During the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, my husband celebrated his 43rd birthday. While Beijing has already lifted its heavy restrictions on the number of diners allowed at each table, I still had lingering concerns when it came to the highlight of the evening –– the birthday cake. More specifically, blowing out the candles on his birthday cake.

If this year has taught us anything, it’s that masks are an essential part of staying safe in public and how far our droplets of saliva travel when we exhale. So with that bit of information newly drilled into our brains, the idea of serving up a piece of cake to his closest friends after the love of my life has sprayed his saliva all across the surface just doesn’t sit well with me anymore.

Thankfully, a new trend is on the rise: socially distanced birthday cakes. Catching on with bakeries and germ conscious foodies alike, a socially distanced birthday cake is basically a regular birthday cake that comes with a cute little cupcake on the side. Instead of blowing out the candle on the big birthday cake, you put the candle on your cupcake and blow it out there instead; keeping the rest of the cake germ-free.

But did it really need to take a global pandemic for us to realize that birthday cakes weren’t the most sanitary thing to eat all these years? As Beijing mom Alessia Chizzoniti can testify, blowing out candles can be a messy affair. “On my daughter’s last birthday she blew on the candles while her mouth was full of crunched popcorn. Everyone went from cheerful to disgusted in a nanosecond.”

I’m very particular when it comes to cakes. Not only does it need to be beautiful, it needs to be unique, taste great, and not put me in a sugar coma after just a few bites. When it comes time to celebrate, I tend to call up théATRE Tea for one of their light and fluffy cakes that are low in sugar, with hints of subtle fruit and tea scents, and beautiful without being layered with fondant and tacky decorations.

For those who want to make their next social distanced birthday cake at home, Chef Lily Zhang from théATRE Tea shared the recipe for her birthday cake, that makes both a delicious cake for all to share as well as a cupcake just for the birthday boy or girl.

INGREDIENTS

● 125g sugar

● 170g plain flour

● 5g baking powder

● 12g cocoa powder

● 170g butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Grease and flour a 6-inch cake tin and cupcake tin.

2. Bring the butter to room temperature to soften.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar until creamy.

4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in a mixing bowl and mix.

5. Slowly combine the dry ingredients and the butter mixture and mix well.

6. To make the cupcake, transfer about 50g of the cake batter into a piping bag and squeeze out into the cupcake pan.

7. Transfer the rest of the batter into the cake tin.

8. Bake the cake for 25 minutes, and the cupcake for about 18 minutes. The cakes are done when it springs back to the touch.

9. When the cakes are ready, let cool to room temperature before you decorate.

PRO TIPS:

Don’t rush perfection. Let your cupcake fully cool down before you start decoration. Otherwise, you will be left with a melted sugary mess.

Consider making a smaller main cake and more than one cupcake. You never know if you’ll need a backup when it comes time to decorate, and to be honest, a party can never have too many cupcakes anyway.

théATRE CAKE 茶聚场

No. E101 WFC East Tower, 1 East 3rd Ring Road 东三环中路1号环球金融中心东楼一层E101号

Ph: 6501 5381

KEEP READING: Persimmon Pleasures: Recipes For Beijing’s Juicy Fruit

Photos: Uni You

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 October issue

Everybody likes cupcakes. What’s not to like? They’re soft, moist, and you can decorate them however you want. Personally, decorating cupcakes is one of the best parts of getting them ready. It’s like arts and crafts that you can eat – win, win!

They’re great to have as snacks in the house and when it’s the season with numerous bake sales and holiday fairs, cupcakes are a fun and easy way to wow the crowd.

For a super fast and simple cupcake recipe, we consulted Chef Lily Zhang, Executive Pastry Chef of Theatre Tea. They not only carry a wide selection of classic and fruit tea blends but under Chef Zhang’s guidance, they’ve created chic and creative desserts that are delicious and beautiful. Her simple holiday cupcake recipe is great for a fun afternoon of bonding in the kitchen.

While I stick to the classic one-color frosting with sprinkles on top, Chef Zhang ups the game with a few holiday decoration ideas that are still relatively easy to DIY at home.

Check out her easy Christmas tree, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and little snow man-made of strawberries.  According to her, it’s all about practicing keeping your hands steady with a piping bag.

Ingredients

•  5 eggs
• 180 grams sugar
•  2.4 grams salt
• 2 grams vanilla extract
• 72 grams light cream
• 72 grams butter
• 144 grams cake mix
• 2.5 grams baking powder

Instructions

1. Combine eggs and sugar together in a large bowl and whisk.
2. Add in the vanilla extract and salt. Continue to mix the ingredients.
3. Pour in the light cream and melted butter and continue to mix the ingredients.
4. Add in the cake mix and baking powder and mix well.
5. Transfer your cake batter into a piping bag. (optional)
6. Fill the cupcake tins about 80 percent.
7. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C and bake for 20 minutes.
8. When your cupcake is ready, let cool before you decorate.

