Spring Flowers!!!

So sorry for not posting a lot these days. I haven't baked in the past 2 months :O 
Mostly because we're trying to eat healthier and the weather has been so nice so I like to spend a lot of time in the sun while I can. In honour of the 20 and plus degrees we're having this week here are some cupcakes that I decorated as flowers for my brother's wedding last year!

I got this idea from this great book and all you need are small marshmallows and coloured sugars.

I coloured the sugars myself by shacking food colouring and sugar in a mason jar.

Then you cut the marshmallows diagonally and you toss them in the sugar. Only the sticky part (the part you cut) will have sugar glued to it and it will look like small petals. Once you iced the cupcake, you just place the petals on he icing and they will stick there perfectly. It takes 22 marshmallows for a regular sized cupcake.

It's Snowing!

We thought Winter was over and Spring was in the air. 
Were we ever wrong! Snow came tumbling down and we had to switch back to boots :(


Ischl Tarts

For these cookie sandwiches, there are 2 doughs. The bottom cookie is a spiced dough and the top is a normal sugar cookie dough.


Ingredients: 
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2-1/4 cup all purpose flour
Jam


Spiced Dough


In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup of butter over medium heat until butter turns light brown (about 12 minutes). Remove from heat and poor into a medium mixing bowl.
Chill until butter solidifies (45 min)
Then, beat the chilled butter with an electric mixer for 30sec. 
Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp Vanilla + Cinnamon + ground cloves + 1/8 tsp salt.
Beat until combined and then add 1 cup of the flour and mix until combined.
Cover dough and chill for 1 hour.


Plain Dough


Meanwhile, beat 1/2 room temperature dough with an electric mixer for 30sec.
Add remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp vanilla + 1/8 tsp salt.
Beat until combined and add 1-1/4 cup of remaining flour and beat in until combined.
Cover dough and chill 1 hour.




Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll each dough to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and for the Plain Dough, Cut out 1/2 inch shapes in the cookie (So you will be able to see the jam once you assemble the cookies). 
Do not cutout those shapes in the spiced dough.


Place the cutouts on cookies sheet about 1 inch apart.
Bake about 8 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spread about 1 tsp of jam on the bottom of each Spiced cookie and top with plain cookie. 
Sift powdered sugar on cookies before serving.

Vegetarian pizza

I posted earlier in the year my homemade bacon and pepperoni pizza. Well here's one for the non meat eaters (you know who you are). 

Blue cheese

Pear

Basil

Just brush the pizza dough with a generous coating of olive oil. Then, scatter thin slices of fresh pear and dollops of blue cheese. Sprinkle some fresh basil and finish off with lots of freshly ground pepper (and a pinch of salt). 
You can also add thin slices of red onion if you want. If you slice them thin enough, they caramelize in the oven.

A Break from these Carbs (Part 3)

photo from here

I've realized I've only posted once this month but I haven't really had time to bake since it was midterm season so here is a little something I had to write a couple of years ago for English class. It's a description about my ride home on the bus through Mile End and Parc x. Enjoy.

Description

              I love riding the bus. It is much better than the stuffy and dark metro. I always try to sit by the window so I can see outside. There is always a line up to get on the 80. I watch people with their hoods up and their scarves around their face. I smile as I see a dog waiting outside for its owner. Its nose on the ground searching for whatever animal was there last night. Men in big, furry, black hats walk across the street as if they’re late. You can almost hear the heels of their leather shoes go “toc-toc-toc” on the sidewalk. The bakeries and butchers pass by in a blur one after the other. As people get on and off the bus with their bags, the smell of Fairmount bagels floats around our heads. My stomach growls with hunger. Bikes zoom past us and in and out of cars unafraid of the traffic. The streets go by me one by one; Bernard, Van Home, Beaubien. I’m almost home.

            As I get off the bus, the air hits my face and my eyes water with the cold. I must walk ten minutes to get home and I’m impatient to escape this cold. I pass many food stands outside. Oranges, bananas and avocados line the sides of the streets. My eyebrow goes up as I walk past. It is too cold for fruit outside. Car horns honk as I run across the street on a yellow light. I fiddle with the lock. It takes a couple of minutes for me to unlock the door and I burst in. I feel my fingers once more. 


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4 Tier Chocolate Cake with Fleur de Sel Caramel Filling

This is the perfect cake for special occasion. I made this cake for my brother's birthday. I've also been seeing a lot of the caramel-fleur de sel combination a lot these days different desserts: from cookies to cupcakes. It's the new baking trend for 2012 apparently. 

If you want to try out this cake just remember that the caramel filling and the chocolate ganache must be made a day before the cake because it must chill in the fridge overnight so plan ahead!!

Ingredients:

Caramel Filling

1 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Large pinch of fine fleur de sel* plus additional for assembly

Chocolate Ganache

• 1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 
  

Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee
• 1 1/4 cups almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped
• 
  

Preparation:

CARAMEL FILLING

• Stir sugar, 1/4 cup water, and corn syrup in deep medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; Bring to boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber, occasionally brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Whisk in butter, then crème fraîche or sour cream, lemon juice, and pinch of fleur de sel. Cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.
  
  

CHOCOLATE GANACHE 

• Place chocolate in large bowl. Bring cream to simmer in medium saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; let soften 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate is smooth. Cool, then cover and chill overnight. DO AHEAD Ganache can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled. Bring to room temperature before using.
  
  

BAKE CAKE

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. 
• Sift sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. Add milk, eggs, and melted butter. Using electric mixer, beat at low speed for about 2 min. 
  Stir 1 cup hot water and espresso powder in small bowl to dissolve. Add to batter; beat until blended (batter will be thin). Divide batter between pans.
• Bake cakes about 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Cut around cakes; turn out onto racks and cool completely.
  
