Easy Creamy Tiramisu

There has been a lot of desserts on this blog lately! There's something about the holidays that make you want that touch of sweetness in the kitchen, isn't there? Tiramisu was one of the first desserts I learned how to make as a teenager, and it's a recipe I always turn to when I'm looking for something familiar, traditional and comforting. To me, tiramisu is much like risotto in that it looks so much more evolved and complicated to make than it is. I love the mix of creamy mascarpone, coffee and chocolate in this dessert and although it's a year-long delight, it really works well at this time of year.

So here it is, my easy, fail-safe tiramisu. I hope you will cherish this recipe as much as I do. I have made little tweaks and changes over the years and this is now my ultimate tiramisu. I'm sure Tyler Florence would agree!

Easy Creamy Tiramisu
Serves 6-8

2 containers of Mascarpone
6 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/2 vanilla bean seeds or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of rum
1 big pot of strong espresso coffee (the coffee should be stronger than the one you would drink)
1 box of ladyfingers
A couple squares of good quality bittersweet chocolate

Place the coffee in a bowl at room temperature to allow it to cool down while you prepare the rest of the dessert. Mix the egg yolks and sugar in a small bowl until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Set aside.
Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt (using an electric mixer) until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In a big bowl, add the mascarpone. If the mascarpone seems a little stiff, beat for 1-2 minutes to lighten it and make it easy to work with. Gently fold in the whites making sure that the mixture stays airy. When smooth, add the sugar and yolk mixture. Add the vanilla and stir.
Take your serving bowls and line them up on your working surface. Dip each ladyfinger into the coffee making sure each side gets properly dipped. The ladyfingers should just hold together. Arrange 2 ladyfingers at the bottom of the bowls (you may have to cut them in half beforehand depending on the size of your serving bowls). Add 2-3 ladles of the mascarpone mixture into each bowl. Top with another 2 coffee-dipped ladyfingers and top with another couple ladles of mascarpone mixture. Place in the fridge to set for 4 hours or overnight. Right before serving, grate the chocolate over the tiramisu. Enjoy!

Lemon Bundt Cake with Chocolaty Topping and a Christmas Giveaway

As the holiday season is upon us, it's time for Chocolate Shaving's very first Christmas giveaway! Growing up in Paris, I used to visit London a lot. It was there, as a young teenager that I discovered Wagamama. If you've never been, you must! It's a fun, low-key restaurant with tasty noodles dishes and other Asian-inspired treats. While I was working at the BBC this summer, I made my way back to Wagamama. I sadly found that the food wasn't as carefully executed as it once was (it has become a real mega-chain now so that may come with the territory) but I've always adored their cookbook.

It's a beautiful book with most of the restaurant's staples and will make you want to make all the dishes at home. For those of you who aren't used to cooking with Asian ingredients, it's really a great way to start. Now, for the giveaway rules. You have 2 ways to enter the contest. One by writing a comment on this blog post, and a second chance by writing a comment on Chocolate Shaving's facebook page. You can write a comment on both and your name will be entered in the contest twice! Simply let me know what your favourite holiday sweet treat is. The contest ends December 18th, at midnight and you must be a Canadian or American resident to enter. I will draw the winner at random. Good luck!


As for today's recipe: this is another easy recipe to entertain with. It's the perfect option for a Christmas or new year's party. The ganache and pistachio topping on top of the cake gives this dessert that extra special holiday feel.

Lemon Bundt Cake with Chocolatey Topping
Fits a 10 cup bundt cake

3 cups of cake flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1 cup of sour cream
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbl of lemon juice
4 eggs
3/4 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups of sugar

For the Ganache:
6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (70%)
2/3 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of corn syrup
1/4 cup of shelled pistachios, cut into small pieces

Preheat your oven to 350F. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, add the sour cream, lemon juice, zest and vanilla extract. Mix until the mixture just comes together. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Whisk in the oil. Add in the sour cream mixture being careful not to over-mix.

Fold in the flour mixture and mix until just homogeneous. Grease a 10 cup bundt pan and carefully pour the mixture inside, making sure it’s evenly distributed. Bake for 50 min to 1 hour or until the cake just pulls away from the sides of the pan. Unmold and leave to rest on a cooling rack. In the meantime, make the ganache.

Finely chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. Add the cream to a small saucepan on medium heat. Bring the cream to a boil and immediately remove from the heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until the cream and chocolate are completely smooth. Add the corn syrup and whisk again. Using a small bowl with a beak, gently pour the ganache over the cake. Top with the chopped pistachios. Set on a serving platter and serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Orange and Chocolate Mousse

We've had a lot, a lot of snow in Montreal in the past few days. Every year, when the first real snow comes, the city calms down for a few hours as the roofs and trees lend their backs to a layer of cotton-like froth. I find it magical. No matter how many times I've seen those specks of snow falling from the sky I get so giddy when it happens. The snow has been the perfect beginning to the holiday season as I'm putting together all the sweet treats I'll be making leading up to Christmas.

When I have people over during this time of year, the last thing I want to be doing is spending all my time in the kitchen putting a meal together and miss out on the fun-filled night. These chocolate mousses have always been a real staple for me. They are just perfect for entertaining as you make them in advance so they can set in the fridge. I like add orange zest and Grand Marnier to these to make them extra special, and top them with thin candied orange slices and chocolate shavings. They really are perfect for any holiday celebration. The mix of chocolate and orange is always pretty perfect and the two flavors mingle wonderfully in this concoction. I hope you give it a try!

