sixteenbeans.

Prom Things.

2013-06-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

When you have low expectations, it almost comes as a shock when things turn out better than well. Here's to a twenty-four hour party because prom just isn't enough. Cheers.

Because we're hipster like that...

2013-05-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

just casually reading John Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Divine Comedy
while eating macarons at Nadege...

A couple weeks ago, a friend and I went to Nadege to pick up a macaron cake for our friend's eighteenth birthday. She loves macarons... but so do we. The box of macarons was more than half gone by the time we left the bakery. Because this is exactly what we should be doing mere weeks before prom...

Please Take What You Need...

2013-05-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

Time.

Time is what I need. These days, it seems like there's just not enough time to live life. I feel like a shadow of myself, constantly staying up late to study and constantly exhausted. I can't wait until the summer; in one month I'll be graduating from high school. I know that I'm going to miss this place where people make posters like these, this place where I've grown up, this place where I've spent four years of my life.

But I am ready to move on. One more month...

Strawberry Lemon Ice Cream

2013-04-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

I don’t know who I am anymore.

I used to be that skinny girl who bakes. Of course, I haven’t baked in the better part of three months (holiday stress baking during the winter break hardly counts...) and to be honest, I’m not quite as skinny as I was before (the only saving grace is that I was really skinny before). I don’t blog much anymore either. This probably has to do with the fact that I haven’t baked in a while and hence, do not have much to blog about.

Now I’m that girl who works at a bakery. Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely love being that girl who works at a bakery. My bosses are supremely awesome people, the breads and pastries they make are beyond delicious, and I get to stick one foot in the kitchen and the other out front with the customers. I love working there.

I work about ten hours a week. Those are ten hours that I could use to study, hang out with friends, sleep, bake, or blog. But those ten hours at the bakery are so worth it. I’ve learned so much since I started working there and met so many interesting people. I can almost live with the idea of only having a social life during winter break, March break, Easter, and summer.

Summer, I cannot wait until summer. In three months, I will have graduated from high school, I will have finished writing my exams, I will have accepted an offer to a university, I will have gone to prom. It scares me, the thought of leaving, but it is the fear that drives me forward. In the meantime, I look forward to spring, to the warmer days when sundresses and sandals take over and ice cream is no longer relegated to the back of the freezer.

Strawberry Lemon Ice Cream

Yield: about 1.5 litres

Ingredients:

Strawberry Sauce:

1 lb strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice and zest of one lemon

Ice Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup 2% milk
10 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks

Directions:

Strawberry Sauce: In a medium sauce pan, combine two-thirds of the strawberries, cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla. Cook over medium-high heat until the strawberries have broken down and the sauce comes to a boil. Heat for a minute or two to cook out the cornstarch. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Cool completely and chill overnight.

Ice Cream: In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks lightly. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla together until it bubbles begin to form on the edges of the milk. Slowly pour the hot cream into the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Pour the custard back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Pour the custard into another bowl (to halt the cooking process). Strain the mixture, cover, and chill overnight.

Pour the ice cream into the ice cream bowl and churn for about 20 minutes. During the last two minutes of mixing, add about 2 cups of the reserved strawberry sauce. Serve ice cream soft-serve style with the remaining strawberry sauce, or freeze for a firmer texture.

Pastries and Things...

2013-02-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

almond croissant.

caramel apple danish.

marbled danish

I love working at a bakery...

Green Tea Cupcakes with Green Tea Frosting Things...

2013-02-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Walnut Bread Things...

2013-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Green Tea Cake with Chestnut Cream

2013-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

It was a long and lonely winter break this year. I spent the majority of it cooped up in the house, feverishly attempting to finish university applications, write an essay for English class, study for the upcoming English and Math exams, cram for that biology test, and read three novels (one of which was in French). Suffice to say, I managed to procrastinate more than anything.

In fact, my Christmas present to myself was two uninterrupted hours so that I might catch up on reading. It was a Christmas Day well spent because after what feels like two million years, I’m finally, finally done reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace, all 964 pages of it. I love reading; usually I finish moderately long books in one sitting. But War and Peace gave me a run for my money. After this year-long affair, I’m glad to be able to say that it’s done and that I did it.

Don’t get me wrong: War and Peace is a really epic book and it’s no wonder that it’s a classic. The immensity of the work in itself is impressive in that Tolstoy managed to capture the very essence of his characters’ lives. However, it is quite lengthy (and the text eye-straining-ly small) and a little bit slow at times. I’d like to read it again at one point in my lifetime when I have a better understanding of European history, but somehow I doubt that I will be able to stomach another book this tedious.

In celebration of finally, finally, finally finishing War and Peace, I baked a Green Tea Cake with Chestnut Whipped Cream for a family dinner. Making your own chestnut puree for the cream is quite tedious (like reading a 964-page book), but so, so worth it.

