Ladyfingers

Don't you hate it when a recipe says that it will take 10 minutes, when the list of ingredients itself takes 30-40 minutes to gather together and prepare? These ladyfingers take only about 20-30 minutes to prepare from the beginning, plus another 10 for baking. This includes the search for bowls, whisks, ingredients and all.

These are served with ganache sandwiched between two ladyfingers, but can also be used for a tiramisu as well, or so the original recipe tells me! (My caveat - the prep time doesn't include the making the ganache or filling the ladyfingers. If the ganache is ready, add about 5-10 minutes for whipping and filling.)

Speaking of which, the original recipe can be found here, at the Cupcake Project.

My own modification was to dust them with cinnamon and icing sugar before baking. They can also be dipped or drizzled in melted chocolate after baked and assembled for some extra indulgence. If these are being gifted or packaged, paper cupcake liners can be flattened and use for presentation (and for clean fingers while eating!)

I've also tried substituting the flour with ground almonds for a gluten-free version, but the end result was very delicate and didn't keep very well. Perhaps the amount of almonds needed to be increased - I'm still on the search for a perfect flourless almond ladyfinger recipe!

Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate ganache has to be one of my favourite fillings for cakes and desserts. It's simple to make and the proportions can be adjusted to suit the that it's accompanying.

A lot of ganache that I see for cakes, especially sculpted cakes or ones being covered in fondant, is not meant to be whipped. Those recipes use a higher proportion of chocolate so that, even if unwhipped and at room temperature, the ganache is solid. (In fact, sometimes the ganache needs to be warmed slightly to make it workable).

This particular recipe is for a whipped ganache, meaning that it is a little liquid even after it has been fully cooled. It uses less chocolate and has a much lighter taste and texture. It has to be whipped lightly to stiffen it, but particular care should be given not to over-whip it! Ganache curdles very easily. I always prefer to whip ganache by hand for this reason. As soon as it starts lightening in colour, I stop after every whip to check if it has started to curdle. The surface should look perfectly smooth.

If it starts to curdle, you've gone too far! Stop whipping right away. Add some unwhipped ganache into the overwhipped mixture and gently stir until incorporated. Sometimes this can help - sometimes not. Either way, it will generally taste the same, although the mouthfeel may be discernibly less smooth.

Recipe found after the break:

Chocolate Shards

Sometimes a dessert needs a bolder presence, and chocolate shards are a simple and quick garnish that can be used that don't require any special equipment. All that is needed is a heatproof bowl, small saucepan/pot, parchment paper and a knife. (An offset spatula makes things a little easier, but not necessary).

Full instructions after the break!

Flourless Chocolate Roulade

Chocolate roulade with dark chocolate ganache

In the spirit of sharing, here's a link to my (currently) favourite chocolate roulade recipe, which also happens to be flourless for those gluten-free friends of ours!

Contrary to the commonly-held perception that many people have of flourless dessert recipes, this produces a very light and fluffy sponge that retains its structure. It is quite strong and exceptionally easy to handle, which makes it perfect for using between layers of mousses/ganaches/buttercreams/curds (pick one).

Janet's Gluten-Free Chocolate Roulade

6 large eggs, separated
300mL icing sugar
115mL cocoa powder.

Gingerbread Spice Cake Recipe

This is the cake recipe used in the Individual Gingerbread [Cake] Houses. It's such a simple and easy recipe that doesn't take much time or thinking!

The recipe calls for a 9" square pan, but I used my 10x15" baking sheet for a single sheet cake. It is also fantastic in cupcake form (which I have also tried).

Gingerbread Spice Cake
In a large bowl with a mixer at low speed, mix well the following ingredients:
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves (I used Chinese five-spice powder since I didn't have any ground cloves on hand)
1 cup boiling water

Individual Gingerbread [Cake] Houses

For the holidays, you can't beat home sweet home!

A casual question from a friend ("Are you thinking of having a dinner party again this year?") turned into a month or two of planning, dreaming, and finally, lots of baking which I have admittedly been recently neglecting!

When thinking of the desserts, I came across a recipe for a gingerbread spice cake which looked rich, dense, and oh-so-aromatic. I knew that I had to serve this, and was thinking of a way to plate it when I had the idea to serve them as individual pseudo-contemporary-architecture gingerbread houses.

