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Spiced Rum, Date, Walnut, Molasses Bundt Cake with Rum Caramel Drizzle

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Koreans can’t bake.

That’s been my insecurity since starting this baking journey. That I’m Korean. And unlike my fellow caucasian friends, I have no family pie recipe or a mom that baked chocolate chip cookies with me on Saturday mornings. The only things I baked as a child were Pillsbury crescents from a tin or boxed Duncan Hines. Baking from scratch was never a part of my family growing up.

Instead, my Saturdays consisted of Korean language classes followed by math drills with Sargent Shin… and his chopstick wand. After math, my sisters and I would get to watch some TV whilst stuffing thousands of Korean dumplings called “mandu”. Okay. Maybe not thousands but god did it ever feel like thousands! Only after all the mandus were stuffed and our math drills were done correctly, were my sisters and I allowed to bake Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake. And if we were really lucky, my mom would have bought the chocolate icing in a carton for us to ice the yellow cake with. As a child, baking this cake and devouring it was my escape, my utopia, my moment of being unkorean. 

Until I was a teen and got a job at an upscale bakery. Cardamom coffee cake…what was cardamom? Hazelnut dacquoise…what was dacquoise? My inner sweet carb spirit was awakened. My Saturday mornings no longer involved memorizing math formulas instead being transported to sugary moments of utter bliss, learning flavours and spices I had never heard of.  In retrospect I should have paid this bakery rather than the bakery having paid me. 

My weekend bakery job and Duncan Hines days are a distant memory now. And the feeling of “Koreans can’t bake” does jab me every so often. Especially when reading fellow bloggers stories of great Aunts sharing pie crust hacks and grandma’s almost 100 year starter named Arras (after the WWI battle)

But as I write this, I realize I have something that the blogger with Arras and the baker with the  family pie hacks don’t have. I have patience and the willingness to drill and train myself until I get that pie crust flaky and this Spiced Rum Date Bundt perfectly drunk with moistness and flavour. It may not sound as heartwarming as a soft rosy cheeked gran smelling of cinnamon and bread. But Sargent Shin with his chopstick wand and those thousands of dumplings taught me something I believe to be just as valuable if not more. Perseverance. And so goes, that This Korean Bakes.

Bon app! or as we Koreans say Mashikeh-Mogo!

My two older sisters and my dad. I’m bottom right. (1982)

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Spiced Rum, Date, Walnut, Molasses Bundt Cake with Rum Caramel Drizzle
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8-10
 
Ingredients
  • FOR THE BUNDT:
  • 2 cups or 260 grams whole grain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • +1 teaspoon baking soda (for the date puree)
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ cup or about 200 grams fresh dates chopped
  • 1 cup or about 120 grams dried dates
  • 1¼ cup water
  • ¾ cup spiced rum
  • 1¼ cup or 250 grams granulated white sugar
  • ¾ cup fancy molasses
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 cup canola oil (or a light oil)
  • 1 cup or 125 grams chopped walnuts
  • FOR THE RUM CARAMEL: (Caramel recipe ONLY adapted from https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/dark-rum-caramel )
  • 1½ cup granulated white sugar
  • ⅓ cold water
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons spiced rum
  • pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Take your 10 cup bundt pan and grease very generously and carefully with melted butter making sure you grease all the nook and crannies.
  2. Dust with all purpose flour discarding access...set aside
  3. Preheat oven to 350F with oven rack in middle of oven
  4. In a large bowl, sift the whole grain flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, salt and whisk well...set aside
  5. In a medium saucepan, bring the 1/14 cup water to a boil and then add the dried and fresh chopped dates.
  6. Stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda. Bring to a boil then put lid on and turn heat off and set aside
  7. In your stand mixer, with paddle attachment, beat the sugar and molasses together until smooth
  8. Add the eggs one at a time to the sugar mix.
  9. Add the canola oil in a slow steady stream to the sugar/egg mix
  10. In your blender/juicer or kitchenaid, puree the now softened dates until a smooth puree. A few chunks is okay.
  11. Stir in the spiced rum into the date puree with a spatula
  12. On low speed, add the dry flour mix to the sugar/egg/oil mix in the stand mixer then add puree mix doing the flour mix in thirds and ending with the dry flour mix.
  13. Fold in the walnuts with a spatula
  14. Do not over mix
  15. Pour into bundt pan and bake for 50minutes to 1 hour or until tester stick comes out mostly clean
  16. Allow to rest in pan for 10-15 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack and allow to completely cool
  17. In the meanwhile, FOR THE CARAMEL:
  18. In a medium heavy sauce pan, whisk the ⅓ cup cold water and sugar.
  19. Cover with lid and bring to a boil over med-high heat all the while swirling the pan every so often...(do not stir..Swirl)
  20. Remove lid after about 8 minutes and keep swirling until the sugar liquid turns a rich dark amber hue.
  21. Turn the heat to low immediately upon it turning dark amber and carefully whisk the butter in. Whisk until the bubbles subsides
  22. Add the Heavy cream and keep whisking until the caramel is smooth and silky about 2-3 minutes on low
  23. Remove from stove top and add the spiced rum and salt. Allow the caramel to cool in fridge for 15 minutes or so or at room temperature for an hour before drizzling half the caramel over the cooled cake.
  24. Keep the other half caramel for serving on the side.