Click below for the recipe.

Green Tea Cake with Chestnut Whipped Cream

Yield: one 9-inch cake

Adapted from: Food and Wine, May 2008

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 ¼ cups flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons matcha powder
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

Chestnut Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons gelatine
2 tablespoons water
1 cup chestnut puree

Directions:

For the cake, preheat oven to 350F. Butter three 9-inch round pans, line with parchment, butter, and dust with flour.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric stand-mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients and milk in three alternating additions, beating well between additions. Divide the batter into the prepared cake pans.

Bake the cakes in the center of the oven for about 35-45 minutes, until springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool for about forty-five minutes in the pan, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Unfrosted cakes can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to a month.

For the chestnut cream, place cream in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on to medium high. Meanwhile, stir the gelatine and water together in a small bowl. Microwave for ten seconds or until dissolved. While the mixer is still running, pour the melted gelatine mixture into the cream and continue to whip until stiff peaks. Add the chestnut puree and fold by hand until combined. Use immediately.

To frost the cake, place one cake layer on a cake board and place a dollop of cream over top. Using an angled spatula, spread the cream into an even layer. Place the second layer of cake on top, top down, and use the rest of the cream to frost the cake. I had some leftover cream, so I put it in a pastry bag with a star tip and piped random rosettes.

*Note: I would definitely recommend using homemade chestnut puree because you can really taste the difference. My mom made the puree. She scored a pound of chestnuts and steamed them for 15 minutes before roasting them at 400F for another 15 minutes. Then she took the chestnuts out of the oven and covered them with a towel for 15 minutes before peeling. Then she cooked the chestnuts over the stove top with enough water to almost cover the chestnuts until they were tender, about 25 minutes, and pureed them.

Right Now... & Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies

2012-12-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Right now, I’m living the high-school-senior-life. I go to school, I go home, and I go to work. I’ve stopped going out with friends. I’ve stopped blogging, save for the occasional post, mostly because I’ve stopped baking. Not only do I lack the time, but I generally bring home morethan enough baked goods from work to satiate my sweet tooth.

Right now, I’m in the midst of applying to university. It’s terrifying to think that in half a year, I will be graduating from high school. I remember being in seventh grade thinking that I had years and years and years to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t sure then and I’m still not sure now, but after three and a half years of high school, I have a better idea of what I want to do.

But I’m not worried. I have the grades to get me where I want to go right now and I know I’ll figure out the rest along the way. I’ve just received my first offer of admission and I look forward to receiving at least four more (should I actually get around to finishing all my supplementary applications...)

Right now, my mind is shot. I feel stretched thin in all directions, unsure of what to tackle first despite knowing that everything needs to be done, um, now. I’m feeling scatterbrained and unorganized, though I have all the lists in my Moleskine to tell me what to do.

Right now, I’m contemplating whether or not I should bake another batch of these Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies. They’re kind of hard to resist, especially so because they’re intensely chocolate-y and just the right kind of sweet—bittersweet—and oh-so buttery. Yum.

Click below for the recipe.

Chocolate Mint Thumbprints

Yield: about 30 cookies

Source: Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Ingredients:

2 ounces dark chocolate
2 ounces mint chocolate
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

1 ounce white chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract

Directions:

For the cookies, melt the chocolate over a double boiler, stirring occasionally until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the chocolate and beat until incorporated. Add the flour and mix until the dough is smooth.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form tablespoons sized dough balls and roll it in the coarse sugar. Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheet. Make an indentation in the center of the cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, remove sheet from oven and make the indentation more visible. Return the sheets to the oven and baked for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until the cookies just begin to crack. Let cool five minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

Melt the white chocolate and heavy cream over the double boiler. Stir in peppermint extract and fill the thumbprint cookies with the ganache. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. I ran out of white chocolate ganache, so I used jam to fill the remaining cookies.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for until to 3 days.

Gluten-Free Brownies

2012-12-21T08:00:00.001-08:00

senioritis

noun. A crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as graduation.

Senioritis has hit me hard... I’ve yet to stoop to wearing sweatpants to school (though they’re the first things I change into when I get home...) and I’m still studying (because I actually want to get into university), but going to class is beginning to require a little bit more motivation.

During the week before winter break, I skipped nine classes. It was somewhat legitimate on Monday, when I figured that I’d use the morning to finish up some assignments. I did get some work done, but somehow, I spent the majority of that time reading The Scarlet Letter (which, by the way, is an amazing book).

On Thursday I woke up feeling gross, kind of headache-y and tired and sniffy. I had been feeling ill on Wednesday, so again, skipping my first three classes was mostly legitimate. After I slept in for another two hours and ate a leisurely lunch, I felt much better.

Then, somehow, I decided it was a good time to make Gluten-Free Brownies for a recently celiac friend since I’d see him the next day—Friday—when we would go rock-climbing. Don’t judge. Mustering up the energy to go to class during that last week before the holidays is incredibly difficult, especially when you’re not actually doing anything important in class.

