At first glance, sushi, cream puffs, and cake don’t seem to have too much in common. But with just a few simple tricks, you can turn rice, pastries, and cupcakes into an extra special treat with a common theme. If you want to be one of the first in your friend group to say you came up with these recipes, you better hurry because this trend is guaranteed to become a global panda-emic!
1. Panda Cream Puffs
You’ll Need (for 20):
For the choux pastry:
- 4 fl oz water
- 4 fl oz milk
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 oz butter
- 5 oz sieved flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 whisked egg (for the egg wash)
Extra:
- whipped cream for the filling
- melted chocolate to decorate
- powdered sugar
Here’s How:
1.1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and bring the water, milk, sugar, salt, and butter to a boil in a pot over medium heat. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the flour. Put the pot back on the stove and cook until a smooth mass forms. Place the mass in a bowl and knead it together with the eggs. Spoon the dough into a piping bag and use it to form puffs on a greased sheet pan. Brush the puffs with a whisked egg and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Let the puffs cool on a cooling rack and then cut a “lid” off top each one.
1.2 Fill the cream puffs with whipped cream.
1.3 Melt the chocolate in a water bath and create the chocolate designs for the cream puff pandas (ears, eyes, noses, mouths, paws) on a sheet of parchment paper. Arrange the dried chocolate pieces on the cream, place the lids on top of the cream, and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
2. Panda Pull-Apart Cake
You’ll Need:
For the chocolate cake batter:
- 7 oz flour
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 6 oz sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 fl oz vegetable oil
- 7 fl oz milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the vanilla cake batter:
- 8 oz flour
- 6 oz sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 fl oz vegetable oil
- 7 fl z milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 10 oz cream cheese
- 6 oz powdered sugar
Extra:
- black fondant
- white fondant
Here’s How:
2.1 Preheat the oven to 325°F and prepare the cake batters. Place 12 cupcake liners in a 10-inch springform pan and fill them three-fourths full with cake batter, making sure to alternate between the chocolate and vanilla. Fill 2 additional cupcake liners with chocolate cake batter for the panda ears, put them into the oven along with the cake pan, and bake for 30 minutes.
2.2 While the cake cools, prepare the frosting by mixing the cream cheese and powdered sugar together.
2.3 Remove the cake from the pan and spread the frosting on top. Place the two unfrosted chocolate cupcakes at the top of the cake for the panda ears.
2.4 Roll out the black and white fondant and create eyes, a nose, and a mouth for your adorable panda face.
3. Panda Sushi
You’ll Need (for 10):
- 8 oz sushi rice
- 16 fl oz water
- 2-3 nori sheets
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
Here’s How:
3.1 Thoroughly wash the sushi rice and cook it in 16 oz of water in a covered pot over low heat for 10 minutes.
3.2 Remove the pot from the stove, take off the lid, place a towel over the pot, and let the rice sit for another 10-12 minutes. Then stir in the rice vinegar and let the rice cool down.
3.3 Form the rice into palm-sized, oval panda balls.
3.4 Cut panda eyes, noses, mouths, ears, arms, and feet from the nori sheets and arrange them on the rice balls.
No matter which recipe you try first, we know you’ll have a panda-riffic time! You can find the recipes for the 4 Healthy Snacks For Children’s Birthday Parties featured in the bonus video here.