 

Carrot Almond Cake with Toasted Meringue – Dairy and Gluten Free

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I hadn’t planned on posting this recipe but you asked, so here it is.

I recently had a friend over that was lactose and gluten intolerant that was itching to try one of my cakes. I was also asked by fellow food blogger Andrey Tulsky to collaborate on posting a photograph on Instagram with carrots and one’s pet. And so was born this gluten free and dairy free almond and carrot cake. I love it when I kill two birds with one stone! 

This uber moist, high fibre, vitamin rich cake alone was a bit too “healthy”.  Initially I thought roll cake with orange marmalade to fill. But as I was cutting the cake into mini bite sizes and sampling the cutaway pieces, I realized it needed something fluffy, soft, sweet and naughty. It needed toasted meringue.

And in all fairness, meringue isn’t really “naughty” is it. Its simply egg whites and sugar. It’s the torching part that’s naughty I suppose. Firing up pure white fluffs into a light brown caramelized skin. Totally naughty. But if you’d rather “nice”, feel free to simply dust the sheet cake with some icing sugar. 

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Pavlova with White Currant Curd

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I’ve been promising a Pavlova recipe for ages. And while the web is doused with Pavlova recipes, I thought this white currant curd one might stand out. And stand out she does!  I rigorously researched (meaning I Googled it), and I couldn’t find a white currant Pavlova or for that matter a white currant curd anywhere online. 

It’s been a week since I got back from Paris, France and if you’ve been following along on my Instagram account you’ll know Pierre and I were sick for half the time we were there. Food poisoning from lightly seared tuna during a heatwave. I never seem to learn. (Second time…but the seafood stands look utterly scrumptious!) The worst part about this food poisoning story…I had forced Pierre to eat my leftover tuna (of course before I knew it was tainted), and the Airbnb we stayed at only had one toilet. Merde! 

So why a Pavlova now? Before heading to Paris, Pierre had made a mental list of all the foods he wanted to eat. Meringues were one of them. As a child, Pierre and his parents would make a yearly pilgrimage from Geneva to Paris to do some shopping. Not LV or Chanel, but books and antiques. Very old and special books you’d find in the markets along the Seine river. But for Pierre, it was meringues. He’d dream of those fluffy saccharin-drenched, swirly clouds of egg whites every year as a child. 

It’s been 14 or so years since we’ve both been to France and unfortunately that meringue plan never happened for Pierre. Between jet-lagged kids, food poisoning and my workshop, there were maybe at most, two days that we got to venture out …albeit with recovering woozy bellies. So for two days, we focused on showing the kids Paris’ sights and attractions much to their conspicuous lack of enthusiasm.

In the meanwhile white currant curd Pavlova for Pierre…crispy on the outside and pillowy on the inside sweet meringue discs, sandwiching a sugary but tart curd topped with freshly whipped cream. Sorry Pierre! But French meringue will have to wait. First world problems. C’est la vie!

