Maison Ikkoku (Café +) Pastry Review

This commences part one of my "Asian Café Experience" series. (I just made that up... shhh.)

I am leaving for China tomorrow for two weeks, and I think I'll be stopping off in five cities?

That means I will sincerely attempt to do some sort of pastry/café review for each city! We will see... we will see... (AHHH THESIS.)

But, one thing is for certain: Maison Ikkoku is definitely a happening spot in Singapore... and I can see why!

I read about their carrot cake on a Singapore blog somewhere (I LOVE CARROT CAKE), and after having my share of red bean pastries, black bean cold sweet soups, unidentifiable Japanese squishy cold green things (that I was promised contained no gelatin), and steamed egg cakes, despite EVERYTHING being delicious (in its own way), I needed. needed. a piece of carrot cake. And this one was rated quite highly.

Since Maison Ikkoku is a café, I decided to drop in for the entire experience: lunch, dessert, and coffee.

Their lunch consists of some fancy sandwiches, a few salads, and a variety or two of pasta.

(I had the Ratatouille one!)

Ok, lunch was fun (actually quite good), but let's be real:

carrotcakecarrotcakecarrotcakecarrotcakecarrotcake.

Shamefully, despite glancing at the other dessert options, and being tempted by one or two, I didn't really consider anything else.

My first thought was that the carrot cake was packed with cinnamon - in a good way!

The cake and the icing were both not terribly sweet, which was interesting because normally I associate cream cheese frosting as a thick tangy-sweet mixture. This one was mellow.

(And a good carrot cake should never be too sweet! Natural carrot sweetness is enough for me, thank you : D!)

This put me in a happy place. I really appreciated how the frosting was more of a finishing touch than a distinctive part of the cake itself. It allowed the carrot-nom-ness to stand out, but still gave that subtle hint of mmmm... cream cheese.

Now, the only part that (very very very) slightly bummed me out was the texture. But, to give them some credit, I prefer all of my cakes/muffins to have that slightly-mushy-undercooked feeling (I am a strange individual)... so perhaps it was perfect, and my personal opinion on the perfect cake doesn't coincide with the rest of society's ideal slice of carrot loving. However, the addition of plump and juicy raisins definitely added some moisture, and therefore aided in making this detail seem terribly minor. 

End opinion: delicious. Despite my method of deconstruction and evaluation, the slice of orange goodness was gone before my coffee even arrived.

Speaking of coffee.

Holy moly mackerel city. 

They have amazing coffee.

A coffee comes with your lunch order (which, makes the overall sandwich experience a really great deal... something like 8 euros 50 for a sandwich, side salad, and a coffee), so I finished off the meal with one of their cappuccinos. It was so good.

I think I've only had a handful of coffees that were as good/better than this one (factory cafe and in Vietnam, notably). And this was just their cappuccino! They make so many different types of coffees. Next time (there will be a next time, I really liked this joint!), I'm totally going to get involved. There may be the participation of that strawberry lemon pie (pictured above).

Ooooh coffee love.

Other types of love about this place:

THE PEOPLE! The staff was incredible! Every time someone walked in a chorus of "helllloooo" rang through the entire place. They smiled, they joked, they were efficient. Ahh, they were great. 

The atmosphere. This place is located in the Arab/Malay district of Singapore, so the neighbours of the café are tempting Middle Eastern restaurants, shops selling beautiful scarves and rugs, and tiny fabric stores where you can get everything and anything made for you. Inside the café itself was a wonderful mix of expats and Singaporeans. People gathered around the small wood tables over cakes and coffees, or made an event out of the lunch experience like I did and ordered everything! 

At times the place is really full, which is good to know if you're a loner like me looking for a hangout spot to read a book... it might not be the best place to try and camp out during lunch hours. Still, I easily got a table, and no one pressured me to leave my happy little spot!

The decor was also awesome. The opening picture is a little magazine nook with local Singaporean magazines. The walls are white brick, the floor is cement, and copper pipes are exposed. It gives the whole café this wonderful industrial vibe. Anddd... they had furniture on their walls as light fixtures! They removed the shelves from old armoires and desks to create cool lights!

Yup. I'm pleased. Don't get me wrong: I've loved every second of tasting spicy Chinese noodles and Chinese hot pots, tofu soups, seaweed salads, chive dumplings, and everything involved with the red bean, but I always welcome a good old sandwich and slice of carrot cake when I'm traveling out of my culinary comfort zone!

P.S. Maison Ikkoku also has a cool men's wear shop (with unisex accessories) on their first floor, and a funky cocktail bar on their second floor. Sadly, I didn't get to check out the cocktails, but I chatted to the dude running the retail shop and he explained that the cocktails are specialized for you after the bartender chats you up about your mood and personal taste preferences. Pretty neat. All of this is housed in a old-school three-storey building.

Sadly, I've been trying to work on my thesis (aka: swimming and trying not to die of heat stroke while running along East Coast Parkway), so I haven't been out and about TOO much in Singapore, but I have tried out a few fun places on the rare adventure.

Manicurious: YIPPE! Manicures and pedicures are so much fun! This place is mostly mani/pedi spa, but also has a cafe serving coffees, teas, and PIE <3. Oh! As well as a funky sort of concept store full of hand picked jewellery, accessoires, and other fun things. The people are (again) super wonderful and fun to chat with! The services may be a bit pricey compared to the normal manicure place, but the price goes along with the entire experience and the availability of specialized paint details for your (soon-to-be) perrrty fingers and toes. 