Orange and Chocolate Mousse
Serves 4-6 people

5.5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa)
350 ml of heavy whipping cream
3 large egg whites
2 tbl + 1 tsp of sugar
Zest and juice of 1/2 orange
1 1/2 tsp of Grand Marnier
4 pieces of candied orange, to garnish
4 squares of bittersweet chocolate, to garnish

Chop the chocolate and melt using a double boiler. Once the chocolate is melted, reserve and let cool while you prepare the rest of the mousse.

Place the cream in a bowl making sure the cream is very cold as well as the bowl. You can place both in the fridge for 20 minutes if needed. Beat the cream until light peaks form, making sure the mixture is still light and airy and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they just form stiff peaks. Beat in the sugar.

Add the orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier to the chocolate and gently fold it into the cream. Once the mixture is homogeneous, gently fold in the egg whites in 2 batches making sure to keep the mixture airy and light. Place the mousse to set in the fridge for 2 hours. Spoon the mousse into ramekins. Grate the chocolate over the mousse to garnish and top with thin strips of candied orange.

Pistachio Meringues

These little meringues are the beginning of my holiday baking series here on Chocolate Shavings. Now that the holiday season is upon us - we got our got our first snow this weekend! - it's time to start thinking about all the baking that lies ahead!

These little snow caps are the perfect way to welcome the holidays. They are easy to make and have that perfect crunchy texture. The only trick to preparing them is making sure you leave them to dry out completely in shut-off oven before you package them. Meringues are pretty sensitive to humidity and moisture, so make sure, depending on where you live, that you aren't making these on one of those very humid days. Once the meringues are dry and perfectly crisp, you can package them as you please!

Pistachio Meringues

4 egg whites
1 pinch of kosher salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of finely chopped pistachios

Preheat your oven to 200F. Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar on high speed until frothy. Add 1/2 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add remaining sugar and beat again for a few minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the meringue into a piping bag and carefully pipe little bite-size meringues. Try to keep your piping hand steady and pipe the meringues keeping the piping tip at the center of each meringue. To finish off each meringue, rapidly remove the tip when you are happy with the shape of your meringue, creating a little spike on each meringue. Top each meringue with a pinch of chopped pistachios.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until meringues are dry and crisp (depending on the humidity levels and the exact size of your meringues, it could take less time). Turn off your oven and leave the meringues to completely dry out over night. Gently detach the meringues from the parchment. Enjoy!

Strawberry Barley Scones with Maple Cream

Ah scones...! Now those should have been posted here a while ago! Growing up, I was one of those kids that did a lot, a lot of extracurricular activities. One Saturdays, for years, I would have an acting class that took me several hours on weekends as we would put together semi-professional plays twice a year. The classes were on the outskirts of Paris and we would always hit traffic on the way home. My mother and I started this sort of ritual to break the long route to get back to our apartment. We would stop at Marks & Spencer. Marks & Spencer has since closed in Paris (to my big disappointment) but at the time, it was a real mecca for a some great food finds that just weren't available in Parisian supermarkets. That is where I discovered a lot of 'junk food' - to my great pleasure and the dismay of my mother.

But, there was always one thing we could agree on purchasing... scones! We would get these amazing blueberry scones with some double cream. Every time. And for an afternoon snack on Sunday, we would heat the scones in the oven and serve them with a heaping tablespoon of cream and some chunky blueberry jam.

This is my ode to those long lost days! These scones are, once again, from Good to the Grain. I love them because they really aren't too sweet and have the perfect, perfect texture. Scones are really all about texture. They have to be firm, but not too firm and crumbly without falling apart. These really are best eaten warm, straight out the oven so I would suggest immediately freezing the scones you don't want to eat and re-heating them in the oven before serving.

Strawberry Barley Scones with Maple Cream
Makes large scones 8
Adapted from Good to the Grain

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of barley flour
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons of kosher salt

8 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg

1/2 cup strawberry jam (make sure it's a heaping 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon of melted butter
1 tablespoon of sugar

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F. 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.

Cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces and add them to the dry mixture. Use your hands to rub the butter between your fingers, breaking it into smaller bits. Continue rubbing until the butter is in sizes ranging from rice grains to flattened peas. The more quickly you do this, the more the butter will stay solid, which is important for the success of this recipe.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg until thoroughly combined. Scrape the buttermilk and egg into the dry mixture, and mix until barely combined.

Use a pastry scraper or a spatula to transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface. The dough may be too sticky to handle; if it is, dust it with flour and fold it together a few times. Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Flour your hands and pat each piece of dough into a disk about 3/4 inch thick and 7 inches in diameter.

Cover one disk with the jam. Top the spread with the other disk and press down gently so that the dough settles into the jam. Brush the dough lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Use a sharp knife to slice the circle into 8 triangular wedges, like a pie. Carefully place the wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a few inches between them as they will expand.