Repost: Heather and Martin's Wedding Cake

This last weekend, I had the wonderful privilege to be involved with wedding of two good friends, Heather and Martin. Not only are they a fantastic couple, but they have a great sense of humour, wonderful design taste, and are also amazingly grounded and mellow.

Heather and Martin

Chocolate Yule Log with Passionfruit Wine Jelly

What says holiday cheer more than lights, candles, and flowers on the dining table?

I'll tell you what:

Mushrooms!

... mushrooms?

(Not the result of leaving food out for too long)

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This story has a few parts to it. First off, a bittersweet beginning of a going-away party for a friend moving away for a new job. What more appropriate pairing than extra dark chocolate?

Lavender and Lemon Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I'm trying something new this time - a full recipe card to keep for your own records, and perfect for sharing with friends and family!

I was hoping to have these made up for the wedding so that guests could take home a hard copy, but that ship has clearly sailed.

Click on the image to open up the PDF recipe card!

Hazelnut Sponge with Cinnamon Buttercream

Wow. It's been a long time since I've last posted, so to make amends I'm finally updating!

To keep in the spirit of untimeliness, the cake featured was actually made last December. Woops.

(Hence the Christmas ornaments)

As the title indicates, it is a hazelnut sponge cake with cinnamon buttercream between the layers. The outside was masked with ground filberts (also typically known as hazelnuts, to the confusion of anyone looking for them at Bulk Barn).

What happens when a cake just doesn't measure up?

The test cake for the Liberty Arts Fabric birthday cake turned out really well - a firm texture that handled well when cut, but was also light and moist. However, it was a lot shorter than anticipated. This worried me as I wanted to make a tall cake, so I needed something to add height to the cake to compensate.

Solution: Rice Krispie squares (or "cereal treats" - hopefully I'm not risking a lawsuit by using a trademarked/copyrighted name) - a solution to short cakes and many of life's other problems. Not only do they function as delicious cake implants (who doesn't like Rice Krispie Squares?), but they also provide a strong base for wood dowels that were inserted into the 8" layers to support the 6" layer on top.

Liberty Art Fabrics Birthday Cake

I had the fortune and pleasure to be asked to make a birthday cake with two accompanying requests: in some way, incorporate Liberty Art Fabrics into the design, and avoid heavy flavours.

I didn't really know much about Liberty Art Fabrics when I started, so I immediately went to their website to look through their fabric patterns online. A folder of inspiration images was started, with a few that were finally picked out to inspire the colour and decoration of the cake.

High-Heel Birthday Cake

First ever high-heel cake!

There's a whole load of tutorials already out there on the web on how to make a gumpaste high heel. However, to prove the point that the internet has too much space (and to use said space to its fullest extent), I'll run over how I did the one you see here.

Blackberry Clafoutis

It's been a while since I've posted (for which I do apologize). And, it's now blackberry season, with a large, rambling blackberry vine behind our office blessing us with an abundance of fresh, luscious berries.


I've been through blackberry and feta salad... blackberry cake with cream cheese icing... blackberry liqueur... you get the picture. (Unfortunately, I did not take any).

And now, with a bunch of extra blackberries, I decided to try a clafoutis recipe from Williams-Sonoma. A clafoutis has a baked custard-like filling, usually with berries or cherries.

Now one thing that I have not figured out is if a crust is typical for a clafoutis. At the bakery I worked at, our clafoutis had a short biscuit-like crust. But a lot of recipes I've seen since are more like casseroles - baked directly in a dish and spooned out for serving.

I like having a crust, as a person who has an abnormal preference for crust (pizza, pie, etc). A crust provides a delicious counterpoint to the creamy filling and tart berries. It also makes serving easier, and I'm all about presentation.


And if you're making one tart, you might as well make a whole bunch of extra tartlets.


A clafoutis is quite simple. Once you have your tart shell (or not, depending), just lay out your berries. Choose your favourite, or any combination thereof. Frozen berries could be used just as well as fresh.


The filling is simply beaten eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, flour, and whipping cream. It's essentially a custard, but not cooked before baking. It's poured around the berries, almost to the top of the crust.


And through the magic of the internet...


Enjoy! And I promise to post soon.

Leaving for a Tea Break...

... in Taiwan. Will be back eventually!

