Kitchen Heals Soul

Gluten-free orange almond cake

2012-02-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

I'm moving in about a month. I will actually physically be living somewhere other than Montreal for 9 whole months. That's crazy in my little world. The most I've been away from Montreal is 3 months, and that was in 2003 when I worked in a lab in Germany.

In one month, I will pack up a few of my belongings and my cat, and change cities. I will leave my little Montreal life behind (albeit temporarily).

I'm even embarking on a whole new career path. It took several months to face the fact that sure, I can bake in my home, but that doesn't mean pastry shops in Montreal would want me to help them out in their professional kitchen (even for free). It took almost a solid year of pyjama-wearing to gather enough courage to fill out forms and apply to pastry school. It also took many more not-so-happy months to come to terms with the fact that a good/conveniently-located pastry school (it's just a metro-ride away from me) didn't appreciate my over-educated, inexperienced (pastry-wise) background. Whatever. This is going to be an adventure!

I'm starting to see my little adventure as an opportunity to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Montreal, and to discover quieter Ottawa. I'm hoping the people of Ottawa will be a little friendlier. I love Montreal, but the people here can be quite cold and downright rude at times. Maybe I'll fall head-over-heels in love with Ottawa. Maybe. Or maybe after 9 months, I'll just want to go home to Montreal, a city that combines old and new architecture, and where fabulous croissants taste like butter and make a flaky mess of your outfit.

In the meantime, I have this orange almond cake recipe (originally from here) for you. The syrup I served it with reminds me of bitter-orange marmalade. The cakes are moist, and with a pleasantly coarse texture from the granular ground almonds. My favorite part of this recipe is that it uses the entire orange, peel and all. Just remember to boil the whole fruits (see recipe) to remove the unpleasant bitterness from the citrus. That's the secret to using whole citrus fruit in marmalade and cakes!

P.S. This cake recipe is gluten-free!

Orange almond cake (gluten-free)

Makes one 9-inch cake or a multitude of smaller cakes (like 24 cakelettes and 12 muffins)

For the orange almond cake

2 navel oranges, washed thoroughly
3 large eggs, room temperature
215 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
300 grams (3 cups) ground almond
1 tsp baking powder

For the orange syrup

1 navel orange, washed thoroughly and dried
78 grams (~1/3 cup) granulated sugar
a couple splashes orange liqueur (like Triple Sec)

To make the orange almond cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the pan(s) you are using by generously greasing them (if gluten is not an issue, baking spray works well). For a 9-inch cake pan, line the bottom with parchment for easy unmolding. Set the pan(s) aside for later.

Place the two oranges in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring it to a boil. Boil the whole oranges for 20 minutes or until the skin feels softened.

Drain the pan, cover the oranges with more cold water, and bring it to a boil. Boil for another 20 minutes. Drain the oranges and refresh them under cold water to quickly cool them.

Coarsely chop the oranges and remove any seeds. Place the chopped orange in a mini food processor and process them until they become a paste and there are no more chunks. Set them aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until they are thick and cream colored.

With a spatula, fold the ground almonds, baking powder and the orange paste into the mixture. Continue folding until all the ingredients are incorporated. Fill the prepared pan(s) with the cake batter and bake until a cake tester poked in the center comes out clean. Be sure to bake until the edges are a dark golden. A 9-inch cake will take about an hour while smaller muffins take 30–40 minutes.

Let the pans cool 15 minutes on a rack before carefully unmolding the cakes.

To make the orange syrup

Zest the washed orange with a fancy zester (for nice ribbons of zest) or a microplane (for finer zest). Place the peels in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain well and return the zest to the saucepan.

Add the sugar and the juice of the zested orange to the saucepan with the zest. Bring to a boil, add a couple splashes of orange liqueur and simmer for 3 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.

To serve, drizzle the sauce over the cake.

Mini chocolate beet cakes with cream cheese frosting

2012-02-03T16:57:00.004-05:00

This is not another sappy Valentine's Day post, though it is that time of year again, and the "big day" is fast approaching. I don't celebrate Valentine's day, and it's not just because I happen to lack a valentine in my life at the moment.

I could have made a bright-red red velvet cake with an entire bottle of red food coloring to celebrate the season.

I could have.

Instead I made this chocolate beet cake that I had been eyeing ever since Joy the Baker posted the recipe.

I love, love, love constructing layer cakes, so I'm using Valentine's Day as an excuse for this one, but really, I made it just because.

The cake is fantastic, moist, not too dense, quite chocolaty, and not too sweet. Plus, there are vegetables hidden in it! I love the fact that it's moist without having to add vegetable oil or shortening to the batter.

The frosting is a simple cream cheese frosting, need I say more. I think tangy, but sweet cream cheese frosting goes so well with chocolate cake. I love the color contrast of the creamy white frosting on the dark cake. It looks sophisticated, and it tastes great.

For this recipe, I roasted a few beets (about 5 or 6 small ones) in a 375°F oven for about an hour in a foil packet with a little oil. I let the beets cool a little, and then I peeled and grated them. Be sure to grate them as finely as possible for the cake batter.

Mini chocolate beet cakes with cream cheese frosting

Makes 4 mini layer cakes (3.5-inch)

Chocolate beet cake

2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (75 grams) extra-dark cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
200 grams (~ 1 1/2 cups) grated beets
3/4 cups (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
3/4 cup (170 grams) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (prepared from skim milk and white vinegar)

Cream cheese frosting

1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (115 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups (250 grams) powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 teeny-tiny pinch citric acid (or 1/4 tsp lemon juice)
1–2 tbsp milk

To make the chocolate beet cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 10x15-inch rimmed sheet pan by greasing it and lining the bottom with parchment paper. Set it aside for later.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugars until they are well combined on medium-low.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the vanilla and beat again.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk and the grated beets. Continue mixing and scraping down the bowl until the batter is well mixed.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake it for about 40 minutes or until a cake tester poked through the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan when it is done.

Let the cake cool completely before proceeding.

To make the cream cheese frosting

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese until it is light and fluffy.

With the mixer on low, add the other ingredients, except the milk. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue beating. Thin the frosting out with 1–2 tbsp of milk, as needed, to achieve the desired consistency.

To assemble

With a 3.5-inch cake ring or round cookie butter, cut out 8 circles of cake.

For each mini cake, rim the cake ring with an 11x4 inch strip of acetate. Secure the ends of acetate ends with a small piece of tape. Place the lined ring on a baking sheet lined with parchment (make sure the sheet fits in the freezer!).

Begin building the mini cake by placing one layer of cake at the bottom of the acetate-lined ring. Gently press it down so that it is even. Top with a tablespoon or so of frosting, spread evenly, then another round of cake (pressed down gently) and then another tablespoon of frosting. If you only have one cake ring (like me). Gently pull up the cake ring and repeat the building process.

Place the baking sheet with the cakes in the freezer and freeze them overnight or until about 3 or 4 hours before you are ready to serve them. Carefully peel off the acetate strips and let the cakes defrost in the fridge until you are ready to serve them.

Energizing citrus salad

2012-01-25T10:00:00.002-05:00

To say that my life involves eating lots of cake is an understatement. There are cakes, cookies, chocolate, candy, bread, and the list goes on and on. It's a bit obscene, really.

What's amazing is that, somehow, a few years back, I managed to cut all sugar (unless it came from a fruit or a veggie) and gluten from my diet for forty days straight. I think that's proof that I'm capable of a healthy lifestyle. Maybe it was the pressure of weekly sugar-free check-ins where my menu from the past week was scrutinized and judged. The first meeting began with "Hi. My name is Janice, and I'm addicted to cake and candy!" Whatever the reasons I had, I managed to clean up my diet

Now, years later, cake and sweets are obviously ever-present. That's okay. I've learned how to balance the cake with exercise and mostly-sort-of clean eating (I did say mostly!). Salads like this one provide a sweet yet healthy and satisfying break between the slices of cake. This salad is a definite cure for the winter blahs.

This citrus salad is an instant pick-me-up, and I honestly find it quite refreshing and energizing. The citrus is bright, tangy, bitter, and sweet (especially with a little help from a drizzling of honey). Serve the segmented fruit with a splash of honey, some chopped toasted almonds and a few mint leaves, et voilà! The variations are endless, depending on the citrus that's in season, and if you've got a few pomegranate seeds to add, or maybe some pistachios instead of the almonds. You can even change up the herb, and the honey is completely optional (but I do love honey). Tweak it to your liking, and revel in the fact that you've made an effort to eat something healthy at least once today.

Energizing citrus salad

Serves 1

1 small navel orange, peeled and segmented, juices saved
1/2 pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented, juices saved
A few fresh mint leaves
A handful of toasted almonds, chopped
A drizzling of honey

Arrange the supremed slices of orange and grapefruit in a bowl.

Top with mint and toasted almonds.

Drizzle with honey and any leftover juices from when you cut up the fruit. Alternatively, you can just drink the extra juice, just don't waste it.

Need help segmenting citrus? Check out this post on the subject at A Thought for Food!

Jasmine tea madeleines

2012-01-18T18:38:00.000-05:00

I am madly in love with tea. Tea anything and tea everything. I'll drink tea hot or cold. I love browsing through the tea aisle of grocery stores whenever I travel, and I am a big fan of buying loose-leaf tea from the small tea shops at home. One of my favorite indulgences is a big jug of bubble tea from Chinatown, made with milky, sweetened black tea and tapioca pearls. The funny thing is that no matter how much tea I drink out or brew on my own, the best tea always comes from tea bags of orange pekoe brewed in my mom's tea pot.

Orange pekoe aside, another of my favorite teas is jasmine tea. It's mellow and floral if you give the leaves a quick soak in hot water, but it can be quite strong if you let the jasmine tea leaves sit for longer. I'd never consider drinking orange pekoe straight from the pot, without milk or sugar, but jasmine tea is best served hot, just the way it is.

Tea isn't just for drinking. I've infused soup with green tea and honey with lavender buds, and even flavored a decadent chocolate tart with earl grey. Tea in cookie form is also great, like in these earl grey tea cookies and these lavender shortbread.

My latest tea-inspired endeavour was to add freshly ground jasmine tea leaves to madeleines. These little tea cakes are the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon cup, and they are best served the day they are baked. The day after, left-overs are delightfully dunkable in a strong cuppa. The flavor and aroma of the jasmine tea come through wonderfully in these madeleines, so if you're a big fan of sweet tea, I'd give this recipe a try, or add some ground tea to your favorite cookie and cake recipes. You'd be amazed at how much tea can add to the taste of your favorite recipe!

