Rhubarb and Orange Cake

Look at this bad boy! I set out to make an over-the-top cake and here it is! I couldn't fit another thing onto the top of that cake even if I wanted to. Honestly, it's too much for my personal tastes (I like minimalist and elegant) but I think it looks pretty cool. And it was a lot of fun to do. I thought I had finished a couple times, but then I went and added more stuff. But I finally stopped and thought, "Okay, that's it...? I think? Sure...."

I love this oat crumble, by the way. I eat this straight from the container, shoving handfuls into my mouth while standing over the sink. It tastes like a warm cozy breakfast but BETTER. Put this on ice cream, in yogurt, on cakes, on waffles, on anything and everything. I think it pairs great with any and all kinds of berries and fruit because it's pretty basic in terms of flavour (oats and cinnamon) but it's crunchy and sweet and just delightful. 

I feel like I could've stopped just after this stage of the cake. Maybe add a few chocolate curls, a raspberry or two, a couple orange slices, and it would've been a really nice elegant cake, fit for a chill wedding or a really nice party. Respectable. 

But no, I just kept going.

But hey, all my other cakes have been pretty understated and minimalist. I wanted to see what it would look like if I went cray-cray on a cake! And here it is! A little trashy, a little classy, a lot going on, but the flavours all work and that's the key.

Rhubarb and Orange Cake

Vanilla Bean Cake
Makes 3 6-inch layers
Recipe adapted from Call me Cupcake 

300 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
195 g granulated sugar
225 g eggs, lightly beaten
65 g whole milk
6 g vanilla paste
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
337 g all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 g salt

Rhubarb Compote

300 g fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
75 g granulated sugar
1 orange, zested and juiced

Oat Crumble

80 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
80 g granulated sugar
80 g all-purpose flour
56 g rolled oats
1 g salt
1 g vanilla powder
1 g ground cinnamon

Vanilla Buttercream

90 g egg whites
130 g granulated sugar
295 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 g vanilla paste

White Chocolate Sail/Curls/Decor

75 g white chocolate, finely chopped

Swiss Meringue

50 g egg whites
100 g granulated sugar

To start, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray three 6-inch cake rings with non-stick spray, then line with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a little bit at a time, beating after each addition, until fully incorporate. Combine the milk, vanilla paste, and vanilla extract and add it to the mixture, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat again for 2 minutes. 

Sift the dry ingredients and add to the mixture, mixing on low until just incorporated. Divide evenly between the three cake rings and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cakes and cool completely.

For the rhubarb compote, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the rhubarb has broken down and the mixture looks thick and saucey. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, then transfer to a container and cool completely in the fridge.

For the oat crumble, combine the sugar, flour, oats, salt, vanilla powder, and cinnamon in a food processor or blender. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse on low speed until the mixture starts to come together and form small clumps. Refrigerate the crumble until hard, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Pour the crumble on a parchment lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring every 4 minutes to make sure everything browns evenly.

Remove from the oven and cool completely. Store in an airtight container. This recipe makes much, much more than you need but this stuff is so good sprinkled over ice cream or in yogurt, so you're welcome.

For the buttercream, combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer set over a bain-marie and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reads 60 C or is no longer gritty when rubbed between your fingers. Transfer to the stand mixer and whip until glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. 

Add the butter a few pieces at a time and whip until the buttercream is creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla paste and whip for 20 seconds to combine. Transfer about 1/4 of the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small circular tip.

To assemble the cake, first trim the tops of each cake layer so they are flat and even. Place one round on a cake turntable and use the piping bag to pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake. Spoon the rhubarb compote into the contained area, being generous as the compote will seep into the cake. Refrigerate until the buttercream ring is firm, about 10 minutes. Top with a second cake round and repeat. For the last layer, place the top of the cake onto the buttercream so that the flat bottom of the cake is now the very top of the whole cake. This will ensure that your cake has a very nice and flat top and corners.

If you need to make sure the sides of the cake are even, patch it up with some buttercream.

Refrigerate the cake until firm, about 15 minutes.

Mask the cake with a very thin layer of the vanilla bean buttercream, then refrigerate for 15 minutes. Spread almost all the remaining vanilla buttercream over the cake. Using a hot offset spatula dipped in very hot water and then dried, smooth the surface of the buttercream on the sides and top. With the small amount of remaining buttercream, lightly smear it onto the cake using a small offset spatula to create the rustic look. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

For the white chocolate sail, temper the white chocolate and spread it out onto a silpat. Using your hands or objects to hold it up, gently fold the silpat to create waves into the chocolate. Let set completely before gently peeling the silpat away.

For the curls, cut 2 pieces of acetate 6 inches long. Spread the tempered white chocolate on the acetate and use a pastry comb to create the lines down the acetate. Using a mold or similar household object, curl the acetate to create a loop-de-loop. Let set until firm, then very gently peel the acetate away.

For the "cigarettes", spread the white chocolate on a marble surface or back of a baking sheet pan. Let set almost completely, then use a scraper to scrape the chocolate away from you and form the cigarettes. 

For the swiss meringue, combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer set over a bain-marie and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reads 60 C or is no longer gritty when rubbed between your fingers. Transfer to the stand mixer and whip until glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. 

When the cake is completely firm, transfer to a cake stand. Spoon the meringue onto the top of the cake and down one side, creating peaks and swirls with a spoon. using a handheld butane torch, torch the meringue until nice and golden brown. Be careful not to melt the buttercream around the meringue.

Arrange the chocolate sail, chocolate decor, oat crumble, orange slices, raspberries, and/or any other decor you wish to use. 

Maple Crème Brûlée

I know this isn't really a spring dessert and it is (or should be) well into spring by now. But! I made this dessert back at the end of January (!!) and I have yet to post it because I have been getting outside! Yes, the outside world, outside of the kitchen and my computer. If you've read the last few posts, you know this is nothing new and I won't really go on and on about it. But a little update that yes! I am still no longer working in kitchens and not really working on the blog anymore so I'm sorry to the many people that have had their emails go unanswered or comments unreplied! I've read them, I really have! I mean to reply to everyone, but then I go to work and I forget and then I get home and all I want to do is plan what hike I'm going to do on the weekend.

Despite the fact that it's the end of April, the weather here in Vancouver only turned spring-like in the past week or so. Before that was just rain and rain and cold and rain. Usually we have at least a little fake spring in March where it's nice and sunny and makes us hopeful. Then back to rain and our hopes are crushed. We didn't even get that!

