Have you ever wanted to make something that you've never seen before? Maybe you've just wanted to spend an entire day in your kitchen creating weird recipes. Obviously there are going to be some failures (there's often a learning curve in cooking), but, if you keep on trying, you are going to end up with an exciting array of savory dishes and desserts that get the tantalizing title of "homemade." Here are 10 recipes that will not only fill you up, but they will give you a fair amount of kitchen cred if you manage to execute them properly.
1. Raindrop cake
Not only does this cake look super cool when it's finished, but it is only three ingredients! The main ingredient of the cake, agar agar, isn't the easiest thing to find, however. It's best to buy agar agar in powder form, but I do caution your on even trying to make this. The raindrop cake took quite a few tries to make, so if you don't have a lot a patience, please do not attempt.
2. Chocolate Crepe Cake
Crepes are amazing all on their own, but when you stack these crepes one after another with whipped cream in-between, you really can't go wrong. Crepe cakes are something that have really sparked people's interest recently, thanks, in part, to a crazy popular trend of rainbow crepe cakes. You will only need to make about 20 crepes to create a nice sized cake, but feel free to stack them as high as you want. Just remember that the outsides of the crepe are much thinner and lighter than the middle so be careful when you stack them or it will start to look like a ball.
3. Giant Cinnamon Roll
Do you even need any convincing on this one? A GIANT cinnamon roll. The only down side to this is the struggle to make it...and the stomachache after eating all of it in one sitting. There unfortunately is a way to make the cinnamon roll too big, so make sure you get it just the right size so that it retains its shape, flavor and look.
4. Cheese-covered burger
If you've ever imagined adding even more to your already insanely delicious burger, why not just cover it in cheese? The cheese-covered burger is one way to get your cheese fix. Obviously this isn't the hardest thing to make, but it will the one of the messiest things to eat. Feel free to add anything on the inside that you want, but remember it will be covered in hot, melted cheese. Lastly, think about eating it with a fork and knife. Burgers are a lot less finger-friendly when drenched in cheesy goodness.
5. Timpano
This pasta dish is basically a giant noodle filled with meat, pasta and sauces. The Timpano can be a bit of a daunting dish due to the sheer number of fillings, plus the fact that, if the crust isn't strong enough, every single one of those fillings are going to spill out when you try and flip the Timpano out of its pan.
6. Stuffed chocolate chip cookies
One of the easier things you can whip up in your kitchen right now is stuffed cookies. You can add any filling to these cookies, from Nutella, cookie butter and marshmallows to fruit jam and peanut butter. The best thing about these cookies is their size. Because of the fillings, you are going to have a lot of cookie to work with. Fill the top of your cookie with as many toppings as you want. You can either work with the filling of the cookie, or go for yummy opposition with a sweet and salty flavor pairing.
7. Four flavor cheesecake
Sometimes it's just too hard to decide what kind of cheesecake you're craving, right? Well, this four flavor cheesecake is the answer to all of your prayers. Whatever flavors you want are perfectly okay, but there are problems you may run into when trying to figure out how to not let the different flavors mix. The way to solve this problem is by using graham crackers in-between each flavor. Luckily, cheesecake is thick enough that it won't leak through the crackers so each flavor will stay in its quarter. Add whatever toppings that pair well with your flavors and you've got cheesecakes for four different types of people!
8. Melted wheel of cheese
We've all seen the videos of fresh dishes being covered in melted cheese from a partially melted wheel of cheese. Maybe you are wondering how you could re-create this yourself and cover whatever you want in melted cheese whenever you want. There are a couple different ways to melt the cheese so you get the cool scrape effect. You can blow torch the top of the cheese, broil it or even use a hairdryer. Your melted wheel of cheese is a great way to entertain guests, if you are having trouble figuring out what to serve.
9. Zero waste apple pie
Zero waste has become a much bigger deal in recent years, with many people trying to change their lifestyles with their environmental influence in mind. This is not an easy thing to do, as almost anything you need will be packaged. A zero waste apple pie isn't the most interesting looking thing, but when you tell people you created basically no trash while making it, that's a pretty impressive feat in and of itself. If you are wondering how you are going to get your baking ingredients with no packaging, you are going to need to find a grocery store that has bulk containers and bring your own reusable containers to measure out exact ingredients; this will be the biggest problem you are going to encounter with your zero waste apple pie.
10. Japenese desserts
Most Japanese desserts are very clearly made to be eaten with both the eyes and the mouth. Japanese desserts typically feature beautiful flowers in a clear, gelatin-like substance. While these desserts may seem very difficult to make, a few tries will get you very close. Japanese desserts are really more like works of art than food.