This recipe was halved from the original published in Martha Stewart Living (September 2011 issue pages 76 and 77). To grind the tea leaves, I used this Krups electric coffee and spice grinder which ground them to a pretty even fine powder.

Jasmine tea madeleines

Makes 30 madeleines

1 cup (140 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 tbsp (17 grams) packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp (12 grams) good-quality jasmine tea leaves, ground in a spice grinder
1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside for later.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs with the sugars on high speed for about 10 minutes until they are a very light cream color and thick.

Sift the dry ingredients over the mixer bowl, and fold them in with a flexible spatula, carefuly.

Add the ground tea leaves, and fold them in until they are almost, but not totally incorporated.

Mix the melted butter with the vanilla and the honey in a small cup or bowl, and pour half of it over the batter. Fold it in, then add the other half of the butter mixture. Continue folding (with a couple gentle stirs) until all the ingredients are incorporated. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl, and make sure that you've gotten all the ingredients off the bottom of the bowl.

Let the batter stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the pans by very generously greasing them with melted butter, or spray them with Pam baking spray, brushing it into the grooves.

Dollop small spoonfulls of the batter into each slot of the pan, but do not overfill. Each slot will take a generous teaspoon or so. (Practice by baking a couple if you're unsure how much to put) Bake them for about 12 minutes, or until the edges are golden.

Immediately flip the pan over a wire rack to release all the madeleines to cool. Then re-prep the pan, and continue baking the rest of the batter.

Dust with powdered sugar just before serving, or serve them plain.

Savory date and chorizo mini loaves

2012-01-14T12:42:00.000-05:00

Did you see the list of the five "most played-out restaurant dishes" from Andrew Knowlton? Fine, I'm obviously a little behind on my reading because it's from September 2010. Point being, apparently such dishes as beet and goat cheese salad and bacon-wrapped dates are overplayed and according to the BA Foodist, it's time for restaurants to put them to rest and come up with something new.

I have issues with this because honestly, I've never been served a bacon-wrapped date in my life and, quite frankly, I regularly and happily make myself salads with roasted beets and goat cheese. I don't think that I'll ever get bored of that combination of ingredients.

Tempted by this list of "passé" dishes and flavor combinations, I came up with these savory date and chorizo loaves.

In France, "un cake" is usually any rectangular-shaped loaf cake, and "un cake salé" is a "salty" (read savory) loaf cake. I've been meaning to delve into the realm of the "cake salé" for some time, and this recipe is what I came up with. Dates and chorizo are excellent together as the dates are super sweet and quite soft while the chewy spanish chorizo is salty and a little spicy. This recipe is really easy to make and would be an excellent addition to a breakfast or brunch, though BA Foodist may not approve since this flavor combination was inspired by his list of overdone dishes.

This recipe is loosely adapted from the bacon and prune loaves recipe found in the Coffret Mini-cakes - 1 livre de 50 recettes + 4 mini-moules à cake.

Savory date and chorizo mini loaves

Makes 4 mini loaves (pans are approximately 3x2x1.5-inches)

150 grams pitted dates, chopped
200 grams all-purpose flour
8 grams baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
a few turns of freshly ground pepper
3 large eggs, room temperature
150 mL milk (I used skim milk)
100 mL grapeseed oil
150 grams spanish chorizo, casing removed and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the four mini loaf pans by pressing a small sheet of parchment into each so that the inside walls and bottom are all covered. Set aside on a baking sheet for later.

Combine the chopped dates with a couple spoonfulls of the measured flour. Toss them to coat, and make sure the bits of date aren't stuck together. Set them aside.

Whisk the baking powder, salt, and freshly ground pepper into the rest of the flour. Set the dry ingredients aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and the milk until they are combined and a little frothy. Add the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.

Slowly drizzle the grapeseed oil into the batter while whisking constantly.

Switch to a wooden spoon and stir in the chopped chorizo and the prepared floured-dates (plus any flour at the bottom of the bowl).

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared loaf pans.

Bake them until the tops begin to turn golden and the loaves are set. This takes about 50 minutes because they pans are very full (but check them every 10 minutes as of the 30 minute mark to be sure). Let them cool completely before serving.

Homemade Momofuku Milk Bar birthday cake for my 30th

2012-01-07T16:04:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, I turned thirty, as in the big three-zero! I wouldn't say I was completely freaked out about it. Not completely. I was definitely mildly worried. But, when the clock struck midnight, and it was officially the 3rd of January, nothing happened. I was just officially in my thirties. That's all. It was kind of anti-climactic, and not really worth the cold sweats and heart palpitations that I had been experiencing, randomly, in the days leading up to the 3rd.

Facebook and twitter friends wished me a happy birthday, my dad even called me from work. My mom took me out for a warming lunch of hand-pulled ramen and soup (since it was minus a million outside), and Lynn took me out for a dinner of hot chocolate and waffles. It made me feel like quite the lucky thirty-year-old. By the end of the day, I was even excited to be thirty. Two days later, I had a fabulous Italian meal with friends and family to officially celebrate the event. I've been truly spoiled to the point that I think being thirty is pretty wonderful!

As I let go of my twenties (good riddance!), I obviously had to bake myself a birthday cake to celebrate the occasion. I didn't just bake any old cake. Instead, I opted to make THE Momofuku Milk Bar birthday cake from Christina Tosi's new book. I think this is the perfect cake to say good-bye to my twenties, and to greet my thirties. It's fun, and maybe a little whimsical, full of brightly colored sprinkles, and birthday cake crumbs.

Since in my early twenties, I had a soft-spot for cake mix vanilla and sprinkle cake topped with a generous swirl of that sprinkle frosting in a can, this was the perfect recipe for me. The cake was designed to taste like the typical "funfetti" birthday cake that many of us ate to celebrate the years of our youth. This recipe brings cake from a box and frosting from a can to a whole other level. With every bite, you can pick out the sweet, salty, and sour notes. The crumbs bring a surprising crispy element to the usual creamy texture of frosting.

The recipe is brilliant and inspiring, but if you want to bake this cake (or anything from the Momofuku Milk Bar book), you will need to go shopping. I found a 6-inch cake ring (I actually used the ring of a springform pan) and liquid glucose (Wilton brand) at a local baking supply store. I purchased the acetate sheets at an office supply store, and the citric acid at a bulk store. The sprinkles came from the grocery store, along with the usual flour, milk, sugar, butter, and eggs. I made this cake a day ahead, and it took me maybe half a day to make, so it's really not more time-consuming than any other cake recipe, once you have all the ingredients and equipment. I froze the assembled cake overnight to set the layers, then unmolded it and placed it on a cake stand in the fridge for several hours to slowly defrost. When you cut into it, use a giant chef's knife to make quick, clean slices, otherwise, you will end up with a mess as the cake crumbs will tear through the delicate cake.

I'm giving the recipe in grams because that's how I made it. The instructions are not identical to those in the book because there are certain things that I do differently. The book recipe is also published in the Huffington Post in cups and grams. Better yet, if you love making cakes, buy the book. It's a great investment full of insight and tips.

Special thanks to Mayssam for sending me a copy of this book. I love it!

Momofuku Milk Bar birthday cake

Makes one 6-inch birthday cake

Birthday cake crumbs

100 grams granulated sugar
25 grams light brown sugar
90 grams cake and pastry flour
2 grams baking powder
2 grams salt
20 grams rainbow sprinkles
40 grams grapeseed oil
12 grams vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or a piece of parchment.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugars, flour, baking powder, salt, and sprinkles and mix them on low speed until they are evenly mixed.

Add the oil and the vanilla and continue beating the mixture until the ingredients clump and form small clusters.

Carefully spread the delicate clusters in a thin layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake them for about 20 minutes. They dry and harden as the cool into crispy crumbs. Let them cool completely before using them. By the time you've made the cake and frosting, they will be ready to be used anyways.

Birthday cake

Pam or vegetable oil for preparing the pan
245 grams cake and pastry flour
6 grams baking powder
3 grams salt
50 grams rainbow sprinkles
55 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
60 grams vegetable shortening
250 grams granulated sugar
50 grams light brown sugar
3 large eggs
110 grams buttermilk (made from skim milk and white vinegar)
65 grams grapeseed oil
8 grams vanilla extract
25 gramsrainbow sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350°F (use an oven thermometer to verify the temperature). Prepare a rimmed quarter sheet pan (mine is a 10-x15-inch pan with a 1-inch rim) by spraying it all over with Pam and then covering the base with a sheet of parchment. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and 50 grams of sprinkles in a small bowl. Set the dry ingredients aside for later.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, shortening, and the sugars on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Add the eggs (all at once) and then beat again on medium-high for another 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.

In a 1-cup measurer, weigh out the buttermilk, grapeseed oil, and vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the wet ingredients in a steady stream. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for another 4 to 6 minutes. The mixture will double in size almost, and will appear light and fluffy. There will be no trace of oil left.

With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, and mix for another minute or so until the ingredients are all combined.

Pour out the batter into the prepared sheet pan, spreading it out into an even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining 25 grams of rainbow sprinkles.

Bake for 30–35 minutes until the cake bounces back slightly when gently pressed in the corner. The center of the cake should no longer jiggle when the pan is shook. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Birthday cake soak

55 grams milk (I used whole milk—3.25% fat)
4 grams vanilla extract

Whisk together the milk and vanilla in a small cup or bowl. Set aside for later.

Birthday cake frosting

200 grams powdered sugar
2 grams salt
Pinch baking powder
Pinch citric acid
1155 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
50 grams vegetable shortening
55 grams cream cheese
25 grams glucose
18 grams clear corn syrup
12 grams vanilla extract

Whisk together the powdered sugar, salt, baking powder, and citric acid in a medium bowl. Set aside for later.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening, and the cream cheese for 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the bowl periodically.

Add the glucose, corn syrup, and vanilla, and beat the mixture on medium-high again, for 2 to 3 minutes until it is silky smooth and a little glossy. Scrape down the bowl a few times.

Now add the whisked dry ingredients and incorporate them on low speed. Increase the mixer speed to medium–high and beat the frosting until it is creamy and fluffy, just like the kind that comes in a can.

Whisk together the milk and vanilla in a small cup or bowl. Set aside for later.

