For the New Year, the boyfriend and I were invited to his parents’ house for a potluck party. As is often the case, I was expected to bring a cake :). I was looking for something simple, fruit-based, light, and not very sweet. I decided to do something traditional and went with a light, almond spongey cake topped with whipped cream and a ton of fruits. It’s a very simple cake, and a great way to showcase delicious fresh fruit that’s in season, so it’s also easily editable for different times of year. Best of all, it appeals to a large audience as it’s something that really plays on the simplicity of clean flavours.

Fruit & Almond Sponge Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs (brown, cage-free, organic)
• 1/2 cup organic skim milk (no rBST!)
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• scant 1 cup cake flour
• 2 tblspn soy butter, softened to room temp
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• LOTS of fresh, seasonal fruit
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup apricot jelly (organic, without too much added sugar)

Process:

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. In your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time (be sure to really do them one at a time. trust me on this.)
3. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and milk and beat on low until just combined. Then add the flour and barely mix enough- as soon as the flour is incorporated, stop beating.
4. Pour the mixture into your cake pan (and place it on a baking sheet), baking for about 25 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is spongey). Remove from cake pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
5. Once cooled thoroughly, cut the cake in half to make two layers, and beat the cream into a whipped cream (adding 2-3 tsp of sugar halfway through to make it a bit sweet).
6. Place a layer of whipped cream and some fruit on the first layer of the cake, then add on layer 2 and spread the remaining whipped cream over the entire two layers of the cake (and sides).
7. Arrange fresh fruit on top as desired and brush the apricot jelly (warmed in the microwave) over everything to make a nice shiny glaze.

Yum, right? It’s simple, it’s not too guilt-inducing, and it’ll please the whole family. Make one for your next spring or summer potluck and take advantage of ripe stone fruit, fresh berries, melons, citrus…. so many options! I plan to make one again soon with different fruits and maybe a thin layer of marzipan halfway up the cake for added almond flavour :). Sprinkle on toasted almond slivers for a final touch or powder on some confectioner’s sugar in a pretty shape.

Happy birthday wishes to my best friend and sister, for whom this cake was baked :). I’ve been making my sister’s birthday cake off and on since her- correct me if I’m wrong here, E- 16th year and for her 22nd I asked for her to choose – and after long deliberation, she decided on the following: a fudge brownie, topped with a vanilla bean cheesecake, encased in white chocolate frosting, topped with strawberries and caramel. We ended up leaving out the brownie layer for fear of giving her birthday guests heart attacks, but kept the rest of this sinfully rich cake’s attributes. Thus I present to you the first of a series of three cheesecakes made recently (and according to my parents, the best of the three).

Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Cheesecake

Adapted from Simply Scratch’s New York Cheesecake

Ingredients (Cake Crust):

• 8 whole honey graham crackers, roughly cut into large pieces
• 12 nilla wafers minis
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients (Cake):

• 4 pck of cream cheese (and I’m sorry to say this but you really need all 16oz to be full-fat)
• 1 & 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup whole milk (no rBST!!)
• 4 eggs (cage-free, brown, organic)
• 1 & 1/2 cup sour cream (again, not light!)
• scant 1/4 cup AP flour (King Arthur)
• 2 tblspn vanilla extract
• 1 tblspn vanilla bean paste

Ingredients (Icing):

• 1 pckg (about 12 oz) white chocolate chips (guittard, ghirardelli, etc- just not nestle or other substandard choices)
• 2 tblspn soy butter
• 1/3 heaping cup heavy/double cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• dash of salt
• for garnish: fresh strawberry halves, caramel

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-inch springform (the spring really, really helps)
2. Get your food processor and place into it the graham and nilla wafer crackers. Pulse until a thick, coarse, somewhat-chunky meal emerges. Then get a medium-sized bowl and into it place the melted butter and vanilla. Then mix in the cracker mixture until it’s a thick, gooey mess and press that into the bottom of the pan going up an inch or so up the sides (or as high as you’d like, really, depending on how thick you like your crust to be)   
3. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed until smooth, but NOT liquid- you want to retain the thickness of the texture here.
4. Add in the milk and stir briefly on low- then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just barely so that they’re incorporated. Don’t add them all at once as this will adversely affect the texture!
5. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla, and flour until smooth, still being careful to keep the whole mixture thick- then pour everything into the springform and place the entire cake on a baking sheet.
6. Bake the cakefor an hour at 350 degrees, then- and this will sound strange- turn the oven off and leave the cake to hang out for 5 or 6 hours, or overnight. Be sure not to open the oven door after you turn it off so it keeps steaming slowly. Then cool it in the fridge until ready – these get better with age, so I suggest making it a few days ahead of time.
7. Once it’s had ample cooling time (a few hours), prepare the icing- place all the icing ingredients in a medium saucepan and mix together until melted. Take off the heat and allow to thicken for 2 minutes- then spread over cake and cool for another several hours. Shortly before serving, add on strawberries and caramel.

