A sweet Simian

I have to be honest. Monkeys scare me a little. No traumatic childhood ape encounters come to mind, but I have never been keen on our evolutionary cousins. Even those Monsheshe dolls which were hugely popular in the early 1980's had the opposite effect on me. Very creepy.


But everything in cake form seems cuter, doesn't it? Elizabeth, whose term of endearment is "Monkey", was turning one, and to celebrate, a chocolate cake with dark chocolate mousse in the form of a 5" cube gift box was created. The cheeky monkey hiding in the box was constructed from Rice Krispie treat and chocolate modelling paste. White chocolate curls were the finishing touch.

The gumpaste panels turned out quite well this time, nice and flush (I'll never be a carpenter). The hands and tail were my favourite details. If anyone happened to check, each hand was marked with a single palmar crease in homage to the simians. Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Hello again

Like many women my age, I grew up with Hello Kitty. Somewhere in a drawer or on a shelf in my parents' house, a large collection of stickers, pencil cases, erasers, and note pads, is hiding out, waiting to see daylight again. They are all unmarked, unused, and unpeeled, making me wonder today whether their pristine nature is more a sign of childhood restraint or of deference.

It doesn't matter. Although Hello Kitty now belongs to a whole new generation where she can be a blinged out, luxury brand, pop culture icon in her own right, it is nice to know that to a four year old girl like Simone, she is still just Hello Kitty, that wide-eyed, big headed, cute but mute (no mouth?) cat that is every bow-loving girly girl's cartoon dream.


Fondant Hello Kitty adorns a 9" round chocolate cake with layers of chocolate and raspberry mousse, glazed with a shiny chocolate glaze. She is surrounded by colourful fondant daisies and was easily removed before cutting and serving because no one wants to dismember Hello Kitty and eat her left paw. Meanwhile, here is a photo of the real Hello Kitty who keeps me company...

Go Canada!

The world has come to Vancouver and I am proud to say that I have Olympic fever. I have been febrile since receiving my tickets to three events in the mail back in December! Despite the ups and downs of life which has curtailed my blogging spirit lately, the Vancouver 2010 Games have boosted my creative juices, producing a chocolate Mukmuk constructed from mostly chocolate and some chocolate modeling paste. For those uninitiated to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascots, Mukmuk is technically an Olympic "sidekick", who is an endangered Vancouver Island marmot. Because Mukmuk is Eric's favourite, this chocolate version was his Valentine's Day gift! I doubt Mukmuk will be eaten any time soon. Don't you love his chest hair?

Yesterday, we waited over three hours in line to touch the Olympic medals (while wearing special gloves) and as I write this, thank God, the Canadian Men's Hockey team finally beat Switzerland in a shoot-out! Go Canada go!!!

Project gingerbread

I finally got my Christmas act together over the past few days and decided to do gingerbread three ways. It seemed appropriate since there was an ancient carton of molasses hiding in my pantry that was begging to be used. Lacking an actual gingerbread man cookie cutter, I instead decided to use my alphabet cutters to spread some edible peace and joy.

Then, in reaction to my recent Costco macaron encounter, chocolate gingerbread macarons were created. I wanted them to taste identical to gingerbread but with the exact opposite texture, soft and rich. This was achieved by halving the amount of cocoa powder I usually use in my chocolate macaron recipe and adding powdered ginger, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg along with a sprinkle of gingerbread crumbs. For extra punch, the ganache included molasses and the same four spices.

Having leftover yolks and cream always makes me think of ice cream, even in winter, and so gingerbread-spiced caramel ice cream was born. Although the ice cream is just for us to enjoy, the rest will be given away to the usual suspects. You know who you are. Have a happy and healthy holiday season everyone!

Mixed media

The endless rain has started in Vancouver, and while I do love cozy days listening to the pitter-patter, walking to and from the bus stop is somewhat soggier than usual with wet autumn leaves still lining the streets. I tend to hibernate during the cold months but when asked to create a wine bottle themed birthday cake this week, the artistic challenge was quite invigorating!

I had a bit of déjà vu because this cake was for another 60 year old who lives far away, just like the Tree cake. In order to make life easier, the more elements which I can create ahead of time, the better and so, the fondant grapes, gumpaste wine label and bottle cap, white chocolate scrolls, and faux-wood chocolate box panels were all done in advance.


