STEMS & FORKS

Coppa, Gruyère Cheese and Tarragon Biscuits

February 16, 2017 By stemsandforks Leave a Comment

I hate to be such a downer but it’s been a long and dark winter…as usual. I know, I know: I live in Canada – it’s expected to be cold for half the year. Which is why Florida is crawling with Canadian seniors aka snowbirds this time of year. Then, by mid March, with the kids out on winter break, Toronto will be a ghost town. Almost everyone has gone to a beach town. Except for my family.

My husband Pierre and I like beaches and hot weather but only for about 20 minutes. I’ve never been fond of sunbathing with a fashion magazine while sipping pina coladas. Or sitting in a boat staring at the same flat horizon of water and sky kissing for hours on end. We’re just not beach people…at least I don’t think we are.

After perusing the net and stumbling on Corsica, I was left drunk with fantasies of beach cafes, feasting on fresh grilled fish, crisp perfume scented rosé, to the soundtrack of honey-dappled waves lapping. All the while gazing in awe at the backdrop of the mediterranean sea and rustic terracotta roofed homes. Okay. Perhaps I could become a beach bum.

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Champagne Cake with White Chocolate Strawberry Frosting

February 13, 2017 By stemsandforks 2 Comments

Love is an intense and fond affection for someone or something. But the intensity and type can vary so greatly. For me there are three broad categories of love. Love for my husband, love for my children and love for food. (Of course love for kids and hubby take 1st place:)

I found it fitting to prepare all the things I love for the ones I love; Champagne, chocolate, strawberries – in the form of cake. Just writing those words out made my water salivate with anticipation.

My love for chocolate never started until I was pregnant 11 years ago with my first born. Prior to that, I always had trouble finishing a chocolate bar. But theres something about pregnancy that changes a woman’s palette. (Any other moms go through the same experience?) Since having Moineau, I find it increasingly difficult to eat any type of meat. And the sugar intake, especially chocolate has exploded. I can now eat chocolate endlessly.

Champagne has always been a staple in our home. Each year we bring a few bottles back from Europe and indulge whenever a special occasion happens to come upon us. Pre and post natal, my love for the bubbly has not changed:)

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Golden Beet Cake with Brown Butter Sage Frosting

February 9, 2017 By stemsandforks 1 Comment

Every now and then, I whip up gnocchi with brown butter and fresh sage drizzle. Add a bit of fresh parmesan and cracked black pepper and my mouth is singing. Or I’ll roast beets and toss with some goats cheese and walnuts. Often I’ve wondered if I could translate the sage/butter/cheese/beets/walnuts into a cake and finally I did. I know what you’re thinking. Betty’s finally lost her marbles. She’s trying to make cake from a salad.

Well, I did and it was sublime. The golden colour from the beets gave the cake a beautiful soft golden hue. The taste was sweet yet subtly earthy, crunchy yet creamy. The closest thing I can compare this to is carrot cake but less sweet with loads more elegance.

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Apple Raspberry Pie With Pistachio Crust

February 6, 2017 By stemsandforks Leave a Comment

Learning how to bake for me was not always so idyllic. You’ll quickly catch on to this if you read my first blog. I learned the hard way – by myself, through trial and error.

The first time I made a pie, it was like a mammoth pimple with an ungodly slime (which was the sorry excuse for the filling), that oozed out from every crevice of the crust. It was impossible to cut through with a fork and too leathery to chew. Epic failure. The second time it looked better but the scalloped crust had shrunk and the filling ended up all over the bottom of the oven. There was also an inch-high pool of juice in my pie pan after I cut a slice. Consecutive attempts continued to render fails. At times, the pie would look like a fruit geyser, or the dough would fall apart in my hands while crimping the edge. But without fail, the crust was always tough and leathery when chewing. I didn’t get it. I could bake so many other things with such ease and success. Why was pie so hard to make?

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Chocolate Mascarpone Cake

January 31, 2017 By stemsandforks 6 Comments

It’s hard to avoid hearing about what’s going on with our neighbours to the south. I went to my local coffee shop this morning, and almost every single person was talking about it. I was in line at the grocery store and my cashier struck up a conversation with me about it. She told me how Robert de Niro compared the situation to Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, and how he ominously concluded with, “God help us.”

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Sesame Crusted Panettone French Toast with Pear Butter

January 28, 2017 By stemsandforks 1 Comment

Lunar New Year in our family is just another excuse to get together to eat copious amounts of food. Typically we go to my mom’s home, where she cooks up lavish Korean dishes and the entire family eats like gluttons for both lunch and dinner.

Taking this into consideration I skipped on groceries today and figured I’d scrounge something up from the cupboards for breakfast. Maybe cold cereal?

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Pear and Mascarpone Fritters

January 26, 2017 By stemsandforks 2 Comments

Who doesn’t love a good deep fried donut hole? Especially if it’s filled with ripe sweet pear and the ever-so-pricey, silky Italian cream cheese (that we North Americans covet)mascarpone, then deep fried to a golden ball and tossed with some cinnamon and sugar. Pure bliss.

I often mention how I tend to mix ingredients that are on its way to expiry and this combination was just that. The pears I used were so ripe, they were melting as I peeled away the bruised skin and the mascarpone was open a few days prior for a chocolate cake I was working on (recipe to come!)