Bake the scones for 22 to 26 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. The scones are ready when their tops are golden brown and some of the jam has bubbled over onto the baking sheet. To keep the scones from sticking to the pan, slide a thin spatula underneath them while they’re still warm and move them to a baking rack. The scones are best eaten warm from the oven or later that same day. Serve with the maple cream


Maple Cream

1 cup of creme fraiche (or sour cream)
3 tablespoons of maple syrup

Whisk the sour cream and maple syrup together and serve alongside the scones.

Poached Pears with Chocolate Ganache Puddle

This post will be a short one - I'm writing from New York where I'm taking some time to re-visit some of my favourite food spots. I've also been to a few new places I will be writing about soon. My days at the FCI might be a couple years behind me now, but I always find time to come back to NYC and get re-inspired by some of my favorite eats.

This recipe is really simple to put together but really looks beautiful when served at the table. Poached pears are really an easy way to showcase fruit, and poaching them with some fresh ginger gives the pears a wonderful flavor.

Poached Pears with Chocolate Ganache Puddle
Serves 4

4 Bosc pears
1 piece of fresh ginger, 1/4 inch thick, peeled
1 lemon
2 cups of sugar
4 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Add the water and sugar to a large saucepan on medium heat. Let cook for 3-4 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved into the water (you can swirl the pan to help it dissolve). Using a vegetable peeler, peel a couple strips of lemon zest and add to the water. Then, juice 1/2 lemon and add to the water. Add the ginger. While the sugar is dissolving, peel the pears. Be careful to leave the stem intact and to neatly peel the skin around it.

Add the pears to the water mixture and simmer for 15-18 minutes or until the pears are soft but still hold their shape.

To make the ganache: finely chop the chocolate and add to a heat-proof bowl. Place the cream in a little pot and bring to a strong simmer. Right before the cream starts to boil, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate and cream form a homogeneous mixture. Fold in the vanilla extract. To plate, add a couple ladles of chocolate sauce to each serving plate and place a well drained poached pear at the center of each chocolate puddle.

Chocolate Pecan Tart

I was in Toronto for Canadian Thanksgiving this year, and since I wasn't in my own apartment I knew there would be very little cooking on my part this year. I was invited to one of my friends' home for Thanksgiving dinner and was asked to bring dessert. I was looking for the perfect treat to finish off a copious Thanksgiving meal when I stumbled upon a beautiful chocolate pecan tart from Wanda's Pie in the Sky, a Toronto-staple for all things sweet.

This tart had to be the best pecan tart I had ever had. Growing up in France, enjoying a pecan tart wasn't part of my culinary traditions, nor was celebrating Thanksgiving - of course! I've embraced new traditions since moving to this side of the world but tended to find the pecan tarts I had tasted to be far too sweet for my liking. This tart was different. The cocoa crust was a nice touch and the filling for the tart was not too sweet and wonderfully rustic with Jackson Pollock-inspired drips of chocolate ganache to finish off the tart. After everyone raved about how good this tart was, I knew I had to get my hands on the recipe and try it at home. Thankfully the Wanda's Pie in Sky cookbook gives the recipe and the tart tastes just as delicious as it does from the store.

For my American readers, this would make the perfect Thanksgiving dessert - trust me. This pecan tart is worth every second it takes to make it! The recipe is made to be a full-size tart. I made individual tartlets by adjusting the baking times.

Chocolate Pecan Tart
Click here for this recipe as well as other delicious Kitchen Aid sponsored treats!

Buckwheat Chocolate Muffins with Raspberries and Chocolate Ganache

These muffins are another recipe from Good to the Grain. This is the third recipe I've made from the book and was a great way to keep on using the buckwheat flour I know have in my pantry. To tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed by the texture of these muffins. They are very, very, very dense! I changed the original recipe a little (I did not have any persimmons and used fresh raspberries instead) but I still felt that these weren't quite the right muffin texture. They were still delicious, with dark chunks of chocolate seeping throughout, and little specks of bright red raspberry. I added some chocolate ganache to finish them off, which added a nice touch of sweetness. These muffins are really best eaten warm, right after having been topped with the ganache. If you don't eat them right away, I would suggest freezing them and re-heating them in a warm oven when you want to eat them again. If freezing, freeze the muffins without the ganache as soon as they have cooled down and add the ganache right after the muffins comes out of the oven and are defrosted.

I will be playing around with proportions to make these a little less dense but they were sill quite the delectable warm treat - with a tall glass of milk of course!

Buckwheat Chocolate Muffins with Raspberries and Chocolate Ganache

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup of fresh raspberries
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.

Mix the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, cream the butter and sugars for few minutes, until light and creamy (about 3 minutes). Then add in the eggs and beat until combined. Then add the yogurt and beat until combined.
Add in the dry ingredients, 1/3 at a time, until combined. Fold in the raspberries and chocolate. Transfer the batter to the muffin tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. Twist each muffin out of the tin and set on its side to cool.

Best served warm on the same day baked. Extras can be frozen and reheated.

Olive Oil, Rosemary and Chocolate Cake

I've been on a mission. A mission to undercover how different types of flours can be used in baked goods. I've always felt that white flour was quite tasteless and although it adds necessary texture to cakes and tarts, it really doesn't have the depth of flavour that other flours might have. After eying this cookbook at different bookstores, I finally got around to getting a copy and it's been a real love affair ever since. Kimberly Boyce’s Good to the Grain is a real gem. The book is divided by type of flour and explores new avenues in baking. This is my starting off point to experiment.

