I consider myself a fairly generous person, especially when it comes to baking. I love to share.

Except for Nutella. Don’t touch my Nutella.

Seriously.

I will threaten anyone, even those I love dearly, with infinite pain if I catch them even eyeing my Nutella supply.

Generally, an early warning system kicks in whereby I will give the person-in-question/potential victim the chance to escape in one piece.

“Step away from the Nutella!”

Should that warning go unheeded, I am not to be held responsible for the outcome, regardless of how ugly.

This deep devotion to Nutella extends beyond my complete unwillingness to share it with anyone. My love also manifests itself in the desire to mark World Nutella Day.

As far as I’m concerned it ranks almost right up there with Christmas.

For those of you that don’t know, February 5th marks the day that Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy, Michelle from Bleeding Espresso and Shelley from At Home in Rome have annointed as the day to celebrate the most glorious of chocolate spreads.

I went Nutella-crazy this year because I’m already going through a fairly stressful period at work. And everyone knows the best cure for stress is lots of Nutella. I made a Nutella Ripple Cheesecake that I covered in ridiculous amounts of Nutella and crushed hazelnuts so as to add some nutritional value.

See. I’m as health conscious as the next person.

I used a past Daring Baker’s challenge as the base recipe for my cheesecake. With a few adjustments and lots of Nutella and frangelico, I think I did a valiant job in paying homage to one of the best days of the year.

Happy Nutella Day! Just remember, stay away from my Nutella!

Ciao!

For details on how to participate in World Nutella Day, click here.

Nutella Ripple Cheesecake
Based on Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake.

Note: You’ll need a 9-inch cheesecake pan for this recipe. You’ll also need some heavy duty aluminum foil to wrap the pan in. Because the cheesecake is baked in a water bath, you don’t want any of the water to seep into the bottom of your cheesecake. Wrapping the pan in foil prevents that. You will also need a larger pan that you can fit the cheesecake pan into for the water bath.

For the Crust:
2 cups chocolate crumbs (you can use Oreo crumbs or chocolate wafer crumbs)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. sugar

For the Filling:
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
3 tbsps. Frangelico
1/2 cup Nutella (the Nutella has to be fairly liquidy so I recommend warming it in a double boiler so you can drizzle it easily)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a kettle full of water to boil for the water bath.

2. Combine all the crust ingredients and pour into your cheesecake pan. Press the crumbs firmly so that they cover the entire bottom of the pan (no need to push crumbs up the side of the pan).

3. In a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. There should be no cream cheese lumps.

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

5. Add the vanilla extract, the heavy cream and the Frangelico and mix until smooth. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

6. Pour half the cheesecake batter over the prepared crust. Drizzle the Nutella over the batter and then top with the remaining cheesecake batter. Fit the pan into a larger pan and pour in the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Be careful not to spill any water in your cheesecake.

7. Carefully transfer the cheesecake to the oven. Bake for at least 45 minutes. The cheesecake should be set around the edges but still fairly wobbly in the middle. If not, continue baking for another 5 minutes and check again.

8. When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake in there for an hour to set up.

9. After an hour, remove the cheesecake from the water bath and discard the foil. Place the cheesecake on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

10. Once the cheesecake is cool, place in the refrigerator until it is very cold (at least 6 hours). If you can leave it in overnight, that’s even better.

I am a four-season child.

By that I mean I have to live somewhere that has four distinct seasons. I can appreciate the allure of a place that is sunny and warm all year long, perhaps I might even visit said place for some rest or relaxation, but to live there permanently?

Don’t think so.

Spring is pretty. I love watching as nature wakes itself up from its long sleep, but after a few weeks I become impatient for the summer heat that means our garden’s bounty will soon be ready.

And while I love eating the fruits of that garden, in the midst of Toronto’s hazy, humid summer heat, I need to know that soon the trees will explode in colour and that I will wake up every morning to a crystal blanket of frost on our lawn.

And when the beauty of Autumn turns into the incessant rainy weather of November, I need to know that the bone-chilling cold, wake-you-up-no-matter-what, freeze-your-toes cold is around the corner. You may not like the winter but I would argue that there is very little as beautiful in life as stepping out your front door on a frigid winter morning with snow everywhere, a blue sky and brilliant sun. That’s a breathtaking sight.

The best part of that cold is the knowledge that you can seek warmth at any moment. You can run inside, kick off your boots, and curl up under your favourite blankie with a cup of hot chocolate.

Or, in my case, you can bake a cake.

In the middle of winter, I bake cakes.

Not just because I love to eat them, but also because I love to imagine crawling into them.

While it is shockingly cold outside, I can imagine myself crawling into a layer of the most beautiful, warm thing in the world made of butter and sugar and flour and spices.

And I would just nestle there, in my sweet, sweet bed, and be perfectly happy.

My companion in this lovely dream has been Lauren Chattman’s spectacular Cake Keeper Cakes: 100 Simple Recipes for Extraordinary Bundt Cakes, Pound Cakes, Snacking Cakes and Other Good-To-The-Last-Crumb Treats. Proof that beautiful things do come in small packages, this precious little book is filled with recipes for cakes that make you ask yourself, “Why don’t I bake more often?”

Simple cakes. Pleasing cakes. Cakes for people who are bakers at heart. Cakes that come together in the blink of an eye. Cakes that make you happy. Cakes you can put in a cake keeper (if you have one).

You may already be familiar with this book as it was featured in the October 2009 Food & Wine issue which highlighted the Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake. (I blogged about it here.)

I feel so lucky to have been given the chance to have this book and to write about it. Take my word for it. You’ll love it.

Everyone else may dream of heading south this cold winter, but not me. I’m dreaming of being wrapped in warm, puffy, just-baked cake.

How delicious.

Ciao!

Note: Besides the fabulous Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake, I tried the World’s Quickest Yeasted Coffee Cake on p. 39 (pictured above). Heaven!

I’ve missed Magazine Mondays the past few weeks for various reasons, but I wanted to make sure that I got this one in because I have a lot of MM posts to share with you. It seems everyone is really getting into the MM spirit.

I find that during holiday season, everyone is always looking for that perfect “special” dessert or sweet recipe to impress people. I love trying recipes at this time of year that I wouldn’t make normally.

In that spirit, allow me to introduce you to the Rich Chocolate and Chestnut Torte (Torta Morbida di Castagne e Cioccolato) from the December 2008 issue of La Cucina Italiana.

Please don’t be put off by the awful picture above. I was trying to shoot a decent pic in very low light with my very old point-and-shoot. Not the best results.

Please take my word for it. This is one of the very best cakes I’ve ever made.

It’s an almost flourless chocolate cake that is both dense and almost-creamy in consistency. It’s a very simple cake (very few ingredients), but it’s elevated to another level with the addition of chestnuts that have been steeped in a sugar-vanilla syrup. It’s like instantly, the cake is transformed into something even more beautiful than just a delicious chocolate cake.

If you really want to dazzle, try using chestnut flour in the cake instead of all-purpose flour. The results may have you eating the cake all by yourself.

Yes. It’s possible.

There’s still plenty of time before the holiday season to make this cake so I really hope you give it a try!

As usual, I’m joined by lots of wonderful people who have looked at their magazine pile and decided to tame it:

Deb of Taste of Sweet made succulent Spiced Rubbed Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Wedges and Green Beans from Cooking Light.

Margaret of Tea and Scones has gotten into the holiday spirit with a Cranberry Eggnog Braid from a 1990 issue of Taste of Home magazine.

Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor made Chicken Parmesan from a 2006 issue of Reader’s Digest.

Janie of Panini Girl made a luscious Pork Shoulder Roast with Figs, Garlic and Pinot Noir from the December 2009 issue of Sunset.

My very sweet Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction made Doughnut Muffins and Chocolate Layer Cake from Fine Cooking.

Poppyseed of Poppyseeds and Tiger Lilies made clotted cream; fresh ricotta cheese; Ricotta, Pancetta and Pumpkin Bake all from Issue 35 of Donna Hay magazine.

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made seriously yummy Two-Tone Chocolate ShortBread from a magazine insert in an issue of … you guessed it … Canadian Living!

Remember, the most important rule of Magazine Mondays is that there is no rule. If you ever post a magazine recipe (doesn’t matter what day of the week), send me the link.

Have a great rest of the week, everyone!

Ciao!

On the second day of the 12 Days of Cookbooks, I give you Baking for All Occasions.

December 27, 2008.

That’s the day that I purchased Flo Braker’s brilliant baking book.

I pretty much worship at the altar of Flo Braker, who is a stunningly accomplished baker, teacher and food author.

This book was published in 2008 and I’ve owned it for almost a year, but I only started baking from it about a month or so ago.

If there is a baker in your life that you know and love, then be nice and go buy a copy of this book and put it under the tree for him or her.

Stunning, all the way around, this is what I call a serious baking book in that it starts by giving the reader a strong foundation in baking and then builds on the foundation with block after block of worthwhile recipes.

The Baking Primer is full of important information and tips. As I tell all budding bakers, read the section because the author has put it there for a reason.

The Baking Primer is followed by dazzling recipes that range from timeless classics to more modern renditions of what sweet teeth want to eat.

I love it from cover to cover.

Some of the recipes can be time-consuming, but as I mentioned above, this is a book for people who love to bake. The instructions are detailed, but never confusing. I think my favourite part is the names of the recipes like “Be My Valentine” Heartwiches or Sunshine Orange Semifreddo.

Love.

I’ve made a couple of recipes recently, both of which were winners in every sense. For starters, I made the Eggnog Pound Cake with Crystal Rum Glaze.

I wish I could actually tell you that I tasted it myself but I did not. Before I could barely finish taking the lid off the cake container it was completely gone.

Every. Single. Crumb.

Judging by the smiles from all those that ate it, I’m guessing it was pretty good. The cake uses store-bought eggnog so it’s definitely an opportunity to splurge on some really top-notch eggnog, but evidently it’s also well worth it.

The other recipe I tried was Peanut Butter Crunch Cake, Squared.

Now this one I actually managed to eat and my goodness it was perfect. The cake base is a buttermilk cake that is just divine. The cake is layered with the most delicous peanut butter and white chocolate ganache and the whole creation is topped with my new favourite thing in the world: peanut butter crunch made with salted peanuts and sesame seeds.

Hands down, this is a tremendous cookbook and I consider myself lucky to own it. Thank you, Flo Braker.

Now go make the baker in your life happy and give him or her this book for Christmas!

Ciao!

I believe birthday cake is most important.

I would go so far as to say that choosing a birthday cake is one of the most important decisions you can make. For me, the choice of a birthday cake is the establishment of a theme, a mood, a rhythm for your birthday.

I start auditioning cakes well in advance of my birthday. Sometimes I don’t go for cakes at all. Sometimes I bake the cake myself. Many times Mamma Cream Puff bakes it for me.

This year, I wanted something spicy and yet familiar. What I got was a warm cake filled with love. I got a cake that was part Canada and part Italy (thanks to the chestnut flour). It was a simple, beautiful, deeply touching cake. It’s exactly what I wanted.

When someone asks me to bake a cake for their birthday, I take this request very seriously because just as I want to set the tone for my birthday, I want to make sure that I bake the right cake for the right person.

Think what you want.

But I firmly believe that there’s a right moment in time very every cake. Or cookie. Or pie. And you should bake what’s right when it’s right.

Last week, I was asked by a coworker if I would bake a cake to the celebrate the 50th birthday of another coworker.

Of course I would!

And then I promptly went home and spent an entire evening looking at cakes. I covered the couch from end to end with baking books. I had stacks of cake books on the floor and I even brought one or two to bed with me.

Some cakes seemed sort of right. Some were completely wrong. But I knew that the right cake would reveal itself and it did: Tiramisu’ Cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne.

The woman celebrating her special day is someone I’ve gotten to know fairly well over the past few years. She told me once about how she grew up baking and cooking and how much she wished she had the time to pursue those activities as much as she did when she was younger. She also told me about how as a student, she’d spent time in Italy, which she looks back upon so fondly.

Knowing how much she loved her time in Italy and what an impression it left on her, when I saw the recipe for this cake, it just popped right out at me and said, “I’m it. Bake me.”

So I made three layers of genoise and I bathed them in espresso-rum syrup. I made a zabaglione cream that I had to literally force myself not to eat. I soaked cake layers, piled on cream, stacked other layers and piled on more cream. Then I showered it all in ground chocolate and built a beautiful crown of chocolate curls.

And because every cake you bake is an opportunity, I took this opportunity to learn how to wrap a cake in ribbon.

It was a lovely cake not just because it tasted good (sorry, no pics of the sliced cake) but mostly because it was right.

If there is a religion of baking, then I like to think that a birthday cake is like a blessing of sorts.

It’s a wish.

Make it count.

Ciao!

Today is the day that I count birthday candles. Although I must say counting the candles isn’t quite what it used to be…

I prefer to count my blessings. I have a beautiful family, some truly amazing friends, my blog and all of you!

While every year presents both its challenges and its opportunities, I’m always secure in the knowledge that there’s a lot of love and strength and laughter around me. Where would we be without the humour in life?!

And luckily, thankfully, blessedly, there’s always lots of baking.

Mamma Cream Puff made me an early birthday present this year with this lovely Chestnut Spice Cake with Mascarpone Cream from Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchenby Gina De Palma. She used chestnut flour that we bought while we were in Italy this past summer. And while the mascarpone cream is not pictured here, I can assure you I will be coated in it at some point later tonight.

I can’t have a piece yet because the cake is for after my birthday dinner (I’m having cannelloni!!!), but until then, thanks to everyone I love for making this a good year!

Ciao!

I love Cath of A Blithe Palate for many, many reasons, not the least of which being that every now and then, unto my life, she will bring joy in the form of a cookbook.

That’s what I call a fabulous virtual friend. Were I ever to meet her in person, I just might smother her with hugs. (Be forewarned, Cath. Be forewarned.)

Late in July, she contacted me to let me know that she, Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness (I’ll say!) and the fabulous folks at Cook the Books would be hosting another edition of The Edible Word, an event that celebrates delicious cookbooks.

The selection for this edition is a book called Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman’s Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Bakerby Gesine Bullock-Prado.

Now if there something about that name that seems slightly familiar, it should. The Bullock part is Bullock as in Sandra Bullock. As it turns out, her younger sister Gesine, a lawyer and Hollywood executive, nursed a secret passion for baking until one day, tired of her L.A. life, she decides it’s time to downsize in the truest sense of the word. She downsizes all the way to Vermont where she opens her own bakery.

I know. You think you’ve heard it all before. Sounds like the script for a Hollywood movie starring some starlet who hasn’t eaten in 11 years much less baked.

People, trust the Cream Puff.

This is a good book. It’s a good book because Ms. Bullock-Prado is honest, often brutally so. She doesn’t sugarcoat (pardon the pun) her old life, or her new one for that matter. She offers full disclosure when it comes to the rigours of operating your own bakery, and believe me there are rigours.

Yes, there is the pleasure of being your own boss. Yes, there is the pleasure of spending ridiculous hours doing something you love.

But it’s still damn hard.

Ms. Bullock-Prado is honest, funny and real, as in sometimes, her cakes come out lopsided too.

And the recipes, tucked in between each chapter like chocolate tucked into a croissant, are delicous to read so imagine how they taste.

I don’t have to imagine because I made two of them: Espresso Cheesecake and Apple Pie (made with a puff pastry crust).

Verdict: Even more delicious than Alexander Skarsgard.

When Cath explained the goal of this event, she indicated that we should talk about how the book inspired us.

I will be very blunt: this book just makes you wonder. Can I do it, too? Can I give up the fear and the worry and “buts” and “what ifs” and just go out there and do what I really really want to do?

Yes, I can. Yes, we all can!

Ciao!

I’m a bit late posting my piece for this event. You can read the round-ups on Cath’s blog here, here and here.

You can also read a review of the book at The Daring Kitchen.

Hello, blog! Hello, food world! I’ve missed you ever so much!

I had a spectacular vacation in Italy but now I am ready to get back to baking, blogging and all my cookbooks (it seems someone has come into my house and brought more cookbooks for me to look at … I hate it when that happens!).

Before I get into my first Magazine Mondays post in awhile, I’d like to thank Wandering Coyote of ReTorte who very graciously hosted MM for me for the past month. She’s a trooper!

I have loads of bookmarked magazine recipes to try and many of them are years old so it may seem a bit unfair that this week’s offering is a brand spanking new recipe from the October 2009 issue of Food & Wine. But sometimes, jumping the queue is acceptable and in this case it’s more than acceptable. I introduce you to the Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake. The recipe, while featured in the magazine, is actually from a book called Cake Keeper Cakes: 100 Simple Recipes for Extraordinary Bundt Cakes, Pound Cakes, Snacking Cakes and Other Good-To-The-Last-Crumb Treatsby Lauren Chattman.

People, I beg you, go buy a jar of Nutella and make this cake.

It’s a pound cake with Nutella layers and it’s … like … the best cake ever. Like. For real.

In the last week I’ve made it about five times and each time the cake disappears faster than I can slice it.

Go. Bake. This. Cake.

This week, the following dedicated MMers have reduced their magazine piles:

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made a Chocolate Walnut Tart from Tase of Home.

Margaret of Tea and Scones made Chicken Marsala from Woman’s World Magazine.

Remember, if you post a magazine recipe just send me an e-mail (creampuffsinvenice{@}gmail{dot}com) and I’ll link to it in my next MM post.

Have a wonderful Nutella-filled week, everyone!

Ciao!

I once wrote an ode to coconut on my blog because what’s not to love about coconut.

Unbelievably, for every person that I know who loves coconut, I know one more that hates it.

I don’t get it. How can you not love coconut?

I have a theory that much of the coconut-dislike relates to the dried or dessicated forms of coconut that you find in the baking section in most supermarkets. Sweetened shredded for sweetened flaked coconut can be a bit much, especially if it’s of poor quality.

I, however, have no such issues. I will eat coconut in pretty much any form in both sweet and savoury dishes.

When I saw the recipe for Vanilla-Bean Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting in the April 2009 issue of Bon Appétit, I was particularly intrigued because the recipe calls for reduced coconut milk, which is coconut milk that is cooked down until it’s thickened.

First of all, reduced coconut milk is now my new favourite thing. Secondly, the reduced coconut milk gives these cupcakes both a moistness and an extra boost of coconut flavour. I cannot recommend them highly enough!

As you know, this is my Magazine Mondays post. I don’t always go into the details but basically if you’ve posted a recipe on your blog from a magazine, send the link to me and I’ll include it in my next Magazine Mondays post.

This week I’m joined by Tamy of 3 Sides of Crazy who made Pineapple Cider Brine Pork Chops with Root Beer Pineapple Barbecue Sauce, Broccoli Green Almond Sauté and Strawblackberry Shortcake Topping.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

A few months ago, I shared with you the fact that when I want to order a special a cake (and don’t feel like baking it myself), I turn to Rahier Pâtisserie, Toronto’s premiere pastry shop (in my opinion).

Well I had to share another example of the shop’s brilliance with the Gâteau St. Honoré you see pictured above. You have to special order the gâteau (call at least 48 hours in advance) and if ordering it in the summer, the trip home can be a bit dicey depending on how hot it is in your car (you may notice a bit of melted caramel off to the side), but despite all of that I cannot stress enough how worth it this dessert is.

We always have a Canada Day barbecue for the family at our house. It’s been a particularly busy time for me and because of the late arrival of summer in these parts, we’re still not seeing an abundance of local fresh fruit. On a whim, I decided to order a cake and because of a conversation with a good friend of mine, I had Gâteau St. Honoré on my mind.

If you’re ever in Toronto I urge you stop by Rahier for a coffee and a pastry (the pâtisserie is in a cute neighbourhood with lots of nice shops) and if you are a Toronto resident, I urge you to visit the shop and try their goods.

You will not be disappointed.

Cream Puff’s honour!

Ciao!

In May 2007, the Daring Bakers made Gâteau St. Honoré. Ah, the good ol’ days!

I had the opportunity to speak to someone recently about the pleasure of blogging and as I explained, one of the greatest pleasures are the friendships.

Early on in my blogging career, I met Jasmine and consider myself blessed to know her.

In May, she contacted me asking if I’d do her a favour by baking some cupcakes for one of her coworkers. Naturally I said yes and the photo above is the result.

I love baking for people like Jasmine because she is adventurous, whimsical and trusting. When I asked her what sort of cupcake she was looking for her answer was, surprise me.

I love that. I love it because there are so many baking choices out there beyond chocolate and vanilla (not that there’s anything wrong with chocolate and vanilla, mind you). But I also love it because as a baker, it’s your time to shine and try new things.

So I went to the groaning, creaking bookshelf that holds all my cookbooks and flipped through a variety of books before I settled on a recipe for Rose Water and Raspberry Cupcakes. I’ve mentioned this a few times but rose water is THE ingredient of 2009 for me. I’m using it in everything and loving it.

These particular cupcakes were a pleasure for me. They’re what I would call a very “adult” cupcake. Not overtly sweet, the crumb of the cupcake is tender and subtle and the ganache adds just enough sweetness. The rose water and raspberry give the cupcake a very elegant edge.

The nice thing about this sort of baking work is that the pleasure is always all mine.

Ciao!

The recipe for these cupcakes is from the book Cupcakes: Luscious Bakeshop Favorites From Your Home Kitchen by Shelly Kaldunski.

In early May, a coworker asked me if I’d be willing to make a birthday cake for her sweet, little daughter, who would be turning nine.

Of course I said yes.

I was particularly excited by this request because my coworker wanted a tiered cake. This represented a new baking frontier for me because I have never made a tiered cake before.

Initially I was a bit nervous because having not had any experience with tiered cakes, I was worried that if my coworker wanted something elaborate or complicated, that I wouldn’t be up to the task.

Thankfully, she wanted a three-tier cake comprised of one chocolate layer and two vanilla layers. She didn’t want any fillings in the cake nor did she want it to be elaborately decorated. Instead, she wanted something pretty but simple that would be appropriate for a little girl’s birthday party.

This calmed me somewhat and thanks to her confidence in me, I felt that I was up to the challenge.

For the cake layers, I used my trusty favourite chocolate cake recipe from The Cake Book and for the vanilla cake layers I used my trusty favourite vanilla cake recipe from More From Magnolia: Recipes from the World Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey’s Home Kitchen.

For the buttercream, however, I decided to finally try a recipe that I’d bookmarked from an issue of Gourmet magazine.

I’ve actually written about the particular cake in that article before. Last year, when I was hired to make a nut-free cake, I used the cake from the Gourmet article as visual inspiration. This time around, I thought I’d give the Vanilla Buttercream recipe from that article a try, as it seemed straightforward. Also, I needed a recipe that I could easily double and I felt comfortable doing so with the Gourmet recipe.

I have to say that May has been a great month in terms of my Magazine Mondays choices. I made some incredible cookies and some beautiful halibut and this week, on the last Monday in May, I’m happy to share my experience with what I now consider to be the best Vanilla Buttercream recipe that I’ve ever tried.

It was incredible! The buttercream is a perfect balance between that lovely butter taste and that lovely vanilla taste. Texture-wise, it was easily spread and looked very pretty on the finished cake. I had no troubles with the recipe as the instructions were clear and easily followed. The only difficulty I experienced was the constant struggle with my desire to stick my entire head in the mixing bowl and just eat the icing up.

I’m happy to share the recipe with you with the highest of recommendations.

I know that you’re supposed to be modest in life, that’s what Mamma and Papa Cream Puff always taught me, but I have to say that I was very proud of myself upon completion of this cake.

I don’t think a tiny bit of immodesty will hurt in this case.

Here’s a photo journal of my tiered cake adventure:

I applied crumb coats to each cake layer (a thin layer of icing that goes on the cake before a second, thicker layer is applied). Here’s the crumb coat on the chocolate layer.

When I unmolded my final cake layer from the baking pan, look what happened!

But I did not panic. All problems can be fixed. With some creative icing technique, I covered up the missing cake piece and you couldn’t even tell.

I made royal icing flowers in pink to decorate the bottom and top layers of the cake. Here I’m applying them to the bottom layer.

To add visual appeal to the cake, I covered the second layer in tiny pink buttercream polka dots.

Getting the third layer on was a bit tricky, but I was patient and it worked.

Here’s a view of the finished cake from the top.

In the end, the tiered cake was very successful. It served 40 people and it didn’t topple over or fall apart (although I did not experience the ordeal of transporting it as my coworker came and picked it up). While I can’t say that I’d want to make a lot of tiered cakes, it’s nice to get this first one under my belt.

As always, on a Magazine Monday, I have some links to share with you. Here are some other food bloggers who went toe to to with their magazine piles and won:

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made Spicy Molasses Cookies from Canadian Living Magazine.

Mandi of Red Dirt Mummy made Zucchini and Rosemary Bread from Australian Table.

Joy of the Cooking of Joy made Sage and Apricot Shortbread Cookies from Better Homes and Gardens and Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream from Gourmet.

Emiglia of Tomato Kumato made Panko Pork Cutlets with Pineapple and Ginger Salsa from Bon Appétit.

Tamy of 3 Sides of Crazy made Pickled Eggs.

Biz from Bigges Diabetic Loser made Farro Saltato con Capesante, Gamberetti e Salsa di Zafferano from La Cucina.

Kyle from Thin Crust, Deep Dish made Fennel, Sunchoke and Apple Salad from Saveur.

Remember, if you have a magazine recipe that you’ve tried, send the link to me and I’ll post it in my next Magazine Mondays post.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Do you know Meeta?

I bet you do. If you don’t, you must meet her here and now! Allow me to make the introductions.

Meeta is the gentle force behind What’s for Lunch Honey? and The Daily Tiffin.

She is a warm, passionate and lovely person, and I’m happy to consider her a friend, even though I’ve never actually met her in person.

I came close to meeting her, mind you. In 2006, when I was in Berlin, Germany, we almost managed to meet up but sadly that didn’t happen. I wasn’t too upset, though, because I know that one day, we will meet (right, Meeta?!)!

Meeta hosts a monthly event called the Monthly Mingle. For May 2009, the theme was Spring Cakes. I’ve never participated in one of Meeta’s Monthly Mingles, but have wanted to so many times, so I decided this would be the perfect opportunity.

