Happy birthday Liz!

It was a night that had been carefully orchestrated for weeks - a surprise (early) birthday dinner for a friend! My contribution was as driver of the unknowing birthday girl and supplier of cake. Mmmm cake. If you're wondering - it all worked out beautifully! It was so wonderful to see such genuine emotion for the guest of honor and friends - true joy, surprise, and happiness on everyone's faces! :D We had a delicious dinner (go team Left-Side-of-Table!!) and it was topped off with a surprise birthday trifle.

I'm not sure what comprises a 'true' trifle, mine was more like cake-in-a-bowl. I think I may try this concept again as it was:
1) Extremely easy to transport.
2) Saved me the trouble of icing & decorating the sides.
3) If layered well - extremely beautiful.
4) Scooping is fun!

I made additional berry sauce to top off the cake - apologies in advance for the blurry photos - I was in a bit of a rush and took it whilst sitting on my living room floor!

I kept in mind that Liz adores my zuccotto - so the 'white' filling is comprised of whipped cream with fresh raspberries, toffee candy bits, and whole toasted hazelnuts folded in. The over-powering brown layer is an orange chocolate mousse (I didn't realize I had made so much & didn't want leftovers!). The layers are alternated with dark chocolate and vanilla cake. The whole shebang is topped with more whipped cream filling, raspberries & some decorative writing.

I had some great feedback from the writing - and here is my secret: it's candy melts. Dark chocolate flavoured.
Candy melts are amazing to use in an aesthetic setting - it flows like chocolate, tastes like chocolate and hardens in a flash. Also - it's much less sensitive to temperature! So while it does melt in your hand, it's not going to disintegrate or sweat at the thought of hot lights. Even though they are an amazing medium to use - do not use them in cookies! Let me rephrase that - they are not suitable for cakes or cookies or to melt to be used in brownies (or cake). There is a reason why they are called 'candy melts'! They are not chocolate! So if you need to make some decorations for cakes or pastries, I highly recommend candy melts. They also come in a variety of colours too (you can tint the white candy melts, but sometimes they come out a bit chalky, so if it matters to you - try and source the coloured melts).

Cake and Ice Cream

What a classic combination!
Seriously - everything is better, a la mode! I can just see it now...prime rib with a scoop of horseradish/butter frozen souffle...mmmmm... I bet that would taste amazing. Just imagine gently gliding that scoop of condiment over a hot slice of beef, watching the frozen quenelle slowly meeting (or meating, hee hee) it's fate as it sinks into every tender, pink-red pore.

But let's go back to the sweet side of this combination.

I spent a few days in la belle province last fall and partook in a cooking class, en francais! We made a potage, veal steaks with mashed potatoes and a delicious apple cake soaked in syrup. Maple syrup. You all know how I feel about maple, right? Hahaha - this cake didn't disappoint! Small individual ramekins filled with apple-flavoured cake soaked in a deadly maple syrup. Served warm. With a scoop of ice cream. Nothing better on a cold day.

I bring to you, "Renverse de pommes rouges a l'erable" (accent markings missing on a few of the letters, my apologies) from Ateliers et Saveurs. If you're in Vieux Montreal, I highly recommend a visit!

100g salted butter
100g sugar
100g flour
50g almond meal/finely ground almonds
10g baking powder
2 eggs
1 apple, diced in small cubes
2 tablespoons applesauce

250ml (1 cup) water
100g sugar
25ml maple syrup

Preheat your oven to 400F

In a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, followed by the applesauce and then the dry ingredients.
Gently fold in the apples.

Divide the batter among ramekins - I use about 8, but they specified 4.
Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20-25 min.
(the recipe 'says' 8-10 min, but it took A LOT longer, and during the class, I could tell it took much longer than 8-10 minutes)

To prepare the syrup:
In a saucepan - heat the water, syrup, and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has reduced a bit (I couldn't tell what the recipe said, I let it boil for a solid 15 min or so).

CAREFULLY ladle syrup over the cakes. If you're having difficulties getting the syrup to 'soak' right away, take a skewer and pierce a few holes to get it started.



Serve warm with a generous scoop of ice cream.
(in this case, a scoop of lemon thyme ice cream)

It tasted better than it looks.

It was T & J's housewarming party and I warmed their house by bringing a cake! A belated birthday cake for J, actually - this creation was a tower of crepes topped with chocolate ganache and candied hazelnuts. Yes, I'm in a candy-ing phase... kind of like this summer's ice cream blizzard.

I had been wanting to make this cake for a long time - I believe it was originally featured in Martha's January 2006 "Year of Cakes" spread. Yes, I have been holding onto this recipe for almost four years.

I'm glad I waited - I think if I had made it in 2006, it would have been a disaster. In the almost-four years since, I've really improved my cake and dessert making skills. Not to mention scheduling.

(above: view of cake in box)
Let's take a look at the pictures (unformatted again!) before we begin dissecting:






















(upper left: candied hazelnuts with tails - air bubbles - reheated caramel? 'Virgin' caramel yields clear caramel? upper right: originally, I had 'x' amount of hazelnuts in the centre of the cake ONLY. However, I had a plate of caramel tail scraps, and therefore it became a nest of caramel. Bottom left: a stack of crepes. Bottom right: a cross section of the cake - with layers of strawberries and various other fillings. Funny, we ate lasagne for dinner too.)