But hey, I'm Canadian so maple is in our blood and anything can be maple-d at any time during the year. It goes well with everything, everyone, always. Just....maple, you guys. Maple sugar! ugh, maple sugar. I discovered it a few years ago and it's changed so much in my baking! And good quality maple syrup...ohhhh you gotta get the good stuff. I know it's expensive and everyone always drenches their pancakes in so much maple syrup and it's hard to justify spending $20 on a fancy-labelled artisanal hand-crafted small-batch fair trade blah blah blah thing of maple syrup but just do it. Do it. Or have the good maple syrup for the special occasions and mediocre maple syrup for turning your pancakes into soaking wet sugar sponges. 

Maple Crème Brûlée

250 g heavy cream
100 g whole milk
75 g egg yolks
25 g maple sugar
20 g maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 200 F.

Combine the cream and milk in a saucepan set over medium heat. Place the egg yolks and maple sugar in a medium sized bowl and whisk until slightly paler in colour.

Once the cream mixture has scalded, pour a small amount of the cream mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly add all of the cream mixture, whisking as you do so. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.

Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to let any bubbles rise to the surface. Skim off any foam or bubbles. Transfer to a pitcher or something similar so it is easier to pour cleanly.

Prepare 4-6 glasses or ramekins. Fill the glasses 3/4 of the way up and transfer the glasses or ramekins to a high sided baking pan or casserole dish. Pour hot water into the dish until it comes halfway up the sides of the glasses or ramekins. 

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the custard has a slight jiggle in the center. Remove from the oven, remove from the water bath, and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until completely cool or overnight.

When ready, sprinkle a small amount of sugar onto the top of the crème brûlée and use a handheld torch to caramelize it. Serve immediately. 

Caramelized Hazelnut and Toasted Marshmallow Cream Puffs

March has started on a very wintery note here in Vancouver. Let me start by saying that Vancouver has mild winters - a heck of a lot of rain but hardly ever colder than 0 C. Snow on the mountains, yeah, sure! Snow in the city? No way. This year we've already had two giant snowfalls and a few days ago, we even had some flurries! What is this, Vancouver?! What're you doing? Get your shit together! I don't think we've ever had snow in February!

So I'm still in full-on winter mode here with my boots and big jackets and multiple layers and warm, wintery flavours. Caramelized nuts are my go-to winter flavours, along with cinnamon and maybe apples, and I absolutely love anything and everything with hazelnuts. Adding to the toasty flavour is the toasted meringue, which just completes the whole thing.

I love making homemade praline paste but it can be a strain on my food processor. So now that I have my awesome Vitamix, it's so much easier and faster! Since this batch of praline paste is so small, I added in the milk to help it blend up. If you're making a bigger batch, you can just blend it until the paste is smoooooth like peanut butter.

These are pretty decadently sweet cream puffs and it's a challenge to eat more than one without a big glass of milk - at least for me. Then again, my sweet tooth has almost disappeared now! I've been working around sweets for so long that I've just become immune to their allure now. But salty foods? Oh, I have no self control. Sit me down in front of a dozen of these cream puffs or a couple cubes of cheese and I'll go for the cheese without hesitation. Cheese always wins.

Caramelized Hazelnut and Toasted Marshmallow Cream Puffs

Hazelnut Praline

100 g hazelnuts
30 g granulated sugar
12 g water

Praline Pastry Cream

142 g whole milk
75 g praline paste
230 g heavy cream
50 g granulated sugar
22 g cornstarch
45 g egg yolks
45 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Cookies for Choux
Recipe from Bouchon Bakery

180 g light brown sugar
150 g all-purpose flour
30 g almond flour
85 g unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Pâte a Choux
Recipe from Bouchon Bakery

250 g water
125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2.5 g kosher salt
138 g all-purpose flour
250 to 275 g eggs

Swiss Meringue

100 g egg whites
150 g granulated sugar

For the praline paste, preheat the oven to 300 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and roast the hazelnuts until a very light golden brown. Do not toast the nuts fully as they will continue to cook when caramelized. Rub the hazelnuts in between your hands or in a dish cloth to get the skins off. Turn the oven down to 200 F and keep the hazelnuts warm while you make the sugar syrup.

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, making sure the sugar has dissolved completely first, and boil for 1 minute. Add the warm hazelnuts and stir until they are evenly coated. They will turn a sandy white colour as the sugar crystallizes. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar caramelizes all over the hazelnuts and there are no sandy white patches. Transfer the hazelnuts to a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet to cool completely.

Using a Vitamix or other high intensity blender, blend 80 g of the caramelized hazelnuts on high speed until it resembles corn meal, scraping down the sides often. Add the milk and blend on medium low speed for a minute or so. Set aside the left over 20 g of caramelized whole hazelnuts.

For the praline pastry cream, place the praline milk mixture and heavy cream in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly. 

Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Add the egg yolks and whisk until slightly paler in colour. 

When the milk mixture has started to steam and small bubbles appear on the sides of the saucepan, turn down the heat and slowly add 1/4 of the milk mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Add another 1/4 of the milk to the egg yolks, then another 1/4. Add this back to the saucepan and whisking vigourously, cook the pastry cream until thickened. Immediately take off the heat and add the butter, whisking until combined. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl set over an ice bath. Cool to room temperature, then place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and place in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large circular tip.

Make the cookies for the cream puff. Place the brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and use a fork to break up any lumps. Add the all-purpose flour and almond meal. 

Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low to combine the dry ingredients. Add the butter and pulse the mixer on the lowest setting to begin incorporating and breaking up the butter. Increase the speed to low and mix for about 3 minutes, until the butter is broken up and completely incorporated into the dry mixture; the mixture will begin to come together in large crumbles but will not gather into one uniform mass.

Place two pieces of parchment paper on the work surface and divide the crumbles between the sheets. Using your hands bring the crumbles together to begin to form a dough; it will still be crumbly. Then top each potion of the dough with another piece of parchment paper and roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to the back of a sheet pan, stacking one on top of the other, and freeze for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Working with one sheet at a time, continue rolling, freezing the dough again as it softens, until it is 1/16th inch thick. During this process, the dough will crack and gaps will form; parch them as needed with bits of dough. Do not worry if the edges are a bit rough; the cookie will be cut with a cutter.

Freeze until cold before cutting out cookies. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month.

For the choux, prepare your sheet pan. Line a sheet pan with a silpat or parchment paper. Use a template underneath the silpat/parchment to help with spacing and consistent size. I used a 2.75 inch diameter template. 

