Already perfected your sourdough? Try these 6 creative twists on quarantine cooking trends

After months of quarantine, baking the same batch of bread can start to get old.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, stress baking has become a beloved quarantine pastime, with many taking to their kitchens to try out the latest cooking craze. These have included tried-and-true staples like sourdough and banana bread, as well as viral social media sensations like pancake cereal and Dalgona coffee.

But if making the same ol’ quarantine classics isn’t taking away your pandemic anxiety like it used to, never fear: There are plenty of ways to put a fresh spin on your favorite creations.

Here are 6 creative baking and cooking twists to try.

Tiny pancakes aren’t the only new cereal

According to TikTok, anything can become a cereal.

Since pancake cereal went viral on the platform, users have branched out to come up with even more creative breakfast dishes.

The logic seems simple enough: Make tiny versions of your favorite dessert, put them in a bowl, add milk and enjoy. People have made macaron cereal, mini-muffin cereal, cinnamon roll French toast cereal and bite-size donut cereal.

Here’s how food influencer Justin Schuble makes a bowl of no-frills cookie cereal:

Ingredients:

• Chocolate chip cookie dough (Schuble uses Nestle Toll House)
• Milk

Directions:

1. Cut up your cookie dough into small pieces. (Schuble’s appear to be a quarter the size of a normal cookie.)
2. Roll the dough into little balls.
3. Place the dough balls equidistant on a pan.
4. Bake them in the oven.
5. Pour your mini cookies into a bowl.
6. Add milk and enjoy!

Whipped treats for when you’ve had your fill of Dalgona coffee

Remember when we all took out our collective quarantine stress by furiously whipping instant coffee in a bowl with water and sugar? Even Lizzo attempted the viral TikTok trend in April.

But there are way more whipped beverages out there than just Dalgona coffee.

Food influencer Valentina Mussi seems to be queen of the whipped treats, having posted several Dalonga coffee spin-off recipes to her Instagram account @sweetportfolio. Among them are recipes for whipped strawberry milk, whipped cocoa, whipped s’mores milk and even whipped Froot Loops.

She even has a concoction called whipped unicorn milk, made from Taro bubble tea powder, and another called whipped panda milk, made with crushed Oreos.

Here’s how she makes a double whipped matcha latte:

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp matcha
• 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract⁣
• 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream⁣
• Matcha Pocky sticks (optional)⁣

Directions:

1. In a bowl whisk together the matcha and 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream until fluffy — about 2 to 3 mins by hand.
2. In a separate bowl, repeat the same process by whisking together the sugar, vanilla and remaining cream.
3. Serve in a glass or mug by creating two layers. First pour the vanilla layer, followed by the matcha one.
4. Decorate with Pocky sticks and eat with a spoon!

Make a pet out of bread

Why stress bake, when you can also stress sculpt?

That seems to be the motto on TikTok, where users are baking bread shaped like animals. The trend appears to have started with people baking bread shaped like frogs (aptly named “froggy bread”), before branching off to make snakes, dogs and other animals out of bread.

To get in on this trend, simply sculpt dough into the animal of your choosing, put it in the oven and hope for the best. TikTok bakers have used knives to carve details and designs into the dough and added features like raisins for eyes.

Banana bread alternatives

Quarantine has been a golden age for banana bread.

Since the beginning of lockdown in March, banana bread has emerged as an instant favorite for people looking to get their baking fix while putting overripe bananas to use. According to Google search data in May, banana bread had become one of the six most-searched foods on the website.

But if you’re feeling a bit tired of the classic dish, here are some fresh spins on it.

TikTok user @nicole_thenomad has a recipe for banana bread-stuffed French toast: 

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 2 tbsp of cream cheese
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
• 6 slices of bread (she recommends cinnamon raisin bread)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1/4 cup of milk
• Melted butter
• Maple syrup

Directions:

1. Cut your banana in half and put half of it in a bowl. Mash it up in the bowl with a fork.
2. Add 2 tbsp of cream cheese,1 tsp of sugar a 1/4 tsp of cinnamon to the bowl and mix it all up with your mashed banana.
3. Pour the mixture in between your bread slices so you have 3 sandwiches with the banana filling.
4. Take a cook cutter or the lid of a Mason jar and cut your sandwiches into circles.
5. Use a fork to seal the edges of your sandwiches.
6. In another bowl, crack your egg and add a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/4 cup of milk. Whisk it all together.
7. Dip both sides of your sealed sandwiches in this new mixture.
8. Pan fry the sandwiches on a skillet with melted butter. Flip them to cook both sides.
9. Once cooked, top your banana bread-stuffed French toast with the other half of your banana (sliced), add maple syrup and enjoy!

You can also make microwaved banana bread cake in a mug, or quick banana bread donuts, with recipes from TikTok user @majortraeger.

Beat the heat with White Claw slushies 

Crafting adult beverages at home can be oddly soothing. Just ask Stanley Tucci and his negroni. Or Ina Garten and her massive cosmopolitan.

Alcoholic seltzers like White Claw became one of the buzziest boozy beverages last summer. This summer in quarantine, people are finding new ways to enjoy alcoholic seltzers.

Celebrity chef Cat Cora shared a video on her Instagram detailing how to make a White Claw slushie, using a lime, frozen mangos, a White Claw and ice.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of the White Claw of your choice (Cora uses a mango-flavored White Claw)
• 1 lime
• 1/2 cup of fruit of your choice (Cora uses frozen mango)
• 1/2 cup of ice

Directions:

1. Pour your White Claw, fruit and ice into a blender and blend well.
2. Pour the mixture into a glass. (Cora uses a Mason jar.)
3. Serve with a lime wedge on the edge of your glass and enjoy.

For something a bit stronger, you can also try this recipe from TikTok user @ash_lur that incorporates two shots of vodka.

Make homemade ice cream in a Mason jar

Of course, it wouldn’t be summer without ice cream. And on social media, many are making the summertime staple at home with simply a Mason jar and a few ingredients.

Here’s the recipe being put into action, courtesy of Mussi:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream or heavy whipping cream⁣
• 2 tbsp of sugar⁣
• Pinch of salt⁣
• 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract⁣

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients into the mason jar, close the lid tightly and shake for five minutes.
2. Stick your ice cream in the freezer for 3+ hours and then enjoy!

You can also take a note from TikTok user @nicole_thenomad and add fruit like papaya for added flavor.

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