Early in May, a coworker asked me to take on a baking project for her and I wanted to practice some decorating techniques so I thought that Meeta’s event would be a wonderful chance to do this.

Naturally, I missed the May 13 deadline.

But as they say, better late than never.

I’d really been wanting to try the recipe for Buttermilk Cake (p. 40) from Flo Braker’s The Simple Art of Perfect Baking. I’m always looking for a great base cake to use in layer cakes and I thought I’d give this one a try.

To fill the cake layers, I had some lemon curd leftover from my Triple-Layer Lemon Cake so I mixed that with some freshly whipped cream. For the bottom layer of the cake, I added sliced strawberries.

Having filled my cake, I decided to try the Classic Buttercream recipe (pp. 263-264) from Braker’s book, but this met with less success than the cake.

I’ve made buttercream many times over the last few years and have become comfortable with adding hot sugar syrup to beaten egg yolks or egg whites. In this recipe, however, the hot syrup is poured into the centre of the beaten eggs (the machine is not running) and then you’re required to whisk quickly to incorporate the ingredients while preventing the eggs from being cooked.

I didn’t have a lot of luck with this. While my eggs didn’t quite cook, I found that the finished buttercream did have this unpleasant cooked egg taste to it. People who tried it said the buttercream was okay, but I didn’t like it at all. The buttercream also didn’t have the same smooth texture that other buttercreams that I’ve made have had. While the Buttermilk Cake was delicious, I wasn’t as thrilled with the Classic Buttercream recipe.

I soldiered on, though, and decided to really use the opportunity to experiment in terms of colours and also to continue to practice my decorating skills (I use the term skills very loosely).

I overdid it a bit with the colours. The cake ended up looking a bit garish for my tastes, but I think in its own way it had some springtime charm. More like springtime on the grounds of an abandoned English estate … not quite the effect I was going for but not bad. Most importantly, I got to put in some much-needed baking and decorating time, which always makes me happy!

Just like Meeta always makes me happy.

Meeta, I’m sorry the cake is late, but here it is. Should we ever meet in person, I guarantee I will give you something much more fitting!

Ciao!

I recently tried two desserts that I’d previously made for a second time and I wanted to blog about it, because they were both, if possible, even better the second time around.

The first dessert in quesion is Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake, which was the April 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge. I made the cheesecake but didn’t get to try it because I gifted it to some coworkers that helped me through a particularly busy period at work. After reading about how everyone loved the cheesecake, and loving it myself, I decided to try it again so that I could taste it.

In one word, this cheesecake is sublime.

It really and truly is the best cheesecake I have ever made. I followed the recipe without making any alterations (recipe below), and I made a very quick strawberry sauce using fresh strawberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and water.

I am not ashamed to say that I ate 97.6 per cent of the cheesecake on my own. The other 2.4 per cent is unaccounted for.

I suspect Mama Cream Puff.

The second dessert that I recently tried again is the Triple-Layer Lemon Cake that I made for my Zia Don’s 50th birthday late last year. When I made it for the birthday party, I had to increase the cake size and make other variations to the recipe so that it would feed a much larger group of people. This time around I made the cake as per the recipe and it was just delicious. The recipe is from Issue #63 of Fine Cooking, unfortunately, it’s no longer available free on the Fine Cooking site. However, you can sign up for a free trial and print a copy of the recipe.

I sometimes find that recipes don’t stand up to second and third attempts. In this case, these are two recipes that will likely stand up to the test of time.

Ciao!

Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake

For the crust:

2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the cheesecake:

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker’s choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil “casserole” shaped pans from the grocery store. They’re 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

What is it about cheesecake that is so enthralling? Is it the creamy texture? The fascinating base? The endless ways to top it?

I don’t know. I just know it’s good.

And yet, even though it’s one of my most favourite desserts, I hardly ever make it.

Perhaps that’s because I can very easily eat an entire cheesecake myself. Oh, yes.

Been there. Done that. Have the t-shirt. (Speaking of t-shirts … have you bought your DK t-shirts yet???)

But I’m always happy to try a new recipe for cheesecake so I was pleased to see that Jenny of Jenny Bakes, our lovely hostess for the April 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge, chose a cheesecake recipe as this month’s test.

While the recipe itself is straightforward, the challenge for Daring Bakers was to find new and interesting ways to interpret and flavour the cheesecake.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t have a lot of time to execute some of the more fanciful ideas that came to mind (let’s just say one involved silicone and cherry blossoms). Thankfully a lack of time and some timely prudence both conspired to prevent such plans.

In the end, I made your standard nine-inch cheesecake but I challenged myself by trying some flavours in a cheesecake that I’d never tried before.

For starters, I flavoured both the crust and the cheesecake with a healthy dose of rose water, which I have come to love.

Secondly, I added the flavour of Meyer lemons. While I know what Meyer lemons are, I’d never actually tasted one before April of this year. I found them in a local supermarket and bought two sacs because I was so excited. So I used some of the Meyer lemon juice and zest in the cheesecake as well.

I then made candied lemon slices with more of the Meyer lemons and used that as a topping to the cheesecake, spooning the candied lemon juice over the top to add shine and some sweetness.

While I did not taste the cheesecake myself (I brought it to a group of people that I work with who were particularly helpful to me during a big project earlier this year), from what I understand it was a creamy, luscious cheesecake that disappeared very quickly. And it was a pretty cheesecake too.

I can’t wait for Ontario strawberries to come in. I’m going to be making this again topped with a fresh strawberry sauce.

And I will call it, Le Cheesecake.

Ciao!

For the cheesecake recipe, please visit Jenny’s blog.

I specifically waited until Saturday to put this post up because to me, Sunday is the king of brunch days.

Thanks to my dear friend Cath of A Blithe Palate and Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness, I’ve had the chance to review Gale Gand’s Brunch! as part of a cookbook spotlight that they’re co-hosting.

I’m lucky enough to own a copy of Gale’s book Chocolate and Vanilla (read the review I did here), which I love and have used many times.

I’m a big fan of Gale’s, although I’m not as familiar with her as I am with other cookbook authors. But most of the people that I know that are familiar with Gale, seem to enjoy the same things that I like about her books. To begin with, they’re very open. What I mean by that is that from the first page there’s a very clear sense that I can easily try each and every recipe in the book. And brunch, above all things, should be easy and straightforward. That’s why we call it brunch and not a formal dinner!

There’s also a lightness to her recipes that I enjoy. Do not fear. There’s butter aplenty (as there should be in all brunches). What I mean is that the recipes are imbued with a sense of starting your day off in a comforting, happy way … another important ingredient in a successful brunch!

At the end of the day (or should I say the beginning), it’s easy to imagine waking up on a Sunday morning and trying any one of the recipes in this book. As it turns out, I tried three, all of which were wonderful.

Because I’ve never met a buttermilk pancake recipe that I haven’t wanted to try, I tried the Buttermilk Pancakes and they were simple, quick and just delicious (pictured above).

And because I’ve never met a granola recipe that I haven’t wanted to try, I made the Cranberry-Almond Granola (with some macadamia nuts thrown in). Wonderful!

And finally, the Quick Pear Streusel Coffee Cake called to me because I had some pears that were languishing in the fruit basket. Now I should tell you that pears are not high on my list of favoured fruits but this quick and most cake actually made me like them. That’s good enough for me!

If you’re into brunch (and who isn’t), I cannot recommend this book more highly! I’m off to plan tomorrow’s brunch …

Ciao!

Happy Easter, my friends!

The cold and snow of earlier this week has passed and Toronto has now been embraced by the sun.

Finally.

On this day of new beginnings, I hope it’s a new beginning for all of you in so many ways. I hope it’s a beginning to a season of new ideas, lovely food, the best baking and many warm moments.

For me, Easter is always a beginning. For starters, soon I shall put away my socks and let my feet live freely in sandals (have I ever mentioned my hatred of socks … no? … a post for another day …). I’m also hopeful that it’s the beginning of some better baking. As you know from this post, I’ve been struggling of late, but it seems that with the Chocolate Coffee Dacquoise pictured here, things are beginning to get back on track. Mostly I’m hopeful, that it’s the beginning of many joyful days for all of us!

A new beginning. That sounds very nice.

Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua from Cream Puff and family to you!

Ciao!

I have lost my baking mojo.

I cannot believe it.

After two months of almost no baking thanks to a huge work project, I had every intention of diving right back into the deep end of the baking pool.

For several weeks now I’ve been sifting through my most treasured cookbooks imagining all the recipes I’d finally try. I have broken every I-won’t-buy-one-more-magazine vow that I’ve made and happily bookmarked recipe after recipe.

And all I have to show for it are these mini Cranberry Vanilla Coffeecakes that fell apart.

In an attempt to spark some excitement, I thought I’d bake them in mini bundt pans instead of one large pan. And when I overfilled the mini bundt pans, I ignored the baking voice that said, “You’re headed for trouble, Cream Puff.”

I never ignore the voice. But I did.

And then this happened.

I threw the whole lot in the garbage. I couldn’t even bear to look at them.

Where has my mojo gone?

Me sad.

Send help.

I’m back with a Magazine Mondays post!

For me, muffin recipes are a lot like banana bread or pancake recipes, I could try a thousand of them, constantly in search of the perfect one.

I have a general muffin recipe that I’m pretty happy with but I thought I’d give the chocolate chip muffin recipe that I found in a special issue of Fine Cooking a try. The Winter 2006 issue was one dedicated entirely to Chocolate. I bookmarked it awhile back and I happened to have a surplus of chocolate chips on hand so I baked up a batch. I looked for the recipe on-line but couldn’t find it so I’ve reproduced it here.

These are definitely mall chocolate chip muffins. They bake up huge with satisfyingly full tops. They were moist and very good, although if I made them again, I would omit the pecans (I like my chocolate chip muffins to be all about the chocolate chips). I’d also omit the glaze as I found it made the muffins too sweet. Overall, though, it was a good recipe and I’m glad I tried it.

I am so thrilled each week to see how many of you are tackling those magazine piles cluttering your homes. Job well done! Here are all the people that join me this week in conquering magazine piles everywhere:

Jen of the adorable Baking and Dogs brings us a very seasonal and timely recipe for Chocolate Cherry Hot Cross Buns.

Andreas of Delta Kitchen brings us some Rublikuchen, otherwise known as Carrot Cake. Otherwise known as yummy!

My Ottawa best friend Jenny, of All Things Edible, has promised to make breakfast for all of us and she’s serving Oatmeal-Raspberry Pancakes. I’ll bring the maple syrup!

For lunch we’re going to have the Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry that Jenny mde a few weeks ago and that I forgot to post … oopsie!

Tamy of 3 Sides of Crazy (love that name) brings us some Orange Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. I always have time for cookies! She also brings us some Carrots, Apricots and Baked Beets!

Christie and Ian of Coco Bean made a Smoked Salmon, Dill, Goat Cheese and Artichoke Quiche that has my mouth watering!

The warm Claudia of the sweet blog Cover Girls outdid herself (and all of us) with three magazine recipes: Lamb and Eggplant Shepherd’s Pie, Caramel Apple Crisp and Baked Brie with Sauteed Mushrooms.

Biz of the blog Biggest Diabetic Loser embraced Clean Eating magazine and made a delicious Mac N Cheese.

A regular contributor, Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies, brings the bundt cake back with a Cardamom Vanilla Bundt Cake with Lime Glaze.

Natashya, in a very timely move thanks to the Easter holiday, also made Lemon Current Hot Cross Buns.

Not only is Cathy’s blog, Noble Pig, noble, but so is Cathy. I. Love. Her. And I love the Roasted Salmon with a Lemon-Herb Matzo Crust that she made.

My sweet Janie from Panini Girl took a bite out of her magazine pile with two recipes this week: Chicken and Leek Pie and a gorgeous Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin.

Mandi of Red Dirt Mummy made a gorgeous Zucchini Cake … I can’t wait for zucchini to be in season again!

ReTorte of Wandering Coyote made Monte Cubano that I’d love to climb!

Claudia of Journey of an Italian Cook made Chicken with Penne and Rosemary. I’ll just go get my fork!

Saliha of the blog Hayat Binbercesni makes some adorable mini pizzas and banana pudding!

Last but not least, I got a lovely e-mail from a woman named Vicki B. who mentioned that she did not have a blog but she did have a huge magazine pile that she wanted to tackle. She asked if she could participate and I said of course. Vicki made a batch of Oatmeal Scones from the Cook’s Illustrated Holiday 2007 issue. Thanks, Vicki!

Thank you to everyone that took part in this week’s edition of Magazine Mondays! For more details on this non-event, just click the link in my sidebar. And remember, anytime you post a mgazine recipe, just let me know!

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Chocolate Chip Muffins
Winter 2006 issue of Fine Cooking dedicated to Chocolate.

Note: This recipe yields 12 large muffins. They freeze well as long as they’re wrapped in plastic. The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts but I omitted those here because I think the muffins are best without the nuts. While I included the recipe for the glaze, I recommend the muffins without it.

3-1/2 cups all purpose flour (use unbleached if you have it)
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips

For the glaze (optional):

3 cups icing sugar
6 tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and place a rack in the centre of the oven. Lightly oil the top of a 12-cup muffin tin or spray with cooking spray. Line with muffin cups (it’s best to use grease-proof ones if you can find them).

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a bowl, whisk together the butter, whole milk, sour cream, eggs, egg yolk and vanilla exctract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently combine using a rubber spatula. Mix only until the dry ingredients are moistened. Don’t overmix or your muffins will be too dense. Don’t worry if the batter seems lumpy or if there are still some flour streaks.

Add the chocolate chips and fold in quickly, again being careful not to overmix.

Distribute the batter among the muffin cups. Mound the better up in the centre of each cup. It will rise above the rim of the muffin cup by as much as an inch. Don’t worry. These are big muffins!

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The muffins will be golden and will spring back when pressed lightly. As an extra test, insert a toothpick into the centre of a muffin. If it comes out clean, the muffins are ready.

Remove the muffin tin to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. With a knife, separate the muffins evenly and then gently lift them out of the tins. Let them continue cooling on the rack.

If you want to glaze them, make the glaze and pour over the muffins. If not, enjoy them as they are!

Whenever I tell people that I have no idea how many cookbooks I own (I never count them!), I usually get a surprised response. Most people I know might own a handful to ten cookbooks. I own well in excess of 100 (and counting).

The inevitable question is: Why do you have so many?

And the answer is: Because … cookbooks make me happy.

For me, cookbooks are a source of inspiration and a source of pleasure, particularly when I’m stressed out or preoccupied. If I sit down with a cup of coffee and a cookbook, it’s an opportunity for me to focus on what makes me happy and in the process, clear my thoughts.

So it goes without saying that I will never turn down a cookbook. Never!

I was so happy when I was given the opportunity to review The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today’s Home Cook.

I won’t lie. I’m a Williams-Sonoma junkie. I have access to not one but two Williams-Sonoma stores and I regularly make a pilgrimage to worship at the altar of expensive kitchenwares.

Yes. I know. You don’t need any of that stuff to be a good cook. Blah blah blah.

Me likey. And if I want to weep over multi-coloured melamine nesting bowls that’s my business, not yours!

On to the book at hand. As I mentioned, I had the chance to review this book and as one would expect from a cookbook featuring the Williams-Sonoma brand, it’s polished, thorough, accessible and pretty to look at.

The book has almost 400 recipes so it’s definitely value for the price. The recipes range from classics to more modern fare. If you’re familiar with Williams-Sonoma cookbooks then you won’t be surprised by this one. The recipes are clear, clean and precise and never daunting. And they all have that same quality that you sense in the retail outlets: it all just seems so easy.

I would have loved to try about half of the recipes but I had to get my review up so instead I settled on two classics: Banana Bread and Macaroni and Cheese. Both easy enough, but I’ve seen and tried many a recipe for both dishes that greatly disappoint. So I thought I’d put the book to the test.

I wasn’t disappointed.

The Banana Bread was easy, quick and completely satisfying. I actually threw in pistachios for the nuts because I’m on this pistachio bender at the moment and the results were lovely. The cake was moist, not too sweet and made all the banana bread lovers happy.

The Macaroni and Cheese made me really happy. I like old-fashioned macaroni and cheese where you take your time and make a cheese sauce and pretend that cholesterol counts don’t matter. Too many macaroni and cheese recipes nowadays cut corners or try to get you to believe that a few measly tablespoons of cheese will satisfy you. This recipe is pure macaroni and cheese at its finest. I wish I could be more eloquent but really, there’s not much more to than it was really really really good.

If you’re a fan of the Williams-Sonoma cookbook collection, this is one to add to it. If you’re looking for an excellent general purpose cookbook, then this is one to invest in. If you want to live in a Williams-Sonoma store, this cookbook is the next best thing.

Ciao!

I missed my Magazine Mondays post last week but couldn’t miss this week because I’ve received so many amazing contributions! I’m really happy to see this event taking off. Sharp-eyed readers will notice that the MM logo has been added to my sidebar. It still needs a little work but I’m getting there. By clicking the link, you get to a page that explains the history of MM and the requirements to take part.

For my own submission, I chose to feature one part of one of my very favourite recipes from the February 1990 issue of Gourmet: Chili Con Carne with Chili Cheddar Shortcakes.

This is THE chili recipe in my family. But more importantly, the Chili Cheddar Shortcakes are not-to-be-missed. While I don’t always make the shortcakes when I make the chili, there’s no question that the shortcakes make the chili taste that much better.

There’s not much to the recipe. You can make them in about 20 minutes and enjoy them with soup, stew and braises or just on their own with lots of salted butter. But they really are best with the chili.

And finally, here are the submission for this week’s Magazine Mondays:

Joy from the aptly named The Cooking of Joy made my mouth water with French Red Onion Soup.

Tamy from 3 Sides of Crazy (that’s an awesome blog name!) made Baked Caramel Pears and some really cool Tomato Spaghetti cups.

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made a comforting Butterscotch Pudding.

Nurit of 1 Family. Friendly. Food. makes a lovely Butternut Squash Galette.

My sweet Jenny of All Things Edible made a Grilled-Fennel Couscous.

Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness makes a lipsmacking Shrimp and White Bean Cassoulet.

Remember, if you’ve posted about a magazine recipe, send me the link and I’ll publish it in my next MM post.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

In the last instalment of my little series about the joy of having rediscovered breakfast, I bring you a breakfast item that is perhaps more nourishing to the soul than the body, but nourishing nevertheless.

When people talk about “good” food or “healhy” food, I always start to squirm because I believe that something can be classified as “good for you” or “healty for you” and make you absolutely sick.

Case-in-point, I have always heard it said that All-Bran Buds are very good for you and that may, in fact, be the case. Unfortunately, All-Bran Buds disgust me beyond belief. I don’t know if it’s the texture or the taste or a combination of both, but I would positively never eat again if I had to eat those for breakfast every morning (with apologies to the good people at Kellogg’s). So yes, I might be having a “healthy breakfast”, but what is the benefit to me if said breakfast leaves me unhappy and dissatisfied?

Honestly, I don’t see much merit in that.

I left this particular post to the last for my series because while the subject of this breakfast might hold very little bodily nourishment, it is manna to my soul.

What you see pictured above is what in Italian we call, Ciambellone. I’m not posting a link because depending on where you find yourself in Italy, ciambellone can refer to many different things. When we would go to Italy and we’d visit my paternal grandparents, my grandmother would serve ciambellone for breakfast. A cross between a bread and a dry cake, we would have large slices of ciambellone in the morning with our milk and coffee.

How many childhood breakfasts began this way? The foundation of every Italian child’s breakfast had to be a mug of hot milk with a few drops of espresso. As you got older, the espresso content increased so that the milk to espresso ratio was relatively equal. But as a child, a few drops of espresso, enough to colour the milk, already made you feel like you were almost grownup.

And so onto this foundation, my grandmother would lay the ciambellone. In this age of refined, sugary sweets, I’m not sure how many children would actually like ciambellone. Since we were not exposed to store-bought cookies as children, homemade cookies and cakes were the pinnacle for us.

While I love my fancy cakes and while I am the first in line for the incredible confections of a pastry chef, this home baking of my childhood resonates so deeply.

And to this day, my favourite breakfast (next to pancakes), is a mug of steaming, frothy milk and espresso with the dry, flavourful cookies my maternal grandmother used to make expressly for dunking. And while ciambellone is not something we baked (the one my paternal grandmother served us in Italy was always bought from the bread store), the very idea of it just makes me feel whole and happy.

I cracked open the great Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
and made some minor adaptations to her recipe for this beautiful bread/cake.

I enjoyed making this so much that I kneaded it by hand. The added elbow grease just made the end result that much more desirable. My changes are subtle but even if you own the cookbook and follow the original recipe, you will not be disappointed unless you’re expecting a moist cake. This is a cake for dunking. Period.

I’m not sure what the nutritional value is, however, that is not the point. This makes your stomach and your heart happy, and surely there can be nothing healthier than that.

Ciao!

Ciambellone
Adapted from Marchella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Note: The cake will keep for a week as long as it’s tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or sealed in an airtight container. I think it tastes better the older it gets and it’s more enjoyable to dunk it!

1 stick butter (8 tbsp.), unsalted
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
zest from one medium orange (finely grated)
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup whole milk, lukewarm
2 extra large eggs (you can use large but you may need some extra water)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup warm water

Line a baking sheet with parchment and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and let cool slightly (for about 5 minutes).

Heat the milk and set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and zest in a bowl and whisk together, set aside.

Add the melted butter and the milk and mix until you have a slightly wet mixture. It will still look dry.

Separate one of the eggs (set aside the yolk). Put the other egg and the egg white from the separated egg into the flour mixture. Remove a bit of the set aside yolk and place it in a small bowl (you will use this as an egg wash). Put the remaining egg yolk in the mixture.

Begin gathering the mixture together. If it’s still dry and doesn’t come together, start adding water. I find I always have to add water for this to come together. I usually add about a quarter of a cup of warm water. What you’re looking for is a dough that comes together and has the consistency of a lumpy dough. It will not be smooth.

Once it’s come together enough that you can roll it into a rope, do so. You can make the rope as long or as short as you like. I usually make mine about 10 to 12 inches. The length and thickness of the rope is up to you. Mine tends to be a couple of inches thick at least. Bring the rope together in a ring and seal the connected ends carefully.

Brush the ring with the leftover egg yolk and place in the oven. In my oven, I bake this for 40 minutes so that it’s nice and golden but the original recipe indicates that you should bake it for 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Greeting Cream Puffs in Venice readers,

If you are awake and/or own a computer, you will already know that today is the reveal day for the February 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge. The individual known to you as Cream Puff is unable to post today so she has arranged for the delivery of a text message from her cell phone via this blog and the autmated blog posting team she has set up for just such emergencies. Please see below for the text of her message:

Hi all my BFFs! Can’t post 2day. Workasaurus attacking again. Help! Send George. Or Brad. Or 007. Didn’t make cake. Made cupcakes 4 u. Yum! Was so good & … oh … wait … Workasaurus on prowl. Hav 2 go. No … wait … wasn’t Workasaurus. That was stomach growling becuz was hungry. LOL!!! OK … TMI … BTW … want 2 thank Wendy & Dharm. Cupcakes EZ to make and delish. Ice cream soooooo good! GRATZ on gr8 challenge! OK now really have 2 go. Luv u 4ever! Will b back when Workasaurus gone. Ciao!

Cream Puff has advised our team to inform you that she prepared Chocolate Valentino Cupcakes with Wendy’s version of the ice cream with the addition of coconut and caramel. Cream Puff has further advised us to tell you that she will provide a recipe when she returns to her regularly scheduled blog posts.

Thank you Cream Puffs in Venice readers. This is an automated post. Please do not reply.

Regards,

Cream Puffs in Venice Automated Blog Posting Team

Note: The February 2009 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s Blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They chose a Chocolate Valentino with ice cream on the side. They provided two versions of a basic ice cream recipe for adaptation. Thank you so muhc to Wendy and Dharm for a fabulous challenge!.

I will never forget the first time that I saw a container of Marshmallow Fluff in a grocery store! I was taken aback with mixture of fascination, excitement and disbelief with a little revulsion thrown in. So this is the stuff that goes in Twinkies!!! Now I’ve eaten my fair share of Twinkies over the years but I have to be honest, I’m always mildly horrified by what’s in them. Not that it stops me from eating them, mind you.

We all have our vices, I suppose.

Something made me buy a container of that Fluff stuff so it was only a matter of time before I used it. That happened to be a few weeks ago when I was perusing my magazine pile and came across a recipe that I’d bookmarked from the November 2002 issue of Food & Wine for Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Filling.

The recipe turned out very well although some of my cupcakes didn’t have a lot of filling as I was afraid that I might actually burst my cupcakes by overfilling them. Overall, though, they were yummy and should I ever be in possession of another container of Marshmallow Fluff I’d try these again.

This is, of course, my Magazine Mondays entry. Here are some other entries for the week from people who have tackled their magazine pile!

Allison at Bake Your Heart Out made some pretty cupcakes from the February 2008 Martha Stewart magazine.

The prolific Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made an Olive & Sun-dried Tomato Spread from Clean Eating magazine.

Remember, if you post a recipe from a magazine, let me know and I’ll link to it in a Magazine Mondays post.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Early on in my blog career, I wrote a post about conquering my fear of caramel. I received a very thoughtful and helpful comment to that post from none other than Shuna Fish Lydon, the chef behind one of the most accomplished and informative blogs out there: eggbeater.

When the hosts of the November Daring Bakers’ challenge, Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity; Alex of Blondie and Brownie and Jenny of Foray of Food, announced that they would be venturing into caramel territory, I was so excited!

After embracing my fear of caramel, I’ve come to embrace the joy of making it. Mostly because I love the stuff but also because it’s the essence of a Daring Baker: face your fears in the kitchen!

The recipe they chose is Shuna Fish Lydon’s Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting. As an added element, they invited Daring Bakers to try their hands at Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert.

Before I begin discussing the challenge, I want to first thank Dolores, Alex and Jenny for forcing Daring Bakers everywhere to embrace their inner caramel-maker!

And I want to especially thank Shuna who has been so gracious throughout this challenge, not only for letting us use her recipe, but also for taking the time to answer the many questions that people have had. It’s an honour to have you with us, Shuna!