Alternatively, if you have a 2.75 inch (or similar diameter) demi sphere silicone mold, this is the perfect use for it. It will create consistently even and level cream puffs. For these cream puffs, I used my silicone mold and it produced near perfect cream puffs. For just $12, these silicone molds are worth the money even if you just use them for cream puffs. It makes a big difference.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. 

Combine the water, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan, place over medium heat, and stir as the butter melts. Once the butter has melted, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, then remove the pan from the heat and, with a stiff heatproof or wooden spoon, stir in all of the flour. Continue to stir for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture has a paste-like consistency, then place over medium heat and stir rapidly for 1 to 2 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and the bottom of the pan is clean; the dough should be glossy and smooth but not dry. 

Immediately transfer the dough to the mixer bowl and mix on low for about 30 seconds to release some of the moisture. Slowly begin adding the eggs, about 50 grams at a time, beating until each addition is completely absorbed before adding the next one. Continue adding the eggs, reserving 25 grams, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl when pulled with the paddle but then grabs back on again.

Increase the speed to medium and mix for 15 seconds to be sure all of the eggs are incorporated. Stop the mixer. When the paddle if lifted, the dough should form a bird's beak - it should hold its shape and turn down over itself but not break off. If the dough is too stiff, add the reserved egg.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag and chill the dough until cold, about 20 minutes. Pipe the dough on the silpat or parchment using the templates. 

If you are using a silicone mold, pipe the choux into the molds, level off the surface with a small offset spatula, and freeze until hard. Unmold onto a silpat or parchment.

Cut out a cookie that, when baked, will cover not just the top of the puff but the sides and bottom as well. Place a cookie on top of the choux and press down a tiny bit, just enough to secure it to the choux.

Put the choux in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 350 F and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. Lower the oven temperature to 325 F and bake for about 10 minutes, until the puffs are light and feel hollow. Break one open if necessary: the centre should appear completely cooked.

Set the pan on a cooking rack and cool completely before filling.

Make the swiss meringue immediately before filling the cream puffs. It will deflate if make too far ahead.

Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to 60 C. Transfer to a stand mixer and whip on medium high speed for 5 to 8 minutes, until glossy stiff peaks are formed. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

To assemble, cut the cream puffs 3/4 of the way up. Pipe the pastry cream into the puffs to reach the rim. Pipe the meringue on top of the pastry cream. Using a handheld butane torch, gently toast the meringue. Place the top of the puff onto the meringue and gently press into place. Pipe a little dot of meringue on the top of the puff and place a few whole and halved hazelnuts on top.

Serve immediately.

Honey Lemon Loaves

BIG NEWS! If you follow me on instagram, this will be old news to you, but to everyone else - I quit! I quit my job as a pastry cook. Maybe forever, maybe not forever, I don't really know at this point. But for the foreseeable future, I'm going on a different path. What that path is, I'm not so sure, but it sure won't be in a kitchen. 

There's a lot of reasons behind me quitting the industry and a lot of those reasons are because I've changed immensely over the past year. I look back and I'm astounded at myself. I threw myself completely into work (and the blog) and I had nothing else outside of that. I barely ever saw my friends, I didn't go out, I didn't have any hobbies outside of the kitchen. I was just a working machine. Things slowly started to change - I left a 4 1/2 year long relationship in March that wasn't going anywhere, and I started looking at what I wanted out of the long term and more importantly, who I want to be. There were so many aspects of myself that I had ignored for years because of work and the relationship.

The biggest one is that I love the outdoors, I always have, but I put it aside because I was so busy with work and my ex was definitely not an outdoorsy person. I basically forgot that I enjoyed being outside. When I went on an overnight hike in the alpine with my dad in the summer, which I've done a few times, that reawakened that love and passion again. It was incredible - the silence, the challenge, the view, the feeling of being so small in such a big and beautiful place. Everything fades away and it's just you and nature and you feel so alive. Ever since then, I've been making an effort to get outside a lot more (and if you follow my instagram, you'll notice that it's gone to more of a nature account than a dessert account!) and I am absolutely loving it. And now that I have all the free time in the world, I can get outside all the time! I've been exploring the local mountains and wilderness and I can't believe that this was always here and I never took advantage of it. There is so much to see and do and experience... I feel like I've wasted so much time by not experiencing it sooner! I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and yet I haven't experienced most of it! This summer, I'm planning on seeing more of our national parks like Banff, Jasper, and Yoho because I've barely experienced them at all.

I'm hella proud of how far I've come in the pastry industry, though, so don't get me wrong on that. In just two and a half years after graduating pastry school, I started working at one of the best restaurants in the country. I don't want to sound cocky, but I'm good at what I do. I still love pastry, I still love creating and working with my hands. I wish I could keep doing it. But I don't want to work 12+ hour days anymore, I don't want to work 6 days week, with no breaks, no overtime pay, no vacations. I don't want to give everything I have into my job. I want to have a life outside of my job. And with pastry and kitchens, that's not really going to happen. 

I'm still keeping the blog going, though, so don't worry! It'll just be a hobby, as it's always been, but I might not update it as often as I used to. Instead of a post every week, it might be a post every three or four weeks. Then again, this is the first post in a month and a half and no one has complained so I think I'm good!

And if you guys are interested, here are some of my favourite shots from my outdoor adventures in the past few months!

Honey Lemon Loaves

Candied Lemon Slices

1 lemon
100 g granulated sugar
200 g water

Honey Lemon Cake
Recipe adapted from Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

85 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100 g honey
1 lemon, zested
50 g egg
20 g egg yolk
160 g all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
100 g buttermilk

Honey Lemon Glaze

30 g freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
15 g honey
150 g icing sugar

For the candied lemon slices, make sure to use a large and very sharp knife. Cut off the end and slice the lemon into slices about 1mm thick, making sure to have even and whole slices. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Add the lemon slices and gently simmer for about 10 minutes, until the slices are translucent. Turn off the heat and let the slices sit in the syrup until you are ready to use them.

For the cakes, generously spray 4 individual loaf tins with non stick spray. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Sift the dry ingredients and set aside.

Combine the butter and honey in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream on medium high speed until pale, light, and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The mixture may look separated in the beginning, but keep beating it to bring it to an emulsified and glossy mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and keep beating for another minute.

Add the egg while beating on medium speed, then turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat for 15 seconds. Add the egg yolk and beat on medium-high speed for 20 seconds. The batter should be shiny and glossy. Scrape down the sides and bottom again.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, folding by hand using a rubber spatula, add the dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Work quickly to fold everything together.

Transfer the batter to a piping bag and fill the tins about 2/3 with batter. Place two candied lemon slices on the top on the batter. Place the loaf tins on a baking sheet and put in the oven. Bake the loaves for about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf tins. The tops should be a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold the loaves onto the wire rack. 