Bon app!

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Pavlova with White Currant Curd
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 7
 
For a single tier Pavlova, make exactly half the quantity.
Ingredients
  • FOR THE PAVLOVA:
  • 6 Egg whites room temperature
  • pinch of salt
  • 300 grams or 1½ cups super fine white sugar
  • 2 table spoons corn starch
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • FOR THE CURD:
  • 10 ounces or 285 grams more or less of fresh white currants stemmed
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 100 grams or ½ cup white sugar
  • 115 grams or ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature cut into cubes
  • FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM
  • 473 ml or 1 pint fresh heavy whipping cream
  • 4 table spoons fine white sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. DIRECTIONS - PAVLOVA:
  2. Preheat oven with rack in middle to 325 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw two 7 inch circles with a gap of at least 4 inches between the two circles
  3. In a very clean stand mixer with very clean whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and salt on low speed and work your way up gradually to medium high speed until soft peaks are formed
  4. Start adding the sugar on high speed a table spoon at a time until egg whites are stiff and shiny...test by holding bowl upside down...whites shouldn't move. As well, take a bit of meringue and test between fingers...should be smooth with no grittiness left from sugar...takes about 5-7 minutes
  5. Sift the cornstarch over the meringue and whisk again on medium for max 5 seconds
  6. With spatula, gently fold in the vanilla and vinegar into the meringue until combined
  7. Take spatula and evenly divide the meringue into the two circles traced on the parchment paper
  8. Take an off set spatula and smooth out into circles and smooth out tops...you can make swirls or kisses on the side for an interesting design
  9. Place baking tray with meringues in 325 F pre heated oven but immediately turn down to 300 F and bake for 1 hour.
  10. Once bake time is finished, turn oven off, but do not remove or open door to oven!!! Leave in oven for at least 2-3 more hours. !Important otherwise major cracking and/or sinking pavlova! (keep in mind a little sinking and a little cracking is okay!)
  11. Allow to complete cooling outside in room temperature
  12. DIRECTIONS - CURD:
  13. While the pavlova is baking, in a medium saucepan, cook the stemmed white currants and the water for about 5 minutes all the while mashing them with a potato masher
  14. Once the berries have reduced, remove from heat and push the currant puree through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl... (you'll be left with about ¾ cup of currant puree) ..discard seeds and skin
  15. In a clean saucepan over medium heat add the egg yolks, sugar and white currant puree until well mixed and dissolved- whisking constantly about 4 minutes
  16. Add butter cubes one at a time once mixture warms up and is lightly bubbling and whisk frequently for another 5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and bubbling
  17. Strain through sieve into a bowl (for quicker cooler, use a baking tray lined with parchment paper.)
  18. Cover with plastic film so it touches the curd and refrigerate
  19. DIRECTIONS - WHIPPED CREAM:
  20. Take a clean stand mixer bowl, the whisk attachment, the cream and pop in freezer for 10 minutes
  21. Put the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in the cold stand mixer bowl and whisk on high speed for 1-1½ minutes or until medium stiff peaks form - do not over mix!
  22. ASSEMBLING PAVLOVA:
  23. Place first meringue layer down on your cake stand, take an offset spatula and spread the cooled down white currant curd evenly over the layer
  24. Place next meringue layer on top ...top with all the whipped cream
  25. Garnish with some white currant berries
  26. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 days, however be aware pav will become soggy. Best to consume same day it's been prepared.
  27. Pavlova discs can be made a few days in advance and stored at room temperature in an air tight container with parchment paper between the discs to avoid them from sticking

 

 

Carrot Cake with Lime Mascarpone Frosting

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It’s a classic cake. Everyone in the modern western world has tried carrot cake at least once in their lifetime. And just about everyone loves it. I assumed that every household probably had at least a couple of go-to recipes since it’s such a common cake – which is why I never bothered posting my recipe. Although…I realized that every time I share my carrot cake with friends and other food bloggers, without fail, they ask me for my recipe. There’s a couple of things I do differently in my recipe which perhaps makes it stand out from the traditional method.