It’s not too sweet, and it’s just rich enough – the age and topping make the difference, and the white chocolate icing gives it something sophisticated (along with the vanilla bean in the cake itself). This is a modified take on a classic, and one that a great variety of folks can enjoy. My sister loved it :) so it served its purpose! Happy birthday, lovely, and an exciting year 22 for you!!

This cake is the image of decadence: four layers of chocolate cake with toblerone pieces melted into the batter, layered in between dark chocolate ganache, encased in a rich chocolate cream cheese buttercream, topped with more chocolate ganache and mini toblerones…. need I say more? :)

A coworker of mine recently celebrated her 30th anniversary of being at our company- a great achievement!- and I knew celebrations needed to be underway. She’s a fantastic lady and helped me on my first project when I began working there, and I wanted to thank her for her kindness and friendship through the means I find easiest- cake.

January was a milestone in that it was my first month of beginning cakes in which I don’t even consult a recipe for proportions or basics – February is a milestone for icings and ganache to join that list. I’m happy to say I’m now able to complete an entire layer cake fully from scratch, lack of recipe included- something that’s made me quite happy. :)

This guy is big and heavy- the four layers will weigh on you, and if you’re looking to exercise your arms, cake weights can definitely do it- but well worth it. It’s really rich and can easily feed a very large group of people (I think 20-25) so it’s ideal for party/birthday size.

Chocolate Toblerone Layer Cake

Ingredients- Cake: You’ll be making this twice, so you’ll need double of all the cake ingredients. Written here is the recipe for ONE cake (which will make 2 layers)

• 2 whole eggs (brown, organic, cage-free)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract (feel free to be liberal with this one)
• 1 cup light sour cream
• scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup toblerone, melted
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour

Ingredients- Ganache:

• 1/2 cup (one stick) salted butter (I’m so sorry, I know it’s a lot…)
• 1 bag (usually 12 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips (suggestion: ghirardelli or guittard)
• 4 tblspn skim milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients- Frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened to room temp (I know, I know, so much butter, I’m sorry!)
• 2 packages (8 oz each) light cream cheese, softened to room temp
• 1/4 cup of the above chocolate ganache
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• approx. 1 lb confectioner’s sugar

Process:

1. Heat oven to 355 degrees F and get out two large mixing bowls. Grease two 9-inch springform pans.
2. Crack 2 eggs and whisk with 2/3 C sugar in each bowl. Then add in the 1 cup of sour cream to each bowl and whisk until smooth.
3. Add canola oil (still to each bowl!) and whisk again until smooth. Then add vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, and milk, and still whisk until smooth. Now add the melted toblerone and it’ll become a thicker, darker batter. Lastly, whisk in the flour slowly until JUST combined – do not overmix so as to not toughen the cake.
4. Pour the batter into your two greased 9-inch springforms and place both on a large baking sheet. Place baking sheet in oven. The cakes will need to bake for approximately 30-35 minutes. Set your timer for 30 minutes and check with a toothpick after the 30-minute mark. If the toothpick has liquid-y chocolate-y-ness upon it, return to oven and check again in 5 minutes. Repeat process (these can be finnicky) until your toothpick is fully or almost clean.
5. While the cakes are baking, place all ganache ingredients in a small stockpot over medium heat and melt together, stirring the entire time to make sure nothing dries or clumps. Once melted, let it sit on low heat for another 10 minutes – then turn off and leave alone to cool.
6. Remove your finished cakes from the oven and open the springforms. Place on a wire rack (leave the metal bottom for now if it’s sticky- remove if it’ll come off easily) to cool for at least 2 hours.
7. While your cakes cool, you can prepare the buttercream frosting: Place cream cheese in a stand mixer bowl (or large mixing bowl and get out your electric handheld mixer) and mix until smooth. Then add butter and continue mixing until it’s a thick, smooth paste. Add vanilla and 1/4 cup of the chocolate ganache that has now cooled a bit. You’ll get a light-brown goopy mixture. Now, begin pouring in the confectioner’s sugar gradually as it continues to beat until you reach your desigred consistency- it should be stiff enough to where you could pipe shapes but soft enough to where if you press upon it lightly, you’ll make an indention with your finger.
8. Tip: If you’re worried about pieces of cake showing through your frosting, add a bit of vanilla bean paste to the icing. The little spots will camouflage any cake pieces that get unattached from the cake and join the icing party.
9. Once the cakes are cooled, cut each in half to make two fairly even layers (I use a large serrated bread knife to do this).
10. Begin assembly: place one layer cut-side up on a plate. Using a silicone spatula or icing utensil, spread on about 1/4 of the chocolate ganache. Spread ALMOST to the edges but leave a centimeter or so un-ganache-d: when you press on subsequent layers, the frosting will ooze to the sides, so this will create an even layering.
11. Continue alternating adding on layers of cake and frosting on the ganache. Reserve at least 1/4 cup (preferably 1/2 or 2/3 cup) of ganache for the top of the cake.
12. Once all four layers are assembled, let stand 10-15 minutes so the ganache hardens into the cake (this way it won’t disturb your buttercream). Then, using a frosting utensil again (rinsed), spread on your icing. I start by placing most of it in the top center of the cake, then slowly moving it out to the sides, over the sides, and around, so that it’s fairly even.
13. You can then pipe designs around the top and bottom if you like, or just go straight to pouring on the ganache haphazardly. Top with mini toblerones so as to alert your guests of the degree of yummyness to be found inside the cake.
14. Chill overnight so the icing settles – or at least a few hours. Then devour.