Pro Tips:

Don’t rush perfection. Let your cupcakes fully cool down before you start decorating. Otherwise, you’ll be left with a sugary mess.

This article appeared in the beijingkids December 2019 Giving Back issue

Hatchery’s inspired Sunday Morning Family Brunch day sounds eggs-benedict-legit! Families are invited to spend a Sunday morning enjoying awesome brunch options from their new a la carte menu by Goodday, a startup lifestyle brand that focuses on bringing high-end artisanal brunch concepts from around the world to China, plus activity stations for the kids to go brunch bananas on.

This really is the stuff that Sunday mornings should always be made of. The kids can go nut-butter-crazy at the Kids Corner, where on-the-hour bliss ball cooking and crafting classes will be taking place for kids aged 5-11 with Meredith of the Naked Nut Butter duo. Kids will also be getting stuck into cookie-making classes with the divine and tooth-achingly sweet Tianmi bakery, and every kid gets to ride on the sugar rush train with a free cupcake of their choice!

This Sunday is all about the kids, and they can enjoy not only all of the above, but sliders, fish fingers, popcorn chicken, cupcakes, and more from the brunch set from ARCADE! Games and activities will follow, along with what I’m sure will be afternoon-nap-time ready kids.

Wait. There’s MORE!

If that wasn’t enough to get you Sunday brunch ready, then dumpling giveaways from SanWuDing ought to do the trick. Little steamed bundles of joy await you, with a healthy selection of vegetarian and meaty dumplings from ARCADE’s newest resident entrepreneur.

Bookings for kids’ tickets are absolutely essential and you can scan the QR code below for more details. Be easy like Sunday morning, and get yourself and the family down to enjoy what sounds like pure awesomeness.

Hatchery Sunday Morning Family Brunch, Jan 20

RMB 150 (kids tickets). 10am – 3pm. January 20. ARCADE Restaurant, 5L Hotel Lobby, Jianguomen Outer Street, Chaoyang District (185 111 74021)北京市朝阳区建国门外大街1号5L饭店大堂右侧

Photos: courtesy of organizers

This blog is sponsored by the Hilton Beijing Capital Airport. Call 6450 4827 to book a Family Staycation. 

Jack Zeng dips his whisk into the bowl of chocolate batter and stirs vigorously, until it is thick and creamy. “I’ll use this to make some small, cute cupcakes,” the Hilton Beijing Capital Airport’s pastry chef says as he prepares the recipe in the hotel’s brunch dining hall.

While most of Zeng’s customers prefer to purchase sweets prepared by a professional like him, the chef says there has been a growing interest in home baking in Beijing. “Making a cake is a very direct way to show someone how you feel, to show that you care for them,” he explains while pouring the batter into the pan.“The DIY culture is popular now [in China], so more people want to learn how to make their own treats.”

But Zeng says that aspiring chefs often struggle with their first recipes as they quickly realize just how challenging baking can be. So he suggests starting with something simple like this “cute cupcakes” recipe.

“Making a cake [from scratch]isn’t that easy, but this recipe is good for your first time,”he says before turning away from the batter—which contains a simple mixture of eggs, flour, butter, sugar and dark chocolate — and gesturing at the Hilton brunch buffet’s desert counterthat is constantly brimming with sprinkles, chocolate chips, nuts and other tasty treats. “I like this recipe because it’s easy to add whatever extra sweets you want. All you have to do is drop them in,” he says with a smile.

Chef Zeng built his career by baking much far more complex sweets like tiramisu and macaroons. Before his current gig at the Hilton, he worked at a number of Beijing’s five-star hotels, including the Shangri-La and the Sheraton, and now enjoys preparing deserts for guests and sharing recipe ideas with them when he can.

“My dream was always to make deserts, and I followed that dream with all my passion,”he says. “What I love is putting my own ideas into recipes and making people happy with my food.”

INGREDIENTS FOR CHEF ZENG’S BITE-SIZED “CUTE CUPCAKES” (SERVES 5)
700g of dark chocolate
550g butter
10 egg whites
10 egg yolks                                    
200g sugar
300g of cake flour

STEPS: 

1.     Melt the chocolate in warm water at about 50 degrees Celsius until it turns soft. Pour into a mixing bowl.

2.     Add egg yolks and then add the egg whites.

3.     Stir with a whisk until the eggs are blended into the chocolate.
4.     Pour in the sugar then whisk it into the mix.

5.     Pour in the flour and whisk until the batter is thick and creamy.
6.     Pour the batter into a 3.5cm cupcake pan.