So what makes my carrot cake special? It’s got loads of carrot…1 pound or 3 1/2 cups or 450 grams to be exact. While you grate away the carrots, I already know you’ll be thinking “This is a lot of carrot!” I assure you it’s not. Most of the grated carrot will melt away making way for a super moist cake and the remainder, subtle orange flecks giving this cake a gorgeous crumb. The other secret weapon is the lime in the mascarpone frosting – and lots of it. Four limes worth of zest and juice gives the icing a crazy yummy citrus zing. Is my carrot cake better? Try it and you be the judge!

Bon app!

Hand made porcelain plates and vases provided by https://www.explorapersona.com/shop-pottery

Carrot Cake with Lime Mascarpone Frosting
Serves 10
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
35 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
35 min
FOR THE CAKE
  1. 260 g or 2 cups of all purpose flour
  2. 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  3. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  4. 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  5. 1 teaspoon allspice
  6. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  7. 300 grams or 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  8. 100 grams or 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
  9. 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  10. 4 fresh large eggs room temperature
  11. 450 grams or 1 pound or 3 1/2 cups grated fresh carrots on largest hole of box grater
  12. 125 grams or 1 cup toasted walnuts (Toast in oven 350 F for 10 minutes on baking tray lined with parchment paper, stirring once about halfway. Cool completely before using in cake)
  13. some extra butter and flour to grease cake pans
FOR THE FROSTING
  1. 450 grams or 16 ounces mascarpone cheese room temperature (very important this is room temperature)
  2. 115 grams or 1/2 unsalted butter room temperature
  3. 250 grams or 2 cups confectioners'/icing sugar sifted
  4. zest and juice from 4 limes - about 1 teaspoon of zest and 1/3 cup of juice comes from 4 limes
CAKE
  1. Place rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350F
  2. Butter and dust with flour two 9 inch cake pans...Line bottoms with parchment paper
  3. In large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and whisk..set aside
  4. In stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix the brown and white sugar, then eggs, one at a time. scrape sides of bowl after all eggs have been added and stir again.
  5. Add the oil in a slow stream on low speed
  6. Scape sides and add the flour mix on slow in about 3 additions until just incorporated. Don't overmix
  7. Remove from stand and with large spoon or spatula, stir in the carrots and walnuts until just blended..Do not over mix.
  8. Divide the cake batter into the 2 pans and bake for 35 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out almost clean (no wet/batter on tooth pick but a few small crumbs is okay)
  9. Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes
  10. Transfer to finish cooling on wire racks for about 2 hours to completely cool before frosting
FROSTING
  1. Make sure the butter and the mascarpone are both ROOM TEMPERATURE
  2. In stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone on medium until smooth and silky about 2 minutes
  3. Add the butter and beat another 30 seconds
  4. Scrape the bowl and add icing sugar in small additions to avoid sugar from flying out of bowl
  5. Once it's smooth and fully incorporated, add the lime zest, then the juice in a slow steady stream on low speed
ASSEMBLING CAKE
  1. Slather about 1/3 of the frosting on the first layer of cake and smooth out with an offset spatula
  2. Spread the rest of the frosting on the top layer and sides using the offset spatula
Notes
  1. -The mascarpone and butter should both be room temperature before whipping. Try to take out from fridge the night before preparing the frosting.
  2. -If the mascarpone or butter or both are not room temperature, if will look like it's 'curdling' while you're whipping the frosting- to fix this, take a hairdryer and warm up the icing while stirring on low speed for a minute. This should get the butter and the mascarpone to blend and gel together nicely.
  3. -Cakes can be made in advance...once they've completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate
  4. -Frosting can be made ahead...refrigerate in an air tight container. Bring to room temperature and beat again for about a minute to make smooth and spreadable
  5. -Cake can last in fridge wrapped or in cake container for up to a week.
STEMS & FORKS https://www.stemsandforks.com/

Chocolate Cake with a Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Maple Glazed Walnuts

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On one of my recent blog posts, Orange Cardamom Cake with Blackberry Curd, a reader left a comment that left me scratching my head. She wrote, “I have tried to make this cake twice and the cake has fallen – severely – before taking it out of the oven. I have years of baking experience, and can’t get this to bake right.”

