LATEST ARTICLES

Valentine’s Day is Approaching … What Will You Do?

30
Jan

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

There’s nothing more exciting then celebrating the passing holidays with your family. As a Mom, this is not only my opportunity to give the kids an event to look forward to and enjoy but also an opportunity to re-live the things I may have wanted to do as a kid myself. Valentine’s crafts of paper cut outs and mail boxes for their rooms just start the 2 weeks of red, white & pink activities. But as a Pastry Chef, you know that baking activities get included too!

No matter what the age group, there is a baking creation that they can do. For the little people 4 and under, cookie cut outs with sprinkle decorations give them the sense of control when choosing the shapes and sprinkles for their designs. Ages 5-7 can easily make heart shaped scones or pancakes. These can be flavoured with cranberries and other red dried fruits or you can be really adventurous and add pink food colouring to the batter. Age 8 and up just opens the window of opportunity for creativity! Most children this age can measure the ingredients and scrape down the bowl for making cupcakes, brownies and all sorts of goodies. They can use a piping bag to decorate with different coloured icings and sprinkles.

Valentine's Cupcakes

The best thing we can give our kids are great memories of time spent with us … enjoy the up coming holidays with fresh flowers and special dinners in a red, white and pink theme … have fun!

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Get the New Year started on the Right Foot … with Your Kids!

14
Jan

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

Don't worry, they won't drive you as crazy as you think!

Even though I was raised in a family were the generations passed down recipes and spent a lot of time socializing in the kitchen, times have really changed and life seems to have gotten away from us. I’ll admit that I never spent a lot of kitchen time with my daughter growing up (who is now a Mom herself) but I do with the 3 little ones and her two now. I don’t think they are ever too young to start in the kitchen. After all, how cool is it to mush an egg into hamburger meat or roll meat balls when your 2!

Make this weekend your time to start .. or re-start! And what a better place than pancakes. My Granddaughter was not quite 4 when we made her first batch of homemade pancakes and she did a great job!! Mickey Mouse is a great shape to make this new plain batch memorable. Pour a large circle with two smaller circles at the top of his head and voila! You’re done!

Mickey pancakes are the best!

Then you can graduate to large cookie cutters as molds. As much fun as all those shaped pans are … and yes I have one, you can use any large cutter cutter to do the same job with the flat pan you have at home. Just spray baking spray inside the cutter before you pour the batter in so you can use a set of tongs to pull it away once the pancake starts cooking. The secret is not to leave it on until the pancake side is completely done. That is when the cutter begins to stick. Once the bubbles just begin to form the cutter can be removed with out the batter spilling out. With Valentine’s Day around the corner what a perfect cutter to start with!

Buttermilk pancakes are also a lot easier to make than a lot of people think. Here is a great recipe to get you started in the right direction. Normally I would always give you a recipe in weight (as that is always the way they should be put together) but I know some of you may not have a scale at home right now and we really want to get started. You’re going to want to blend 2 cups of sifted all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons of white sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt together with a whisk in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups of buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup of sour cream and 3 tablespoons of melted, yet slightly cooled unsalted butter (microwave will do fine). With your fingers, make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the blended liquid into the well and stir until just combined. If there there are small lumps remaining that is fine. Do not work them out. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes before spooning it into the frying pan. This is the perfect time to gather plates, utensils and other things required for the morning table.

Use a heart cookie cutter

Additional ingredients like dried cranberries or chocolate chips make this even more of a memorable adventure! Pre-heat your flattest fry pan and add approximately 2 tablespoons of oil to prevent sticking. I prefer to sprinkle fresh blueberries or other items onto the pancake batter immediately before they are scooped and poured onto the pan rather than weighing the batter down or over mixing to add them into the mix. Once the batter is made you will lose air and subsequent fluffiness if you continue to stir it. Once bubbles begin to form on the surface of the pancake you are ready to flip it to the other side for approximately 2-3 minutes.