Birthday cake assembly

1 batch birthday cake
1 batch birthday cake soak
1 batch birthday cake frosting
1 batch birthday cake crumbs
4 8-x3-inch strips of acetate
1 6-inch cake ring that is 3 inches high (or a springform ring)
1 8-inch square of parchment

Cut the sheet cake into two 6-inch circles plus two half-circles using your cake ring as a template. Use a spatula to gently loosen and lift (carefully!) the circles and set them aside.

Place the cake ring on a baking sheet lined with the 8-inch square of parchment. Line the inner rim of the ring with two pieces of acetate so that they overlap a little.

Fill the bottom of the ring with the two half circles of cake. Press them slightly so that they are even. If there are any holes, fill them with the rest of the cake scraps.

Brush half the birthday cake soak over the base of cake.

Spread about 100 mL (one-fifth) of the birthday cake frosting over the base layer. Then sprinkle with one-third of the birthday cake crumbs, pressing them gently into the frosting. Top with another 100 mL (another fifth) of the birthday cake frosting, carefully spreading it so that it is even, but without disturbing the crumbs.

Top with a full circle of cake, brush the rest of the cake soak over this layer, top with more frosting, cake crumbs, and another layer of frosting.

Squeeze in the other two strips of acetate between the inner rim of the ring and the first acetate strips (you are essentially making your cake ring taller at this point). Top with the last circle of cake. and the remaining frosting, spread evenly. Top with the remaining cake crumbs.

Freeze the cake as is for at least 12 hours to set everything and making the unmolding process much easier.

Three hours before serving, retrieve the pan from the freezer, and gently push the cake through the ring. Place it on a cake stand or cake plate. Now gently pull off the acetate ribbons.

Let the cake defrost in the fridge before serving. Cut neatly with a large chef's knife.

New Years sweets: fruitcake truffles and chocolate amaretto balls

2011-12-29T15:39:00.000-05:00

New Years is a time for resolutions and goals. I'm pretty sure at age 25, I had about two goals for the next five years. The first was obviously to get my PhD done at some point in the next five years. The second was to get married at age 27 (27 was a random age I picked that seemed appropriate at the time). The PhD happened at age 28. As for my other goal, an email at age 26 with the words "I'm sorry" and "we aren't getting married" changed pretty much everything. An email can do that.

So, in my 26th year, I changed my address, all my phone numbers (cell and landline), and my hair-do (from straight hair to a wild '80s perm). I even changed friends (pretty much all of them), and I think I started to become me in the process (except for the hair). I baked like crazy (obviously), and I connected with amazing people that I will love forever and who let me figure out me.

I clearly didn't get married at 27, or at 28, or even at 29, and I guess that's okay because I continued to figure out who I am. At 28, I finished my PhD and I was a medical writer for awhile. This last year, my 29th year, I was a "funemployed" traveler, spending most of the year baking, blogging, and meeting people who love food as much as I do. There were ups and downs to the year, just like any other, but I think I finally accepted that what I want to do might not be what others think I should do.

Now that I find myself a few days away from my 30th birthday and on the eve of a new year, I made two new goals for my next 5 or so years. The first is to learn to bake, for real, courtesy of a professional diploma (after all, I am good at school, if nothing else!), and the second is to open a bakery. I want a little shop that will make me happy. A shop that will represent me. Fine, the last goal is a little nuts. It may or may not work out, and it may take longer than 5 years, but I'm going to try and see what happens.

So, an email can change everything, and it did, probably for the better. Several years later, I think I am closer to figuring out who I am and who I want to be.

On a regular day, I'd probably never make truffles or sweets like these, but since it's the holiday season, and New Years, I ended up making two kinds. Don't worry, they're really simple to make. They store well, and make great gifts!

The first batch are chocolate covered fruitcake truffles (adapted from Donna Hay magazine, issue 58). Basically, you blend left-over fruitcake (unfrosted, please!) with some spiced rum. Form the dough into truffles, dip them in melted chocolate, and dust with cocoa. They are super easy, and allow you to repurpose some of that left-over fruitcake. These truffles have a hard chocolate shell on the outside, and a moist, fruity inside with a sweet rum flavor.

The second batch are chocolate amaretto balls (recipe courtesy of a friend of the family), made of vanilla wafers, melted chocolate chips, ground nuts, and amaretto. Again, these are really easy to prepare. Just form the mixture into balls, and roll them in granulated sugar for a pretty, shimmery effect. These chocolate balls are pleasantly drier than the usual truffles, with a lovely nutty texture and the taste of amaretto.

Fruitcake truffles and chocolate amaretto balls

Makes about 4 dozen fruitcake truffles and 5 dozen chocolate amaretto balls

To make the fruitcake truffles

400 grams fruitcake
4 tsp spiced rum
200 grams 70% dark chocolate, melted
Cocoa powder for dusting

Place the fruitcake and the rum in the bowl of a food processor and process until combined.

Roll the mixture into small, bite-sized truffles (~ 1 inch).

Dip the truffles in the melted chocolate, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set.

Dust with cocoa powder before serving.

To make the chocolate amaretto balls

170 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp corn syrup
1/2 cup (125 mL) amaretto liqueur
2 1/2 cups (300 grams) vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup (70 grams) powdered sugar
1 cup (160 grams) chopped nuts (I used pecans)
Granulated sugarfor rolling

Melt the chocolate chips, and then add the corn syrup and the amaretto. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the wafer crumbs, powdered sugar, and the nuts.

Add the melted chocolate mixture and mix well.

Let stand about 30 minutes and then form the mixture into 1-inch balls.

Roll the balls in granulated sugar.

Let the balls season, in a container for several days before serving.

Chocolate crackle cookies

2011-12-26T17:21:00.000-05:00

It finally snowed in Montreal, just in time for Christmas. If I had known we were going to have a white Christmas in the end, I wouldn't have fretted so much for the entire month of December.

It snowed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The snow was fluffy and light. By mid-January, I will have had enough of it, but for this week, I can't get enough of the snow.

These snowy white crackle cookies are perfect for celebrating the white season. They are like fudgy brownie bites on the inside, and powdery white on the outside. With every bite, a little of the powdery sugar falls, just like the snow.

These cookies are easy to make, and I actually made the dough a few days ahead of time before rolling and baking them. I think that helps develop the flavor and the texture. These crackle cookies are super chocolaty and not too sweet, even with all that powdered sugar. The texture is amazing, fudgy but light, and the chopped walnuts add a little bit of a soft crunch to them (just like for brownies).

As you've probably noticed, I've been quite smitten with many of the cookbooks that Canadian writers have put together this year. This recipe is yet another example of why, and it comes from à la di Stasio 3, the third book of cookbook author Josée di Stasio of Quebec. It's the best crackle cookie recipe I've tried thus far, and I think it will become a staple on our ever-growing list of Christmas-baking.

Chocolate crackle cookies

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

225 grams (8 oz) semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 mL) milk, room temperature
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup (or more) powdered sugar

Melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a double-boiler. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside for later.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the brown sugar until the mixture has lightened slightly.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla, and beat the mixture again. Now add the melted chocolate, mixing well.

With the mixer on low, add the flour, alternating with the milk. When all the ingredients are well blended, add the walnuts.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate the cookie dough for a couple hours, if not overnight.

Form the dough into 1 inch balls, and refrigerate the dough again so that it is nice and firm.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover your baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat Liner.

Roll the balls of cookie dough in powdered sugar to generously coat them. Place them on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 11–13 minutes, or until the cookies have crackled on top (and not just on the sides).

Let cool a couple of minutes on the baking sheet before transferring the cookies to a rack.

Stewie's ginger cookies from Trish Magwood's new book

2011-12-19T10:04:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure how I manage to do this every year, but I put together an ~~amazing~~ insane list of holiday baking that I try to get through. I guess my eyes are bigger than my stomach, or maybe my pen can put to paper such an awesome list of holiday treats that my oven and mixer have no hope of keeping up! At this point, my habit of putting together a mile-long holiday baking list that I slowly shrink down to a handful of recipes is now a family tradition. Would it still be Christmas without the hustle and bustle of crazy amounts of baking?

My baking list every year includes a gingerbread house and, of course, gingerbread men. I think the best part of both of those is the aroma of the molasses and spices as they bake. Plus, I happen to have a soft spot for gingerbread cookie dough. It just tastes so good baked and unbaked.

Sadly, with a busy schedule, there isn't always time for preparing, chilling, rolling, and cutting out gingerbread. This ginger cookie recipe is a tasty and satisfying substitute to the time-consuming cut-outs. That's why I love this recipe.

These cookies are simple-made-fancy with add-ins of chopped crystallized ginger and chunks of white chocolate, and the recipe comes from Trish Magwood's latest book entitled "In My Mother's Kitchen" (published by Harper Collins Canada). The book is a collection of Trish Magwood's recipes (gathered from family and friends), and many of them are probably familiar to most Canadians.

From the typical bake-sale Nanaimo bars to roast beef and yorkshire pudding, this book is full of recipes that most of us Canadians cook and bake on a weekly (if not daily) basis. I was even pleasantly surprised to find the oddly named "Jamaican Shediac Cape Curry" chicken recipe, which tastes remarkably like my mom's curry sauce (my mom uses Campbell's cream of mushroom soup instead of the coconut milk).

As with most Canadian cookbooks (like Rocco's), my issue is how the measurements for solids (like flour and sugar) are given in cups and mililiters. I would love to see grams or ounces included instead of the volume. Maybe if I mention this enough, somebody important will read it, and get the message! I was even surprised that the Jamaican Shediac Cape Curry ingredients included "2 cups (500 mL) of chicken" and "1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped sweet potato" At the grocery store, chicken packages and sweet potatoes don't come in cup-amounts, so I found it a little hard to shop for that recipe. Grams and/or ounces make everything easier!

Nit-picking aside, I love this book because it's a collection of everyday and special occasion family recipes, most of which my mom makes a variation of, so I think it's a great book to refer back to when trying to cook those recipes we Canadians grew up eating.

This recipe yields crispy edged, chewy-centered ginger cookies that will definitely satisfy the gingerbread-obsessed who are tight on time. The addition of crystallized ginger adds a punch of flavor to the cookies, and the white chocolate (or milk chocolate as suggested by Trish Magwood) makes them a little decadent.

Stewie's ginger cookies

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
A couple squares of white chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a couple baking sheets by lining them with parchment or a silicone liner.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Set them aside for later.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar.

Add the egg, and then the molasses, being sure to scrape down the bowl as needed and mixing well between each addition.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the whisked dry ingredients, then the chopped crystallized ginger.