The most rewarding but time-consuming element was undoubtedly, the wine label. Having recently attended a Compressed Italics calligraphy workshop by Martin Jackson (who I secretly wish I could be), I was eager to practice this hand and experiment with my calligraphic tools on dried gumpaste. Using Wilton colour paste mixed with vodka for ink, my Speedball C2 nib flowed quite nicely whereas the pointed nib was more tricky since it tended to scrape into the gumpaste and get clogged.

The cake itself was built from a 10 x 15 x 3 inch slab of chocolate cake layered with whipped dark chocolate raspberry ganache. This was divided into the 6 x 15 x 3 inch box and the remaining section was carved into the life-sized wine bottle which was covered with black rolled fondant and stacked on top of the box. I never think of myself as particularly skilled at doing highly realistic cakes but this was quite a lovely outcome!

The final frontier

My niece Caitlin turned five recently and initially requested a Space Invaders themed birthday cake. After contemplating how time consuming the production of an army of alien invaders would be, I asked if there was anything else she might want. Luckily, she currently loves the Solar System and this planet-filled birthday cake was born.


Showcasing all eight planets meant that much surface area was needed. A 10" x 15" x 2" slab of chocolate cake, dark chocolate ganache, and raspberry mousseline was assembled and glazed with a shiny chocolate glaze in order to resemble the deepest darkest depths of the universe.

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars were simply little balls of fondant, whereas Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were Rice Krispie domes covered in fondant and later airbrushed. I did try hard to maintain the relative scale of each planet in terms of size and distance from the sun but alas, some creative license was taken.

Feeling sorry for poor Pluto's recent demotion, I decided to include Pluto by hiding it on the side of the cake near the bottom edge. Can you see that little grayish blob in the above photo? Happy Birthday Caitlin!

Falling

Usually, the design aspect of my cakes requires much more thought and planning than the actual cake itself. But this autumn inspired birthday cake was the opposite, mainly because there were three parameters which I had to follow. Any milk product used must be cooked; it must be eggless; it needed to travel a distance without refrigeration.


There were very few alternatives without the almighty egg and the exclusion of whipping cream ruled out any mousse, which would not travel well anyways. Luckily, this cake was for a family of chocoholics, which allowed me to combine an eggless chocolate cake (made with soft tofu) with a whipped dark chocolate ganache (cream is scalded first).


I was given one word as thematic inspiration, family, and this immediately led me to think about a family tree and then, autumn leaves. The scroll work and tree were crafted from milk chocolate modelling paste and the leaves were rolled fondant. Everything was brushed with gold dust. After finishing the cake, I had a brief panic attack when I realized I had used MILK chocolate modelling paste (for colour contrast against the dark chocolate ganache glaze) but concluded that milk chocolate contains milk powder and milk must be heated in order to pasteurize and evaporate into milk powder. Phew!

Loving it

I am so thankful that I have friends who love to eat. My friends are not foodies per se, nor gluttons by any means. Yet, these women know the meaning of taking pleasure in the enjoyment of food, savoury or sweet. We all have our gastronomic likes and dislikes (I am probably guilty of the most dislikes) but the sheer joy of eating is something that we all share. For example, we all took pleasure in consuming my friend Shelley's birthday tart, composed of strawberries, dark chocolate ganache, and chocolate frangipane in a chocolate shortcrust.

The converse is always frustrating, sharing a meal with someone who regards food as just calories or where the number of ingredients which are subjectively unpalatable outnumber those which are acceptable. Can you imagine going through life avoiding everything that you suspect has onion in it? In contrast, food intolerances and restrictions are certainly valid issues but even these should never stop one from enjoying food. I know a kosher vegetarian with a nut allergy who appreciates her food, from garden to plate.


Speaking of gardens, mine is blooming despite being ransacked by skunks who feasted on 50% of my tulip bulbs earlier this year. Cherry blossom season is in full swing and just like the importance of taking time to smell the roses, taking time to gasp at the beauty of a flowering cherry tree is equally important for your mental health!

Imperfections

This is a short post just to wish you all Happy Valentine's Day. I tried making a roasted beet sorbet sandwich with chocolate sable breton cookie hearts. Although the sorbet went a little wrong, I will stop worrying about it and enjoy their aesthetic value. Let us just say that I prefer my beets savory and alas, this preference was the root of the problem. Maybe I should just call it a granita. Metaphorically speaking, the search for perfection is fruitless anyways and ultimately, I am loved despite all my own flaws. Will you be mine?