Your kids are going to come up with several different ways to serve the pancakes but a light dusting of icing sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, a toss of fresh fruit and a drizzle of real maple syrup has always been my favourite!! If you can’t serve your pancakes right from the pan the best way to keep them warm is by placing a pan of boiling water at the bottom of your pre-heat 200*F oven. This will keep your oven and your pancakes moist while you cook the rest of your servings.

Yum … I think I need a batch of those myself now. Happy pancake-ing!

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New Year’s Parties Help In So Many Ways

28
Dec

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

New Year's Celebrations

Besides getting together with friends and family for that last Hurray of the year, New Year’s celebrations also help with cleaning out your freezers of all that holiday baking you’ve been stock piling for the last while. Buffets are perfect for this!

After all the kitchen mess endured from Christmas the last thing you want to do is to stir up a whole new one. Contact all your closest friends and make this New Year’s a pot luck. You won’t be the only one that has a few odds and ends still kicking around. This allows for a greater selection of buffet items and helps everyone clean the pantry slate for a fresh beginning.

Turn leftovers into something new. Rum balls are great for combining neutral cake scraps. As weird as this may sound, its how rum balls have been made for generations. A remaining yule log, some cupcakes, even the last couple of Stolen slices. Blend them up in your mixer with some cocoa powder and strawberry jam until the mixture is smooth. Add enough rum or artificial rum flavouring

Fresh Homemade Ice Cream

to give a slightly more than subtle taste and you have yourself a winner. Scoop this into bite size balls and refrigerate for at least an hour. This will firm the balls up enough to allow you to roll the little darlings in chocolate and vermicelli (pure chocolate sprinkles).

Did you get an ice cream machine for Christmas? This is another way to recycle your favourite desserts. Make a vanilla base and just as you’re finishing the freezing cycle, add chopped frozen dessert pieces like mince meat tarts or my favourite … pumpkin pie!

Enjoy yourself … and I’ll be seeing you in the New Year!!!!

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Christmas Cake Recipe

26
Nov

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

Traditional Christmas Fruitcake

And here it is, a Christmas Cake recipe that I’m sure you and your family will love. This batch size may seam large as it will make 3 – 9×13x3 pans but by the time you have sliced a few for yourself to sample, the family sneaks through to snatch a few slices and you give a few loaves away as gifts, you won’t be left with much to enjoy yourself! Remember, try to make this in January and you will be amazed at the difference in both flavour and texture next season after it has had a year to cure with four or five soakings over that period of time.

Christmas Fruit Cake

600g Raisins
600g Currants
600g Whole Glazed Cherries (or Glazed Mixed Fruit)
600g Chopped Dates
600g Chopped Nuts (Slivered Almonds are Preferred)
400g Mixed Orange & Lemon Peel
300ml Brandy
300ml Sherry or Port

Soak these overnight or for 24 hours so the fruits will gain the flavour and the nuts will soften from the alcohol.

10g Instant Coffee
120ml Hot Water

300g Unsalted Butter
300g Brown Sugar
8 Eggs
200g Raspberry jam
670g All Purpose Flour
25g Baking Powder
30g Cocoa Powder
5g Cinnamon
5g All Spice
5g Nutmeg

Method:

Blend hot water and instant coffee together and set it aside. This blend is stronger than brewed coffee.
Cream butter and brown sugar
Gradually add eggs, maintaining a light fluffy mixture
Gently fold in the jam
Sift remaining ingredients together 3 times to ensure an even blend
Alternate the addition of the coffee mixture and the dry ingredients to maintain the air content you’ve developed
Fold in Soaked fruits by hand
Bake in paper lined pans at 300*F for approximately 2 hours

**Baking time will vary depending on the size of your pans. Smaller loaves will bake in the shorter amount of time.

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Christmas Fruitcake … Is It Ever Too Late or Too Early to Make?