  
  ASSEMBLE CAKE
  
  
• Using long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. 
  Place 1 layer on platter; spread with 1/2 cup room-temperature ganache. Spoon 3/4 cup ganache into pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch plain round tip. Pipe ring of ganache around edge of layer. Spread 1/4 cup room-temperature caramel filling evenly inside ring. Sprinkle caramel with large pinch of fleur de sel, then 1 tablespoon almonds. 
  Top with second cake layer, ganache, ganache ring, caramel filling, fleur de sel, and almonds. 
  Repeat with third cake layer. 
  Top with fourth cake layer, cut side down. Spread remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Press remaining almonds onto sides. 
  Cover with cake dome and chill. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Aren't Thumbs the Best?

Here's a family favorite cookie (especially for the kids) and so easy to make! They also taste scrumptious. If you like mint chocolate, this is going to be a favorite of yours! 

Chocolate-Peppermint Thumbprints:

Ingredients:

For the Cookie:

1 cup + 2-1/2 tbsp flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1-1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

For filling:

4 oz (3/4 cup) chopped semi-sweet chocolate

3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract (Although, I added more. Just taste and drop, taste drop)

Make Cookies:

Sift the flour and cocoa together into a medium bowl. 

Mix cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 

Add the vanilla and salt; continue beating until blended and smooth, about 1 minute more. 

Add the flour-cocoa mixture and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms, about 1 minute. 

Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm enough to roll into balls, 40 to 60 minutes.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. 

Using your palms, roll heaping teaspoonfuls of the dough into 1-inch balls. Arrange them 2 inches apart on the lined sheets. With a lightly floured thumb or index fingertip, press straight down into the middle of each ball almost to the cookie sheet to make a deep well. (Or use the end of a thick-handled wooden spoon.)

Bake one sheet at a time until the tops of the cookies look dry, 8 to 9 minutes. Gently redefine the indentations with the end of a wooden spoon. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes and then let them cool completely on racks.

Make Filling:

Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set in a wide skillet of almost simmering water. Stir with a heatproof spatula until almost melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir until melted and smooth, about 30 seconds more. 

Stir in the mint extract. Let the filling cool, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and a bit warmer than room temperature, 30 to 40 minutes.

 Spoon the filling into a small pastry bag with a small plain tip. (Or use a small plastic bag and cut a tiny bit off a bottom corner of the bag.) Pipe the filling into the center of each cookie. Cool completely before serving or storing. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 to 5 days.

Holiday Baking (Part 3)

The final part of my Holiday Baking trilogy!


Christmas Yule Log with Meringue Mushrooms!
Serves 20


The Meringue Mushrooms were made from this swiss meringue recipe:

Ingredients:


4 egg whites
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp of cocoa powder
3 oz melted semi-sweet chocolate
1 oz melted white chocolate (optional)

Fill saucepan with 2 inches of water; bring to a simmer. Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Combine, using a hand-held wire whisk. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water; continue to whisk.

Whisk constantly until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture feels hot to the touch. Add Vanilla and transfer the bowl to mixer and whip, using the whisk attachment, on high speed until whites are glossy and stand in stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted, about 3 minutes. Then add the cocoa powder and fold in with a spatula.

Then just pipe the meringue into the mushroom stems and the mushroom tops. Like this: 

Bake for 2 hours on a preheated oven 225 degrees F.

Let the mushrooms cool and spread the melted chocolate on the bottoms of the tops. Use that to glue the stem and tops together. Chill the mushrooms so the chocolate hardens and you're done!

Red Velvet Cake:

Ingredients:

 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

6 tbsp cocoa powder

½ tsp baking soda

8 eggs

4 egg yolks

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup canola oil

50 ml red food colorring

4 tsp white vinagre

Place rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and butter.

In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and egg yolks and sugar with electric mixer until the mixture whitens and triples in volume or (10 to 15 minutes). While mixing at medium speed, add oil, red dye and vinegar.

Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture gently and incorporating. Spread on cookie cheets and spread evenly. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Invert cakes onto a parchment paper. Cover with a clean cloth and cool completely. 

To assemble the log, place the cakes on parchment paper next to one another and fill each with Caramel Cream (Recipe Below). Then roll the cakes as if its one long sheet. Then wrap the log in a clean dish towel and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Once the log has chilled, cut it diagonally to create branches.

Frost with Italian Meringue (Recipe also Below).












Add the Mushrooms and you have a fabulous Buche de Noel!

Caramel Cream:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of coarse salt

Prepare an ice-water bath. Heat sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until mixture boils and sugar dissolves, washing down sides of pan often with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until sugar turns dark amber, 5 to 7 minutes more. Immediately remove from heat, and carefully whisk in 1 cup cream. Return to medium heat, and cook until sugar melts completely and mixture boils.

Remove from heat, and pour into a bowl set in ice-water bath. Let caramel cool, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Stir in creme fraiche (or sour cream), vanilla, and salt. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.

Just before using, beat remaining 1 cup cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into caramel sauce, using a rubber spatula, until incorporated. Whisk to thicken, about 1 minute.

Italian Meringue:

Ingredients:

¼ cup water

1 ½ cup cugar

½ cup light corn syrup

6 egg whites

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites with electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, bring water, sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Boil until a candy thermometer reads 235 ° F Remove from heat.

Gradually add boiling syrup to egg whites, whisking. (The whites will swell and a little steam will emerge when you add the hot sugar). Continue to whisk for 10 to 15 minutes, until stiff peaks form.

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