Berries and Cream

The heat has been sweltering for the past few days so heavy meals have been crossed off the list to leave room for light, no-oven-needed meals. I have popsicles in the fridge (peach and mint!) and have been making chilled soup (you might have seen my cucumber, avocodo and chive soup on Instagram!).  A few fresh berries topped with a dollop of cream is a nice alternative as well, and it couldn't be easier to make!

This week, in the Canadian Living Test Kitchen, I've been in holiday paradise -- with dozens upon dozens of cookies, complete with cakes, turkeys and holidays sides. I often get asked what Christmas in July feels like, and to be honest, I quite love it! I won't pretend it's the easiest way to maintain a healthful diet (it's contant temptation!), but it's a fun time to create recipes for. It's all about sharing food, taking the time to make a meal, and indulging. It also makes me than much more excited to come home after a long work day and cook seasonally. I can leave snowy desserts and winter comfort food behind and cook according to the time of year. And, once the actual holidays come around, I've had enough time to recuperate so I can get excited about the festivities, all over again!

Berries and Cream
Serves 2

1/2 whipping cream (35 %)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp Grand Marnier or any other orange liqueur (optional)
2 cups fresh berries

In bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and beat until combined. Fold in vanilla and Grand Marnier. Spoon over berries.Enjoy!

Easter DIY: Chocolate Mousse-Filled Eggs

Last year, I blogged about a few fun Easter egg DIY decor ideas. This year, it's all about the dinner table! These whimsical little eggs are filled with lusciously airy chocolate mousse and the eggs are simply dyed using pastel food colouring. You can easily store these in the fridge in their original container, which makes it easy to bring them as a hostess gift for any spring celebration. To plate, use a pretty egg holder with a small spoon.

The first step to making these is emptying the eggs. Gently tap the egg around its narrower top with a small pairing knife until the egg starts to crack. Running the knife along the top you want to remove, gently tap to crack the shell. Once you've removed the top piece, smooth the edge to get rid of any small pieces of shell -- and then empty the egg. Remove the membrane and wash the inside of the egg. In a large bowl, add a few drops of food colouring until you've reached your desired colour. Mix in a couple drops of white vinegar. Add your eggs - the longer you keep them in the water, the darker they will become. Let dry completely on a cooling rack.

In the meantime, make your favourite chocolate mousse (or try my Orange and Chocolate Mousse recipe). Fill the eggs with the mousse using a piping bag or a ziploc bag with a snapped off corner. Top with sprinkles -- or candied orange, or chocolate shavings, or all of the above. Enjoy!

Persimmon Chocolate Tarts

Do you remember the chocolate tarts I blogged about a few days ago? These are an easy variation to make homemade tarts that much more of a treat. Every time I see bright orange, plump persimmons at the market, I can't help adding a few to my basket. They are usually only available a couple months a year (on this side of the world anyway!) and are one of my favourite fruit. Slicing a perfectly ripe persimmon makes a quick light dessert, but why not add them to top a chocolate tart?

In the summertime, I would top these with berries, but at this time of year, persimmons are a heavenly switch-up. Just make sure to add the fruit right before serving so it's as fresh as can be. Visit my chocolate tart post for the recipe.

Holiday Treats and a Giveaway!

As the holidays are fast approaching, my to-do list seems ever expanding - everyday I pin another recipe I'd like to try, or DIY project I'd love to tackle. I'm sure many of you can relate to this, but every year I wish that December was a couple of days longer. Between flavoured marshmallows, indulgent cakes and intricate cookies, I know this holiday season will be sweet, flavourful and time-consuming!

To help ease the hectic season and lend a little festive spirit, here is the first of our December giveaways! I have a copy of Rachael Ray's newest cookbook, My Year in Meals. The book is split between recipes and a series of cocktails concocted by Rachael's husband, John Cusimano. If you're looking for a few colourful drinks to add to your holiday menus, this is a great place to start. I already have my eye on the Panettone, a mix of vodka, Grand Marnier, orgeat syrup and champagne - that has to be a perfect way to ring in the new year, don't you think?