Rockstar Shop: This is a store full of well selected men's/woman's wear + AWESOME SHOES! They have two shops, but I only had time to pop into one. Definitely a place to check out if you're looking for a funky item to jazz up your wardrobe. 

Rabbit Carrot Gun: A hangout with another cool mixture of Singaporeans and expats. I only stopped by for a glass of wine, but they have a tempting menu, a great location, and WIFI!

Gusto Napoli: This place is more of a random find. There's this super long road called Joo Chiat road. My dad went there once before (without me), loved it, and wanted to go back. We went two times in one week after that! I love Joo Chiat road (full of bars, bakeries, and restos ), and this place is a gem on the strip. The chef is super passionate, the (Italian) food is amazing, and the wine list is very well selected. (P.S. very close to Rabbit Carrot Gun!)

Phew. This was a long post, but, hey if you're ever in Singapore now you have some ideas!

Café info:

Name – Maison Ikkoku

Style – Bistro food with salads and sandwiches, huge cake selection, and pies! Plus a wide variety of coffees.

Address – 20 Kandahar Street, Singapore, 198885

Website - http://www.maison-ikkoku.net/

Tasting soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner gourmand(e):

This is a French artist that I read about in one of the Singapore magazines... pretty cool!

Woodkid - The Golden Age

Woodkid - I love you (I mean, we ARE talking carrot cake here!)

Vegan Marbled Carob and Banana Bread... IN A RICE COOKER!

Well GREETINGS fellow dessert friends!

I'm in Singapore (where my dad lives) "seriously working on my thesis". Well, I'm trying to work on my thesis, but I'm also working on my tan, my budding triceps (hellllloooo swimming pool!), and my repertoire of cake recipes!

I attempted to make madeleines earlier this week, but since I am unable to figure out the oven here, everything turned black and smokey in about 3 minutes. It was super hot. There indeed was sweat. And there was a lot of black-ness. And it kind of bummed me out. I'm not ready to try this oven business again just yet... BUT: there is a rice cooker here. Yes, a rice cooker. (Gotta love pre-stocked Asian kitchens!)

I've heard about making cakes in a rice cooker before, but considering I don't have one, I've never had the chance to try.

But now. Try I did do. And, well shucks, it worked p.e.r.f.e.c.t.l.y.

I adore carob. The powder used in baking comes from a pod. And it's totally good for you. And it tastes like CHOCOLATE. 

I first tried carob in high school. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, I was allergic to chocolate until I was around 18. I used to eat it all the time, and then my throat, tongue, and lips swelled up. I got some weird face rashes. My mom had to take me to the "urgent clinic" to make sure that I didn't look like some deformed rutabaga. (Ahem, or die.) I mean, obviously, looking back I should have stopped eating chocolate, but, com'on guys, who in the WORLD is going to stop a girl going through puberty from eating chocolate? Pas moi. Anyway, the allergy disappeared, like I said, around my 18th birthday. Thank you universe. 

(I'm pretty sure this period of my life when I couldn't eat chocolate has led me to overcompensate in my 20s... it's fine. I promise.)

Well, even though I still did dabble in my chocolate love, I also TRIED to stay away by eating carob. Carob covered rasins were a favourite snack of mine. There were also these peanut butter carob cups that were amazing. And "carob chips" for making a rendition of chocolate chip cookies. Annnnd then yes, there was carob powder. (oh.nom.)

I haven't found carob in France AT ALL, despite my best searching efforts, but it's everywhere in the health food stores in Singapore.

I got involved ASAP. And well, when you pair it with a rice cooker...

Marbled Carob and Banana Bread - What you need:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, slightly melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax meal stirred with 3 tablespoons of water)
• 1 cup mashed banana (I needed to use 3 small bananas for a cup.)
• 1/4 cup carob powder (if you can't find carob, just sub in cocoa powder)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

A quick note on my ingredients: a "flax egg" is a vegan egg substitute. If you're not a vegan, feel free to sub in a regular egg if flax isn't your vibe. Also, I use apple sauce as another egg replacer/sweetener. If you don't dig apple sauce either, feel free to use (another) egg plus an added tablespoon of sugar.

Marbled Carob and Banana Bread - What you do:

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil and sugar. Add the apple sauce, and beat well. Add the flax egg, and again, beat well.

Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture, combine well. Next, add in the bananas and stir until everything is blended well. 

Separate out about 1/4 of the batter, and set this aside in a different bowl. 

Stir in the carob powder to this small amount of batter. It will be really thick and paste like.

Add the walnuts to the remaining 3/4 of the banana bread batter, and stir well.

Liberally coat the rice cooker bowl with coconut oil. Spoon in the walnut-ified, carob free portion of the batter.

Drop spoonfuls of the carob mixture on top of the banana bread batter in the rice cooker bowl. Swirl the carob into the banana bread batter.

Place the rice bowl back into the rice cooker.

Now, let's talk timing. The thing about rice cookers (that I just learned) is that you don't really turn them on for 30 minutes or an hour, but instead you just press "go", and the rice cooker perfectly cooks the rice for you.

For me, I "just pressed go" and then let the rice cooker work its magic. After the first baking session was finished, the cake wasn't ready (still super gooey), so I restarted the machine, and pressed go again. After the second round of baking, it was all done! I tested the cake by inserting a toothpick into it. It came out clean!

I would recommend "baking" for two rounds of the rice cooking cycle of however your rice cooker cooks rice. If it still isn't finished after the second round, just put it on for a third round, and test it with a toothpick every 10 minutes until done!

After, remove the rice bowl from the cooker, and flip out the cake onto a plate!

WAH!!! AMAZING!!!

