pepe cheesecake [orange mascarpone cheesecake]

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Pepe is the adorable little bird who lives in your Garrison. You can bring him out on peaceful adventures like running around Draenor destroying your greatest enemies. Hooray!

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“Let’s go rekt people, Pepe!”

I thought it was time to immortalize Pepe into a delicious and delectable treat. I had experimented with recreating Pepe as a meringue cookie, but it didn’t work out. When I stumbled upon Maqaron’s tutorial on how to create a no-bake bunny cheesecake, I knew that was the answer!

UNIT COMPOSITION

blog_pepecheesecake_ingredients

  1. 1 pinch of salt
  2. 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
  3. 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
  4. 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
  5. 1 tablespoon of chocolate powder (decoration)
  6. 2 tablespoons of agave nectar
  7. 1 cup of walnuts
  8. 1 cup of pecans
  9. 2 cups of mascarpone cheese
  10. 3 cups of greek yogurt
  11. zest from 1 orange
  12. 5 – 6 drops of red and yellow food coloring
  13. 1 square of white chocolate
  14. 4 squares of dark chocolate

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this is about 45 minutes – 1 hour. Chill time for this is 4 – 6 hours.
This makes about 8-10 servings!

OPENING

  1. Add the nuts into a food processor. Add in your coconut oil.
  2. Season with your nutmeg and cinnamon. Pulse the nuts until they form a fine paste.
  3. Using foil, create the outline of Pepe. Basically, you’ll want to take a large sheet of foil and fold it horizontally until the sheet is about 4″ in height. Create a sheet that is about 10″ in length. This will be the body.
  4. Create another one that is about 6″ in length and 3″ in height. This will be the head. Shape the foil to a pointed tip.
  5. Tape the two pieces of foil together and place them into a baking dish. I used a 15×10″ glass baking dish. Adjust the foil to the size of the baking dish.
  6. Where the two foil shapes combine, make a cut into the foil. You’ll want to cut a rectangle that is 2″ high and 3″ across. You’ll want to leave a 2″ “bridge” that holds the two foil shapes together. See this portion of Maqaron’s tutorial for better clarification.
  7. Tape down the entire foil mold to your baking dish.
  8. Slowly add in the ground nuts to the base of the mold. Firmly press the ground nuts into place. This will be your crust.
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  9. Place the entire thing in the fridge and allow it to cool.

MID GAME

  1. Place your mascarpone cheese and yogurt in a large bowl. Add in your agave and a pinch of salt.
  2. Whisk gently until combined. Take about 1 cup of the mixture and set aside. This will be the white parts for Pepe’s eyes and stomach.
  3. Zest the orange over the cheesecake filling. Fold in the orange zest.
  4. Slowly add in the red and yellow food coloring. Continue folding the cheesecake filling until orange. If the color isn’t bright enough, add in more color.
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  5. Remove your mold from the fridge.
  6. Spread the orange cheesecake mix over the crust.
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  7. Place it back in the fridge for about 5 minutes.
  8. Take your white cheesecake mix and spread portions over the orange part like so:
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  9. Place it back in the freezer and allow it to cool for at least 4 hours.

LATE GAME

  1. Slowly cut away the foil mold from Pepe.
  2. Using two spatulas (highly recommend getting some help with this!), gently lift Pepe from the baking dish and place him on a large dish. Use a butter knife to smooth out the edges.
  3. Using a double boiler, melt your dark chocolates and white chocolate separately.
  4. Gently pour “V” shapes with the dark chocolate on a piece of parchment paper. This will become Pepe’s feet.
  5. Pour a triangle shape to create his beak and two circles for his eyes.
  6. Place the chocolate in the fridge and allow it to cool for about 2 minutes.
  7. Remove the chocolate from the fridge. Using the white chocolate, draw two white circles on top the dark chocolate eyes. Place them back in the fridge.
  8. Using a sifter, dust the dark chocolate powder over the tip of Pepe’s head.
  9. Place the chocolate decorations on Pepe.
  10. Eat!

GG WP!

The super talented Meru came by and took these awesome photos of my Pepe cheesecake! Did I mention she is AMAZINGLY talented when it comes to food?  SERIOUSLY!

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Chirp chirp!

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Since cheesecake is so decadent, I highly recommend that you share it with friends. :)

verdant spheres [edamame falafels with jalapeño sauce]

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Selama Ashal’anore!

Everyone’s favorite vengeful Blood Elf mage, Kael’thas Sunstrider made his way into the Nexus a few months back. I’ve had a chance to play him several times in ranked, but honestly, I’m not super comfortable with his play style.

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I’m more of a Jaina kind of gal (awwwwkward). However, Kael’thas is still a super fun hero to play! I mean, c’mon, FREE living bombs?! YOU GET A LIVING BOMB. AND YOU GET A LIVING BOMB. EVERYONE GETS A LIVING BOMB!

And it’s all thanks to those magical Verdant Spheres. Those Verdant Spheres are his signature accessory. A powerful fashion statement only worn by most haute blood mages!

I’ve immortalized these iconic artifacts in food form: edamame falafels! These falafels are packed full of nutrients which will surely keep you fueled during your quest for vengeance.

UNIT COMPOSITION

blog_verdantspheres_ingredients

  1. salt
  2. pepper
  3. 1 cup of tahini sauce*
  4. 1 tablespoon of cumin
  5. 1 tablespoon of coriander
  6. 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  7. 5 – 7 cloves of garlic, diced
  8. 1/4 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
  9. 1/2 cup of parsley, roughly chopped
  10. 1 1/2 cups of edamame, shelled
  11. 1 onion, roughly diced
  12. 2 jalapeños, diced

*To make homemade tahini sauce, combine: tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is roughly 15 minutes. Cook time is about 35 minutes. This makes about 3 servings (about 3 falafels each).

OPENING

  1. Put your onion, edamame, onion, cilantro, 1 jalapeño, and 1/4 cup of parsley in a food processor.blog_verdantspheres_mix
  2. Add in your salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander.
  3. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse to combine.
  4. Continue until it forms a smooth paste.blog_verdantspheres_mix2
  5. Remove and set aside.

MID GAME

  1. Set your oven to 375° F.
  2. Line a pan or baking dish with parchment paper.
  3. Using a spoon, scoop out golf ball sized balls of the falafel dough. Roughly shape them into a sphere and drop them onto the parchment paper. Use a butter knife to smooth out the balls.blog_verdantspheres_balls
  4. Bake for 35 minutes or crispy. In order to keep them green, I decided not to flip them.

LATE GAME

  1. Place tahini sauce, jalapeño pepper, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and your remaining parsley in a food processor.
  2. Process until it’s a smooth paste.
  3. Dip a spoon in the sauce and place the back of the spoon against a plate. Drag the spoon up and lift carefully to create a smear affect (or the flame for the verdant spheres).
  4. Place one of the falafels on top of the sauce.
  5. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle parsley over the plate.
  6. Eat!

GG WP!

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Now you can embrace AND eat the power of Verdant Spheres! ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ノ GLORY TO THE SIN’DOREI! ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ノ