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post and let me know what your go-to holiday dish is when you entertain. The contest ends on December 15th, at midnight. The winner will be drawn at random and you must be a Canadian or American resident to enter. Good luck and I look forward to hearing from you!

And for a few stress-free holidays treats, try a few of my favourite indulgences for this time of year!

{1} Almond, Ginger and Chocolate Buche de Noel
{2} Hot Chocolate with Mini Marshmallows
{3} Lemon Bundt Cake

Full-On Chocolate Tarts

This weekend was a chocolate kind of weekend and it all started with the simple desire of making homemade chocolate dough. Whenever things get hectic around me, or I feel a little ungrounded, I like to turn towards something that never fails me - like making a classic dough. No matter how many times I make it, I never cease to be amazed by the fact that a few simple ingredients can turn into a pliable, homogenous disc of perfection. When things feel uncertain or fragile the kitchen becomes -- even more so than usual -- my happy place. I find endless comfort in knowing that the right amount of flour, butter and sugar will always come together. This might be my cheesy moment of the week, but I'm sure you fellow baking-lovers can relate - am I right?

Pumpkin and Ginger Ice Cream Sandwiches

When I hosted Thanksgiving this year, I wanted to serve an array of desserts but try to steer away from doing the classics only. This is how this delicious treat idea came about - creamy pumpkin ice cream sandwiched between two crinkled, ginger cookies. The toughest part was finding good pumpkin ice cream. If it weren't Thanksgiving, I probably would have whipped up a homemade batch, but given the amount of food I was already making (herbed and butter turkey, wild rice and hazelnut stuffing, Brussels sprouts with pancetta, pumpkin praline tiramisu) this was an easy make-ahead dessert. I whipped up a batch of homemade ginger cookies the night before, and simply added a heaping tablespoonful of pumpkin ice cream right before serving.

The only tricky part was finding the perfect pumpkin ice cream! Il Gelatiere (one of my favourite gelato stores here in Toronto) didn't disappoint - they had a wonderful homemade batch of the fall-flavoured goodness. And to package these, I opted for these little chevron pouches - each just fits one of these two-bite treats!

The Easiest Blueberry Tarts

No matter how satisfying making dough is, sometimes you just need a fast alternative. Don't get me wrong, I love making dough from scratch - taking a few simple ingredients and turning them into a pliable, versatile dough always seems rather magical. But for those times when you're really in a pinch, I'll let you in on my go-to solution. 

Phyllo dough is the hero of the show here - I like to use whole-wheat phyllo dough, but regular works just fine as well. Simply cut out circles of dough using a cookie cutter (or tracing around a glass with a pairing knife). You can easily free-form these using mini muffin tins. They then crisp up wonderfully thanks to a warm oven and a little melted butter. In the summer, I love filling these with wild blueberries, a simple sprinkling in each crisped-up shell makes the perfect sweet treat - but during the wintertime, these work wonders filled with a little chocolate ganache and a dollop of whipped cream.

Tarte Tatin and a Cookbook Giveaway

First things first ... tarte tatin! Have you ever had a slice of this delicious, upside down, caramel and apple tart? If not, I suggest you run through this post and give it a try as soon as you have a moment in the kitchen! This dessert is a real staple of my Parisian upbringing. Growing up, we had this tart for many different occasions, usually enjoying it warm with a melting scoop (or two!) of vanilla ice cream. This is really one of the staples of French cuisine and one of my favourites. It's a simple concept (apples, flaky dough, caramel) and the end result is not only gorgeous but incredibly delicious as well.


Invented by the Tatin sisters in France, this tart came about when the sisters were flooded with clients at their restaurant and came up with a clever way to recover their damaged traditional 'tarte aux pommes' (apple tart). The solution was to bake the tart up-side down, with the crust on top of the filling, and to flip the tart over once it was nicely caramelized by the butter and caramel used in the filling. This photograph doesn't really do the tart justice - but to tell you the truth, I made the tart in the evening and by the time it was out of the oven it was begging to be sliced... right then and there. An instagramed picture will have to do the trick for this post then!