While the loaves are cooling, making the glaze. Combine all the ingredients and stir to create a smooth glaze. Once the loaves are cool, spoon the glaze over the cakes. 

Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie with a Pecan Crust and Brown Butter Chantilly

December already!!!! Almost every month, I find myself saying, "Wow, (this month) already? Time is flying by." but it's true! Especially since I'm working so much and the days just blur together into one giant never-ending work day. Despite that, I am still trying my darndest to get into the Christmas spirit! I used my one day off this week to put up my decorations and lights and play a bit of Christmas music, which helped, and I made this pumpkin pie and that definitely helped, too! I always have so many ideas for Christmas things to make for the blog and I get so excited, but then disappointed because I simply don't have the time. I mean, I barely have time for laundry these days...

I used one of my rare two day weekends to make this pumpkin pie completely from scratch (short of growing the pumpkin myself) and it was really rewarding. I always try to make everything from scratch and I can't remember the last time I had to open a can in order to bake something. So to buy a cute lil Sugar Pie pumpkin, cut it up, roast it, puree it, and make a pie out of it is not out of the ordinary for me. But I understand that for some people it can be a little daunting. It's not! Honestly! Whole Foods carries this species of pumpkin (ideal for pies because of the low water content and sweetness) and you can roast it a day ahead to make the whole process easier.

If you have an awesome blender, this whole pie is way easier. You can puree the pumpkin and make the filling, blitz up the pecans, even make the pie dough in it, and make the chantilly in it, too! I've been wanting a high powered blender for ages and now that I have one, I'm using it for EVERYTHING. We have a couple Vitamixes at work that we use multiple times every day for all kinds of things - blending fluid gels, creating powders, emulsifying sauces, grinding spices, pureeing soups - so I'm super familiar with the durability and power of these awesome machines. Seriously, we beat the shit out of our Vitamixes at work. 

If you're an eager beaver and are already planning out your Christmas menu, like some people I know (looking at you, Dad) then be sure to bookmark this pie for your big day! There's so many things you can do the day before to prep, so on the actual day you don't have to do everything at once and figuring out how to share the oven with a pie and a bird. Roasting and pureeing the pumpkin, making the pie dough, and making the chantilly can all be done the day before. So on the actual day, all you have to do is roll out the pie dough, bake it, mix up the filling, and bake it which can all be done in the morning so the oven is free later for the meat/sides/etc. And you can also spend time with your family and friends, which, y'know, is kinda the whole point of having everyone around for the holidays. 

This post is sponsored by Vitamix. I only work with companies that I personally would use even if I wasn't asked to. Thanks for supporting the people that help support me!

Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie with a Pecan Crust and Brown Butter Chantilly

Pecan Pie Dough
Recipe from Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

60 g pecans
200 g all-purpose flour
20 g brown sugar
5 g kosher salt
150 g unsalted butter, freezer cold, cut into 1/2 inch dice
39-58 g water, ice cold
1 teaspoon white vinegar

Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie Filling
Recipe adapted from Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

1 Sugar Pie Pumpkin, about 1 kg
2 tablespoons oil (such a vegetable or canola)

104 g brown sugar
69 g granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
237 g heavy cream
79 g whole milk
150 g eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
75 g brown butter, warm

Brown Butter Chantilly

200 g heavy cream
15 g maple syrup
35 g brown butter
 

For the pecan crust, put the pecans in the bowl of a food processor or blender and pule until finely ground. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the food processor/blender to make sure none of the nuts are stuck to the sides. Add the flour, brown sugar, and salt, and pulse 2 to 3 times to mix the dry ingredients with the nuts. Add the butter and pulse 10 times or a few more until the pieces of butter are slightly smaller than peas.

Combine the 39 g of ice cold water with the vinegar and gradually pour through the opening in the lid and pulse 3 to 4 times, or until the mixture looks shaggy. Remove the lid and squeeze some of the dough, which should come together as a clump. If the mixture seems too dry, add the remaining 9 g of water and pulse a few more times.

Remove the dough and turn it out onto a work surface. Use your hands to gather the dough into a flattened disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling. 

Make the brown butter chantilly. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until scalded. Pour the cream into a blender and add the brown butter and maple syrup. Blend on medium speed until the brown butter is completely emulsified into the cream. Remove from the blender and pour into a container. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Meanwhile, start the pumpkin pie filling. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Use a large heavy knife to quarter the pumpkin, then scrape out and discard all the fibres and seeds. Cut the pumpkin quarters in half crosswise to yield 8 pieces of pumpkin. Put the pumpkin pieces in a baking dish or sheet and toss with the oil. Arrange the pumpkin pieces rind side down, cover the pan with foil, and use the tip of a knife to cut a few small steam vents in the foil. Put the pan in the oven and roast until the pumpkin feels quite tender when poked with the tip of a paring knife, about 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue to roast the pumpkin until the pumpkin is very soft, about 20 to 25 minutes more. Remove the pan from the oven. As soon as the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to peel off and discard the skin. Put the pumpkin flesh in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. You should have 400 g of pumpkin puree (keep any extra for other uses, like sauces or soups!). Set aside the 400 g of puree.

Unwrap the chilled dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to a 9 inch pie pan. Trim the excess dough to 3/4 - 1 inch overhang. Fold the overhang up and over or down and under and use your hands to press gently on the dough all around the circumference to form a neat pastry rim 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Use your thumb and two fingers to create a crimped edge.

Chill the shell for 15 to 20 minutes to firm up. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line the pastry shell with a piece of parchment and fill it with dried beans or rice or pie weights. Bake until the bottom of the dough is baked through but not yet browned, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the parchment and weights, then bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

In a blender, combine the pumpkin puree, sugars, flour, spices, and salt together and pulse a few times to blend together. Add the cream, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and brown butter and blend on the lowest speed until smooth. Let it sit for a few minutes to let any bubbles come to the surface, then either pop them or skim them off the surface.

Pour the mixture into the pie shell and place it in the oven. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 F and bake until the custard is set, 55 to 60 minutes. When the pie is done, the center of the pie will not look soft and jiggly when you shake the pan. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for at least two hours before slicing and serving.

Whip up the brown butter chantilly until stiff peaks form and add to your pie slices when serving. Enjoy!