So. Final thoughts.

The recipe called for 8" crepes. I went with 10" crepes because I would be feeding a large crowd. However, I used 10.5" - 11" pan. In retrospect, if I wanted to really duplicate the cake, I would have filled the entire pan instead of trying to make 10" crepes. All the layers were different in diameter and although it really didn't make much difference in terms of height, it just didn't look as nice. I also think making thicker crepes would have yielded a taller cake. This cake was tall, yes, but it wasn't as dramatic as I had hoped.

I used a variety of fillings - Nutella whipped cream, chocolate frosting, strawberries, hazelnuts, and icing sugar. I'm glad I used a variety of fillings - I think using the same one would have been pretty boring. Although my final results was a little...lumpy.

But like the title, it tasted better that it looked.

Maple Apple Mini Cakes

I'm a child of the fall. This is the figurative and literal sense. I was born in the fall, and I am drawn to the scents, sights, sounds, and smells of the autumn as well. The theme for my 'dream' wedding would be fall-themed as well: multi-coloured maple leaves carefully and thoughtfully strewn on tables, centrepieces featuring ruby red apples and for the main dish - a family-sized portion of coq au vin or beef stew. And maple. The smell of maple syrup would be wafted through the warmly lit reception hall and it would be put on every table as a gravy-style condiment.

It is no wonder that even in the heat of summer, I was inspired to make these cinnamon-sugar coated maple apple cakes (c/o Donna Hay). In retrospect, I would have added some toasted pecans to that delicious mess - perhaps topped each mini-cake with one? And I would have upped the amount of maple syrup for sure. There's definitely a trick to coating these babies - when they say, "coat while warm" - seriously, coat while warm. Frantically pressing cinnamon-sugar on lukewarm cakes = not fun. But eating these cakes = very fun! And delicious!

Cinnamon-Sugar Coated Maple Apple Cakes

2 1/2 cups self-rising cake flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
250g butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 eggs
6 red apples, grated
2 teaspoons cinnamon + 1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.

Stir together flour and cinnamon.
Add butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs and apples and mix until combined.
Spoon into tins and bake about 27 minutes (mine took about 15-20 min in mini-muffin tins).

Toss together cinnamon and sugar for coating, and coat cakes while warm.

Obviously the original instructions were much more details than above - but this was my summary of the steps - and it really is that easy!

Self-Medicating with Cake

Don't worry. It's just chocolate cake. Delicious, fudgy, chocolate cake. With chocolate frosting. I'm going through a bit of a down time, so what's a better pick-me-up than chocolate cake? It's such a female cliche, but I embrace it wholeheartedly. And if you have a problem with it - no cake for you!

(that unforgettable first bite...)

I did practice a modicum of self-control, I only made a half portion (yield = 6 cupcakes) so I wouldn't be swimming in cake for the next week or so. Not that it's a bad thing.

Chocolate Cake
(1/2 portion recipe, yield - 6 cupcakes)

4 tablespoons butter
1 oz chocolate, bittersweet, chopped
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sour cream



Preheat oven to 350F
Prepare your choice of 8" cake pan (1), 6 cup muffin tin or
mini-muffin tin.

Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa. Melt and set aside.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until broken up. Add sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until
thoroughly combined.
Add chocolate and mix until incorporated.
Stir in dry ingredients alternately with sour cream.

Bake until a cake tester comes out clean - about 18-20min.

Chocolate Frosting
(adapted from Mrs.Milman's Frosting, c/o Martha Stewart)

6oz chocolate, chopped
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon corn syrup (oh $^!#. I totally forgot about this!!)
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional, my extra touch)

In a small saucepan, heat cream and chocolate over medium heat until thickened. About 20 minutes or so. Add corn syrup.
Let set in the fridge for about 2 hours until stiff enough to spread.
Before use, add extract and fold into frosting.


Do you like my cupcake liners? I was watching el Martha and she had some guests from Sweet Revenge bakery (New York, NY) and they use a similar technique with 'yellowed' parchment. This is also the way many Chinese bakeries bake their sponge cakes.
From a typical roll of parchment, unfurl a piece about 5" wide. Cut this strip (5 by 15 or so) into three, so ideally you will have three 'squares' or square-ish shapes. From each corner, cut a slit towards the centre (I am really losing it, I nearly spelled center "scentre") so it kind of looks like you have four 'triangles' merged together at their points. Do not cut all the way to the centre - you want to leave enough space between the cuts (in the middle) that is approximately the diameter of the bottom of your muffin tin. Carefully bring up the sides and overlap them so they form a cup. Carefully place into your muffin tin and fill with batter. I used a large ice cream scoop for equal distribution.

I have to be honest. I ate one frosted cupcake before I thought to put in the peppermint extract. Even for me, it was almost too chocolately. Next time, I will use a milk or semi-sweet in the frosting instead of the 72% dark. So I put in a bit of mint (amazingly- the smell of mint was wafting through the air to inspire me at that moment!) to lighten it up. I would say add as much as you like - I used about 1 teaspoon, but I could have doubled that easily since the chocolate packed so much punch.