Kierpanda was foolish enough to give me control for a post…

So away with her easy-to-make, creative dishes – and in with this unnecessarily complicated, silly guest post!

This recipe creates two smooth, beautiful mousses that you can pipe into martini glasses, or put into a mold for a cake, or just eat it straight out of a bowl. No, I promise I didn’t do that… much.

Onto the recipe!

The cake is essentially 4 parts:

1. Cake layer – use any cake you like. Store bought is okay, cakemix is okay, or brownies would be great too!
   
   Making an orange sponge cake
2. White honey mousse
3. Chocolate mousse
4. Fondant decoration

The decoration on top is purely optional, so the steps for the logo is listed separately.

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Ingredients

Cake

• 3 4inch round cakes, cut to about ½ in height each
  • For the purpose of this recipe we are omitting the details for the cake part. Just follow your favorite box mix recipe, brownie recipe, or use store-bought cake, anything works! The magic is in the mousse layers.

Honey Mousse

• 4.5 (a little over 1/2 cup) oz White Chocolate Chips + 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (or 1 cup of coolwhip for the lazy)
• Pinch Salt
• 2 tablespoon Honey
• 1 teaspoon Unvloared Powdered Gelatin (if you’re using the Knox package, it’s about 1/3 of one pouch)
• 1 tablespoon Water
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract

Chocolate Mousse

• 4.5 (a little over 1/2 cup) oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips + 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
• Pinch Salt
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (or 1 cup of coolwhip for the lazy)
• 1 teaspoon Unvloared Powdered Gelatin (if you’re using the Knox package, it’s about 1/3 of one pouch)
• 1 tablespoon water

Tools

• 3 4inch spring loaded cake pans 
• Parchment Paper – Cut long enough strips to line the sides of your pan/mold
• You can use a larger mold or pan and have a bigger cake.
• You can also forgo the cake and just put the mousse in any vessel of your choice, and enjoy it as a dessert after it sets!

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Directions

• Cut stripes of parchment paper long enough to line the sides of your pan or mold and line the inside. We really recommend using a spring loaded pan with a removable bottom so it’s easier to slide the cake out when it’s done
• Put the round disk of cake on the bottom of the pan
• Make Honey Mousse
  • Microwave the white chocolate chips + cream mixture at 50% power for 30 seconds. Take it out, stir evenly, and return to the microwave 15 seconds at a time to completely melt the mixture
  • Whisk together the gelatin + water and set it aside for 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, whip the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream with either a stand mixer or hand mixer to form stiff peaks. And for the lazy, sub this for 1 cup of CoolWhip.
  • Microwave the gelatin mixture for 10 seconds to melt the mixture
  • Combine the melted chocolate, vanilla, and gelatin mixture
  • Mix in ⅓ of the whip cream into the chocolate mixture  
  • Fold the rest of the whip cream into the chocolate mix gently
  • Distribute the mousse mixture evenly on top of the cakes in the pan and tap it on a hard surface to let out the air bubbles
  • Set the cakes in the fridge for 25 mins to set before putting on the chocolate layer

Layer of honey mouse setting – Use parchment strips to line the pan for easy removal

• Make Chocolate Mousse
  • Same steps as the honey mousse before
  • Microwave the semi sweet choco chips + cream mixture until melted
  • Whisk together gelatin + water
  • Make whip cream
  • Microwave gelatin for 10 seconds to completely dissolve the mixture
  • Combine the chocolate and gelatin
  • Incorporate whip cream into the chocolate base
  • Evenly distribute the chocolate mixture on top of the now set honey layer

Folding in whipped cream into chocolate!

• Refrigerate the entire cake for at least 4 hours or until set
• After the mousse is completely set, pop the cakes out of the pan and decorate it to your heart’s desire!

So airy, so light, cut side view!

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Optional Overwatch Logo Decoration

• Fondant – for decoration
• 2 Drops – Orange Food Coloring (mix red & yellow)
• Silver Food Decorating Graffiti 
• Round cookie cutters – 4inch and one slightly smaller to create the inner ring of the Overwatch logo

Directions

1. Knead the fondant until soft & pliable – roll it out to an ⅛ thick sheet
2. Use the round 4 inch cutter to cut out a circle
3. Use the slightly smaller cutter (I used a 3 ½) to cut out the middle of the 4 inch circle, leaving you with a ring shape
   
   Use 2 round cutters to make the ring
4. Use a knife to trim out the top orange part of the logo and the angled pieces in the middle. Print out a picture of the logo as a guide if you want it to be more perfect, or have the logo handy as a reference
   
   Cut out shapes using a knife. Use a print out as guide if you need!
5. Lay the bottom parts of the logo on foil or parchment, and spray paint it with the silver spray – set aside till dry
   
   
   If you can find the spray – you can make it silver!
6. Re-roll the rest of your fondant and color it with the orange food coloring
7. Roll the orange fondant just like before and cut out the top part
8. Let the fondant sit out for a bit till it dries, then top your amazing cake with it!