Every Daring Bakers’ challenge is different. Some have elements that are very new to me and others have methods that might be different from something I’ve tried before.

Some months I feel the need to provide a step-by-step account of what I’ve done and other months I don’t.

In this case, I would have to say that the key is the caramel. While I love caramel, I’m not a fan of dark caramel. I prefer the flavour of a lighter caramel so I didn’t cook mine quite as long as the recipe indicated. This meant that my caramel syrup wasn’t as dark and thick as some others, but that’s okay. The flavour was still gorgeous and I’m enjoying the leftover syrup on everything that I can pour it on!

For me, the best part of this challenge was the icing. This frosting for this cake is made with melted butter! I have never made a frosting with melted butter and to say I was intrigued would be an understatement. And not only is it melted butter, it’s browned butter which has to be one of my favourite flavours. When you brown butter, it takes on a nutty essence that is divine. Everyone adored the frosting! I can’t wait to try it in other recipes.

In deference to the chewy caramels I used to eat as a child, I had to try the recipe for the Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from Alice Medrich. I was not able to obtain ground golden vanilla beans so I used pure vanilla extract instead. Because I love caramel and salt, I added a liberal sprinkling of fleur de sel to the finished product. It was like being a kid all over again!

Embrace your inner caramel-maker and be sure to visit all the other daring bakers to see what they made.

Ciao!

As some of you may know, the word for aunt in Italian is “zia“.

In late October, my wonderful Zia C turned 50 and believe me she makes 50 look smashing!

She honoured me by asking that I bake her birthday cake. When I asked her what flavour of cake she wanted, she said something lemony.

Now when I was a little girl, I was a bit in awe of Zia C because she was so grown up … I wanted to be just like her. I also wanted to know what she was up to, so much so that I would stand at the foot of the stairs and call out to her, asking her what she was up to. But instead of calling her Zia C, my childish interpretation of her name was … Zia Don.

Don’t ask.

Anyway, for my Zia Don I made a cake from the incredible Lori Longbotham. My Magazine Mondays entry is this most delicious recipe for Triple-Lemon Layer Cake published in Issue #63 of Fine Cooking magazine.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Ciao!

Here’s who joined me for Magazine Mondays:

Debbie of Taste of Sweetness made Beer Chili … yum!

Wandering Coyote of Retorte made chocolate cookies with M&Ms!!!

Look what Mama Cream Puff made for my birthday!

Hope you can all stop by for a piece.

Have a great day!

Ciao!

Mile-High Chocolate Cake

Je suis en retard.

I am late.

Sweet (and I mean SWEET) Fanny of Foodbeam was the host for this month’s edition of Sugar High Friday. The deadline was September 26.

But today is September 28.

Hmmm …

Since her theme is cupcakes, I am hoping (quite shamelessly) that I can entice Fanny to include me by bribing her with Cinnamon Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.

Here’s hoping it works.

S’il vous plaît, Fanny?

Ciao!

Cinnamon Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cupcakes:

I used a basic yellow cake recipe to make these cupcakes. The recipe I used comes from Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book, but you can find great yellow cake recipes all over the web. Try this one, for example. I altered my recipe by baking half of it in mini paper cups and the other half in a 9-inch cake pan.

For the frosting:

1 pckg. cream cheese (8 ounces), at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup caramel sauce
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup icing sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together at high speed until light (about 2 minutes).

Lower the speed and add the vanilla extract and caramel sauce. Mix well.

With the speed on low, add the icing sugar until incorporated and then increase the speed to high and whip the frosting for 2 minutes.

Apply liberally to the base of your choice. Or eat with spoon.

Enjoy!

Wait.

Is it already time for another Daring Bakers‘ challenge?

I swear sometimes I think there’s an evil little elf somewhere pressing the fast forward button about halfway throught the month so that the last two weeks just fly by and next thing you know it’s time to start all over again!

In case you haven’t already been dazzled by the entries of other members, here’s what you need to know: our lovely hostess this month is Chris of Mele Cotte who chose a Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream from Carole Walters’ Great Cakes.

I’m heading out on vacation in a few days and so for the last month I’ve been trying desperately to clean out my pantry. As a result, I did not use filberts (hazelnuts) for this dessert but rather almonds.

The cake starts with a sponge base that is made with ground nuts (in my case almonds). It’s a very tasty and delicious (and surprisingly sturdy) base for the cake.

The other elements of the cake were all familiar to Daring Bakers. We’ve certainly made buttercream before! But in this case we made a praline buttercream which began with a praline paste. I have numerous recipes that call for praline paste that I’ve avoided making because I’ve never had a recipe for the paste. Well now, thanks to Chris, I have one.

Again I made mine with almonds but it was simply delicious and the buttercream … one of the best I’ve made in awhile.

And of course, cover anything in a chocolate glaze and how can you go wrong?

I’m keeping this post short but I just want to thank Chris and urge all of you to visit the Daring Bakers’ blogroll to see what all the other great bakers did.

Ciao!

For the cake recipe, please visit Chris’ site.

Go figure!

For this week’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I’m featuring a recipe that I came this close to dumping in the food waste bin.

When I bought the 2007 April/May issue of Taste Italia, I immediately bookmarked a recipe for Apricot Almond Shortbread (Frollino di albicocca e mandorla).

For starters, the title is slightly misleading. This dessert is a cross between a cake and a pie of sorts. While the photo was very enticing, I disliked the recipe almost as soon as I started making it. To begin with, there are a lot of steps and I found the directions a bit confusing.

The worst part of the recipe for me was the topping, which was disastrous. The topping is a meringue of sorts that you spread on the dessert after baking it a for a bit. You then put it back in the oven to bake the topping. My topping spread all over the place and it just came out of the oven looking like a disaster.

After letting it cool, I took a long look at my creation and thought, “There is no way I can serve this to anyone.” I almost threw it out but then remembered that there were quite a bit of almonds, egg whites and fresh apricots in there and tossing it didn’t seem very cost-effective.

So I let it cook completely, did some damage control to the topping and filled in the top with apricot jam.

Feeling somewhat better, I brought the dessert into work on the same day that I brought in the Peach and Almond Tart from a few weeks ago. I expected everyone to like the peach tart much better but in one of those strange twists, it seemed most people actually preferred the apricot dessert.

Go figure!

To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be making this one again, but it just goes to show, you never really do know how a dessert may turn out.

Have a great week everyone!

Ciao!

Note: Click here for the recipe for the Apricot Almond Shortbread. This week, I’m joined in my Magazine Mondays post by Oakley Rhodes of the blog Lemonbasil with her gorgeous White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Dark Chocolate Sauce.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of making a Cassata alla Siciliana in the company of some truly wonderful and insane people: Lis, Helene, Ben, John, Marce, Chris, Stephanie, Kelly and Mary (our Tanna, our Sara and our Laura couldn’t be with us). We were also joined by a very sane and nice Halley who incredibly was not frightened off by us!

On Monday, I brought the cassata to work and repeated over and over to my coworkers that the cassata sponge was bathed in rum syrup.

Bathed in rum syrup.

Bathed in rum syrup.

Rum syrup-bathed.

Bathed in rum syrup.

Towards the end of the day I noted that some of my coworkers were beginning to look at me a tad strangely so that’s when I decided that perhaps I should stop saying “bathed in rum syrup” with such gusto.

I mean just because I’d like to be bathed in rum syrup, it doesn’t mean everybody else does!

Ciao!

Note: The recipe for the Cassata alla Siciliana is from Gina DePalma’s first-rate book Dolce Italiano. Lis published her version of the recipe so you can check it out. And many thanks to Lis for such a wonderful choice!

Thanks to the Daring Bakers, I had the opportunity to reveal my true Southern Belle self, if only for a little while.

Thanks to an opportunity to review Katie Lee Joel’s The Comfort Table, I had the opportunity to revisit Red Velvet Cake, not to mention the petticoats and hoops skirts my inner-Southern self loves so much!

I first heard about Katie Lee Joel when I happened to catch her on an episode of Oprah Winfrey’s daytime show. I almost never watch television during the day so it I suppose it was fitting that on a day when I was watching daytime television, I watched a show I almost never watch and saw a person I’d never seen before who happens to be married to a singer whom I know very little about.

When it comes to Billy Joel, I know Piano Man and Uptown Girl. Sorry. But that’s about it.

Still, though, it was hard not to be charmed by Mrs. Joel so a few short weeks later, when I was given the opportunity to review her new cookbook, I said yes.

When the arrived, my first reaction was that it was a pretty book filled with lots of lovely photographs. It has a very “homey” feel to it as the author shares her family stories and recipes.

I’m sure quite a few people would look at the book and not bother, chalking it up to a celebrity cookbook, but it’s actually an excellent book both for entertaining purposes and for some very simple and cosy home-cooking.

While this is not an elaborate cookbook nor is it one that’s likely to teach you a new cooking technique, it’s filled with recipes that are accessible and that work (nothing worse than a cookbook with awful recipes).

And Katie Lee Joel really can cook which is a nice switch from other celebrity cookbooks where you just know that the author wouldn’t be able to find their kitchen with a map.

The book’s format is very standard as it’s divided into chapters that range from Starters to Dessert. A lot of the recipes are twists on ones you’ve seen before, and some of the recipes are family favourites. The instructions are clear and for the most part, the recipes are all based on ingredients that most of us would have readily available in our cupboards or pantries.

There’s a heavy emphasis on recipes that are perfect for entertaining whether it be a large crowd or a cosy dinner at home.

I wanted to try a savoury recipe and a sweet one. For the savoury recipe, I decided to try the Green Pesto Pasta Salad as summer is always a good excuse for pasta salad.

It was a very easy recipe that I amended slightly by adding cherry tomatoes. The instructions were accurate and the end result was delicious. So far so good!

When it came to try a sweet recipe, I just couldn’t resist Grandmother Paul’s Red Velvet Cake. The recipe headnote explains that the recipe is originally from the grandmother of Paula Deen, who is a close friend of Katie Lee Joel’s.

Listen. I’m a sucker for red velvet and even though there were other recipes that enticed me, this was the one I had to make.

Verdict?

Honestly, this was one of the best cakes I’ve made in a long time.

Seriously.

The sponge part of the cake was so light and airy that I had to resist eating it right out of the pan without any frosting.

And speaking of the frosting, it was easy to make and equally delicious. Made of cream cheese and butter with the addition of melted marshmellow, it was just the right consistency (not too heavy) for the light cake.

When filling the cake, I added pecans and coconut but left the frosting for the outside of the cake plain. I garnished with some lovely pecans and everyone - and I mean everyone - that tried it loved it.

While I would have liked to try some more recipes, based on the two that I did try, this is a good cookbook. It’s charming and doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is: a collection of easy-to-make recipes for comfort food.

Ciao!

There was a time when nary a butterfuly was seen in these parts.

I think it had a lot to do with the widespread use of pesticides which, thankfully, has been curtailed.

In my opinion, the sight of a butterfly flitting around a garden is surely one of Nature’s most beautiful sights.

So when I opened the book Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson and saw a baking project involving butterflies resting prettily on cupcakes, I knew I had to to try to recreate them.

I received a copy of this book thanks to a lovely person at Houghton Mifflin Company and I couldn’t have been happier to welcome it into my cookbook family.

This is one of those books that makes you want to take a week off work just so you can spend it in your kitchen building cupcake penguins and aliens, among other things.

Seriously. You have to look at this book!

Divided into chapters that focus on different themes likes April Fool’s or Nightmare Before Thanksgiving, the book has numerous baking projects that all use cupcakes as building blocks. Literally.

A thorough introduction that explains the basics of baking and frosting cupcakes is augmented by lots of colour photos and step-by-step instructions for some of the more involved projects. Don’t be intimidated, however. The book teaches you how to use all sorts of everyday treats to make the most incredible things. For example, you can learn how to make perfect little cabbages out of … cornflakes!

I know. I know. It’s earth-shattering.

I think a huge part of the book’s appeal is that even the most inexperienced baker would have a grand time trying out any of these baking projects. The book closes with a variety of recipes for cupcakes and frosting. While there are recipes that call for baking mixes (I’m not a fan), the book does also offer recipes for entirely homemade cupcakes and frostings. Either way, there are options for those who might normally be intimidated by this sort of thing and those that think, “Make a dog out of cupcakes? Why not?!”

I thought the book was fabulous and am very happy that I had the chance to review it. If you have any budding bakers (young or old) in your life or any cupcake fanatics for that matter, this is a book they’d love.

I made my cupcakes with a very basic chocolate cupcake as the base. I used a vanilla buttercream that I tinted yellow as the frosting and a base for butterflies that I had piped and filled using dark chocolate (for the outline) and coloured candy wafers (for the interior of the butterfly).

Believe me when I say they look more complicated than they are. I followed the book’s template for the outline of the butterfly wings and after getting used to (attempting) to pipe in a straight line, I was able to produce them quickly. I filled the interior of the cupcakes and then used a toothpick to swirl the dark chocolate and pink candy coating together. I let the wings set in the refrigerator before placing them atop the cupcakes.

After seeing all those pretty butterflies on the cupcakes, I can’t wait to see all the pretty butterflies in the garden!

Ciao!

Unto the life of every Daring Baker, there must be some fun.

We can’t always be about puff pastry, meringue and caramel. Not to say that those elements of previous challenges haven’t been “fun”, it’s just that every once and awhile I want to channel my childhood days when there were no rules and it was all about playtime!

As though they had read my mind, Deborah of Taste and Tell and Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms brought the perfect challenge to the April table: Cheesecake Pops from the cookbook Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth by Jill O’Connor.

Now I could go on and on about all the steps involved and give you an indepth look at the world of lollipop sticks. We could debate the merits of using real chocolate or candy coating to cover the pops and we could argue endlessly about decorations.

But that would spoil the fun.

Here’s what you need to know:

Bake a cheesecake.
Let it get very cold in the refrigerator.
Stick your hands into the cheesecake and scoop out mounds of it.
Turn the mounds into balls.
Stick a lollipop stick in each one.
Freeze them.
Dip them in chocolate.
Make them pretty.
Eat them.

NOW GO HAVE SOME FUN!!!

Ciao!

For the Cheesecake Pops recipe, please visit Deborah’s site or Elle’s site.

To see what all the other Daring Bakers created, please visit The Daring Bakers’ Blogroll.

Technorati tags: daring bakers, cheesecake

If you haven’t seen The Godfather, then you are missing a classic cinematic experience filled with many a memorable scene including one where one mobster instructs another to leave behind a weapon used in a crime, but to make sure to not forget the box of cannoli.

While I don’t count myself among the diehard fans of cannoli (I like them but don’t love them), I was inspired to try the recipe for Cocoa Cannoli Cake from Canadian House & Home’s June 2007 issue.

I can’t believe that my last Magazine Mondays post was February 25th! That magazine pile that I had been steadily working on has begun to rear its delicious head again. So it’s time to return to my Magazine Mondays ways.

While I made this cake quite some time ago, I’m happy to share it with you today. It’s one of those cakes that you will fall in love with the first time you make it. And I guarantee you that everyone will be asking for the recipe.

It’s essentially a sponge cake that’s halved and filled with a ricotta cream filling. It mimics cannoli in that the cake and filling taste strongly of orange zest. The cake is very adaptable so you can use whatever flavours strike your fancy.

Unfortunately I was unable to find a link to the recipe on the magazine’s site so I’m listing it for you here.

Welcome back to Magazine Mondays, everyone! Have a great week!

Ciao!

Cannoli Cake
Adapted from the June 2007 issue of Canadian House & Home magazine.

Ingredients for cake:

6 large eggs, separated
1 large egg yolk
pinch of salt
1 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. cold water
finely grated zest of one orange

Ingredients for filling:

125 g. cream cheese, softened
225 g. ricotta cheese
2 tbsp. Nutella
1 tsp. Grand Marnier (optional)
1 tsp. Frangelico (optional)
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
icing sugar for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and grease and flour a 9 or 10-inch springform pan.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and add the pinch of salt. Beat whites until foamy. Increase mixer speed to medium and continue beating the whites while gradually adding 1 cup of the sugar. You want the whites to beat into soft peaks (don’t overbeat). Set aside.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg yolks with remaining 1/3 cup sugar, the flour, the baking powder, the vanilla and almond extracts and the cold water until smooth. Add the orange zest. The mixture might appear stiff or very thick but don’t worry.

Gently fold in the egg whites until you have a well mixed batter.

Spoon the batter into the springform pan and bake in the middle of the oven for about 35 minutes. The top of the cake will be golden and it will spring back when pressed.

Remove the cake to a wire rack and cool completely before releasing the cake from the springform pan.

To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, the ricotta, the Nutella, the Grand Marnier and Frangelico (if using), until smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar and then stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

Carefully divide the cake into two equal layers. Set the bottom layer on your cake tray or serving plate. Spread the filling over the cake bottom. If it’s a bit loose, refrigerate the cake bottom for about 10 minutes to firm up the filing. Top the filling with the second layer of the cake and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, dust the cake with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: Magazine Mondays, cannoli, cake

While I wish I had time to participate in more food blogging events, the fact is that it’s just not possible.

However, there are a few events that I refuse to miss and one of them is Barbara’s A Taste of Yellow event.

In support of LiveSTRONG Day, this event brings foodbloggers around the world together in a show of solidarity and unity in the battle against cancer.

In 2007, Barbara had 149 bloggers take part in the event and we’re all hoping that even more will take part this year.

I lost my father to cancer in 2001. Both of my maternal grandparents passed away because of cancer. And I can’t even count the number of friends and extended family members who have lost loved ones to this disease.

But for every loss, I know that there is a victory. Every day around the world there are people living with and beating cancer. And every day, everywhere in the world, people are making it their life’s work to find a cure.

A Taste of Yellow is about standing behind cancer survivors, those who have lost loved ones to cancer and those who battle cancer every day and saying, “We’re with you!”

I cannot thank Barbara enough for creating and hosting this event. She is an example to us all.

Live Strong! Every day!

Ciao!

A Taste of Yellow is hosted by Barbara of winosandfoodies. The event ends on April 19th. Please check out the details and participate!

The cake pictured above is a Lemon-Lime Coconut and Macadamia Nut Cake based on a recipe from Bill Granger’s cookbook, Bill’s Open Kitchen.

When making this cake, be sure to grease the pan very well. It has a tendency to stick. Also, be sure not to overbake it as that can cause the cake to stick to the pan as well and to have a rather hard crust.

Ingredients:

1 cup macadamia nuts
1/3 cup self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
6 egg, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup, sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp. lime juice
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. each of grated lime and lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9-inch round or square pan. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the macadamia nuts, the flour and the salt. Process briefly until the nuts are finely chopped and you have a fine, crumbly mixture. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg yolks and the sugar. Beat on high speed for two minutes. The mixture should be thick and light-coloured.

Add the extract and the lemon and lime zest and mix for 30 seconds.

Add the coconut and the nut mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the egg and nut mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 minutes. Check with a cake tester to see if the cake is done. If it’s not, bake for another 5 minutes and check again. The cake should not take more than 40 minutes.

Remove the cake to a wire rack and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. With a thin-bladed knife or spatula, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and carefully invert onto the rack to cool completely.

Once cool, make the icing. To make the icing, combine the icing sugar, lime and lemon juice and lime and lemon zest in a bowl. If it’s too thick, add a tiny bit of hot water to loosen the mixture. Pour the icing over the cooled cake. For decoration, you can tint the icing with food colouring.

The cake will keep for several days at room temperature in a covered container or well-wrapped.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: a taste of yellow, Live strong day, cake

What is life without a little bit of the whimsical? The magical? The fanciful?

I think that is perhaps what I love most about the idea of decorating a wee cupcake: it’s an opportunity to let your creative heart out.

Call me silly, but I just can’t help but feel a bit of whimsy these days. Life is crazy as ever and the world is as strange as ever but some things never change.

I can smell spring in the air.

The other day I saw a few brave daffodils insistently pushing their way through the soil.

Today I saw the most perfect pair of summer sandals.

Ah, whimsy!

But whimsy also comes in other forms, namely a cookbook by the name of Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse: Cupcakes, Small Cakes, Muffins, and Other Mini Treats by Kaye and Liv Hansen.

A very sweet and kind person sent me a copy of this book after reading about my experience baking cupcakes for the wedding of a coworker. I was so touched! I made a promise to myself that I’d take a look at the book and post about it and then work and life got in the way.

Happily, over the past few weeks I had some time to finally look through this book and I have fallen in love with it.

It’s just adorable. Not to mention the fact that it’s filled with some very good recipes for baking basics like buttercream, as well as numerous recipes for all sorts of cakes and treats. The book is organized into a series of “baking projects” that are all accompanied by detailed decorating instructions. Through the miracle of the Internet, those instructions are augmented by The Whimsical Bakehouse’s web site, which has a number of useful videos on how to create various decorative accents.

While I was tempted by many of the projects in this book, the one that drew me in was the “Flower Power” project that features lemon coconut cupcakes decorated with buttercream in the form of a variety of flowers.

For the cupcakes, I adapted the recipe because while I love lemon and I love coconut, in a very strange twist I do not love those two ingredients together. Instead, I created dulce de leche coconut cupcakes by adding a blob of dulce de leche to the base of each of my cupcake liners. I replaced the lemon juice in the recipe with buttermilk to create a very tender crumb. For the buttercream, I used a recipe from the book called “Kaye’s Buttercream” and added coconut extract to augment the coconut flavour.

To decorate the cupcakes, I couldn’t resist trying the rose decoration and the hydrangea decoration. I’m not sure how successful the hydrangea was, but I was very proud of the rose.

This is such a sweet little book. I hope that as spring approaches and everyone’s thoughts turn to lighter days and warmer weather, you’ll take a moment to let some whimsy into your life and perhaps bake a cupcake or two!

Ciao!

Dulce de Leche Coconut Cupcakes
Adapted from Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse by Kaye and Liv Hansen.

Note: I used mini paper cups to bake these cupcakes. The recipe yielded 36 mini cupcakes. You can also make 12 regular-sized cupcakes. Be sure to grease a muffin tin and line with cupcake liners if you’re making the regular-sized ones. I used a buttercream recipe from the book but I didn’t adapt it in any way so I’m not going to post it here. For a really good buttercream recipe, try this one.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 (12 tbsp.) sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp. coconut extract
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup dulce de leche

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line paper cups on a baking sheet. Place a dollop of dulce de leche in the bottom of each paper cup. Set aside.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes. The mixture should be pale and fluffy.

With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the coconut extract and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in three stages, alternating with the buttermilk in between each stage.

Be sure to scrape down the bowl to ensure that the batter is well mixed.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the coconut.

Spoon the batter into the waiting paper cups. They should be halfway to three-quarters of the way full.

Bake for 20 minutes and check for doneness. If a cake tester doesn’t come out clean, bake for a few more minutes.

Remove the mini cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Enjoy!

I heard a rumour that there was a huge Daring Bakers’ party happening on March 30th so I arrived early in the hopes of not missing it.

You haven’t witnessed a true party until you’ve attended a Daring Bakers’ fête.

This month’s party was hosted by Morven of Food Art and Random Thoughts who chose Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake from the book Baking: From My Home to Yours.

For a change, I actually got to the challenge early in the month as I decided to bake it for my coworkers as a way of celebrating the arrival of spring and the end of several months hard work on a huge project.

About a week before trying the recipe, I quickly scanned it and thought, “Eh, no problem!”

When I first made the cake, I used cake and pastry flour and buttermilk. The recipe gives the option of using whole milk instead of buttermilk. I put my batter together quite quickly and sent my little cakes off to the oven to do their thing. When I pulled them out, however, the cakes had not risen at all.

Okay.

I figured I must have somehow made a mistake while putting the recipe together so since I had extra ingredients on hand, I decided to try again. Once again I sent the cakes off to the oven only to pull them out a short time later in utter dismay as I looked down at two cakes that had not risen. They were as flat as pancakes.

Okaaaaaaaaaaay.

I’ve been baking for a very long time and I can’t remember when the last time was that I’d baked cakes that didn’t rise. I knew it couldn’t be my ingredients because I bake so often that I turn over my ingredients very quickly. I made the decision to try the cakes a third (and final) time but this time I used slightly different ingredients.

As luck would have it, in between my second and third try, Lis and I received an e-mail from Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas who explained that Dorie Greenspan herself and gotten in touch with Brilynn about this very recipe. Apparently others were having problems with cakes that wouldn’t rise so they e-mailed Dorie to ask her what the problem could be. Dorie indicated that the problem is likely the flour.

This particular cake was tested with a brand of flour called Swans Down, which is apparently an exceptionally fine cake flour. Whenever I bake recipes that require cake flour, I always use what’s referred to as cake and pastry flour and I’ve never had any problems. But these cakes just wouldn’t rise for me.

In her e-mail to Brilynn, Dorie explained that people could make the cakes with all-purpose flour as long as they used the right amount. When substituting all-purpose for cake flour, you have to remove two teaspoons of flour per cup.

I decided to go out on a limb and make the cakes with all-purpose flour and whole milk. The other adjustment I made was that once my batter came together, I switched from the paddle attachment to the whisk attachment and beat my batter at high speed for a good four minutes in an effort to work some air into the batter and increase the volume.

With fingers and toes crossed, I put the cakes into the oven and hoped for the best. When I pulled the cakes out later, while they had risen a bit, they did not rise nearly as much as the recipe indicated they would.

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

At this point I was in no mood to try them again and it was too late to try and source some Swans Down in an effort to recreate the results from the cookbook. Instead, I put my baking experience to good use and perservered with what I had.

While slicing the thin cakes in half was a bit tricky, I managed well enough. I slathered my layers with raspberry preserves and buttercream (the buttercream part of the recipe came together well and was delicious but it didn’t yield very much - I had just enough buttercream to fill and frost my cake). I had entertained ideas of trying variations but the frustration of baking the cakes three times sapped me of any desire to try something different.

I decided to decorate my iced cake with shredded coconut, white chocolate shavings and raspberries. It looked pretty good but I still couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

That mood didn’t last long, however, as my coworkers demolished the cake in record time. While the cake layers may not have risen much, that did not affect the final result. The cake was incredibly delicious. It had a light lemony flavour that combined beautifully with the raspberry.