31
Oct

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

Traditional Christmas Fruitcake

Well that all depends on who your talking to and the type that you’re making. Personally, I like the traditional dark fruitcake. This, in my opinion, needs to be made months in advance and soaked well so that the flavours develop and the nuts and fruits can soften so cutting is clean and smooth. I normally take this one step further and soak the nuts and fruits together over night before I even bake it. However, if you’re making the lighter fruitcake with no nuts then you can get away with making it a month or even a few weeks in advance.

Light Fruitcake

When making light fruitcake you may wish to omit the nuts. Without the time to soak and cure your cake the nuts will stick to your knife and pull through the cake. They will need to be softened before baking for sure. One trick is to place them in a bowl with baking soda and hot water for about 6-12 hours. Rinse the excess soda off them and then continue with your recipe. Most light versions do not have almond paste and fondant on them so this gives you some freedom to change up your pan shapes to add to the decorative effect. Your recipe in these will be very important so your product is not dry. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature so baking is even. Otherwise a high ratio of fruits like this can cause cool spots in your cake batter and therefore under baked areas within the pan. Prolonged baking will then dry out the final product.

Clean slicing from a well cured cake

Just me … the sooner the better. I normally make my fruitcakes in January and there are several reasons for this. The most important of course is the time to cure my cakes. Soaking them in rum or your favourite alcohol will preserve them so there is no fear of molding. Wrapping them in cheesecloth will hold the moisture in during storage. It is not necessary to freeze the cakes but you can if you feel uncomfortable with them being out that long. Just bring them back to room temperature before soaking again. A good cure result would be to bring them out 4 times a year and give them another gentle soaking. (see why you don’t need to freeze them ) The other reason I like to make them in January is cost. Grocery stores will put the ingredients left over from the season on sale in January to clear the shelves. Nuts are increasingly expensive and you can save yourself a bundle by purchasing what you need in January.

Decorative molds make attractive gifts

Now your question would be how do I package a gift cake then if the cakes are made so far in advance? Personally, I still like the bake-in molds. I use them for baking and curing and then place the cakes into another mold at Christmas time. After soaking the cakes a few times the molds can start to leak and develop stain marks but the strength is maintained. I don’t have to worry about the cakes breaking throughout the year and when I give them away they have an attractive look and I only need to decorate the top with marzipan and fondant. The cost savings here more than pays for the second mold.

So when Christmas memory kicks in … is the fruitcake silky smooth with a clean cut and a rich flavourful or does it give you a hard time with cutting, breaking apart and requires a beverage?? There’s still time to change to an easier tradition.

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Not all Pumpkin is Treated Equally

3
Oct

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

Render fresh pumpkin

We don’t always have the time but rendering your own pumpkin puree will yield you a much stronger flavour and it is really quite simple. All you have to do is wash the outside of your pumpkin, slice it up and scrape out the seeds and lining. Keeping the skins on, rub it down with a little butter (this part is optional but very tasty) and bake it in a 325*F oven until the flesh of the pumpkin has darkened in colour and is visibly dehydrating.

As the water evaporates and the naturally occurring sugars begin to caramelize, the flavour begins to develop. The skins will also impart flavour during baking as well, so for this reason, I’m not much of a fan of rendering pumpkin or really any solid fruit or vegetable by boiling it. Even apple sauce is better baked as a whole apple and mashed versus boiling the pieces in a sauce pot. You’re going to tell that your pumpkin is ready to come out of the oven when the skins begin to loose their smooth shape and wrinkle. The flesh of the pumpkin will be almost as dark as your memory of a finished pie. There is a distinct colour difference between fresh puree and rendered puree.

Raw pureee versus render

Remove the tray from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes before attempting to peel back the skins. When the skins are warm they can be quite brittle but will release in one strip when allowed to return to room temperature. Now you can mash up your baked pumpkin and use this puree in any recipe you like.

I love making a stove top pumpkin filling. The reason I am referring to this as just purely a filling is because much like a curd, I can use this cooked filling as a flavour base in just about anything. You can add it to a homemade ice cream base, flavour mousses, pour it into tart and pie shells, add it to either baked or non-baked cheesecake, layer it in a parfait, fold it into white ganache for truffles or cake fillings and fold it into most muffin recipes!

