Any guest at Benjamin Cheng's dinner table will, no doubt, be treated to an assortment of goodies.
Cooking and baking are among Cheng's favorite hobbies.
“I love the whole process of creating something from scratch or taking something known and finding ways to spice it up or make it more flavorful or presentable,” he said.
Cheng is an actor in the ensemble of the touring company of “Beauty and the Beast,” which runs through Aug. 2 at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre. Visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com for more information. One of the characters Cheng appears as in the production is a baker in Belle's village.
The actor said one of the dishes he really enjoyed while he was growing up was an Asian-inspired dish his father made that's called Mapa Tofu or Mapadubu. It's often made with pork and tofu or with chicken. “It's nice and spicy and savory,”Cheng said.
Other dishes he grew up eating were the simple things such as hot dogs and mac and cheese. He added his father grilled a lot so steaks were also occasionally on the menu. So were dishes such as fajitas and what his family called Chinese tacos using Asian ingredients wrapped in a tortilla.
While Cheng said he enjoys the cooking craft, it's baking that is a favorite of his.
“One thing I usually make most often is brown butter chocolate chip cookies,” Cheng said.
Cheng said he grew up on Nestles Tollhouse cookies, which he loved. When he started baking on his own, he experimented with other cookies and baked goods.
The actor said he was inspired to cook and bake through the influence of both his mother and father.
Among famous chefs Cheng admires are Morimoto, Gordon Ramsey, Bobby Flay and Alton Brown.
Cheng, who grew up not far from Memphis, Tennessee, said he's enjoying touring with “Beauty and the Beast.”
“ I'm very excited about bringing the show to Chicago. It's been great exploring the city,” he said.
The following recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies is a favorite of Cheng's. He got the original recipe from www.tasty.com but has added his own touch to it.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
⁃ 1 cup of unsalted butter (2 sticks)
⁃ 1 cup bread flour *
⁃ 3/4-1 cup all-purpose flour
⁃ 1-2 tsp salt
⁃ 1 tsp baking soda
⁃ 1 tsp espresso powder **
⁃ 1 cup dark brown sugar
⁃ 1/2 cup white sugar
⁃ 2 tsp vanilla extract
⁃ 2 eggs (1 whole egg and 1 yolk)
⁃ 1/2-1 cup of chocolate chips (I prefer semisweet)
⁃ 1 chocolate bar (4-5oz) ***
Notes/Substitutions:
* All-purpose flour can be used for the entire recipe, instead of using bread and AP. Using bread flour will provide a chewier cookie because of the higher gluten content.
** Instant coffee can be used instead of espresso powder, just add a bit more of it since it’s not quite as strong.
*** If you don’t feel like getting a chocolate bar, you can just use chocolate chips. Using the bar will just give some bigger and smaller pockets of chocolate.
Directions:
1. Brown Butter:
• Add butter into a pot or saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring consistently (especially when you start seeing bubbles form).
• This next part happens pretty rapidly. You’ll know it’s almost done when white, foamy bubbles form on top of the butter, and it begins to smell like toffee/caramel. As you mix, you’ll see the milk solids (little, brown specks) in the butter darken as they toast. Once the butter reaches a deep-amber color, take it off the heat and set it to the side for a few minutes to cool. Usually, I use this time to combine the dry ingredients.
• After cooling a little, pour the butter into a heat safe measuring cup/bowl and throw in a couple of ice cubes. This will further cool the butter, and add back some of the water you boiled off.
2. Dry Ingredients:
• Combine flour*, salt**, baking soda, and espresso powder in a medium bowl, and set it to the side as you prepare the wet ingredients
* Adding 3/4 cups of AP flour will provide less structure for the cookie than using 1 cup. So, 3/4 will result in a slightly thinner, crunchier cookie, while using an amount of flour closer to 1 cup will result in a thicker cookie that doesn’t spread as much. (I typically add just shy of 1 cup)
** I add about 2 tsp of salt since I think the salt pairs well with the sweetness and browned butter. But, if you don’t want that much salt, just add 1 or 1 1/2 tsp. Taste the dough after combining the wet and dry ingredients to see if you want to add more.
3. Wet Ingredients:
• In a larger bowl, combine brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla extract.
• Add brown butter, and cream the butter and sugar until the mixture becomes lighter in color and even fluffy in texture. *
• Add 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Again, the mixture should be getting lighter and fluffier.
* Using an electric hand mixer will make the process easier and faster. However, It can be done by hand. Though, it will take longer, and it’ll give your arm a workout.
4. Final Assembly:
• To the wet ingredients, gradually add the dry ingredients. *
• Finally, add in your chocolate chips and rough-chopped chocolate bar.
* Add the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing in between portions. This will save you from flinging a bunch of flour over your counter. Also, by the third portion, I usually switch to a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula to continue folding in the flour and chocolate.
5. Baking:
• Bake at 350 for 12-13 minutes. *
* You can bake immediately. However, I HIGHLY recommend scooping and chilling the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour (overnight is best!) before baking. So I typically make the dough the day before I need it. Chilling the dough will allow the butter to solidify and the flour to absorb excess moisture, resulting in a cookie that spreads less. But most importantly, the flavor compounds will be given time to become more rounded and better integrated. Overall, I enjoy the cookies most if the dough has been chilled overnight. But again, the dough is good enough that an hour or two in the fridge is sufficient.