Category: Pastry

Madeleines

.Reading time 6 minutes.
Elias likes to eat his bump first
Nicholas’s afternoon snack

Madeleines are just one of a number of new snacks we’ve tried out with the boys over the summer. They’re sweet, but not crazy sweet. And the batter rests overnight so it’s a great snack to prep in advance (you can keep the batter on hand for several days). What is a madeleine? It is a small, delicate sponge cake known for its shell-shaped mold. It is light, airy and typically has a slight lemon flavour. When baked properly, it should have a pronounced bump. Our favourite one comes from Roselle, friends of ours who own an amazing bakery in Downtown Toronto. Unfortunately, it is too far of a drive for us on a regular basis. They also posted the recipe online. So why did I spend all this time trying to make our own when theirs works? I guess I just can’t help myself! lol

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Choux.0: Essential Tips and Techniques

.Reading time 3 minutes.

It’s been many years since I posted my choux religieuse and looking back it at, there’s a lot of missing information. Since I’m teaching the baking class again, I have added choux pastries to my curriculum. With each class, the students help me to identify different misunderstandings and potential pitfalls. I try to use these to make the process easier, and more clear for future students and whoever uses this blog.

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Lessons from a Pie Baking Class

.Reading time 2 minutes.
Toddler for scale

3.14 (aka Pie Day) is often during March Break so I don’t often get to bake pies with my students. But this year, I decided that we were going to bake some pies ahead of the break so that they could make something at home for their friends, family and loved ones if they wanted to (or for marks, that’s the only way to get them to cook/bake at home sometimes).

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Chocolate (Swiss Meringue) Buttercream

.Reading time 4 minutes.

There are many versions of buttercream: American, Swiss, French and Italian. There are subtle differences in overall texture, but beyond that each has its own advantages and disadvantages. With similar ingredients like sugar and butter, it comes down to technique and execution. This recipe is for a Swiss (meringue) buttercream. Swiss meringue buttercream is one of the easier, stable buttercream to execute (compared to Italian and French). Compared to American, it is definitely less sweet and has more of a velvety texture. This recipe adds dark chocolate at the end and is used to top my version of a Deep N’ Delicious cake.

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Basic Dark Chocolate Ganache

.Reading time 3 minutes.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganache

This is a basic dark chocolate ganache recipe that is a go-to recipe for me. I like the consistency and mouth feel with these specific proportions. Whenever I am starting new recipes, I often use this as a base ganache recipe and then tweak it based on the final flavouring I want. I use it in tarts, cakes, truffles, the list goes on…

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