Wow, that was a long baking hiatus!

Thanks for all the emails asking how I’m doing and when I’m going to post again. My med school exams didn’t finish until the 21st of December, so I almost wasn’t able to bake – almost.

First, a bit of catching up.

Pat and I moved to a new place this summer and while we are totally in love with the condo, the tiny AEG oven broke my heart a little:

The usable internal space is about 13″ x 14″ x 15″ so I spent some time in the summer trying to scale down some of my tried and tested recipes. So, there was quite a bit of baking during this time. Here are a couple pictures, a strawberry tartlet on the the left and a plain génoise on the right:

I found that tarts, pies, as well as sponge and foam cakes bake very well in this new oven. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for buttercakes. Somehow, buttercakes tend to stay wet in the middle, and if I bake it through the cake begins to shrink by more than 30% in volume when I take it out of the oven, which is a sure sign of being overbaked. On a convection setting, the oven temperature calibration is spot-on, but about 20C too low on conventional baking. I’ve corrected for this, and use a baking stone to help keep bottom heat, with only so-so results.

Anyhow, on to holiday baking:

These are Dorie Greenspan’s simply amazing sable cookies. The recipe is available from the NY Times. It is akin to shortbread, differing only by the addition of egg yolks which gives both crunch and tenderness, setting off the nutty flavour of mildly browned butter. These chic beauties fed me all throughout my exam review period (basically all of December).

Again, because school interfered with my baking scheduling, I was not able to turn out a bûche de Noël this year. I will have to be content with memories of last year’s log and those cute little meringue mushrooms:

My bûches are compiled on this page.

This year, I went for another favourite, Cooks Illustrated’s lemon tart which is improved by Maury Rubin’s tart shell. The recipe for the tart filling is the exact same one featured in Leite’s Culinaria and the tart recipe can be copied from the LA Times.

Notes:

Ms Greenspan says the secrets to really sandy sable cookies include not overcreaming the butter and sugar, being very gentle with adding the flour (which is added all at once), and ensuring that the dough gets adequate resting time in the fridge (at least two hours). I am going to highlight another advice: these are amazing on the second day when the flavours have set, so plan ahead.

I am in the middle of planning a cake for a family celebration this NYE. I think it’s going to be a génoise with lemon curd and Rose Levy Beranbaum’s new white chocolate custard buttercream. So there are a few posts out of me yet before I head back to school.

Actually, the heading should be “The best flourless chocolate cake.”

Yes, it is flourless and as far as chocolate cakes go, this one is simply incomparable. The texture changes from light cheesecake to mousse as you sample from outside to in. Every bite is as good as the Callebaut chocolate that went in it.

Here’s the unbelievable part to it: only 290 calories and 17 grams of carbohydrates per 1/16th slice!

While 1/16th may not seem like much, this cake packs a wallop of dark chocolate that it is sure to leave even the most fervid chocoholic totally sated. An equivalent “regular” flour-based cake with ganache and buttercream will easily break 500 calories and carry an absurd carbohydrate gram count.

I once made a 1170-calorie per serving dessert which was fabulous, but this one is even better.

And even better news – it freezes well. There is no danger for dieters and carb-counters such as myself of slicing away at the cake portion by portion until the whole cake is consumed. I’ve stashed away the rest of this cake, and I am resolved they will only be thawed out for my once a week cheat/reward day.

The recipe is from Baking Illustrated and was developed by Alice Medrich.

Notes:

• I used 8 ounces of 60% chocolate and 8 ounces of milk chocolate.
• It is imperative that you use an instant-read thermometer to determine doneness. I’ve overbaked this cake a couple times in the past because I did not use an instant-read thermometer. Those were quite awful.
• Take it out when the centre is 140F. It will still be very soupy. Don’t fret – it will look just like the first picture after 12 hours in the fridge. According to Baking Illustrated, 140F is a key temperature because the cake will continue to cook after it is taken out of the oven, killing Salmonella.

Actually, the heading should be “The best flourless chocolate cake.”

Yes, it is flourless and as far as chocolate cakes go, this one is simply incomparable. The texture changes from light cheesecake to mousse as you sample from outside to in. Every bite is as good as the Callebaut chocolate that went in it.

Here’s the unbelievable part to it: only 290 calories and 17 grams of carbohydrates per 1/16th slice!

While 1/16th may not seem like much, this cake packs a wallop of dark chocolate that it is sure to leave even the most fervid chocoholic totally sated. An equivalent “regular” flour-based cake with ganache and buttercream will easily break 500 calories and carry an absurd carbohydrate gram count.

I once made a 1170-calorie per serving dessert which was fabulous, but this one is even better.

And even better news – it freezes well. There is no danger for dieters and carb-counters such as myself of slicing away at the cake portion by portion until the whole cake is consumed. I’ve stashed away the rest of this cake, and I am resolved they will only be thawed out for my once a week cheat/reward day.