Goodness me this banana bread is delicious. I'm going to try and make this into muffins when I get back home (and have an oven). If anyone wants to try before this happens, I recommend baking them in a 180 degrees celsius oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Until then... I maayyyy keep on trying out some fun rice cooker cake recipes! If I have the time... (die thesis, die).

Also, don't stop at cakes! There are SO MANY THINGS that you can make in a rice cooker!

Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

So, sadly I've done little site-seeing since I've been in Singapore. However, I did make it to the Singapore Museum of Art. This song was playing in one of the expos, and it was pretty cool!

Also, make sure to check out the bakecetera travel page for some Singapore photos!

RNRM - Zsa Zsa Zsu

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Whoop! More birthdays! Well, this time I’m REALLY late. Like, almost a month late. But, the birthday girl (the Swede) was in Sweden, then I had exams, and then… well, and then it’s kind of now.

But, we still have some cool things to celebrate!

The Swede is off to Shanghai today for a month, so she had a little soiree at one of our favourite bars. (Yes, I’m the weird kid bringing cupcakes to a bar.)

The super-duper cool thing about this girl is that, not only is she awesome, but she travels… and we will get to travel together!!!

I’m also off to Asia (Singapore/China) for a month TOMORROW, and at the end of May we will meet up in Shanghai!

I. Am. So. Stoked.

Then, AND THEN, this little lady and I will be trekking (well, at least trying to trek) up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania together in July.

It’s a good thing I really like this girl, cause we will be spending heaps of time together in the near future!!!

Until then: drinks and cupcakes!

Red Velvet Cupcakes - What you need:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teasoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 vanilla pod, sliced open and seeded (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
• ½ cup pureed beets
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 can of red kidney beans, drained
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 4 grams agar agar powder
• 1 cup “vegan buttermilk” (1 cup of almond milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice)

Red Velvet Cupcakes - What you do:

Preheat an oven to 180 degrees celsius. Prepare a cupcake pan by lining it with cupcake cups.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside.

Prepare the vegan buttermilk by mixing the almond milk and lemon juice. Let this mixture sit at least 5 minutes before using.

In a food processor, blend together the beans, beets, and oil. This mixture should be really creamy and lump free. Pour this mixture into a large bowl. Beat in the sugar until combined well. Next, beat in the agar agar powder. Then, beat in the "buttermilk". Finally, add the vanilla seeds and combine well.

In two or three additions, beat in the flour mixture to the beet mixture. Combine well.

Spoon the cake batter into the cupcake cups. The first batch I filled the cupcakes up 3/4ths of the way, um... I would recommend filling these guys only 1/2 to 2/3rds of the way up to the top.

Bake at 180 celsius for 22 to 25 minutes, or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

This recipe makes about 18 cupcakes.

When they baked, they did a pop-over sort of vibe. But, whatever, if you don't like the shape, just add extra frosting!

And, I mean: just look at that cupcake goodness. So nomlicious.

The cupcakes themselves are vegan, and if you want a vegan cream cheese frosting, check out these bad boys. 

Cream Cheese Frosting - What you need:

• 150 grams of cream cheese, softened
• 100 grams of butter, softened
• 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, sliced open and seeded (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Cream Cheese Frosting - What you do:

Beat together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.

Add in the sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in the vanilla.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost away!

I topped these cupcakes off with a little sweet! Dragibus haribos! These are the only haribos that I've found without gelatin... and they're my favourites!!!

Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

The Bloody Beatroots - Rocksteady

This song will certainly put a little hop in your step and prepare you for EXCITING THINGS!!!

Matcha Green Tea and Tahini Cake

Welcome to Nomad’s Land.

It’s official. I’m homeless. Or, let’s be optimistic… I will have so many homes in the next few months that I won't even have time to settle down. Yes, perhaps none will really be mine, but there will (hopefully) be a bed. And a kettle. And as long as I can sleep and make tea, it’s fine.

I’m leaving on Thursday for a month. After, I’ll come back quickly to Paris, and then head off again for more adventures.

It’s a sad time, one that I’ve gone through a lot: leaving friends, moving on, etc, blah blah blah…

But if you choose this type of life style, you do it for a reason… and sometimes I don’t know exactly how I feel about leaving friends, family, favourite cafes… whatever, but then whenever I’m in my next location I remember why I did it in the first place. And why I’ll keep on doing it for the next few years.

I love new things: sights, tastes, sounds, people, beaches, cities, experiences. Right now in my life I wouldn’t give that up for anything.

It’s kinda selfish, but honestly, I’m 23. Forreals guys. 23.

And, on the note of age and exploration: it was my friend’s birthday this past week.

This girl.

No words. (But obviously since I’m a notoriously loquacious, I’ll try…)

She’s a superstar.

She is the most dedicated (and honestly so – like, no affectations here) to her family and friends. She rocks school like none other (I’m talking genius vibes). She bakes, she decorates, she smiles, she laughs, she dances.

And, she does this all as a genuinely kind and caring person. She gives so much without expecting anything back.

These people basically don’t exist, and yet I’ve found her. So obviously, she deserves a cake.

This cake is the epitome of a nomad cake. I wasn’t accustomed to the oven that I was using. I had no normal cake pans. I didn’t have a cooling rack, nor any of my normal baking tools.

Shucks, I didn’t even have a good spot to take photographs (after I lugged 6 suitcases full of clothes, shoes, books, and random trinkets into my sister’s apartment, I decided she may be bummed if I rearranged her kitchen for a photo shoot).

It may not be the prettiest cake. It has some issues, for sure. But, it was made with love. And, as a fellow nomad, she totally understood.