Everyone knows I love Dorie. I had the opportunity to meet with her last summer and she struck me as a truly gifted and generous person. I’ve never had any problems with her recipes but I must be honest, this one stumped me a bit.

I’m going to definitely try the cake again as the end result was too good not to. But here’s hoping I have better success with those cake layers!

Thank you to Morven for choosing a cake that was truly, truly challenging!

Ciao!

For the recipe for this cake, please visit Morven’s blog.

To see what all the other Daring Bakers have created, please visit the blogroll.

Technorati tags: daring bakers, dorie greenspan

Hope the Easter Bunny hops on by!

Ciao!

Easter Egg Nest Cupcakes

Note: If you can’t find superfine sugar (also called fruit sugar), simply put regular sugar in a food processor and process for a few minutes until very fine.

For the cupcakes:

1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the chocolate frosting:

1 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
sweetened shredded coconut (for garnish)
mini chocolate eggs (for garnish)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly grease the top part of a 12-cup muffin tin (but you will only be using 9 of the cups).

Line 9 of the muffin cups with paper cup liners and set the tin aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs and extract. Mix on low speed for a minute until the ingredients start to come together.

Increase speed to medium high and beat for three minutes.

Spoon the batter equally among the 9 muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes and check that the cupcakes are done by inserting a toothpick into the centre of one. If it comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. They should also be quite springy to the touch.

Remove to a cooling rack and let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them cool completely before making the chocolate frosting.

For the frosting, place the heavy cream and chocolate chips in a small pan. Melt the chips over low heat until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.

Spread the frosting equally over the cupcakes and then garnish with coconut and mini eggs, or however you wish.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: Easter, Pasqua, cupcakes

I don’t have a Magazine Mondays post for you this week but I do have another example of what a great cookbook Maxine Clark’s Chocolate: Deliciously Indulgent Recipes for Chocolate Lovers is.

This time it’s a pretty chocolate marble cake.

Some cakes look pretty in pink. But some look even prettier in marble.

I never tire of trying out marble cake recipes just for the simple of pleasure of marbling batter, yet another example of how artistic and fun baking can be.

I wish all of you a wonderful, chocolate-filled week!

Ciao!

Marbled Butter Cake
Adapted from Chocolate: Deliciously Indulgent Recipes for Chocolate Lovers by Maxine Clark.

Note: This recipe doesn’t yield a huge cake but can easily serve 8. It’s very buttery and will keep nicely at room temperature either in an airtight container or well-wrapped.

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
icing sugar for decoration

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a standard-sized bundt cake pan or kugelhopf mold (if you have one).

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the beaten egg and continue to mix until well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the sifted ingredients to the batter and mix on low speed until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Remove half the batter and place in another bowl. To the batter that’s still in the mixer bowl, add the cocoa powder. Mix until well combined.

Take your prepared cake pan and dollop spoonfuls of the vanilla batter into the bottom of the pan. Then take the chocolate batter and dollop spoonfuls over the vanilla batter. Repeat until all the batter has been used.

Take a knife and dip it into the batter, all the way to the bottom of the pan. Gently begin swirling the batter with the knife, working your way all around the pan.

Bake the cake on the middle rack for 50 minutes, checking to see if it’s done with a cake tester or toothpick. If it’s done, the tester will come out clean after piercing the cake. The cake will also spring back if you touch it lightly. If it’s not done, bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan before unmolding it. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Enjoy!

I must admit it took me quite awhile to begin writing this post because I kept having fun with the title. It’s amazing how many witty (or not-so-witty depending on how you see it) pun-filled titles one can create using the word “nuts”.

And enough said about that.

Okay, so here we are with a return to Magazine Mondays. It’s been a few weeks since I posted another recipe from my ever dwindling (at least I hope it’s dwindling) pile of magazines. I must admit my decision to focus on actually trying the recipes that I bookmark in all sorts of print publications is working out well.

Today I bring you yet another recipe from Ricardo Larrivée’s Holidays 2007 issue of Ricardo magazine. This is a recipe for Nut Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze. The cake itself is a very standard sour cream cake. It calls for applesauce, which is always interesting in a cake and hazelnut or walnut oil. That is in addition to two cups of nuts also incorporated into the cake. To be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed with it. Between the nut oil and the nuts, it’s a pretty expensive ingredients list for a cake that didn’t pack a huge punch.

What I was impressed with, however, was the glaze. As I made it and then as I licked it off my fingers and every other surface in my kitchen (long story … don’t ask), I thought to myself, “Hmmm … I see many great possibilities for this glaze.”

So while I will spare you the cake recipe, I’m happy to share the glaze recipe. Have a great week everyone!

Ciao!

Brown Sugar Glaze
From the Holidays 2007 issue of Ricardo magazine.

1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place the brown sugar, maple syrup, butter and heavy cream in a small pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Keep an eye on the mixture because it can easily boil over.

Once it boils, let it boil for about a minute and then remove from the heat. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.

Place the mixture in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat with the paddle attachment on low, slowly adding the icing sugar. Continue beating until it begins to thicken (about 6 or 7 minutes). Add the vanilla and mix for a few more seconds.

Pour the glaze over the surface of your choice be it cake or anything else you desire.

Enjoy!

For those of you that visit often you’ll know that last year I had my first experiences baking and being paid for it and those experiences sowed the seeds of a goal of mine: to start a baking/catering business from home.

While those were heady experiences, they didn’t really amount to anything and that’s mostly my fault. After the initial euphoria faded, I became busy with other aspects of my life and didn’t focus on my goal to begin creating a business plan that included this blog.

I put aside important items on my “business to-do” list like creating proper business cards, working out a fee schedule and figuring out how I could use my blog to advertise what I want to do.

So in early December, a wave of guilt hit me. This was quickly followed by a sense of hopelessness as I wondered where my next opportunity would come from. And then, into this baking gloom, wandered my dear coworker L. who made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: bake 50 cupcakes for her wedding!

Half of the cupcakes L. ordered were to be a citrus flavour and the other half were to be mocha or chocolate. The cupcakes, to be baked in silver liners, were to be decorated with icing flowers, half with yellow flowers and the other half with blue.

And that’s it. The rest was up to me!

At first this terrified me. At one point I started inundating L. with questions about icing … did she want a traditional buttercream or a swiss buttercream? How about an Italian meringue icing? Or did she think her guests might like a cream cheese icing? When I saw the glazed look in her eyes, that’s when I knew that it was time to stop being a wimp and step up to the baking challenge!

Summing up my own baking experience in the little Cream Puff kitchen, I first decided that the best flavour combination would be orange cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes. For the orange cupcakes, I used a very basic butter cake recipe to which I added orange zest, fresh orange juice and a bit of Grand Marnier to make the cupcakes a bit more appropriate for the occasion. For the chocolate cupcakes, I went with a basic chocolate cake to which I added Frangelico, which is a hazelnut-flavoured liqueur. I think chocolate and coffee make a marvelous duo (this is for a wedding after all) and thought the Frangelico would be a nice touch.

Deciding what to make for the base of the cupcakes was the easy part. The icing was a bit more challenging. L. specified that she was looking for a light-coloured icing for both sets of cupcakes. I settled on what has become my new all-start favourite icing in the world: the buttercream icing from Nick Malgieri’s Perfect Cakes. I was introduced to this icing about a month ago in the Daring Baker’s December challenge.

This buttercream starts off with egg whites, sugar and a pinch of salt that are heated over hot water. The mixture is then transferred to a mixer and beaten until the egg whites thicken and cool. At that point you begin adding the butter … lots o’ butter. After another almost 10 minutes, you have a buttercream that is thick, silky and a joy to work with. For the orange cupcakes, I flavoured the buttercream with vanilla extract and a drop of orange oil. For the chocolate cupcakes, I used vanilla extract only. I briefly toyed with the idea of adding some more liqueur to the icing for the chocolate cupcakes but decided against it.

Having navigated the cupcake and icing waters, it was time to turn to the final obstacle: decorating the cupakes. Yikes!

My decorating skills are mediocre at best. I try to make things look interesting and like to use embellishments that strike my fancy, but I realized that if I’m going to make a business out of this, I’ve got to work on some basic decorating skills.

Thanks to a gift from my cousin, I took some basic Wilton cake decorating courses a while ago. So I pulled out the little kit that came with the course, logged on to the Wilton web site, and launched my decorating career.

I knew that L. wanted yellow flowers for the orange cupcakes. At first I thought I’d do something simple that wouldn’t cause me too much heartache but then I came across the pattern for sunflowers. After reading the directions I decided that at the very least, I could give this a try. I made up a batch of royal icing, tinted most of it yellow (petals) and some of it brown (flower centre) and off I went. While my first few “sunflowers” were laughable, over the course of the next few hours, they got better. In fact, I made quite a few pretty sunflowers so that I actually had enough to decorate 30 cupcakes. My hand was ready to fall off from squeezing the piping bag, mind you, but no one ever said success came easy!

For the chocolate cupcakes, L. specified that she wanted blue flowers. I decided to go with a very pretty and elegant flower, the Forget-Me-Not, which I tinted blue. After conquering the sunflowers, these were considerably more straightforward.

When it came time to ice the cupcakes, I decided go for two different looks. While I’ve never met L.’s partner, I’ve known L. for many years and know her to be a very funny person with a very unique outlook. With this in mind, I wanted the orange cupcakes to bring a smile to everyone’s face. So I started with a thin icing base to which I added an icing mound (or mountain as I like to think of it). I planted the sunflower at the base of the mountain and added some leaves. I crowned the “mountains” with some orange peel.

I wanted to give the chocolate cucpakes a wintry feel as well. I iced the cupcakes with a layer of rosettes and then piped a large rosette in the centre on top of which I carefully lay the blue flowers. I wanted to take a better picture of the chocolate cupcakes but when I removed the lid for the orange cupcakes, it broke, and I was afraid the same would happen with the chocolate cupcakes. So I took a picture through the lid as best I could.

Okay. So I’m never going to win cake decorator of the year. But I certainly tried my best. And in the end, I thought the cupcakes looked great if I may say so myself.

I have to tell you … I’m exhausted. There’s a coat of sugar on pretty much everything in our kitchen. I think I’ve been to about 20 stores in the last three days looking for various items for the cupcakes. And I’ve also discovered that gel food colouring stains. Badly.

But you know what, I’m thrilled, too. I’m exhilarated, in fact. I feel like I climbed that icing mountain!

Ciao!

After a three-week hiatus, Magazine Mondays returns! I’m happy to put another magazine that has been languishing in what I now affectionately call, “the basket where magazines go to die,” to rest.

When it comes to recipes, I am nothing if not melodramatic.

This time around it’s the December 2006 issue of Food & Wine magazine and the recipe for Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Espresso Meringue.

Oh, baby!

Excuse the ineloquence but hot damn … these were good!

Densely rich and chocolatey (that’s how I like my cupcakes thank you very much), the meringue was light and not too sweet thanks to the touch of espresso powder.

I wanted to eat them all but bearing in mind that in a few short days I will be making an appearance on the beaches of Miami in a bathing suit, I limited myself to one.

I don’t want to frighten the good people of Miami anymore than necessary. They’ll be scared enough as it is.

On another less frightening note, I’ve noticed that some of you have put up Magazine Mondays posts of your own. If you let me know about them, I’ll happily link to them in my own posts.

Have a great week everyone!

Ciao!

For the cupcake recipe, click here.

Magazine Mondays on Other Blogs:

More Than Burnt Toast featured some Ranch Mashed Potatoes.

I’m always happy … no wait … make that THRILLED whenever I find someone who is as addicted to cookbooks as I am!

You can imagine how pleased … no wait … make that THRILLED I was Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction introduced herself to me. Not only is she a fellow Italian Canadian, as her blog name would suggest, she is as much in need of a 12-step program for the rehabilitation of a cookbook problem as I am!

During the summer, Liliana and I were e-mailing each other back and forth when the subject of a certain cookbook came up. The cookbook in questions was a new one, scheduled to be out in the fall, by Gina DePalma of Babbo fame.

I first learned about Gina DePalma several years ago when I found a recipe for Cannoli in Food & Wine magazine. The recipe, by DePalma, was the first I’d ever seen from here and I was fascinated to read about her success.

Naturally, Liliana and I circled the publication date on our calendars. As it turns out, it took a bit longer for the book to hit Canadian bookstores so I only recently received my copy of Dolce Italiano, one of the finest examples of cookbooks dedicated to Italian sweets.

If you’re a baker, a dessert lover, or if you have a pulse, you need to go and get this book!

In our excitement, Liliana and I decided that we’d pick a recipe from the book and post about it today. We settled on the recipe for Grappa-Soaked Mini Sponge Cakes because what Italian doesn’t love grappa.

Really.

The recipe was very straightforward and as the recipe notes explain, this is a variation on one of the most classic elements of Italian dessert, pan di spagna.

The grappa syrup was delicious, although the grappa flavour isn’t very strong as most of the alcohol does burn off while the syrup is cooking. The little cakes are just so pretty and everyone enjoyed them with a bit of whipped cream.

I won’t share the recipe because I didn’t adapt it any way. But I strongly encourage you to check this book out if you can. You won’t regret it.

Liliana, thanks for being my partner in this latest cookbook escapade!

Ciao!

Technorati tags: grappa, pan di spagna, cake

Today is the spectacular Lis’ birthday!

I regularly thank my lucky stars for the day that I first met one of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. Lis of La Mia Cucina is a friend, a sister, a confidante, a problem solver, a listener, a buddy and a sweetheart.

For her birthday, I want to share with her (and all of you) a yogurt cake for the ages. Like Lis, this cake is warm, wholesome, comforting and oh-so-sweet.

Happy birthday, Lis!

Ciao!

The Best Yogurt Cake
From Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours (with a few tweaks).

Note: I’d never heard of yogurt cake until shortly after I received my copy of Dorie’s book. Of course who else but the great Dorie Greenspan to inspire one to take a glorious cake and make it even more glorious?! I’ve changed the lemon flavour of the original to an orange flavour, enhanced with the addition of Grand Marnier. This cake will serve 6 to 8 (or one very greedy Cream Puff) and will keep for several days.

For the cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake and pastry flour (sifted)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (if you don’t have vanilla sugar, just use a whole cup of granulated sugar)
grated zest of an orange
1/2 cup plain yogurt (don’t use low fat yogurt)
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. Grand Marnier
1/2 cup canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and butter a small loaf pan (8 x 4 inches or similar size).

In a bowl, combine the flours and the baking powder.

In another bowl, combine the sugar and the orange zest. This is an interesting way of introducing zest into a cake. Rub the zest into the sugar so that it’s fragrant.

Add the yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and Grand Marnier to the sugar/zest mixture. Whisk until smooth.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, whisking all the while to ensure there are no lumps.

Add the oil mixing carefully until the you have a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, testing for doneness with a cake tester or a toothpick.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before carefully unmolding. Once unmolded, glaze the cake.

For the glaze:

1/2 cup apricot jam (or any jam or marmalade of your choice)
1 to 2 tsp. Grand Marnier (enough to make it a smooth glaze that will pour rather easily)

Heat the jam and the Grand Marnier in a small saucepan. Stir until you have a smooth mixture that will pour easily.

Immediately pour it over the unmolded cake, using a brush to make sure that you reach all the little nooks.

I like to serve this cake warm, but it’s also very good at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: la mia cucina, cake, yogurt cake, dorie greenspan

For this third edition of Magazine Mondays, I bring you what is quite possibly one of the most sinfully delicious things I have ever made.

Why I waited so long to try this recipe from the October 2004 issue of Food & Wine magazine is beyond me.

Beyond me.

Cream cheese. Caramel. And a hint of salt.

Dip your spoon through the caramel, sink into the cream cheese and taste the salty sweetness of it. And all the while, you watch as caramel oozes into the indentation you created with your spoon.

Don’t faint. Don’t wait. Just go and make this.

Oh yeah … and have a great week!

Ciao!

Magazine Monday #3: Salted Caramel Cheesecake.

Technorati tags: magazine mondays, cheesecake, caramel

Wondering what to do with leftover Halloween candy?

No worries.

Just bake with it!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ciao!

Buttery Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
From a variety of sources and the imagination of one Cream Puff.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (you can use smooth peanut butter as well)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups brown sugar (light or dark)
3-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
12 peanut butter cups (or any chocolate candy you’d like to use)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter at medium-high speed until smooth and creamy (for about a minute).

Add the peanut butter and the vanilla extract and beat for another two minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture all at once and mix on low speed until combined.

Add the milk and eggs and mix until you have a smooth batter (no more than 2 or 3 minutes).

Spoon the batter into the liners. Take your chocolate candy and press it into the centre of each cupcake.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cupcakes are baked through (test with a toothpick or a cake tester).

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: cupcakes, peanut butter

Another year, another birthday!

I don’t care how old you are, your birthday is a day to celebrate. It’s a day to feel special and to count your blessings.

I am thankful for my family and my friends, all of whom make my birthday such a special day. Of course, as I get older, I can’t help but also be even more thankful and feel even more blessed for those who have had such a huge influence on me but who are also no longer with me.

I am thankful for Nonna Teresa and Nonna Pia. I am thankful for Nonno Domenico (Papu’) and Nonno Antonio.

I am thankful for my papa’.

This year I’m celebrating in grand style with this luscious Brownie Latte Cheesecake from Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book.

It was made especially for me by Mama Cream Puff, the best baker I know!

Won’t you all come and celebrate with me?

Ciao!

For the second edition of Magazine Mondays (oooh - this is so exciting!) I decided to finally put the November 2006 issue of Food & Wine magazine out of its misery. This particular issue has been languishing in my magazine basket for almost a year thanks to two recipes that I’ve wanted to try, but haven’t until now.

For starters, I give you one of the most delicious and satisfying soups I’ve had in a long time: Spicy Grain Soup.

While the soup took some time to make (and considerable effort), it was all worth it in the end as I had a filling, warming and completely comforting soup. I also had lots of leftovers, which is great for weekday lunches!

And because one must always end a comforting meal with dessert, I decided to finally make the Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze.

Wow!

You’d think this cake would be very sweet but it’s actually quite subtle in the sweet department. It does, however, pack a big chocolate whollop. I’m glad I finally had the chance to try these recipes.

Here’s hoping you tried some bookmarked recipes of your own. If you did, let me know.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Ciao!

Technorati tag: magazine mondays

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada and it is without question, one of my favourite holidays. In fact, sometimes I will have little debates with myself (usually while baking) about which holiday I prefer: Christmas or Thanksgiving.

Nothing can match the light and magic of Christmas. However, Thanksgiving brings such joy and ease. It’s almost like Christmas without the pressure of buying gifts.

Mostly I love Thanksgiving for the turkey and the trimmings. I’m not complaining about my Italian background, I mean the food that I grew up with has been the basis for my love of food. But there has always been something so intriguing about turkey and cranberry sauce and gravy and squash. Yes. Even brussel sprouts fascinate me!

Happily, there is a huge chestnut-stuffed turkey in our oven right now! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

To celebrate the breadth of the harvest, I like to make a variety of small desserts so that people can sample a little bit of everything. One of the items I’ve made are these mini pumpkin cheesecakes. A few years ago I came across the best pumpkin cheesecake recipe (ever!) in The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.

The feast is going to begin soon so I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Ciao!

Technorati tags: thanksgiving, pumpkin, cheesecake

Guess what La Famiglia Cream Puff is doing this weekend?

You got it!

We’re up to our elbows in tomatoes and loving every minute of it. If you’re in the area, we’ve got an apron, a chair and a knife for you. Come by and help us cut up some tomatoes.

As an added bonus, you can have a slice of this delicious espresso cake courtesy of Father Giuseppe Orsini’s cookbook, Italian Baking Secrets.

Ciao!

Walnut and Espresso Cake
From Italian Baking Secrets by Father Giuseppe Orsini.

2 cups walnuts
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup strong espresso (you can use strong coffee if you don’t have espresso)
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a smaller baking pan. The original recope calls for an 8-inch cake pan but you can also use a small tubular pan as I did.

Take one-third of the walnuts and grind them in a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, chop the walnuts as finely as possible. Set aside.

Take the remainder of the walnuts and chop them a few times so that they are coarsely chopped. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, on medium speed, cream together the butter and the sugar and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Combine the espresso and the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low speed, begin adding the flour mixture and the coffee mixture in separate additions. Add the flour in three additions beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Once all the ingredients are incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat for a minute or two.

With a spoon or spatula, stir in the chopped nuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the finely ground walnuts over the top.

Bake for 40 minutes and then test for doneness by inserting a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, bake for an additional 5 minutes and test again.

Once the cake is done, remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake before unmolding to let the cake cool completely.

You can serve the cake as is or dust with some icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Technorat tags: cake, walnuts, espresso

After my very first baking job, the thrill of baking on a professional level quickly combined with the multitude of questions and problems that bakers who bake for a living face each day.

While I’m nowhere close to baking for a living (I have a full-time non-baking job thank you very much!), it did get me thinking about the challenges of trying to make a livelihood from flour, sugar and eggs.

As I tried to work my way through deciding how much a cupcake should cost or how much I should charge for a dozen cookies, a very interesting offer came my way.

A co-worker asked me to bake a birthday cake for her son. She wanted a frosted chocolate cake.

Easy!

Well … not quite.

As it happens, my co-worker’s son has a very serious peanut allergy.

Initially, I wanted to turn down her offer. While I was intrigued by the idea of baking and being paid for my first official birthday cake, I had no experience with peanut-free baking.

And so began the odyssey!

My co-worker was very reassuring and told me that as long as I took some very basic steps, everything should be okay. These steps included washing the counter and any utensils that I used with a bleach solution.

Okay. That didn’t sound too bad.

But deciding that I didn’t know nearly enough about the subject, I hit the Internet and quickly found myself falling into a pit of self-doubt. The more I read, the more concerned I became about accidental contamination.

Is a bleach solution strong enough to properly sanitize the baking area? Do the baking pans have to be cleaned as well? What about the mixer? What about the oven?

The more I read, the more scared I became. And the more I realized what a challenge it is to live with a food allergy. I never realized how much I take for granted that I can scoop up a handful of nuts and add them to anything that I’m cooking or baking.

After a second discussion with my co-worker, I calmed down and realized that as long as I sanitized my work area and my utensils, I’d be okay.

I emptied the refrigerator of any nuts and my mother helped me by cleaning it out and washing it down with a solution of water, dishwashing liquid and bleach. I washed the refrigerator because I usually store nuts in there and I wanted it to be completely sanitized before putting the cake in there overnight (I put the cake in a box first).

I washed all the surface areas in the kitchen, my stand mixer and my utensils with the same solution. I even bought a new baking pan and washed that as well for fear that my current baking pans might have residue on them that I wouldn’t be able to remove.

I even took the precaution of buying entirely new ingredients in the event that I’d dipped a measuring cup that had once held nuts into a container of flour or sugar.

Having gone through all this prep work, I finally got down to the business of baking. Because my co-worker and I decided that it would be best not to use any food colouring in decorating the cake, I was limited to mixing cocoa powder into some of the frosting for colour. This gave me the idea for a black and white cake.

My inspiration for the cake came from a cover of Gourmet magazine in 2004. From the moment that I saw this cake I knew that I would have to one day try making it. While my cake was square and my cupcakes were not as large (my co-worker was transporting the cake home via transit so I had to take into consideration that she couldn’t carry anything too big), I used the Gourmet cake as a visual inspiration for my own version of a polka dot cake.

Overall, the experience was quite rewarding. My co-worker (and her son) loved the cake and everyone seemed impressed with the way I decorated it (even though I felt it was a bit amateurish). I won’t lie, though. The preparation for baking the cake was intense and to be honest, I didn’t make a dime from this cake. I was exhausted when it was done and I spent a good part of the day worrying that there wouldn’t be any allergic reactions to the cake.

But the experience also made me realize how complicated baking profesionally can be. There is so much to consider! I see that the road to a successful business, is a long one. You truly have to love to bake!

Ciao!

For the cake recipe: Easy Chocolate Cupcakes. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 12-inch square cake pan. I then baked a second cake repeating the same process. I stacked the cakes and filled and frosted them with a basic icing.

Technorati tags: baking, cake

My apologies for the lack of posts around here.

It’s not that the Cream Puff has abandoned you or anything. It’s just that in all the recent heat and steam we’ve been experiencing lately, I’ve barely been able to muster the energy to lift a glass of iced tea to my lips.

Yes, it’s been that hot. Yes, it’s been that steamy. So much so that I suspect I may lose my title as honourary Southern Belle based on my inability to deal with it all.

What can I say? I’m a Northern girl at heart. I needs me my ice and snow!

But more than the steamy summer, I haven’t posted of late because, to be quite honest, I’ve had a bit of trouble letting go.

It was hard to let go of July and Lori Longbotham’s Luscious Berry Desserts (my Flavour of the Month for July).

It was hard to let go of sitting under the canopy in the yard as opposed to sitting in the basement in front of a computer.

It was just hard to let go.

And yet, in so many ways, July was about letting go. I hate to be the bearer of bad news to all you summer-lovers, but July’s end means that we’ve let go of the heart of summer. Sure most of August stretches before us and yes summer isn’t technically over until September. But you know once those school bells start ringing, it’s au revoir summer!

On a more personal level, July was the month that I let go of a lot of deadweight in the form of paper. I am embarrassed by the sheaves and sheaves of paper that I have been hoarding away in virtually every corner of my house. In the form of magazines, books, loose papers, they were everywhere! The arrival of my uncle from Italy and the impending arrival of two houseguests in the form of my Aunt D and my sweet cousin A from San Jose meant that it was time to take a serious look in all the cupboards and spooky places that I normally prefer not to look.

Food magazines galore.

Recipes galore.

Newspaper clippings of recipes galore.

All of it over every inch of this house. In every drawer, in every closet, in every cupboard, in every corner.

And the shame of it all is that in most cases, I’d barely even looked at any of these items in years. Case-in-point: last summer when we had the house painted, I packed away a stack of magazines and recipes in a large storage bin and shoehorned it into the closet.

“I’ll go through those as soon as the painting is done.”

Uh huh.

More than a year later, those very magazines and recipes in that very large storage bin remained buried at the bottom of the closet under a million other things.

Unlike other times, where I’ve merely paid lipservice to the act of truly cleaning and simply shuffled some papers here and stacked some more magazines there, it was time to truly take stock.