The recipe is from Baking Illustrated and was developed by Alice Medrich.

Notes:

• I used 8 ounces of 60% chocolate and 8 ounces of milk chocolate.
• It is imperative that you use an instant-read thermometer to determine doneness. I’ve overbaked this cake a couple times in the past because I did not use an instant-read thermometer. Those were quite awful.
• Take it out when the centre is 140F. It will still be very soupy. Don’t fret – it will look just like the first picture after 12 hours in the fridge. According to Baking Illustrated, 140F is a key temperature because the cake will continue to cook after it is taken out of the oven, killing Salmonella.

(first in a series of three)

Two years ago I had a phone conversation that went like this:

“I’m so stressed out. I have a year to finish these prerequisites, work full-time on top of that, and THEN apply to medical school and wait for almost another year to see if I get in.”

“Have you tried doing something to keep your mind off this? Why don’t you take up rock-climbing or train for a marathon or start baking?”

So, I picked up a copy of Baking 911, a cookbook that remains as my first and true love. It is perfect for anyone who has ever baked puck-hard cookies or anyone who has ever uttered an expletive first thing after opening the oven door.

I really enjoyed baking, and as soon as my early efforts began to improve, I started this humble blog. Over the next few months, I discovered Daring Bakers which pushed me to new baking heights. I’ve made some wonderful friends there, as well as over at Tuesdays with Dorie. (See my Tuesdays with Dorie baked goods here). In fairly short order, the name of this blog “Occasional Baker” was no longer appropriate. One of the sardonic friends I keep jokingly asked, “How’s your blog, ‘The Obsessive Baker’?”

Eventually I got the good news that I had been waiting for from UBC Medicine. After the heady few months that followed, I realized that I had the time to either bake or blog, but not quite both. Also, my interest has now turned to fresh, local foods and I am now, once again, an occasional baker. Going back to that phone conversation two years ago, I have now signed up to train for a marathon (a 2-year plan).

Baking remains a great stress reliever for me, and I very much enjoy sharing with new classmates and friends. This will continue. However, the demands of maintaining a blog – the meager couple hours required to shoot pictures, post-process images, and write something useful (which was always my aim) – directly competes with study time, so I now feel that this baby should be put to bed.

In this first of my last three posts I look back at the past year, which I feel is my best:

French macarons

If that comment about being an obsessive baker needs to be justified, this would be its strongest case. French macarons are incredibly difficult to turn out perfectly – with the frilly feet and smooth domed top. After seven batches, I finally turned these out:

The moral to this: perfect baking is over-rated. Honestly, even the macarons that were cracked or feet-less tasted the same as these beauties. I have never made macarons since, and I am ever thankful that there is a French patisserie nearby.

Dark chocolate cake

Everyone needs a good chocolate cake once in a while, and this is hands-down the best because it is easy, fool-proof, and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. There is no recipe in my blog post but it is from The Cake Bible which you should own if you do not already. Also, the author demonstrates this recipe over at youtube.

French lemon cream and classic tarts

I am a bit of a lemon tart snob. Tell me that there is any bit of flour or cornstarch in the filling and I will turn away. (Well, I will take a large forkful of the “lemon tart” and then turn away). Lemon tarts ought to be made with baked lemon curd. It is best when served naked except perhaps for a dusting of sugar – no berries, no meringue, no creme chantilly on top. The star is the lemon, and the shortbread crust its sole supporting companion.

Imagine the best baked lemon curd tart you have ever had (picture on right). Now imagine it tasting even better and speaking fluent French (picture on left).

Lemon curd cake

Underneath the curd and buttercream is an exquisite find – the White Chocolate Whisper Cake from The Cake Bible.

Lemon bundt

This bundt cake is intensely lemony, thanks to the generous addition of minced, macerated lemon rind. I applied the two-stage mixing technique I learned from The Cake Bible, which simplifies the cake-making process so much.

Recently, I made this cake again and had problems getting it out of the bundt pan. I realized that I missed a crucial step: applying baker’s grease to the pan. I merely used a non-stick spray, which as I found out doesn’t always work. I have never had any problems with baker’s grease on the other hand, and I encourage anyone with a bundt pan to make up a batch – your bundt cakes will release with a golden crust each time.

Brioche raisin snails and sticky buns

I have always feared using yeast, but not after these incarnations of brioche, the most cake-like of breads.

Ricotta polenta cake

The recipe has two uncommon ingredients for cakes. Ricotta, which is the whey by-product of Romano cheese making, and polenta, the Italian name for cornmeal.

Bûche de Noël

Through two years of baking and blogging, I am thankful for all the friends I made and the new family traditions that I started. Of the latter, I am sure that I will be baking bûches de Noël year after year.