Of course, my heart sank. How could this be? I referred back to the cake recipe and scrutinized it line by line, and was still left baffled. I knew I had baked this cake several times and wondered what had gone amiss. After several conversations between the reader and myself, and I discovered exactly what went wrong. She had used a 6 inch pan the first time and an 8 inch pan the second time, when the recipe had called for a 9 inch pan. Using pans of another size, other than what the recipe calls for, (even a mere inch) can cause the cake to collapse in the middle and/or cause the excess to flow over the edge of the pan.

The fact that this particular reader was a seasoned baker, made me realize that although many home bakers out there may have decades of experience, it is probably in baking the same repertoire of recipes over and over. For instance, a simple pound cake or chocolate cake most likely won’t sink if substituting with a slightly different pan size. But for a genoise, sponge, angel, chiffon or any cake using egg whites and air to leaven (raise/suspend), the cake would definitely end up with a monumental crater. 

Chopping board provided by https://www.tshirtstudio.com

I’ve decided to do a quick checklist here with brief explanations on how to achieve that perfect cake. I’ll dedicate a more detailed blog post at a later time but for now I thought I’d share these quick tips to help you avoid any cake disasters.

-Check that your oven’s temperature is correct with an oven-safe thermometer.

-Always use the pan size indicated in the recipe. Using a smaller pan than what is called for in the recipe will cause the cake to collapse in the middle (and over flow on the sides). While baking, the cake expands and rises and has nowhere else to go. Thus, the flop and spillover. On the opposite spectrum, using a pan larger than what the recipe indicates may result in a flat and dry cake.

-Grease pan with butter and dust with flour on sides and line bottom of pan with parchment paper (that you’ve traced and cut out).

-Glass and dark-coloured pans usually bake things faster…reduce oven by about 25F or check up on cake a bit earlier. Normally recipes are based on aluminum/light-coloured pans.

-Always measure flour and most ingredients by weight. If you don’t have a scale, don’t scoop the flour directly with a measuring cup. Take a spoon and spoon it into the measuring cup and level off with a knife.

-Sift all your ingredients including sugar (especially brown sugar). Nothing like baking a gorgeous cake only to find a big air pocket inside after slicing into it. 

-Make sure you thoroughly whisk your flour and baking powders/sodas together

-Have all your ingredients come to room temperature (unless otherwise stated) – especially eggs, milk, creams, cheeses etc. This helps create a lighter texture and an even bake.

-If you’ve forgotten to bring your eggs to room temperature, soak them in a bowl of warm water for 10-15 minutes. 

-Don’t stray too much from the recipe. If it says 2 cups of flour, don’t add another half cup. In baking, even the slightest variation in ingredient ratios can throw the entire recipe off.

-When testing with a toothpick, dont wait till it comes out perfectly clean. A few crumbs on the toothpick is the perfect time to take out of the oven as the cake will continue to cook when taken out

-Brush your cakes with a simple sugar syrup while still warm. Its simple to make- equal amounts of water to sugar…bring to boil and brush over cakes. This will make your cakes moist for days!

Now back to what this blog post was really about…chocolate cake. The recipe below was tested at least a dozen times with various ingredients…sour cream instead of yogurt, butter instead of oil, unsweetened chocolate rather than semi sweet, raspberry buttercream instead of coffee…etc. And the end result was a gorgeous, moist, crumb. Sweet but not overly sweet with a smooth silky coffee buttercream with a nutty crunch. The recipe below is for a double layer cake and is quite large. You can easily make this cake into a single layer by dividing all the ingredients by half. This makes a single nine inch cake. I hope you enjoy it. 

Bon app!