Form the dough into 1 inch balls, and roll each in the extra granulated sugar.

Place them on the prepared baking sheets and lightly press a piece of white chocolate into each ball (don't squish too much!).

Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes or until they just start to crack. Let them cool for a couple minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Please note that I was happy to receive this book from Harper Collins publishing and Trish Magwood, but my opinion is still my own.

White fruitcake with brandy frosting and marzipan

2011-12-12T21:01:00.000-05:00

Growing up, my mom would make fruitcake from my grandmother's recipe every Christmas season. I think most years, we all pretty much rejected the fruitcake in favor of chocolate treats and shortbread cookies. Regardless, my mom kept up the tradition of baking her mom's fruitcake every Christmas, along with plum pudding served on Christmas day.

As a teen, I eventually warmed up to fruitcake and plum pudding, and now I look forward to these every winter season. When mid-November hits, I consistently ask my mom if she's made the plum pudding yet, not that she ever needs a reminder.

Fruitcake gets made in December in our house, and it's nothing like those heavy, dense bricks of fruitcake sold in grocery stores and on-line. Commercial fruitcake is unappetizing. They are hardly even cake because they are so full of fruit, and not just any fruit, very sweet candied fruit.

My grandmother insisted on baking "cake with a little fruit" when she baked fruitcake, and not "fruits with a little cake". Her recipe is not weighed down with cloyingly sweet candied fruits. Instead, hers is a lovely white cake, flavored with almond extract and with a few colorful candied fruits that poke through the cake in some spots.

This fruitcake recipe features mainly raisins (we like to use golden raisins, but my grandmother's recipe actually calls for sultanas), plumped with boiling water and patted dry. Of course, a little of the usual citron, diced candied pineapple, and colorful green and red cherries are added (this is Christmas fruitcake after all!), but in just the right amount.

My grandmother's fruitcake recipe is definitely "cake with a little fruit" and I think it could probably convert all those fruitcake-haters into fruitcake-lovers. Sure, the thin layer of marzipan and brandy frosting might help convince you that this is an amazing fruitcake recipe, but honestly, the cake is delicious, ungarnished with a cup of tea.

For this post, rather than make one giant fruitcake, I baked the recipe in individual ramekins, so I could share them with friends. I also baked them at a lower temperature (325°F instead of 350°F) for longer to make them slightly moister.

It's not Christmas without this recipe, and I really hope you'll give fruitcake one more chance!

White fruitcake with brandy frosting and marzipan

Makes 20 individual fruitcakes

Fruitcake ingredients

1 pound (454 grams) golden or sulatana raisins, soaked in 2 cups boiling water, drained and patted dry
1/4 lb (113 grams) candied citron
1/2 lb (230 grams) glacéed cherries (green and red), quartered
1/4 lb (113 grams) diced candied pineapple
4 cups (600 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup (345 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups (420 grams) granulated sugar
4 medium eggs. room temperature
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup (250 mL) milk (I used 1% fat milk)

Frosting ingredients and marzipan

1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla extract
2–3 cups (280–420 grams) powdered sugar, plus more for rolling out the marzipan
500 grams marzipan
~5 glacéed cherries (red and/or green)

To make the fruitcakes

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Prepare 20 ramekins by greasing them and flouring them (or spray with baking spray that contains flour). Place them on baking sheets with 1 inch space between them and set aside for later.

In a large bowl, stir together the rehydrated raisins and candied fruits. Add about 1/2 cup (or more) of the 4 cups flour and stir so that all the fruits are coated with flour.

Whisk the baking powder into the rest of the flour. Set the dry ingredients aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition.

Add the almond extract and mix again.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

When the flour is completely incorporated add the flour-coated fruits and mix on low til they are evenly dispersed throughout the batter.

Divide the batter among the ramekins and bake them for about 50 to 55 minutes, until a cake tester poked through the center of the batter (not through the fruit) comes out clean.

Let them cool completely before unmolding.

To make the frosting and marzipan

Prepare the frosting by beating together the butter, brandy, vanilla and powdered sugar until it is nice and smooth. Add as much powdered sugar as needed to obtain the desired consistency.

Roll out the marzipan using powdered sugar until it is 1/4 cm (~0.1 inches) thick. Cut with round cookie cutter so that just the tops of the fruitcakes are covered with a thin layer of marzipan.

Top each fruitcake with a marzipan circle glued down with a small dollop of frosting.

Top with a smear of frosting and garnish with a sliver of glacéed cherry.

Maple cream and white chocolate fudge

2011-12-04T14:37:00.001-05:00

I'm turning 30 in less than one month! I'm trying not to dwell on this scary thought, so I'm distracting myself with Christmas baking and this maple cream fudge. Of course, I had no idea how difficult fudge-making was when I started pulling together my ingredients. I can make caramel without the slightest worry. I don't stir, and instead I just let the sugar boil until its caramel, brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Easy. Somehow fudge was more difficult to make. I guess I just lacked practice.

In my first attempt at maple cream fudge, I don't think I was careful/vigilant enough with my stirring, so the fudge was overcooked on the bottom of the pan, and when I stirred it, I ended up with a moka-colored fudge, which was not what I was going for. Luckily enough, the texture was not bad (perhaps a touch drier than it should be), and the extra-caramelized flavor of the fudge was actually quite pleasant, though the flavor of the white chocolate was hidden.

My second attempt yielded a much creamier, more maple-y fudge. I stirred it carefully, focusing on the saucepan and never once leaving it to do something else. The texture was lovely, worth the non-stop stirring. And even though I had some trouble with my candy thermometer which was water-logged inside its glass case, I'm happy to say, I finally achieved fudge-success.

Here are some tips on how to successfully make fudge (though, even a mild screw-up ends up pretty tasty too, so don't worry!):

Get yourself a proper candy thermometer! I have one like this, but I think I need to upgrade since mine is now waterlogged. Many bloggers and bakers recommend this one.
There are two important temperatures to fudge-making: 115°C (240°F), the temperature you heat the fudge to, and 43°C (110°F), the temperature you cool the fudge to before beating it. They are essential to perfect fudge.
Beat it, but only when the fudge has reached 43°C, and, if you're using an electric beater (or a stand mixer), beat just until the fudge mixture has thickened and lost some of its luster. This takes only a couple minutes.
Don't just buy a candy thermometer and toss it in a drawer, untouched, use it.
The saucepan I used was a 3-quart (2.8L) stainless steel pot with a diameter of about 18 cm and a height of about 12 cm. This is just right for this fudge recipe, any smaller and it would've erupted out of the pot and been a disaster. So, choose your saucepan wisely, please!
And....
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

To make this fudge, I followed some of the tips from Ricardo magazine and I adapted the recipe from Olive magazine. This fudge combines the flavor of white chocolate with Coureur des Bois maple cream liqueur. The smooth, creamy texture and sweet, maple-y flavor of this fudge are fantastic. If you can't get Coureur des Bois maple cream liqueur in your area, try Baileys irish cream liqueur. It won't be maple-y, but it will be delicious.

Fudge-making is not easy, but neither is turning 30. At least I can practice making fudge to distract me as I count down the days to the big 3-0.

Maple cream and white chocolate fudge

Makes one 8x8-inch pan of fudge

500 grams granulated sugar
500 mL whipping cream (35% fat)
150 grams white chocolate, finely chopped
50 mL Coureur des Bois maple cream or Baileys irish cream

Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving overhangs over two sides. Grease the other two sides with a little vegetable oil or oil spray. Set aside for later.

Measure out/prepare all your ingredients. Set aside.

Set a large stainless steel bowl of room temperature water in your sink. This is to cool your fudge later on so the bowl needs to be big enough to hold your saucepan.

In a medium-large heavy-bottomed saucepan (3 quart or 2.8 L), on medium-low heat, stir together the granulated sugar and the cream until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Raise the setting of the stove to medium when the sugar has dissolved. Clip your candy thermometer to the side of the pan and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Be sure to work your spoon into all the edges and grooves of the pan. Please don't sample the mixture at this point, you risk seriously burning your fingers and your lips in the process.

Patiently stir the mixture non-stop until your candy thermometer reads 115°C (240°F).

Immediately remove the pan from the heat, add in the chopped white chocolate, continuing to stir constantly, and also add the maple liqueur (don't be alarmed if the mixture boils up a little when you add the alcohol. It's normal, just keep stirring, carefully).

When the white chocolate is dissolved, place the saucepan in the large boil of tap water , and let the fudge mixture cool, untouched, until the thermometer reads 43°C (110°F).

Quickly transfer the mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer equipped with the paddle attachment, and beat for about 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth, a little thickened and not as shiny.

Transfer the fudge to the prepared 8x8 pan and let it set for about an hour at room temperature, then in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap) for several more hours. Cut and serve.

David Rocco's apple yogurt cake

2011-11-30T15:59:00.001-05:00

Oh, David Rocco.... I watch him on tv, usually in awe. He's a Canadian who lives part-time in Italy. He hangs out with his buddies in Rome, and cooks. He visits fun places like a chestnut farm, and eats and cooks among the trees. What a life! How do I sign up for this gig?

With all honesty, I don't really want to have a tv show. I'd rather have my perfect little bakery. In the meantime, I have David Rocco's latest book "Made in Italy" to review.

So far, I've tested a handful of recipes. What I love about this book: the simplicity. The recipes are quite simple and rustic. You don't need a fancy food processor, blender, mixer, etc. to make David Rocco's recipes. The photos in the book reflect this simplicity, depicting simple, traditional Italian dishes. There are no fancy plating techniques here: the pizzas aren't perfectly round and there are sometimes dribbles of sauce on the serving plate photographed. The dishes really look homemade.

What I don't love (i.e. me being picky): solids (like flour, sugar, etc.) are measured in cups/milliliters (mL). My inner chemist thinks that volumes are for liquids, weights are for solids. Unfortunately, I think Canadian publishing regulations dictate that solids be reported for cookbooks in cups/mL. This makes absolutely no sense to me, but those are the rules. Oh well.

My other issue is with the ingredient lists. For the dessert (dolci) section, I think it is important to specify to use unsalted butter and granulated sugar, for example. However, in this book, these ingredients are listed as butter and sugar, which is fine for the experienced bakers who know what type of butter and sugar to use, but for a novice, I think it's important to specify exactly what ingredients were used. These are really minor details though, and I'm definitely going to continue cooking with this book.