It rings true

I was flattered this week to be referred to make a birthday cake by someone who I was lucky enough to work with during my most formative months as a very green pastry cook, during a time when my metamorphosis from medicine to pastry was still raw and disorienting. Undoubtedly, cake requests are always flattering but if the recommendation comes from someone equally or more qualified than me, the compliment is that much sweeter. Thanks Fionna.


This cake would satisfy any chocolate lover and is most elegant in its simplicity. I was asked to combine milk and dark chocolate in glorious mousse form and naturally, with rich chocolate cake. For some crunch, a sprinkle of cocoa nibs intermingled between the layers. My current design motif involves rings; I have recently been surrounding myself with annular patterns, in jewelry, a Pylones thermos, and now in chocolate. Perhaps, I'm tired of corners?

Some leftover mousse and cake allowed me to throw together a few individual portions to enjoy and photograph. Call it quality control or maybe show and tell, since with cake requests, I can never photograph a cake's interior and show it to you folks!

Small packages

Not all couples get wedding cakes on their wedding day. In fact, I briefly considered having a wedding pie but did not have the guts to break from tradition. Our friends Kat and Calvin decided to have a selection of petits fours as part of their wedding celebration "after party" this weekend and I was happy to oblige. There were eight different types in total but here are four.


There were mini chocolate cupcakes with two types of Italian buttercream swirls, milk chocolate hazelnut or white chocolate passionfruit. Transporting them without utter destruction was a challenge, especially with those sinister potholes cropping up all over Vancouver streets lately. My solution was to use strips of double-sided tape on trays to prevent each mini-cupcake from getting too cozy with its neighbour.


Next, a delicate dark chocolate mousse bite included layers of strawberry gelée, caramel mousse, and chocolate dacquoise. Its fruitier counterpart was a quince bavaroise bite which was layered with mango gelée, lime marshmallow, and pistachio joconde and adorned with a small meringue heart. I just wished that I could have actually attended the event too but wifely duty called me elsewhere that evening. So, to the new husband and wife...congratulations Kat and Calvin!

Spirit of giving

I used to get very anxious about Christmas gift giving. Finding the perfect gift for everyone on my list became an obsession and I was often guilty of being at the mall on December 24th at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. During my university years, however, I had an epiphany and began making identical gifts for each friend in order to make my life easier. One year, it was pillows. Another year, mosaic picture frames. My favourite was the year I made personal sized pavlovas for everyone.


The tradition fell dormant for about a decade because medical school and residency made me lazy in terms of creativity and friendships. Nowadays, I am appreciative of my opportunities to foster both and take much joy from my annual edible gift production.


On the menu this year were two items, mini-Florentine cookies and milk chocolate passionfruit caramel truffles. The Florentines are very cute, about the size of a Toonie, and textured with dark chocolate on the reverse. The truffles turned out slightly different than I had planned, but are nonetheless, exceedingly soft and delicious. The original ganache recipe used white chocolate and was meant to be piping consistency so next time I will need to make it even more firm to make my life easier during the rolling and dipping process. Note to self: buy truffle shells next year.


Since my frugality causes me to only make exactly what I need, when I do have leftovers, I make it a challenge to find a good use for them. For example, having a leftover blob of lime marshmallow (primary use to be revealed at a later date), the next logical step was to make a small marshmallow Christmas tree, decorated with leftover Halloween candy, leftover fondant daisy/star, and leftover silver dragées. Consider it a gift to you as a small token of thanks for your interest in my little blog in 2008. Happy Holidays!

Natural selection

My friend Julie, whom I have known for 30 years, and I recently reflected on how friendships evolve and change over the years, even decades. Some grow closer, some farther, and a lucky few are circular. Various tangible or intangible circumstances in life push and pull friendships in different directions, usually in gentle imperceptible ways. If you are blessed, the foundation on which an original friendship was built is strong enough to withstand any internal or external assault; however, the mere history of a friendship is not enough to sustain one in the present or future.