(Unfortunately, I will not be posting the recipe as it was passed along to me by my boss, who would rather not share the it online.)

Classic Pumpkin Pie

2012-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love sleep. Unlike all my insomniac teenage friends who can sleep at 3AM on a school night and still stay awake through fourth and fifth period the next day, I tend to feel like crap if I haven’t gotten enough sleep the night before. My head throbs, my eyes sting, and getting out of bed and staying awake becomes a physical challenge.

This year, I’ve made a solid resolution to go to sleep at a respectable hour. I can’t extol enough just how wonderful it is to wake up after a good night’s sleep. The changes are immediate and visible: I no longer sleep through fourth period, I’ve stopped feeling tired all the time, and I don’t snack for the sole purpose to keep myself awake (that often) anymore.

The rest of my family still sleeps late. At 11:30PM when I’m getting ready to hit the hay, my brothers are playing their guitars, my dad is watching a movie downstairs with the surround sound system, and my mom’s clinking the dishes around in the kitchen. Every night, I make the rounds and inform all my family members that it’s late and that they’re loud and that I really want to get some shut-eye.

Being a light sleeper sucks.

One night, I go to sleep particularly early because I have a morning meeting the next day. My brothers stop playing guitar. Within twenty minutes, I’m mostly asleep when the clinking of the dishes from the kitchen downstairs rouses me from my slumber.

I wake up. I’m angry, because whoever’s in the kitchen (my mom) has essentially woken me up from a power nap and I know that it’ll take hours, if not the whole night, to get back to sleep. I know my sleep patterns.

For the next couple hours, I drift in and out of sleep. It’s 4:30AM now. I feel tired, but I still can’t fall sleep. An hour later, I crawl out of bed and go downstairs to eat comfort-eat a slice of Pumpkin Pie. I’m in a bad mood. I accidentally forget to be quiet. My older brother storms down the stairs and yells at me to be quiet.

Click for the recipe below.

Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from: Better Homes and Gardens Anyone Can Bake

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
5-6 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

2 eggs
1 ½ cups or cooked pumpkin puree
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger and salt, each
¼ tsp ground cloves and nutmeg, each
2 tbsp molasses
1 cup of half and half

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir flour and salt together. Cut butter into flour until coarse crumbs form.

In a small bowl, stir lemon juice with water.

Gradually add a few teaspoons of water to the flour-butter mixture at a time. Stir and push moistened pastry to side of bowl. Repeat until all flour is moistened. Form the pastry into a flattened ball and fold the dough over itself a few times. This will create more layers of butter and pastry and result in a flakier crust. Wrap, and chill for at least an hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry to ¼ inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish, and trim the dough about ½-inch larger than the pie plate. Fold the excess dough under and crimp in any style you want.

Preheat oven to 400F. For the filling, combine all ingredients and pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and continue to back for 35 minutes, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool before serving.

Thyme Things...

2012-12-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Perks of Being an Employee at a Bakery

2012-12-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

A couple weeks ago, I got a job at a bakery. It’s even a paid job this time, unlike the summer co-op program I had participated in the summer between sophomore and junior year. Sure, it’s a minimum wage job, but the work environment is amazing.

Not only do I get hands on experience in the kitchen, forming croissants and making other baked goods, but I also get to talk to customers on the retail front. The owners are so incredibly kind and instructive and patient. They are passionate about baking and using natural ingredients to create quality products, so it’s no surprise that the pasties and breads are beyond delicious. (Double chocolate croissants? Yes, please!)

I like half an hour walk away from the bakery, but so far, I’ve never had to walk. My mom drops me off and picks me up, and when no one is using the car, she lets me take it to work. I almost feel as though I’m playing adult, “driving” to go to “work”.

My parents are worried about the hours. They worry that I don’t have enough time to study, that my marks will drop during my oh-so-important senior year, that this job could affect the prospects of university (as if).

But what they don’t realize is that having a job inspires responsibility and good work ethic and that between the monotony of learning at school and studying at home, I rarely go out, so seeing friendly faces at the bakery is something I actually look forward to.

Not to mention that I need money to finance my university education. So far, I’ve been good about saving it, unlike many of my other job-holding friends who blow their money on food and entertainment. Again, I don’t go out much these days.

My least favourite (or perhaps most favourite) part is closing up shop because this is the time when unsold goods are thrown out. Of course, I can’t bear to see all those delicious pastries and muffins go to waste, so I take home as much as I can. ~~It’s a really good thing that I don’t work there full-time, otherwise I’d be a billion pounds overweight.~~

The second time I bring home a bag of day-old pastries (probably worth more than my paycheque of three hours of labour), my mom tells me not to bring any more. “Please,” she begs, in between bites of a raspberry Danish, “no more. We’re all going to gain weight.”