This apple yogurt cake is a dessert recipe adapted from David Rocco's "Made in Italy" (page 341). The recipe is really simple and can even be mixed together by hand (or with a hand mixer, as David Rocco recommends) if you don't have a stand mixer. The cake has a lovely moist texture and is full of apple slices. The original recipe said to bake the cake for 40 minutes, but mine took over an hour to bake. I love the crispy sugar topping that crackles as the cake cools and its crispy texture is a welcome sweet contrast to the soft, slightly tart apples. This is a great snacking cake and absolutely appropriate for the end of fall.

Apple yogurt cake

Makes one 8-inch cake

1 1/3 cups (150 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (115 grams) granulated sugar
7/8 cup (200 grams) unsalted butter, melted, plus a little extra for buttering the pan
2 large eggs
1/2 cups (125 mL) yogurt (I used 2.5% fat yogurt)
2 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup (75 grams) granulated sugar (for the topping

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch cake round.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 1/2 cup of sugar and the melted butter until it has lightened.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the yoghurt, beginning and ending with the flour.

Stir in the sliced apples and the lemon zest, and pour the batter in the prepared pan.

Sprinkle the 1/3 cup sugar evenly over the top of the cake.

The original recipe suggests a baking time of 40 minutes, but I think it needs to bake for over one hour (until a tester inserted into the center (not through an apple if possible!) comes out clean.

Let cool completely before serving.

Please note that I was sent this book by Harper Collins publishing, but my opinion is my own.

Montreal's best banana bread according to Joe Beef

2011-11-24T13:11:00.000-05:00

If you've ever read about Montreal, then you probably encountered a blurb or two on the restaurant Joe Beef. It's described as iconic, and typical of Montreal. It's a small space filled with big, jovial, fun-loving personalities and comforting, delicious food.

Some of the Joe Beef crew put together a wonderful book entitled "The Art of Living According to Joe Beef" that really reflects the ambiance of our city, and my growing neighborhood of Saint-Henri. The book assembles the stories behind the restaurant and its people, and even gives away several of their favorite and/or famous recipes. It's a great bedtime read, and a fun kitchen tool.

The book contains recipes for a few awesome dishes like lobster spaghetti, canard et saucisse, and even "good fries". Obviously, I went straight to the desserts section at the end. The dessert section is pretty random because it contains all sorts of sweet treats from simple banana bread to a fancy marjolaine layer cake. Personally, I love the randomness, but some may shake their heads.

Go figure, the one recipe I kept coming back to was one that the Montreal bloggers Foodie Date Night also recommended. And, even more intriguing is that the recipe actually hails from Olive & Gourmando, a great café in Old Montreal that we all have lined up for at some point.

I'm pretty sure you are thinking to yourself "Not another banana bread recipe!" but yes, I had to. This banana bread is moist and flavorful, and it may well be the best banana bread ever. It contains cardamom, which I thought was crazy for a banana bread recipe. However, the floral spice of the cardamom actually enhances the flavor of the bananas, rendering this the tastiest banana bread I've ever encountered.

The technique of this recipe will probably seem familiar since it is similar to the one published by Cook's Illustrated where you nuke the bananas to cook them so that they release their juice, then you cook down the banana liquid before adding it and the crushed cooked banana to the cake batter. This adds a few steps to the typical quick-bread recipe, but they are well worth it because you will end up with a moist, flavorful, and light banana bread that is sure to satisfy even the most discerning of banana-bread-critics. Just trust me and make this.

I tweaked the recipe a little, reducing the salt and also adding the baking soda along with the dry ingredients (instead of combining it with the sour cream as in the book). Mixing the baking soda and sour cream seemed counter-intuitive to me because the lifting power of the powder would be lost before it ever makes it into the cake batter. My inner nerd rebelled, and here's my version of the original recipe.

Montreal's best banana bread

Makes 9 mini loaves or 10 muffins

1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus a tbsp more melted butter for the pans
4 very ripe bananas, peeled
1 1/2 cups (170 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup (200 grams) packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (125 mL) sour cream (14% fat)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 10 standard muffin cups or 9 mini loaf pans with the tablespoon melted butter. Set aside for later.

Place the bananas in a glass bowl and microwave them for 2 to 5 minutes to allow them to heat up and release their liquid. Transfer the bananas/liquid to a fine strainer, and strain the liquid into a small saucepan, gently mashing the bananas a little with a fork. Cook down the liquid over medium heat until it is reduced by half. Add back the bananas and let the mixture cool for later.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the rest of the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes to lighten the mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed, and mixing on low. Add the vanilla and mix again.

Add the dry ingredients with the mixer on low, alternating with the sour cream and banana mixture, beginning and ending with the dry.

Stop the mixer and give the batter a stir or two with a spatula by hand to be sure the batter is evenly mixed.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups or loaf pans.

Bake the mixture for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester poked through the middle of a cake comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool completely before serving.

Chocolate cake with coffee buttercream

2011-11-21T16:23:00.001-05:00

I absolutely adore layer cakes. I think layer cake is one of my favorite things to eat, and possibly my favorite thing to bake. When I was in grad-school, I went through a layer-cake-making phase. They weren't always perfect, but my labmates always enjoyed them (and I'd like to believe it's not just because my cakes were free). I made a different layer cake every week for months, and my most cherished moments of grad-school were slicing into and sharing these cakes with my friends. We'd cut into the cake every Monday evening, and we'd sit together and chat, and revel in the sugar-high. Those Monday night sweet breaks made spending another late evening in the lab almost okay.

Now that I've graduated, my layer cake endeavors usually involve a celebration of some kind. Each one is an opportunity to test a new recipe or to learn a new technique. I made this cake in celebration of a fellow chocoholic-turned-friend's birthday. New recipes can be nerve-wracking, especially when your cake is going to be served to a room full of foodies/bloggers. Fortunately, this cake was a showstopper and enjoyed by all. The recipe is from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, and I learned a few things along the way. Here are some of my tips for cake-making success:

You will want this tool to help you transfer the delicate cake layers from pan to rack, etc. Trust me, it makes things a lot easier!
The cake layers are very delicate, so to make cake assembly easier, I wrapped them in cling wrap and put them in the freezer just before I made the buttercream. This way, the cake layers firm up in the freezer and can easily be stacked and iced without them falling apart on you.
The buttercream is thickened with flour. You must boil the milk/ flour/sugar mixture sufficiently so that it is very thick, otherwise you will end up with a soupy buttercream.
After it has thickened, make sure to beat the milk/flour mixture until it has completely cooled or you will melt the butter when you add it.
I couldn't find coffee extract, so I made very, very strong espresso and used that instead. It was strong to the point of being undrinkable, but just right for flavoring a buttercream.
I only used half the chocolate glaze that the original recipe called for. Surprisingly, I don't think more was needed. In the recipe that follows the amount of chocolate glaze that I used is given, if you want more, double the ingredients.

What I love about this recipe is that the layer cakes are light and moist, and a little chocolaty. The chocolate glaze certainly reinforces that chocolate flavor. The coffee buttercream tastes remarkably similar to a Coffee Crisp bar (well, minus the crispiness). This recipe is not hard, but requires a little extra time that is well worth it.

Chocolate cake with coffee buttercream

Makes one 8-inch, 3-layer cake

Chocolate cake ingredients

3/4 cup (85 grams) dark unsweetened cocoa powder—I used Cacao Barry Cocoa Powder - Extra Dark, plus more for dusting pans
2/3 cup (~170 mL) sour cream (14% fat)
1 1/4 cups (312.5 mL) hot water
2 2/3 cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (~115 grams) vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cup (340 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (200 grams) dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Coffee buttercream ingredients

1 1/2 cups (340 grams) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (40 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) whole milk (3.25% fat)
1/3 cup (~80 mL) heavy cream (35% fat)
1 1/2 cups (340 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2–4 tbsp very strong espresso, room temperature

Chocolate ganache ingredients

114 grams Valrhona guanaja chocolate (or your favorite dark chocolate)
3/8 cup (85 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
1/2 tbsp corn syrup

Extras

20–25 Godiva chocolate pearls

To make the chocolate cake

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line each of them with parchment, grease the parchment and dust the pans and parchment with cocoa powder. Set them aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the cocoa powder, sour cream and hot water. Set aside for later.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until it is light and fluffy.

Add the sugars to the bowl of the mixer and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla, and beat well.

With the mixer on low, add the whisked dry ingredients alternately with the cocoa mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Give the mixture a last stir by hand before dividing among the three prepared pans.

Bake the cake layers for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake will pull away from the sides of the pan when the cake is done.

Let the cake cool in the pans for 30 minutes before flipping them onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap them in plastic wrap to store them.

To make the coffee buttercream

Place the wrapped cake layers in the freezer while you prepare the buttercream.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and flour. Whisk in the milk and cream, and cook over medium heat, whisking often until the mixture boils and thickens. This takes a good 15 minutes.
Transfer the thickened mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until the mixture is completely cooled, about 10 minutes (don't just feel the bowl, check the mixture itself to be sure it has cooled!).
Reduce the speed to low and add the butter, mixing until it is thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high to make the frosting light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and the espresso (or coffee extract) to taste.

To assemble the cake

Trim the cake layers so that they are flat and leveled.
Place one cake layer in the center of a serving plate. Place parchment strips to cover the exposed plate and catch any buttercream/ganache drips.
Top the first layer with 1 1/4 cups buttercream. Place the second layer over the buttercream, and repeat with another 1 1/4 cup of buttercream and the third layer.
Frost the top and sides of the cake with what's left of buttercream. Place the cake in the fridge while you make the chocolate glaze.

To make the chocolate glaze

Place the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in the top of a double boiler.
Stir the mixture with a small spatula until the ingredients have melted and the glaze is smooth.
Take the pan off the heat, and stir for a few minutes to allow the glaze to cool and thicken a little.

Finishing touches

Slowly pour the glaze over the top of the cake, pushing tiny droplets down the sides.
Let the glaze set for a few minutes before decorating the cake with a few chocolate pearls.
Refrigerate the cake for 20 minutes to set the glaze. The cake should be served at room temperature.

Easy cranberry french toast muffins

2011-11-12T16:20:00.001-05:00

Sometimes, bad things happen. All you can do is wrap yourself in comfort, bake some muffins, clean the house, watch your favorite movie... I do all of these things, even the cleaning part, and I like to throw in a little extra breakfast because nothing says comfort like breakfast, especially when it's drowned in a good amount of maple syrup.