Matcha Green Tea and Tahini Cake – What you need:

(This makes one normal layer, or two thin layers.)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons matcha green tea powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup tahini
• 1/2 cup oil (I used vegetable, but sesame oil would obviously be an appropriate choice!)
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup apple sauce
• ¼ cup water
• 1 sashet agar agar powder (2 grams)
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Matcha Green Tea and Tahini Cake – What you do:

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Prepare a cake pan by greasing it, and then dusting it with flour.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, matcha green tea powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the tahini and oil. Beat in the sugar until combined. Next, add the apple sauce and water.

Beat in the agar agar powder.

Finally, beat in the vinegar.

In two or three additions, add the flour-matcha mixture to the wet mixture.

Combine well until the batter is smooth.

Pour in the prepared cake pan and bake at 160 Celsius for 20 minutes, or until the cake is an odd hue of green golden brown. (That’s matcha magic for you guys!)

So I had this grand idea of making two thin cake layers, with a mousse in the middle.

The mousse tasted really good, but it wasn’t the most structural component for the filling of a layer cake. Live and Learn. However, if you’re in the mood for mousse…

Matcha Green Tea and White Chocolate Mousse – What you need:

• ½ cup milk
• 180 grams white chocolate, chopped and melted
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons matcha green tea powder
• 150 grams cream cheese, softened

Matcha Green Tea and White Chocolate Mousse – What you do:

Add the milk to the melted chocolate and combine really well until the mixture is completely incorporated. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whip the egg whites, sugar, and lemon juice until stiff peaks form. Whip in the matcha powder. Add this to the chocolate mix, and combine well. Finally Whip the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the whipped cream cheese to the mousse mixture. Fold everything together well.

I assembled the cake by putting one thin layer of cake (half of the prepared recipe) in a spring form pan. On top of this, I poured on the mousse. Then, I topped the mousse off with the second thin layer of cake that I prepared. I allowed this to refrigerate overnight.

In the morning I made a ganache to top it off with.

Tahini and White Chocolate Ganache – What you need:

• 2 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 100 grams white chocolate, melted

Tahini and White Chocolate Ganache – What you do:

Make a double boiler by heating 4 to 5 centimetres of water in a saucepan to a simmer, and then placing a (medium sized) heat-proof bowl on top.

In the bowl, add the egg whites and sugar. Whisk this mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are warm to the touch. Scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula occasionally to make sure that all the sugar gets incorporated. This should take about 3 minutes.

Take the bowl off the saucepan, and using an electric beater or really strong arm muscles, beat the mixture for 7 to 10 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add the tahini and the melted chocolate, beat until smooth and creamy. Cool the ganache completely.

Ok. Now, I shall be humble and admit that although the cake sounded like a magic plan in my head, it didn’t turn out as I wanted. If I were to do this again, I would serve the mousse separately, and make cupcakes out of the cake mix, then top off the cupcakes with the ganache. The cake is delicious. It was moist, had a nice texture, and was a really interesting (in a good way) flavour. But, the entire concept may have been better appreciated in a simpler fashion (read: cupcakes or even the cake in a loaf pan with the ganache on top).

Ah, well, I transferred the cake out of the springform pan, and then covered it in the ganache.

Anyway, we had wine. It was fun. Life is good.

Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

So. I've been listening to the French radio station "Urban Hit" (... la puissance urbaine!) all week long. I'd like to pretend that I'm up on the latest cool indie bands. But I'm not.

Instead, I will share with you guys the most over-played-yet-awesome-trending songs in R&B and rap from France. 

Yup.

You can thank me later.

Maitre Gims - J'me Tire

C2C - Happy

Youssoupha (feat. Anya) - On Se Connait

And, to make you smile... this is Walter. Have a nice Sunday evening!

Chocolate macarons, amazing ganache, and a macaron taste test!

N.I.N.E.

Nine macarons in about 30 minutes. Hello. And welcome to my life.

So, I've wanted to do a taste test of all "the best" macarons that this lovely city called Paris has to offer. I love baking macarons, and, as you may have noticed, I do it quite often. The thing is, I'm not the best at making chocolate macarons. For some reason the cocoa addition doesn't work so well for me. Maybe it's the cocoa (student guilt: I used the cheapest kind at the super market)? Maybe I just need more practice? Maybe I need a little bit of inspiration. Or, perhaps it's a combination of all three.

Well, my tasting partner and I walked around the Opera area of Paris this weekend to collect some culinary specimens for examination. Today, Ladurée and Pierre Hermé are featured. They both currently offer two chocolate varieties, so obviously we had to try both. Obviously.

On top of this, I made chocolate macarons with the most amazing (or, in my elegant grasp of the English language: bamf) chocolate ganache. Despite my macarons not winning our little taste test, they did hold up pretty well against the macaron celebrities. Plus, most importantly, I now know what small tweaks I can make (next time) to my chocolate macarons to improve them just a tad.

Before we get to the exciting results, let's do a little chocolate-macaron-ing of ourselves.

Chocolate Macarons - What you need:

• 110 grams almond powder
• 180 grams of confectioner’s sugar
• 20 grams (roughly 2 heaping tablespoons) of cocoa powder
• 100 egg whites, aged overnight in a sealed container at room temperature
• 50 grams caster sugar

Chocolate Macarons - What you do:

Optional, but recommended: In a food processor, blend together the almond powder, confectioner's sugar, and cocoa powder. Next, sift the mixture to remove any lumps that didn't blend up, then set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar to the egg whites while beating them. Beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Be careful not to over beat at this step!