House Cooling

"Don't it always seem to go/ That you don't know what you've got/ 'Til it's gone."

Big Yellow Taxi, by Joni Mitchell

Thankfully, this isn't always the case. With friends, every time we get together, it's another reminder of the times we've spent together, how loved we make each other feel, and how much we value the impact that we had, and will have, on each others' lives.

Something strange...

Something very strange happened today...

... I won something on a draw today. This usually never happens to me; it's always the number that's 1 digit off, or the number I had for the last draw. Feelings of unluckiness may be universal human condition. After all, charity lotteries do have to make some money at the end the day.

But today, things were different. The wind must have been blowing off Lake Ontario in the opposite direction.

Kara Buntin writes a fantastic blog called A Cake to Remember VA, which has consistently offered fantastic insight on all aspects of running a cake business. Even more laudable is her consistency. While some bloggers may slack off for a month at a time and try to post a series of entries to compensate (none immediately come to mind) , Kara routinely updates every other day or every couple of days with a well thought-out post.

Thanks to Kara, I soon will be the owner of my first silicon food-grade mold. In anticipation, I've worked out the first cake I want to try it on.

Here's a sneak peek of what may be to come. Hopefully it will be up to par with Kara's work!

Birthday Cake

So far, this is my 3rd covered cake, and marks the 1st anniversary since my first attempt (which coincidentally was a cake for the same friend's birthday). For this, I took inspiration from a flower detail she created as a fashion accessory, and then paired it with a pared-down, simple, white marshmallow-fondant covered cake.

A quilted fondant band covers the bottom edge of the cake to add texture to the overall design. A small bead border joins the two together.

The flower is rather simple and stylized to reflect the original inspiration for the cake. It is rather thick because MM Fondant was used rather than gumpaste.

Two flavours were incorporated into this cake, primarily out of necessity to increase the height of the finished product. The bottom layer is a sacher cake with apricot jam (not a true Sacher Torte, due to the assembly), and the top layer is a white genoise cake with raspberry cream cheese icing. The entire cake was masked with cream cheese icing, before being covered.

Something for everyone!

Sacher Torte

Not everything goes exactly as you plan.

It all started off with a new cake pan from Bulk Barn. I've been hankering for a 6" circular pan for a while. Not only does it make any cake instantly cute by its proportions, but as a single-dweller faced with the prospect of eating everything that he makes, it makes it easy to handle more baking. New recipe? No problem! No longer would I have to fear the issue of finding a herd of willing guinea pigs to consume my latest creation/failure.

The other reason why a 6" pan was so appealing was that I thought it could fit it into my toaster over. Adult Easy Bake oven, says you. But I figured that if I didn't have to fire up the big oven just for one cake, that would be a decent reduction in energy consumption. Everyone wins: Audric gets to bake a cake, and the rest of the world doesn't have to pay [as much] for it.

Sounds great? It certainly seemed so. The cake pan fits perfectly inside; its rim not even touching the top.

Until, that is, I realized that the toaster oven is really quite short. And that the heating element was really quite low. And one more fact I neglected: cakes RISE when baking.

Whoops.

Whoops, indeed.

Thankfully, the smell of burning was just a superficial smell of burning. Just. Instead of being a perfect reduction of a regular oven, mine turned into the tanning-bed-from-hell-that-someone-accidentally-fell-asleep-in-at-full-supernova-power. (Disclaimer: I swear that I do not speak from experience.)

What initially looked like a pretty serious burn didn't actually penetrate into the cake itself, and was easily removed. What was left over was plenty of cake and a level top to work with.

Cake layers, prepped for assembly!

Now that I've recounted the story of how I unceremoniously burnt my cake, let me know tell you affirmatively that the Sacher Torte is a truly dignified, elegant, refined cake. The cake itself is firm, fairly dense, fine-textured, and neither too sweet nor too moist. These layers are then lightly moistened with syrup and spread with nothing else than apricot jam.

Ready for jamming!

The assembled cake is then masked...

Just a thin layer to even out the sides

... and then it is coated with a smooth, glossy chocolate covering. Sophistication, in a cake. Discounting my piping abilities, that is.


The typical Sacher Torte has the word "Sacher" written over the top. Since my writing skills are less than optimal for the task, I decided to use my typical scroll pattern for the sides. It only seemed fitting for such a cake.