These french toast muffins are super easy to make. And, even on a bad day, you probably have all the ingredients on hand. I added some frozen cranberries and an eighth of a teaspoon of nutmeg to the mix because I needed a little Christmas cheer, even though it's only mid-November. The nutmeg makes me think of eggnog, and automatically puts me in a happier state of mind. Of course, you can add your favorite frozen berries and spices, or leave them plain, and drizzle them with extra maple syrup.

This recipe makes 12 muffins, but if you don't eat them all, you can wrap each of the leftover baked ones in some cling wrap and freeze them. Defrost them in the microwave when you need them.

Cranberry french toast muffins

Makes 12 muffins

3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) 1% milk
1/3 cup (75 grams) granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/8–1/4 tsp nutmeg
10 slices Hearty Grains bread, cubed
3/4 cup (~75 grams) frozen cranberries
Lots of Quebec maple syrup for serving

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare two standard muffin tins by greasing them. Set them aside for later.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg until well combined. Add the cubed bread and toss gently until the egg mixture has been absorbed. Add the cranberries and toss gently to combine.

Divide the muffin mixture evenly in the muffin pans, being sure to also evenly divide the cranberries among the muffins.

Bake for about 30 minutes (or more, depending on how "done" you like your french toast).

Serve muffins warm, with a generous drizzling of maple syrup.

Leftover muffins can be cooled completely, wrapped individually in cling wrap, and stored in a resealable bag for another day.

Adapted from here.

Spicy cranberry-pepper jelly

2011-11-05T17:37:00.001-04:00

I am mildly addicted to jams, jellies, and preserves. Well, maybe it's a little more than a mild addiction. More often than not, I will return home from a vacation with jars of jam in my luggage, heavy to carry but totally worth it. If I visit a new grocery store, I can spend ages in the jam aisle reading all the labels and carefully picking a new jam to try.

When I was preparing for my PhD defense, I went through jars of jam. During the last week before the big day, I honestly polished off a large jar of Bonne Maman rhubarb jam in the space of 3 days. I ate it on toast. I ate it spooned directly onto pieces of aged cheddar cheese. I ate it straight from the jar. I guess you could say that jams and jellies are comfort foods for me in times of crisis.

When I was younger, I used to take the left-over Thanksgiving cranberry jelly to school in a tupperware. I would eat it for dessert at lunchtime. While most kids had jell-o cups, I ate leftover cranberry jelly, happily. Jell-o freaked me out (and still kind of does), but cranberry jelly was a real treat for me. I think it's the intense flavor of cranberry jelly that gets me every time. It's sweet and tart, and so amazingly cranberry. I just love the stuff.

Pepper jelly is another favorite of mine. It's sweet and spicy, and sometimes it can even be a little vinegary. I especially love toast with a thick layer of cream cheese or a mild goat cheese, and then topped with an embarrassing amount of pepper jelly. Sometimes I add lettuce or sprouts (if I have them on hand), in an attempt to be healthy. Greens on a pepper jelly toast happen rarely at best. I just want the jelly, really.

All this to say that when I saw the recipe for cranberry-pepper jelly in the November issue of Bon Appétit, I had to make it. Combining two of my favorite jellies into one seemed like a genius idea to me, and boy was it ever. It's quite spicy, loaded with cranberries, and with just a hint of sweetness. It would make a great accompaniment to a Thanksgiving turkey, or even just a simple Sunday roast chicken. Delicious! And yes, I also ate it by the spoonful, and dolloped over slices of Weston Première Fournée bread with some Chèvre des Neiges spread thick.

As you can see, I stuck to the original Bon Appétit recipe pretty closely, and only slightly changed the method.

Cranberry-pepper jelly

Makes 2 1/2 –3 cups

3 red bell peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 long red chili peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp crushed hot pepper flakes
1/4 tsp grey salt
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup liquid pectin, I used Certo brand
3 cups frozen cranberries, thawed (you can use fresh of course!)

In a medium saucepan, stir together the chopped peppers, granulated sugar, pepper flakes, and salt. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 30 minutes so that the peppers begin to release some of their juices.

On medium heat, bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Make sure all the sugar is dissolved before proceeding.

When the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon juice and liquid pectin, and stir. Continue simmering for another 10 minutes

Add the cranberries, and simmer gently for another 10 minutes or until the cranberries have burst and the mixture has thickened slightly.

Transfer jelly to sterilized jars, and let cool completely before refrigerating. Alternatively, you can seal the jars according to your jar manufacturer's instructions.

Apple graham coffee cake

2011-10-31T17:25:00.000-04:00

Boston is one of my favorite American cities. I love Boston's gorgeous architecture, cobblestone roads, the smell of the sea.... Having visited Boston a few times, I've also noticed that people in Boston are really nice. If you pull out a map from your pocket because you are lost, a stranger will probably stop to see if you need help. I am always a little surprised when this happens in a big city because usually city people have no time for tourists. I know this because I am a city person, and I often have no time for tourists who seem to always catch me at the wrong moment (sorry!).

Montreal is a little like Boston in its old world charm, which could be why I love Boston so much. Boston is also home to Flour bakery, with its chalkboard menus, fantastic sandwiches, and comforting baked goods, all "made with love!". Flour bakery reminds me a lot of Montreal's Olive et Gourmando.

The old-fashioned sour cream coffee cake from Flour bakery is unbelievable. I have no idea what makes it so good (besides that it's made with love). It's moist, a little dense, with a fantastic crumb. It's unbelievably good. I'd eat it all day long if I could.

Abby Dodge's baketogether for this month conveniently was a coffee cake, feeding my hunger for a good coffeecake. Abby's coffee cake is much lighter and spongier than the coffee cake at Flour bakery. The cake batter is sweetened with light brown sugar, while the streusel is made with dark brown sugar for a much more pronounced molasses flavor.

The best part of coffee cake is the deliciously crumbly streusel topping. Of course, the problem with coffee cake is also the deliciously crumby streusel topping. One false move and there are crumbs everywhere. I made this coffee cake twice, and the first time, I spilled half the streusel topping on the floor while I was mixing it together. It was tragic, but kind of funny because there was streusel everywhere and I unfortunately had just vacuumed. And when I was eating a square of it the next day, my hunk of cake fell over on my plate, spraying streusel crumbs all over the sofa and carpet, and even down the sleeve of my sweater. I suggest you make a coffee cake and indulge in a piece with a cup of tea before you vacuum the house, and if you can, consume it before you shower and do your laundry for the week! These are my words of wisdom.

This coffee cake is light, moist and comforting. I made the streusel topping from a graham flour mixture that is a little nutty from the wheat germ and whole wheat flour, so it goes perfectly with the thin layer of sliced tart apples just below it.

Okay, this cake is not quite like the coffee cake at Flour bakery. Guess I'll just have to go visit Boston again sometime soon...

Apple graham coffee cake

Makes one 9x9-inch coffee cake
Streusel ingredients:

50 grams all-purpose flour
30 grams whole wheat flour
10 grams wheat germ
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
130 grams dark brown sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Cake ingredients

250 grams all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
115 grams (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
250 grams light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
250 mL (1 cup) sour cream (full-fat)
1 apple (such as Cortland), peeled, cored and sliced thin

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Prepare a 9x9x2-inch pan by greasing and flouring it. Set aside for later.

Streusel

With a fork, stir together all the streusel ingredients in a small bowl. Continue mixing until the streusel clumps a little and all the dry ingredients are moistened. Set aside.

Cake

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside for later.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the light brown sugar. Add the vanilla, followed by the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed between each addition.
With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Give the cake batter a couple stirs with your spatula to be sure all the ingredients have been evenly incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Assembly and baking

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared cake pan.
Top with a layer of the thinly sliced apple. Press them down gently.
Sprinkle the prepared streusel topping over the apples. Press the streusel down gently.
Bake the coffee cake for 40–50 minutes, checking it with a cake tester to be sure it is done.
Let the coffee cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before serving.

Pumpkin spice whoopie pies with brown butter cream cheese frosting

2011-10-24T11:35:00.000-04:00

Whoopie pies. It's about time! For months, I read about people's love for whoopie pies, all the while wondering what could possibly be so special about them. After all, whoopie pies are nothing but frosting sandwiched between two little cakes, right?

That's kind of right because they are really simple to make, but with the right filling and the right little cakes, they are quite special and a lot of fun.

Since fall is here to stay, my first batch of whoopie pies was inspired by a Wilton "Harvest" whoopie pie pan and their easy recipe for pumpkin spice whoopie pies. I added some ground ginger to add a little more zip to the cake batter, and I changed the frosting recipe slightly, adding in a little extra powdered sugar and substituting some brown butter for some of the cream cheese. The nuttiness of the brown butter is great in a cream cheese frosting like this one and the nutty aroma and flavor really come through since the frosting is not too sweet. I am madly in love with this frosting.

For the frosting, be sure to use Philadelphia full-fat cream cheese because the no-name brands just don't compare. In fact, I made two batches of this cream cheese frosting, one with Philly cream cheese and the other with my local grocery store's brand of cream cheese. The Philadelphia cream cheese produced the tastiest filling, but what was most shocking was the texture: the grocery store brand had an almost powdery feel to it and gave the frosting an almost grainy (unpleasant!) texture. The frosting made with Philadelphia cream cheese was much, much creamier, and really quite dreamy! (NB: Kraft did not pay me to write that)

If you're on the fence about whoopie pies, you should give them a try. They are a welcome change in a cupcake-dominated world. But if you don't have a whoopie pie pan, don't let that stop you! Bake small scoop-fulls of the batter on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Pumpkin spice whoopie pies with brown butter cream cheese frosting

Makes 18–20 assembled whoopie pies

For the whoopie pies

1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup (125 mL) puréed roasted pumpkin
1/2 cup (125 mL) buttermilk (I make it from skim milk and a splash of white vinegar)

For the filling

1/4 cup (~50 grams) butter

7/8 cup (200 grams, almost an entire block) full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup–1 cup (60–110 grams) icing sugar, sifted

To make the whoopie pie cakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the whoopie pie pan with cooking spray. Set aside for later.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar for about 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed with a spatula.
In another small bowl, combine the pumpkin and buttermilk.
To the mixer, add the flour mixture and the pumpkin mixture, alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.
Fill each whoopie pie mold no more than half full, spreading the mixture into all the nooks and crannies.
Bake for 7 to 10 minutes (I baked some longer than others so that the whoopie pies were all different golden browns, just like fall leaves and pumpkins).
Let the whoopie pies cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then tap them out onto a rack to cool completely before filling.