Owl Cupcakes

 

This post will be a short one. I've been sick with a fall flu for the past couple days and have spent more time in bed than I care for. I miss my kitchen and the real desire for food! I still got myself to make these over the weekend, and it helped take my mind off of things for a little while. These cute little owls caught my eye on a couple different blogs and given the owl craze I recently blogged about and Halloween merely days away, it only seemed fair that I give these a try. The only tricky part to this recipe is separating the Oreo cookies to make the owl's eyes. My method included a flat knife and placing the Oreos for a couple seconds in the microwave. If you have any tips on how to perfectly separate the two halves - I'm a taker! Please leave a comment with your best tip!

Owl Cupcakes
- Use your favourite chocolate cupcake recipe and dark chocolate frosting.
- Separate oreos for the eyes
- Use smarties for the nose
- Junior mints for the pupil (dabbed with a tiny bit of frosting to make sure they stay put)

No-bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Sandwiches

As I've mentioned here before, Halloween wasn't celebrated in France when I was growing up. I remember learning about trick or treat and dressing up while watching Friends and other TV shows, and from my American friends at school. The only time I celebrated it was in elementary school. We had a British nanny for a little while in Paris who took care of me and my brother while my parents were hard at work during the day. She sewed a matching pumpkin outfits for her and myself, complete with little tiny pumpkin hats. It was ridiculously cute.

Millionaire's Shortbread and an Ode to Blogging

As I was taking the time out of a busy day to prepare this blog today, it dawned on me how much time I've spent on this site for the past four or so years. There are so many blogs on the internet these days that it can sometime seem like the virtual world is over-saturated and then some. It seems so easy log on to Blogger or Wordpress and start your very own little publication sphere. I think in a way, this has undermined how much dedication it takes to consistently run a blog. For my part, I know that sometimes, no matter how much I love interacting with readers and how much I love sharing my passion for food, I really have to pull through to get a blog post up. As Chocolate Shavings has steadily grown, I sometimes find myself being too much of a perfectionist. There are so many dishes that don't make it on to this blog because I feel like I haven't gotten my recipe exactly where I want it or because I feel like the photos I just took of a dish do not do it justice. There have definitely been countless, countless times where food had been brought to the table at room temperature because I wanted to take the very best shot I could.

All this is to say that sometimes it's easy to take a blog for granted - to quickly browse through a couple pages of a blog, maybe bookmark a recipe or just glance over recent content. I've done it, and I'm sure you have too. The term 'blogging' often gets a bad reputation as well. There is a sense that anybody could be a blogger, that anybody can jot down their thoughts of the day and quickly press 'publish' for the world to see. But being a dedicated, regular blogger really does take time It's often like running your own mini magazine, alone and to offer the content free of charge for all to enjoy. My goal with this post is really just to give fellow bloggers a real pat on the back. The realm of blogging was just a hobby when I started during college and has, in many ways, help me jump-start my career. It's what made me want to go to culinary school, what gave me the continued dedication to write on a regular basis and what got me my first commercial photography job. I owe a lot to the blogging world, and this is my small way of giving back.

So why not indulge with a slice of Millionaire's shortbread?

Millionaire's Shortbread
Adapted from Claire Robinson

Shortbread:
2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for preparing pans
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing pans
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Caramel Layer:
2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
Chocolate Topping:
3/4 pound good-quality bittersweet chocolate

Shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter 2 (8-inch) square nonstick pans and coat with flour, tapping off excess. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse once. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles peas. Press the shortbread mixture into prepared pans and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Caramel Layer:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of butter. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously. Continue stirring over the heat until mixture becomes thick and amber in color, about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the cooked shortbread and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Topping:
In a glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Once chocolate has melted, pour it over the cooled caramel layer. Cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, and then place in the refrigerator to cool completely, allowing chocolate to slightly harden but not get hard. Cut into 2-inch squares and enjoy, or store in an airtight container, at room temperature, or my favorite - keep in the refrigerator for a yummy sweet and cool treat!