This cake utilizes spelt flour, which, combined with good quality olive oil, fresh rosemary and dark chocolate makes for one of the best cakes I've had in months. Trust me. If you've never made a cake with olive oil, let alone with rosemary and chocolate, this dessert might seem like quite an odd concoction... but it's absolutely delicious. Because of the complexities and textures in this cake, it really doesn't need very much sugar which makes it a nice treat for any time of day.


Olive Oil, Rosemary and Chocolate Cake
Click here for this recipe as well as other delicious Kitchen Aid sponsored treats!

Oven-Baked Apple Donuts

No season makes me happier than Fall. Since moving to Montreal, the beautiful Indian summer has been one of my favourite moments of the year. Montreal weather tends to linger on (like our icy cold winters) but the peak of Fall only really last a couple of weeks so you have to learn to really appreciate it while it's here. Every morning during this time of year I can spot a new tree transitioning from green to a different shade of red, crimson, yellow and orange. There's something absolutely breathtaking to the vivid colors that nature projects in late September and October. It gets me every time. These are just a couple pictures of the trees this weekend.I suspect that in the next few days the green leaves will have changed their coat for good. There seems to be a whole story that nature is trying to tell us to stop us in our busy lives. It's all about taking the time to appreciate the beauty of changing cycles. Every year, the same tree starts the transition first. It always seems to me that he's the real trooper of the bunch, the one that had the courage to lead others and show them the way. Then, slowly, each tree embraces its destiny and one by one, they makeup a vivid canvas of colors. The picture they makeup as a whole is stunning, as is the individuality of each tree, slowly changing at its own pace in time.

Going up to the mountain this weekend with a good cup of coffee and a warm scarf, I enjoyed a moment of peacefulness by the water. There has been quite a lot of business going around these past couple weeks and it's sometimes nice to take a step back and just enjoy a calm, nature-filled morning. The recipe I bring you today fits those fall days like no other. It uses the fruit in season (deliciously plump apples) and is a healthier twist on the traditional deep-fried donuts. These are baked, best eaten straight out from oven, after they have been tossed in a little cinnamon-sugar.





Oven-Baked Apple Donuts
Makes about 24 mini donunts
Adapted from cooks.com

1/4 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 cups of bite size chunks of apple, peeled and cored
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup of cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk

To Coat:
1/4 cup of butter, melted
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder

Preheat your oven to 350F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugars salt and and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the cold chopped butter. Rub the pieces of butter with the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Mix in the milk and fold in the chopped apples. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir using a spatula or spoon making sure not to overmix. Place a spoonful of batter into each mold of a buttered mini muffin pan.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the donuts are just golden. Remove from the oven, unmold and lightly brush each donut with the melted butter. Dunk in a bowl with the sugar and cinnamon mixed in. Shake off excess sugar and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Nutella and Marshmallow Brownie Bites

It's that time of the year folks, that time of the year! Every year, I cave and get a jar of Nutella from the grocery store. I only indulge rarely, mostly due to the fact that the jars rarely make it more than a couple days in my pantry. Because, really, is there anything better than a little spoonful of Nutella (or two, or three?)? Well, these little treats might be the next best thing. I had as a mission to put this jar of gooey chocolate hazelnut goodness to good use before it was gone in smoke. So here you are, Nutella bites! These are incredibly, incredibly easy to make - they literally take minutes- and only require 4 ingredients. The marshmallow is optional of course but it makes for a fun touch - perfect for kids and an added touch of gooeyness in the center of each Nutella brownie bite.

I also wanted to announce the winner of the ThinkFood cookbook contest! The free copy of this brain-healthy cookbook goes to Megan at Foodalution. Congratulations!

Nutella and Marshmallow Brownie Bites
Makes 12 mini brownies
Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

1/2 cup Nutella spread
1 large egg
5 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
12 mini marshmallows

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with paper liners. Put the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended. Add the flour and whisk until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full). Place a marshmallow in the center of each brownie and gently press down with your finger so you can only see the tip of each marshmallow.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the brownie part of each bite comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes. Set on a rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

What to do with Leftover Puff Pastry: Chocolate and Almond Pear Tarts

This is the follow-up to my last post featuring my Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart. As I was mentioning, I've found myself countless times with leftover scraps of puff pastry which sadly never really turn into anything. This recipe is my easy way to do something productive with these leftovers, and to waste less!

I designed this recipe for 4 individual tartlets, but it's such a simple recipe that you can easily modify the quantities to fit any number of tarts. These tarts take minutes to make and are the perfect way to end any meal - or to enjoy as an afternoon treat. There is no added sugar, just some velvety bittersweet chocolate, some powdered almonds and some pear. Pear, chocolate and almond is always a winning combination in my book and I never tire of coming up with different combinations to use them together.

I've often been asked what items I always have in my pantry - and bittersweet chocolate chip and powdered almonds are always great staples to have on hand. Powdered almonds are used in a variety of desserts and add that perfect touch of nuttiness to any sweet treat. Adding powdered almonds to certain tart doughs is absolutely delicious, as is adding it to tart fillings. Canned pears, on the other hand, are not an item I usually have on hand but for quick desserts like this one, it really helps to ensure that your dessert will be perfectly cooked in very little time as the pears are juicy and soft. So here goes..!