To make the filling:

Begin by browning the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the milk solids turn a nutty brown. Set aside to cool.
Beat together the cream cheese and the cooled brown butter (be sure to add all those nutty brown bits!) in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
With the mixer on low, slowly add the icing sugar. Beat until the desired consistency and level of sweetness is achieved.

To assemble:

Spread the filling on one cake and sandwich with another. Repeat to assemble remaining whoopie pies.

Pistachio, cranberry, and coconut granola with Three Farmers oil

2011-10-18T11:52:00.001-04:00

This may be the best granola ever. I'm not just saying this because I made it myself. I'm also not just saying this because I'm on a granola kick.
Granola is incredibly easy to make, but somehow, my granola-making happens in spurts. I go through phases where I make granola on a weekly basis, and then eat it multiple times a day, and then nothing. Weird, eh?

When I received a sample of Three Farmers camelina oil a few weeks ago, its intensely nutty flavor was screaming to be baked into granola, and thus, my love for granola was renewed. The best part about Three Farmers oil (besides the omega 3s and 6s) is that you can enter the product code on the bottle and trace the bottle back to the farmer that grew the camelina seeds used to produce your oil. Traceability is a good thing in my books.

I made two batches of this granola, one using only Three Farmers oil, and the second using half Three Farmers and half coconut oil. Both batches were delicious, but the nutty flavor from the camelina oil was a little too strong in the batch of granola made with just Three Farmers oil. Using two oils is better flavor-wise because the coconut oil cuts down the nuttiness of the camelina oil just a touch. Plus, Three Farmers oils is a little pricey, so using it in combination with another oil is a little more budget-friendly. The texture of the granola was light and crispy, and the nuttiness from the Three Farmers oil was just right when mixed with coconut oil. You can add any nuts and dried fruits to your granola, but I love to make granola with dried cranberries, pistachios and flaked (not shredded) coconut. Obviously, I sweeten my granola with maple syrup, but you could use honey, agave.... I'm already planning my next batch, which I think will contain some dried apple, pecans, cinnamon, and maple.

Hi, my name is Janice, and I'm addicted to granola. Again.

Pistachio, cranberry, and coconut granola

Makes about 6 cups of granola

3 cups large flake oats
1 cup shelled raw pistachios
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup oil (I used 1/4 cup melted coconut oil and 1/4 cup Three Farmers oil)
1/2 tsp grey salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup toasted flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

In a medium bowl with a wooden spoon, stir together the oats, pistachios, maple syrup, oil, salt and nutmeg so that the oats and nuts are evenly coated. Spread the mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet (~12x17-in). Bake for 30–40 minutes, rotating the pan as needed so the edges don't get too brown, and stirring every 10 minutes (for a loose granola) or once halfway through the baking (for more clustered granola).

Remove the pan from the oven when the granola is crisp and golden brown. Pour the cramberries and toasted coconut over top. Let cool completely before crumbling and serving. Store in an airtight container.

When life gives you 20 pounds of apples, make an apple bundt cake and salted caramel sauce

2011-10-01T17:31:00.000-04:00

The other night, I slept with a 20-pound bag of Cortland apples. I do mean that literally. My schedule got out of hand, and so did the "order" in my apartment. And so, by Sunday night, I was completely exhausted and just couldn't deal with the giant bag of apples I had picked that day. The only place to put it was my bed. Thus, I slept with a 20-pound bag of apples, for real.

See, there are pros and cons to going apple picking once a year and picking 20 pounds of apples when you live alone (I'm not counting the cat because she doesn't eat apples).

Pros:

A day spent in nature, out of the city, where there's fresh air, sunshine, and tress
You get to eat the apples while you're picking them; there's nothing like a fresh apple straight off the tree
You get to climb ladders and trees
You go home with 20 pounds of apples, yay!

Cons:

If there's traffic, it could take 3 hours to get to the apple orchard instead of the 30 minutes that google maps told you it would take
You inevitably get stuck in traffic because you pick the most beautiful day of the year to go apple picking
Apple picking is hard. You end up tired and sweaty by the end of it
You go home with 20 pounds of apples, OMG!

I go apple picking every year, and every year I recall the same pro/con list. What always amazes me is how, as I'm picking the apples and filling my 20-pound bag, I think to myself "Gosh, this is not nearly enough apples!" Then, when I unload them into my fridge, I panic because I have to find space for 20 pounds of apples. That's a lot of apples! And finally, as I munch on the last of the 20 pounds of apples, I proclaim that next year, I will bring home 40 pounds of apples! I did that one year. Again, if you think 20 pounds of apples is too much for one person, imagine 40 pounds!

This recipe is originally from Dave Lieberman. The recipe as published on the Food Network site is, shall we say, inedible (and I'll eat almost anything!). I called it "the fat cake" the first time I made it because it contained a ridiculously obscene amount of oil, and I honestly couldn't get through a single slice. So, I tweaked the recipe a lot (removing much of the fat content, and adding in apple sauce). I came up with this recipe in the end. I've made it a few times, and everybody enjoys it. It's kind of like an apple pound cake, dense, full of apples, and delicately spiced.

The salted caramel sauce is to die for. Then again, when is salted caramel sauce not wonderful? It's so good, that I honestly spooned it on every bite of cake. It's not that the cake isn't good on its own, but the cake with a drizzling of caramel is a whole other level of amazing. Real caramel sauce and apples are a winning combination.

Oh, and if you feel the need to drizzle a little caramel sauce on each and every bite like I do, by all means, do it. Just try not to do this every day (your dentist and your nutritionist might get mad)....

Caramel sauce is not hard, and it pretty much stirs itself! Just please prepare and measure out all your ingredients before you get started because when the sugar has caramelized enough, you have to act fast or it will continue to cook and burn. That would be sad. For more caramel sauce instructions try here, here, and especially here for lots of tips and tricks.

Apple bundt cake with salted caramel sauce

Makes 1 bundt and about 2 cups of caramel sauce

For the bundt cake

3–4 (~500–600 grams) baking apples (I use Cortlands), peeled, cored and cut into ~1/2 inch pieces
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch or 2 ground cloves
2 1/2 cups (350 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup apple sauce
4 large eggs

For the salted caramel sauce

2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup water, plus more for brushing sides of pan
1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup whipping cream, heated
3/4–1 1/2 tsp gray salt or sea salt

For the bundt cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a bundt pan by greasing and flouring it. Set it aside for later.
In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir it well so that all the fruit is evenly coated. Set aside for later, stirring every so often to evenly coat.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside for later.
In another medium bowl, stir together the melted butter, 2 cups of granulated sugar, vanilla, warm water, and apple sauce with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
Pour the liquid mixture over the whisked dry ingredients. Stir well to combine, being sure to pull up any flour stuck at the bottom of the bowl. Add the spiced apples and any juices that may have released, and stir to combine.
Pour the batter in the prepared bundt pan, and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool completely then invert on your serving plate.

For the salted caramel sauce

Set out all your ingredients before beginning. This is very important. Have the cream heating on a back burner so that is is warm, but don't let it boil.
In a deep 3 quart saucepan, pour the sugar, and then the water. Don't stir it.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium–high heat. If there's sugar stuck on the sides of the pan, carefully brush it with a heat-resistant silicone brush dipped in a little water.
Continue to boil the caramel until it turns amber in color (the temperature will read somewhere between 350°F and 360°F with a candy thermometer). As soon as the caramel has reached the desired color, slide the pan off the heat, and turn the burner off.
Slowly and carefully drop in the cubed butter (it will bubble and erupt so be careful!). Pour in the cream, slowly and carefully, a quarter at a time.
When the bubbling has calmed down, begin to gently whisk the caramel until it is smooth and homogeneous. Add in the salt and continue whisking a little more to combine.
Let it cool slightly before serving (or sampling). The more you let it cool, the thicker it will get.

Pumpkin mousse with a splash of rum

2011-09-27T21:21:00.000-04:00

I'm craving fall. I love its crisp, cool air, and I enjoy cooking and baking with its ingredients. Squash, pumpkins, apples, and warming, aromatic spices are a source of comfort and make the change in seasons a little easier. By the end of summer, I am eager for fall, my favorite season.

I adore fall, but I'm not a fan of winter. Dirty slush, frostbitten toes, dry cheeks, and cracking skin are just a few of the reasons I dislike winter. But since fall and winter come hand-in-hand, and you can't have one without the other, I guess I'll just have to accept winter as it comes.

The usual fall baking inevitably will contain apple or pumpkin, since that's what's growing, baked into spiced pies or cakes. And, though I love them all, I felt like making something a little different, so I made a pumpkin mousse with a splash of rum in it.

Mousses can be made from the simplest of ingredients: cream, sugar, gelatin, and, in this case, a purée of roasted pumpkin. Since I was pairing the pumpkin mousse with crumbled chocolate spice cookies, I decided to flavor the mousse with just some spiced rum and vanilla (as per this recipe). This mousse is light and cool. The spiced rum is a nice boozy complement to the pumpkin. And, even though the mousse base is strained through a fine sieve, the texture of the pumpkin is maintained.

This recipe comes directly from Laura Calder. I only slightly changed her method.

Pumpkin mousse with a splash of rum

Serves 4

1 tbsp spiced rum
1 tsp powdered gelatin
1 1/4 cups heavy cream (35% fat), divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups roasted pumpkin purée
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate spice cookies or some sweetened and spiced whipped cream (optional)

Sprinkle the gelatin over the rum in a small teacup. Set aside for 5 minutes while you continue with the recipe.

In a small saucepan, combine one third of the heavy cream and the sugar. Stir on medium-low heat to gently warm the cream and dissolve the sugar. You can tell when the sugar is dissolved by the sound and the feel of the spoon while stirring the bottom of the saucepan. When the sugar is dissolved, add the rum and gelatin mixture, and stir until the gelatin dissolves and disappears. Remove the mixture from the heat, add the pumpkin purée and the vanilla. Stir (or whisk gently if necessary) to combine, and be sure to get rid of any lumps. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

When the pumpkin mixture is cool, whip the rest of the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the whipped cream, divide the mixture among 4 glasses or teacups. Refrigerate them to set, at least 3 or 4 hours before serving.

Serve the mousse with chocolate spice cookies, or crumble them over top before serving. You could also top each with a dollop of whipped cream.

