Wintermelon Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese

Birch Tree, Ovaltine, Chocolate Mousse and a Baking Book for kids.

Does anyone know how it will come to play as my earliest memory?

Since we’re all friends here, and friends tell friends their embarrassing moments (not for blackmailing purposes, okay?), I’m telling mine. The earliest one, that is.

You see, even as a child (who still has not learned how to read) I love books, especially if it has pictures of cakes and desserts. We had this baking book for kids that has this really amazing illustration of a chocolate mousse. (It escapes me how I knew it was of a chocolate mousse). And the young baker in me thought, hmmm… this is fairly easy. The illustration mostly has brownish part in a tall glass topped with a whitish part.

Young Bake Happy Baker’s interpretation (circa 1986, when she was just four years old):

·         Brown part = Ovaltine

·         White part = Birch Tree Milk

Grown up Bake Happy Baker now knows that  -

·         Brown part = Chocolate, eggs and cream turned into a mousse

·         White part = Whipped cream

Too bad, young Bake Happy Baker didn’t have that wisdom back then. You know what she did? She got Ovaltine, placed heaping tablespoons in a tall glass and topped it off with Birch Tree. No – water – added.

Please don’t let me tell you how -

• ·         she ended finishing up the tall glass to cover up her tracks.
• ·         she got sick of the taste. (It really isn’t fun eating it dry without any liquid to wash it down)
• ·         she may or may not have ended her adventure in the bathroom (this she will neither confirm nor deny)

At least now, when I want to re-create something, I follow the exact instructions J

Like this Wintermelon Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese. I'm not that much of a fan of milk tea but for some reason, after grocery shopping at Landmark, I decided to order one. Cha Time has this interest drink called Wintermelon Tea Mousse that got me intrigued and now I am hooked. That frothy, tangy yet a bit salty cream on top is out of this world! I think I drank three more of this addicting drink when I got to know Happy Lemon's Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese. Oh my. My cravings are getting out of hand! This is not good. Could this Rock Salt and Cheese concoction be replicated at home?

Thanks to the power of google, I found out Pepper.ph has already tried to replicate the addiciting Rock Salt and Cheese they based from Happy Lemon. And thank heavens I have all the things I need in the pantry so I got to work. Instead of black tea, I made a batch of wintermelon tea to accompany the Rock Salt and Cheese. 

Pepper.ph's Rock Salt and Cheese Foam
from Pepper.ph

What we need:

1/2 cup cream cheese spread, softened

1/4 cup condensed milk, chilled

1/3 cup whipping cream, chilled well

Himalayan pink rock salt

Here's how:
(1) Combine cream cheese, whipping cream and condensed milk. Whip until thick.

(2) Add Himalayan pink salt.

(3) Add on top of an iced Wintermelon Tea.

Thank you Pepper.ph! This recipe is a keeper! I handed one glass to my dad without saying what it is (thank heavens he trusts me) and said it tasted exactly like Cha Time's Wintermelon Mousse!

Wintermelon Tea Cupcakes

Today, I am going to answer a very important question. This question, I believe, has been bugging you for quite sometime now. It may have given you sleepless nights and anxiety, it may have troubled you almost incessantly, and it may have caused your inattentiveness at work. I do not want to continue causing that.

So here I am, addressing your question:

What do I do with all the cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts I've been making once I've posted it up online?

But before I answer that, let's make mini cupcakes first. Today's recipe, I must admit, is a mouthful: Wintermelon Tea Mini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese

Frosting Topped with Homemade Lemon Marmalade Drizzled with Wintermelon Tea Syrup.

From here on, let's just call it Wintermelon Tea Mini Cupcakes, or the cupcakes. Saves time.

I got my winter melon tea bar from my friend, Gene. I've never seen anything like it. Tea turned into a bar. How cool is that? According to Gene, what is usually done with it is to melt the bar, add ice, bring out a fancy straw and enjoy. But I usually go the road less traveled and decided to make cupcakes from it.

Hmmm what goes well with wintermelon tea? Lemon is okay, right? And oh, throw in cream cheese and we have a winner.

But first, where to find a recipe? My plan is to make syrup out of the bar and use it as the sugar substitute. I looked for a recipe which calls for a liquid sweetener and found this:

A recipe for agave cupcakes at Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Instead of agave, I will use the syrup. Sweet!

Wintermelon Tea Cupcakes
adapted from Simple Vanilla and Agave Nectar Cupcakes (Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

325F/makes 30 mini cupcakes

2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup wintermelon tea syrup
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
(1) To make syrup, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and melt one wintermelon tea bar until liquid is reduced to 1 1/3 cup (just use half of this for the recipe)
(2) Sift all dry ingredients together.
(3) In a large bowl, mix the milk and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl.
(4) Let it sit for 5 minutes to allow it to curdle
(5) Add in the syrup, oil and vanilla extract.
(6) Mix in dry ingredients, be mindful of lumps. I used a strainer to get rid of it from my batter.
(7) Fill liners two thirds full. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean

Note from the book:
(1) Don't overbake or cupcakes will be dry.
(2) These cupcakes need to cool at least an hour before topping or filling, and also to develop the flavor and texture properly.

For the cheese frosting, I used this recipe.

For the lemon marmalade, I made my own. For the first time. I'm glad I did, I had rave reviews about it. Pinky Swear. I got the recipe from Erin of Yummy Supper. Now I have a big bottle of lemon marmalade I intend to spread on a buttered toast for breakfast. Indulgence is life. But wait, I should assemble the cupcakes first.

To assemble:

Ice the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting using a big round tip

Spread half a teaspoon full of marmalade on top of the frosting

Drizzle with the remaining syrup

That's all folks! Till the next recipe!

Oh wait, yeah. You were waiting for me to answer your question. I thought I totally distracted you. I was wrong, silly me.

Bake Happy goodies go out to who I call my Bake Happy Friends. My family, friends, classmates, officemates, buildingmates and officemates. Sweet, right?

Sneak peek. For this recipe, I made 60 mini cupcakes. See? This is before....

 and this is almost right before after. :)

These went to my officemates, who dearly loved the unique flavor (Buti na lang, otherwise it'll go to waste :))

Have a great pre-weekend-Thursday everyone!