Cinnamon, Orange, And Hazelnut Morning Buns

I've been daydreaming about this flavour combo for weeks. Basically as soon as the weather started to turn rainy and kind dreary (i.e. end of September here), I wanted to make something with hazelnuts and orange and cinnamon because those are the flavours of fall! Warm and spicey and nutty with a little kick of citrus to make sure you're not falling asleep. It's not winter just yet, so we still need a little pep in our step. Also, the colours just seem to scream "Aaaaaah FALL!!" to me - orange, golden brown, cinnamon brown. I went out and collected a bunch of wet leaves off the pavement in the rain just for this shoot, to complete the fall look. That's dedication, guys.

Now, these might look like cinnamon buns but they're kind of not.... I mean, they're a bun and they have cinnamon in them so maybe? But not in the traditional cinnamon bun way. These are flakey and buttery and crispy because the dough is basically croissant dough - lots and lots of buttery layers! And then the filling is, obviously, filled with hazelnuts and orange as well as cinnamon. And then what really makes them proper "morning buns" is that the whole thing is tossed in cinnamon sugar at the end. Really decadent. I mean, you could opt out of the cinnamon sugar dusting and call them cinnamon buns but then we'd just be splitting hairs, I guess. The point is, they're delicious. 

These would be an awesome weekend morning treat to surprise your family or friends or maybe just yourself (solo treat-fest is always fun) if you feel like going the extra step. You can make everything the night before and instead of proofing the buns in a warm spot, keep them in the fridge overnight. I can't exactly say how long they can stay in there because that depends on the temperature of your fridge and your dough and all that, but it's worth a shot! Just pop them in the oven and roll 'em in sugar in the morning. The smell alone will get everyone out of bed. Or just make you happy that you got out of bed to bake them.

Cinnamon, Orange, and Hazelnut Morning Buns
Makes around 16-18 buns
 

Croissant dough
Recipe from The Modern Café

426 g all-purpose flour
10 g salt
51 g granulated sugar
8 g instant dried yeast
204 g water at 21 C
85 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Butter block

212 g butter

Orange Hazelnut Filling

100 g hazelnuts
150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
50 g brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 oranges, zested

Cinnamon sugar

200 g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon vanilla powder

For the croissant dough, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and give it a quick mix on the lowest setting to distribute all of the ingredients evenly. Add the water and mix until a shaggy dough is formed, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the softened butter. Mix on low speed for 10 minutes, until full gluten development is achieved and the dough is smooth.

Remove the dough from the mixer and place on a silpat lined half sheet pan. Spread the dough into a rough rectangle the size of the pan, trying to make it even and flat. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature to ferment for 45 minutes.

While the dough is fermenting, make the filling. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Spread the hazelnuts on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 to 12 mintues, until the nuts are golden brown and fragrant. Let them cool, then remove the skins by rubbing them in your hands. Using a food processor, grind the nuts into small pieces resembling cornmeal.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, then add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined. Remove from the mixer and keep at room temperature until ready to use.

Remove the plastic wrap. Using your palms, flatten the dough to release the large gas bubbles, but do not push all the air out of the dough. Make sure the dough is in all the corners of the half sheet pan and is even. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for 45 minutes.

For the butter block, the ideal temperature for the butter is around 21 C. If the butter is too cold, place a piece of parchment underneath and on top of it and use a rolling pin to pound it down and make it malleable. Shape the butter into a rectangle the size of half a half sheet pan, making sure the edges and corners are sharp and the butter is even and flat. Depending on the temperature of your butter, you may need to keep it at room temperature or in the fridge, or a combination of the two, to keep it at 21 C.

Remove the dough from the freezer. Remove the plastic wrap and place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Let the dough soften for 5 to 10 minutes until it is no longer rock hard, but not soft. Place the butter block on the right hand side of the dough, leaving about 3 cm of dough around the edges of the butter block. Fold the left hand side over, like closing a book, and pinch the seams together. 

With the "spine" of the dough (think the spine of a book) on your left, roll the dough out vertically to around 15 cm. Turn the dough so the spine is now facing your stomach and roll it out to 30 cm. Make sure to keep the rectangular shape throughout the entire process. If the dough feels too soft at any point, place it in the fridge for 5 minutes. Do not leave it in the fridge for too long or the butter will become hard and will shatter when you roll it out. 

For the first turn, fold the bottom third of the dough up as if you were folding a letter. Fold the top third down to cover the bottom third. 

Turn the block 90 degrees so the dough resembles a book, with the opening on the right and the spine on the left. You will continue this pattern with each roll, and keeping the opening on the right will help you remember how to position the dough. You have completed your first turn: gently press a finger into the corner to mark it.

 Let the dough relax for at least 15 minutes, either at room temperature or partially in the fridge, depending on the temperature of the dough. Be mindful of the butter temperature.

For the second turn, roll the dough out in the same way as you did before, fold it, mark it, and let it rest. Repeat for the third and fourth turn.

Spray two muffin tins with nonstick spray and set aside. Alternatively, if you have pastry rings that are 1.75 inches high and 3 inches in diameter, use them. They create a cleaner, more consistent pastry. 

Roll out the dough to 15 by 30 cm once more. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in half, creating two 15 by 15cm squares. Place one square on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and place in the fridge. If you don't plan on using the second square that day, wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for up to 1 day.

Roll out the remaining square to 30 by 22 cm, about 1 cm thick. With the long size facing you, gently spread half of the filling on the dough, leaving a 1 cm border at the bottom with no filling. Brush this bare part with water. Starting from the long size farthest from you, roll the dough tightly towards you, making sure it is even and there are no air pockets. The strip of bare dough with water on it will seal the log and ensure it doesn't unroll. 

Repeat with the remaining square of dough. 

Using a large sharp knife, cut the log into 4 cm portions. Place them into the muffin tin and loosely cover with plastic wrap. 

Place in a warm, humid environment to proof. I set mine on the bathroom counter and put the shower on the hottest temperature for 2 minutes, then turn it off and close the door. The temperature should be around 24 C, but not too much hotter or the butter will melt out of your dough. 

Proof the dough for about 1 hour, until they have doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 F. If your pastries are ready but you are not ready to bake them yet, place them in the fridge. Do not let them stay in the fridge for too long, as they continue to proof (very slowly) in the fridge and will still overproof if you leave them for too long.

Make the cinnamon sugar at this point. Simply stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a large wide bowl.

When the dough is ready, place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and place the muffin tin on a cooling rack. 

Once the buns are a little warm but no longer hot, remove them from the muffin tins and toss them in the cinnamon sugar if desired.

The morning buns are best eaten the same day.

