Pink Petit Fours

Raspberry Vanilla Pink Ombre Meringues

2014-01-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

Little melt in your mouth meringues, my little pink petit fours meringues flavoured with raspberry and vanilla, in omber pink flowing from white to pink and back.

I've been making meringues for many years and there always seems to be something new to add to the little sugary bites. I chose the raspberry vanilla combination to match with the colours I chose to portray the popular ombre trend we are seeing everywhere from decor and fashion, to food.

To let the colours bleed into each other, i split the batch in 3 and mixed a bit of deep pink Americolor and magenta into the separate batches. I then started by filling the piping bag with the white, the deep pink, then then the magenta so a variation was piped onto the baking sheet.

The best part is, you could apply the process to any colour and go from white to deep blue, or create the colours of a beautiful sunset (i may have to try that one later).

Hope you have fun creating and nibbling!

Raspberry - Vanilla Meringues

Equipment:
Baking sheets lined with parchment paper
Piping bag
Stand mixer with whisk attachment

Meringues:
4 egg whites at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 tsp of vanilla bean paste
1/4 tsp of raspberry extract
magenta americolor food colouring
deep pink americolor food colouring

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2) Beat egg whites and extracts in mixer on medium until frothy. Continue beating and add cream of tartar.
3) Slowly add the sugar into the eggs. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
4) Split the meringue into 3 bowls and add 2 drops of each colouring, leaving one bowl alone to be the white.
5) Gently fold the colour into each bowl of meringue.
6) Gently scoup the white meringue into the piping bag, then the deep pink. Do not worry if it does not all fit, we will add the remainder to the bag along with the third colour after we pipe the first batch.
7) Pipe small meringues about an inch in size on the baking sheet, leaving about 3/4 inch between.You will see the pink start to bleed through the white, leaving the ombre gradiation of colour in the meringues as you continue to pipe.
** To pipe, hold the bag 1/2 an inch to 3/4 inch off the parchment, squeeze the bag for the meringue to come out and when the meringues are the desired size, release the pressure at the same time dipping the bag down slightly and lifting directly up. This gets much easier the more piping you do. **
8) When you have completed the first batch, fill the bag with the remaining deep pink colour meringue and the magenta.
9) Continue piping the meringues until complete and place in the oven for baking. They will need about 90 minutes, or an hour and a half to complete their cooking. Remove from oven and let cool.

Fruit & Spice Gingerbread Mini Loaves (dairy free)

2014-01-19T02:00:00.000-08:00

Even though Christmas is a fading memory and the cold crisp air is warming up, every so slightly, does not mean that those lovely winter spices have to vanish with the winter holiday. These little loaves are filed with gingerbread spices that warm the senses and to add a little fruitful healthy twist on them, I've added some fresh cranberries, dried apricots and slices of dried coconut to the mix.

The little loaves were perfect warmed up with melting butter or just as is. For breakfast a snack or with a nice cup of tea, the spice is noticeable but not overpowering and the sweetness of the dried apricots plays off the tart flavour of the fresh cranberries. I hope you all enjoy them as much as my colleagues and I did!

The base of the recipe comes from The New England Yankee Cookbook, another one passed down, which was published in 1939. It seems many of the recipes back then did not include milk or butter which lends this recipe to be dairy free. I did make one additional adjustment, besides adding the fruit, which was to swap out the shortening for coconut oil.