Why do I keep all these magazines? And why do I have all these loose bits of paper with recipes printed on them flying around my house? What is this all about?

As I sifted through the endless pile, I kept thinking to myself that I couldn’t possibly throw this recipe out or recycle that magazine. This is the 2002 issue of so-and-so that has that perfect recipe for watchamacallit that when I finally get around to making it will be the best thing ever.

And this faded piece of newsprint from 1992 has a recipe for baked you-knows that I’m going to make for whatshername’s party and wow everyone.

Oh, yes and there’s that post-it note with the recipe for that dish on it. It’s written in that horribly faded red ink and I’m probably going to have to hire an Egyptologist to decipher the hieroglyphics otherwise known as the instructions but that’s okay. When I finally do I’m going to cook up the dish of the century!

And so on. And so on. And so on.

A hundred best-chocolate-cakes ever. A thousand mouth-watering sugar cookies. A million mind-blowing apple pies. They were all there. Spread across my house like a trail of breadcrumbs.

And without thinking about it, I picked up all the bits of paper and put them in the recycling bin. I gathered all the magazines and brought them to work for my coworkers.

In one massive act of cleansing, I bid adieu to years worth of printed recipes and magazines.

Just like that. I let them all go.

Crazy of me? Perhaps.

But I think it’s more to do with the fact that it finally occurred to me that the best chocolate cake I will ever make is the one that I actually make. The imagination is delicious, but reality is even moreso.

It occurred to me that it was time to squelch the insecure little baker in me that keeps telling me I can bake a better this or a better that and just get down to the act of baking.

I let it all go.

I just let it all go. And I don’t regret it one bit.

Ciao!

Blueberry Cheesecake
From Luscious Berry Desserts by Lori Longbotham.

Note: My Flavour of the Month for August 2007 is Viana La Place’s lovely My Italian Garden. But before I get to that pretty little book, I had to say one last goodbye to Luscious Berry Desserts. Glory in the season’s most beautiful blueberries with this incredible cheesecake!

For the crust:

2 cups shortbread crumbs (about 20 to 25 shortbread cookies finely crushed)
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Combine the shortbread crumbs and the butter in a bowl and mix well.

Pack the crumbs into the pan, making sure to spread them about a quarter of the way up the sides of the pan. Place the crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups ripe blueberries

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine the cream cheese and the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed until smooth and fluffy (4 to 5 minutes).

Beat the eggs and the yolk in one at a time making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Add the heavy cream, the lemon zest and juice, the flour, vanilla and the salt. Mix well.

Using a rubber spatula, carefully mix in the blueberries.

Pour the filling into the prepared pan. Place the pan in the oven for 15 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 200 degrees F. and bake for an hour. Once done, turn off the oven and open the door slightly. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, refrigerate the cheesecake overnight (or for about 8 hours) before serving.

Serve the cheesecake with a fruit sauce like raspberry curd.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: cheesecake, blueberries

No sooner had I posted a story about baking for Jasmine wherein I had complained that it is often very difficult to find specialized baking ingredients in Toronto, when a number of you contacted me to let me know several places where I could, in fact, buy lavender in Toronto.

There’s nothing quite so humbling as being totally wrong on the Internet! And yes, I was totally wrong.

As it turns out, there are a few places in Toronto where you can buy organic, edible lavender.

I’d like to thank the following people for pointing that out to me:

Lisa in Toronto left a comment for me pointing out that Grassroots Environmental Products has two stores in Toronto that sell natural products.

Angie of of angiemckaig.com pointed out that you can buy organic lavender at Noah’s Natural Foods.

Aliza sent me a note suggesting that I try The Spice Trader, one of my very favourite stores in Toronto. While I’d never thought to look there, I’ll certainly take any excuse to visit such a beautiful store. (And you should too if you come to Toronto!)

And last but not least, Rob of Hungry in Hogtown pointed out that there is a flower vendor in St. Lawrence Market who would likely sell organic lavender, and sure enough, Allegro Flowers does indeed sell organic lavender!

To thank them for pointing out how wrong I was, I decided to try these adorable lavender cupcakes from Susannah Blake’s new cookbook called … you guessed it … Cupcakes. I am a marketer’s dream and my purchase of this book proves it. Strategically place a lovely cookbook anywhere in a bookstore and you can bet my eyes will find out. I’d never even heard of Susannah Blake and yet as soon as I saw this book, I picked it up, looked at the cover and marched straight to the cashier.

I didn’t even flip through it.

Not that I had to, mind you. It’s lovely. One word of warning, the recipes use self-rising flour, which can be difficult to find. I’ve adapted the recipe to use regular flour.

Toronto, these cupcakes are for you!

Ciao!

Lavender Cupcakes
Adapted from Cupcakes by Susannah Blake.

Note: Self-rising flour is white flour that has already had leavening agents mixed in. You can easily make your own self-rising flour by adding 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt to every cup of flour you need for the recipe that you’re baking. This recipe yields 12 cupcakes.

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. dried lavender (flowers only, no stems)
8 tbsp. butter (1 stick), at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. frated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

Place the sugar and lavender flowers in a food processor and process for about a minute. The sugar will appear slightly finer.

Place the lavender sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter and combine on low speed (with the paddle attachment) until just combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat the two together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs and beat well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Sift the flour into the mixture and then add the milk, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Mix until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the paper liners and bake for 15 to 18 minutes. The cupcakes are done when a tester poked into the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.

For the frosting:

1-1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1 egg white
1 tsp. lemon juice
purple food colouring (optional)
lavender sprigs for garnish (optional)

Place the egg white and lemon juice in a bowl. Slowly add the icing sugar to the egg white, beating constantly (you can do this by hand). Once the icing sugar has been incorpoated and you have a thick frosting, you can think it out a bit if you wish by adding a bit of milk. If you want to give the frosting a bit of colour, add the tiniest pit of purple or violet food colouring.

Put about a tablespoonful of frosting on each cupcake. Spreak it slightly with a spoon. Gently place a sprig of lavender on each cupcake and serve.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: cupcakes, lavender

When I went to Miami in April, I had one of the best mojitos ever. It was perfectly limey, perfectly minty, perfectly rummy, perfectly sweet, perfectly tart and generally perfect.

It was so good that as I lay on the beach I kept thinking how wonderful it would be to capture the taste of that perfect mojito in cake form, or cookie form, or muffin form, or pie form, or custard form, or … cupcake form!

Yes!

Suddenly the idea of a mojito cupcake flitted into my head and I was consumed by it.

Until I had another mojito and went out to partake in Miami’s famous nightlife.

Let’s just say the mojito cupcake was quickly forgotten.

But as often happens in the life of an amateur baker, a baking idea lost in one place will be born again somewhere else. And so it was that the mojito cupcake returned to me when I read that Mary of the elegant and lovely Alpineberry had chosen Tropical Paradise as the theme for the 33rd instalment of Sugar High Friday.

The life of my mojito cupcake began with a cake that I have come to adore, as have many of my family members and friends who regularly make this cake. You may already be familiar with it as it made its rounds in blog world a few years ago. I’m talking about the now famous Rum Butter Cakes from the blog Gastronome.

Rather than making one bundt cake, as I usually do, I made 30 mini cupcakes and one cake in a loaf pan. For the cupcakes, I altered the rum syrup by infusing it with lime zest and mint, as both lime and mint are key components of the mojito.

After letting the syrup soak into the warm cupcakes, I let them cool completely, and then topped them with a frosting made of cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, loads of lime zest and a healthy dash of rum.

I could have stopped there but wanted to add another “tropical” angle so I made a batch of macadamia nut crackle from a recipe from Food & Wine. I topped each with cupcake with a bit of the crackle.

Now my mojito cupcakes were ready to meet the world.

My taste testers were some very discerning people, indeed. Included were Mama Cream Puff (back from Italy!), Uncle S, Uncle N, my little cousin D and my neighbour who is one of the very best home bakers that I know.

The reaction was unanimous: the mojito cupcake was spectacularly successful! While it wasn’t quite as boozy as its liquid counterpart, it did a good job of capturing all the flavours of one of my very favourite summer libations.

I’m so excited about this cupcake, that I’m going to add it to my repertoire of baked goods for my burgeoning business experiment. Hopefully the orders for this cupcake will start rolling in.

Ciao!

Mojito Cupcakes with Macadamia Nut Crackle
Adapted from various sources (see above).

Note: This recipe yielded 30 mini cupcakes and one loaf baked in a 9 x 5-inch pan. You can also bake this in a standard 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan, as the original recipe indicates. Of course you can also adapt it to fit whatever pan or vessel you choose.

The frosted cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator and will keep for a few days. The unfrosted cupcakes or cake can be stored, well-covered, at room temperature and will stay fresh for a few days.

People often ask me where I find the tiny party cups that I use to make mini cupcakes. I buy mine from my local bulk food store, but you should be able to find them at any well-stocked kitchen store, cake decorating supply store or party supply store.

For the cupcakes:

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tbsp. dark rum
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place a rack in the centre of the oven. If you’re making the entire recipe as mini cupcakes, put 60 mini party cups on two baking sheets (30 on each one - you will then have to have two racks in your oven to bake both sheets of cupcakes at the same time. Put one if the top third of the oven and one in the bottom third. Rotate the trays halfway through baking). If you’re only making half the recipe as mini cupcakes, then put 30 mini party cups on a baking sheet and then butter and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan to bake the remainder of the batter as a loaf.

Combine the buttermilk, rum and vanilla extract. Set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift and then set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 4 to 5 minutes).

Reduce the speed to low, and add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

With the mixer still on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix well.

Add half of the buttermilk mixture and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Mix for a minute or two.

Add another third of the dry ingredients (on low speed) and mix well.

Add the remainder of the buttermilk mixture, once again scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Mix for another minute or two.

Add the remainder of the dry ingredients (on low speed) and mix for a minute or two, until the batter is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that all of the flour has been incorporated.

Fill the mini party cupcakes halfway with batter until you’ve used it all up. If you’re only making 30 mini cupcakes, then fill the 30 cups and pour the rest of the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake the mini cupcakes for 25 minutes and then test for doneness by inserting a cake tester into the centre of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean, they’re done. If not, bake for another 5 minutes. In my oven, the mini cupcakes took about 28 minutes.

If you’re also baking the loaf, that will require more time. In my oven, the loaf took about 50 minutes.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cook for 5 minutes before poking holes in them with a skewer or toothpick. Immediately spoon the rum syrup over the warm cupcakes and let them soak it all up. Once they’ve cooled completely, you can ice them with the lime and rum frosting.

For the rum syrup:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup dark rum
2 or 3 pieces of lime zest
a few sprigs of fresh mint

In a small pot, combine the sugar, water and butter over medium-high heat.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often.

Once the butter has completely melted and the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat.

Carefully add the rum. The mixture will bubble and spurt so take care not to burn yourself.

Once you’ve mixed in all the rum, add the lime zest and mint and let the syrup infuse for 5 minutes before spooning over the cupcakes.

For the lime and rum frosting (this will frost 30 mini cupcakes - if you’re making 60 then you will have to double the recipe):

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks), at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp. dark rum
zest of 3 limes

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter at high speed for 5 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low and add the icing sugar. Mix for a minute to incorporate the sugar and then increase the speed to high again and mix for another minute or two. The frosting should be light and fluffy.

Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the rum and the lime zest and mix at medium speed until well incorporated.

The frosting should be used immediately so make it once your cupcakes have soaked up the syrup and are cool. You can spoon the icing on with an offset spatula or knife, or you can use a piping bag to pipe a pretty design.

For the macadamia nut crackle:

Please follow the directions for this garnish, which is from Food & Wine’s site. The recipe is located here.

Technorati tags: cupcakes, mojito, lime, mint, rum, sugar high friday, shf

Well, it’s still very much hot in the city! I’m itching to try quite a few recipes from Lori Longbotham’s Luscious Berry Desserts (Flavour of the Month for July 2007), but I just can’t stand to turn on the oven.

And when even the Cream Puff won’t turn on the oven … well … that should tell you what the weather is like outside!

Instead, I’m making another withdrawal from my blog bank with a long overdue book review: Gale Gand’s Chocolate & Vanilla. I received this book many months ago and was pleased as I’d had my eye on it for quite awhile. While I’m very familiar with Gale Gand, surprisingly (even for me) I don’t own any of her cookbooks.

Chocolate & Vanilla is divided into two sections, obviously titled Chocolate and Vanilla! The book is filled with beautiful full-colour photos and has a very interesting design. If you open the book to the vanilla section, once you get to the end of that section, you have to flip the book over for the chocolate section. Alternately, if you open the book to the chocolate section, you then have to flip it over for the vanilla section.

At first I was a bit confused by this but once I realized that it was actually the design of the cookbook, I found it quirky and charming. It’s a bit risky, especially since it means that the book has no index. While each section does have a table of contents, the lack of index was probably the only drawback for me. I rely heavily on a cookbook’s index. But to be honest, it’s such a lovely book that I don’t consider it a huge deal.

Both the vanilla and chocolate sections begin with an excellent introduction, including histories of the ingredients and what to look for when buying vanilla and chocolate. The recipes are clearly laid out and they all begin with a very charming headnote. I love it when authors add a little intro to their recipes, whether it be to explain how the recipe was created or where it originates from. All of the recipes include very helpful elements like “do-aheads” and lists of what equipment you’ll need to prepare the recipe.

As for the recipes themselves, well, how do Cherries in Port over Vanilla and Late-Night Vanilla Flan strike your fancy? Anyone up for Chouqettes with Pearl Sugar or Vanilla Charlotte? And for those days when you simply must have chocolate, how about Black and White Cream Cheese Brownies or Mexican Hot Chocolate Fondue? Chocolate Babka? Chocolate Fudge Soccer Cakes?

Okay, I’ll stop now. Needless to say the titles of the recipes are endlessly tempting. But as always, the ultimate test of a cookbook is in the results. So what did I try?

Let’s start with some Chocolate-Amond Upside-Down Cake. The picture does not do it justice. It’s a moist, chocolatey sponge covered in sliced almonds smothered in a goey caramel. Yes. It’s that good.

Just one page later, Gand has a recipe for Chocolate-Praline Cake in a Jar. Intrigued by the idea of baking a cake in a jar, I took a closer look at the recipe and knew I had to try it. While I didn’t bake mine in jars (I used mini muffin cups), this was a true winner! The cake is dense and moist and the praline topping is irresistible.

As I read through the book, I found myself returning over and over to a recipe for Éclairs with Coffee Glaze. I adore éclairs and just couldn’t resist making these. Being a Cream Puff, I enjoyed the opportunity to make my close cousins the éclairs. And the custard filling and coffee glaze were amazing!

With three recipes under my belt, I was enjoying this cookbook more and more. Usually when I’m reviewing a book I’ll try three recipes but I was so intrigued that I had to try a few more.

The éclairs were followed by what has become my most favourite shortbread ever: Deep Chocolate Shortbread. When I tasted the shortbread shortly after baking it, I was a bit disappointed. It seemed to be on the bland side. But as with all good shortbread, it tastes much better when it’s had the chance to sit for a bit. The following day I bit into a shortbread bar and was blown away. The butter and the cocoa had melded perfectly. I’d buy this cookbook for this recipe alone!

Chugging along, I tried the Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins and the Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Strawberry Mash (sorry … no pictures). At this point, if you haven’t figured out that I’ve completely fallen in love with this cookbook, then hopefully the next and last recipe will convince you.

Allow me to introduce Mary’s Butterballs (also pictured at the beginning of this post)!

I will say this about Mary’s Butterballs. Lots of butter. A vanilla sugar coating. Nutella in the middle.

No need to say anything else.

If you’re looking for a great book on vanilla and chocolate, check this one out. If you’re a fan of Gale Gand’s, definitely check this one out! I’m amazed that such a slim cookbook could hold so many treasures, but it’s true.

Now if only it would cool down enough to bake!

Ciao!

Technorati tags: vanilla, chocolate, gale gand

… the Flavour of the Month for July 2007 … Lori Longbotham’s Luscious Berry Desserts!

Applause! Clap … clap … clap!

First of all, let me wish all of my American friends a very happy Fourth of July!

After a lovely long weekend wherein we Canadians celebrated our country’s 140th birthday on July 1st, it’s high time to get to the business of July. This promises to be another busy month as there’s so much fresh food everywhere!

I have so many ideas and recipes I want to try I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day or days in the month for that matter!

You can be sure that many of these creations will be originating from Luscious Berry Desserts. When I bought the cookbook last year, I knew immediately that I would be featuring it as a Flavour of the Month as soon as berry season was once again upon us in Ontario.

For those of you that don’t know, Lori Longbotham is a chef and a writer with a number of excellent cookbooks to her credit. While I don’t own all of them, Luscious Lemon Desserts, Lemon Zest and Luscious Chocolate Desserts all grace The Overburdened Bookshelf. I love everything about Lori’s books from the creative recipes to the beautiful photography.

Luscious Berry Desserts is no exception.

So please join me this month as we glory in berries galore!

And to whet your apetites … how about a little Blueberry Lime Cake?!

Ciao!

[Note: will post the recipe in a few days!]

When I read that The Domestic Goddess was bringing Sugar High Friday back to its beginning (so to speak), I was happy. It’s only right, after all, that the person who created such a popular event should get to host it every now and then. But I was even happier when I read that the theme for this month’s Sugar High Friday was The Sweetest Thing - our favourite desserts.

To be sure there have been SHFs that have been interesting, challenging and even a bit out there. But it’s nice, every once and awhile, to get back to the very foundations of your love for something - in this case dessert.

To say that one particular dessert is my very favourite is a bit difficult for me. I am a Cream Puff after all and I believe in supporting all of my family members, be they muffin, cake, pie, tart, custard or cookie. There is, however, most definitely one particular dessert that makes my heart swell with happiness as soon as I hear it mentioned: my Coconut Cream Cake.

Now to be fair, it isn’t really “my” Coconut Cream Cake. It is in fact a cake that belongs to Caprial Pence of Caprial’s Desserts (written with Melissa Carey). If you’ve ever seen the book or have the good fortune to own it, it’s the cake pictured on the front cover. I don’t often buy cookbooks without looking at them. But I bought this one as soon as I laid eyes on that cover.

I didn’t know what kind of cake it was, but I didn’t really care. I wanted it and so the cookbook had to be mine. As it turns out, it’s an incredible cookbook. I guard my copy jealously and I cherish every batter-stained page.

There’s no question, though, that were you to pick up my copy, it would almost definitely open of its own volition to page 236 and the recipe for Coconut Cream Cake.

As layer cakes go, it’s very straightforward. You begin with a sturdy cake with a soft and moist crumb that has been augmented by coconut milk. You add to it a delicious pastry cream made partly with more coconut milk and boosted by shredded coconut. And you finish with a lovely and simple buttercream, covered in toasted shredded coconut.

Really, on the surface there’s nothing unusual or out of the ordinary about this layer cake at all.

For me, it’s the coconut. My endless love.

I would crawl to the ends of the earth for coconut. I will eat it fresh or dried. I will eat it in sweet food or savoury food. I will drink anything even remotely associated with coconut flavour.

I remember the first time I tasted coconut like it was yesterday. I was a child, visiting my grandparents in Italy, and some friends of the family came to visit and they brought along some fresh coconut. After opening the coconut and cutting it into pieces, they plunged a plate of the stuff deep into the basin of the town’s fountain. And there it stayed for some time while the water turned the coconut icy cold. My first taste of it was a revelation! It was crunchy and sweet. But there was this hint of a nutty creaminess that I was immediately addicted to.

This cake makes me think of that first bite of coconut every single time I bake it. While I mostly bake for others, this is a dessert that I bake strictly for myself.

But of course this time around, I’m baking it for you too.

Enjoy …

Ciao!

Cream Puff’s Very Favourite Coconut Cream Cake
From Caprial’s Desserts by Caprial Pence and Melissa Carey.

Note: It’s best to make the pastry cream and the cakes the day before assembling the cake. I usually make them the night before. I make the buttercream just before I’m ready to begin assembling the cake. Once I begin assembling, I like to refrigerate the cake after each step. To frost the cake, I find that a cake stand is invaluable. If you want to read an amazing post about what it takes to bake and decorate cakes, read Anita’s post all about it on her blog Dessert First. This cake will easily serve 12 people.

For the coconut cake:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), cold and cut into small cubes
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
3 cups sifted cake flour
1-1/2 cups coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease two 9-inch pans. Line the bottoms of the pan with parchment paper and then grease the parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar at high speed. Mix until the butter is light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes).

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the eggs one at a time, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Combine the dry ingredients (salt, baking powder and flour) and add to the butter/egg mixture in two additions, alternating with the coconut milk. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 25 minutes to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the centre of the cake.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding them and peeling off the parchment paper. Let the cakes cool completely before filling them. If you make the cakes the day before assembling the cake, wrap them in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

For the coconut pastry cream:

1 cup half-and-half
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups heavy cream

In a saucepan, combine the half-and-half and the coconut milk and heat on high until the mixture is just about to boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, the cornstarch and the sugar. Whisk until well combined and the eggs are pale yellow (about 3 or 4 minutes).

Dribble in a few drops of the milk mixture and whisk. Continue dribbling in a bit of milk (don’t add it all at once or you may cook the egg yolks) and whisking. Once you’ve added about half of the milk, you can then add the rest in a steady stream, whisking all the time.

Return the milk/egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat (whisking constantly) until the mixture becomes very thick. This should take about 5 minutes or so. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture bubbles and you can see the bottom of the pan as you drag the whisk through it. Remove from the heat and stir in the shredded coconut.

Pour the pastry cream into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (the plastic wrap should touch the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate overnight.

When you’re ready to fill the cakes, whip two cups of heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the cream into the cold pastry cream until combined.

For the buttercream:

2 cups half-and-half
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1 pound unsalted butter (2 cups), at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Combine the half-and-half, the egg yolk and the cornstarch in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly to ensure that it’s smooth. When it comes to a boil it will thicken considerably. Remove from the heat and pass it through a sieve. Refrigerate for two hours.

After two hours, combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed for 10 minutes, stopping every once and awhile to scrape down the sides of the bowl. After 10 minutes, the mixture will be almost white in colour and very light and fluffy.

Add the salt and mix.

With the speed on low, add the cold half-and-half mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure it’s well incorporated.

Add the vanilla extract and mix.

Use the buttercream right away.

To assemble the cake:

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Split the two 9-inch cakes in half so that you have four layers.

Place one layer, cut side up, on a cake plate or cake cardboard. Spread about half a cup of coconut pastry cream on the cake layer. Leave about half an inch border all the way around to ensure the pastry cream doesn’t leak out.

Top with a second layer of cake, and once again spread about half a cup of pastry cream on the layer.

Top with a third layer and repeat with the pastry cream.

Top with the final layer and press down to ensure that the cake is firmly in place. At this point I like to refrigerate the cake for about half an hour to give the pastry cream a chance to settle and firm up a bit. I usually make the buttercream while the cake is in the refrigerator.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and begin icing. There are many different opinions on how to ice a cake. The way I like to do it is to spread a thin layer of icing on the top and the sides of the cake. Don’t worry if you pick up cake crumbs. Once you’ve done this, put the cake back into the refrigerator for about half an hour to firm up the buttercream.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and this time, add a nice thick layer of buttercream all around. Begin by putting a cup or so of icing on the top of the cake. Spread it evenly across pushing the buttercream all the way to the edges. Once it’s even on top, begin pushing the buttercream at the edges down the sides of the cake, adding more buttercream as needed. Once you’re done, smooth the sides of the cake as best you can. Even out the edges of the cake by placing your icing spatula flat on the edge and smoothly sliding it towards the centre of the cake. This should give you a nice edge all the way around.

Place the cake in the refrigerator for about ten minutes. Remove the cake and carefully apply the toasted shredded coconut all around the sides of the cake and on the top of the cake if you wish. If you have any extra buttercream, feel free to pipe a decorative design on the cake.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 or 4 hours before serving.

Technorati tags: shf, sugar high friday, coconut, coconut cream cake, cake

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the greatest benefit of blogging is the chance to meet so many wonderful people.

Shortly after I began blogging I had the good fortune to meet Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Sensual Gourmet. Intelligent, warm, witty, sexy, sweet, beautiful - these are all adjectives that could very easily apply to Jasmine.

But the one adjective that is most popular with me is generous.

A little over a month ago, I was moaning and complaining to Jasmine about how difficult it was to find certain ingredients in Toronto. As great a city as it is, in terms of baking products and equipment, Toronto can be a very small pond.

I was in search of organic lavender and was finding it very difficult to source in this great city of ours. I had no luck locating it and ended up extremely frustrated by the blank stares and silly questions I got in response to my queries for this product.

I happened to tell Jasmine about it and she immediately offered to send me as much lavender as I wanted from a local supplier (in her neck of the woods).

It’s taken me awhile, but Jasmine I’m finally thanking you in the most public way I can imagine.

To express my gratitude, I’ve made you this very special Lavender Cake from Tracy Stern’s Tea Party.

Thank you for being such a sweetheart!

Ciao!

Lavender Cake
Adapted from Tea Party by Tracy Stern.

Note: Stern adds lemon to this cake in her book but I’ve changed it to orange. This recipe yields two 8-inch loaves.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds (blanched)
1-1/2 cups sugar
grated zest of 1 orange
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 large eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. dried lavender buds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch loaf pans.

In a bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt). Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the almonds and 2 tbsp. of the sugar. Process until the almonds are ground. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, remaining sugar and orange zest. Mix on medium high speed until light and fluffy.

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

Add the orange juice and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk alternately. Begin and end with the dry ingredients in three additions. Be sure to add the dry ingredients on low speed. Mix well after each addition of dry ingredients and buttermilk.

After adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk, add the almond mixture and the lavender buds and mix until just combined.

Spread the batter in the prepared pans and be sure to even it off.

Bake the cakes for 50 minutes to an hour, or until they are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Then unmold the cakes and let them continue cooling on a wire rack.

Serve as is or dusted with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: lavender, lavender cake

Have you ever looked at a plate of pasta, your very favourite pasta, and thought back to the first moment that you tried it? Or how about the first time you tasted the richness of a tiramisu’ or the crisp bite of a biscotto?