Speaking of friends, I am lucky to have my good friend Erik (with a "k") return home to Vancouver after almost ten years in Edmonton. Did I just say ten years? After medical school, we both were matched to University of Alberta residency programs in 1999 but I only survived five long cold Edmonton winters. He must be much tougher than I am.


This simple dark chocolate hazelnut tart was a small house-warming gift for Erik and his family to enjoy. A pâte sucrée crust was baked with a thin layer of hazelnut cream before pouring a dark chocolate hazelnut ganache over top. I do love the initial smooth mirror-like appearance of a still warm and fluid dark chocolate ganache, which eventually dulls slightly as it sets. Welcome home!

Berries and bees

There is no purer nor more perfect food than beautiful fresh berries. Cherries are my ultimate fruit, so sweet, so explosive in flavour. I am one of those people who will, if permitted, stand for up to 20 minutes picking through a pile of cherries to choose only the most flawless firm specimens. When it comes to raspberries, these delicate jewels are so fragile yet sharp in flavour that they are my immediate choice to pair with other ingredients like chocolate. My friend and fellow pastry professional Fionna gave me these berries and I decided to use them two ways.


First, it would be tragic not to enjoy raspberries just as they are, so I paired them with some simple dark chocolate mousse which I had leftover in the freezer. Yes, you can freeze mousses and thaw them later for use but some loss of volume will occur inevitably. Second, I made a raspberry guimauve (a.k.a. marshmallow) by first making a purée and using a recipe adapted from a Derek Poirier recipe which I recently saw at a Valrhona demo. My previous guimauve experience has been using the Italian meringue guimauve method but I was pleasantly surprised at how well this cooked sugar/gelatin guimauve recipe worked.


This summer long homage to fruit that you will witness if you continue to read my blog posts is inspired by all the local fruit farmers in British Columbia who you can meet at your local farmer's market. In fact, I am looking forward to visiting the Okanagan in a few weeks to pick my own cherries!

More importantly, however, if you can not imagine life without fruit just like I can not, you need to become aware of a very serious issue concerning the plight of honeybees in North America. A recent episode of Nature on PBS called "Silence of the Bees" documents the potentially disasterous effect of a virus on honeybee colonies which could lead to an end to pollination of all flowering crops which include all the vegetables and fruits that we love. It seems inconceivable but unfortunately, this scenario is a distinct possibility without urgent intervention to help the honeybee population. Thank you to all the hardworking honeybees which make this fruit possible!

Tart nouveau

Happy Canada Day! Celebrating Canada's 141st birthday during our first and likely only heat wave of the summer, I plan to water my flowers and dust off the patio furniture today. Keeping cool is difficult in our living space, especially yesterday when the oven seemed to be on 400F the entire day. I cook large batches of lunches and dinners each Monday for consumption during the week. Yesterday, a lovely chocolate hazelnut strawberry tart was also on the menu.


I have been wanting to try Michael Laiskonis' chocolate tart dough recipe for several months now and finally stumbled upon the right opportunity when I was wondering what to do with some leftover gianduja pastry cream which had done its duty last week as my soufflé base. This time last year I was just finishing my Pan Pacific practicum and had sworn I would never make another fresh fruit tart in my life unless forced at gunpoint. No firearms were necessary, just the presence of fresh sweet strawberries and excess gianduja pastry cream reminding me that not all fruit tarts are created equal.


The tart dough is very easy to work with, containing almond powder which gives it great texture. I substituted some ground hazelnut into my almond cream recipe and piped a layer into my tart shells. Once baked and cooled, a thin layer of gianduja pastry cream was spread on top and crowned with fresh strawberries. A sprinkle of hazelnut streusel adds a little buttery crunch. Make the streusel stick by glazing the strawberries first with some melted apricot jelly, which also serves to increase the fruit's longevity.


Because of the slow start to our summer here in British Columbia, the local fruit crop has been delayed but hopefully, those gorgeous local cherries, apricots, and blueberries will soon appear at the market. I might not be succeeding on any 100 Mile Diet yet, but odds will definitely improve in the next few weeks!

Feeling nutty

I recently started making my own granola as an accompaniment to my daily breakfast helping of yogurt. As a result, having extra flaked almonds and dried berries in the pantry led me to crave florentines, those nutty crispy cookies that I must admit, were unknown to me until my foray into pastry. Traditionally, florentines are thin and lacy caramelized discs, with one side combed in chocolate, served at Christmas. I figure May is close enough and in Paris, I did buy a Flexipan half-sheet for florentines that was begging to be used.


