Dragon Egg Cake Food

DRAGON FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Place dragon fruit flesh in a blender or food processor and puree. Transfer puree to a bowl and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.
• Sift cake flour, all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• Cream 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 cup butter together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time; beat until yolks disappear.
• Combine milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract together in a cup and set aside.
• Add 1/2 the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture, beating until just combined. Add 1/2 the milk mixture. Add remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add remaining milk mixture and stir until mixed thoroughly. Add 1/2 cup dragon fruit puree and very lightly swirl into the cake batter.
• Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
• Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes; turn out onto wax-paper lined racks and cool 5 minutes more. Brush tops and sides of cakes with simple syrup.
• While cakes are cooling completely, beat cream cheese and butter together in a bowl until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar slowly and beat 3 minutes more. Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons dragon fruit puree, beating until combined and puree is completely incorporated.
• Place one cake layer top-side up on a serving plate; place strips of waxed paper under the edges of the cake to keep the plate clean. Spread approximately 1/2 the vanilla buttercream frosting on top. Top with the second layer, bottom-side up, and lightly frost the top and sides with remaining vanilla buttercream frosting.
• Apply dragon fruit cream cheese icing to the top and sides of the cake, leaving some of the vanilla buttercream frosting showing through.

DRAGON EGGS

Steps:

• For the dragon sauce and fried garlic garnish: In a medium saucepan, add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and Worcestershire and bring to a boil; set aside.
• In a separate medium frying pan, heat the oil to medium, add the chopped garlic and fry until golden. Strain the oil and hold the garlic until ready to plate.
• For the dumplings: Put the ground pork in a large mixing bowl. Add the vegetable oil, oyster sauce, soy seasoning sauce, sugar, black pepper, minced garlic, eggs and 1/4 cup water and mix thoroughly. Blend the shrimp in a food processor to a coarse texture. Gently combine the crab meat and ground shrimp with the pork mixture.
• Start heating water in the bottom of steamer on the stovetop to bring to a boil.
• To prepare the dumplings: Lay out the wonton skins on a flat surface, about 10 at a time, and place a heaping tablespoon of the meat-seafood mixture onto the center of each. Fold and form the wonton skin up and around the mixture to create a bite-size dragon egg. Leave the top open so the meat-seafood mixture is visible.
• Generously coat the bottom of a steamer basket with vegetable oil to prevent sticking. Place the dumplings into the steamer basket; it's OK if they touch each other. Once the tray is full, brush a thin layer of vegetable oil onto all the dumplings, then place the basket on the base of the steamer which should be full of boiling water. Steam each layer until clear droplets form on the dragon eggs, about 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
• When ready to serve, Place 6 dumplings on a plate and pour some sauce over top. Place a jalapeno wheel on top of each dragon egg and sprinkle on some fried garlic. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.

DRAGON EGG CAKE

Steps:

• For the egg cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a 6-by-9-inch 3D egg cake pan.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until lightened in color and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk; begin and end with the flour mixture. Beat until the batter is smooth and thoroughly combined.
• Divide the batter among 3 bowls. Tint one bowl with the red food color, one with the orange and one with the yellow. Fill each half of the egg pan alternately with the batter colors. Use a butter knife or skewer to swirl the batter together.
• Bake until a toothpick tester inserted near the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer the cakes to wire cooling racks and let them cool completely before frosting. When the cakes are cool, level them with a serrated knife, if needed.
• For the simple syrup: Combine the granulated sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool for about 15 minutes before using.
• Place the cakes dome-side up on a wire rack or baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to coat the cakes with the simple syrup. Use about two-thirds of the syrup on the cakes and reserve the remaining syrup for later use.
• For the vanilla buttercream: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar on low speed until crumbly. Add the vanilla extract. Beat again, adding milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time to thin the mixture. When the mixture starts to appear creamy, increase the mixer speed to high and beat until light and fluffy. Add more milk or cream to bring to spreading consistency.
• Place one egg cake on a 9-inch cake board or serving plate dome-side down. Cover with a thick layer of buttercream and sandwich with the second egg cake, dome-side up. Use the buttercream to completely cover the outside of the egg cake, smoothing it as much as possible with an offset spatula. This doesn't have to be perfect because the cake will be covered with fondant dragon scales. Refrigerate the cake until the buttercream is firm, about 20 minutes.
• For the marshmallow fondant and décor: In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the marshmallows and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon water. Microwave in 30-second intervals until the marshmallows have expanded to twice their size, 60 to 90 seconds total. Stir to deflate.
• Add one-third of the confectioners' sugar into the marshmallow mixture and stir to combine. Add more confectioners' sugar and stir until very stiff. When the mixture becomes difficult to stir, knead with your hands. Add the remaining confectioners' sugar a little at a time, until the fondant is very smooth and elastic and holds a firm ball shape.
• Remove a third of the fondant to a work surface and cover the remaining fondant with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Dust the work surface with confectioners' sugar. Knead a few drops of brown gel food color into the portion until a light tan is achieved. If the fondant feels too dry, knead in 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable shortening. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and set aside to rest.
• Re-dust the work surface with confectioners' sugar. Knead the remaining fondant with 1/4 teaspoon moss green gel food color until a consistent green hue is achieved. Roll the fondant to 1/8-inch thickness using a fondant rolling pin. Use a 2-inch fondant serrated leaf cutter to stamp as many 'dragon scales' from the fondant as possible. Transfer the scales to baking sheets lined with parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap so they don't dry out. Re-roll the fondant and cut more scales. Repeat the process until all of the fondant is used.
• Roll out the tan fondant to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out a 6-inch circle with a 6-inch pastry cutter (or use a dessert plate as a template). Use a kitchen-dedicated paintbrush to lightly coat one side of the fondant with the simple syrup and then press it onto the bottom rounded part of the egg. Use the end of the paintbrush to pock the fondant. Use a butter knife to scrape irregular markings into the fondant to create a distressed appearance.
• Use the paintbrush to apply a small amount of simple syrup to the back of a fondant scale. Place the scale halfway over the edge of the 6-inch round of fondant. Repeat the process, overlapping the scales slightly. After the first row of scales is applied, begin the second row by placing a scale's point between 2 scales of the first row. Repeat the process of brushing, applying and overlapping scales until the entire cake is covered.
• In 3 separate small cups, combine each of these food colors with a few drops of clear extract: emerald green, moss green and neon yellow. Lightly dip a clean brush into the emerald green food color mixture. Brush it onto the top third of the scaled portion of the cake. Dampen a food-dedicated 3-inch round sponge with water and wring out completely. Use the sponge to tap the color into the fondant, so that it has a mottled appearance. Repeat the process with the moss green food color on the middle third of the scales, followed by the yellow on the bottom third of the scales. Use the sponge to mottle color onto the distressed tan fondant. Use every color to create lots of color variation. Refrigerate the cake until the color is set and dry, about 15 minutes.
• Dip a dry soft-bristle paintbrush into the gold luster dust. Lightly brush over the scales to create a metallic shine.
• Slice the cake in front of your guests to reveal the fiery interior--then ENJOY!

DRAGON EGGS

Steps:

• Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain hot water and fill saucepan with cold water; allow eggs to sit until cooled, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain water. Gently tap or roll eggs on the counter so the shell is cracked but still intact.
• Return eggs to saucepan and pour in enough water to cover eggs; add soy sauce, molasses, salt, and tea bags. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until eggs have absorbed color, about 30 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and leave eggs in water to cool to room temperature.
• Peel eggs and trim bottom of each egg so it will stand upright. Cut each egg lengthwise and scoop yolks into a bowl. Mix mayonnaise, red bell pepper, salt, and pepper into egg yolks until evenly combined.
• Spoon yolk mixture back into egg whites; smooth filling to be level with egg white. Put each egg back together.
• Pour salsa onto a plate and assemble eggs upright into the salsa.