Fold the egg whites (also known as meringue) into the almond mixture. Continue to fold the mixture together, again being careful not to overbeat. The stirs should not exceed 50!

Place the macaron batter into a pastry bag and pipe out macarons onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Tap the baking sheet on a counter a few times to get all of the air bubbles out of the macarons.

Allow the macarons to rest for approximately one hour before baking.

When they have sat for around 50 minutes, pre-heat your oven to 140c.

Bake the macarons in the pre-heated oven at 140c for 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking tray half way through the baking process. The chocolate macarons take longer to bake than the other macarons that I have made. If they do not come off the parchment paper easily, pop them back into the oven for a few more minutes (I had to do this for these macarons).

Remove the macarons from the baking sheet, and cool completely on a cooling rack before filling with THIS AMAZING GANACHE.

Chocolate Ganache - What you need:

• 2 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup golden or cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon bourbon (you can replace with vanilla extract, coffee, or whatever flavour you choose)
• 100 grams dark chocolate, melted

Chocolate Ganache - What you do:

Make a double boiler by heating 4 to 5 centimetres of water in a saucepan to a simmer, and then placing a (medium sized) heat-proof bowl on top.

In the bowl, add the egg whites and sugar. Whisk this mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are warm to the touch. Scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula occasionally to make sure that all the sugar gets incorporated. This should take about 3 minutes.

Take the bowl off the saucepan, and using an electric beater or really strong arm muscles, beat the mixture for 7 to 10 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add in the flavour of your choice (yay whiskey!) and the melted chocolate, beat until smooth and creamy. Cool the ganache completely.

Fill the macarons once everything has cooled.

This recipe makes around 20 finished macarons. For best results, prepare the macarons a day before you plan on serving them. Store them in a sealed container in the fridge overnight, and remove them 20 minutes to an hour before serving them. They will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days after preparation.

Alright!

Well, now let's get to the exciting part of the story: the taste test/macaron-off/pure gluttony.

The participants:

1. Ladurée: "Classic" chocolate, "the original"

2. Pierre Hermé: Infiniment Chocolat Perou (with the chocolate from Peru) 

3. Bakecetera (I was in SUCH a rush to prepare this taste test, hence my inability to spell the name of my beloved blog : /.)

4. Pierre Hermé: Infinment Chocolat Porcelana (with the chocolate from Venezuela)

5. Ladurée: Chocolate with the chocolate from Ghana

How we actually did this thing:

Well, I prepared the plate, so I already knew what they looked like, but JUST to be sure, my tasting partner started off with eyes closed.

After I showed him the second half so that there was indeed a visual aspect as well. I just did a blind test. I saw the macarons before, so it was fine.

Then, during the tasting process, we both took notes on each macaron.

This was more of a fun thing, nothing too serious... but we do have some results:

First - there were no disappointing macarons. (PHEW!!!) They were all really freaking good.

Second - my tasting bud (he he) and I agreed on some things, but we each preferred different macarons. And, that being said, they all tasted differently!

So, drum roll...

My friend's favourite was the classic Ladurée chocolate macaron. The shells were very smooth for this one. The flavours blended well. It is what it is: a solid, no frills, classic chocolate macaron. I think this one was my least favourite, but probably for the same reasons that he loved it (for its simplicity), and again: still delicious.

My favourite was from Mr. Hermé. The Venezuela chocolate one. For me, this macaron had the most pure cocoa taste. The flavour was natural and powerful. The shell was soft so that the entire experience was almost light eating a really light, high end brownie, but it still held together well while eating. I think my partner marked down that it had a nice "homogeneity". I totally agree.

Then, some more random notes:

The Ladurée macaron with the Ghanaian chocolate had a quite surprisingly similar ganache to the Bakecetera macaron, except that the Laduree ganache melted in the mouth (too?) quickly. I would have preferred if it held its texture a bit better/longer. (Ahem, like mine : D.)

The ganache in the PH Peruvian chocolate macaron was a bit too heavy for my tastes. My friend noted that it was slightly too soft. I think that the shell wasn't strong enough for the burden of this particular ganache. However, this one is really creamy... in a good way if you're in to that sort of vibe.

And, the Bakecetera macaron. I am really proud of this ganache. The whiskey is subtle, but I like it (as did my friend). It definitely didn't over power the chocolate.

Now, the shell is something I do want to work on... and this was a cool experiment to figure out how I can improve, because I think the shell could be just a touch softer.

That being said, this chocolate recipe is pretty good, and the ganache = incredible (AND easy!).

In fact I have made chocolate macarons before, but I prefer the extra amount of cocoa that this recipe has in it today.

AND, if you're wondering how I ended up eating 9 macarons even though only the test involved 5 halves... well, we got 16 in total on our little walk. And, my dear friends, I was introduced to the most amazing macaron flavour ever: Pierre Hermé's "Imagine" macaron with matcha green tea and sesame. Not ONLY will I be making these soon, a cake recipe inspired from these flavours will be flowing from the Bakecetera kitchen within the following days. Stay tuned : D!

Et voilà. Until then...

Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

New Phoenix!!

Phoenix - Entertainment

Lemony-Coconutty Cashew Chocolate "Bites"

Disclaimer: I'm about to complain. If you want to skip ahead the next few paragraphs and just look at pretty pictures of chocolate, I understand. No hard feelings.

This year has been. Interesting?

I have the greatest family, the best friends, I live in Paris, my life is super.