Chocolate and Almond Pear Tarts
Makes 4 tartlets

1/4 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
3 tablespoons of powdered almonds
2 halves of canned pears, cut into 4 pieces
Leftover puff pastry
Muffin pan

Preheat your oven to 350F. Roll out your leftover puff pastry until it's about 1/8 inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out 4 circles of dough, slightly bigger in size than the diameter of each muffin mold.

Lightly grease 4 of your muffin molds and add one puff pastry circle into each mold, Using your fingers, gently press down on the center of each circle so that they take the shape of the mold.

Melt the chocolate chips in a small double boiler. Add the cream and stir until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered almonds and stir. Divide the chocolate mold between the 4 tartlets. Add a piece of pear at the center of each, and, using your fingers, gently crinkle the dough on the sides of the muffin mold so it folds back onto the chocolate batter.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Matcha and Chocolate Swirl Muffins

I'm writing this post from the beautiful Basque country, where I've spent most of my summers since I was a little girl. Although I grew up in a bustling Parisian setting, our family would always find the way to get together and spend some quality time in a family home near Biarritz. Living so far from France today, it's always a wonderful feeling to come back to the same house, same surroundings and spend a little time closer to where I'm from. A lot of people vacation on the south east coast of France - where popular beach towns fill up during the summer, but the south west is a tad more rugged, with waves the size of mountains, real summer thunderstorms and beautiful scenery.

This is truly one of the places besides Paris where I fell in love with good food. The tables of 'charcuterie' (cured meats), beautiful fragrant cheeses, full glasses of sangria, grilled fish, and plums straight from the tree are a few of the staples I've been feasting on every summer. The proximity to Spain allows us to spend a few blissful days a year across the border every time we come here, and I always look forward to the tapas we enjoy standing up on the stone streets of the old San Sebastian. The delights here are truly my kind of food: rustic, generous, pungent foods without unnecessary sophistication. It's a lot of good olive oil, garlic and herbs - everything I love.

How does this relate to the recipe I bring you today? Well, it doesn't really.. but I made these matcha muffins right before leaving and didn't get a chance to post the recipe until now. I've been experimenting with matcha powder for a little while - and thanks to a gift from one of my good friends - I've been able to use matcha powder directly brought from Japan. I can't decipher any inscriptions on the package but the results have still been lovely! For those of you who haven't tried using matcha powder in your baked goods, I strongly recommend it! It's incredibly fragrant - a tiny amount only is needed - and it brings a great new layer of flavours to baked goods. So here goes!

Matcha and Chocolate Swirl Muffins
Adapted from Kirbie's Cravings
Makes about 14 muffins

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder
1/3 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
1 cups sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg white
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup low fat yogurt
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.5 tablespoons matcha powder

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line muffin baking pan with cupcake liners.
In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift together. Set aside. In another small bowl combine the espresso powder, cocoa and 1/3 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup of water. Whisk until smooth. Set aside. In another small bowl, whisk whole egg with egg white. Set aside.

Cut the butter into pieces and place in an electric mixing bowl. Beat for 1 minute to soften. Gradually add remaining sugar and beat at high speed for about 3 minutes. Add in the egg mixture, beating constantly for about 2 minutes. On low speed, beat in a third of the flour mixture. On medium-high speed, beat in half of the yogurt. On low speed, beat in half of the remaining flour. On high speed, beat in the rest of the yogurt and the vanilla. On low speed, beat in the remaining flour.

Measure out 1 1/2 cups of yogurt batter and mix into the cocoa mixture. Set aside. Add the matcha powder to the rest of the yogurt batter in the mixing bowl.

Using a large spoon, scoop some of chocolate batter in the bottom of each cupcake liner. Then add a spoonful of green tea batter and another small spoonful of chocolate batter. Using a toothpick, swirl the mixture so both flavors create a nice swirled pattern.

Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Fresh Cherry and Dulce de Leche Brownies

It's a little difficult to post a brownie recipe thinking it's going to be the best out there. There are so many recipes and so many variations that I'm not going to pretend this is a novel dessert idea. However, once you've found your favourite base recipe (mine are the Baked brownies), the fun is to mix it up isn't it?

In the summertime, why not make the best of fresh cherries and add them to the mix? These cherries are the perfect surprise in the middle of a brownie square as is a little swirled dulce de leche. Creamy, sweet and smooth, dulce de leche is a great ingredient to spice up everyday brownies. Try a nice organic brand to use in these and some bittersweet chocolate and you're done! In the summertime, I cut these into small bite size pieces and serve them on a platter next to some fresh fruit.

Fresh Cherry and Dulce de Leche Brownies
Makes 16 small squares

3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of dark unsweetened cocoa powder
5.5 ounces of dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup of fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1/3 cup of dulce de leche

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13 inch glass or light colored metal baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
Put the chocolate and butter in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan and let the mixture come back to room temperature.
Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage.
Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk) fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Add the dulce de leche in small batches ontop of different areas of the brownie batter. Using a knife, making swirling motions to lightly mix the dulce de leche and brownie batter and create a swirling effect. Dulce de leche strands should remain on the entire top of the brownie. Disperse the cherries ontop of the batter. Add the remaining batter and gently smooth out the top making sure it covers the cherries and dulce de leche.

Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve.
Tightly covered with plastic wrap, the brownies kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Raspberry Semifreddo

If you've been somewhere on the East Coast for the past few days I think you'll agree that's its been a real scorcher out there! I have as pasty a skin as they make them so these kind of heavy summer days are pretty brutal. What to do to beat the heat? Shy of a proper beach or an outside pool, I give you a Raspberry Semifreddo!
Tomorrow is also my birthday, so what better treat than a couple spoonfuls of cold creamy fruity goodness to enjoy on my special day?

I have never owned an ice cream maker (blame the lack of space in my kitchen especially since I got my very first pink Kitchen Aid!) but I do love having frozen treats that I can pull out of the freezer for family and friends during the summertime. My solution is to make granitas or semifreddos, both easy options for warm days. They both require very little equipment - also perfect when a little lazy!

Last summer, I made basil and berry granita, which have quickly become a favorite to make in the summertime. This semifreddo tastes more like ice cream than sorbet, is wonderfully creamy and pretty easy to put together. Semifreddos are sort of the mid-way point between a mousse and ice cream, just the perfect amount of cold with the perfect amount of airy texture. You could use any berry you have on hand here but I've always loved raspberry desserts... so here goes!

For this recipe, I would suggest tasting the fruit your are going to use before adding any sugar. When fruit is perfectly ripe and sweet there really is no point in adding a lot of sugar to this dessert, especially seeing as the cream and egg batter is sweetened. This is really about tasting the fruit as you add sugar to get that right amount of sweetness.

But most importantly, don't you love any desserts that swirls? Sometime it's about the little pleasures and just making these swirls of pink curvy fruit makes me smile, every time.

Raspberry Semifreddo
Adapted from Donna Hay, serves 6-8

3 eggs
2 egg yolks, extra
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3/4 cup of caster sugar
2 cups (500 ml) of whipping cream
Raspberry Puree:
750g raspberries
0-2 tablespoons of icing sugar

To make the raspberry puree, place the raspberries in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness with icing sugar. Strain to remove raspberry seed. Discard seeds and set the puree aside.

Place the eggs, extra yolks, vanilla and sugar in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and, using a hand held mixer, beat for 6-8 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale.

Remove from the heat and beat for a further 6-8 minutes or until cool. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold cream through the egg mixture until well combined. Pour into a 2-litre capacity tin. Spoon of the raspberry puree and, using a spatula, gently fold it through the cream mixture for a swirled effect. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Top with extra raspberries if desired. Enjoy!

Berry Crumble

As I mentioned in my last post, I've finally made a Facebook page for Chocolate Shavings. If you want to receive regular updates about the site, new recipes and photos, please join here! I've always loved a couple spoonfuls of warm fruit crumble topped with a scoop or two of vanilla bean ice cream. It's a pick-me-up for anytime of the year. I just came back from a month in a half trip to Europe - a blissful time in London working at the BBC and a relaxing couple weeks at my parents house in Paris spending time with family and friends. After a long time being away from my Montreal home, the one thing I always look forward to is coming back to my kitchen. Coming back as jet-lagged as ever - for some reason, the more I travel, the less my body seems to react properly to time change - I decided that making a gold old rustic berry crumble was the best way to get a sense of my Parisian self in my Montreal kitchen and make the hours before 7AM seem reasonably alive.

Crumbles really are one of my favourite ways to enjoy seasonal fruit. The light crumble topping is the perfect addition to ripe and plump berries at this time of year and the dessert really comes together in a matter of minutes. I always tend to add little sugar to crumbles because ripe fruit really doesn't need that much else to shine.

Berry Crumble
Serves 4

1 cup of all purpose flour
1 1/2 stick of very cold butter
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
Fruit:
2 1/2 cups of blackberries and raspberries
2 tablespoons of sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add the butter pieces and, using your fingers, turn the mixture into small lumps of dough.

In a separate bowl, add the 2 tablespoons of sugar to the fruit and lightly toss to coat. Divide the fruit between 4 ramekins and top with equal portions of crumble topping. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve warm, preferably with some vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Lychee Salad with Ginger Syrup and Mint

One of my favourite things to do when I travel is to visit local markets. You really get a feel for the culture of a city when you see the tastes and try specialties of the place you're in. English food, I must admit, does not always have the best reputation, but my experience in the country has been nothing but positive. The photos I posted here are from Borough market. Although quite touristy, I really enjoyed walking through the different stalls and talking to local producers. I visited smaller markets during my stay in London, but I must say that I really did enjoy spending a couple hours here. A small fish shop in the midst of the market sells perfectly seared scallops and serves them in a shell with beansprouts and bacon - it's the best bite-size treat you'll find in the market!

I'm also posting a recipe for Lychee Salad. I absolutely love lychee and serving them on a warm summer day is always sure to please a crowd. My recipe is simple: just a little ginger syrup and some mint. Can you tell I've had a special craving for gingery desserts lately?


