Turtle Cream Puffs

Crisp shell, light as air whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, gooey caramel. Heaven.

Cream Puffs. Aka the key to any one's soul. I don't know anyone who doesn't like cream puffs. Even myself, someone who doesn't like whipped cream (gasp, I know), loves cream puffs. And when you have them enveloped in tantalizing toppings such as these, the guilt of eating 3 or 6 is basically nothing. Because come on, if you know it's bad for you, however bad it is doesn't really matter if it tastes good.

 Even my kitty is wanting in on these bad boys! 

Cream puffs, or profiteroles, are French in origin (maybe not of this particular variety) and can be extremely finicky to make. I always have success at my house, but the two times I have gone to my friends to help them make them, they completely fail. I have no idea why! Choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is a very basic recipe. The methods for making it however, must be done correctly. There is no baking powder or leavener in the dough, so you have to beat the eggs well to souffle the dough when it bakes. My recipe ALWAYS works (when I make it at home to the tee) so if you follow it exactly, it will work for you too. 

I think I'm going to be changing up my French project slightly. 2 desserts a weekend is kind of a lot for my family, so instead I'm going to make 1 dessert and one dish. Tomorrow I'm going to make a French breakfast, and share that recipe with you. This way there is more variety for my family. What I am going to make, will be a surprise! So stay tuned :) For now, enjoy this recipe!

She's just totally eying them up!

Cream Puffs with Chocolate Whipped cream and the works.

From Canadian Living's DESSERTS cookbook

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs 

Preheat oven 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a round tip. 

In a medium/large saucepan, melt the butter, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Add the flour all at once, and vigorously stir until a ball forms, and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Cook over medium/low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring vigorously. (this is how bakers get biceps, people). Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Using electric beaters, add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 30 seconds after each addition. After the last egg has been added, beat until smooth and shiny. 

Transfer batter the the prepared pastry bag. Pipe circles/domes (I make mine look kind of like beehives) with about 1-2 tbsp of batter each, depending on how big you want them.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

Poke with a toothpick when they come out of the oven, so steam doesn't make the inside moist. 

Cool completely, then fill with chocolate whipped cream, (or pastry cream/ whipped cream to go a little more traditional) dust with powdered sugar, drizzle melted chocolate and caramel, and sprinkle chopped pecans to finish them off. Devour!

Chocolate Whipped Cream (from Joy of Baking)

Now for some food pictures!

Those were supposed to be flower shaped ones... ignore the fail.

Petit Fours

Bonjour!!! Today I am back with a French recipe... or twist on a French recipe. Traditional petit fours are itty bitty bite sized layer cakes that have liquid fondant poured on them for a glaze. Well, I wanted to make something a little bigger, and I do not like fondant, so I altered some things. I made them more of a cupcake size, and                              didn't frost them. I like being able to see the layers too.

The 'little ovens' (direct French translation) are made of a delicious vanilla cake that has been levelled, sliced, and cut with a cookie cutter. Cream cheese frosting and diced strawberries fill in between the layers, and fresh whipped cream top them off. I also made some chocolate drizzled strawberries that I will serve them with. It is a very light dessert that I'm sure my mom will enjoy for Mother's Day.

So, although they may not be the true classic recipe, I was inspired by them and had a lot of fun making them. If you're looking for something other than a cake or cupcake to make, try making these. They will surely impress whoever gets the opportunity to eat them :) And lets be honest, cake is cake isn't it? We all just want to stick a fork in it and eat it. 

Hooray for pretty food pictures too

Petit Fours (or in this case, mini layer cakes)

-1 layer of vanilla cake (I used sweetapolita's recipe and baked it in 1, 9 inch pan)

-1 cup of cream cheese frosting, or frosting of your preference

-2 strawberries

-1/2 cup freshly whipped cream

Using a cake leveler or serrated knife, level the top of your cake so it is flat. Cut it in half. Using a 3 inch, round cookie cutter, cut out pieces of cake making sure you have the same number of layers for each mini cake. I always freeze extra cake scraps for cake pops.

Dice up the strawberries into small pieces. Set aside.

Make a little tower out of the cake layers, and starting with one layer pipe or spread cream cheese frosting over the surface. Place on your serving platter. Make a small indentation in the middle, and add a some diced strawberries. Top with another cake layer, and pipe more cream cheese frosting.

Repeat the process of piping frosting, adding strawberries, and layering cake until it has all been used up. 

Mmmm fresh strawberries!

Pipe some whipped cream on top and top with a raspberry or fruit/decoration of your choice. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

They are super quick and easy to make, and elegant to serve as a fancy dessert. I hope you enjoy them!

Italian Cassata Cake

Moving around Europe today! This cake isn't included in my French project, as it is not French, but I definitely want to share it. Indulging in different cultures not only creates diversity in the foods we eat, but we get to learn and experience something that we don't often do in our regular lives.