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Tahini Maple Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

January 24, 2017 By stemsandforks Leave a Comment

It’s only been about 6 six weeks since I started this blog and so far I’m loving it. The more I bake, the better I get and the more I realize that I need to continue to challenge myself by not always replicating or adapting other bakers’ recipes. I need to create original recipes that actually taste great.

I suppose deep down inside I’m insecure. I have no formal baking education. Almost everything I learned has been through trial and error, ups and downs. Sometimes the failures turned out to be wonderful new recipes. Other times they are as my daughter would say, “Hashtag fail, Mom.” My insecurity still lingers, but with every victory in producing a winning recipe, that small, undermining voice gets a little more subdued.

These Tahini Maple Chocolate Sandwich Cookies are soft to bite, taste nutty and chocolatey (without any nuts) and are ultimately scrumptious. After concocting these mini sandwiches, I realized the cure to my self-doubt was simple. Make my own recipes.

Bon app!

Tahini Maple Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

2017-01-24 17:15:22

Yields 24

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300 g/ 2 1/2 cups AP flour
90g/ 3/4 cup hulled and roasted white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
170 g/ 3/4 cup butter softened
2 eggs
110 g/ 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
100 g/ 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup 100% maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract

CHOCOLATE FILLING

100g/ 1 cup Cocoa powder unsweetened
1 cup 100% maple syrup
90g/ 3/4 cup hulled and roasted white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

Instructions

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl and set aside
Take food processor/Kitchen Aid/Ninja and process all the sesame seeds until it is nicely ground.
Take about half of the ground sesame seeds, add to the flour mixture, put aside the remaining sesame seeds to be used later for the chocolate filling
In stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar and white sugar for about a minute on low speed until they're well blended
Add the maple syrup in slowly until just combined.
Beat in egg, one at a time. Scrape bottom and sides
Add the vanilla and beat for a few seconds
Add flour and mix on low speed, scraping sides and bottom until flour has been fully incorporated - about half a minute or so
Dough consistency should be moist and ever so slightly tacky...not sticky or gummy
Take dough and make into a ball and double wrap with plastic wrap
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight
Place rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350F
Take cookie dough out of fridge and let it come to room temperature about 10 minutes
Roll out about 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface and cut out with desired cookie cookies
Remember you need pairs to make the bottom and tops for cookie sandwiches!!
Bake for 10 minutes until the shine on the cookies has disappeared.
Allow to cool about 5 minutes on tray, then transfer to cookie rack
Repeat for the remaining cookies

CHOCOLATE FILLING

Take the remaining ground sesame seeds and add the maple syrup and blend with your food processing gadget (I used my NINJA) until it looks like tahini paste about 1 minute (depends on the gadget you're using)
Add the vanilla bean paste or extract and blend
Then add the cocoa powder and blend for another half minute
Consistency should be like very thick paste
After the cookies have cooled either pipe or spread the paste on one half of the cookie sandwich
Put the other cookie on top of paste and give them a soft squeeze

Notes

I used 1", 2" and 3" heart shaped cookie cutters which made approximately 24 cookie sandwiches.
Store in air tight container for up to one week.

By Betty Binon

STEMS & FORKS https://www.stemsandforks.com/

Berry Galette Picnic

January 20, 2017 By stemsandforks 1 Comment

It’s been tried, tested and its definitely true. Kids will be more willing to eat unfamiliar foods if they have a hand in helping to make it. I won’t get into all the tedious facts and stats about the nutritional value of berries, as we all know by now, they’re super healthy and chock-full of vitamins. So I found it fitting to make berry galettes with the kids last weekend. It was incredible. My 2 year old son Georges who doesn’t take instruction very well was so eager to follow his older sister’s lead on how to roll the dough, then toss the berries in. Some of the galettes may have had a bit too much sugar or one too many berries. But they all turned out super great and delicious once baked.

Some tips to ensure this activity is fun and clean-up is minimal:

-To lay your biggest table cloth on the floor and have the kids assemble on top.

-Make the dough the night before.

-Have your kids roll them out on cutting boards or cheeseboards

-Spread everything out on the floor

-Have the starch and sugar premixed in a bowl with a laddle or wooden spoon( I separated the starch and sugar…oops!)

-have the fruits in separate bowls and spread them out

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White Cake with White Buttercream Icing

January 19, 2017 By stemsandforks 2 Comments

For children, birthdays are up there on the list of favourite occasions with Christmas and Halloween. Aside from the gifts, they get tons of attention and feel wonderful to be more “grown up”. It’s also the only day of the year I see my kids’ faces light up with wonder when it’s time to blow out the candles. That moment when they get to make a wish. A wish that cannot be shared with anyone or it won’t come true.

“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince

I remember the feeling of aging began on my 35th birthday. In my head I multiplied 35 by 2 and I came up with 70. Was I halfway through my life? What have I done for society so far? Why am I here? Well thankfully I was too busy with my floral business and a young child I didn’t have time to analyze my existential questions. I had weddings and diapers to deal with. Those questions would be dealt with at a later time, I had told myself.

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