Lychee Salad with Ginger Syrup and Mint
Serves 4

¼ cup of water
¼ cup of sugar
1 slice of ginger, ¼ inch thick, diced
2 cans of lychee
10 mint leaves
In a small saucepan, add the water, sugar and ginger. Swirl the pan to make sure the sugar is dissolving in the water. As soon as the sugar is completely dissolved, simmer the mixture on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain and discard the ginger pieces. Let cool.
Add the drained lychee to your serving bowl. Pour the ginger syrup over the lychee and garnish with coarsely chopped mint leaves.

Working at the BBC and a Pineapple Parfait with Ginger Caramel

It's been a while since I've been able to take some time, sit down and write a proper blog post. Here's why. I just finished up an internship at the BBC offices in London working for their food magazines Good Food and Olive. If you're a food magazine fanatic like I am, you've probably been reading these magazines every month and getting inspired by beautiful dish ideas to make in your kitchen for family and friends.

The truth is, I've been working freelance for a few years now and I've done most of my learning about photography, writing and food photography on my own. While this certainly has its advantages, I wanted to take some time and be part of a structure for a little while and learn and help out in a media environment I admired. So, I packed my bags, moved to London for a little bit and I don't regret a single second of my trip. I'm glad to have started my food journey on my own - I discovered my style, the type of photography that most speaks to me and developed my way of structuring my work but being part of these magazines for a little while has taught me a lot and been the cherry on the cake of my career so far.

The amount of work that goes into producing a food magazine is absolutely immense. From the organization of the different teams that makeup a magazine, to the design work, marketing, advertisement, the choice of photography, the outside sources, the recipe testing, and re-testing, the fact-checking and more, the producing of each issue necessitates the hard full-time work of at least 30 people. During my stay, I was able to assist on a photo shoot with food stylist Silvana Franco and food photographer Lis Parsons. Lis is the wonderfully talented photographer of some of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks (I saw a couple pages from her book to be released in the Fall and the recipes - as well as Nigella - are absolutely gorgeous). Silvana has worked with the BBC for decades and is the author of many cookbooks and has that great eye and just knows how to style food to get the best shot. Difficulties of the day were shooting chicken thighs (not the prettiest thing in the world!) and some baked eggs... also not easy! I got to style some of the dishes, I will give you a heads up when the issue is out.

For all of us food photographers who are used to styling and shooting all in one, it was really interesting to see the setup for a photo shoot where these jobs are done separately by different people. The food stylist, in this case, is the person who develops and writes the recipes as well as the one who cooks the recipes on the day of the shoot. The food is then styled by this same person and brought directly to the photographer to be shot.

The photo team at the magazine decides what the general feel for the group of photos should be and supplies the photographer with a set of props to be used for the shoot with specific instructions on which plates, cutlery, napkins, glasses and accessories should be used with which dishes. I was like a little girl on Christmas morning looking at all the props available: the series of colorful napkins, saucers, tins, pots and pans, chopping boards were gorgeous and the color palettes were subtle but incredibly elegant.

I will leave you with this for the moment - I'm off to enjoy my last couple days in London but I will leave you with one of my recipes that was just published in Indulge magazine. It's a simple dessert to make and a wonderful option to serve a group of guests. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Pineapple Parfait with Ginger Caramel
Serves 4

For this recipe, you can use a store bought pound or chiffon cake, or make your own. Topped with ginger caramel and fresh pineapple it’s the perfect way to end any meal.

2 cups of heavy whipping cream
2 tbl of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 pineapple, diced
1 small pound or chiffon cake
To whip the cream: place a mixing bowl with the cream for 20 minutes in the fridge. The bowl and cream should be very cold to help with the whipping process. Whip the cream using a hand mixer until the cream forms soft peaks. Add the sugar and vanilla and whip until the cream looks like whipped cream and is smooth and fluffy.
Cut the pound cake into small slices the size of your serving ramekins. Place one slice of pound cake at the bottom of each ramekin, top with a couple tablespoons of diced pineapple followed by a couple ladlefuls of whipped cream. Repeat the process adding pound cake, pineapple and whipped cream. Top with a good drizzle of ginger caramel.

Ginger Caramel
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
1 slice of ginger, 1/4 inch thick, cut into 4 pieces

To make the caramel, add the sugar, water and ginger in a small saucepan on medium heat. Swirl the pan to make sure the sugar completely dissolves in the water. Keep a close eye on the mixture. After about 10 minutes, the water will start to evaporate and the mixture will go from translucent to an amber color. As soon as the mixture starts to change colors and thicken, remove from the heat. Caramel burns very fast and is extremely hot so make sure to keep a constant eye on the saucepan. Remove the mixture as soon as the caramel changes color and use immediately or the caramel will be too hard to handle.

Chocolate and Plum Galette

I went to San Francisco last summer and Tartine bakery was one of the places I couldn't wait to visit. The tiny bakery/cafe was the perfect place to go to on a sunny morning and Oliver and I happily indulged in beautiful stone fruit bread pudding and large foamy cappuccinos. It was pure heaven. I spent quite some time eying the open bakery in the back and looking at the trays of delicious freshly baked goods as they made their way from the oven to the store. I wanted to try so many of the treats (the banana cream pies, the brownies, the lemon tarts, the perfectly buttery croissants..). When I got home, I knew I had to purchase the Tartine cookbook - San Francisco is unfortunately a little too far to go back to on a whim!