“Scrumdidilyumptious” is what my younger brother Kyle says, grabbing a double chocolate croissant, a cheese croissant, and a caramel apple Danish. Obviously, I didn’t eat dinner that night (because a spanikopita and a croissant hardly count as “dinner”).

Green Tea Ice Cream

2012-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, there were no classes at school. Like all the other seniors in my class, I was pretty ecstatic for an extra day off. But unlike most of the other seniors, I was excited not because I would be hanging out with friends, but because I would finally have time to catch up on English assignments.

This is my life—I’ve accepted it. Since baking those Chocolate Maltball Cupcakes for the sole purpose of bribing friends to help me with math homework, I’ve come to terms with the fact that senior year isn’t always going to be fun (contrary to what TV shows and books have told me).

I’ve already cut out most of the inessential activities (which sadly, includes blogging), but I still feel overwhelmed from time to time. I know I’m doing the best that I can, but oftentimes I feel as though there’s so much more I could have done, had I more energy and time.

But this Green Tea Ice Cream? There’s nothing more I could have done to make it taste better; it’s perfect the way it is.

Click below for the recipe.

Green Tea Ice Cream

Yield: about 1 litre

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup 2% milk
10 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
2 ½ teaspoons pure matcha powder

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks lightly. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla together until it bubbles begin to form on the edges of the milk. Slowly pour the hot cream into the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Pour the custard back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard has slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Pour the custard into another bowl (to halt the cooking process). In a small bowl, stir the matcha powder with a couple tablespoons of the hot custard until a smooth paste forms. Add the paste into the custard and whisk until smooth. Strain the mixture and cover and chill overnight.

Pour the ice cream into the ice cream bowl and churn for about 20 minutes. Serve ice cream soft-serve style, or freeze for a firmer texture.

Gluten-Free Vegan Cinnamon Buns

2012-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

You know a cookbook is good when it can convince a diehard fan of butter, eggs, and white flour that she wants to try baking gluten-free and vegan. Oh, hi there, I’m that diehard fan of all things rich and creamy. I’ve long abandoned any hope that something truly delicious can be healthy—whole wheat and half-and-half just don’t taste as good as white flour and heavy cream.

Instead, I go all out. I slather on the butter like I will live forever. I swallow 803 calorie burgers (scroll down to The Priest) on a regular basis. I go out for the sole purpose of eating pie with my friends (follow me on Instagram kyleensixteenbeans). I consume poutine and chocolate croissants like there’s not tomorrow. As long as I eat well most of the time, I don’t mind indulging myself every once in a while. ~~(I blame my youthful outlook on life. I know it’s going to catch up with me in twenty years. I’ll cut back next year, I swear.)~~

After the success of the Gluten-Free Vegan Strawberry Banana Pancakes, I felt compelled to try another gluten-free and vegan recipe from Babycakes Covers the Classics. Pancakes are pancakes; they’re pretty simple to make gluten-free and vegan. But Gluten-Free Vegan Cinnamon Buns are harder to fake. They are definitely harder to make. I read the recipe multiple times and carefully measured all the ingredients, but somehow, my cinnamon buns just didn’t look turn out quite the same as in the picture.

Considering that the cinnamon buns are gluten-free and vegan, they taste pretty good. They’re definitely not as buttery as these cinnamon buns, but pretty amazing nonetheless. These are the perfect breakfast snack, something sweet that you don't have to feel guilty about.

Click below for the recipe.

Gluten-Free Vegan Cinnamon Buns

Source: BabycakesCovers the Classics

Yield: 12 buns

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 ¼ cups Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour
½ cup brown rice flour
¼ cup arrowroot flour
1 ¾ xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
1/3 cup agave syrup
3 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 cup warm water (Note: I used 2/3 cup water and my dough was already quite wet.)
½ cup rice flour, for dusting

Filling:

¼ cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
½ cup agave syrup
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon (Note: I would use less next time, maybe only 1 ½ tablespoons of ground cinnamon, because the cinnamon flavour was very strong.)
½ cup raisins, optional

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together, the gluten-free flour, ½ cup brown rice flour, arrowroot flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Add ¼ cup coconut oil, 1/3 cup agave syrup, and the vanilla, and stir with a rubber spatula until a very thick and dry dough forms. Add 2/3 cup water and stir in more if needed until dough is slightly tacky. (My dough was already quite wet, so I stopped at 2/3 cup.) Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with 1/3 cup rice flour. Dust the top of the dough and a rolling pin with the remaining rice flour and roll out the dough into a ½-in rectangle with the short side-facing you. Using a pastry brush, apply half of the remaining coconut oil all over the surface of the dough.

In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of the agave syrup and 1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon. Brush the mixture onto the dough, covering it entirely. Sprinkle the raisins evenly over the mixture.