Apple Cider Doughnuts

I'm still alive! Still kicking, you guys! I know there's been a bit of silence around here and a severe lack of baking, but that's how it goes sometimes. I feel like every post I'm apologizing for my insane work schedule so I'm not gonna do that this time. What matters is that I had a two day weekend and I was getting over the flu, so I stayed at home and baked all weekend! It was a rainy couple of days and perfect weather for some cozy fall baking (as well as watching 6 hours of Peaky Blinders and a few movies on Netflix in my pyjamas). 

I was brainstorming things to make on my weekend and I was having a bit of a tough time. I wanted something cozy and warming and probably something with apples. I thought about apple crisp or apple hand pies, but that wasn't quite hitting the spot. I was looking through Pinterest to try and get some ideas for apple desserts, but then I got distracted by some awesome photos of cabins.... So I went to my cabin board on Pinterest (yes, I have a board just for cabins) and I started to think of what I would want to eat if I was snuggled up in one of those cabins in my flannel shirt with a big blanket and a warm mug of something.

And so, apple cider doughnuts came to mind!

I've never made cake doughnuts before, only yeasted ones because I love yeasted doughnuts much more than cake doughnuts, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The dough was pretty wet and sticky when I first made and I was super worried but after some time in the fridge, it was fine! And they turned out pretty good. I mean, fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar is never gonna be bad, but for cake doughnuts, they were pretty darn tasty. Definitely good for eating while wearing flannel and drinking hot apple cider.

Speaking of cozy fall weather, I had a two day weekend for the first time in a few weeks back in the beginning of October and decided to fly out to Tofino to surprise one of my good friends who I hadn't seen in months! I organized it with her fiancé and went to their house when they were both at work and started making dinner for them. Lemon and thyme roasted chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, kale salad, and crème brulée for dessert! My friend came home just as everything was coming out of the oven and was so surprised and so happy to see me and I was just over the moon to see her. We chatted for hours and hours, all while the first storm on the season rolled in and dumped down buckets of rain and even flickered the lights a bit. The enxt day, I went walking around town, visiting my favourite spots and reminiscing, then got a burrito and had lunch with my friend at work, and then flew back home! A very short trip, but it was well worth it just to spend the time with my friend. Tofino is definitely one of my favourite places and I especially love it in the fall and winter when the tourists have gone and things are a bit quieter. There wasn't a whole lot of time for photos, but I did manage to take a few!

Apple Cider Doughnuts
Recipe from Food52

250 g apple cider
332 g cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
133 g granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons shortening
55 g egg
15 g egg yolk
80 g buttermilk

Canola oil

200 g granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Bring the apple cider to a boil over high heat and cook it until it has reduced to about 83 g (1/3 cup), 7-10 minutes. Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the donuts.

Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the shortening and sugar together on medium speed until sandy. Add in the egg and egg yolk and mix on high until light and thickened, about 5 minutes.

Mix the reduced apple cider and buttermilk together. Then add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk mixture to the mixer in three additions mixing until just combined. The dough will be soft and sticky much like cookie dough.

Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or overnight.

When you are ready to roll and fry the donuts, heat a large pot or dutch oven with at least 2 inches of oil over medium heat until the oil reaches 370º F on a candy thermometer. Gently roll the chilled dough out onto a generously floured board or piece of parchment paper into a circle about 1/2'' thick and about 8'' wide. Cut as many donuts and holes as possible, making sure to flour the cutters before each cut. Gently reroll the scraps and cut more holes. If at any time the dough becomes too soft to handle, just put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Place the cut donuts on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes until they are slightly firm and easier to handle. While the donuts are chilling, stir together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping in a shallow, wide bowl.

Brush off any excess flour and fry the donuts for about 1 minute per side, being careful not to crowd the pan. When the donuts are deep golden brown on each side, remove them from the oil, gently blot off excess oil and toss immediately in the cinnamon sugar.

Peach and Blackberry Pie with Honey and Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

This is kind of a last hurrah to summer, as sad as it is to say! Summer came pretty late to Vancouver, with rain and temperatures in the teens (that's around 60 F for you Americans) well into July. We pretty much just got August as a real summer... But whatever! The produce was still great and the peaches, my favourite summer produce, were still great, too. I think pies are the best way to celebrate the best fruit of the season, so here we are!

As I've mentioned before, I've been struggling a bit to keep up with blog while working crazy hours (12 to 15 hours a day, sometimes 6 days a week) and also enjoying my life and getting outside once in a while. I'm sure once the rain and the dark comes back, I'll be back to posting more often but for now, I'm taking advantage of the nice days. The past two weekends, I woke up early and went out kayaking and hiking. I'm really lucky to live in a place where I can take a bus 30 minutes and be able do things like this. It's not completely out there in nature, but damn does it feel good. There's something about being out in nature, getting away from the stress and the noise and the hustle and the constant buzz of people, that really calms me. Kayaking has been especially restorative, as I've gone out alone the past two times. Just the sound of the water and the birds and the wind through the trees... Man oh man, if I could get out there every day, I would. I'm definitely going to be dropping a fair bit of money at the kayak rental place throughout the year.

When I'm out on the water, all the extra bullshit fades away. Stress from work, things people have said, those niggling little insecurities - they all just seem unimportant. It's the same as when I'm in the mountains. Life gets put into perspective when you're out there. I've realized that I'm starting to become the person I really want to be, especially with all the big changes I've made in the past 6 months. It's just a start, but I'm already thinking of some more changes for next year and I'm trying to get things in place. I guess they seem like little things to everyone else, but to me they're little pieces to a bigger picture - getting outside more, going on more adventures, saying yes to more things, discovering what I'm capable of, and taking risks! I haven't been this excited for the future since I was in pastry school. Except this time the focus is not on work, but more on myself. 

Anyways, you didn't come here to hear about that shit and look at my pretty nature photos. You came here for pie and ice cream and I don't blame you! This pie is a stunner, as it basically any pie. And the ice cream adds the perfect balance of creamy, sweet, herby, and bright. Pie without ice cream really isn't living up to it's true potential and while I will always been a fan of vanilla ice cream, I also love an ice cream tailored to the specific pie. Peaches and blackberries goes well together, peach and blackberries go well with lemon verbena, and honey goes well with just about everything. A perfect send-off for the best of summer fruit!

So here's to you, summer. You were short and sweet and I'm gonna miss ya. But I also love sweaters and scarves and hot chocolate so I'm not heartbroken. See you next year!