Those instructions are long, but that’s just me being wordy – it’s not a difficult cake to make at all, and quite delicious. It’s very rich, so don’t plan on eating too large a piece, but hey, that just encourages sharing :). You can always halve the recipe, make it in a 6-inch mini springform, and make a smaller version of the cake.

This was, I think, my favourite cake I’ve made so far. Imagine, if you will, a rich, gooey cream cheese danish… topped with candied apricots… and a sticky, syrupy coating. Upside-down fruit cakes with syrups seem to be my “it cake” of the moment and I’m experimenting around- so far apricot, pear, and peach have been brought to the table, and any other large stone fruit is liable to be next. This works equally well with canned or fresh ripe fruit, is rather quick to make, and utterly delicious. It’s not overly sweet, and has a richness that you just can’t beat. Best of all, it’s very adaptable- you can add and remove fat as desired- yes, this will affect the texture, but the overall taste should remain about the same.

Apricot Cream Cake

Ingredients- cake:

• 1 & 1/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1 package (8 oz) plain cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3 whole eggs (brown, cage-free, organic)
• 2 tblspn soy butter, melted
• 1 tblspn vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 heaping cup granulated sugar
• 1 can apricot halves in pear juice concentrate (NOT syrup)

Ingredients- syrup:

• 1/3 can Kern’s apricot or apricot-mango or pear nectar (you pick!)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tblspn raw honey

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 335 degrees F
2. Grease an oval baker and then coat lightly with sugar. Place apricot halves face-down in the pattern of your choice onto the sugared dish and set aside.
3. Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until the cheese is fully softened and a thick paste emerges. Then mix in the sour cream until it, too, is fully incorporated in a tick, heavy cream.
4. Mix the eggs in one at a time , whisking after each addition. Then add in the vanilla, melted butter, and salt.
5. Add about 1/4 cup of the pear juice concentrate from the can and mix into the batter.
6. Add the flour and (now using a wooden or silicone spoon) mix in until just combined. Check the texture- it should be thick and glompy (see photo below) and hold its shape rather well. If it’s too thick, add a bit more pear juice concentrate from the apricot can; if it’s too thin, add more flour. The thicker the texture, the more danish-like the cake will be, so adjust the texture to your liking.
7. Place in oven to bake for approx 30-35 minutes or until golden-brown on top. Try wiggling the pan and if the middle wiggles (or place a skewer in to check done-ness) then put it back in. Don’t worry about slightly overcooking- the syrup will moisten the cake.
8. While the cake is baking, place all syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat to medium- cook it through until a thick syrup emerges, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
9. When the cake is baked, remove from oven and poke multiple holes in it using a skewer/toothpick. Let sit 5 minutes, then pour on the syrup, making sure to coat the sides as well as the top of the cake.
10. It’s yummiest if left out overnight to imbibe in the syrup-y goodness and should be refrigerated starting the next day.