However, I'm a person that needs to be challenged - mentally, physically, academically... which is one of the reasons I WANTED to do a masters in economics (who am I?). Thus, two years ago I was super stoked when I got into Sorbonne. The first year was p.a.i.n.f.u.l. Like, adjusting to a new (hectic and impersonal) city (ahem, with my all-so-awesome level of French), on top of the most insanely difficult economics course ever wasn't too easy. Then. THEN. There was this year. This year was ridiculous.

The program I was in (despite being full of awesome peers), was cray-cray ludicrous.

The professors lacked any motivation to actually teach (with a few notable exceptions - those guys are awesome), but then still decided to be complete ruffians with respect to their (totally unrelated and ill-designed) exams. On top of this, professors actually told people different directions for exams to different students. So, like, yeah: some people were given false directions while others were given correct ones. That's normal? Apparently it is... If you like to fail people for fun.

Most days ended with the phrases: "How?, but, honestly... how?"; "Who are these people?"; "I can't believe I am still shocked when stuff like this happens..."; and, my personal favourite, "You wanna get wine?"

This nonsense allowed me (happily) to focus a lot on baking, running, and exploring Paris, but at the same time it really bummed me out mentally. Again - I wanted to learn stuff about economics... and I definitely learned a lot about myself, which is cool, but my brain is seriously disappointed. 

Alas, I promise you I could go on (ask my group of friends or my mom... they know), but en bref: 2013 hasn't been the coolest year of my life so far. 

And now, AND NOW, IT. IS. DONE!!! Well, exams are done... and one minor paper plus a dissertation later, I will be finished. This is a cause for celebration, my dear friends. A celebration full of chocolate, wine, sunshine, and laughter.

My masters program had a lovely little Canal St. Martin shindig to celebrate this glorious conclusion to our year, and per-usual, I can't leave my house to go anywhere without bringing some homemade treat along with me. I'm still on my lemon fix (it is SPRINGTIME!), and I've always wanted to try and make chocolates!

First off, these are called "bites", but, umm, I did indeed make them in a silicon muffin pan, so I would say that you could consider them to be slightly bigger than a bite... perhaps a tri-bite. Yes, lemony-coconutty cashew chocolate tri-bites. Despite this being a completely reasonable serving size to me, everyone else thought they were huge.

(Insert favourite phrase number 2: "Who are these people?") ... Make them in a smaller chocolate mould if you please : D.

Lemony-Coconutty Cashew Chocolate "Bites" - What you need:

• 1 cup cashews, soaked for 6 to 8 hours in a sealed container in the fridge
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons agave syrup
• zest of one lemon
• tiny pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened shredded coconut
• 300 grams of chocolate (10.5 ounces), chopped finely - I used dark chocolate.

Lemony-Coconutty Cashew Chocolate "Bites" - What you do:

Over the top of a double boiler in a heat proof bowl, melt 100 grams (3.5 grams) of the chocolate, stirring as it melts.  

Using a chocolate mould (or in my case: a silicon muffin pan), paint the sides and bottom of the mould completely. If you want a thicker chocolate bottom, add a touch more chocolate to the bottom of the mould. Set aside to set (or, alternatively refrigerate for 15 minutes).

To prepare the filling: 

Rinse the cashews in a colander, and shake off the excess water.

Add all of the ingredients: the cashews, lemon juice, coconut oil, agave syrup, salt, and coconut - into a food processor and blend extremely well, for about 5 minutes. Occasionally scrape down the sides to make sure that everything gets blended.

Place about one heaping teaspoon into each mould.

Restart your double boiler, by placing the heatproof bowl (I didn't clean mine out, the leftover chocolate melted with the new chocolate and it was fine) with the remaining 200 grams (7 ounces) of chopped chocolate over a saucepan with lightly simmering water.

Again, melt the chocolate completely.

Top off each confection with around two teaspoons of melted chocolate. Smooth the tops.

Allow to cool slightly before refrigerating. 

I don't have a freezer, but I feel that these guys would do better if they were frozen overnight. However - I refrigerated mine overnight (or, if you make them earlier on in the day, I would recommend 6 to 8 hours in the fridge), and they were just fine!

I was worried about them not popping out of the silicon mould, but minus one small crack, they came out fine!

(Close up view.)

(Top view/bottom view.)

Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

Now it is time to party!

I can barely walk after running, walking, AND dancing yesterday... but I think this song should give everyone a little bit of boogie inspiration.

Daft Punk - Get Lucky (feat: Pharrell Williams)

I love me some disco. <3

Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Muffins

IT IS SPRINGTIME IN PARIS!!! EN FIN!!! WE CAN HAVE FUN!!! IN THE SUN!!!

YOU GUYS! I love sunshine. Sunshine makes me a happy(-ier) person.

And finally, after months of cold, rain, and gray, we have sun, blue skies, and puffy white clouds. I'm not sure how long this little spurt will last, but you bet that I'm taking advantage of it while it is here.

Insert: sunburnt arms and freckles.

I so seriously spent my Sunday studying along the Seine (alliteration much?) this past weekend. Sure, I brought my notes, and a few different coloured pens, but I also brought carrot sticks, my Turkish delight (who brought wine : D), and these muffins.

These little guys are popping with the bright flavour of lemons and have the nice textured crunch of poppy seeds. As a warning, I have specific tastes for my baking preferences. I like my cakes dense and moist (as opposed to light and airy) and my muffins slightly chewy and packed of veggies (as opposed to cake-like and sweet). It's a personal preference, but these aren't gonna taste like your typical bakery muffins. In my opinion, that's a good thing... but, I thought I would point it out.

To continue the baking trend of my obsession over cashew milk, I used a homemade cashew milk in this recipe. You can replace it with any nut milk, regular milk, or (I'm willing to bet) yogurt.