Berry Roundup

With the summer months slowly winding down, I thought it would be the perfect time for a berry roundup and a celebration of the best that summer has to offer. These recipes are my favourite berry-filled treats are are the sweet dishes I find myself missing in the colder months. I do always have some good frozen raspberries or strawberries in the freezer but there's something about knowing you can go get perfectly plump berries from the market to transform into something special. If you were to open my fridge today, you would find baskets of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches and lemons. The vivid colours always make me want to whip up something fresh, crisp and tasty.

For my all-time favourite berry recipes, from left to right:
Raspberry Semifreddo
Berry Crumble
Red Berry and Basil Granita
Strawberry Tarts
Strawberry Barley Scones with Maple Cream
Pear and Buckwheat Pancakes with Raspberries

No-Bake Peach Bars

I've been recipe testing to find a great no-bake, fruit-filled dessert for the summertime...and here it is! These bars hit the spot for me -they're easy to make, there's no need to turn on a warm oven and it makes the best of fresh fruit. Softening the peaches for a few minutes really makes a big difference as the peaches release their natural juices and becomes perfectly velvety. These bars are a little gooey so I suggest enjoying them with a fork!

No-Bake Peach Bars

1 1/2 cups of dried prunes
1/4 cup of raw macademia nuts
3 tbl rolled oats
1 tsp of honey
4 peaches, pitted
2 tsp of brown sugar
a small knob of butter

Pulse prunes, nuts, oats and honey in a food processor. Lightly butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and line tightly with plastic wrap making sure the wrap goes over the sides of the pan. Press down the prune mixture at the bottom of the pan using the back of a spoon or pressing down above a sheet of parchment paper if the mixture is too sticky to properly even out.

Add the butter to a small pan on medium heat. Cut the peaches into quarters and sprinkle with the sugar. Add to the pan when the butter starts to foam. Cook until the peaches just start to soften. Lay the peaches snugly over the prune mixture. Fold the extra plastic wrap over the peaches and leave to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. Cut into triangles and serve. Enjoy!

Pear and Chocolate Loaf

This recipe came about when I realized I had a few leftover pears that I wanted to put to good use. I wanted to make an easy dessert that would combine both pears and chocolate -a heavenly combination! Pear pieces, when baked in this type of loaf, soften and meld beautifully with the other flavours to create an airy yet incredibly tasty treat. A little orange zest really boosts the flavours and lightens the cake and the simple citrus icing makes the loaf that much more special.

This loaf could also be served at breakfast, in which case I would suggest omitting the icing. The loaf is incredibly versatile: it's perfect as the first sweet bite of the day, as well as for an afternoon snack or for dessert, anytime. And, the best part? It takes minutes to put together!

Pear and Chocolate Loaf

40 grams of bittersweet chocolate
140 grams of butter, softened to room temperature
150 grams of granulated sugar
2 eggs
160 grams of all purpose flour
1 tsp of baking powder
2 pears (not too ripe)
1 orange, zested
40 grams of cocoa

Icing
1 cup of confectioner's sugar
2 tsps of lemon juice
Water


Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and reserve. In a mixer bowl, add the softened butter and sugar. Beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just combined. Fold in the cooled melted chocolate.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 batches, beating the mixture until just homogeneous. Add the orange zest.

Peel and core the pears and cut them into small bite-size pieces. Add the pear to the batter and fold until the pear is evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Place the batter to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 425F. Remove the batter from the fridge and pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, and lower the temperature to 350F. Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out just clean.

Let the loaf cool for a few minutes and gently unmold onto a cooling rack.

While the cake is cooling, make the icing. Add the confectioner's sugar and lemon juice to a bowl and whisk. The consistency of the icing must be thin enough to spread on top of the cake, but thick enough to be opaque. Add a few drizzles of water until you reach the perfect consistency. Once the loaf has completely cooled down, drizzle the icing on top of the loaf and carefully even out using an offset spatula or flat butter knife. Enjoy!

Hot Cross Buns

With the Easter long weekend just around the corner, it's the perfect time to make a warm batch of Hot Cross Buns! Check out my full post for these delicious treats on Style at Home. What will you be making this Easter?

Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12 buns

1 cup of whole milk
1 package of active dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups of bread flour
1/2 tsp of grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp of kosher salt
1/2 cup of golden raisins
1/4 cup of chopped candied lemon peel
1 egg white, beaten with 1 tsp of water

Glaze
1 1/4cup of sifted confectioner’s sugar
2 tbl of milk
1 tsp of lemon juice

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it reaches 100-110 degrees. Remove from the heat immediately and pour into a mixer bowl. Add the yeast, sugar and butter. Fit the mixer with a dough hook and mix on medium speed until the mixture is homogenous. Add the eggs, one by one, and mix until just incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix the flours, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the dough. Knead until the mixture starts to form a sticky dough (4-5 minutes).
Add the golden raisins and candied peel and knead until the fruit is evenly distributed throughout the dough. Pour the dough into a lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. Once the dough has about doubled in size, shape the dough into small tight balls (each should hold in the palm of your hand). Lay them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the balls of dough have expanded and are touching.
Preheat your oven to 400F. Using the beaten egg white and water mixture, brush a light coating of egg onto each bun. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Let the buns cool completely before glazing.
In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients to make the glaze. Place the glaze in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch tip and make a cross design on each bun. Using scissors or a knife separate the buns and serve.

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Shard Cookies

There are dozens and dozens of chocolate chip cookies recipes on blogs, food-related websites, and cookbooks. So who needs another one? Well, I do. I wouldn't bring you a chocolate chip cookie recipe if it wasn't absolutely amazing. My loyal readers will know that one of my favourite cookbooks is Good to the Grain. This whole wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe is straight from the book, and perfect, just the way it is. As a recipe developer, it's really part of my nature to want to tweak recipes when I feel that they could be more flavourful or have better texture. These were really just right and besides taking out a couple teaspoons of white sugar, I can't think of a way to make these better.

I really love experimenting with different types of flour. Flour is a necessary component of a lot of baked goods but while flour really does not have much intrinsic flavour. Baking with whole wheat, buckwheat or barley flour really adds a special, more interesting flavour to what you are baking and often means that you don't need to add as much sugar. These cookies really benefit from the whole wheat flour, which gives them a more complex and interesting texture. I also love using shards of dark chocolate as opposed to chocolate chips when making cookies. The shards break beautifully into different sizes of rich chocolate and make for a more rustic cookie, full of specks of chocolate as well as larger melted chunks. It doesn't get much better than that, don't you think?

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Shard Cookies
Adapted from Good to the Grain

Dry Mix:
3 cups of whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Wet Mix:
2 stick of cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces chocolate, chopped into shards

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl pouring back into the bowl any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on low speed until the butter and sugar are just blended, about 2 minutes. You can also use a hand mixer. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Mix in the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients in two batches until just combined. Finally, fold in the chocolate shards making sure they are evenly distributed in the batter.

Scoop balls of dough that are approximately 3 tablespoons worth and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 3 inches between them, or about 6 per sheet. Bake for 16-20 minutes, rotating the pans half-way through.

Once the cookies are baked, let them cool for a few minutes and transfer them to a cooling rack. These are best eaten warm from the oven or later the same day but they will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Gooey Butter Tarts

This post will be a short one. I've been working on an exciting new food-related project that has been taking a lot of my time. I will fill you in as soon as I can - it's a good one!

These little tarts are sure to make anyone feel better after a hard day. They are little bites of gooey, sweet caramel goodness and are a wonderful Canadian staple. The contrast between the flaky pastry and the soft velvety filling makes for the perfect sweet treat at any time of day.

On another note, I got many emails about the glass milk carton I featured in my Coffee Cake post. For any one who would like to purchase it, it's made by Fred and Friends and can be bought on Amazon.com here. It's been a great addition in our kitchen!