Beginning with the short side closest to you, gently roll the dough onto itself to form a log. Using a very sharp knife, cut the log into 12 1-inch-wide pieces. Place the rolls on the baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the rolls from the oven and gently brush the top and sides of each bun with the remaining coconut oil. Rotate the baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes more, until the edges are brownies and the centres are slightly soft. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

2012-11-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Kids say the darndest things. I’d like to say that as a mature, level-headed teenager, I’ve stopped saying things that my parents might retell for a laugh, but as it turns out, I still have my moments.

The other day, the family and I were gathered around the dinner table. I had finished eating earlier than the rest of my family, so I went to the fruit drawer in the refrigerator and pulled out an apple and an orange.

After washing the fruit, I returned to my seat and began peeling the orange. When my younger brother Kyle saw me peeling the fruit, his eyes lit up. Out of courtesy’s sake, I asked if anyone would like some orange segments.

“ME!” Kyle exclaimed. I gave him a look; that “ME!” seemed to have escaped his mouth just a little bit too quickly. I continued peeling my orange.

“Okay,” I replied facetiously, “so why don’t you go to fridge, get an orange, and then peel it?”

My dad burst out laughing and proceeded to choke for a good minute on whatever he happened to be swallowing at the moment. My mom smiled, holding back her laughter. “Kyleen!” she admonished. “That’s not nice!”

I handed Kyle half of the orange. After my dad regained his breath, he chimed in to the conversation. “So that was a very good lesson. Next time you kids ask me for something, I should say the same thing to you.”

Well, if you make these Chocolate Chip Blondies, you don’t have to worry about giving them away because treats like these are best shared.

Click below for the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

Adapted from: Better homes and Gardens Anyone Can Bake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter and line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper. (I doubled the recipe and baked the blondies in a 12-inch by 18-inch sheet pan.)

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sugars and heat until melted. Set aside to cool while mixing the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

Stir the eggs into the butter mixture, one at a time. Add the vanilla. Using a sturdy rubber scraper or wooden spoon, stir in flour until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over top. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the blondies are set in the middle. Do not overbake. Let cool in the pan for twenty minutes before cutting into squares.

Chocolate Maltball Cupcakes

2012-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Senior year is kicking my ass.

Over the last two months, life has taken a backseat to academics, those oh-so important marks that will get me into university. Even though I’ve refocused my energy, sometimes I still feel as though I’m stretched to the point of breaking. Every week brings another test, another presentation, another assignment, another tribulation. It’s exhausting, really.

But I enjoy being busy. Four tests, three essays, two presentations, and one book later, I realize that I’ve completely neglected my math homework for the whole unit. It’s a good thing that I have so many friends who are good at math and are suckers for Chocolate Maltball Cupcakes.

The Sunday before our chapter four math test, I invited a few of my smartest friends over for a math party, as in we all got together for the sole purpose of doing math problems together. Math parties, study groups, homework sessions—I’ve accepted that sad fact that this is my life now. It could be worse.

Click below for the recipe.

Chocolate Maltball Cupcakes

Adapted from: Food and Wine, May 2008, Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski

Yield: 12 medium cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup in malted milk powder (I used Ovaltine)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup milk or sour cream, at room temperature
½ cup chocolate chips

Buttercream:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
pinch salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup malted milk powder
1 cup chocolate maltballs, coarsely crushed

Directions:

Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, cornstarch, Ovaltine, baking powder, and salt.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 20-23 minutes, until springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the muffin tin, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Unfrosted cupcakes can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to a month.

Buttercream: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over (but not touching) simmer water in a saucepan and heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160F), about 3 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Beat the egg white mixture on medium-high speed until it is fluffy, cooled to room temperature, and holds stiff peaks, about 7 minutes.

With the mixer on medium –low speed, add the salt and the butter, a few pieces at a time, beating well after each addition. The frosting may appear to separate or be very liquid, but DO NOT PANIC. Continue to beat on high speed until it is smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes more. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in about half the crushed chocolate maltballs.

Assembly: Using a butter knife or spatula, frost the cupcakes as desired. I wouldn’t recommend using a piping bag because the chocolate maltballs will get stuck in the tip. Garnish with the reserved chocolate maltballs.

Brownie Things...

2012-11-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Spiced Macarons with Pumpkin Brown Butter Cream Cheese Buttercream

2012-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

My affinity for macarons began when I was sixteen. One biteand I was in love. It was like heaven had descended in my mouth—the crackle of the crisp shell, the chewiness of the macaron cookie, held together with the richest, deepest caramel buttercream.

I’ve travelled far and wide in search of delicious macarons. Like croissants, they are of the impossibly-difficult-to-make-at-home variety. I’ve heard the horror stories: the lumps, the oil stains, the flat cookies.