Ta-daaaa! You know, the world could always use more heroes!

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This was a special guest recipe by Meru. She’s an amazing baker, a spectacular chef and a ferocious Brightwing! You can follow her delicious adventures here on Twitter.

Ah yes, Winston. The big furry scientist from Overwatch! If you’ve checked out Overwatch’s Recall animated short, you’ll get some backstory about the big guy.

He’s a brilliant scientist, a great leader, and more importantly, a HUGE fan of peanut butter! I obviously had to make some sort of peanut-butter infused dish, so I attempted to recreate his iconic barrier projector in food form!

I won’t lie… When I was making this recipe, I ended up eating A LOT of the ingredients. The filling, which is comprised of greek yogurt, protein powder and peanut butter, is DELICIOUS. I would also recommend using it to frost cupcakes, brownies, cakes, etc. It is amazing!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1 scoop of Peanut Butter Quest Protein Powder
2. 2 Banana Nut Muffin Quest Bars
3. 2 tablespoon of peanut butter
4. 1 cup of greek yogurt
5. 2 teaspoons of stevia
6. 1/2 of a banana
7. 3 squares of dark chocolate
8. white chocolate chips

BUILD ORDER

This recipe takes about 15 minutes to make. This makes 2 servings.

Each serving contains: 36g of Protein, 19g of Fat, and 12g of Net Carbs

OPENING

1. Unwrap your banana nut muffin bars and cut each bar in half.
2. Take a ramekin and smash each bar into the shape of the ramekin.
3. Take the other halves and roll them out with a rolling pin. You’ll want to then press those parts against the sides of the ramekin.
   
4. Pop these ramekins into the fridge for about 5 minutes.

MID GAME

1. In a large bowl, whip together your greek yogurt, protein powder, and sweetener.
2. Gently fold in your peanut butter. Try not to eat all of the filling.
   

LATE GAME

1. Remove your ramekins from the fridge. Using a butter knife, gently remove your cup crusts from the mold. At this point, I recommend dusting the bottom of the cups with protein powder so they won’t stick to your plates.
2. Slowly scoop the peanut butter filling into each cup. You’ll want to overfill them to make the dome shape.
   
3. Using a baking spatula, smooth out the filling to create a dome shape.
4. Create a chocolate Winston by melting your dark chocolate and white chocolate. You can do this by putting each type of chocolate into a small bowl and microwaving it for about 30 seconds — you’ll want to stop every 10 seconds to stir the chocolate.
5. Once you have your melted chocolates, print out a picture of Winston’s emblem. Place a piece of wax paper over the emblem. Use your white chocolate to outline his glasses, mouth, and nose. Let that set for about 20 seconds. Then, cover the entire thing with dark chocolate to fill out the rest of his face. Let that chill in the fridge for about 1 minute.
6. Remove the chocolate Winston face and place it on top of the dome. Then, cut banana slices and decorate the top.
7. Eat!

GG WP!

And there you have it, hero! Now you have this super protein packed treat that will keep you going throughout the day.

Did someone say, Peanut Butter?

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

I will protect the innocent!

Pharah is one of my favorite heroes in Overwatch and I spent a lot of time flying around with her during beta. Jumping around, hovering, shooting rockets… She’s just a fun hero to play.

So, I decided to dedicate a recipe to her!

Since Pharah is Egyptian, I had to go with a dish common to that area. After some research, I found a dish called “kofta”. The challenge was then trying to make these kofta resemble Pharah in some way.

And then it dawned on me — create a design that resembles Pharah’s helmet from her Raptora battle suit! Typically, kofta are served on a skewer and in a long sausage-shaped form. I had to adapt this recipe slightly in order to create the helmets.

I didn’t know how to get blue into her helmet design without using some sort of dye. Blue isn’t really a color that naturally occurs that often in savory foods. So, I tried the next best thing: red onions!

Let’s get cooking!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 2 teaspoons of cumin
4. 2 teaspoons of coriander
5. 2 teaspoons of paprika
6. 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
7. 1/2 tablespoon of butter, melted
8. 1 cup of parsley, chopped
9. 4 cloves of garlic, diced
10. 1 lb of ground beef (80/20 preferably!)
11. 1 red onion
12. 1 yellow onion, dice 1/6 of it and reserve the rest

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this is about 20 minutes. Cook time is about 20 minutes. This will make about 9 koftas.