Trust me when I say that this is an absolutely delicious cake, not hard or strenuous to make, and totally worth it. I’ve been doing multiple variations on it (trying out different fruits on top, different quantites of cream cheese and sour cream, caramel and syrup toppings) and it’s amazing every time. :)

These would have been so amazing had they worked out. They were totally delicious and felt like melting clouds, but boy was the texture all wrong. Macarons are insane- that’s my conclusion on life. It’s the ultimate test of timing, because you have to start with a meringue- which is evil by nature- but the piping on these, not to mention the precise baking- they can easily burn from both the bottom and the top- is far too complicated. We tried one batch and they got burnt; and batch number two never fully set and I had to painfully scrape them off the silpat days later after hanging out in the freezer in vain.

My lovely friends Z and M (Z = the one who was over before for hummus and palmiers) joined me for an evening of baking. I didn’t have the lovely stand mixer I gifted myself for the holidays at the time, and so M brought hers (arms of steel for bringing that thing up to the fourth floor!) and the macaron attempt began.

We failed miserably but that’s beside the point, right? They were yummy, we had fun, and there you go.

Vanilla Bean Macarons with Raspberry-Vanilla Cream

Failed Attempted at Technicolor Kitchen’s Beautiful Macarons

I was going to write out the recipe for these but we’re clearly not qualified. Not even the texture of the cream was right. All I’ll suggest there is that the fresh raspberry as a substitute for the roasted strawberry was delicious. But don’t take any other macaron advice from me ;). I’ll add to this post if we try again and get a more successful result!

…At least they look kind of nice?

So it’s now been nearly a month and a half since I last posted and a) I feel guilty about it, b) I’ve certainly been baking and cooking a ton, so there’s a bunch of catching up to do, and c) I may be a bit lethargic concerning the backlog. That said, I’m going to try my best to go in order and hope to catch up and be up-to-date soon. The boyfriend moving in, our re-organizing the place, and having some busy times at work have made for less posting time, but… here’s to finally documenting some of these.

When I asked the boyfriend what the one thing he’d like me to make for him was, he asked for cream cheese danishes. They’re his favourite pastry, and knew I had threatened to make them once before, so…. worth a shot, right? A quick investigate online yielded the following results: these things tend to be tricky to make when doing so completely from scratch, and quite unhealthy. Most cheat by using crescent rolls for the dough, and I wasn’t going to have any of that! Thus, I decided to make them up completely on the spot. Luckily, they turned out quite yummy! While the dough is on the drier side, the filling is incredibly moist and makes it a fabulous combination. Mmmmh. I’m actually considering making some after having looked at this…

Cream Cheese Danishes

Ingredients (yields 12 medium-sized danishes):

Dough:

• 1/4 cup sour cream (full-fat for best results, I’m afraid)
• 1/2 cup neufchatel cheese (low-fat cream cheese)
• 1/2 cup organic half ‘n half
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tblspn organic soy butter
• 1 tblspn organic vegetable shortening
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 & 1/2 cups organic AP flour
• 1.5 tblspn baking powder

Filling:

• 8 oz. neufchatel cheese (1 package)
• 1/3 + 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp organic AP flour

Glaze:

• 1 tblspn condensed milk
• 1 tblspn organic skim milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly butter a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 tsp organic AP flour and set aside.
2. Place wet dough ingredients (sour cream, neufchatel, 1/2 & 1/2, vanilla, soy butter, shortening, and sugar) in food processor and process for a few seconds until the mixture is smooth.
3. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and mix together. Add to mixture in the food processor and and pulse in short bursts just until the dough clumps together (be sure not to overprocess- this will toughen the dough).
4. Emtpy the dough onto a flour countertop and knead gently into a ball (kneading process should only take about 20-30 seconds) .
5. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle (about 1/2 cm thick). Using a pastry cutter, cut the rectangle into long strands, about 1-inch thick.
6. Take two strands at a time and intertwine them into small nest-like shapes. You can make these as thin as you like or use only one strand per nest if you’d like smaller danishes.
7. Place the nests on the baking sheet, about 2 inches at least apart- they will puff and expand!
8. Prepare the filling: place all filling ingredients in food processor and pulse until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Spoon the mixture in to the middle of the nests, about 1 tblspn of filling per nest, or until the hollowed-area is filled but not overflowing (it will run out a bit if it becomes thicker than the crust)
9. Place the baking sheet with the nests into the oven for approx 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are becoming a light golden brown.
10. While the danishes are baking, prepare the glaze: place the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. You may need more or less powdered sugar, add this bit by bit until the glaze has some body to it.
11. Place the baked danishes on a wire rack to cool. Place the baking sheet under the wire rack and spoon on the glaze – cover as thoroughly as you like. You can also glaze once, let it dry a bit, and then glaze a second time. The sugar content is up to you! :)

These were realllllllllllly good. They’re relatively simple, are sure to impress (turns out most people don’t make their own danish dough. or fake danish dough, at any rate) – and can be a delicious tea time snack or breakfast-food. Plus, check out that texture. You know you want to bite into it and feel the creamy, gooey goodness of cheese.