Fruit & Spice Gingerbread Mini Loaves
makes 16 mini loaves or 2 regular loaves

Originally listed as 'Maine Gingerbread' (adjustments include the addition of the fruits, additional sugar, and the use of coconut oil)

Equipment:
Bowl for mixing
Measuring cups and spoons
Mini loaf pans, or regular loaf pans

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 coconut oil
1 cup of molasses
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup boiling water

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs well beaten
1/2 cup large flaked coconut
1/2 cup of diced dried apricot
1 cup of cleaned, fresh cranberries (larger ones halved)
2 tbsp sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep pans by greasing.
2) Mix the 2 tablespoons of sugar with the fresh halved cranberries and set aside.
3) Beat sugar and coconut oil together in mixer until fluffy and add the molasses.
4) Combine the baking soda and boiling water in a measuring cup until dissolved and add to wet ingredients in the mixing bowl.
5) In a seperate bowl, mix dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.
6) Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add beaten eggs to mixture.
7) Add coconut, apricot and cranberries to mix, gently combine until fruit is mixed throughout. Pour into prepared loaf pans. (if using mini loaf pans, place on large cookie sheet to be placed in oven).
8) Set the timer for 30-35 minutes for the mini loves and 40-45 for the larger loaves. Use a toothpick or tester stick to check when done. The sides will be slightly caramelized and the pick should come out clean. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool. Remove loaves from pans 5-10 mins later and let cool, or serve immediately.

And as always, I hope you enjoy baking these lovely little loaves yourselves!

Candy Cane Peppermint Pillows (marshmallows)

2014-01-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Tiny little fluffy bites of peppermint goodness.

You can let them swirl around in your mocha, bob hazily in your cocoa or nibble the corners until they are gone.

In bite size pieces they become addictive candy bites that melt in your mouth and allow the mind to drift. They seem so perfect right now as the weather around the country seems to have its own idea of frozen rain and ice storms. And as beautiful as it all looked, with silent streets and ice coating the tree branches, the craziness of the airports closing and the chance I might not make it home for Ontario for Christmas made the stress of the holidays increase ever so slightly.

Thankfully, I know have these lovely little pillows of goodness that just let the rest of the world melt away until until you're ready to deal with it all again.

Enjoy these little delights.

Candy Cane Marshmallow Recipe:

Bloom:
2/3 cup of cold water
1 tbsp of peppermint extract
4 packages of gelatine (4 tbsp)
Syrup:
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of white corn syrup
3/4 cup of water

Equipment:
stand mixer
candy thermometer
metal or glass pan (8 x 13)
spray for greasing the pan
red food colouring, or gel (i used Americolor super red)
cornstarch and powdered sugar or icing sugar for dusting

Follow the instructions from my Pumpkin Pie Marshmallow post or see them listed again below.

Making the Marshmallows:

1) Lightly grease pan ( i prefer a pyrex glass pan) with spray - I like to wipe down the pan lightly with a paper towel to wipe off any pooling and spread the grease evenly to coat the pan.

2) Start with the Pumpkin Layer - add ingredients to large stand mixer bowl and sprinkle gelatine over top. Set aside.

3) In a large 4 quart pan, add Syrup ingredients and stir over medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Place candy thermometer in pan and turn up the heat to high. Let it bubble until the liquid reaches 240 degrees or the soft candy stage. Remove from heat.

4) Place a splash guard on the mixer and turn on low, stirring the bloom together. Slowly pour in the syrup mixture and mix on 3 or 4 until mixed and you can increase the speed without too much splashing.

5) Increase the speed to 6 or 7. At this point you should be able to remove the guard and allow the stand mixer to do its thing and beat the air into the candy. This should take about 12 minutes.

6) The mixture will start to resemble gooey marshmallow fluff. After about 12 minutes, it should be thick but still run. At this point we can add a 3-4 drops of the red food colouring and mix for another 30 seconds or so, allowing the red to swirl through the marshmallows.
7) Using a greased spatula, pour out the marshmallow layer into the greased pan. Set aside. Cover with aluminum foil lightly so nothing can drop into the marshmallow and set aside for 8 hours. Cut to desired size with a lightly greased knife.

Super Easy Christmas Rum Balls

2013-12-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

With all of the baking going on for friend's baby showers, and their little one's birthdays, it has been busy days around the house. I wanted to post a holiday treat that i've quickly put together for this 2013 holidays.