Pumpkin Filling (Stove Top)

1500 gm Pumpkin, 8 Eggs, 1 lt Scalded Whipping Cream, 350 gm Brown Sugar, 75 gm Flour,

2 tsp Salt, 2 tsp Ginger, 2 tsp Mace, 2 tsp Nutmeg, 2 tsp Cinnamon

Mix everything together except the eggs and cook it over a Bain Marie (double boiler) until it darkens slightly.
Temper beaten eggs with hot mix and add to main batch. Stir constantly until mix thickens (approximately 5 minutes)
Spoon into prepared shells or refrigerate for future use.
Shelf life: 7 days refrigerated. (Freezes well)

Of course I’m not suggesting not to use can pumpkin, the only thing I would suggests, is that you read the labels carefully. Not all brands are made equally. Some load up on preservatives and other chemicals that we are trying to avoid and some will also use a squash and pumpkin combination. Not to say that squash is bad in anyway, it just is not what you’re looking or paying for and will not produce as strong of a “traditional” pumpkin pie flavour.

Now … really step out of the box and stir up the family with a whole new spin on Thanksgiving pumpkin! Give a new dessert idea a whirl with your new found recipe!!

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It’s not Thanksgiving unless there’s Pumpkin Pie

27
Sep

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

Homemade is better!

I get asked all the time “How do you make the pie so it’s not soggy on the bottom?” … well, your cookbook is giving you the answer just not telling you directly. When you are asked to first bake the pie at 375*F for 15 minutes and then turn the temperature down to 325*F that is to cook the pie shell before the filling has a chance to heat up too much. But of course there is a better, “no-fail” way.

Now I’ll apologize for you missing the demonstration of this added to the sold out Pies & Flans class next week but I will be posting the video of this demonstration here on the Blog after the class for any of you who missed it. I will also be adding a demonstration for mince meat pies in the December class.

When I make my pies, I change the recipe altogether. First, I use a sweet dough shell instead as it provides better flavour and texture. This shell is pre-baked and then I add my cooked pumpkin filling in last. “WHAT?” You ask … yep, cook your pie filling with the same ingredients and amounts as you would normally use but this time you are going to cook this mixture in a double boiler on the stove. Once the mixture has thickened and darkened in colour it is ready to pour into the pre-baked pie shell and allowed to set in the fridge for approximately an hour.

If this doesn’t sound traditional enough for your liking, no problem, par-bake your normal pie shell so that the colour is just starting the turn and it no longer looks translucent. Then pour your warm (from scalding the cream) pie mixture in the shell and bake it 300*F for slightly longer than you normally would. Again you’re thinking I’m crazy … nope, pumpkin pie has a lot of egg and that means that the filling needs to set rather than “bake”. The cracking and pulling from the sides is the egg souffle-ing from the extreme heat and collapsing as it cools. When this mix shrinks it will either pull from the shell or crack down the center if the sides won’t let go .. but I assure you … it will break somewhere! If you allow it to set like a creme brule it will work out just fine!

Make it fresh!

Next week we will talk about rendering your fresh pumpkin so that you have a strong flavour!

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Back to School … What’s in a Snack

1
Sep

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

Oh how I remember those frustrating evenings of packing the girls’ lunches! Don’t worry, healthy doesn’t have to mean hard or time consuming. The first step is getting the kids involved in making snacks from scratch to avoid unnecessary chemicals, excessive sugar and salt and increasing daily fiber. The next step is getting them to work with you to pack their lunch. If they make and they choose it, they will eat it!

