Mushroom-Shaped Chocolate-Orange Meringues

Whimsical party food to impress.

Froot Loop Cupcakes (USA)

Fancy dressing up your vanilla cupcakes?

Creamy Chicken Tetrazzini

Savory and creamy comfort food!

I-Disgust-Me BBQ Burgers

A burger for when you've stopped caring about fat content. The only thing missing is bacon!

Crab-Topped Deviled Eggs

Eggcelent. Yeah, I went there.

Chicken-Fried Chicken with Country Gravy Dipping Sauce

Double-coated for extra CRUNCH.

Red-Bottom Cake

Imagine if a black-bottom cupcake had a baby with a red velvet cake. Now imagine a red-bottom cake. Simply another excuse to eat cream cheese frosting.

A Rather Traditional Pavlova

Dreaming of a sunny summer day in food format?

Orange Beef Burgers

A chinese takeaway in burger form.

Mexican-Inspired: Cheesy Refried Bean Quesadillas

I beat Taco Bell to their own crushed-Dorito food hell with these babies.

Marsala Chicken Dumplings

Dumplings get a makeover.

Mochacinno Fudge

Premium coffee drink fudge!

Parmesan Chicken Risotto

Risotto for picky eaters!

Whimsical Cookery is a site for adults who prefer to eat like children, or perhaps just need to cook for some children. This site contains an aversion to vegetables, a love of fried food and cupcakes, lazy shortcuts, some disturbing creations, and an ignorance of proper culinary practices...

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes topped with Salted Caramel & Cream Cheese Frosting



You will need:
1 recipe dark chocolate cake batter yielding 24 cupcakes, prepared

8oz./225g FULL FAT cream cheese/soft cheese room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick/approx 115g)
4-5 cups icing sugar (until desired consistency)
1 tsp clear vanilla extract

Pre-made wrapped caramels (unwrapped) Estimate 1/2 Carmel per cupcake
Course-ground sea salt

1. Prepare cupcakes according to recipe instructions.  Allow to cool.

2. Trim out very shallow circles from tops of cupcakes, remembering that large amounts of caramel will be overwhelming to chew!

3. Melt caramels with 1-2 Tbsps of milk (to soften caramel slightly)

4. Pour small amounts of caramel to create small disks on top of the cupcakes. Caramel will be a chewy contrast to the cake, so be sure that it is in a thin layer.

5. Sprinkle with sea salt while still warm.

If I'm honest, the cupcakes are awesome this way.  However, for those who prefer their cupcakes frosted:

6.Prepare frosting by creaming butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer/whisk.

7. Beat in vanilla extract.

8. Mix in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until desired consistency.

9. Add frosting to pastry bag and frost circles around the caramel center.

Serve the same day for best taste/consistency!


Saturday 13 October 2012

General Tso's Beef Burger



You know that thing that happens when your mouth is really happy and spasms at the back to let you know it's overwhelmed by the food you just nommed?  That totally happened when I ate this burger.  Then I made 3 more, one everyday til the buns went bad.  SO good.  This burger is a take-off of my Orange Beef Burgers.
I fear this intro is written in a way that while adequately expressing my burger experience, demeans my intellectual capabilities.  Yet I shall defend my right to use the word NOM til the end of my days! 

Nom.

You will need:
1 burger (room temperature or fridge cold and cooked, preferably grilled)
1 burger bun
1/2 cup sticky rice (or rice that is still steamy enough to hold shape)
1 bottle General Tso's cooking sauce
An icecream scoop

1. Prepare rice and set aside, keeping warm. 

2. In a frying pan, add a burger-sized circle of General Tso's sauce

3. Add burger to pan and heat, making sure the burger is coated with the sauce (add more if necessary).


4. Cook until sauce caramelizes and burger becomes sticky (and hot).

5. Serve on a toasted bun.

6. Top with an icecream scoop of rice.

7. Serve with a small bowl of sauce for dipping, you may wish to water down the sauce and heat in the microwave.

Wednesday 3 October 2012

Crispy Chili-Lime Chicken Breasts (healthy oven-baked)


Finally, a healthy meal suggestion that isn't incredibly dull or buried under green veggies.  I decided to try making my own flavored chicken using chili and lime flavors after I saw a pre-packaged version that was out of my budget.
Might I recommend you attempt Crispy Chili-Lime Chicken Breasts?  As long as you remember to soak the chicken in lime juice in the morning, the actual recipe is not complicated and takes only around 10 minutes to prep. 

You will need:
4 small chicken breasts
3 tsps medium chili powder
1 1/2 tsps garlic salt
3/4-1 cup lime juice
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 large zipable bag

1. Poke chicken with fork.

2. Marinade chicken breasts by placing them in the bag and adding the lime juice.  Close bag in a way that very little air remains, allowing the lime juice to cover as much of the chicken's surface as possible.  Leave for 2-3 hours.

3. In a flat bowl, mix the bread crumbs, chili powder, and garlic salt.

4. Prepare the chicken for baking by first dipping each breast into the egg and then into the bread crumb mixture, assuring all sides are covered.

5. Place chicken on greased baking sheet, and spray with low-cal cooking spray oil.

6. Bake at 400F/200C for 20-25 minutes (depending on exact size of breasts).