Gooey Butter Tarts
Makes 8-10 mini tarts

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) of all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons (100 grams) of very cold butter
2 tablespoons (30 grams) of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 egg, beaten with 2 teaspoons of water
For the filling:
1/2 cup of golden raisins
2/3 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup of butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tbl of light corn syrup
Sift the flour, sugar and salt directly onto a work surface (a cold surface such as marble works best). Cut the butter into small pieces. The butter must be very cold before you add it to the flour. Mix the butter into the flour using a pastry scraper. You can also use your fingers, but work quickly to ensure that the butter stays cold. Once the dough has the texture of coarse sand, create a well in the center by using a cup or glass. Add the egg and water to the well. Using a fork, swirl the egg and slowly incorporate the flour into the centre. Once most of the flour has been incorporated you can start using your hands. Knead the dough into a round ball. At this point, take a small handful of the dough at a time, and, using the palm of your hand, smear it out completely onto the counter surface. This process makes sure that the butter is fully incorporated into the dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough until you have a pile of chunks of dough. Gently knead and form into a flat disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Take out 10 minutes before using.
In the meantime, make the filling. Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with warm water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes. Drain well and reserve. In a small saucepan on medium low heat, add the butter and sugar and stir until just melted. Add the corn syrup, vanilla extract and drained raisins. Beat in the eggs and whisk over the heat for 5-6 minutes or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not overcook.
Preheat your oven to 375F. Roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out large circles of dough to fit individual mini tart molds. Butter the molds and gently place the dough inside. Pour in the filling until 3/4 full and bake for 15 minutes. Set to cool on a cooling rack and unmold a few minutes later.

Chaussons aux Pommes (or Apple Turnovers)

If I had to name the one food-item I miss the most about France, it would have to be the 'boulangeries' at almost every street corner. Growing up, no Sunday meal would be complete without a trip to our local bakery to pick up a fresh - and warm when we were lucky- baguette and a couple chaussons aux pommes, pains aux raisins and pains au chocolat for breakfast. Every time I go back home and visit my parents, the first thing I do is head for my neighborhood market, with a mandatory trip to the boulangerie. I really miss having access to homemade baked bread so close to home - there are bakeries around Montreal, but the French in me never finds them quite as good as the ones at home.

Chausson aux pommes have always been one of my favorites. This buttery, flaky puff pastry semicircle filled with apple compote is pretty close to perfection. This recipe makes an easy make-at home version, made with triangular pieces of puff pastry and chunky apple sauce. These gorgeous treats are then puffed up in the oven until golden. These are perfect to enjoy for a nice afternoon snack or to start out the day. The best thing about them though, is that they freeze wonderfully well. Place a couple chaussons in freezable bags, brush with egg wash and cook straight from frozen when you're ready for a nice homemade fruity treat. I love this type of cooking - you put a little effort in now, and your freezer is then filled with goodies to enjoy at a later time.

Chaussons Aux Pommes

2 10x10 inch sheets of frozen puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Granulated sugar, to dust the chaussons

Apple Compote
6 golden delicious apples
1 knob of butter
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Thaw the puff pastry according to package instructions.

Make the compote. Peel, core and cut the apples into bite-size chunks. In a small pan on medium low heat, add the apples, butter and sugar. Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar coats the apples. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice and cook for 10 minutes or until the chunks of apples have softened. Remove from the heat, and using a pestle or large spoon, break down the larger pieces of apples. The compote should be think and still chunky. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 375F. Lay out a puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut the squares into 3 lengthwise strips, and cut each sheet into 3 rectangles (you can cut them into 2 rectangles for bigger chaussons). Cut each rectangle in half diagonally, to form triangles. Place about 2 tablespoons of compote at the center of of one triangle, and top with the other, making sure the compote doesn't spill. Using a fork, press down the pastry to seal the top triangle with the bottom one. Repeat with all the triangles, and repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the top triangle with egg wash. Using a small knife, lightly score a crisscross pattern on the top of the triangle and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake on a parchment-line baking sheet for 10-12 minutes or until the triangles are golden and crisp.
Tip: If you find that the puff pastry if not as golden as you would want it, broil the chaussons for 1-2 minutes until golden. Keep a constant eye on the oven if you do this as they will go from perfect to burnt very fast!