Chocolate Cake with Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Toasted Maple Syrup Walnuts
Serves 12
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Cook Time
20 min
Cook Time
20 min
FOR THE CAKE
  1. 390 or 3 cups all purpose flour sifted
  2. 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  3. 1 teaspoon baking soda
  4. 1 teaspoon salt
  5. 225 grams or 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
  6. 85 grams or 1 cup sifted cocoa powder
  7. 2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
  8. 2 1/2 cups boiling water
  9. 1 1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil
  10. 6 eggs room temperature
  11. 400 grams or 2 cups white granulated sugar
  12. 200 grams or 1 cup brown sugar
  13. 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
  14. 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
SUGAR SYRUP
  1. 1/4 cup water
  2. 50 grams or 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
  3. 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
INGREDIENTS FOR COFFEE SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
  1. 6 egg whites
  2. 400 grams or 2 cups granulated white sugar
  3. 450 grams or 2 cups softened unsalted butter
  4. 2 tablespoons milk
  5. 2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
WALNUTS
  1. 100 grams or 1 cup walnuts
  2. 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  3. pinch of sea salt flakes
CAKE
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F and place oven rack in middle
  2. Grease sides of pan with butter and dust some flour then trace and cut out bottom of 9 inch pan with parchment paper and place inside pan. Set aside
  3. Chop semi sweet chocolate into small bits and put in large bowl and sift cocoa powder over chocolate, and add the 2 tablespoons of instant espresso powder or instant coffee
  4. Bring a pot or kettle of water to boil (at least 3 1/2 cups) But pour only 2 1/2 cups of boiling water over chocolate and whisk until it becomes smooth and silky. set aside
  5. In large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, whisk well and set aside
  6. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, put sugar in bowl and add egg in one at a time making sure each egg has been incorporated into sugar.
  7. Once egg and sugar have become thoroughly combined, add the vegetable oil in a slow steady stream stirring on low- scrape sides and mix again
  8. Stir in the yogurt and vanilla extract
  9. Reduce to lowest speed and stir in flour in three additions and chocolate mixture in two additions. Mix until flour streaks have dissolved. Do not over mix
  10. Divide the batter equally into pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out with just a few clean crumbs
  11. Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Place wire cooling rack on pans and invert cakes removing the parchment paper. Generously brush SUGAR SYRUP (instructions just below) while cake is warm Allow to cool completely another 1 1/2 hours
SUGAR SYRUP
  1. While cake is baking, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil stirring until sugar has completely dissolved
  2. Add the Grand Marnier while syrup is just a touch warm.
  3. Generously slather on both cake layers about 5 minutes after cake has come out of oven
WALNUTS
  1. Leave oven on at 350 F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper
  2. Place the walnuts in centre of tray and drizzle with the maple syrup and mix with wooden spoon
  3. spread nuts out evenly and bake for about 15 minutes, turning once halfway at about 8 minutes
  4. after
  5. Let cool for about 3 minutes before separating the walnuts and sprinkling the sea salts
  6. Keep all the caramelized bits of maple syrup to dress cake with
COFFEE SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
  1. In a medium saucepan filled with couple inches of water on medium heat, place the stand mixer bowl with the 6 egg whites and 2 cups of white sugar and bring water to a simmer
  2. Whisk constantly until candy thermometer reads 160 F- check by rubbing a bit between your thumb and finger that the sugar has completely dissolved and isn't gritty
  3. Fit the mixer bowl in the stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk until medium-stiff peaks form and the bowl returns to room temperature about 10 minutes
  4. Whisk together the instant espresso or coffee powder with the milk and Grand Marnier until all the powder has been dissolved
  5. Turn the mixer down and stir in the vanilla extract and the epresso/coffee milk/Grand Marnier mix
  6. Change the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and start dropping in the room temperature butter in a couple table spoons at a time. Make sure the butter is fully incorporated before adding the next dollop of butter.
  7. Once all the butter has been added beat another 5 minutes on medium
  8. Buttercream may look a bit lumpy at times...be patient, it'll smooth out with a couple minutes of beating.
ASSEMBLING THE CAKE
  1. First...make sure cakes are completely cool. Refrigerating overnight or freezing for about 15 minutes makes icing easier.
  2. Place first cake layer on your cake stand and spread out about a quarter of the buttercream with an offset spatula
  3. Top with the next layer of cake and spread buttercream with offset spatula on top and on sides of cake
  4. Sprinkle the walnuts and the caramelized maple glass
Notes
  1. -This recipe can easily be made into a single layer chocolate cake. Just divide all ingredients by half and bake in one 9 inch pan
  2. -I've read that swiss meringue buttercream can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks...however consuming within a week is ideal. Make sure you bring to room temperature and beat again for about 3 minutes before icing onto cake...if it gets lumpy or appears like it's curdling, blast a hair dryer on the buttercream while its beating in the stand mixer or place on a double boiler for a couple minutes...just to get the butter to gel with the meringue again.
  3. -Store cake in fridge in a cake container for up to a week
STEMS & FORKS https://www.stemsandforks.com/