French pastries and desserts, in my opinion, are best enjoyed over a cup of coffee with a friend, sitting on the patio of a bustling bakery in a quaint neighbourhood on a beautiful spring day. That was what I thought, anyways, until I actually tried making macarons at home.

I had avoided the inevitable for as long as possible. I had tried to stop making custards and crème brulee and other egg yolk based desserts. I had eaten rather flavourless egg white omelettes. I had used up leftover egg whites to make Swiss meringue buttercream.

But then then it happened. A couple Fridays ago, my younger brother attempted to make a custard for a chocolate ice cream base. I came home later to Kyle dejectedly standing over the stove, stirring an unsalvageable curdled chocolate custard.

“We can still use it, right?” he asked hopefully, as if the ice cream machine could turn the lumpy mixture into a light, smooth ice cream. I shook my head and told him that I would take care of throwing out the curdled custard if he would separate some more eggs to make a new one. With ten egg whites in my fridge, I knew it was time to attempt the infamous macaron.

My first tray of macarons ended up spreading and cracking, but surprisingly, my second tray of macarons, which had rested an additional twenty minutes on the counter, came out rather well. In the end, I was able to produce eight decent-looking macarons. Beginner’s luck, perhaps...?

Click below for the recipe.

I would definitely recommend reading the following websites about macarons. They were extremely informative and helpful.

http://bravetart.com/recipes/Macarons

http://bravetart.com/blog/MacaronMyths

http://issuu.com/helened/docs/demystifyingmacarons

Basic French Meringue Macaron Batter

Source: http://issuu.com/helened/docs/demystifyingmacarons

Ingredients:

200 grams powdered sugar
110 grams almonds, ground
seeds of ½ vanilla bean
100g egg whites (about 3 medium eggs)
25 grams granulated sugar

Directions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the almonds, powdered sugar, and vanilla beans in a food processor until combined. Alternatively, sift the ingredients together into a bowl.

In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and granulated sugar to stiff peaks. Add then almond and sugar mixture to the meringue.

Give quick strokes at first to break up the dry ingredients and then slow down; the whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flatten after 10 seconds, then the meringue is ready.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a half-inch plain tip and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto the baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 280 to 300F. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

*NOTES:

I added ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon clove, ¼ teaspoon dried ginger, and freshly grated nutmeg to the sugar-almond mixture for spiced macarons.
I tried counting how many strokes it took me to mix all the ingredients together, but I lost count. Honestly, it’s not about how many strokes; it’s about the consistency of the batter. I tested my batter on a plate and once it flattened, I assumed it to be ready.
I popped my first tray of macarons into the oven after only 20 minutes on the counter and the cookies ended up cracking (which means I overmixed, I think). My second tray, which rested for a good 40 minutes, came out really nicely.

Pumpkin Brown Butter Cream Cheese Buttercream

Ingredients:

2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree

Directions:

Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter is brown and has a rich, nutty aroma. Pour into a heatproof bowl and let cool completely. Chill until firm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the brown butter. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat for a couple minutes until fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree and whip to combine. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Red Velvet Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2012-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have a problem with punctuality. Time is just such an abstract concept to me. I attempt to devote a certain amount of time to completing a task, but more often than not, I won’t stop until I’m confident that I've completed it to the best of my ability. Eyeliner usually takes me five minutes in the morning, but I would not be hard pressed to spending another ten (rather than eat breakfast) to perfect my cat eye. After all, who wants to face the world with crooked eyeliner?

In the middle of October, two of my friends celebrated their sixteenth and seventeenth birthdays. I promised to make them Red Velvet Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting as birthday presents. I had planned to wake up early Saturday morning, bake and frost the cakes, and then pick my best friend Jenny up for lunch before I dropped her off at work.

Obviously, my time management skills are not up to par. It took a good three hours of measuring, sifting, beating, whipping, and frosting to make the cakes. I ended up driving to Jenny’s house an hour late. It’s a given in our friendship that one of us will be at least twenty minutes late, but an hour is rare. I apologized profusely and mentally abated myself for spending so much time making the cakes.

Of course, all good things take time. A light and fluffy cake requires vigorous beating of the butter and sugar and diligent sifting of the dry ingredients. A light, creamy, and rich frosting requires bringing up the egg whites and sugar to 160F, beating the meringue until cool, and whipping the frosting on high speed until it finally comes together.

The things I learn in the kitchen...

Click below for the recipe.

I used my Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe, but instead of dividing the batter into cupcake tins, I used two 6-inch cake pans which I buttered and lined with parchment. I also added more red food colour gel for a punchier red tint.

Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake

2012-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

I guest-posted this Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake on Elizabeth's blog, Four and Twenty Blackberries, last month.

* * *

Last summer, I did co-op at a bakery. After each work day ended, I headed to the library to ~~enjoy the air conditioning~~ study. On one occasion, Jenny and I met at the library to do math homework together. As I worked through problem sets, she sauntered off to look through the rows and rows of cook books. The cook books are located right beside the math and physics textbooks, as luck would have it, or misfortune (considering how distracted we would be).

