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Make and Eat

There are a lot of distinct ways in which food and emotion are related to one another. On the one hand, people's feelings and moods can affect the foods they choose to eat, and on the other hand, eating can have an effect on people's moods and feelings (Köster & Mojet, 2015). My own personal experience has shown that while you are engaged in the act of preparing food, not only will your attention be diverted, but you also won't be able to keep your mind on the stressful things that are going on.

Cup Cake

My first recommendation for a sweet treat is cupcakes. It's not that hard to make. The ingredients you need to prepare are all-purpose flour, eggs at room temperature, baking powder, whole milk, sugar, oil, vanilla extract (you can choose your own flavor according to your personal preference, vanilla extract can be replaced with chocolate powder, matcha powder, etc.).

Steps:

  1. Use a handheld beater to whip the eggs and sugar.

  2. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl using a whisk, and then add the flour mixture to the egg mixture in three separate batches.

  3. Melt butter and heat milk and mix some batter into hot milk (tempering).

  4. Slowly pour milk mixture back into beaten eggs, and pour batter into cupcake liners.

  5. Bake 22 minutes until golden and remove after 2 minutes.

Ice Cream

I would also recommend ice cream, which is a mainstay in my refrigerator during the summer. It is also very easy to make your own if you want to do it yourself. The ingredients needed are heavy cream, milk, sugar, salt and eggs/egg yolks.

Steps:

  1. Boil sugar and salt in heavy cream and milk in a small pot for approximately 5 minutes, until the sugar is fully dissolved.

  2. Remove pot from heat.

  3. Whisk yolks ​in a separate bowl.

  4. Add one third of the hot cream to the yolks while continually whisking, then return the resulting egg yolk mixture to the pot.

  5. Put the pot back on the stovetop over a low heat and stir the mixture until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

  6. Pour into a container through a fine-mesh strainer.

  7. Cool the mixture to room temperature before covering and chilling it for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients to be prepared are all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, chocolate chips, nuts (can be chosen according to personal preference).

Steps:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Set aside the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small container.

  2. Using an electric mixer or a spoon, beat the softened butter and sugars in a large basin until they are light and fluffy, about a minute or so. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

  3. Then, add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly until the mixture is completely smooth. Just stir in the flour mixture until it's incorporated (dough will be stiff). Add chocolate chips and almonds to the batter.

  4. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough, 2 inches apart, onto cookie sheets that have not been greased.

  5. Bake for 8–10 minutes, or until the top is light brown (centers will be soft). After 2 minutes, move the cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. About 30 minutes will do the trick.

Portuguese Egg Tart

For convenience, I usually buy ready-made tart crusts directly from the supermarket, so that I can prepare the tart mixture directly. If you want to know how to make a tart crust, you can read the Sources Section of this website. The ingredients needed to make the tart mixture are light cream, milk, egg yolks, and diced fruit (or none, depending on your preference).

Steps：

  1. Oven Preheat and take the tart crusts out from the refrigerator.

  2. Combine all of the ingredients listed above, and then filter them.

  3. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius in the lower middle of the oven for about 25 minutes, watching the color when it reaches 15 to 20 minutes.

  4. Cool tarts briefly and serve warm.

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