Chocolate spice cookies

2011-09-23T15:45:00.000-04:00

When I did a little bit of traveling in South-East Asia at the beginning of the year, I sent home a big package of ingredients I found on the way: spices and rice from Bali, honey and coffee makers from Vietnam, and blackstrap molasses and black and white peppercorns from Malaysia... Of course, somewhere on its long trek home, the glass bottle of molasses was crushed to bits, leaking all over everything in my big 10-kilo box. By the time my goodie box made it to Montreal, it was in a giant plastic garbage bag, completely unrecognizable and saturated with gooey, sticky, pungent molasses. I was obviously very confused when I picked up my garbage bag at the post office since I had sent home a cardboard box, but then the molasses smell hit me. It took hours to clean up, and I thought I'd never touch molasses again.

Months later, I found this fancy can of black treacle when I was in Brampton, Ontario (not quite London, England, but hey, they have treacle!). Lyle's Golden Syrup and Lyle's Black Treacle are often listed in British recipes but I'd never come across the stuff, so I was pretty excited when I saw a stack of these cans. Some girls get excited over a new pair of shoes or a cashmere sweater, and I am over-the-moon when I find a fancy can of black treacle.

This pretty can of treacle helped me finally put my blackstrap molasses ordeal behind me. The syrup is dark and so molasses-y, but not as sweet as the fancy molasses that I am used to. My first recipe with the stuff is for these chocolate spice cookies. Their deep dark color comes from the black treacle and some Cocoa Barry extra dark cocoa.

Though the original recipe is for gingersnaps (from Alice Waters, via David Lebovitz), I don't think these are very snappy. They are more wafer-like to me (like the ones you'd grind up to make a chocolate cookie crust). Ginger and black pepper feature prominently in the flavor of these cookies. The peppery notes surprise you as you munch on them, right at the back of your throat, kind of like when you indulge in a chilli chocolate bar. Of course, you can tweak the spice combination and use whatever spice you fancy. I think these are perfect for a cup of coffee or black tea, and the flavors are absolutely right for the crisp fall and winter months.

Chocolate spice cookies

Makes 4 1/2 dozen cookies

210 grams (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
70 grams (a little over 1/2 cup) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
pinch cloves
150 grams (11 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
130 grams (2/3 cup) granulated sugar, plus more for coating cookies
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
80 grams (1/4 cup) black treacle (or molasses)
1 egg, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a couple baking sheets by lining them with Silpats or parchment. Set aside for later.
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and cloves. Set the whisked dry ingredients aside for later.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the granulated sugar for a couple minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
Add the vanilla and the molasses and beat the mixture until it is smooth.
Add the egg, and beat to incorporate it, scraping down the bowl as needed.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture slowly. Continue mixing until the cookie dough has come together and you can no longer see any flour. Be sure to scrape up the bottom of the bowl because some flour could be hiding, unmixed, down there.
Scoop 1/2 tbsp amounts of dough, rolling them into a ball in your palms, and then gently tossing them in a small bowl of granulated sugar to completely coat them. Place them a couple inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
When your baking sheet is filled, take a flat-bottomed glass, dip it in sugar, and press down each ball of dough to get a flat disk, about 1/4-inch thin.
Bake the cookies for 10–12 minutes.
Let cool completely before serving.

Apple crisp, or maybe it's a crumble

2011-09-19T20:58:00.003-04:00

You know when you go apple picking, and the orchards are filled with four or five varieties of apples, and you carefully pick a few from each tree, telling yourself you will remember which is which, only to return home with a giant bag of apples that look identical, even though they apparently aren't?

I do this every year. It will probably happen again next week when I go apple picking. I already bought a few apples from the market, which got mixed up in my fridge. I think I used Sunrise apples for this recipe, but maybe they were Cortlands.

That's okay.

Apple crisps are very forgiving. If you use apple varieties that break down when heated (like McIntosh apples), you end up with a saucier apple crisp. Delish! If you use a firmer apple that can take the heat and keep its shape (like a Granny Smith, or Delicious apples), you end up with a firmer crisp that is still delightful. If you use Cortlands, you'll end up with a dessert that's somewhere in between.

The Sunrise variety maintain their shape when baked, but the slices become oh-so-soft on the inside. So, this apple crisp is not a soupy, apple-saucy mess, but it's just as comforting.

For the crisp topping, I used a combination of all-purpose and buckwheat flours. The buckwheat flour gives it a stronger, earthier flavor that I happen to like. If you don't, stick with all-purpose. You could also replace some of the flour with oats. While I opted to use melted butter to make the crumble topping, cold, cubed butter also works. Just work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers. Apple crisps are forgiving, so whatever ingredients you use, it'll be yummy.

Apple crisp

Serves 4

Crumble topping:

35 grams unsalted butter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
15 grams light brown sugar
25 grams granulated sugar
50 grams flour (I used half buckwheat and half all-purpose flours)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch nutmeg
pinch cloves
pinch salt

Apple filling:

4 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease a 6- or 7-inch cast-iron skillet (or a 6- or 7-inch cake pan). Set aside.
For the crumble topping, in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the vanilla, followed by the sugars, flour(s), salt, and spices, and stir until the mixture is combined to make a paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl to cool completely. Set aside for later.
For the filling, toss the apples with the sugar. Pour them evenly into the bottom of the skillet.
Scatter the crumble topping over the apples, and bake the apple crisp for about 1 hour until the apples are cooked through, and the edges are bubbling a little.
Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Plum spice cake

2011-09-10T17:59:00.000-04:00

Plums were possibly my least favorite fruit growing up. I think it might have been the sometimes-mushy texture of the flesh and the tart, sour crisp skins that bothered me. Plums were just not my fruit. I think my brother loved them, but I could never understand why.

Now, I love plums. I love the crisp, tangy skin that is a welcome contrast to the soft, uber-sweet flesh of the fruit. Their flavor is perfectly balanced, slightly floral even, and I can't get enough of them.

I love to make these plum muffins, and one day I hope to make this plum almond cake. I thought about making a plum crumble since I've never had a plum crumble. In the end, I was craving a spice cake.

I started with Dorie Greenspan's recipe for a dimply plum cake from Baking: From My Home to Yours (page 41) because I love the way the cake features the plum halves, like they are on display. Dorie uses cardamom in her recipe, but I felt like more spice, but not just the usual cinnamon and nutmeg combination. Instead, I opted for anise seed for its licorice flavor, and allspice because it reminds me of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves combined.

This is a fantastic cake for spotlighting perfectly ripe plums. The cake is light and full of flavor. The sweet caramel flavor from the brown sugar is the perfect complement to the tart plum skins. And, though the oil in the cake batter may seem a little unusual, I think it actually yields a moister crumb than an all-butter cake.

Plum spice cake

Makes one 9-inch square cake

1 1/2 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground anise seed
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ginger
5 tbsp (71 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 mL) canola oil
3–5 plums, halved and pit removed

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and line with parchment paper a 9-inch square baking pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and all the spices. Set aside.

In another medium bowl, cream together the butter and the brown sugar with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well.

Add the oil, and mix well. The batter will be glossy and silky at this point.

Add the flour, and stir slowly to combine, making sure that the flour is completely incorporated.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top. Place the plum halves, cut side up, and pressing them slightly into place in to batter.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the cake.

Remove the pan from the oven, and let cool on a wire rack, cut into squares (using the plums as a guide) and serve warm or at room temperature.

Quebec wild blueberry cobbler

2011-09-03T12:48:00.000-04:00

In Montreal, we have an abundance of fancy pastry shops, yet we lack shops with traditional, home-baked goods like bundts and cookies. I guess my kitchen endeavors make up for that in my life.

This summer, pastry chef Michelle Marek (of the restaurant Laloux and the blog An Endless Banquet) helped fill that void with monthly berry social events (proceeds going to the charity Santropol Roulant), where she'd bake and serve a traditional, home-y dessert featuring the local berry in season at the time. In June, she featured strawberries and served strawberry shortcakes. July was raspberry season and she ladled gorgeous mashed raspberries over a fluffy sponge cake and a dollop of whipped cream.

For August, we were privy to a wonderful and generous helping of blueberry cobbler overflowing with Quebec wild blueberries. It was buttery, sweet, and truly berrylicious. It reminded me that I had completely forgotten about blueberry season, and I hadn't made a cobbler in ages.

I started with this recipe from Virginia Willis, made in a seasoned cast iron skillet. Of course, I don't have one of those (one day, I hope...), so I baked the cobbler in two individual white oven-safe pots, and a 9-inch cake pan (not shown).

Personally, I like a cake-y cobbler, and that is exactly what this is: a sweet batter is poured over a layer of melted butter and fresh blueberries and baked until the cake is tender and golden and the berries are bubbly and hot.

I used a tablespoon of butter and half a cup of wild blueberries per individual pot, and the rest of the butter and the other 3 cups of berries went into the 9-inch pan. Our blueberries are sweet and flavorful enough that you don't have to sweeten them really, especially if you are baking them under a sweet cake layer.

Cobbler is best served warm, with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. The sweet cream mixed with the warm cake and buttery baked blueberries is incredibly comforting.

Quebec wild blueberry cobbler

Makes one 9-inch cobbler (or one 9-inch cobbler plus a couple individual ramekins)

4 cups (~750 grams) fresh (Quebec) wild blueberries
1 cup (148 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (215 grams) granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch (<1/8 tsp) nutmeg
1 cup (250 mL) whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, cubed

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Carefully wash and pick through the blueberries (checking for twigs or rocks). Drain and pat them dry (I do this by pouring them over a towel lined baking sheet). Set aside.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside

Stir together the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup. Set aside.

Place all the butter in a 9-inch cake pan (or ~1 tbsp per individual ramekin). Place the cake pan(s) in the oven for 7 or 8 minutes, or until the butter is completely melted and the pan is hot.

When the butter is just about melted, pour the reserved milk mixture over the dry ingredients, and whisk to combine and form the cake batter.

Remove the pan(s) from the oven, and carefully pour the blueberries (1/2 cup per ramekin, and the rest in the cake pan) over the melted butter, and top with the cake batter (couple tablespoons per ramekin, and the rest in the cake pan).

Return the pan(s) to the oven and let them bake until the cake is golden brown and baked through (check with a cake tester). The baked blueberries will bubble and release some juice. The small ramekins take about 35 minutes, while the larger cake pan takes about 45 minutes.

Remove the pan(s) from the oven, and let cool slightly before serving.