After eying the book for inspiration for a while, I decided to start with this dough, and it surely didn't disappoint! This dough recipe has to be one of the best doughs I've made in a while: it's perfectly flaky, buttery yet not heavy and reminds you of the difference that 'homemade' makes. Making dough is one of those times where I really feel like traveling back in time: it's one of those rustic, back to earth activities that makes you marvel at how a pile of flour and a few cubes of butter can transform into such a beautiful end product.

The dough does take a little bit of time to make though, but most good things do, right? Some cookbooks, especially those that divulge recipes from famous restaurants around the world can be a little disappointing. You try the recipes at home and it's really just not the same. This dough, however, really is bakery-quality and can be mastered at home with just a little practice. I filled these galettes with chocolate ganache and plums, but try it with pears, blueberries, strawberries, apple or rhubarb - it all works!


Chocolate and Plum Galette
(Adapted from the Tartine Cookbook)

1 pound or 455 g unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup of water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/3 cups of all purpose flour
2 2/3 cups of pastry flour

Egg wash
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of cream
Brown sugar, for sprinkling

To make the dough, cut the butter into 1-inch cubes and put them in the freezer. Measure the water, dissolve the salt into it and put into the freezer as well. Chill both for about 10 minutes.

Measure the flour onto a large, flat work surface and spread into a rectangle about 1cm thick. Scatter the butter cubes over the flour and toss a little flour over the butter so that your rolling pin won’t stick, and begin rolling. When the butter starts flattening out into long, thin pieces, use a bench scraper to scoop up the sides of the rectangle so that it is the size that you started with. Repeat the rolling and scraping 3 or 4 times.

Make a well in the center and pour all of the water into it. Using the bench scraper, scoop the sides of the dough into the center, cutting the water through the dough. Keep scraping and cutting until the dough is a shaggy mass and shaped into a rectangle.

Lightly dust the top with flour and roll out the rectangle until it is half as large again, then scrape the top, bottom and sides together to the original size and re-roll. Repeat 3 or 4 times until you have a smooth and cohesive dough. Transfer rectangle of dough to a large baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill for about an hour.

When you are ready to roll the dough, divide it into 2 equal portions if making large galettes or 12 equal portions for small ones. Roll the dough into circle shapes by rolling from the center to each end, not flattening the end points. Turn the pastry so the flattened out corners are at the top and bottom. Again, roll from the center towards the points nearest and farthest to you, stopping short of the top and bottom. Roll the thicker areas and you will begin to see a circle forming. Transfer to baking sheets and chill for 10 minutes.

Spread a layer a think layer of chocolate ganache on the bottom of each circle of dough, fill the center of each dough circle with fruit, leaving a 5cm edge uncovered on the large galettes or a 2cm edge on the small ones. Taste the fruit for sweetness and determine how much sugar you want to use to sweeten it. Sprinkle with brown sugar, typically using 2-4 tablespoons for large galettes and 1-2 teaspoons for small ones. Fold in the sides of the circle to cover the fruit partially. Chill for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 190ºC (375ºF). To make the egg wash, whisk the egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Crush the egg wash over the pastry edges and then sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake the galettes until the crust has visibly puffed and baked to dark brown and the juice from the fruit is bubbling inside – 45-60 minutes for large galettes and 40-50 minutes for small galettes. Rotate the baking sheets at the midway point to ensure even baking. Remove from the oven and serve hot or at room temperature.

Lime and Ricotta Cheesecake

I happened to see this recipe featured on the Today Show last week and as soon as I saw the look of the final cake I knew I had to try it at home. I had never had a proper American cheesecake before I moved to North America, and yes, as shocking as it may seem to anyone who has always lived on this side of the world, France does not carry Philadelphia cheese. I've seen it a couple times in the last couple years, but it's definitely not a staple of French every day cooking!

My mom grew up eating traditional Eastern European cheesecakes. Those are the real thing! They are sky-high fluffy, airy and creamy cakes, with no base, incredibly moist and deliciously rich. This recipe comes quite close to those cheesecakes, it uses ricotta and can be flavored with any type of citrus, or just a nice subtle vanilla flavor.

I flavored these babies with some lime (juice and zest) and made small cakes and individual portions, but you could make it a traditional 9-inch cake pan. They rise wonderfully in the oven - much like souffles would - and then nicely cave in when they cool looking rustic and bueatifully uneven. I really loved these cakes, and this was the perfect excuse to use a batch of fresh whole milk ricotta I had bought at the market.



Lime and Ricotta Cheesecake
(Adapted from Martha Stewart)
Makes one 9-inch cake

Unsalted butter, room temperature, for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
1 1/2 pounds fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese, pureed in a food processor until smooth
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Finely grated zest of 2 limes, plus juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter and sugar a 9-inch springform pan (3 inches deep). Whisk together ricotta, egg yolks, flour, 6 tablespoons sugar, the lime zest and juice, and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk egg whites with a mixer on low speed until foamy. Raise speed to high, and gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, whisking until stiff, glossy peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently fold a third of the whites into ricotta mixture using a rubber spatula until just combined. Gently fold in remaining whites until just combined.

Pour batter into pan, and bake until center is firm and top is deep golden brown, about 1 hour. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; release sides to remove from pan, and let cool completely.

Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.