A couple of tips to be watchful for:

lets avoid shortenings or hydrogenated fats when making snacks. Our bodies know how to process butter and kids will burn it off in gym class.
The next thing is freeze your products individually wrapped and ready to go. This helps prevent freezer burn and makes night time packing faster.
Make it fun; cut sandwiches, cheese slices or veggies with cookie cutters or push homemade fried rice or rice krispie treats into shaped jello or baking molds
Avoid the nitrates in deli meats and stick to leftover roasted meats
Exchange high sugar juices for water in a reusable container
hide fiber in cookies, scones and homemade muffins
include fresh whole fruits and vegetables
Change up the old bread sandwich with a tortilla wrap, spiral a jam sandwich like a jelly roll, then finish it off with a cute cartoon sticker
remember the 80/20 rule, make your own treats from custards, rice pudding, cookies and jello, then the whole family can enjoy your efforts … including you!
the last thing is save both the environment and your pocket book and invest in reusable storage containers.

The best advice I can pass on from my own experience … toss in the odd unexpected note to let your child know you’re thinking of them. Married with kids of her own, this memory still comes up today!

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Local Strawberries … Keeping Up The Pace

6
Jul

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

While the flavour of sun ripened fruits and vegetables are bar-none the best you’ve ever had, admittedly they don’t last as long in your fridge as commercially grown. There are many factors for this, none of which play into a healthy diet. But what do we do with those beautiful local strawberries on day 3 of the purchase?

Once the skins have started to soften, it’s time to look at making pies, crumbles and compotes with our flavourful berries. Its not exactly time to cook out any spoilage as dehydration is all that will be occurring by now. Adding them in a fresh state to yogurts and other items where the soften surface will not be shown is just perfect. This can include a fresh berry pie or flan that will have a glaze on the surface. The flavour of these berries are still stronger than any others you’d buy and so is the deep attractive colour.

When the meat of the berry turns soft as well then we need to think of cooking our leftovers. Even though you can’t see anything transpiring in your fruit, cooking your berries will get rid of any surface bacteria that is not yet causing an issue and will add a few more days of shelf life … that’s if your new dessert lasts past the dinner table!

Then of course there’s always jams and jellies … but that’s another post

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Glazes … make your fruit pies last longer

13
Jun

posted by admin filed under Baking School, Victoria, BC

With fresh fruit season also comes glazes to protect your fruits and prolong the shelf life of your desert item and there are many ways to accomplish this. There are gelatin base glazes with a neutral flavour and great shine but they need refrigeration or they will melt away from your fruits. This is also not suitable for our vegan friends. A cornstarch base which can be found in the majority of cookbooks and website recipes has great staying power but to the delicate palette it’s graininess can be detected and it will have a slight opaqueness. The other option is a jelly or clear jam. Apple or white grape are your most commonly used.

Fast and ultra-easy … buy a cornstarch based glaze from your local grocery store already premade. You can find it either in the bulk section and scoop the amount that you need or jarred in the produce section. At this time of year we’d be leaning more to the red sweet glaze for our strawberry tarts, pies and flans. Alternately there is an unsweetened clear version in powder form where you add water and bring it to a boil. These glazes can be used for desserts or savory items.

To add another flavour to temp the taste buds you can always take a little more time and increase your clean up just a little bit and warm a jar of your favourite brand of clear grape or apple jelly from the jam section. The only problem with jams is the higher sugar content. This leaches the water from the fruits causing them to shrink and the glaze will melt away at a much faster pace. A cornstarch base will take a couple of days before releasing the water content of the glaze recipe but by that time your family will have consumed your delectable treat.

The last option form our previous list is a gelatin glaze which has just as many disadvantages and advantages. Your clean up and setup time is increased as you need to prepare the recipe found on the package of either powder or sheet gelatin but this neutral favourite has staying power from the elusive kiwi that like to be the first to launch off the mixed fruit flan while cutting. A gelatin glaze will hold your items in place and give your guests a refreshing feeling as it melts in their mouth with every bite. Other glazes need to be broken down in the mouth leaving a heavy feeling as they are consumed.

Any way you make it, fresh fruit pies, tarts and cakes make wonderful backyard desserts the summer long!