To make your own cashew milk, soak 1 cup of cashews in water overnight in the fridge (or for 6 to 8 hours). Rinse them off well, and blend them in a food processor with 1 cup of fresh water until super creamy and lump free. Cashew milk bakes well and makes the most AMAZING salad dressing when paired with lemon and freshly cracked pepper. Ohnom.

Let's get started on these muffins...

Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Muffins - What you need:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour (you can substitute all purpose flour for the whole wheat if you fancy)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil (or any vegetable oil)
• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of flax meal + 3 tablespoons of water; or replace with 1 large egg)
• ½ cup sugar
• 3/4 cup cashew milk* (*I am obsessed with this stuff, but feel free to replace this with a different variety of milk.)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• zest of 1 lemon (if you’re using the same lemon for juicing and zesting – zest first!)
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

(Some zucchini porn for you.)

Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Muffins - What you do:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 celsius.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and flax egg. Combine well.

Beat the sugar in, and stir until the mixture is incorporated together.

Add the cashew milk and lemon juice and zest to the mix, combine well.

In two or three additions, stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture.

Finally, stir in the zucchini, and the poppy seeds.

Line a muffin pan with paper muffin cups, or lightly grease a muffin pan to prevent any sticking.

Fill the muffins 3/4ths of the way to the top of each muffin mould.

Bake at 180 C for 20 minutes, or until slightly golden on the top and an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

Baking Soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Spread Your Love

Pear and Saffron Clafoutis

Hi.

Yes, hello!

So, it's been some time, eh?

It's exam period. And in between exams, I took a short whirl-around trip to the States and back. Plus I'm attempting to NOT eat dessert twice a day (imagine?). All of those factors have lead me to push the baking aside for a week or so.

But, the itch to flour and stir and dream up sweet concoctions came back strong, like always after a brief baking pause.

Thus, we have my attempt today to Bakecetera-ify a French Classic: le clafoutis.

(kla-fo-tee.)

If you put it in google translate, and then make it speak in an "English voice" it comes out "klarfoutich". Amazing. (Please ignore my random banter?)

Normally I don't always have the most optimistic things to say about the lovely French homeland, but after a rad night of dancing and FINALLY some sunshine, Paris deserves a round of applause. And dessert. Yes, a solid heaping of pear and saffron clafoutis. 

Pear and Saffron Clafoutis - What you need:

• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar + 1 heaping tablespoon for the pan
• 1 teaspoon saffron*
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup almond meal
• 125 mL yogurt (the portion of an individualized serving for me)
• 1 tablespoon bourbon**
• 2 pears, peeled and sliced in 1 - 2 centimeter pieces

*So saffron is expensive, and not so easy to come by (unless you have awesome Turkish friends bargaining for you in Morocco), so this can easily be replaced by cinnamon, lemon zest, or whatever kick you feel like adding to your clafoutis.

**If you have a pear liquor, this would be more appropriate, but I always use what I have on hand (and, obviously, bourbon is always on hand chez moi). Alternatively, a vanilla extract would be fine as well.

Pear and Saffron Clafoutis - What you do:

Pre-heat an oven to 200 celsius. Grease a baking pan (I used a cake pan) with butter, and coat with the heaping tablespoon of sugar. Set aside.

Beat the eggs slightly in a large bowl. Add the 1/4 cup sugar and beat until light in colour, around 3 minutes when you're beating by hand.

Add the almond meal, salt, and saffron to the mixture and combine well.

Slowly add the yogurt, beating well as you go.

Stir in the bourbon.

Place the pears in the prepared dish, and then pour the clafoutis batter on top.

Bake for 35 minutes at 200 celsius.

Cool slightly... you can serve this either cold or hot.

The saffron is very subtle, but delicious... and it looks like confetti!

This is a slightly eggier version of clafoutis... if you want a more cake-vibe, I'd recommend switching the almond meal for normal, all purpose flour. 

But, just saying, it's gluten free as long as you guys use almond meal! I said whhhhat?

Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

Ok, so way back when I started reading a book by David Eggers called "A Heartbreaking Work of A Staggering Genius"... and I hated it. Like, couldn't even make it a fourth of the way in. 

Two years later, I picked it up... and i finished it in two nights. To this day, this book is in my top five list of loving literature. (Yes, that's a thing.)

I'm not gonna say that Florence and The Machine is even getting near my top 5 for music, but I did start off extremely weary, and now I'm slowly getting involved.

Moral of the story: try stuff more than once... really, honestly, you could like it the second time around.

It's really funny how aesthetic tastes can change due to a mood or a time period in your life.

Florence and The Machine - You've Got the Love

Thyme Macarons with Grapefruit Curd

What is a springtime flavour?

I asked my two BFFs what they considered to scream spring, and we ended up with so many herb and citrus combinations (both for macarons AND for cocktails... whhhaat?).

Honestly, I can't think what else better reflects the fading frost, rays of sun, and new flowers! Herbs are fresh and green, while citrus is juicy and full of spirit.

Out of all of the various combinations, I think the thyme and grapefruit combination sold me the quickest. 

Then, like always, it was the big decision: what flavour goes in which part of the macaron. Despite some heavy lobbying for the grapefruit cookie, I have done so many citrus flavoured macarons, so I wanted to try something new.

After the cookie decision, a grapefruit curd was a suggestion instead of the typical buttercream filling. I am so happy that the recipe made extra. I've been grapefruit smothering everything that goes into my body in the last few days. It is easy to make and a delicious addition to... well... anything edible.