Take this cake for example. Typically, I make very sweet and rich cakes. This one however, is anything but. Sponge cake is light, delicate, and not particularly sweet at all. The filling is exploding with flavour, and the star of this dessert. Grande Marnier, ricotta cheese and sugar join together to form a very mellow, deep, rich flavour. Combined with chopped almonds, candied fruit, and semi sweet chocolate, there is excellent texture contrast against the fluffy cake. Where a buttercream or chocolate frosting usually covers my cakes, here a chocolate glaze envelopes this gateau. Sprinkles have been replaced with sliced almonds, providing a lovely pattern to the outside of the cake.

I really enjoyed making this cake. While complex the flavours are, it was really quite simple to make. Yes, there is a meringue for the cake batter, but other than that it cooks quickly, and the other components come together quickly. I highly suggest making this cake, as it is truly different than anything else I have made. It makes me excited to try some new recipes that I may have over-looked!

Cassata Cake (from Amanda's Cooking)

• 2 cups (15 oz.) Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Grande Marnier
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1/3 cup finely chopped glace fruit
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1-1/4 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• Sponge cake (recipe below)
• 1 tsp. instant coffee dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter or margarine, cut into 8 pieces, chilled
• Sliced almonds for garnish

Bake sponge cake 1 day before assembly. Slice into 4 layers.

In a food processor, combine ricotta cheese, sugar, grande marnier, and orange zest. Pulse until the mixture is completely smooth. Stir in chopped fruit, almonds, and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. 

Place 1 layer of sponge cake on your serving platter/cake board, and spread 1/3 of the filling over the entire surface. Repeat with remaining layers, topping with the fourth layer of cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up.

Meanwhile, in a double boiler combine dissolved coffee and 1 cup chocolate chips. Melt over low heat. Add the butter one piece at a time, making sure the previous piece is completely melted. Set aside to cool and slightly thicken, about 30-45 mins.

Once cake has had a chance to firm up, remove from fridge and gently spread the chocolate glaze on the top and sides. Carefully press the sliced almonds onto the sides before the chocolate sets. 

Refrigerate a few hours to let the flavours mellow :) Slice and serve to enjoy!!!

Sponge Cake (from Joy of Baking)

6 large eggs, separated

1 cup (100 grams) sifted cake flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (200 grams) sugar, divided

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons water

3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Make recipe as noted in link, but divide batter into 2, 9 inch cake pans and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean, rotating half way through.

Crepes with hazelnut cream and fresh strawberries

Número dos recipe of the day! Or should I say numéro deux if we're sticking with the French theme. These are the delicious crepes that I made for breakfast this morning. The pancake batter cooks instantly making crepes a very quick and easy breakfast. I healthified (gasp) these a little bit because I am not a big fan of flour all that much... anddd because I accidently bought the wrong kind of almond flour for the macarons, so I needed to use it up. Needless to say, they turned out exactly the way crepes are supposed to. Now. The star of this version of crepes is the filling. I like nutella, I like chocolate, and I definitely like it for breakfast. Saying that, a little bit of chocolate goes a long way. If you like your nutella pure in your pancakes, go ahead and skip this step. But trust me, you still might wanna try it. The secret for the hazelnut cream? Greek yogurt! Yes! Another healthy ingredient! I would have used whipped cream, but hey, a girls gotta have some limits. Some may say 'But Greek yogurt is like sour cream!' Trust me, I had my doubts. But nope! The result was a fluffy, creamy, hazelnutty, heaven of a filling. If that's not convincing enough, I don't know how to convert the nutella purists. Anyways, get your nutella, grab a sauce pan, and lets make some crepes.

Do not forget the strawberry rose garnish!

Crepe Recipe (Adapted from Allrecipes)

Makes 5 large crepes

1/4 cup almond flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

dash of vanilla

1 tbsp melted butter.

Filling by Kala-Dawn Larsen

2 sliced strawberries

2 tbsp nutella (or homemade nutella in my case)

2-3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

Now I did not follow the directions to make the batter whatsoever, but I have a much easier method.

Throw it all in a blender and blend it up! Seriously! I just put it in my magic bullet, whirled it around a bit, and voila! Delicious crepe batter. Place it in the fridge while you prepare the strawberries and cream.

Slice the strawberries thinly, and if you want, make a rose for garnish (Video tutorial here).

Stir together the nutella and greek yogurt until it is all one consistency. Set aside.

Preheat a non stick pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add a small amount of butter. Add 1/4 cup of crepe batter, and swirl around quickly to make a large circle. If they look ugly, they will still taste delicious. All pancakes are created equally, we don't judge. Place cooked crepe on a plate and cover with a saucepan lid until the remaining ones are made. 