After a little while, Jenny returned with an armful of cookbooks. Among the cook books was Chocolate Cakes, by Elinor Klivans. The book was completely devoted to chocolate cakes—it’s almost unnecessary to say that my math homework was promptly cast aside as I opened flipped through the pristine pages.

Chocolate Whiskey Cake, Chinese Five-Spice Chocolate Chiffon Cake, and Chocolate Zebra Cake were just some of the recipes that caught my eye. But what I really wanted to try was the Brandied Chocolate Cheesecake. In my mind of course, I would replace the brandy with a healthy splash of my favourite alcohol, Bailey’s Irish Cream.

After all those months of imagining and dreaming of Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake, I finally had time to make one last weekend. One morning, I woke up early (9AM on a weekend morning is early), and while the rest of my family was asleep, I opened the cabinets in the kitchen and banged the pots and pans around making a cheesecake.

In an attempt to prevent my cheesecake from cracking like the Lemon Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake had , I underbaked the cheesecake until it was almost set in the center, turned the heat off, and let the cheesecake cool in the oven for several hours. I went out for the day; when I came home, I was delighted to find that my cheesecake had a smooth, uniform surface, free of cracks.

Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake

Adapted from: Chocolate Cakes by Elinor Klivans

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 ½ cups chocolate cookie crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, lightly beaten and at room temperature
6 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 9-inch springform and wrap the outside of the pan with a large piece of aluminum foil. Have ready a large baking pan with sides at least 3 inches high that is large enough to hold the springform pan.

To make the crust, in a large bowl, stir the cookie crumbs and melted butter to moisten the crumbs evenly. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

To make the filling, melt the semisweet chocolate in a small bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the cream cheese and sugar until just combined. Beat in the eggs in two additions until just incorporated. Mix in the brandy, cream, and vanilla. Mix the melted chocolate into the batter and scrape into the baked crust. Put the springform pan in a large baking pan and place in the preheated oven. Pour enough hot water in the large pan to reach 1-inch up the side of the springform pan.

Bake for 45 minutes, until the cheesecake is almost set in the center, but still jiggly. Turn the heat of, open the door for a few minutes to allow some heat to escape, and then close the door. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 5-6 hours, until no longer warm. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath. Remove the foil wrapping from the pan and let the cake cool for another hour. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, at least 6 hours or overnight. Serve.

Vegan Chocolate Sorbet

2012-10-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, it turns out that Skype requires a lot of bandwidth—so much bandwidth that my older brother, as our family’s unofficial internet scorekeeper, proclaimed that never again could I engage in three hour Skype calls. Ever.

For the record, it was actually a two hour call; during the first hour, I had so many problems connecting the call that I eventually gave up staring at my phone and started cleaning my room. It turns out that my wi-fi sucks and Skype works a whole lot better on my desktop computer.

It’s not my fault that Skype works so well. Maybe if it was as choppy on my desktop as it was on my phone, I would have gone on with life believing that Skype sucked and that there was no way of chatting comfortably online with people who live halfway around the world.

My friend and I skyped again several days later. That night when we were eating dinner, my brother officiously declared that we were dangerously close to going over our internet plan and that we would have to drastically “slow our internet usage”.

I gave up Skype for a couple weeks and busied myself with other endeavours, like school and homework and making this Vegan Chocolate Sorbet. (My mom bought me an ice cream machine; I think she wants me to return Jenny’s ice cream machine, which I’d been “borrowing” for the better part of three months and is currently still sitting on my counter.)

Considering that this chocolate ice cream is made without dairy or eggs, it’s surprisingly creamy. It’s deeply chocolate-y and so, so good that you won’t even miss the cream.

Click below for the recipe.

Vegan Chocolate Sorbet

Adapted from: http://food52.com/recipes/17877_david_lebovitzs_chocolate_sorbet

Makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups (555 ml) water
1 cup (200 g) sugar
3/4 cups (75 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vodka (optional)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, whisk together the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a boil whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk for 45 seconds.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it's melted, then stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend for 15 seconds. Chill the mixture thoroughly.

Whisk it vigorously to thin it out. Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the vodka during the last two minutes of churning. You can either serve the ice cream right away, or put it in the freezer.

*NOTES:

I used dark brown sugar because I ran out of granulated.
this is when you’d want to splurge for good quality cocoa powder—you can really taste it in the finished product.
I used 4 ounces semisweet chocolate and 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, but I still found the ice cream to be a little bit too sweet; adjust accordingly.
My blender broke a couple months ago, so I didn’t blend my ice cream base. Instead, I strained it. My ice cream was a little bit grainy, probably due to the fact that I didn’t blend it.