You may see this recipe and think it’s a clafoutis. I, too, would have thought this prior to my recent research. As it turns out, French becomes more loveable than ever when referencing food terms. I’ve often tried explaining to friends how wonderful it is that French is very specific- for example, the word ‘tartiner’ refers to the spreading of a fairly thick substance (oft used to describe butter, jam, preserves, pesto, tapenade, etc) onto a bread-like substance. English has no such word, sadly, but French wins yet again in the culinary specificity department with flaugnarde.

Clafoutis, apparently, refers ONLY to when this dessert is made with black cherries- and purists will argue that the cherries must have their pits in for it to be traditional. For any other fruit, it must be a flaugnarde. There’s always something to learn about food :)

I had some lovely large, ripe (yes, there is such a thing as a ripe apple, oddly enough) pink lady apples from my mother and some organic heavy cream I had gotten on sale. I decided on flaugnarde- well, clafoutis, before I knew that to be the incorrect term- and searched for a recipe. I found Ina’s, adapted it, and was very happy with the results. As I had leftover batter, I made a few different sizes and shapes, and each was different! My favourite, I think, was the large tart-shaped one, but each was interesting. The souffle dish ones suffered from overbeaten eggs in the batter, resulting in a souffle-like consistency on bottom and a more flan-like consistency on top. If nothing else, it was an interesting study in texture!

Apple Flaugnarde

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Pear Clafouti

Ingredients:

• 2 large Pink Lady apples
• 2 tsp 2x extra strength vailla extract
• 7 tablespoons organic AP flour
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (cage-free!)
• 1 1/2 cups organic heavy cream (I used Horizon)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F; butter dishes with room-temperature soy butter (I did two batches of batter- see below for ‘second attempt recipe’ and buttered 1 10-inch fluted tart pan, 2 souffle ramekins, and 1 4-inch rectangle ramekin); sprinkle 1 tablespoon (more or less) of the sugar around the sides of the dish(es)
2. Place the eggs and remaining sugar in a food processor (or, preferably, stand mixer) and beat together for 1-2 minutes until frothy and mouse-y on top and light in colour.
3. Add in the flour, cream, vanilla extract, and salt; mix together and set aside as you prepare the apples.
4. Peel, quarter, core, and slice the apples, having approximately 4-5 slices per apple fourth. Fan the slices lightly onto the dishes in whatever fashion you choose, so long as it’s aesthetically pleasing; then pour the batter on top and make sure the apples are well coated (it’s okay if they’re sticking out a bit- see the pictures below).
5. Bake your flaugnarde(s) until the top is golden brown and the custard is firm- this will take approximately 32-35 minutes for the large tart; 45-50 minutes for the deeper rectangular ramekin; 25-30 minutes for the souffle dishes. It all depends on the size!

For my second variant, I tried the following (the rectangular dish- which I really quite enjoyed- had this mix): 1/4 cup organic heavy cream; 2 large cage-free eggs; 4 heaping tablespoons organic AP flour; 2 large Pink Lady apples; 1.5 tablespoons 2x extra strength vanilla extract. The rest of the ingredients were the same. I also mixed this one far less- less overbeating and air meant a denser, thicker texture, which I prefered.

The texture reminded me a bit of the tarte au flan my father had at Sarafina’s on St. Maarten… gorgeous. Though, of course, theirs was larger and thicker. But this dessert is very simple, when made with the food processor, and very very very good. I’ll definitely be making this one again. I made the large tart and large ramekin to bring in to work for an intern event- bringing food makes for more attentive audiences, I’ve found- and they seemed to enjoy it… and the sister really liked it… so I’m counting it as a success! :)

So when I made the apricot danish cake, I thought, hmm, this could be pretty cute- and convenient- as mini cakes… but I wonder if they’d turn out the same way. And indeed, like a sign, they did not! I do have to admit that it was not fully the result of having switched to a smaller size- I changed several elements at once. Low-fat/light sour cream was replaced by fat-free; the egg whites were fresher and therefore more firm (and with more air), and more apricot puree was inserted into the creamy batter (which weighed it down a bit more). That said, it was a fascinating experiment, and the only way to describe them, really, is as being some sort of hybrid between a danish and a souffle, with a slight cheesecake-like texture near the fruit. And the jelly was a complete accident! I was yet again- in vain- attempting to make a caramel sauce to top the cakes and out came jelly. Go figure- I think I’m just not meant to get caramel right.