Peach and Blackberry Pie with Honey and Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

Honey and Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

500 g whole milk
253 g heavy cream
150 g wildflower honey
62 g egg yolks

1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon lemon verbena leaves, chopped finely

Pie Dough
Recipe from Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

350 g pastry flour
100 g all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
226 g unsalted butter, freezer cold, cut into 1/2 inch dice
60 g vegetable shortening, freezer cold, cut into 1/2 inch dice
114 g water, ice cold
2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

Pie Filling

900 g fresh peaches, washed, sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
275 g fresh blackberries
100 g granulated sugar
5 g vanilla paste
1 lemon, zested and juiced
30 g all-purpose flour

Egg wash
Demerera sugar

Set up an ice bath beforehand. Combine the whole milk and heavy cream in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Combine the honey and egg yolks and whisk until slightly paler in colour. Once the milk mixture has come to just a boil, whisk in a third of it into the yolk mixture, then another third. Pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula, until the custard has thickened and reads 82 C. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl set over the ice bath. 

Let the custard cool to room temperature. Once cool, stir the lemon zest and lemon verbena into the custard. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, strain the custard and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

For the pie crust, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in an large bowl. Add the cold butter and shortening and pinch the butter and shortening between your fingers until the mixture look shaggy and the pieces of butter are slightly smaller than peas.The butter pieces should be the size of small peas.

Put the ice-cold water and vinegar into a measuring cup and stir to combine. Add the water-vinegar to the flour-fat mixture and gently knead, but do not let the dough come together.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure there are no pockets of dry ingredients. Squeeze a small amount of dough in your hand. The dough should come together in a clump. If it’s too dry, add a little more water a few teaspoons at a time. 

Remove the dough from the bowl, shape into two flat circles, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Unwrap one disk of dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8th inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie tin and gently press the dough into the sides of the pan. Trim the excess dough to a 3/4th to 1 inch overhang. 

If you wish to make a lattice top, take out the second disk of dough from the fridge. Roll the disk out in a roughly rectangular shape to a thickness of 1/8th inch. Using a ruler, cut your strips. If you want a braid, cut three thin strips and gently braid them together. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in the fridge.

Chill the dough-lined pie tin while you make the filling.

For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the peaches with the lemon juice, zest, and vanilla paste and toss to coat. Gently fold in the blackberries. In a separate bowl, combine the sugars and flour and stir. Pour the dry mixture over the peaches and berries and gently toss to combine.

Remove the dough-lined pie tin and pour in the filling.

Remove the dough strips from the fridge and create your lattice. If the dough begins to warm too much, chill both the strips and the pie in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes. It is essential to only work with the dough when it is cold and firm (but not rock hard). Once the lattice is complete, fold the overhang under itself.

Chill the pie for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 F. 

Brush the top of the pie with egg wash and sprinkle generously with demerera sugar. 

Position a rack in the lower third of your oven. Place the pie on a baking sheet on the rack and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pie to a rack in the center of your oven, lower the temperature to 350 F and bake for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack until cooled completely, about 2 hours. Serve at room temperature or reheat in a 350 F oven for a few minutes.

S'mores Ice Cream Pops

Every year, I do a s'mores dessert of some sort. Last years S'mores Custard Cake was a massive hit. I think it's my most popular post on this blog and by far the most popular instagram post I've ever had. It was featured by thefeedfeed, an instagram account with over 1 million followers (!!!), it was their most liked photo of 2015! I don't know if I can ever top that, but this year I think I've given the custard cakes a run for their money. 

I bought these popsicle molds just for these ice cream pops. I've had the idea for s'mores ice cream pops for months now and I kept meaning to buy proper molds for them, but I've been so busy that I didn't get around to it. Actually, no, I did order some off amazon, those nice rounded edge ice cream bar molds... Too bad they were like 3 inches tall and I didn't notice that when I ordered them... Anyways, when I saw these popsicle molds, I knew I had to buy them, even though they were $45. But seeing as how awesome these turned out, I think it was worth it. 

There's just something about s'mores that everyone loves. It's more than just the awesome combo of chocolate + graham crackers + marshmallows. For most people, it brings back happy memories of sitting around a fire as a kid, roasting (and sometimes burning) marshmallows and squashing them between two graham crackers with a hunk of chocolate on a late summer night surrounded by friends and family. Those kinds of food memories are the basis for some of the best dishes, whether it's from a home cook or one of the best chefs in the world. I think I bring up food memories every time I make a s'mores dessert, but it's such a fascinating concept to me. The food that immediately brings us back to a specific moment in our childhood and all the feelings associated with that come rushing back with just one bite. Everyone has them and most of them are wildly different depending on what you grew up on, but s'mores is one that a lot of people share and it's incredible to be able to recreate the nostalgic feeling for so many people with just one simple dessert.

S'mores Ice Cream Pops

Graham Cracker Streusel

50 g almond meal
50 g graham cracker crumbs
50 g light brown sugar
25 g all-purpose flour
60 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch dice

Chocolate Ice Cream

250 g whole milk
500 g heavy cream
150 g sugar
25 g glucose/ light corn syrup
25 g alkalized cocoa (Dutch processed)
1 g salt
100 g egg yolks
125 g 73% dark chocolate, finely chopped

Swiss Meringue

100 g egg whites
150 g granulated sugar

For the streusel, combine the almond meal, graham crumbs, sugar, and flour in a small bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter and work with your fingers until the mixture starts to come together in small clumps. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. 

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Spread the streusel in an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

For the ice cream, whisk together the cocoa powder with half the sugar in a saucepan. Pour in a tiny bit of milk to make a smooth paste before slowly adding the rest of the milk and cream. Add the glucose or corn syrup and the salt.

Whisk the egg yolks and remaining half of the sugar until slightly paler in colour.

Heat over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Slowly whisk in the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Return to the pot and cook over low heat, using a rubber spatula to continuously stir the custard. Cook until it is thick and coats the back of a spoon (or until it is 80 C).

Remove from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate, whisking to melt it. Use an immersion blender to fully emulsify the mixture.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and cool over an ice bath until it is room temperature, giving it a stir every so often to prevent a skin from forming.

Once it is cool, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate overnight.

Before you churn the ice cream, fill your popsicle molds 1/4 full with graham streusel, pressing it in so it is compact and place the molds in the freezer. Prepare a piping bag fitted with a small circular tip.

Churn according to the manufacturers instruction. Transfer the ice cream to the piping bag. Take one popsicle mold and tilt it to the side so the streusel is on the side as well. Pipe in the ice cream, making sure to get into the ends and leave no air pockets. Place back into the holder and repeat with the remaining molds, then place the sticks in. You will have lots of extra ice cream (not a bad thing, in my opinion) so transfer that to a container and place in the freezer. Place the popsicle molds in the freezer and let harden for at least 2 hours.