Funnily enough this recipe is actually adapted from The Gasparilla Cookbook, one that has been passed down to me and was printed in 1961. I'm guessing it doesn't matter what year it is, or what time of year it is, having an easy to do recipe is always good to have around.

Originally called Christmas Bourbon balls, they called for 2.5 cups of vanilla wafers. I have come across a few rum ball recipes using old brownies or cake and thought I could use my the extra cake I had baked for one of the birthdays. (when making a layer cake, it's always good to have a few extra layers on hand...just ..in...case).

Any-who, I chose to make the adjustment and below is the recipe for these super easy Christmas rum balls.

Christmas Rum Balls (adapted from Gasparilla Cookbook, recipe by Mrs. A.L. Brady)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of crumbled vanilla cake (a box of good ol' Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines will do the trick)
1 package of dark chocolate chips
2 tbsp of white corn syrup
1/2 cup of rum (i used a spiced rum)
1 cup of chopped nuts (i used half walnuts, half almonds)
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 cup of chocolate vermicelli*, sprinkles, non perils**, or jimmies

1) Make the cake as directed on the box. Or, if using your own recipe, crumble up 2.5 cups worth, which was roughly two 9 inch rounds.
2) Melt chocolate over warm water in a bowl, or in a microwave on low heat.
3) Add corn syrup to melted chocolate and mix.
4) Add rum, mix thoroughly. Depending on how warm your chocolate is, it may seize with the addition of the rum. If so, don't worry, pour the mixture into the cake crumbs and mix it all together.
5) Let the chocolate rum mixture cool. You now have the choice of making these rum balls immediately or waiting for them to soak up that goodness. If making ahead, store these in the refrigerator or in a cold dark place for a week before moving on to step 6.
6) When ready, scoop the mixture into small balls. I prefer mine roughly an inch round or slightly smaller and roll in vermicelli in a small bowl.
7) Chill and serve, or enjoy immediately.

*Vermicelli sprinkles are thinner in size then jimmies and tend to stick to the rum balls a little better than the jimmies. Both will work and you will find if your hands are slightly warm, it will melt the chocolate a bit and the sprinkles will stick a bit better.
** A little trick i learned with the non perils. As they have a habit of bouncing out of the bowl faster than you can fill, use the cap of the sprinkle jar against the sprinkle jar to pour several in and then slowly pour them out of the cap into the bowl. You will hold onto a lot more non perils that way!

Rum balls are the perfect chocolatey festive treat for the few weeks around Christmas to help us wind down and enjoy the fun. Hope this treat ends up on your baking list this holiday season!

Mini Peppermint Mocha Christmas Marshmallow Cupcakes

2013-12-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

So I'm still trying to get the hang of this whole 'blog posting' thing and with Christmas on its way, it's been a bit busy around the house. (in other words, the house is slowly being covered with icing sugar!). In order to catch up on the posting, here's another one from my 2012 baking collection and they were an absolute hit - not to mention cute too!

These Mini Peppermint Mocha Marshmallow Cupcake darlings are a little more time consuming then the regular marshmallows I usually make, but being festive and fun, they were more than worth the effort. There are a few steps to making these and I've outlined them below.

Mini Peppermint Mocha Marshmallows (mini marllowcakes?) with a Chocolate Surprise

Mocha Layer
Bloom:
2/3 cup water
3 tbsp of cocoa
1 tbsp of instant coffee
3 packages of gelatine (3 tbsp)
Syrup:
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of white corn syrup
3/4 cup of water

Peppermint Layer
Bloom:
2/3 cup of cold water
1 tbsp of peppermint extract
4 packages of gelatine (4 tbsp)
Syrup:
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of white corn syrup
3/4 cup of water

Chocolate Ganache Centre (optional)
1/3 cup of heavy cream (whipping cream not whipped)
4 oz of dark chocolate (50-60%)

Equipment:
stand mixer
candy thermometer
mini muffin tins (x2) OR metal or glass pan (8 x 13)
piping bags
small sauce pan
spray for greasing the pan
cornstarch and powdered sugar or icing sugar for dusting
crushed candy canes (optional)

Making the Chocolate Centers (optional):

1) In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream over medium heat until simmering but not boiling.