Adapted from Cgendy’s Kofta Recipe

OPENING

1. In a large bowl, combine your ground beef, melted butter, garlic, seasonings and parsley.
2. Add in your diced onion and mix thoroughly.
   
3. Begin forming the meat into golfball-sized balls and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet.
   

MID GAME

1. Now here comes the fun part — designing the helmets! Take your remaining yellow onion and slowly peel apart the layers. They should be in the shape of half cylinders.
2. Cut out the visors from the yellow onion by creating triangles. They should look like bird’s beaks.
   
3. Repeat this process for the red onion. This will create the back of the helmet. You’ll want to save the scraps for later.
4. Place the red onion slice opposite facing the yellow onion.
5. Using your scraps, create the bottom half of Pharah’s helmet as shown:
   

LATE GAME

1. Pre-heat an oven to 350° F.
2. Bake the kofta for about 20 minutes.
3. Eat!

GG WP, Hero!

Don’t forget to save some for your team!

Perhaps I’ll see you flying around in the Temple of Anubis when beta is back online?

Ha-ha! Amp it UP!

We’re starting the New Year’s right with this pocket-sized protein-packed snack that will power-up your day! This treat was inspired by Lúcio from Overwatch. Since he’s from Brazil, I decided to create a dish that’s common to that region.

The first thing that came to mind was empanadas! They’re filling and easy to eat. Besides, if you’re battling the forces of evil, you’re going to need to take your food to-go!

But let’s not waste anymore time — come on, let’s bring it together and cook up this recipe!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1/2 tablespoon of cumin
4. 1/2 tablespoon of paprika
5. 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
6. 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil (or butter)
7. 1 teaspoon of olive oil
8. 2 tablespoons of water
9. 1/5 of an onion, diced
10. 4 – 6 cloves of garlic, diced
11. 4 – 5 cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
12. 3 mushrooms, diced
13. 1 green bell pepper, reserve 3/4 for decorations, dice the remaining 1/4
14. 2 scoops of Quest Multi-Purpose Mix Protein Powder
15. 1 scoop of Quest Brown Rice Powder
16. 1/4 lean ground beef (I used 90/10)
17. 2 eggs

BUILD ORDER

Prep time is about ~40 minutes. Cook time is 15 minutes. This makes about 5 servings (5 empanadas)

Each serving contains: ~16g of Protein, ~5g of Fat, and ~6.4g of Net Carbs

OPENING

1. Heat a skillet on high heat. Add in your olive oil.
2. Saute your vegetables. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Once the vegetables have cooked, remove it from the skillet.
   
3. Add in your ground beef. Add in your seasonings and saute.
4. Add back your vegetables and continue cooking until the meat is fully cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside.
   

MID GAME

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 scoops of protein powder and 1 scoop of brown rice powder.
2. Season with salt.
3. Add in 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of water and 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil.
4. Mix until combined.
5. When it’s reached a doughy consistency, knead the dough and form it into a ball.
6. Dust a flat surface with extra brown rice flour and roll out the dough on top of it.
7. Now, here comes the tricky part — cutting out Lúcio’s frog design. I shaped a strip of aluminum foil into a makeshift cookie cutter and then stamped it into the dough. You can do this or freehand the design with a sharp pairing knife.
8. Use a regular cookie cutter (or a glass) to stamp out circles. This will be the back of the empanada.
9. Cut that circle in half like so:
   

LATE GAME

1. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling on each half circle. Leave about 1/2″ inch of padding between the edge of the dough and your filling.
2. Place the frog shape dough over the half circle and crimp the edges together.
3. Combine your remaining 1 egg with 1/2 cup of water, this will be your egg wash. Gently brush the egg wash over your empanada.
4. Here’s the fun part — decorating! Using the remaining bell pepper, you’ll want to create the headphones, eyes and mouth for the frog.
5. To create the headphones, cut rings from the bell pepper. Make a cut in one of the sides and then place the bell pepper slice above the empanadas to check the fit. You may need to trim down this piece. Add in extra diced pieces to create the actual earmuffs to the headphones.
6. To create the eyes, cut out circles or use a large straw (I used a straw from bubble tea) to poke holes through the bell pepper.
7. To create the smile, just use any remaining strips of bell pepper to create a little smile.
   
8. Bake the empanadas at 350° for 15 minutes.
9. Eat!

GG WP!

These tasty treats will help you amp it up into the New Year!

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

When Overwatch was first announced at BlizzCon 2014, I was so insanely excited by the fact that the universe existed on Earth. This meant instead of digging into my Azeroth cook book for inspiration, I could just pull inspiration from cultural cuisines. So, we’re taking a trip around the globe with our favorite Overwatch heroes, starting with the poster girl — Tracer!

