Chocolate Ganache Tart (Halloween Ghost Dessert)

The girls have reached the end of the first quarter, so their school gave them a day off. With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be fun for all of us to work on ideas for spooky desserts that they'll be able to share with their friends. It didn't take a lot of arm twisting to convince them!

I decided that we should make a simple chocolate tart and decorate it with ghosts. The tart shell is a shortbread crust that I topped with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache. To enhance the flavor of the chocolate, I added a little coffee. I let the girls pipe the top with vanilla buttercream frosting and create faces using chocolate sprinkles. As an added bonus, this dessert is egg and nut-free. We'll make smaller versions at the end of the month for when they share them with friends.

Halloween Dessert: Strawberry Brownie Pudding Recipe

The girls absolutely love Pocky Sticks. If you’re not familiar with them, they're a popular Asian snack consisting of long, thin crackers dipped in icing. I received several packs of strawberry-flavored Pocky Sticks from Asian Food Grocer, and instead of just letting the girls devour them, I thought it would be fun to use them in a dish.

I adapted one of Ina Garten's brownie pudding recipes and made it look pink to match the Pocky Sticks. I used mini marshmallows to create teeth and Godiva chocolate pearls for the eyes. The Pocky Sticks serve as the hair. I’m thinking of serving these happy-looking treats to the kids for Halloween in a couple of weeks. Last year, I made witch-looking finger cookies that looked so realistic, children in my little munchkin’s class refused to eat them! 



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Papaya Smoothie Recipe (Sinh To Du Du)

Sinh tố đu đủ literally translates in Vietnamese to papaya (đu đủ) vitamin (sinh tố). I've made sinh tố bơ in the past with creamy avocado, but I got my hands on a beautiful papaya, so I made this version instead. You can also make many variations of the Vietnamese drink such as jackfruit, durian or mango depending on what you have on hand. The usual sweetener is sweetened condensed milk. You can blend the fruit with either yogurt, soy milk, regular cow's milk, coconut milk or coconut water.

I love wandering through ethnic markets. They're a great place to find interesting ingredients to develop new recipes. This weekend, my husband Lulu and I went to Mi Pueblo supermarket in East Palo Alto after a trip to the nearby Home Depot. Along with the beautifully ripe papaya, which reminded us of our last trip to Cancun, I found nopales (cactus), exotic banana varieties and the best horchata I’ve had in a long time. On top of that, the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. I’m definitely going back for more great Mexican ingredients.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Ghost Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

Pumpkin cupcakes are another Halloween treat I took to my little one's school along with the witch finger cookies. I made the cupcakes with pumpkin cake batter studded with chocolate chips, and finished them with swirls of ghost-shaped frosting.

The ghost cupcakes were a complete success – 20 kids finished 36 treats. I think it's partially because the witch finger cookies were too scary-looking for 1^st graders. I noticed a little girl looking for a smiling ghost and not a frowny-looking monster. Note to self: next year, make less creepy-looking Halloween treats!