TIME TO ASSEMBLE. Take your crepe, and spread the hazelnut cream on half of it. Fold the other side over, so you are looking at half a crepe now. In one quatre, place some sliced strawberries. Fold over the remaining quarter. Math guys. Fractions. I know I'm sorry. 100% delicious, just remember that. 

Place on a plate/or platter, and repeat with remaining crepes. Drizzle with chocolate sauce if desired. 

Shovel into your mouth and enjoy nutella crepe pancake heaven. You're welcome.

Time for less than beautiful pictures!

Almond Flour makes pretty crepes

1/2

1/4

Now you know how to make hazelnut cream crepes! Enjoy!

I'm back!!... with French Macarons!

Hello Blogging World!! It has been almost 2 years since I last posted on here, and I miss it terribly! It's so much fun finding new recipes, making them, and being able to share them with you! Without further ado, lets get started on our first recipe; French Macarons!

These delicacies melt in your mouth, and taste like cotton candy clouds. Although finicky to make, when you see the little 'feet' appearing in the oven, you know you have made them right! Almond flour, egg whites, and sugar are the 3 main ingredients in these cookies. Cookies? or Mini Cakes? They do have a filling! What do you think? Anyways! The process to making Macarons is very similar to a meringue. Whipped egg whites that are stabilized with cream of tartar and sugar are then carefully folded together with almond flour and powdered sugar. In addition to, in my case, pink food colouring. Because who doesn't like a cookie that tastes good AND looks good? Plus, I quite fancy pink things. Once the cookies have been baked they are filled with whichever filling you prefer! I had an assortment of choices. Homemade hazelnut spread (aka nutella) made by my lovely friend Rowan who helped me make the cookies, Vanilla buttercream, and cream cheese icing. These were all quite rich, so next time I may try just a jam. But hey, there is nothing wrong with richness either!

After travelling to New York City almost 2 years ago and trying them at the Bouchon Bakery (Vanilla bean, and Raspberry; I still remember) I have always wanted to bake them, and I had the perfect opportunity to attempt them! My French course requires a Cultural Connections project, and I knew I wanted to do something related to food. (I <3 food). After watching 'Julie and Julia', a movie about a budding writer trying to get her name into the writing world, she began writing on a food blog. Inspired by the famous French cook, Julia Child, she set off on a journey to make every single recipe in her cookbook. That was 500 recipes in 365 days. Quite extraordinary! I was then inspired by the movie to do something similar. I love to bake, and why not tie that into my project? Here is the plan. I am making a French dessert and pastry each week until the end of May. (I was planning on going to the end of June, but I discovered I have to be finished my course by May). That means 8 delicious, European inspired treats to blog about! I also plan on not stopping at the end of May with my blog. As an admitted Pinterest addict, I have so many recipes I want to try, and share what they're like. So I won't be disappearing any time soon!

Back to the recipe! I had to take all of these pictures quite quickly, and it being at night means nasty quality photos. So sorry! I also didn't use my fancy camera, so that didn't help much. In the future I will be practicing my food shots more carefully :)
Also, I don't know if I will include step-by-step photos for every recipe, but for the project ones I am.

For a more detailed process on how to make them, I highly suggest visiting the Joy of Baking recipe link. Making meringues for the first time can be challenging!

French Macarons (Joy of Baking Recipe)

100 grams ground blanched almonds or almond meal/flour

180 grams confectioner (powdered or icing) sugar

100 grams "aged" egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)

35 grams superfine or castor white sugar

Prepare 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place a plain piping tip into a pastry bag.

Sift together the powdered sugar and almond flour 3 times into a medium bowl. It is VERY important to sift until it is very, very light.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the whisk attachment on medium/high speed until soft peaks form.
Add cream of tartar and whisk to incorporate. Gradually add white sugar until stiff peaks form. When removing the whisk, the egg whites should stand straight up, but still be shiny. Add food colouring if using.

Carefully, fold 1/3 of the almond/powdered sugar mixture into the egg whites. Repeat with another 1/3, and finally with the last 1/3. Be very gentle, and careful to incorporate the ingredients completely together.

Spoon into the prepared piping bag, and pipe circles about 2 inches in diameter (or smaller) onto the prepared baking sheet. They can't be right next to each other, but they don't spread, so they can have about 1 inch between each other.

Bang the baking sheet on the counter 4-5 times to remove air bubbles. Let them sit for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Preheat oven 325 degrees, and bake for 14-16 minutes, rotating halfway through. They are done when the little 'feet' have grown, and are slightly brown on top.

Cool completely, then carefully pull off the parchment paper.

Fill with whatever you please, sandwich together, and prepare to experience macaron euphoria!!!

Have fun!!!

Sifting together the almond flour and confectioners sugar

Perfectly whipped egg whites and sugar.

Rowan piping some Macarons

Lots of cookies!

The assembly line

Homemade hazelnut spread

Homemade cream cheese icing

Homemade vanilla buttercream

(such bad lighting!) our little baked meringues

The final product!