid opened.
4. Baste patties with glaze halfway of grilling.
5. Flip patties once and glaze the other side.
6. Grill patties until browned on both sides or until desired doneness.

While patties are almost done grilling, lay buns, cut side down on grill and lightly toast for 30 seconds to 1 minute. In a frying pan, fry eggs in a sunny side up. Set aside.

In a Bowl, mix together mayonnaise, coleslaw mix and kimchi. Spread mixture onto burger. Lay fried egg onto kimchi mixture and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.


Enjoy and stay safe!

Lunar New Year is one of my favourite festivals of the year! Depending on where you live, chances are you'll probably notice that shopping malls and Asian supermarkets are all decked out in bright red of all sorts. The Lunar New Year or sometimes refer to as the Spring Festival is a big deal, almost as big or if not bigger than Christmas holidays for Asians. During the last week before the New Year, families are usually tied up with chores like house cleaning, shopping and decorating. On top of that, they also need to prepare for feasting and fill red envelopes with lucky money - all in anticipation to welcome the arrival of the New Year.

The date for Lunar New Year varies every year. To find out the date in which the New Year falls on,  families refer to the Lunar Calendar.

Here are some of the simplest ways that you could do to be a part of this special day.

This was my first pistachio cake. The process was quite hectic and dramatic, all thanks to my pretty darn old oven of more than 20 years. If my oven would stop adjusting temperature on its own, then I'd enjoy all my baking sessions a whole lot more. I just can't wait to get a new home so I can enjoy all those shiny brand new appliances that come with the house. Well, until then, I gotta stick with this antique. I used the recipe from Kittencalskitchen. It was simple and great for procrastinator like me. Besides, I had to make a birthday card and plan a full day birthday celebration for the bf. The recipe calls for pudding mix to create the pistachio flavour. I've done similar recipe for my strawberry cookies using jello mix before. So, I'm confident that this recipe will turn out just as what it's called, awesome.

Here are my steps during the process:

The pistachio pudding mix already has pistachio bits in them. It is really convenient if you don't want to add in extra walnuts or pistachios into the cake. However, the frosting also uses the same pudding mix so it is necessary to make the fondant thicker to cover all the lumps.

 

I wanted to make a Captain America cake for my boyfriend's birthday because he is a superhero fan. Of all superheros, I wanted to find one that relates to him the most so I chose Captain America. It's not because he particularly likes the character or movie. It's solely because Captain America has a letter A on his helmet and my boyfriend's name starts with an A as well. Haha.

I made the white and skintone fondant out of marshmallows. The blue and the red fondants are actually store bought. I think it will take me forever to knead my fondants into such intense red and blue colour. Plus, most people don't eat the decorations anyway. I love how the cake turned out. Being a perfectionist, I spent too much time fine tuning every single details to make it look perfect. Once I'm started, I couldn't stop and I ended up sleeping at 4 am. I looked like a zombie on his actual birthday. How fabulous.

Well, at least it was all worth it. My boyfriend was very surprised about everything I've planned for him especially the cake. He told me he was actually looking at that picture I took with Captain America earlier the week. Coincidence or simply psychic?

If you're not a fan of fondant, you can also make this pistachio cake and dress up with a cake topper like a custom superhero bobblehead. You can make it look like the birthday celebrant by providing their photo to the bobblehead manufacturer. Check out Cheap Bobbleheads.

A funny shot of the cake at the surprise party. We spent a good while figuring out where is the best spot to place the candle. Either between his two fingers like he is holding a cigarette or on his face like he is actually smoking with his nose (which is not even there). I am glad that everything turned out perfectly and everyone enjoyed the cake.

Now, I can get my beauty sleep.