To unmold the popsicles, run the mold under warm water for just a second and then gently pull out by the stick. Place on a baking sheet and let them freeze again until you are ready to finish them. Once they have the meringue on them, you cannot freeze them again and they must be served.

For the meringue, combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer set over a bain-marie. Heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until it reaches 60 C or the mixture is no longer gritty when rubbed between your fingers. Transfer to the mixer and whip on medium high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. 

Using a spoon or a small offset spatula, cover the pops with meringue and gently torch with a handheld butane torch. 

Serve immediately!!

Peach, Raspberry, and Brown Butter Cake + Saveur Blog Awards!

I've dropped the ball quite a bit with my weekly posts, but I'm sure you guys can totally understand because it's summer and who really wants to spend their whole weekend in a kitchen, especially when I spend 12 hours a day in a kitchen already. I've been out doing things on my weekend and hanging out with friends and going hiking and just generally having a life, which is something that I haven't had for a while. It's easy to throw yourself into your career when you're passionate about it and the fact that my hobby (this blog) is also related to my career makes it even easier to spend all day every day baking. 

One of those weekends of actual living included this amazing hike up Mt Rohr with my dad. We drove for 2 and a half hours, past Pemberton, and set out with our packs. About 2 and a half hours, we reached a perfect spot to set up our camp. We only saw two other people that day! It was so quiet and beautiful and peaceful. I was a bit bummed before the hike because of some boy troubles, but once you're up there in the mountains, the little stuff doesn't matter anymore. Not much matters up there. You realize that all the extra crap in life that we surround ourselves with - whether it's possessions or distractions or whatever it is that we try to fill those voids inside us - it's all just noise. Living your life and doing what truly makes you happy is what matters, not just what makes you temporarily fake happy like getting a bunch of likes on an instagram photo. So I encourage you guys to get out there this summer (or this coming summer for you guys in the southern hemisphere) and experience nature - real nature! Don't get go park your car in one of those car campground places where there's a faucet for water and a store five minutes away, that doesn't count. Really get out there and experience the quiet beauty of nature and you'll see that every worry you might have will just fade away.

It might seem like a contradicting thing to switch to blog news after I've been all hippy "get out in nature, don't care about social media, blah blah blah" but whatever, this is my blog and I can write whatever I want.

I'M NOMINATED FOR A SAVEUR BLOG AWARD FOR BEST BAKING AND DESSERTS. WHAT.

You can vote here for your favourites (maybe I'm your favourite?) and you can vote every day!!

I got the email as my dad and I were driving back from the hike and started freaking out in the car. This is something that I've had on my mind for years now but this is the first time that I've nominated myself and asked other to nominate me because I finally feel like I'm good enough to have a shot at winning. But I didn't really think it would ACTUALLY happen. But here we are. I'm so thankful to everyone who has ever read my blog, pinned a picture of mine, liked one of my instagram photos, left a comment on my blog, and basically supported me and encouraged me throughout the 3 and a half years that I've had this blog. It means the world to me.

This is a massive deal to every food blogger out there - it's like the Oscars of food blogging! All the nominees are invited to a big ol' party (this year is in NYC!) and it's basically a real-life meeting of all the big food bloggers. So....why am I gonna be there?! I mean, this is just my hobby and I'm not a BIG food blogger, I'm still just a little guy. At least, it feels like that. It's mind blowing that I have so many people reading the shit I write here (I'm not nominated for Best Writing, after all...) and actually taking the time to leave a comment! Seriously, just crazy.

So I guess this cake is to celebrate!! I'm really hoping I can go to NYC to meet everyone, but it's totally dependent on my work. Getting time off in a kitchen isn't like anywhere else - even getting just one day off is a hassle - and there's no guarantees. But I'll try my darnedest, you guys! I only had one day in New York back in May and that just whet my appetite, so I'd love to get...well, more than one day in New York. I want to hit up a bunch of restaurant ands cafés and bakeries and shops and that cool store where you bought a funny fridge magnet that one time like four months ago, so hit me up with suggestions!! I wanna know!!

Stay tuned for more updates on this, if I get my butt in gear and actually make things on my weekends and have things to post. But yeah! 

Peach, Raspberry, and Brown Butter Cake

Brown Butter Raspberry Cake
Makes 3 x 6-inch layers
Recipe adapted from Call me Cupcake 

300 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
195 g granulated sugar
225 g eggs, lightly beaten
100 g brown butter, warm
6 g vanilla paste
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
337 g all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 g salt

3 cups of fresh raspberries

Peach and Vanilla Compote

535 g ripe peaches, blanched, skinned, and diced into 1/2 inch
53 g light brown sugar
4 g vanilla paste
1/2 lemon, juiced

Vanilla Buttercream

100 g egg whites
150 g granulated sugar
340 g unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch dice, at room temperature
2 g vanilla paste

To finish

Red and white currants
Fresh peaches
Fresh raspberries

To start, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray three 6-inch cake rings with non-stick spray, then line with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a little bit at a time, beating after each addition, until fully incorporate. Combine the brown butter, vanilla paste, and vanilla extract and add it to the mixture, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat again for 2 minutes. 

Sift the dry ingredients and add to the mixture, mixing on low until just incorporated. Gently fold in the raspberries by hand (note: I pressed the raspberries into the cakes and thought they would sink into the batter while baking, but they didn't! So definitely fold them into the batter so they can be evenly distributed in the cake, unlike my layers)

Divide evenly between the three cake rings and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cakes and cool completely.

For the peach compote, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan set over medium low heat and cook until the peaches have disintegrated and the mixture is thick, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

For the buttercream, combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer set over a bain-marie and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reads 60 C or is no longer gritty when rubbed between your fingers. Transfer to the stand mixer and whip until glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. 

Add the butter a few pieces at a time and whip until the buttercream is creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla paste and whip for 20 seconds to combine. Transfer half of the buttercream to a piping bag with a medium circular tip and reserve the rest in the bowl for masking the cake.

To assemble the cake, first trim the tops of each cake layer so they are flat and even. Place one round on a cake turntable and pipe a border of buttercream around the edge of the cake. This will act as a border and make sure the compote doesn't squish out the sides when you're assembling the cake. Spread one third of the compote inside the buttercream ring and smooth it to an even layer. Place the second round of cake on top and repeat the process. 

Refrigerate the cake until the buttercream is firm, about 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the fridge and mask it with the remaining buttercream (you will not use all of it). Refrigerate the cake again until the buttercream is firm, 20 minutes.

Remove from the fridge and decorate with the extra buttercream and fruit.