Vegan Gluten-Free Upside Down Pineapple Cake

2012-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

First-World Problems: dilemmas that arise from having too much.

* * *

As a teenager from a middle class family living in Canada, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t occasionally blurt out a shallow, petty, or insignificant comment about a problem that many people in the world would be glad to have.

The most prominent example that comes to mind is whenever I hang out with my artsy fartsy, yearbook editor friend Tammy. We’re both foodies, so whenever we do something together, it generally involves food. Often times, we’re torn between spending our money at our favourite sushi place or at our favourite burger joint (or on macarons at our favourite macaron bakery).

I don’t mean to come off as petty or superficial. I know that I am incredibly, incredibly lucky to live the life that I do. I am thankful. I am thankful for so much.

I am thankful that I live in Canada. I am thankful that I have basic human rights. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to go to school to educate myself. I am thankful that there are so many books at the library that are free for the borrowing.

I am thankful that there is free health care, and that I can just walk into a hospital after cutting myself with a steak knife and get my finger stitched up.

I am thankful that I have such awesome friends who have made me into a better person. I am thankful that I have such a great family that supports me (mostly). I am thankful that my mom wholeheartedly backs my baking ventures and doesn’t hesitate when I ask her to buy vodka so I can make my own vanilla extract.

I am thankful that I can try new things, like this Vegan Gluten-Free Upside Down Pineapple Cake. I am doubly thankful that I can attempt the cake, fail, and have the chance to try again.

This is one of those cakes that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating, as it contains no butter, no eggs, and no cream. Don’t be put off by the long ingredient list—stirring together the cake batter is a cinch.

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

Click below for the recipe.

Vegan Gluten-Free Upside Down Pineapple Cake

Slightly adapted from: Babycakes Covers the Classics

Yield: 1 10-inch cake

Ingredients:

Pineapple Topping:

coconut oil, for brushing
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ pineapple, peeled, cored, sliced

Dry Ingredients:

½ cup garbanzo and fava bean flour
½ cup rice flour
½ cup potato starch
¼ cup arrowroot
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

½ cup coconut oil, melted
¾ cup agave nectar
6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup vanilla extract
¼ cup hot water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a 10 inch cake pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with coconut oil. (I used a springform pan; if you use a springform pan, make sure you set the pan on top of a cookie sheet to catch any juices that drip.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Arrange the pineapple slices over it. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (garbanzo and fava bean flour, rice flour, potato starch, arrowroot, remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt). Whisk until combined. Add the wet ingredients (coconut oil, agave nectar, unsweetened applesauce, vanilla extract, and hot water. Stir with a rubber spatula until batter is smooth. Pour the batter over the pineapple.

Bake for 15 minutes, rotate, and then continue baking until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes more. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes. Run a knife along the pan’s edge and invert onto a serving plate.

Ricotta Spinach Pie Things...

2012-10-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Cake, Croissants, Walnut Bread

2012-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Life doesn’t always go according to plan. There are always those little misunderstandings, those little accidents, those little sip-ups that can’t be avoided. Despite this fact, I would like to believe that most things happen for a reason.

Two weeks ago, I took my G2 road test. I had planned the weekend out given that I was to pass my road test on Saturday. On Sunday, I would drive to my favourite bakery to pick up a Chocolate Coffee Cake, some croissants, and bread. I would drop the Chocolate and Almond Croissants and the Walnut Loaf off at home for my mom’s birthday, deliver the cake to my best friend Jenny as a belated birthday present, and subsequently give her a ride to work.

That was the plan, anyways.

I had fully, wholeheartedly expected to pass, so it’s not hard to imagine how humiliated I felt when the road test administrator asked me to pull over and cut my test short. “Practice more and then take the test again,” he advised. My faced burned with embarrassment.

I am not a bad driver. Compared to some of my friends who have their G2 licenses and have given me rides, I’d say that I can drive with the same amount of skill. I can accelerate, brake, change lanes, and park like the rest of them.

The only thing that differed is that I never took driving lessons from an instructor; I learned how to drive from my mom. In retrospect, her instruction was geared towards driving safely in real life and lacked the specific focus of passing a defunct driving test.

I didn’t pull up the handbreak every time I parked. I assumed that I wasn’t supposed to change lanes unless the administrator told me so because he said that I should only follow his instructions. I assumed that it was okay to turn right on a red light given that I fully stopped first. So I failed.

On Sunday morning, I woke up (relatively) early and set out to pick up the pastries from my favourite bakery. Without a license, I was subjected to the old-fashioned way of traveling: taking the bus. Failing the road test still stung, but the Chocolate Croissant and the Walnut Loaf definitely ameliorated my lack of a license.

Two days ago, I took the test againr, after three lessons with a driving instructor. It turned out that the road test administrator I had had, Number 305, was notorious for failing people. I went to a different test center with apparently nicer drive test administrators and passed without a problem.