2) Remove the saucepan from heat and add the dark chocolate. Let sit for 30-60 seconds and stir chocolate and cream together until fully combined. Set aside.

Making the Marshmallows:

1) Lightly grease the mini muffin tins. (if you choose to just make the layers and cut into cubes, use a glass or metal pan) with spray - wipe each cup so there's no excess grease.

2) Start with the Mocha Layer - add ingredients to large stand mixer bowl and sprinkle gelatine over top. Set aside.

5) Increase the speed to 6 or 7. At this point you should be able to remove the guard and allow the stand mixer to do its thing and beat the air into the candy. This should take about 12 minutes.

6) The mixture will start to resemble gooey marshmallow fluff. After about 12 minutes, it should be thick but still run. Using a greased spatula, fill a large pastry bag. For mallow piping i find the larger 16" cotton bags the best as they are lined and much easier to clean after the mess.

7) Pipe each mini muffin cup half full with the mocha mixture. If you have any excess, fill a small greased loaf pan. (you can have extras for later that you can add to your coffee or cocoa!)

8) Now we can take our set aside, slightly cooled ganache and fill a piping bag. use a small round open tip or cut a cm opening on the end and pipe a small dab onto the centre of each mocha layer mallow.

9) Repeat steps 2 through 7 with the peppermint layer and pipe on top of the mocha and ganache layers in each of the muffin cups. To create that 'icing' swirl, when piping the peppermint layer, start on the outside of each cup and move inwards, pulling away when you get to the centre.

Decorate the tops of the mini mallowcakes with crushed candy canes, or sprinkles as you choose. Set aside overnight or for close to 8 hours covering with tented aluminum foil so nothing can drop into the mallows.

When ready, dust lightly with the cornstarch/powder sugar mixture and remove from tins. If sticking, grease a small knife and run around edges. Pop them out, and enjoy!

I will try and make another version of these for 2013, remembering to take pictures along the way. Sooner or later I will get the hang of all this, but for now, enjoy the treats!

Christmas Eggnog Meringue Kisses

2013-12-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas music in the stores, festive mugs at the coffee shops, it's time for holiday baking!

Last year i made these cute little Eggnog meringues and I've finally got this blog up and running so i can share the little morsels with you. They are sweet with winter spice and melt in your mouth for those sugary moments.

Christmas Eggnog Meringue Kisses

Ingredients:

4 egg whites at room temperature

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp of rum emulsion *

1/2 tsp of nutmeg

pinch of cream of tartar

cinnamon for dusting

Equipment:

stand mixer

baking sheets

sifter

parchment paper

piping bag with star tip or your choice

*through my baking i've found the use of emulsions incredibly useful and powerful when it comes to incorporating flavours. I use a variety of Lorann emulsions which I keep stocked in my pantry.

1) Preheat oven to 200 and prep the baking sheets with parchment paper. - parchment paper helps keep the meringues dry and wicks away the moisture that we are trying to bake out of the meringue when it's in the oven.

2) Sift together sugar and nutmeg, mixing thoroughly. Place egg whites in mixing bowl and mix until frothy. Gradually add the sugar to the frothy mixture and add a pinch of cream of tartar.

3) Continue beating egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. You can test this by pulling the beater out of the egg whites. If the peak stays - the meringue is ready.

4) Fill pastry bag fitted with chosen star tip. I chose a closed star tip for this - Wilton 2D. Depending on how large you want your meringue kisses you can pipe more or less meringue onto the sheet.