Chocolate and Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

This coffee cake was a real delight to have over the weekend - it was moist, beautiful and the swirl gave it that something special you look for in a weekend treat. When I first moved to North America and heard about coffee cakes, I was disappointed to find that they didn't taste like coffee at all. Cutting a piece and enjoying it with a warm cup of coffee brings the coffee flavor into the cake though and makes it just about the perfect balance of flavors. I've tasted a lot of coffee through the years and visited a lot, a lot of coffee shops while traveling. My favourite to date has to be Blue Bottle in San Francisco- their cold brewed coffee has to be the best I've ever had. Lately, however, some coffee shops have started taking themselves too seriously and that can take away from the experience of relaxing and enjoying one of the best drinks there is. I greatly value a warm and cozy ambiance when getting an afternoon cup of coffee but have found that many coffee shops have, sadly, become pretentious and have ended up making coffee seem inaccessible and and an art not everyone can understand.

On a recent trip to New York, I was happy I found Stumptwon Coffee Roasters at the Ace Hotel. This place is worth the trip if only for the eclectic decor of the hotel itself- it's filled with worn in furniture, low lights and different nooks and crannies to comfortably sit in. The cappuccino I had there was the smoothest and frothiest coffee I've had. It really was. They also had velvety iced coffee and fleur de sel chocolate bars. We also sampled some of the treats there and their pretzel-like bread filled with ham, sharp cheese and mustard was absolutely amazing. I will definitely be making my way back to the Ace Hotel when I go to New York next.




Chocolate and Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake
Adapted from Baked, I made the cake in a round cake pan instead

Crumb Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup of hazelnuts
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces

Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cake
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
16 ounces sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Crumb Topping:
Put the flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of food processor and pulse to combine. Add the hazelnuts and pulse until they are finely chopped and incorporated. Add the butter and pulse until mixture looks like coarse sand. Cover and refrigerate.

Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl:
Mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Sour Cream Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Scrape down bowl and add sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl as needed.
Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not overmix.
Pour one third of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle half of the chocolate cinnamon swirl mixture over batter, covering the entire surface of the batter. Spoon half of remaining batter over the swirl mixture and spread it evenly. Top with remaining swirl mixture, then the remaining batter, and spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top of the batter.
Bake in the center of the oven for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Serves 16.

Pumpkin Roulade with Mascrapone and Amaretti Cream

Yule logs have always been a central part of holiday treats for my family. I've spent most of my Christmas holidays in the South of France and, although the menu changed for Christmas eve every year, the two real staples have always been starting with some homemade foie gras, and ending with a traditional 'buche de Noel', or yule log. This cake is my twist on the classic yule log using festive pumpkin. I love the color it gives to the cake, and with a creamy mascarpone and amaretti cookie filling it's really beautiful to serve during the holiday season.

Pumpkin Roulade with Mascrapone and Amaretti Cream

3/4 cup of flour
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of ground ginger
1/4 tsp of kosher salt
1 tsp of vanilla extract
3 eggs
2/4 cups of sugar
2/3 cup of pumpkin puree

Filling:
1 cup of mascarpone
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tbl confectioner’s sugar
5 small amaretti cookies

Preheat your oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The parchment paper should completely cover the sheet.
In a bowl, swift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add in the sugar and beat until mixed. Fold in the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture. Pour the mixture on top of the parchment paper. Using an offset spatula, spread the mixture to create an even layer of batter and get rid of any air bubbles. Bake for 10-12 minutes or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, dust a kitchen towel with confectioner sugar and place on a baking sheet or tray. As soon as the cake is cooked, carefully invert it onto the towel and peel off the parchment. Immediately roll the cake into a log shape keeping the last fold down on the baking sheet. If you don’t roll the cake immediately it will become less malleable and difficult to work with.

Leave the cake in the fridge while you make the filling. Beat the mascarpone, sugar and confectioner sugar until smooth (about 2 minutes). Using a grater, grate the amaretti cookies. Fold until fully incorporated.

Un-roll the cake and leave flat on the baking sheet. Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, add the marscarpone filling and spread in an even layer. Leave 1/8 inch border uncovered. Roll the cake again as tightly as possible making sure the filling stays smoothly inside the cake. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve. Enjoy!