Two deviations from the classic florentine were made. First, the florentine mix was baked onto discs of pâte sucrée and second, a texture sheet was used to pattern the dark chocolate rather than a comb. Many recipes I found use candied citrus peel or candied fruit but since I had a leftover bag of mixed dried cherries, strawberries, cranberries and cape gooseberries from Famous Foods , they went into my florentines.


Of course, Eric and I could not possibly (or rather, should not definitely) eat all two dozen florentines that came from the oven. Unless my product yield is purposely small, most pastry items produced in my kitchen end up being distributed to friends and family and are strategically chosen to use up leftover mise en place. I am blessed to have the time and resources to bake and create at home, a weekly activity that brings me great joy and fulfillment. Photographing and writing about it on this little blog is an extension of the creative process that ultimately benefits me and my need for a creative outlet, regardless of whether anyone actually reads my blog! But to those who do visit my blog regularly even though it is not a traditional food blog and sometimes resembles more of a online career counselling diary, thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Tasty hiatus: Part 2

Besides eating my way through Pierre Hermé's showcase, I did venture to other eateries in Paris in search of novel eye-catching items such as Sadaharu Aoki's bon bons maquillages, a rainbow assortment of enrobed ganache sticks. Flavours included yuzu, matcha, wasabi, and black sesame in addition to more traditional fare. Having been obsessed with rainbows as a child, my first impulse was to buy every flavour so that I could arrange them in the correct prismatic order, but I controlled myself and instead, purchased several pre-packaged boxes.


The main reason for visiting Paris this year was to attend Europain 2008, a massive trade show featuring 644 exhibitors representing the baking, pastry, chocolate, confectionary, and ice cream making industries. La Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie and Le Mondial des Arts Sucrés competitions were also held concurrently at this event. As a relative neophyte in the world of artisan pâtisserie, the experience was overwhelming due to the sheer size (80,000 sq. metres of exhibition space) and scope of Europain.


Because I do not own my own pastry shop or bread factory and happen to be Canadian, not European, the majority of exhibits were irrelevant to me from a commercial standpoint; however, seeing the range of innovative products and technology available to the smallest artisanal pâtissier all the way to the largest industrial bread producer was fascinating. I will know where to come whenever I am in the market for a mixer large enough to fit six people with two whisk attachments that are each taller than me. Only some exhibitors were actually selling items direct to visitors, mainly half-price Easter chocolate molds, Flexipans sheets, and colourings.


To my amazement, my attention was drawn more towards breads and Viennoiserie because of how refined, beautiful, and diverse these yeasty products could be. Baguettes may have outnumbered humans at Europain but the other creations from the simple origins of flour, yeast, and water were most impressive, making my jaw drop on multiple occasions in wonder and awe.


My favourite two things at Europain were two dresses, one constructed from Flexipan bakeware and the other from bread. Complete with fedora, the little black silicon dress would be useful in any sticky social situation whereas the yeasty couture creation, France's bread showpiece for La Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, is a feast for the eyes and stomach.


Speaking of fashion, Milan proved to be a formidable destination for the couture-challenged person that I am today. Every Milanese woman was dressed right off the runway, complete with the big trophy purse and 4 inch stilettos. I, on the other hand, dressed in comfort flats and the chicest travel clothes I possessed, was more appropriately suited for window shopping and frequenting a renowned gourmet store, Peck Deli, which was steps away from our hotel. The Peck community also includes a lunch bar and the very upscale Michelin two-star Cracco Peck restaurant.


I could have spent many euros at Peck Deli but not having my own kitchen in Milan nor sufficient gastrointestinal capacity limited me from indulging in the many tantalizing terrines, pastas, salads, meats etc. The singular item which I fancied the most was a union of two things which I hold dearest to my epicurean heart, the macaron and gelato. There were small and large gelato-filled macarons as well as piped gelato roses on nougatine bases. I chose the large chocolate macaron with chocolate gelato and was impressed with how it was packed on dry ice within its own styrofoam box. In my haste to consume my hybrid dessert, I did not let it thaw enough and consequently, the macaron was not as soft as desired. Regardless, just when I thought macarons could not get any better, they do!