7.    Drop a pinch of chocolate chips, sprinkles, nuts, or whatever other additives you would like to include in each section of the pan (if no additives are included, the cupcakes still work well as simpler chocolate muffins).

8.    Preheat the oven and bake at 190°C for ten minutes (if the oven is fan operated, then there is no need to preheat the oven).
9.     Let cool for around ten minutes, then serve and enjoy.

Need a break but don’t want to travel far from home? The Hilton Beijing Capital Airport offers Family Staycation packages where families can enjoy the hotel’s luxurious rooms, fitness center and pool, play area, restaurants, weekend brunches and fun group events. Call 6450 4827 (weekdays) and 156 1197 9131 (weekends) for reservations and more information.

Photos by Uni You

We dug up some of the following recipes from our archives that add sweetness to the Christmas feasts. Get baking and decorating some of the plain cupcakes to make that festive feast complete.

Lexie Morris, the owner of Lollipop Bakery, has spent the past year bringing cupcakes-as-they-should-be to Beijing’s community of sweet tooth traditionalists. Originally from London, Morris left her corporate life behind and now spends most of her days (and nights) in the kitchen, whipping up batches of earthly delights with flavors like Red Velvet, Spiced Carrot, and of course, her signature Earl Grey. "I absolutely love that my office is a bakery. The smells that waft out of our ovens every day are simply divine." So take a cue from Lollipop Bakery and spend a day baking with the kids.

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

1¾ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
8 tbsp butter, room
temperature
1¼ cups white sugar
2 large eggs
 
In one bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and put aside. In a second bowl, mix the milk and vanilla together and put to one side. In a third bowl, use an electric beater and beat butter on high until it is white and creamy. Add sugar to the butter and beat until it’s well incorporated. Then add eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition to make sure it doesn’t curdle. Slowly add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Then gradually add one-third of the milk and vanilla mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by another third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat until combined. Fill cupcake cases until they’re two-thirds full. Bake in oven at 1800C for 20 minutes, or until a chopstick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Top with buttercrème frosting.

Tip: Don’t overbeat the mixture, it prevents the base from becoming light and fluffy.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

2 tsp freshly ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg 
½ tsp allspice 
½ tsp freshly ground cloves
¾ cup brown sugar 
½ cup white sugar

Use the Classic Vanilla Cupcake recipe above, but replace the 1¼ cups white sugar with ¾ cup brown sugar and ½ cup of white sugar. Follow the remaining steps of the Classic Vanilla recipe, and as a final step add the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground cloves. Bake, frost and decorate as normal.
Tip: For added moisture, use buttermilk instead of milk.

Candy Cane Cupcakes

1½ tsps peppermint extract
2 tbsp red food colouring
 
Use the Classic Vanilla Cupcake recipe above. As a final step add the peppermint extract to the batter. Then, divide the batter into two equal batches, adding the red food colouring to one batch. When filling the cupcake cases, alternate with spoonfuls of red and white batter until they’re two-thirds full. Try to keep the amounts of batter as even as possible, and plop each alternating spoonful right in the center of the cupcake case. Bake, frost and decorate as normal.

Simple Buttercrème Frosting
Makes 3 cups of icing

1 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 cups sifted icing sugar
2 tbsp milk
         
In large bowl, cream butter with electric mixer. Then add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on a medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl often. When all of the sugar has been mixed in, the icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Keep the bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.
 

Spiced Apple Cupcakes

4 cups apple, peeled and finely diced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 
sprinkle of freshly ground cloves 

Use the Classic Vanilla Cupcake recipe above. As a final step, add the apple, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Bake as normal. After the cupcakes have been frosted, sprinkle a couple teaspoons of cinnamon as a final flourish.

Lollipop Bakery

To place an order:
(135 5277 2683, cupcakes@lollipopbakery.cn) www.lollipopbakery.cn

Lollipop Bakery cupcakes are also available at Crepanini and Fisheye Cafe in Sanlitun Village South, and Secrets From Africa in Shunyi District. See Directory for listings.

This post was first published in our December 2010 issue and appeared on our site on December 12.

One of The Beijinger‘s intrepid food reviewers, Emily Young went in search of Beijing’s sweetest treat — the humble cupcake. Here’s her take on the capital’s latest craze:

The cupcake has been unstoppable in 2010. Only 12 months ago, the only place you’d have gone looking for a cupcake would have been a Shunyi bake sale, but walk through Sanlitun now and they’re everywhere. We knew The Village North would be all about high-end designer brands; what we didn’t expect was that nobody would be seen dead buying Armani or Diesel without a cupcake store just around the corner to sneak off into once the shopping was done. Cupcakes aren’t just the new black; they’re pretty much the new everything, so before you get tired of them we thought we’d round up the cupcake offerings currently around town.

For the full report (and to find out where to buy your next batch of cupcakes), head to www.thebeijinger.com.