Being born in an Italian family means that I actually have few recollections of the first time I tasted most dishes. I was probably eating pastina (soup with pasta), polpette (meatballs) and amaretti (almond cookies) before I could even talk! Still, though, I do have some memories of the first time I tried a dish. I still remember the first time I tried a pizza baked in a wood-burning oven and I can still taste the crispness of that crust!

Food and memory feature prominently in this post and its thanks to my dear Cath of beautiful blog A Blithe Palate. Several months ago, Cath approached me the opportunity to have a sneak peek at Faith Heller Willinger’s soon-to-be published book, Adventures of an Italian Food Lover.

Faith Heller Willinger is a food writer based in Florence, Italy. American by birth, Willinger married a Tuscan man and settled in Italy, although “settled” isn’t probably quite the right term. Fueled by a burgeoning love of food and wine, Willinger began exploring Italian food with a passion that is to be admired. And she saw Italian food in the unique way that only someone who is new to it can see it. Her experiences are documented in a number of books, most notably Eating in Italy.

Adventures of an Italian Food Lover is a difficult book to describe. When I first received a galley copy, I was deeply curious especially after a conversation with Cath who described it as unlike any cookbook she’d ever seen. In fact, to simply call it a cookbook is grossly unfair.

Willinger’s latest work truly is an adventure. Memory-filled narratives introduce each recipe. The pages of the book are graced with the artwork of Willinger’s sister, Suzanne. And the recipes themselves are both recipe and introduction to a new set of friends for the recipes all originate from people that Willinger has met during her food travels.

Imagine that. Imagine compiling a set of recipes from your friends and your family. How special would that be?

This book is so engaging. I read it from cover to cover in three days, something I’ve never done before with a “cookbook”. I have a feeling that if you could see it, you’d probably do the same!

The main reason behind receiving a copy was preparation for a very exciting event that Cath and I will be hosting based on Adventures of an Italian Food Lover. Within the next month or so, a number of bloggers in this community of ours will be receiving a copy of Willinger’s book and they’ll be charged with the task of choosing a recipe and preparing it for whomever they wish. They’re posts on the book will not be a book review, but rather an account of their experience sharing the dish they made.

For myself, as soon as I saw the recipe for Lucia’s Walnut Cake, I was incredibly drawn to it. First of all because it is so unique and unusual in the way that many Italian sweets are. It’s a “cake” made of egg whites, sugar and walnuts. No flour.

But I was also drawn to the recipe because I could imagine sharing it with my paternal grandmother, Pia. I don’t think I’ve ever really spoken much about my Nonna Pia. I met her only a few times in my life although I was fortunate enough to spend several months with her each time. She was the sort of woman that would put us “modern women” to shame.

She had six children, she was a farmer, she cooked over a fire, she had hands that were stronger than any man’s, she could hike into the hills forever and never get tired, she was intelligent and kind, she could protect her family and find a way to survive with next-to-nothing … she was formidable!

But there are two things that I remember most about my grandmother. I remember her beautiful, long grey hair that she would plait and then tie in a knot. And I remember the simple but delicious food she made. In particular I remember her plum jam and the simple cakes that she baked for us to enjoy with our morning coffee. Nothing fancy, just simple, wholesome food.

And for some reason when I saw the recipe for Lucia’s Walnut Cake, I knew that it would be the sort of cake I could share with my Nonna Pia. It’s something delicious out of almost nothing.

I hope that when Adventures of An Italian Food Lover is published in July, you’ll pick up a copy and meet all of Willinger’s charming friends. And I also hope that you’ll stay tuned for the blog event based on the book.

In the meantime, I hope you find a new food adventure every day!

Ciao!

You can read Cath’s post here.

Technorati tags: faith heller willinger, italy, italian food, lucia’s walnut cake

May has been such an incredible and busy month for me.

To begin with there was the launch of my blog redesign, which I’d been planning for months. In around that event, several other things happened to me this month that I’ve been so eager to share with you.

Just before the launch, I got to spend a week in Florida, enjoying the sun and the water in Fort Myers and Miami South Beach. And prior to that, I had two very exciting experiences. Earlier this month, I had the honour of having lunch with Dorie Greenspan, one of my baking idols. While I have a separate post planned for that, I wanted to write about what happened at the very beginning of the month that was truly a first for me.

I was offered and accepted my very first baking job! I’ve baked for friends and family before, but for the first time someone hired me to bake for an event.

The event in question was a bridal shower being held by a close friend of my mother’s, L. This friend was hosting a shower for her sister who is to be a June bride. When my mother worked with this friend, I would often make my coconut cupcakes, based on a recipe from Ina Garten. L loved the cupcakes so much that she asked if I’d make 30 for her sister’s shower.

While I was happy to make the cupcakes, initially I was very reluctant to ask for money. For a long time now I’ve been mulling over the idea of how to start a baking business at home. Somehow, though, charging someone that I consider to be a friend just didn’t feel right. But L insisted that she pay me so, without much thought, I threw out a figure that I thought was fair and she agreed.

The night before the shower, I baked the cupcakes in plain white liners. On the morning of the shower I dressed up the cupcakes by putting them in a second, prettier liner. After icing the cupcakes, I tinted some of the leftover icing a dark pink colour and decorated half the cupcakes with rosettes. On the other half, I sprinkled edible pink glitter.

While I’m sure a professional would have been able to do something far more elaborate, I thought my cupcakes were pretty and they were fresh and made with the fresh ingredients. That’s very important to me.

I delivered the cupcakes and L was very happy with them. She e-mailed me later to tell me that they were a hit. But this brought up an issue, which I’d been thinking about for awhile. L mentioned that a few people asked for a card as they might be interested in hiring me.

But I have no card.

And I have no card because I still don’t have a clear focus for my vision. As I mentioned above, I’ve been contemplating the idea of being a baking caterer of sorts. But my ideas are still unfocussed. I don’t really have a plan. Part of the reason I wanted to redesign the blog is that I wanted to begin developing an image identifiable with Cream Puffs in Venice. Something that one day, I could use as a business identity.

But this particular experience raised so many questions. And it brought to light the fact that as far as the “business” side of it goes, there’s a lot to think about.

While I was happy to be paid, in actual fact I probably spent double what I received. The cost of ingredients, the cost of the cupcake liners and the items I used for decoration, the cost of the boxes to store the cupcakes, the cost of gas for my shopping trips and for delivering the cupcakes, and of course the cost of my time — these were all factors that I didn’t really think about.

And of course, there’s the card. I’d love to have a business card, but I don’t have a business yet. And I still don’t know how I’d like my card to look.

All of these questions and all of this wondering is both exciting and a bit scary. As fun and thrilling as it was to bake for an event and be paid for it, I also feel like I lost an opportunity by not having cards to promote myself.

And now that I’ve gotten a taste of being paid to bake, I want to do it more.

As I relive this experience, I’ve decided to not worry so much about all the questions. This tends to be a habit of mine. I get so worked up about the unknown that I eventually convince myself not to take that first or second step.

I’m going to enjoy the experience for what it was: my very first baking job.

Let the cupcakes fall where they may!

Ciao!

Technorati tags: cupcakes, coconut, coconut cupcakes

I would be lying if I didn’t say that the tea party holds a very special charm for me.

As with so many little girls, I loved "hosting" pretend tea parties and insisted that all my dolls and stuffed toys attend. Once I was grown, my very first experience hosting an event on my own was a tea party that I held in the backyard for a handful of dear friends. I became addicted to the defunct (but soon to be revived) Victoria magazine, which always featured the beauty of the art of taking tea. And one day, I will make it to London where I will have a proper tea at one (or more) of the city’s best establishments.

Strangely enough, it wasn’t until very recently that I actually began to learn a bit more about tea. As a child, my experience of tea was limited to Italian chamomile and Tetley tea bags. But a burgeoning love of the beverage has led me to slowly begin learning a bit more about it. Tea originates from the bush known as Camellia sinensis. Tea can be divided into four basic types including black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea. In recent years, green and white teas have increased in popularity due to the numerous health benefits associated with them. Used to drinking black tea, I’ve come to love green tea and more recently white tea. I’m also a big fan of herbal teas, which are usually herbal infusions.

While I wish I could tell you a lot more about tea, I’m only just learning myself, although the history of this beverage is more than fascinating. If you’re interested in reading about the history of tea I recommend Liquid Jade:  The Story of Tea from East to West by Beatrice Hohenegger or The Empire of Tea by Alan and Iris Macfarlane, both very interesting reads.

This month, though, I’m particularly interested in the taking of tea. That’s why, when given the opportunity to review Tracy Stern’s gorgeous book Tea Party, I just couldn’t resist. What I particularly love about this book is the presentation of the tea party in many different forms. Tea is not just for the afternoon. The book is divided into menus for twenty themed parties ranging from the traditional afternoon tea to a Moroccan Valentine’s Day dinner to a Russian tea. There’s even a menu for a gentleman’s tea! I just can’t wait to spend the month of May exploring this book and I’m especially excited because I think a tea party is the perfect way to celebrate Mother’s Day.

To begin my look at the book I started at the beginning with a tea party planned around a New Year’s Day brunch. Stern’s menu for the occasion includes bibb lettuce, avocado, and green apple salad; steamed white and green asparagus with herbed goat cheese sauce; mini spinach quiches and vanilla tea-infused sponge cake. It’s the sponge cake that got me.

The original recipe is a very basic sponge cake recipe consisting of eggs, sugar and flour. The cake is flavoured by the addition of brewed vanilla tea leaves. This cake sounded so intriguing! While I didn’t have any vanilla tea on hand, I did have a variety of loose chai teas. I adore chai teas, especially in winter when their spiciness seems perfect for the season.

I decided to use a tea called Chai Indienne from one of my very favourite tea purveyors. Distinctly Tea is a charming tea shop based in Stratford, Ontario, home of the famous Stratford Festival. The Chai Indienne is a black tea with warm and spicy notes, but not too spicy. I brewed some of the tea and then let the tea leaves cool. Once cooled, I began mixing my batter.

This particular sponge cake has a very interesting preparation method. The eggs are separated and the yolks are mixed with the sugar in a pot over very low heat. I’m guessing this technique helps to dissolve the sugar quickly in the warming yolks. As the original recipe indicates you have to be very careful not to let the yolks get too hot or they will cook.

After heating the yolks and sugar, I removed the mixture from the heat and added the chai tea leaves. I immediately felt the urge to add cinnamon, which I did, and I also added a few drops of vanilla extract for good measure. I left the mixture alone for about five minutes so that the yolks could cool completely and the tea could infuse.

While the yolk mixture rested, I whipped the egg whites to stiff peaks. I added the flour (self-rising flour) to the yolks and then carefully folded in the whites. I decided to bake little Bundt cakes rather than one larger cake. The batter had a lovely golden tinge thanks to the tea and the cinnamon and I just couldn’t wait to see the end result.

After about 35 minutes in the oven, I ended up with six beautiful little cakes. Once cooled, I cut into one of them and I could see the flecks of tea leaves dispersed throughout the cakes. Biting into one, I experienced the familiar comfort of a good old sponge cake combined with the unique flavour of chai.

If the rest of May is going to taste this good, it’s just going to be one big tea party!

Ciao!

Mini Chai Sponge Cakes

Adapted from Tea Party by Tracy Stern.

Note:  The original recipe calls for vanilla tea leaves but I found this worked very well with what I had on hand, which was chai tea. The flour called for in the recipe is self-rising flour. I used Brodie Self-Rising Cake & Pastry Flour. I baked the cakes in a bundt pan that yields six mini bundt cakes. But you can bake this in a standard 10-inch Bundt pan. If baking in a large pan, bake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. brewed chai tea leaves (if the leaves are larger, chop them into very fine pieces)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup self-rising flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a mini bundt pan.
2. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a pan and the whites in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.
3. Over very low heat, combine the yolks and the sugar and whisk until the sugar is completely incorporated and has dissolved. Continue whisking for a minute or two until the egg yolks have become very pale in colour and increased in volume. Be very careful not to get the yolks too hot or they will cook.
4. Remove the yolk mixture from the heat and add the tea leaves, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Mix and let sit while you whip the egg whites.
5. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form (4 to 5 minutes).
6. Sift the flour into the egg yolk mixture and combine. The mixture may be stiff but don’t worry about it.
7. Add one-third of the egg whites to the yolk and flour mixture and stir until combined.
8. Add the remaining egg whites and fold them into the lightened batter.
9. Once done, spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. If using a mini-Bundt pan, bake your cakes for 30 minutes and then check for doneness by inserting a cake tester into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cakes are done. If not, bake for an additional 5 minutes and test again.
10. Once the cakes are baked, remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Unmold the bundt cakes and let cool completely.
11. Serve with tea and enjoy!

Technorati tags:  chai tea, sponge cake, tea party, tea

When my brother and I were children, we lived in a one television household. As horrifying as this may seem nowadays, it actually worked out quite well as the family enjoyed the viewing pleasure of Italian news programs, the Muppets, hockey and Sesame Street.

Television life, in general, was good.

Of course every now and then, the television gods would throw us a curve ball. For my brother and I, that came in the form of the "old movie". Being children, this meant anything that was in black and white, involved cowboys or - the horror of all horrors - had subtitles.

Shudder!

For the children in my family, Gone With the Wind was considered to be by far the worst old movie. This was due entirely to the fact that it was soooooooo loooooooong. Being allowed to watch television for only an hour a day at most meant that having the television monopolized by a movie that was over four hours in length seemed grossly unfair. Yet despite our most heart-rending pleas to forsake the movie in favour of Kermit and Miss Piggy, the answer was always the same. Gone With the Wind is on. We’re watching. Deal with it.

Sigh.

So, right around my eleventh year, I finally decided that if you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em. I sat my glum self down resigned to a night of hoop skirts and Southern accents. But as often happens in life, all it takes is a single moment to change your outlook forever. After one brief glimpse of Scarlett O’Hara flouncing around in yards and yards of beautiful material, with that floppy hat on her head and all those Southern boys clamouring for her attention, I felt transformed. In that brief moment I knew that my destiny was to be a Southern belle.

Try explaining that one to your Italian family. It became clear, very quickly, that a corset and big hat with a bow weren’t in my near future.

I fell in line comforting myself with the fact that my mother’s side of the family being from Southern Italy meant that I was already a Southern belle … of sorts. Of course my "Southern belleness" came with garlic, tomato sauce and kerchiefs wrapped around the head.

As time went by, I became resigned to the fact that the Old South just wasn’t in the cards for me. That is until I read an article about New York’s Magnolia Bakery and the famous Red Velvet Cake. I’d never heard of this dessert before and so knew little about its origins. But as I read more about it, it became apparent that the ubiquitous Red Velvet Cake may have been born in the Southern states. I’m not sure why, but I attached myself to this speculation like Scarlett grabbing on to a new dress.

Red Velvet Cake gets its name (as you may have already guessed) from the deep red colour of the cake’s crumb. While there is much arguing over how the cake gets its colour (some think it has to do with the reaction between the cocoa and the buttermilk that some recipes call for), the fact is that most of these cakes are red thanks to the use of red food colouring. Some sources indicate that when Red Velvet Cake was first made, cooks would have used beets to colour the batter.

In pursuit of this cake, my first idea was to go to New York and visit the famed Magnolia Bakery and of course try some Red Velvet Cake. Well the trip to New York hasn’t quite happened yet. So I finally decided that it was time for me to make it myself and take one step closer to claiming my rightful place as a Southern belle.

Happily, Red Velvet Cake was accepted as the challenge for the month of March by the Daring Bakers. For those of you that are familiar with our baking group, the Daring Bakers was started by Lisa and myself back in November 2006 when we decided we’d try our hand at pretzels. Since then, we’ve been joined by more and more bakers each month. In addition to Brilynn, Helene, Peabody, Jenny, Veronica, Hester, Mary and Tanna, we are joined this month by Freya of Writing at the Kitchen Table, Jen of The Canadian Baker, Morven of Food Art and Random Thoughts, Pat of Feeding My Enthusiasms, Mary of The Sour Dough and Valentina of Trembom in English.

And for this month’s challenge, the cherry on the sundae has been the beautiful logo designed for us by none other than Ximena of Lobstersquad. If you haven’t already been enjoying Ximena’s delightful illustrations, then you should be ashamed of yourselves! Especially since her blog is one of the most well-written and witty sites out there. Ximena, the Daring Bakers thank you. (I wonder how well Red Velvet Cake would hold up if mailed to Spain???)

Unlike previous challenges, we had a difficult time deciding on which recipe to use so we all tried the recipe that we preferred. I chose (of course) to try the recipe from More from Magnolia. Making the cake couldn’t have been simpler as this is a very standard cake that uses butter, flour, sugar, eggs, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. While I rarely use food colouring in baking, it was fascinating watching as the batter went from a creamy colour to a deep red. I’ll admit, my inner Southern child was quite delighted.

Because I wanted to bring this cake to a function I was attending, I decided to make cupcakes as they are easier to transport (for me) than a three-layer iced cake. The cupcakes baked beautifully and while the colour lightened slightly, they still remained a deep red. To adorn my beautiful red cupcakes I made the Creamy Vanilla Frosting, also from More From Magnolia. But being Southern, I just had to make sure that my cupcakes would be the most beautiful girls at the ball so I reserved some icing and used a few drops of red food colouring to tint it a lovely pinkish colour. I whipped out the piping bag and dolled my little cakes up.

The cupcakes were very good. They had a strong cocoa flavour but they were not at all heavy. The frosting was also just right for these cupcakes as they cake itself is was not overly sweet so it’s a good base for the frosting. And they were just so pretty to look at!

Now if only I could find my bonnet and parasol, I’d take my little cupcakes out for a walk and bask in the glow!

Ciao!

Note:  This was the first time that I made this cake so I did not adapt the recipe in any way hence I’m not posting it. However, More From Magnolia is a lovely baking book so I do recommend it. It has a number of delicious recipes (besides Red Velvet Cake) so its worth it if you’re looking for a cookbook on sweets. I followed the standard recipe and then baked it in two muffin tins which yielded 24 cupcakes in total.

Take a look at what the other Daring Bakers did with their Red Velvet Cakes:

Lisa:  The Cake That Had Me Seeing Red …

Brilynn:  Well it Certainly is Red

Helene:  Red Velvet Cakes …

Peabody:  Don’t Wear White When Eating This…

Jenny:  Exploring the Red Velvet

Veronica:  A Daring Cake for Daring Bakers

Hester:  March Challenge:  Red Velvet Cake

Mary:  Red Velvet Cake

Tanna:  Yes, It’s Really RED

Freya:  Introducing … The Daring Bakers!

Jen:  Daring Bakers March Challenge - Red Velvet Cake

Morven:  Daring Bakers Do Dallas

Pat:  Post not up yet.

Mary:  A Tale of Two Red Velvet Cakes and Sixteen Daring Bakers

Valentina:  Despite the Last Minute Rush, A Beautiful Recipe

Technorati tags:  daring bakers, red velvet cake, cake, magnolia bakery

I blame Mary.

I was doing alright. I was dealing with the fact that work has kept me out of the kitchen and away from my beloved baking. I was coping.

And then I saw Mary’s Almond Apple Bars and broke down. And it wasn’t graceful either. It was a temper tantrum worthy of any five-year-old anywhere.

"I want my baking!!!"

You see nothing gets to me more than baked goods with apples in them. For me, they are the epitome of comfort. To this day, my mother’s warm freshly baked apple pie is my very favourite baked thing in the world. So to see Mary’s delicious Almond Apple Bars was more than I could take.

I didn’t get home from work until past 11:00. I was exhausted, delirious, bleary-eyed and battling a headache that I’d had all-day long. And yet into the kitchen I went with my copy of Bread for Breakfast, my Flavour of the Month, which I flipped open to the recipe for Oatmeal Applesauce Bread.

What could possibly make you feel better than oatmeal and applesauce married in a beautiful, golden loaf? It took me about ten minutes to put this bread together. I threw in some orange for good measure.

And in the early hours of the morning, as I watched butter melt on a warm slice of this beautiful bread, I felt a little bit better.

Ciao!

Orange Oatmeal Applesauce Bread

Adapted from Bread for Breakfast by Beth Hensperger.

Note:  Bake this loaf in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. I use homemade applesauce when I make this bread but store-bought is fine. Just make sure that it’s unsweetened or your bread will be too sweet. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of chopped dried apples to be added but you don’t need them. I’ve been wanting to try the bread with dried apricots but haven’t had the chance. This bread has a lovely crumb filling and topping that is worth the extra effort.

• 1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1/2 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. orange zest
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-1/4 cups applesauce (unsweetened)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup pecans
• 4 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. orange zest

1. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients (applesauce, oil, eggs and buttermilk).
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t over mix. Let the batter sit while you make the crumb filling and topping.
6. By hand or in a food processor, chop the pecans until they are very fine. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and orange zest and mix well.
7. Spread half the batter in your prepared pan. Sprinkle half the crumb topping over the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the crumb topping and finish the cake by sprinkling the rest of the crumb topping over the batter.
8. Bake the bread for 55 minutes and check for doneness by inserting a cake tester or toothpick in the centre of the bread. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. If not, bake for an additional 5 minutes and test again. In my oven this cake took 55 minutes.
9. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  oatmeal, applesauce, bread

I am beginning to think that there should be an international holiday in the month of February dedicated to chocolate. If you support World Chocolate Day in February, raise your hand.

I’d raise mine, unfortunately both of them are currently filled with chocolate as that’s all I seem to be doing lately … stuffing my mouth with chocolate!

You can imagine then how happy I was that the little baking group that Lisa and I started in November chose to make a flourless chocolate cake for February’s baking challenge.

This time around, Lisa, Brilynn, Peabody, Helen, Veronica, Jenny and I have been joined by Mary, Tanna and Hester. Peabody’s suggestion to bake flourless chocolate cake was chosen as the winning challenge for the month. For a recipe, we turned to Tish Boyle’s amazing The Cake Book, which has an entire section devoted to flourless chocolate cakes. We chose one called Chocolate Intensity.

There was a time when I was intimidated when it came to these types of cake. The lack of flour worried me. How could something without flour be stable enough to work with? I’ve made a few of these cakes in recent years and have learned that there’s nothing to worry about. In fact, I think that a great flourless chocolate cake recipe is a must in every home cook’s repertoire.

This particular recipe is a dream. It’s made of chocolate, butter, coffee, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and a bit of salt. You melt the butter with the coffee and the sugar and then pour the hot mixture over the chocolate. After a few minutes you’re left with a thick chocolate mixture, to which you add well-beaten eggs. A touch of vanilla and salt and you’re cake is ready for the oven.

Covered in a gorgeous chocolate glaze, this cake is most definitely intense. It’s a jolt of chocolate satisfaction. I used espresso in the cake and somehow I think it served to add a little bit more oomph. The texture was soft, bordering on creamy. And it looked gorgeous. It was almost a shame to cut into it.

Almost.

Ciao!

Check out the posts of my bakers-in-crime:

Brilynn:  Would You Sponsor Someone Who Makes Cake Like This?

Peabody:  We Are At It Again …

Lisa:  Death by Chocolate

Helene:  Chocolate Intensity…Heaven

Jenny:  Chocolate!

Veronica:  Chocolate Intensity

Mary:  Chocolate Intensity

Tanna:  Must Love Chocolate

Hester:  Sorry Girls, No Oven. Me Sorry, No Cake.

I’m not quite sure how to say this. I’m about to attempt something I’ve never done before.

I’m going to try seducing a woman.

I’ll pause for a moment while you recover from that previous statement.

Ready?

Okay. Having been told that good Cream Puffs never chase after anyone, I find myself in unchartered territory. But I really have no choice. I am overcome with desire for a woman. Not just any woman, mind you. It’s Helen of Tartelette.

Normally I wouldn’t do this sort of thing. But my dearest Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Sensual Gourmet is hosting SHF #28 and the theme is Sweet Seduction. I am seduced by Jasmine’s brilliance all the time so I approve of her theme mightily. And lo and behold, I find myself as the seducer with Helen being the seducee.

So here goes:

Helen, I’m going to seduce you. Are you seduced yet?

Let me tell you why I’m going to seduce you, Helen. It’s because you sent me that beautiful postcard as part of Meeta’s Blogger Postcards Around the World. I waited patiently for my postcard to come and then there it was, in such a pretty pink envelope. And I opened it up and inside I found the most beautiful card. It had a sticker of a bag of flour on it! And a piping bag! I mean come on!!! Could anyone have possibly found a better card for me??? Helen, we were meant for each other.

Are you seduced yet?

No? Hmmm. Alright, Helen. I see I’m going to have to bring out the heavy artillery. I know, I know. You’re married and all that. With much respect to Mr. Tartelette, would he ever make you a marble cake, Helen??? Huh??? Would he???

And not just any marble cake. It’s one that has real dark chocolate melted and blended into the batter. And it has white chocolate chips blended in as well. When was the last time Mr. Tartelette took the time to do that for you. Hmmm????

Look at this picture, Helen. Look at the cake, Helen. Look at the creamy chocolaty goodness. You could have marble cakes every day if you were with me, Helen!

Every. Single. Day.

So Helen, are you seduced yet?

Ciao!

Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Chip Marble Cake

Adapted from Another Cup of Sugar by Anna Olson.

Note:  I purchased this cookbook a few weeks ago and have completely fallen in love with it! This is is another winner. The cake should be baked in a 12-cup Bundt pan and will serve 10 to 12. Or Helen. But stay away from here as she’s mine. Go find your own Helen!

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 oz. chocolate (70% cocoa solids or higher … it all depends on how high you’re willing to go!)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter and flour your bundt pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar and high speed until fluffy (about 2 minutes).
5. Add your eggs to the batter, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
6. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix for another minute.
7. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture a bit at a time.
8. Remove one-third of the batter and put it in a bowl. Add the melted chocolate and the white chocolate chips. Mix well.
9. Spoon the batter into the Bundt pan, alternating between the plain batter and the chocolate batter. Once done, take a spoon or a knife and run it through the batter, swirling as you go to create a marble effect.
10. Bake the cake for 1 hour. After an hour, check for doneness by inserting a cake tester or toothpick in the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is done. In my oven, the cake took about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
11. Let the cake cool before removing from the pan.
12. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  cake, marble cake, bpw, sugar high friday, shf

I’m a sucker for Valentine’s Day.