5) Holding the piping bag 90 degrees to the baking sheet and just 3/4 inch away, squeeze the bag piping out a kiss to the preferred size. Release the squeeze from the bag and pull away forming the tip of the kiss. Continue piping until the sheet is full. Meringues do not spread much when beaten to stiff peaks, so minimal space between the kisses are required.

6) Place baking sheets in oven for 1 and half hours. When done, peaks will be firm to the tough and will move off the parchment easily. If the meringues begin to brown, leave the oven door open while the completing the remaining cooking time.

7) Dust the meringues with cinnamon for an added festive touch.

Remove meringues from parchment and enjoy! Try to save a few for friends or as gifts. These are fantastic cookie exchange treats because they make so many little treats in one go.

I'm not a true fan of eggnog, but these little bites carry the flavours of the festive drink without the thick heavy nog itself.

Happy Baking!

Pumpkin Pie Marshmallows (gluten and dairy free)

2013-11-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

Nothing says fall like the changing colours of the leaves and the crispness in the air mingling with the warm autumn spices of the kitchen. Cinnamon and nutmeg, dancing with clove and what better combination than pumpkin pie!

Over the last year I have enjoyed combining favourite baking treat flavours with marshmallows and testing them on my willing guinea pigs at work.

These turned out fluffy, squishy, light and with the perfect pumpkin melt in your mouth moment.

Pumpkin Pie Marshmallow Recipe

Pumpkin Layer
Bloom:
2/3 cup of canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground ginger
1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp of all spice
3 packages of gelatine (3 tbsp)
Syrup:
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of white corn syrup
3/4 cup of water

Whipped Cream/Vanilla Layer
Bloom:
2/3 cup of cold water
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
4 packages of gelatine (4 tbsp)
Syrup:
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of white corn syrup
3/4 cup of water
1 tsp of vanilla

Equipment:
stand mixer
candy thermometer
metal or glass pan (8 x 13)
spray for greasing the pan
cornstarch and powdered sugar or icing sugar for dusting
graham cracker crumbs (optional)

Making the Marshmallows:

1) Lightly grease pan ( i prefer a pyrex glass pan) with spray - I like to wipe down the pan lightly with a paper towel to wipe off any pooling and spread the grease evenly to coat the pan.

2) Start with the Pumpkin Layer - add ingredients to large stand mixer bowl and sprinkle gelatine over top. Set aside.

5) Increase the speed to 6 or 7. At this point you should be able to remove the guard and allow the stand mixer to do its thing and beat the air into the candy. This should take about 12 minutes.

6) The mixture will start to resemble gooey marshmallow fluff. After about 12 minutes, it should be thick but still run. Using a greased spatula, pour out the marshmallow layer into the greased pan. Set aside.

7) Repeat steps 2 through 5 with the vanilla layer. Pour on top of the pumpkin layer. Cover with aluminum foil lightly so nothing can drop into the marshmallow and set aside for 8 hours.

Cutting the Mallows:

1) Mix half a cup of cornstarch with half a cup of icing sugar. This will be for dusting.

2) Place silicone mats or wax paper down on a counter and lightly coat with the dusting mixture. Remove covering from pan and lightly coat with dusting mixture.

3) Using your finger tips, lightly pull marshmallow away from edges from pan. If greased well, this will be easy and you will feel it pull away from the sides. Turning the pan upside down, continue to pull one side of the mallow away to let it drop on the dusted surface. Out comes the slab of mallow ready to cut and you will smell that pumpkin pie immediately!

4) With a greased knife, cut into desired squares, sampling a few as you go. I like to cut a row and then roll in the dusting mixture, shaking it off a bit and placing in an air tight container to be saved for later for gifts, or cocoa.

If you'd like a little added crunch for nibbling the mallows, roll them in graham cracker crumbs. I've done this with Strawberry shortcake mallows and they are fantastic. It's a nice little flavoured addition to the treat.

And now you have gluten free - dairy free pumpkin pie in a ooey, gooey, squishy, fluffy marshmallow bite.

Enjoy!