Mini Apricot Cream Cakes with Home-Made Apricot-Pear Jelly

Adapted from Bill Granger’s Apricot Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients (for the jelly/ fresh fruit topping):

• 1/3 cup Kerns pear nectar
• 1/3 cup apricot juice
• 1/8 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy butter
• 1 can fresh apricot halves in juice (keep the juice!)
• 2-3 additional fresh apricots, halved (and rinsed, de-seeded)
• 1 tsp 2x-concentrated vanilla extract

Ingredients (cake):

• 5 tblspn soy butter
• 4 + 6 oz fat-free sour cream
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 apricots, pureed
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 separated eggs
• 1 tsp 2x-concentrated vanilla extract

Process:

1. Heat oven to 355 degrees F and butter a large muffin pan (I had leftover batter from doing 12 muffin-size cakes and therefore buttered a pan to make a long, flat cake. you can try making mini cakes in a mini muffin pan with your extra batter)
2. Heat together pear nectar, apricot juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, soy butter,and  vanilla extract over medium heat until it begins to bubble slightly; then add in apricot halves and reduce heat slightly. Keep flipping over the apricots so that they’re fully coated with the mixture, until they are soft and cooked through but not falling apart, and the sauce has caramelized. Then, pour apricots slowly and evenly into pan and set aside.
3. Pour caramelized sauce into a small, fairly flat bowl and set aside. This will become a jelly (I’m told pear probably has pectin, which triggers this. My pear netar is also a bit on the old side, which may have contributed to this texture in some fashion)
4. Sift together the flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
5. Put soy butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix slowly until the mixture has a creamy texture. Then gently mix in the first 4 oz of the sour cream. Whisk in the egg yolks in two batches (2 at a time), then add in the pureed apricots (just halve them, chop into small pieces, and place in blender or food processor) and mix slowly.
6. Add the sifted flour in two batches, stirring slowly and only until just mixed in. If there are a few small tufts of unmixed flour, don’t worry about them! Then add in the remaining half of the sour cream, again mixing slowly.
7. Take a chilled bowl (preerably metal) and place egg whites and 1/2 tsp salt inside. Beat with an electric mixer on 1 or lowest speed for 3-60 seconds, then slowly raise speed until stiff, white peaks are formed. Be careful not to overbeat, or the whites will begin falling back down.
8. Fold the egg whites in 3-4 batches, being careful to fold and not mix so as to get all the air into the cake. Pour mixture slowly and evenly over the apricots in your muffin pan.
9. Place in oven on top rack for approximately 20-25 minutes, then remove and check with a toothpick. Let side 5 minutes to cool, then flip over onto a plate (or carefully remove each mini cake individually- or flip onto a cookie sheet, as my visiting friend suggested) and allow to continue cooling for 30 minutes. Eat warm with vanilla ice cream and heated jelly or cool as a Danish (as it cools, the cake will compress and compact into a thicker, creamier texture, especially near the fruit)
10. For the jelly, it ought to have jelly-itized by now. If it hasn’t, try going the conventional method and re-heating and adding pectin. Once your jelly has set, scoop out tiny pieces and place on top of the cakes. Serve with a leaf of fresh basil or mint and a warm scoop of vanilla ice cream with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

…and if you serve it with the serving suggestion in step 10, prepare yourself by getting some more ice cream, because it will be eaten so quickly that you won’t realize it happened until it’s too late. Warm cake with oozingly caramelized fruit + melting ice cream = mmmmh. Now I’m tempted to go make a batch of these again :). They’re portable, rather simple, and make a great gift or are perfect for your next entertaining event!

Something that’s crunchy and golden on top but gooey, warm, and creamy on the bottom sounds rather Heavenly to me. And this dish is just that! It’s like a musical piece: it begins softly with this “ahhh” of crunchiness on the top, as you begin munching on the cheese… then you begin to taste the potato and the crunchiness gives way to an irresistable softness… and then the bottom, with the rich creaminess of the cream and you know it’s going to be a winner.

Yes, I know, it’s oft seen as a Southern classic and therefore, why would I make this, I who shiver in fright at the idea of Southern foods? But you know what, this looks like a gratin, and gratin looks safe (and French) and thus I thought, all right, this is do-able :). I was tempted to re-name this Thin Potato Gratin to make myself feel better (and I gave my father a piece and he called it a very good gratin, so clearly if a true Frenchman says so, it must be the case) but as Elise’s fantastic recipe is named ‘scalloped’, I opted for that… with a deep breath!