I know many people don’t enjoy this day, viewing it as a hugely commercial event, one that is a purely made-up celebration to sell overpriced roses and sappy cards.

While that may be the case, as the day nears, I can’t help but think pink, heart-shaped thoughts.

This isn’t so much because of the romantic angle, it’s actually more because of the memories that Valentine’s Day awakens. Come February 14th, I always think of my father.

While my parents weren’t the type to get all mushy, my father always brought flowers home for my mother and for me. And no matter what, I can’t help but feel just a bit sad each Valentine’s Day since he’s been gone.

Usually he would buy red roses, but one year, knowing my love of the colour pink, he came home with an arrangement of silk flowers in a pink container. When I took a closer look at the container, I noticed that it said "It’s a Girl!" on it. English being my father’s second language, I doubt he even noticed that. But to this day, I look at that little arrangement and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

It would be easy to get caught in the frenzy of Valentine’s Day. As someone who loves to bake, the temptation to try my hand at the most elaborate of desserts is a strong one. But knowing my father, he’d appreciate something simple and basic.

And when I think of simple and basic, I always think of a beautiful, golden yellow cake. There is nothing fancy about this one. Once you find a recipe you like, you could probably make it with your eyes closed as it’s so easy. You don’t have to set the timer because you’ll know by sight and smell that it’s done. You can eat it on its own, you can frost it, you can freeze it, you can do a million things with it. It’s reliable, safe, delicious and beautiful in its simplicity.

It’s just like my papà.

Ciao!

Note:  The recipe for this particular cake is from Anna Olson’s Another Cup of Sugar. This was the first time that I tried the recipe so I’m not comfortable posting it as I have not adapted it in any way. However, you can try this recipe or this one, as they both yield a very similar cake. Once cooled, I split my little cakes in half and spread some strained cherry jam on one of the halves, and then put the cakes back together. I topped the cakes with a rich chocolate ganache. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  cake, valentine’s day

Sometime, one needs to bring some colour into one’s wintry life.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the winter. Mostly. I love the feeling of being tightly ensconced in the house, with nothing to do but make gurgling, hearty soups and puffy muffins that you have no choice but to slather in butter.

I don’t mind winter’s greyness … or its bluster.

But sometimes, even I need to inject some colour into winter’s canvas. And it’s at times like these that I turn to all those summer berries, packed safely away in my freezer. In the midst of July and August’s unbearable humidity, while others are hugging their air conditioners, I’m scouring Toronto’s farmer’s markets for lovely berries. And then I come home, wash them and freeze them for those long, cold winter days when I need a hit of colour.

This has become one of my very favourite cakes to make. Feel free to make it in summer with fresh berries, but it works brilliantly with frozen. It’s orangey and pretty, and a reminder that for those of us that are cold-bound for a few more months at least, a warmer season is always around the corner.

Ciao!

Orange Bumbleberry Cake

Adapted from Another Cup of Sugar by Anna Olson.

Note:  I usually bake this cake in a 12-cup capacity Bundt pan. On this occasion I decided to bake it in a baby bundt pan. You can use any combination of berries you like. This cake will serve 10 to 12.

For the cake:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1-2/3 cup sugar
• 2 to 3 tbsp. grated orange zest (the original cake uses lemon zest)
• 2 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cake and pastry flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2/3 cup frozen raspberries
• 2/3 cup frozen blueberries
• 2/3 cup frozen strawberries (cut into small pieces)

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup sugar

For the mascarpone drizzle (optional):

• 1/4 cup mascarpone, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp. heavy cream (you may need a bit more)
• 2 tbsp. icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12-cup capacity Bundt or cake pan.
2. Combine the whole milk and the freshly squeezed orange juice (this will sour the milk to create the same effect as buttermilk … alternatively you can use a 3/4 cup buttermilk). Set aside.
3. Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar on medium speed until fluffy (2 to 3 minutes).
5. Add the zest and vanilla extract and mix for another minute on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well on medium speed.
7. Alternating the flour mixture and the milk/orange mixture, add them to the batter beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Don’t over mix the batter.
8. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Combine your berries in a bowl and sprinkle on a few tablespoons of flour. Mix the berries with the flour. This will prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of your cake.
9. Gently fold the berries into the batter and then spoon the batter into the pan.
10. Bake the cake for an hour, and then check for doneness with a toothpick or cake tester by piercing the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake for an additional 5 minutes and then test again.
11. Remove the cake from the oven and poke holes in the top. Set the cake on a rack to cool.
12. In a small pan, combine the orange juice and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir to ensure that the sugar has dissolved. Let boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the glaze from the heat and pour over the top of the cake.
13. Let the cake cool in the pan and then unmold.
14. In a bowl, combine the mascarpone, cream and icing sugar. Mix to form a loose icing or glaze. You should be able to drizzle it easily over the cake. If it’s too thick, add a bit more cream.
15. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  cake , bumbleberry

Not with a man.

Not with a Cream Puff.

With a book!

I am working on a review of the cookbook Essence of Chocolate:  Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger. The review isn’t ready yet, but I just had to tell you about it and give you a sneak peek at one of the incredible recipes that this book holds within its beautiful pages. I know I’m always going on and on about cookbooks, but this one really is a winner.

I leave you with this unbelievable Banana Caramel Cake.

Ciao!

Banana Caramel Cake

Adapted from Essence of Chocolate:  Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger.

This recipe takes banana cake to a whole new level. While I initially thought it might be too sweet with the sugar, chocolate, bananas and caramel, the cake is instead balanced and spicy with a lovely sweet note. A classic!

For the cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 1-1/4 cups vegetable oil (or canola oil as in the original recipe)
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 3 oz. chocolate (I used a 65% chocolate), broken into small pieces (size of chips)
• 3 ripe bananas, diced

For the caramel:

• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. whole milk
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1. Butter and flour a tube pan or a bundt pan that can hold 12 cups.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda).
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, oil and sugar. With the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that the sugar has been incorporated.
6. Add the vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds.
7. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a bit at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then to ensure everything is incorporated.
8. Once the dry ingredients have been added, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the pecans, chocolate and bananas. Gently fold them in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Don’t over mix.
9. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes and then test the cake to see if it’s done by poking a toothpick or cake tester into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake the cake for another 5 to 10 minutes. In my oven, this cake took 55 minutes.
10. About 5 to 10 minutes before the cake is done, make the caramel by combining all the ingredients in a small pan. Bring to the boil and stir occasionally to ensure that it doesn’t burn. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then turn off the heat.
11. Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer. Immediately pour the caramel over the cake, stopping every now and then to let the caramel sink in. If the caramel pools in spots, poke more holes to allow it to sink in.
12. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once it’s cool, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and then unmold it onto a plate.
13. Enjoy!

Note:  This cake will easily serve 10 to 12. Because I let the cake cool, I had no problems unmolding it. If you unmold it while it’s warm, be careful as it may stick.

Technorati tags:  banana, banana cake, chocolate

It’s difficult not to like Nigella Lawson. You’d have to be hard-hearted indeed not to fall prey to the charms of this intelligent, witty and yes - gorgeous - woman. As a television personality, her presence is infectious. Don’t we all wish we could look so good throwing egg shells into the sink?!

I own two of Nigella’s cookbooks and love them both. Simply put, her recipes work. Her Sticky Toffee Pudding (Nigella Bites) is probably one of my family’s favourite desserts. Her Madeira Cake (How to Be a Domestic Goddess) is a quick and reliable treat when you just have to have something sweet with your coffee. And if you can make her Christmas Pavlova (How to Be a Domestic Goddess) and not eat it all in one sitting, you’re a better Cream Puff than me.

I recently had the opportunity to review her most recent cookbook, Feast. Released in paperback in September 2006, Feast follows in the footsteps of Lawson’s previous books. Beautifully photographed and written, Feast is Lawson’s statement to the world that any special occasion is worthy of a food celebration.

The cookbook is divided into many sections that cover every imaginable festivity or important moment that would necessitate a special meal. While the obvious occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas are there, there are also sections devoted to Breakfast, Valentine’s Day and my personal favourite, the Midnight Feast.

I think that Lawson is an incredible writer and it shows both in the Introduction to the cookbook as well as the introductions to each section. It’s almost impossible to argue with her logic for going all out to prepare the meals of your dreams, whatever the occasion. I found the head notes to her recipes particularly enjoyable, especially the ones that offer a glimpse of her own family life. Nothing helps a reader to identify with a cookbook than a sense of camaraderie with the author.

I think this is Lawson’s greatest success as a cookbook author. She may not be a professional chef, but her recipes are enticing and well-written. And because she doesn’t talk down to her reader, it’s easy to visualize yourself making the recipes. It’s easy to imagine what those dishes will look like on your own table in your own kitchen.

Feast has something for everyone. It will satisfy the the carnivore, the vegetarian and the cream puffs (that is, those who crave sweets!) among us. And I warn you, the pictures will make your mouth water.

As I read through the cookbook, I found the recipes to be clear and well-presented. Well-suited to the home cook, the recipes can be easily managed by cooks of all backgrounds and levels of experience. For those with a bit more experience, I think the recipes are generous enough that they invite improvisation and adaptation. After all, what’s better than a cookbook with recipes that inspire you to bigger and better things?

But the final proof, as they say, is in the pudding so it was time to roll up my sleeve and try some of the recipes. The first recipe I tried was Andy’s Fairfield Granola. Lawson got this recipe from Andy Rolleri of The Pantry deli in Fairfield, Connecticut. I’m a bit of a tough judge when it comes to granola recipes as I personally think that I make a mean granola.

I was pleasantly surprised by this granola recipe. It was easy to pull together and the end result was a nutty granola that was crunchy, but not too sweet. The only hiccup in the recipe as far as I was concerned was the use of brown rice syrup or rice malt syrup. I have no idea where to locate those ingredients so I used golden syrup instead(the recipe gives you that option) and I don’t think the granola suffered one bit. I also added dried cherries for colour. Delicious!

Having started with a lovely breakfast, I thought it was time to move directly to dessert. But then I thought that I should at least try one of the savoury recipes in the book. Cream Puff cannot live on dessert alone.

I found myself repeatedly drawn to a recipe for Hot Pepper Relish to be served with melon. This relish is Georgian in origin and can be kept refrigerated for several weeks. While I didn’t want to have it with melon, I was intrigued by the relish as we enjoy spicy condiments with many of the foods we eat.

I made my version of this pepper relish with hot banana peppers and jalapenos (as opposed to red chiles in the original). I also topped my relish off with olive oil after I put it in a glass jar. Without question, this was a huge hit! We ate the entire jar of relish in one sitting on toasted bread rubbed with garlic. It was spicy with a nice vinegary bite. I’ve already gotten requests for seconds.

Having gotten the savoury out of the way (yes … I know … relish isn’t the best representation of savoury but what can I say … I’m a Cream Puff), it was time to go for dessert.

As soon as I saw the photograph of the Baci di Ricotta, piled high on a beautiful stand and covered in icing sugar, I dreamt of making them. Made with ricotta, eggs, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract, these ricotta fritters were a snap to pull together. The batter comes together in less time than it takes to heat the oil. One of the other attractive points of this recipe is that while you are frying in oil, you’re not frying in a lot of oil, which is nice for those that are intimidated of deep frying.

These fritters were golden on the outside and feather-light on the inside. We gobbled them up warm, drenched in icing sugar which actually melted into the warmish fritters. Heaven!

Having had our dessert appetizer, it was time to get serious. We unbuckled our belts and undid our pant buttons, ready to dig into cheesecake … Chestnut Cheesecake. I have a huge love of chestnuts and find beautifully roasted chestnuts impossible to resist. This particular cheesecake called for chestnut puree which I’d never tried before. My very well stocked supermarket carries a lovely chestnut puree from France. Besides the puree, this is a very straightforward cheesecake. I decided to give my new mini-cheesecake pans a try and was pleased at how beautifully the little cheesecakes turned out. While they would have been quite good on their own, they’re pushed over the top by a rum syrup which compliments the chestnut filling perfectly.

While I would count the Hot Pepper Relish and the Baci di Ricotta as my favourites, all four recipes turned out exceedingly well. And believe me, I’m looking forward to trying many more. Who knew feasting on Nigella could taste so good?!

Ciao!

Hot Pepper Relish

Adapted from Feast by Nigella Lawson.

• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
• 1 celery stick, cut into 2 or 3 pieces
• 2 banana peppers, cut lengthwise and the seeds removed
• 2 jalapeno peppers, cut lengthwise and the seeds removed
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed
• 1/2 cup parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Place all the ingredients, except the parsley, vinegar, salt and olive oil, in the bowl of a food processor and process until everything is finely chopped.
2. Add the parsley, vinegar and salt, and pulse 4 or 5 times. Taste the relish and adjust the seasoning according to your own tastes.
3. Place the relish in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.
4. Remove the relish from the refrigerator and spoon into a fine-mesh sieve. Let the relish sit in the sieve for 5 minutes to allow some of the excess liquid to drain.
5. Spoon the relish into a sterilized glass jar, leaving an inch at the top of the jar. Pour the olive oil in, a bit at a time, allowing the olive oil to seep down into the relish.
6. Store the relish in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.
7. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  nigella lawson, feast, granola, relish, peppers, cheesecake, chestnuts

The nominees for the 2006 Food Blog Awards have been released and to my great surprise, I have been nominated for the Best Food Blog - Writing category!

When I started this blog in December 2005, I did it so that I could have a place to share my passion for baking and cooking. And I also did it so that I could use some of those cookbooks that keep appearing on The Overburdened Bookshelf.

I have no idea how they get there.

Really.

As I celebrated a year of blogging, I was thinking about how lucky I’ve been to first and foremost have met so many wonderful people, a few of whom I’ve been able to meet in person. Add to that the fact that I’ve tried so many new recipes and learned so much … well … I thought I couldn’t possibly be more fortunate.

But to be nominated, and then to make the top five in a category with such talented and worthy writers, well it’s just too much! From the bottom of my heart I thank you!

And I also urge you to go and vote. The polls are open until January 9th. There are so many talented nominees and the choice will be difficult. But please do cast your ballot for your favourites!

I’m so happy after this good news that I can share this beautiful cake with all of you. This is an orange and lemon cake from Patricia Wells’ book, Trattoria. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Patricia Wells, she’s a prolific writer who has been a food critic and restaurant reviewer. She is a highly decorated cookbook author who counts a Julia Child/IACP Award and a James Beard Foundation Award among her accomplishments. Besides Trattoria, she has written numerous cookbooks including several all the food of Provence. As if that’s not brilliant enough, Patricia teaches cooking classes in Paris! My dream is to be able to attend on of those classes one day.

One day!

Patricia’s books have an ease to them that is inviting and appealing to a home cook like myself. It’s easy to feel yourself in an Italian trattoria or in a Provencal kitchen while flipping through one of her books. Her recipes are clear and authentic, and I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed.

I received Trattoria as a Christmas gift in 2005, and I realized recently that I had yet to really take an in depth look at the book. While on my trip in December, as the time to leave neared, I found myself beginning to yearn for the simple yet robust food of home. I enjoyed all that I ate while in Europe (believe me I did), but I was ready to come back to some good solid pasta! Without much hesitation, I chose Trattoria to be the Flavour of the Month for January 2007 as it contained so many of the soul-nourishing recipes I seem to be  yearning for these days. Now while I would normally begin my exploration of a Flavour of the Month at the beginning of the book, I found myself drawn to the section on Desserts.

Me? Drawn to desserts? Shocking, isn’t it?!

One particular sweet kept tempting me and it took the form of Patricia’s Fragrant Orange and Lemon Cake (Torta di Arancio e Limone). There are no photographs in Trattoria, yet the description of this cake, so full of zest and citrus juice, had me envisioning what the final product would look like even before I tried it. I could already smell the heady aroma of this cake coming out of the oven. And something about the combination of orange and lemon, at this time of year, just felt so right. Besides the fact that it hasn’t been the coldest of winters (yet), it feels so virtuous to be eating a cake full of vitamin-packed citrus. Why it practically cancels out all the butter!

I said practically.

Beyond the health benefits of this cake (minimal though they may be), I love filling the kitchen with oranges and lemons, especially around the holidays. They lend such a festive air to the table so baking this cake made me feel like the best part of the holidays … the part where you bake and rest and enjoy time with your friends and family … could continue even though the holidays themselves are over.

I wish you all a wonderful January and I hope that if you have the chance, you will try this lovely cake and that it will warm your kitchens wherever you are.

Ciao!

Orange and Lemon Cake

Adapted from Patricia Wells’ Trattoria.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp. grated orange zest
• juice of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 orange
• a few drops of orange oil (optional)
• 3/4 cup milk (preferably whole)
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup vanilla sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar (if you don’t have vanilla sugar, just use 1-1/2 cups regular granulated sugar)
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• icing sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and butter and flour a 9- or 10-inch cake pan or springform pan. If you use a 9-inch pan, make sure it has sides that are at least 3 inches high or your cake batter may overflow.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Once sifted, add the orange and lemon zests and mix well. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle attachment on medium speed, combine the butter and sugar and mix for 2 to 3 minutes until the butter is light in colour and appears fluffy.
4. Combine the lemon juice, orange juice and milk and stir.
5. Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture, one at a time, on medium speed, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
6. Begin adding the dry ingredients, in three additions, and then alternating with the milk/juice mixture. You should begin with the dry ingredients and end with the dry ingredients.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour. Check the cake after 50 minutes by inserting a toothpick or cake tester into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, continue baking the cake. In my oven the cake took an hour so the baking time may vary based on your oven.
8. Once done, remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, unmold the cake and dust with icing sugar before serving.
9. Enjoy!

Note:  The original recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups of vanilla sugar, but that would have completely exhausted my supply so I cut that down to a 3/4 cup of vanilla sugar and then used a 3/4 cup of regular granulated sugar. You can use 1-1/2 cups of regular granulated sugar and add vanilla extract for the vanilla flavour. If you want to make your own vanilla sugar, simply take a few pods of vanilla and place them in a container. Cover the pods with sugar and leave them for a week or two so that the sugar absorbs the aroma of the vanilla. Each time you use some sugar, be sure to replenish the supply in the jar. And any time you use a vanilla pod, don’t throw it away. Dry it off and then add it to your jar of sugar.

I also used orange oil in this recipe because I love the intense orange flavour that it imparts. You do not have to use orange oil. The zest and juice is fine.

Technorati tags:  food blog awards, patricia wells, oranges, lemons, cake

Cream Puff and her family would like to wish all of you a wonderful and happy Christmas!

Buon Natale a tutti … Merry Christmas to all!

Ciao!

My friends, I have returned! My trip to Berlin, Prague and Vienna was unbelievable and surpassed all my expectations. Time and time again, I was amazed by the history, sights, food and people of these three great cities. Berlin opened my eyes. Prague gave me goose bumps. And Vienna …

Vienna melted my Cream Puff heart!

Perhaps the best part was my unforgettable meeting with Angelika of The Flying Apple. My tour ended on Sunday but I very wisely added a few days to my trip. For this reason I was able to meet with Angelika for a lovely dinner. However sweet and dear she may seem through her blog, she is a thousand times more sweet and dear in person. And best of all, she told me the exciting news about the realization of a life-long dream of hers!

The only bad thing I can say about my trip is that jet lag sucks. It’s after 5:00 a.m. in Toronto as I write this (11:00 a.m. in Vienna). I’ve been wide awake since 2:30 a.m. and my body is wondering why I’m not sitting in a cafe sucking back cup after cup of glorious Viennese coffee and stuffing my face with pastries?

On second thought, why aren’t we all doing that???

Sigh.

Ah, well. I shall regale you with some of the stories and pictures of my trip during the lull (if you can call it that) between Christmas and New Year. In the meantime, I shall combat my jet lag by taking care of some serious business in the form of crowning a champion in the "Name That Cupcake" contest.

You have been very good little boys and girls while I was away. I’m impressed at how well you completed your homework assignment. In fact, I think you all deserve an A+!

Choosing was a very difficult task, however, I had to do it. In the end, I chose the very first name I received: Penguin Cakes. The name was submitted by Connie of Life Love Chocolate. I couldn’t resist Penguin Cakes because I really do think the cupcakes look like penguins and also because I have a soft spot for those adorable little creatures. I’ve seen March of the Penguins about ten times and generally find myself crying through it. Penguin Cakes, it is!

Congratulations to Connie! You will be receiving a brand new copy of Tish Boyle’s The Good Cookie. I’d like to thank everyone that submitted a name for making the first food-naming contest on my blog a huge success. There will be more to come!

Ciao!

Little Penguin Cakes

Adapted from www.epicurious.com and The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

For the cake:

I’ve been making this chocolate cake for awhile. The original recipe is from www.epicurious.com and can be found here. Feel free to try the original recipe as printed the first time to get a feel for the cake. It’s very versatile and can be baked in different sized pans including mini-cupcake pans (that’s usually how I bake this cake). The main adaptation that I’ve made is that I use very dark chocolate instead of the semisweet chocolate. It’s the cake I turn to when I want my dark chocolate fix.

• 3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I will use a 75% or 80% dark chocolate)
• 1 cup brewed hot coffee (should be strong coffee)
• 3 cups sugar (sounds like a lot but the dark chocolate balances the sweetness)
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1-3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and line 2 mini muffin trays with paper liners. (If you’re not using mini muffin or regular muffin trays, butter and flour whatever sized pan you’re using.) Place two racks in the oven, one in the centre and one close to the bottom of the oven. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a cup or a bowl, combine the chocolate pieces and the hot coffee. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the chocolate should be melted. Stir until the mixture is smooth and set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium speed until they are light in colour (3 to 4 minutes).
5. Add the vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract and mix on low speed for a minute or so until combined.
6. Add the chocolate/coffee mixture and mix on low speed for a minute or two until combined.
7. Add the dry ingredients and continue mixing on low speed until everything is just combined, but don’t over mix.
8. Spoon the batter into your paper-lined mini muffin tray. I am usually able to fill 2 24-cup capacity mini muffin trays with this recipe.
9. Place the trays in the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, rotate the trays (bottom tray to centre and centre to bottom tray) and bake for another 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes are up, check the cupcakes for doneness by inserting a toothpick or cake tester into the centre of a few of the cupcakes. When the toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. If the cupcakes are not done, continue baking, checking every 5 minutes for doneness. (In my oven, these little guys took about 35 minutes.)
10. Once done, remove the cupcakes and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, you can sprinkle them with icing sugar and serve or you can frost them.

For the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

Because these mini cupcakes save me when I need a chocolate fix, I tend to eat them with just a bit of icing sugar sprinkled on. For the Name That Cupcake contest I decided to test a frosting recipe from Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book. This frosting couldn’t be easier!

• 1 pound (2 8-ounce packages) cream cheese
• 3 ounces white chocolate
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• approximately 2 cups icing sugar

1. In a double boiler, melt the white chocolate, being careful not to let it burn. Once melted, stir the chocolate and set aside for a minute or two to cool.
2. While the chocolate is cooling, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Combine on high speed.
3. When the chocolate has cooled a bit, add to the cream cheese and butter and mix on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix for another minute.
4. Add the cream and vanilla extract and mix for a few more second.
5. With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding the icing sugar a half cup at a time. Once the frosting reaches the desired thickness, stop adding icing sugar and use the frosting immediately. The original recipe calls for 1-2/3 cups of icing sugar and I found that I used about the same amount for this frosting.
6. Either dollop the frosting onto the cupcakes or scoop it into a piping bag and pipe it on.
7. Frosted cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if not eaten right away).
8. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  chocolate, cupcakes

Well, my bags are packed, I’ve got my travel guides in hand, and I am ready to go! By this time tomorrow I will be in Berlin practicing my very poor German. Once again I want to thank all of you for your advice and encouragement. I promise to come back from Berlin, Prague and Vienna with as many pictures and stories as I can.

But before I go, I want to make something very clear. Don’t think that just because I’m gone you’re going to laze around eating chocolates and Christmas cookies! I expect all of you to keep up a steady pace of blogging so that when I return I will have hours and hours and hours worth of blog posts to catch up on.

Furthermore, I expect all of you to continue what you’ve been doing all year, which is inspiring me with your talents and abilities in the kitchen. Anyone caught slacking will have to come after school for detention, Cream Puff style!

To provide you with a bit of incentive, I’m handing out an assignment. Your homework is to come up with a name for the cupcakes pictured above. I will give you a few hints to help you. They’re made with dark chocolate. The frosting is made of white chocolate and cream cheese. The flower is not real, nor is it edible.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting is not an acceptable name.

I want originality! I want creativity! I want you to do your homework!

So send me your responses and when I get back from my trip I will post the recipe for these cupcakes along with the name that I’ve chosen (from your submissions). The student who submits the best name (as chosen by me) will win a brand new copy of Tish Boyle’s The Good Cookie, which happens to be the Flavour of the Month for December 2006.

I’m off, my friends! I’ll be back in two weeks. In the meantime, stay happy and healthy and don’t forget to do your homework.

Class dismissed.

Ciao!

When I bid adieu to the October 2006 Flavour of the Month, I promised that you’d be seeing Tish Boyle’s book on this blog again and again. So far, I’ve tried about a third of the recipes from the book and they have all been winners. To be sure, some were more winning than others like the chiffon cake, for example. This book hasn’t let me down yet!

Last week, I found myself staring at a basket full of too ripe bananas and it made me think of a quote from Tish’s book about "banana management." She talks about how she’ll buy bananas, but never seems to use them up fast enough. I can relate. I always have the best intentions when buying bananas, but no matter what, I always end up with at least three or four that are far too ripe to eat.

Thank goodness for banana bread! Like most people, I have a favourite banana bread recipe, but I decided to try a banana cake recipe from Tish’s book. It’s a very standard recipe, most likely similar to many of the countless other recipes out there. But instead of baking this in a cake pan, I decided to go the mini cupcake route. You know sometimes I think it doesn’t matter what you bake, put it in a mini cupcake pan and people will fall all over it. They’re just so cute!

Fortunately this banana cake was delicious as was the frosting, which is an adaptation of a cream cheese frosting from The Cake Book. I topped it all off with a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg on the top of each cupcake.