So, another bout of laziness brings me to this macaron recipe.

Add one tablespoon of dried thyme herbs to the almond and confectioner sugar mixture before folding in the egg whites. It is best to do it after sifting, so the thyme doesn't get held back in the sifting process. (Live and learn.)

Grapefruit Curd - What you need:

(Adapted from 101cookbooks.)

• 1 cup of grapefruit juice, strained
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice, strained
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 75 grams butter, at room temperature

Grapefruit curd - What you do:

In a small sauce pan on medium heat, heat the grapefruit juice until it has reduced by a half (so that you have 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice). This took me around 15 to 20 minutes to do. Allow the concentrated juice to cool.

In a large heat-proof bowl (you can later use the same bowl as the top of a double boiler), beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Next, add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the salt. Combine everything together well. Finally, add in the grapefruit juice and lime juice. Stir well.

Make a double boiler by bringing water (filled up 1/3 of the way to the top) in a small saucepan to a simmer. After the water is simmering, place the bowl with the curd mixture on top of the saucepan and stir constantly for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the curd easily coats a spoon.

At this stage, take the curd off the heat. It will thicken as it cools.

Cool completely before piping in between the macaron cookies.

I actually made the curd the day before making the macarons for optimal thickness.

Store the curd in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

So I spent the last summer in Durban, South Africa, and these people are hands down the most awesome on Earth (tied with people from London, Ontario - random, I know, but true).

They all went to a music festival last week, and I was super sad and I missed them all! I made myself feel better by listening to tons of the bands playing at the festival, and realizing that I didn't really like any of them... until my friend highlighted Al Bairre. 

They. Are. Amazing.

Re-insert jealously. Now.

Favourite: Al Bairre - Youth de Freitas

and also great: Right Here in July

Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter to everyone!

... Honestly guys, I don't celebrate Easter... but, ya know what I do celebrate: pastries.

Yesmm. And pastries are even more fun when they are seasonal. It's like you wait ALL year for a special treat, and when it finally comes you appreciate it just THAT much more than its standard year-around cousin (here, I guess you could call him the brioche bun?).

I didn't necessarily grow up with hot cross buns when I was a kid (although I'm sure I had a few), but when I moved back to Montreal, my best friend and I went absolutely mad every spring. We would go to La Pâtisserie Belge on Avenue du Parc (my favourite hot cross bun producer), and then after that we would walk ALL the way up to the mile end area to snack on her favourite hot cross bun (if I remember well it was on rue Bernard?). Anyway, it became something that her and I looked forward to in the "springtime" (ahem, the Montreal spring doesn't really count as a separate season). I totally missed out on these guys last year in Paris... I couldn't let that happen again!

This Easter my master's program is having a little get together, and we are all supposed to bring something from our culture's Easter tradition since we are from many different countries. Thus, I chose the nom-numptious hot cross bun to bake!

Oh, and they're vegan!

Hot Cross Buns - What you need:

For the buns:

• 4 teaspoons dry active yeast
• ½ cup warm water
• 1/2 cup cashew milk (or any type of nut milk/or milk)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 flax “egg”, or 1 tablespoon flax meal stirred together with 3 tablespoons of water
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• zest of one orange
• 3/4 cup of dried fruit (I used apricots)
• 3 cups all purpose flour

For the flour cross:

• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons flour

Plus 1/3 cup apricot jam.

Hot Cross Buns - What you do:

In a large bowl, stir together the warm water (warm to the touch, but not too hot), the yeast, and a pinch of the sugar. Allow this mixture to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. It should become slightly foamy, indicating that the yeast has been activated. If you see no bubbles, then the yeast may be dead and you should start over to make sure your dough rises!

Add the rest of the sugar, the cashew milk, the flax egg, coconut oil, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest.

In three additions, add the flour, stirring well after each addition.

By the end, your dough should come together well. If it’s too dry, add a tablespoon more of cashew milk, and if it’s too wet, add a touch more flour.

I ended up adding 2 tablespoons more of cashew milk, but my homemade cashew milk is a bit thicker than an almond milk or normal milk… so that could be why.

On a lightly floured surface, turn out the dough and knead for 5 minutes. At this point knead the dried fruit into the dough.

Lightly oil a bowl with coconut oil, and turn the dough around in the bowl so it becomes slightly oiled on all sides.

Cover with a clean cloth and place the bowl in a warm and sunny spot. Allow the dough to rise for an hour.

Once the hour is up, on the lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and knead for another 2 to 3 minutes. After, form small circles from the dough. Try to make sure they’re all around the same size. I used a small glass as a template for my buns.

Place the buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with the clean towel, and again allow the buns to rise for another hour in a sunny and warm spot.

Preheat an oven to 200 Celsius.

Before baking, slice a cross into the top of each bun.

Stir together the flour and water together to make a wet flour paste. If you need more water, add one tablespoon at a time. You want to be able to pipe the flour cross onto the bun without the flour mixture running off the bun.

Scoop the flour mixture into either a pastry bag or a freezer bag, and fill the small crosses in the buns with the flour mixture.

Bake the hot cross buns in the 200 C oven for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 180 Celsius and continue to bake for another 5 minutes.

The buns should be golden brown.

Microwave (or heat up) the apricot jam slightly, and then with a pastry brush, brush the jam lightly onto the still hot buns.

So, obviously, I put mine really close together. I just sliced them around the edges, and then they pulled apart really easily. You can also space them out a bit more - it's up to you!

This recipe makes around 26 buns.

Baking soundtrack - Tunes to inspire your inner baker:

Going old school...

Kid Cudi - The Prayer