Crunchy & Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Adapted from / variant of Elise @ Simply Recipe’s Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 very large baking potato, sliced into 1/8-inch thick slices
• 3 medium/small Yukon gold potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch thick slices
• 1 tbsp soy butter
• 5 cloves of herb-roasted garlic, peeled, whole
• 1 tsp each of nutmeg and coriander
• 1/8 tsp cardamom
• 1 cup grated San Pietro cheese (very similar to Parmesan)
• 2/3 cup italian fancy cheese blend (mix of 5 cheeses – to be found at your local grocery store)
• 2 1/2 cups of half-and-half
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Butter (with soy butter) a large, fairly shallow dish (could be round or square)
3. Place half of the potato slices (I kept the skin on- after rinsing thoroughly- but you can peel if you so desire!) over the bottom of the dish, trying to have as little overlap as possible
4. Place the garlic cloves directly onto the slices, evenly dispersed. Sprinkle with the spices, and half the cheese.
5. Layer the other half of the potato slices in the same fashion as the first layer, and sprinkle on half of the remaining cheese, as well as the salt and pepper.
6. Pour the half-and-half and milk evenly over the dish, dot slightly with very small pieces of soy butter and cover with a large piece of aluminum foil.
7. Place in the oven for approximately an hour. Then remove from the oven, take off the foil, sprinkle on the remaining cheese, and bake for an additional 30ish minutes, until the potatoes are golden browned on the top.
8. Let cool a bit, then serve warm…. yum.

It’s seriously delicious, and if it has the French stamp of approval, clearly that means you shouldn’t waste time- go get some for yourself and see if you agree! You could change the recipe- I edited Elise’s a bit as I am horrorstruck by bacon (just ask the boyfriend), and I had been on a chives kick the week before, so I wanted to stay away from them. Plus, it’s a proven fact that cream + nutmeg = meant to be. Think of this marriage of flavours as your favourite destined couple. Just trust me on this one :).

It’s true- it’s possible to make crème brûlée low-fat, surprisingly! I wouldn’t have thought so, but even this famous custard dessert can be edited into an equally delicious but far healthier version. None of those I served this to had guessed at its lower fat, and all deemed it authentic. It’s simple, but the almond taste kicks in towards the end and adds a nice flavour. I tried all three types of sugars (powdered, granulated, brown) and found powdered to be by far the best (as goes its reputation). The brown sugar burned too easily; the granulated sugar became too wet; the powdered, however, was just right.

Low-Fat Almond Crème Brûlée

Ingredients (makes 8 small, flat custards):

• 1 tblspn almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup organic skim milk
• 1 & 1/4 cup organic half-and-half 
• 1 egg (yolk + white)
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tblspn granulated sugar
• 8 tsp powdered sugar
• 8 raspberries + sprigs of mint (for garnish)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Scald the milk and cream by placing in a small, tall pot and boiling. Add vanilla extract, remove from heat as soon as it begins to bubble, and set aside.
3. Beat together the other ingredients (almond extract, sugar, eggs) until well mixed together.
4. Add a bit of the milk mixture to the egg mixture and slowly stir together; then add the rest of the milk in small batches, slowly whisking the mixture together. If there are any pieces of yolk/sugar, strain through a wire strainer.
5. Place the ramekins in a large pyrex dish or baking dish, not touching the sides.
6. Pour the mixture slowly and evenly into the ramekins (8, flat, or 4-6 souffle ramekins), being very careful not to spill
7. Pour water into the pyrex dish, making a bain-marie, and carefully place in the oven. Bake the custards for 30 minutes if flat, 35-40 minutes if taller- try wiggling them to see if they’re ready (if wiggling like jello, then they’re set!)
8. Remove from bain-marie water onto a heat-safe surface. To eat these in the ‘traditional’ way, sprinkle powdered sugar onto the tops and torch until the top is caramelized but not burnt. As an alternative, once cool enough to handle, chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the fridge, then sprinkle on sugar and torch.
9. To garnish, top with fresh raspberry and a sprig of mint, or other fresh fruit.

I’ve been told that if you haven’t a torch, you can use the broiler setting in the oven and place it directly under the heat, but mine was unsuccessful with this. That said, the lovely torch my friend B gifted me for my birthday worked out perfectly :) These were delicious, and tasted rich despite the lack of rich ingredients. Success! A low-fat alternative that’s well-hidden within great, full flavour.