Perhaps I have a future in banana management after all!

Ciao!

Mini Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake and pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. honey (preferably light honey)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (full fat)
• 2 or 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (you can toast them if you like but I don’t)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. If using a mini muffin tray, either line the tray with paper liners or butter the mini muffin tray if not using paper liners. Alternatively, you can use mini paper cups as I did. If using paper cups, arrange the paper cups on a cookie sheet. (You will need 35 to 40 paper cups for this recipe.)
3. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, the cake and pastry flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, the cinnamon and the salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on low speed, mix the butter with the paddle attachment until it’s smooth.
5. Add the granulated sugar, the honey and the brown sugar and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated and creamy (2 to 3 minutes).
6. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and mix for another 2 to 3 minutes (scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally).
7. Add the sour cream and mashed bananas and mix on low speed until combined (about a minute or so).
8. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Don’t over mix.
9. Once combined, remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the nuts.
10. With a tablespoon, spoon the butter into the mini muffin tray or into the paper cups. (You may want to try doing this with a piping bag if you have one on hand.)
11. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes and then test for doneness by inserting a cake tester into the centre of one of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean, they’re done. If not, bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes and test again. In my oven, these took about 25 minutes, but I suggest you check after 20 minutes as ovens vary.
12. Once done, remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cook completely on a wire rack. If you used a mini muffin tray, once the cupcakes are cool you can remove them from the tray.
13. Dust with icing sugar and serve or top with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows).

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 package cream cheese (8 ounces), softened
• 1/2 cup butter (4 tbsp.), softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted (keep some extra icing sugar on hand in case you need it)
• nutmeg (for sprinkling)

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth (about 1 minute).
2. Add the vanilla extract, the cinnamon and the salt and mix on low speed until combined (about 1 minute).
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the icing sugar. Mix on low speed at first, just until combined. Increase the speed to medium and mix for at least 2 minutes. The cream cheese frosting should be light and fluffy. If it’s not thick enough, add a bit more sifted icing sugar.
4. Once ready, use the frosting immediately. You can either dollop the frosting onto the cupcakes with a spoon, or you can use a piping bag to pipe the icing on the cupcakes.
5. Once you’ve frosted all the cupcakes, top each with just a tiny bit of nutmeg. Don’t use too much because nutmeg can be overpowering.
6. Enjoy!

Note:  I used mini paper cups and got about 40 cupcakes. You can store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a day. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to a month. The cream cheese frosting should be used immediately. I love the flavour of bananas and honey so I always add some to my banana bread. You can omit the honey if you like.

Technorati tags:  bananas, mini cupcakes, tish boyle, the cake book

It’s Friday evening and I for one am seeking refuge from this cold Autumn night with a cup of hot tea and a weekend’s reading worth of holiday magazines. But wait. Something is missing.

Is it chocolate? No, I have that.

Is it my favourite blankie? No, I have that.

Is it Daniel Craig? Just kidding … I don’t have that … wish I did, though.

Ah, yes. I know what it is.

I don’t have anything sweet.

But this is not a problem. I shall remedy that with a delicious apple pastis based on a recipe I found at www.epicurious.com. Warm and spicy, it goes perfectly with my tea. So I shall spend my evening drinking tea, eating apple pastis and dreaming about my 13-course holiday dinner with Daniel Craig.

What?

I’m allowed.

Have un bon weekend!

Ciao!

Apple Pastis

Adapted from a recipe at www.epicurious.com. For the original recipe, click here.

• 1 cup, sliced blanched almonds (you can toast them if you like, but I don’t)
• 3-1/2 to 4 pounds apples (between 8 and 10 depending on size), peeled, cored and cut into thick slices (I used Gala apples as in the original recipe.)
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 10 phyllo sheets, thawed (I used a standard package of phyllo. The sheets were about 17 x 12 inches)

1. Place a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine the apples, the lemon juice and 1 tsp. of the cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large pan, combine 1 tbsp. of the butter, the honey and granulated sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Raise the heat to medium-high and continue cooking for 5 to 6 minutes until the mixture reduces slightly and turns a golden colour (be careful not to burn the mixture).
5. Add the apples. The mixture may harden slightly but don’t worry, it will melt again. Over medium heat, cook the apples for about 10 minutes until they are tender. Drain the apples and place in a bowl to cool for about 20 minutes. (Note:  The original recipe directs you to make a caramel glaze with the reserved liquid, but the first time I made this I found that it didn’t work very well so I no longer make the caramel glaze. Instead I reserve the liquid and add a teaspoon or two to flavour my tea. It’s very good!)
6. After the apples have cooled a bit, add the sliced almonds, reserving a few tablespoonfuls for the top of the pastis.
7. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with a bit of the melted butter (bottom and sides).
8. Mix together the 1/2 cup of icing sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
9. Take one sheet of phyllo, brush with butter, and line the bottom of the springform pan with the phyllo. The edges of the phyllo will come up the sides of the pan and hang over slightly. (When working with phyllo, be sure to cover the unused phyllo with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out.)
10. Sift a bit of the cinnamon sugar over the sheet of phyllo.
11. Brush a second sheet of phyllo with butter and lay it over the first sheet, turning the pan slightly before putting in the phyllo layer. Sift a bit more of the cinnamon sugar on the second sheet.
12. Repeat with 7 more sheets of phyllo, making sure to brush each sheet with butter and turn the pan slightly each time you are about to lay in a sheet. And don’t forget to dust each layer with some cinnamon sugar.
13. Once you’ve layered in the 9th sheet, take your cooled apples and pour them in the centre of the pan. With a spoon, even out the apples.
14. Grasping the edges of the overhanging phyllo sheets, pull them all in towards the centre of the pan. They should cover the apples.
15. Brush your last sheet of phyllo with butter and place it on top of the pastis. Scrunch it up slightly for effect. Brush again with butter and sprinkle on the reserved sliced almonds. Sift some of the cinnamon sugar over the almonds.
16. Bake the pastis for 30 minutes. It should be golden and you should be able to smell the apples.
17. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The pastis will be deeply golden.
18. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Once cool, carefully remove the springform ring and bottom.
19. Before serving, dust with any remaining cinnamon sugar.
20. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  apples, pastis, daniel craig

Is it wrong to eat an entire raised almond coffee cake all on your own?

No?

Phew! I was worried there for a second.

Ciao!

Raised Almond Coffee Cake

Adapted from Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver.

For the coffee cake dough:

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 4 tbsp. sugar
• 2 to 3 tbsp. warm water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. In a bowl, mix together the warm water, yeast and 1 tbsp. of the sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes or until the mixture begins to look creamy and foamy.
2. Add the other 3 tbsp. of sugar, the salt, the egg and the cream. Combine well.
3. Pour the mixture in to the bowl of an electric mixer and add 1-1/2 cups of the flour. With the dough hook, mix on low speed until smooth (a few minutes).
4. Add the remaining flour and mix on low speed until the dough is well mixed. It will be a bit stiff.
5. Flour a work surface and turn the dough out. Roll the dough to a thickness of a 1/4 inch. Spread the softened butter on two-thirds of the dough.
6. With a knife, mark the dough into thirds by place a tiny mark at the top edge of the dough. Fold 1/3 of the dough over the middle third. Take the last third of the dough and fold it over that.
7. Do a quarter turn and roll the dough out again to 1/4 of an inch thick. Once again, fold the dough into thirds. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat the rolling, folding and quarter turn three more times, refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes between each time. Once you’ve completed these steps, keep the dough in the refrigerator until you’re ready to fill it and bake the coffee cakes.

For the coffee cake filling:

• 1 cup blanched whole almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1. In a blender or food processor, grind the almonds with half the sugar. The almonds should be finely ground, but not pasty.
2. Add the rest of the sugar, the breadcrumbs, the 2 tbsp. melted butter, the egg, the extracts and the cinnamon. Combine well and set aside.

To assemble the coffee cakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide in half.
3. Roll each half into a rectangle that’s roughly 9 inches long by 6 or 7 inches wide.
4. Take the 1/4 cup of melted butter and brush the surface of the dough with some of the butter.
5. Spread half the filling over the first rectangle of dough. Be sure to leave a 1 to 1-1/2 inch border all the way around to avoid the filling leaking out.
6. Beginning with the top edge, roll the rectangle towards you to form a long roll. Join the ends of the roll to form a ring. You may want to wet the ends slightly to ensure that they stick together.
7. Transfer the ring to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. With a knife or with scissors, cut the ring of dough into slices that are about 1 inch thick. Don’t cut all the way through, but cut almost to the centre of the ring. Turn the pieces of cut dough slightly upwards so that you create a fan effect.
8. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise for 30 minutes. Repeat with the other rectangle of dough.
9. Bake the coffee cakes for 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 2 to 3 tsp. light cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

1. Mix all the ingredients until you have a smooth glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled coffee cakes and let set (about an hour or so).
2. If the glaze is too thick, add more cream until you achieve the consistency you want.
3. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe will yield two coffee cakes that are roughly 8 to 9 inches. Each coffee cake will serve 6 to 8, or one hungry Cream Puff!

Technorati tags:  almond, coffee cake

The tricks and treats are done. Plenty of mini pumpkins, princesses, ghosts and goblins came to my door this evening, one cuter than the next! And now that the candy is all gone, it’s hard to believe that October comes to an end this evening.

My favourite month of the year, it arrives with so much expectation and I find that as I get older, it passes by faster and faster. Was it a good month? I would say yes. Certainly it was busy and even a tad stressful at times. But overall, it has been a month to fully welcome the Fall with apple pies, chestnuts, falling leaves and warm, cozy sweaters.

I will admit, however, that October was helped along by Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book. I chose to feature it as the Flavour of the Month for October 2006 because as soon as I received my copy, I couldn’t put it down.

I tried my hand at recipes in each major section of the cookbook including pound cakes and cheesecakes. I tried recipes that were very straightforward and even a few that were quite involved. Through it all, I was not disappointed even once. This is a cookbook to cherish for years. If you have the chance, I certainly hope that you’ll pick up a copy and at least look through it. Like me, I think you’ll fall for it pretty quickly.

Because of the chilly nights we’ve been experiencing, I decided to end October with a recipe from The Cake Book that would take a bit of the chill off:  a chocolate torte with walnuts and Cognac. While I’m not the biggest Cognac fan around, this torte was almost impossible to resist. Dense, chocolaty, nutty and smooth, the warmth of the Cognac was the perfect touch.

So as I sit here, enjoying a slice of this moist and sumptuous torte, I wish you a Happy Halloween! See you in November …

Ciao!

Chocolate Torte with Walnuts and Cognac

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

For the torte:

• 8 ounces dark chocolate (I used a 70% dark chocolate)
• 1/4 cup Cognac
• 2 tbsp. hot water
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/3 cup icing sugar
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. natural cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the parchment paper and the sides of the pan.
3. In a blender or food processor, combine the walnuts and icing sugar. Process until the walnuts are finely chopped and the the mixture is powdery. Set aside.
4. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate with the Cognac and hot water. Once melted, stir until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
5. Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Sift and set aside.
6. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and 1/2 cup of the sugar until light and creamy (2 to 3 minutes).
7. With the mixer on medium speed, add the egg yolks, one at a time. Scrape down the side of the bowl to ensure that the batter is well-mixed.
8. Add the vanilla extract and the chocolate mixture and combine for a minute or two until smooth.
9. In another bowl, with a whisk or with an electric mixer and the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until slightly foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
10. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.
11. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate batter.
12. Fold 1/3 of the walnut/icing sugar mixture into the chocolate batter.
13. Fold the remaining egg whites and walnut/icing sugar mixture into the batter. Work carefully so as not to deflate the batter too much.
14. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
15. Bake for 40 minutes. Test the cake with a cake tester. When you insert it in the middle of the cake, it should come out fairly clean, with a few crumbs clinging to the tester.
16. Once the cake is done, let it cool on a wire rack. After an hour or so, carefully loosen the ring from the pan.
17. Once the cake is completely cook, you can brush it with the cognac syrup if you choose.

For the syrup:

• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 3 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. Cognac

1. Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small pan. Stir to ensure that the sugar is dissolved and then remove from the heat.
2. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the Cognac. You can add more Cognac if you like.
3. If you choose, brush the cooled syrup over the cooled cake.

For the final assembly:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• cocoa powder for dusting

1. Whip the cream in an electric mixer until stiff.
2. Dollop the cream on the cake and then dust lightly with cocoa powder.
3. Enjoy!

Note:  This is a fairly involved cake, but it’s worth the effort. Once the torte is done, you can brush it with a cognac syrup or a simple syrup, but you don’t have to.

Technorati tags:  torte, chocolate, walnuts, Cognac, tish boyle, the cake book

October’s trip through Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book has been most enjoyable. I’ve rarely come across a cookbook where virtually every recipe begs to be tried as soon as possible. The fun intensified when I discovered that my dear friends Kate of Pie in the Sky, Mary of Alpineberry and Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody all owned a copy of this fabulous book.

I immediately recalled the informal, cross-post event that Alanna of A Veggie Venture and I hatched with the cookbook Once Upon a Tart. Why not try the same thing with The Cake Book?

I was thrilled when Kate, Mary and Peabody all (enthusiastically) agreed to take part. After some negotiating, it was decided that the recipe we would all try was one for a Pumpkin Cheesecake. It being the season for pumpkins and cheesecakes being delicious, we figured this was a good choice.

Now as I’ve mentioned before, I have an unusual relationship with pumpkins, and all squash in general. I love them, but they’re not very popular in my family as they’re simply not a food that we’re used to or that we grew up eating. Certainly, we’ll try any dish with squash in it (try everything at least once!). But I can’t say we have any particular inclination towards them.

This cheesecake may change that. While not very sweet, it has to be one of the creamiest cheesecakes I have ever tasted. While the cheesecake is very clearly a pale orange colour thanks thanks to the pureed pumpkin, the actual pumpkin flavour is subtle and tinged with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. I didn’t make the crust that the recipe calls for as I realized that I didn’t have any candied ginger. Instead I made a very basic graham cracker crust with a bit of cinnamon added in.

As I’m not out of the woods yet in terms of my busy days, I won’t be posting the recipe at the moment. I’ll update this post as soon as I can with my adaptation of the cheesecake. But if you want to see how it’s properly done in the meantime, please visit Kate, Mary and Peabody. They have put my efforts to shame and they have most certainly done Tish Boyle proud.

Ladies … you rock!

Ciao!

Creamy Pumpkiny Cheesecake

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

For the crust:

• 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet you like your crust)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine all the crust ingredients. Mix well.
3. Pat the graham mixture evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
4. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

For the cheesecake:

• 1-1/4 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1-1/4 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vanilla sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Wrap the outside of the springform pan (with the cooled crust) in aluminum foil. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, mix together the pumpkin, heavy cream, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside.
4. With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until smooth. Slowly add the granulated sugar and vanilla sugar, with the mixer on low speed, until combined.
5. Next add the brown sugar, on low speed, until combined.
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on medium speed for a minute or two.
7. With the mixer on low speed, add the pumpkin mixture. Increase speed to medium and mix for two minutes. Add the cornstarch and mix until combined.
8. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and begin adding the eggs, one at a time, scraping down after each addition. When adding the eggs, keep the mixer on low speed, but increase to medium speed in between each addition.
9. Once the eggs have all been incorporated, pour the cheesecake batter onto the prepared crust.
10. Place the springform pan in a larger pan and add hot water to come one-inch up the side of the springform pan. Carefully transfer to the oven.
11. Bake the cheesecake for one hour and then check to see if it’s done. If the cheesecake is set around the edges but a bit wobbly in the centre, then it’s done. If it’s not set at all, bake for another 10 minutes and then check again.
12. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and immediately remove it from the water bath. Discard the aluminum foil and then place the cheesecake on a wire rack to cool completely.
13. Once cool, refrigerate for at least six to eight hours before serving.
14. Serve with whipped cream.
15. Enjoy!

Note:  I increased the amount of pumpkin puree in the cheesecake by a 1/4 cup. The original recipe also called for nutmeg but I omitted that. The original recipe did not require vanilla sugar but I thought it would be an interesting twist. It was very good and recommend it it if you have any vanilla sugar hanging around in your cupboard.

Technorati tags:  pumpkin, pumpkin cheesecake, the cake book, tish boyle, pie in the sky, alpineberry, culinary concoctions by peabody

These are busy days, my friends. Work is overwhelming at times. And on the personal front, family commitments and baking class seem to take up any extra time I have. Sometimes it’s all a bit much.

I suspect this is why I have been enjoying baking again so much. I survived without an oven during the month of September, but I just wasn’t the same Cream Puff. I feel better now, if spread a bit thin with all that’s going on.

The other night, to relieve some stress, I produced these beautiful little cakes from The Cake Book. It was one of those desserts that just happened. I just happened to have cream cheese in the fridge. I just happened to have dried cherries. I just happened to have kirsch. I just had to bake.

As a special treat, I poured the batter into mini-bundt molds. Once cooled, I dusted these little babies with icing sugar and treated myself to one.

Busy days are hard. Sweet nights help.

Ciao!

Cherry Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Adapted from The Cake by Tish Boyle.

• a handful of dried cherries, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp. kirsch
• 1 tbsp. hot water
• 1 cup butter
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 5 large eggs
• 3 cups cake and pastry flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• icing sugar

1. Soak cherries in kirsch and hot water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain cherries and reserve liquid.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a bundt cake pan or a mini-bundt pan.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In a mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and light (2 or 3 minutes).
5. With the mixer on medium speed, add the sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
8. Add the cherries and the reserved liquid, and mix until combined.
9. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. If using a bundt pan, bake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. If using mini-bundt molds, bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
10. Cool the cake on a wire rack.
11. Once cook, dust with icing sugar and serve.
12. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  dried cherries, cream cheese, pound cake, the cake book

At this time of year, I’m sure I could bake an apple-based dessert every day of the week and not come close to trying even a fraction of the recipes for apple desserts out there. Everywhere I turn I see recipes for apple pie, apple cake, apple muffins, apple cookies … and the list goes on and on. I’m not complaining mind you. I love apples and it’s wonderful to have so much inspiration available when it comes to envisioning the perfect way to prepare those apples. It’s no wonder then that I decided to bake an apple dessert for Canadian Thanksgiving.

As some of you may know, Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated on the second Monday of October. While I’d never given much thought as to why Canadians celebrate this holiday a full month and more before Americans do, I recently queried a friend about it. She explained that part of the reason why Canadian Thanksgiving happens in October is that the origin of our holiday lies in the celebration of the harvest, which, in most parts of Canada, happens earlier in the year than in our southern counterpart. I did some casual research on the Internet and as is usually the case, I found a lot of contradictory information. The Government of Canada’s Canadian Heritage site finally provided some concrete facts on how we arrived at the second day of October as Canadian Thanksgiving.

For many Canadians, Thanksgiving Day remains a relatively new celebration, especially for those Canadians that haven’t been in Canada for very long. My own family has barely been in Canada for 50 years. Growing up, we never really observed Thanksgiving Day until my mom took it upon herself to learn how to roast a turkey and make proper stuffing. And so began the celebration of Thanksgiving Day in our household.

And just as Thanksgiving Day was relatively foreign to the life of an Italian Canadian, eating squash was equally as foreign. While squash is part of the regional cuisine of some parts of Italy, it never factored into the cuisine my father and mother ate in Le Marche or Calabria respectively. In fact, my father once told me that while they did grow some forms of squash in the town where he grew up, they never actually ate squash. Instead, the squash would usually be given to the pigs they kept.

Long story short, pumpkin and other types of squash are relatively new flavours for us. As a result, we’ve never been huge fans of pumpkin pie, for example. This means Thanksgiving Day dessert is usually based on another star of the fall harvest:  the apple.

For this year’s Thanksgiving Day dessert, I turned to Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book in the hopes of finding a recipe for an elegant apple cake. Instead I found a recipe for a most elegant cheesecake with cooked apples as a base. Even if this cheesecake recipe didn’t have apples in it, I think I would have tried it anyway for the sheer pleasure of creating a brûlée crust on a cheesecake!

This particular cheesecake starts with a straightforward graham cracker crust. The crust is then topped with a layer of apples cooked in butter, sugar and cream. The apples are topped with the cheesecake flavoured with cinnamon. Once baked and cooled, a sugar crust is added to the top of the cheesecake by sprinkling on sugar and then using a kitchen torch to brûlée the sugar.

From the pleasing crackle of the hardened sugar to the creamy layer of cheesecake to the satisfying flavour of apple and graham crust, this is a cheesecake that is perfect for Autumn. And who can resist a sugar crust just waiting to be cracked?!

I say bring on the apples!

Ciao!

Cheesecake with Apples and a Brûlée Top

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

For the graham crust:

• 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2-1/2 tbsp. sugar
• 4 to 5 tbsp. melted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
3. In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar. Add 4 tbsp. of the butter and mix. If the crumbs seem dry, add the last tablespoon of butter.
4. Press onto the bottom of the springform pan. Press in an even layer.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The crust should be firm and golden. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Cool the crust completely.
6. Once cooled, wrap the outside of the pan in a heavy duty piece of aluminum foil.

For the apple layer (you don’t have to make this cheesecake with the apple layer, but if you do, it’s worth the extra effort):

• 3 medium-sized tart apples, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. butter, unsalted
• 1-1/2 tbsp. sugar
• 2-1/2 tbsp. heavy cream
• a pinch of nutmeg

1. Toss the apples with the lemon juice.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet.
3. Add the apples and cook for 2 minutes, over medium heat, until the apples begin to soften.
4. Sprinkle with sugar and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the apples soften further and begin to turn golden.
5. Add the cream and the nutmeg and lower the heat slightly. Cook until the cream has been absorbed by the apples, about 10 minutes.
6. Transfer the apples to a plate and let cool completely.

For the cheesecake:

• 3 packages cream cheese (8 oz. each)
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch or flour
• 4 large eggs

1. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the cream cheese for a minute or two until it’s smooth.
2. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes.
3. Add the vanilla extract, the salt, the cinnamon and the ginger and beat for another minute.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the sour cream and cornstarch and beat until blended, another minute or two.
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Assembling the cheesecake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Layer the apples over the cooled graham cracker crust.
3. Pour the prepared cheesecake filling over the apples.
4. Place the pan in a large, shallow roasting pan and add hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan.
5. Carefully place the pan in the oven. The original recipe requires the cheesecake be baked for between 70 and 80 minutes. I found that I had to bake the cheesecake for 80 minutes. You’ll know the cheesecake is done when the filling appears set, but still a tiny bit wobbly in the middle.
6. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and from the pan. Peel off the aluminum foil layer and place on a rack to cool completely.
7. Once cool, place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

For the brûlée crust:

• 2 tbsp. sugar

1. Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the cold cheesecake in an even layer.
2. Using a kitchen torch, pass the flame over the sugar in an even motion until it has caramelized.
3. Place the cheesecake back in the refrigerator for up to an hour. If you leave it for longer than an hour the brûlée crust may soften.
4. Enjoy!

Note:  This cheesecake will serve 10 to 12. The apples add a nice touch but you don’t have to make this with the apple layer. It’s a good idea to begin making this cheesecake the day before you plan on serving it so that it can rest in the refrigerator overnight.

Technorati tags:  cheesecake, apples, thanksgiving day

Over a month ago, I was in despair after Black Friday and the realization that I wouldn’t be able to bake for quite awhile.

How the times have changed!

Our new oven is a blessing and we are looking forward to putting it through its paces this coming Thanksgiving weekend. I have many wonderful things planned for this oven. Many sweet surprises, all of which I will share with you of course … but not right now.

You’re just going to have to be patient!

In the meantime, I’m sending all of you a piece of this incredible Sour Cream Chocolate Pound Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze and White Chocolate Drizzle. My chocolate pound cake is based on a recipe from the Cream Puffs in Venice Flavour of the Month for October 2006:  The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

Cream Puff sends everyone a big hug and wishes for a wonderful Autumn weekend!

Ciao!

Sour Cream Chocolate Pound Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze and White Chocolate Drizzle

Adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

For the cake:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder plus 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 2-1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place a rack in the centre of the oven. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube ban.
2. On medium speed, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (4 to 5 minutes). Add your eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Mix together the vanilla and sour cream.
4. Combine your dry ingredients. Add them to the butter and sugar in three additions, alternating with the sour cream mixture. Start and end with the flour mixture.
5. Pour your batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Test the cake with a cake tester or a toothpick to ensure that it’s cooked in the centre.
6. Cool the cake for 15 to 20 minute and then unmold.
7. Let it cool completely before glazing.

For the Dark Chocolate Glaze:

• 3 ounces dark chocolate (I used a Lindt chocolate with 65% cocoa solids — use your favourite chocolate)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

1. Finely chop your chocolate.
2. Boil the cream and immediately pour it over the chocolate.
3. Let sit for 2 or 3 minutes and then stir until the glaze is smooth.
4. Place the glaze in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes to set a bit. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
5. When you’re ready to glaze the cake, place your cake on a wire rack with a lined tray beneath or place your cake directly on some waxed paper to or aluminum foil to avoid making a mess.
6. Pour the glaze over the cake and allow it to drip down the sides.
7. Let the glaze set completely.

For the white chocolate drizzle:

• 1 small bar of white chocolate (I used Lindt)

1. Melt your white chocolate in a double boiler.
2. Once it’s melted, stir to ensure that it’s smooth.
3. With a squeeze bottle, pastry bag or with a fork, drizzle the chocolate over the glazed cake in a decorative pattern.
4. Let set completely before serving.
5. Enjoy!

Technorati tags:  chocolate, cocoa, pound cake, Lindt, white chocolate

Hello, Autumn!

Hello multi-coloured leaves and brisk fall days.

Hello warm sweaters and tea by the fire.

Hello rosy cheeks and scarves.

Hello hockey.

Hello apples and chestnuts.

Hello Flavour of the Month for October 2006:  The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

Hello brand new stove that finally arrived.

Hello baking.

Hello Vanilla-Flecked Chiffon Cake with Cacao Nib Whipped Cream.

Hello, October!

Ciao!

Vanilla-Flecked Chiffon Cake with Cacao Nib Whipped Cream

Adapted from