For this recipe, I decide to create a healthier version of Banoffee Pie which is found in Tracer’s hometown of London, England.

If you’re not familiar Banoffee Pie, you might be thinking “what the heck is a banoffee?” Banoffee Pie consists of bananas and toffee (or dulce de leche) and then is covered with delicious whipped cream. Yum!

Enough talk, let’s get moving!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
2. 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
3. 2 tablespoons of agave
4. 2 scoops of Quest Salted Caramel protein powder
5. 1/4 cup of shredded coconut
6. 3/4 cup of pecans (reserve 1/4 cup)
7. 1 cup of coconut milk (reserve 1 tablespoon)
8. 1 cup of coconut cream, chilled
9. 2 bananas (reserve a few slices for decoration)

BUILD ORDER

This recipe takes about 45 minutes to prep. Cook time is about 30 minutes. This makes 8 servings.

Each slice contains: ~13g of Protein, ~15g of Fat, and ~15g of Net Carbs

OPENING

1. Set a sauce pan on low heat.
2. Add your coconut milk, 2 scoops of protein powder and agave to the sauce pan.
3. Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will create the dolce de leche for the filling. It should end up being a paste-like consistency. Remove from heat when done.

MID GAME

1. Place your cinnamon protein bars in a microwave safe bowl. Add in 1 tablespoon of coconut milk. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave again for 30 seconds.
2. In a food processor, grind your pecans. Reserve 1/4 of a cup for decoration.
   
3. Add in your melted protein bars, cinnamon and shredded coconut. Blend until smooth. This will form your crust.
4. Press your pecan mixture into a spring-form pan. Using a spoon, spread the mixture until you have an 1″ edge.
   
5. Place in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

LATE GAME

1. Whip your chilled coconut cream.
2. Remove your pie crust from the fridge.
3. Pour in your dolce de leche and spread evenly.
4. Top with sliced bananas.
5. Top with your whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream evenly.
   
6. Now, use your reserved crushed pecans to decorate the pie. I recommend cutting out a stencil for Tracer’s hair. I free-handed it, but it was a bit messier than I wanted!
   
7. Add in your extra banana slices for the outline on Tracer’s goggles.
   
8. Carefully remove the spring-form from the pan.
9. Eat!

GG WP, Hero!

Wicked!

Now, cut yourself a slice and enjoy. You’ve earned it!

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

Fall’s here and you know what that means … PUMPKIN SPICE!

Last October, I created a pumpkin spice recipe inspired by Diablo III. This time around, I decided to focus on another Blizzard game.

With beta around the corner, it’s time for me to start cooking up some Overwatch inspired snacks. That’s right, we’re hopping aboard the Overwatch hype train! CHOO CHOO. But this time, the hype train is fueled by PUMPKIN PROTEIN COOKIES!

Cheers love, the cookies are here!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
2. 2 tablespoons of agave nectar
3. 1 egg
4. 1/2 cup, 1 teaspoon of almond milk
5. 1/2 cup, 2 teaspoons of pumpkin puree
6. 2 pumpkin pie Quest Bars
7. 1 cup of oats
8. 1 square of dark chocolate

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is about 20 minutes. Cook time is ~14 minutes. This recipe will make 9 cookies.

Each cookie contains: 6g of Protein, 4g of Fat, and 5.5g of Net Carbs

OPENING

1. Take your protein bars and cut away the orange coating. Reserve these pieces in a bowl for later.
2. Cut the protein bar into pieces and place into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of almond milk.
3. Microwave the protein bar for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Stir until it makes a smooth liquid.

MID GAME

1. Put your protein mixture into a large bowl. Add in 1/2 of your oats and stir.
2. Pour in your pumpkin puree, agave, and egg. Stir until combined.
3. Add in your remaining oats and gently fold it into the rest of the mixture.
   
4. Pre-heat your oven to 325° F.
5. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking dish. Use a spoon to portion out your cookie dough mixture, and drop spoonfuls onto the baking dish.
6. Gently press the cookies into disks.
   
7. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
   

LATE GAME

1. Add 1 teaspoon of almond milk and 2 teaspoons of pumpkin puree to your reserved protein bar coating. This will make your orange frosting.
2. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and microwave again for 30 seconds.
3. Microwave your dark chocolate in the same manner.
4. Place your orange frosting and dark chocolate in piping bags.
   
5. Pipe the Overwatch symbol onto your cooled cookies.
6. Eat!

GG WP, hero! Now you’re ready to save the world.

Or, you can wait for your beta access and bake cookies like me. The world needs more cookies.

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.