Ricotta Cheesecake with White Chocolate and Pine Nuts

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My dear children Moineau and Georges have both been home sick for days up till yesterday with fevers, chills coughs… As any mother, I’ve had sleepless nights. Between checking their temperature, giving meds and hearing their poor coughing and cries, its been hard to have a good nights sleep for the whole family. It’s Friday December 1st now and I’m two blogs behind, Christmas shopping still not done, and now sick as a dog.

Yet I don’t feel stressed. At least not compared to when I had my flower shop. This time of year was hell for me in the past. It was non-stop starting November 1st until Christmas eve. It felt like the phone never stopped ringing, my inbox was always full and my fingers were permanently black from all the various evergreen saps. There was never enough hours in the day. I remember arranging client outdoor planters before the crack of dawn, using my truck head lights as makeshift lighting since the sun had not yet risen.

This year will be my third Christmas without the business. Being behind on a bit of shopping doesn’t concern me. But I have to admit, skipping a couple blogs does. So last night when the kids were sleeping, I began to bake. I decided ricotta cheesecake with white chocolate and pine nuts because its a cake that needs to be refrigerated for a few hours and still tastes great a few days later. Perfect for later when we’re all feeling better. 

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Banana Avocado Chocolate Cake

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I’m one of those out of sight, out of mind girls. I recently had scallops at a restaurant that was smothered in a tarragon brown butter. So so good- drooling now just thinking about it. But it reminded me of brown butter icing. And how it has been months since I made anything with brown butter. I had ripe bananas and avocados kicking around and decided a cream cheese brown butter frosting would pair wonderfully. As well, it’s been a while since I’ve played the sneaky mom of putting some sort of veg in a cake without telling the kids…

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Pumpkin and Walnut Bundt Cake

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We are definitely not a turkey family. Well, I personally enjoy a fresh roasted turkey but my husband and kids don’t. Pumpkin however is always a hit with all the Binons. 

This thanksgiving (Canadian) pumpkin is definitely on the menu. I’m thinking of some creative ways of using this wonderful squash asides from a cake or pie. Dumplings…soup…maybe even pumpkin steak? Ha! I’m just thinking out loud right now. Of course if you have any ideas…do let me know. As my daughter always points out…I like “weird” recipes. 

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Orange Cardamom Cake with Blackberry Curd

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Its that time of year. Winter is coming, for those in the north. Being Canadian, I can completely relate to House Stark of Game of Thrones. We Canadians often joke that we have two seasons. Winter and Summer. Here, at least in the Greater Toronto Area, winter unofficially starts around Remembrance Day (mid November) and can easily continue well into April. Each year around April, without any gentle segway, a blast of beautiful mild weather emerges from our long cold winters. A sort of tortuous teaser that lasts about two days. Then without any warning, a massive deposit of snow. So when autumn rolls in, we embrace and covet the short time she is here. 

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Speculoos and Chocolate Mousse Tart

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I went about 5 months without speculoos cookies (spice cookies from Belgium) And i was felt lost and unstable without them. I searched online but with little success in Canada. I did try baking some myself from a recipe online but it really just tasted like cinnamon snaps (if anyone has a great speculoos recipe…please PLEASE share!) So of course when my mother in law asked if I needed anything from Belgium before coming to visit, I asked for a modest 5 kilos of speculoos cookies. Needless to say her eyeballs almost popped out over Skype. But she delivered…an entire carry on of speculoos. Yes she can be very useful…sometimes.

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