Up next on Occasional Baker

• I simply cannot close this blog without sharing with you the best tart crust ever: a shortbread crust that remains crisp yet fork-tender even after days in the fridge.
• Revisiting Martha’s Birthday Cake. An ambitious project from two years ago, which I will make again for Patrick’s birthday in mid-August. Will it be better this time around? Come and join me for this blog’s finale.

(first in a series of three)

Two years ago I had a phone conversation that went like this:

“I’m so stressed out. I have a year to finish these prerequisites, work full-time on top of that, and THEN apply to medical school and wait for almost another year to see if I get in.”

“Have you tried doing something to keep your mind off this? Why don’t you take up rock-climbing or train for a marathon or start baking?”

So, I picked up a copy of Baking 911, a cookbook that remains as my first and true love. It is perfect for anyone who has ever baked puck-hard cookies or anyone who has ever uttered an expletive first thing after opening the oven door.

I really enjoyed baking, and as soon as my early efforts began to improve, I started this humble blog. Over the next few months, I discovered Daring Bakers which pushed me to new baking heights. I’ve made some wonderful friends there, as well as over at Tuesdays with Dorie. (See my Tuesdays with Dorie baked goods here). In fairly short order, the name of this blog “Occasional Baker” was no longer appropriate. One of the sardonic friends I keep jokingly asked, “How’s your blog, ‘The Obsessive Baker’?”

Eventually I got the good news that I had been waiting for from UBC Medicine. After the heady few months that followed, I realized that I had the time to either bake or blog, but not quite both. Also, my interest has now turned to fresh, local foods and I am now, once again, an occasional baker. Going back to that phone conversation two years ago, I have now signed up to train for a marathon (a 2-year plan).

Baking remains a great stress reliever for me, and I very much enjoy sharing with new classmates and friends. This will continue. However, the demands of maintaining a blog – the meager couple hours required to shoot pictures, post-process images, and write something useful (which was always my aim) – directly competes with study time, so I now feel that this baby should be put to bed.

In this first of my last three posts I look back at the past year, which I feel is my best:

French macarons

If that comment about being an obsessive baker needs to be justified, this would be its strongest case. French macarons are incredibly difficult to turn out perfectly – with the frilly feet and smooth domed top. After seven batches, I finally turned these out:

The moral to this: perfect baking is over-rated. Honestly, even the macarons that were cracked or feet-less tasted the same as these beauties. I have never made macarons since, and I am ever thankful that there is a French patisserie nearby.

Dark chocolate cake

Everyone needs a good chocolate cake once in a while, and this is hands-down the best because it is easy, fool-proof, and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. There is no recipe in my blog post but it is from The Cake Bible which you should own if you do not already. Also, the author demonstrates this recipe over at youtube.

French lemon cream and classic tarts

I am a bit of a lemon tart snob. Tell me that there is any bit of flour or cornstarch in the filling and I will turn away. (Well, I will take a large forkful of the “lemon tart” and then turn away). Lemon tarts ought to be made with baked lemon curd. It is best when served naked except perhaps for a dusting of sugar – no berries, no meringue, no creme chantilly on top. The star is the lemon, and the shortbread crust its sole supporting companion.

Imagine the best baked lemon curd tart you have ever had (picture on right). Now imagine it tasting even better and speaking fluent French (picture on left).

Lemon curd cake

Underneath the curd and buttercream is an exquisite find – the White Chocolate Whisper Cake from The Cake Bible.

Lemon bundt

This bundt cake is intensely lemony, thanks to the generous addition of minced, macerated lemon rind. I applied the two-stage mixing technique I learned from The Cake Bible, which simplifies the cake-making process so much.

Recently, I made this cake again and had problems getting it out of the bundt pan. I realized that I missed a crucial step: applying baker’s grease to the pan. I merely used a non-stick spray, which as I found out doesn’t always work. I have never had any problems with baker’s grease on the other hand, and I encourage anyone with a bundt pan to make up a batch – your bundt cakes will release with a golden crust each time.

Brioche raisin snails and sticky buns

I have always feared using yeast, but not after these incarnations of brioche, the most cake-like of breads.

Ricotta polenta cake

The recipe has two uncommon ingredients for cakes. Ricotta, which is the whey by-product of Romano cheese making, and polenta, the Italian name for cornmeal.

Bûche de Noël

Through two years of baking and blogging, I am thankful for all the friends I made and the new family traditions that I started. Of the latter, I am sure that I will be baking bûches de Noël year after year.

Up next on Occasional Baker

• I simply cannot close this blog without sharing with you the best tart crust ever: a shortbread crust that remains crisp yet fork-tender even after days in the fridge.
• Revisiting Martha’s Birthday Cake. An ambitious project from two years ago, which I will make again for Patrick’s birthday in mid-August. Will it be better this time around? Come and join me for this blog’s finale.