I really, really like mango. Not only does it have a fantastic taste, but the texture is so thick that it can be used for a great many things. That thickness is the reason it’s so adept at smoothie-ing… and at making marinades, dips, and other thick sauce-like items. As per usual, the boyfriend was hungry, I was in the mood to experiment, and thus decided to try out a few things I had been meaning to look into for some time: a curry-marinade and the odd marriage of strawberry cucumber. I had long heard of this myth but was wary- cucumber is such a strong flavour in my opinion, and it’s hard to say what it will happily make off with… and strawberry was not a prime suspect on my list. But you never know until you try, right?

The result was quite nice, on both ends. The marinade was thick and flavourful (long live yellow curry powder and garam masala!) and the salad was fresh fresh fresh! That’s really the only word I can use to describe it. I’ll post the recipes in two pieces here below:

Mango Curry Marinade Grilled Pork Loin

Ingredients (for two people):

• 1/2 lemon’s juice
• 1/8 tsp lemon zest
• 2 mangoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 tsp of paprika, garam masala, and coriander
• 1 tsp yellow mild curry powder
• 1 tsp orange juice, no pulp
• 1.5 tbl low fat sour cream
• 4 pork loin cutlets
• 1 tsp organic canola oil
• pinch sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper

Process:

1. Place lemon juice, lemon zest, paprika, coriander, garam masala, curry powder, orange juice, sour cream, salt, and pepper in a bowl; mix together
2. Puree mango in blender or food processor until creamy and smooth. Add to rest of mariande and mix thoroughly.
3. Place pork in bowl and make sure it is fully covered by the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and cool for 30 minutes- preferably longer (overnight will be the most flavourful).
4. Once the marinade has cooled thoroughly, heat grill pan with canola oil drizzled over the pan.
5. Place pork (try to keep as much coating on as possible) in grill pan and grill on all sides, flipping over every 5-6 minutes until grill marks have a golden colour and prok is firm to the touch.
6. Season with freshly-chopped chives or parsley on top for garnish

Fresh Spinach, Cucumber, and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients (salad for two):

• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves (can leave stems on)
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced very thinly (paper-thin)
• 10 dried apricots, quartered
• 2 tbl raspberry dressing or 1.5 tbl balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Process:

1. Clean spinach, drain, and place in large mixing bowl
2. Slice strawberries rather thinly (about 1/4-inch thick) and add to bowl
3. Add thinly-sliced cucumber to bowl along with quartered apricots
4. Drizzle on raspberry dressing or balsamic vinegar and olive oil
5. Toss thoroughly to mix!

It’s a bit of a fusion dish, these two things together, but it’s quite delicious, and very fresh. The heat, though mild, from the curry marinade is offset by the freshness of the salad. Pair these together for an irresistable summer dinner!

The boyfriend loves mushrooms. This is a fact that I will at times humour when my sister- who is even less of a fan of them than I- isn’t home. We were having company over for dinner, and thus I decided on chicken marsala… except I didn’t have marsala…. so sherry chicken a la marsala method, it was! I loosely followed a recipe from my Family Cooking book, but of course made adjustments. Namely, the substitution of dry cream sherry for marsala… but a few others as well. I actually didn’t mind the taste of mushroom in the sauce, when I tried it, and my two fellow dinnermates adored the taste, so it must have been successful :)

Creamy Sherry Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

• 3 large shallots, diced coarsely
• 4 tbl soy butter
• 1/3 cup dry cream sherry
• 1 cup organic heavy whipping cream
• 1 egg
• sea salt & freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 lb chicken tenders, cleaned, de-nerved, cut in half length-wise
• 1.5-  2 cups button mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices (quantity and thickness of slices depending on preference)
• 1/4 cup AP organic flour

Process:

1. Place shallots and 1.5 tbl soy butter, pinch of salt, and pinch of pepper in small sautee pan on medium heat. Cook on medium heat, then bringing down to low, until shallots caramelize. Once they begin to caramelize and bubble, add 1 tbl sherry, then re-caramelize and set aside.
2. Coat chicken tenders in egg, then in flour, coating lightly, and set into bowl.
3. Heat 1 tbl soy butter in a medium-sized sautee pan and sautee chicken tenders until crispy and golden brown; set aside in bowl.
4. Place mushrooms and 1.5 tbl soy butter in the same sautee pan you used for the chicken and begin to cook the mushrooms. After 4 or 5 minutes on medium heat, add in 1 tbl cream sherry and the shallots. Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes, then turn off heat but keep the pan in place. Add the chicken, remaining sherry, and heavy cream and mix thoroughly.
5. Transfer into bowls or caved plates. For garnish, add chopped chives on top.

I apologize if any of this seems inexact- I’m writing this post a week late and sadly didn’t write down the measurements, so I’m trying my best to remember what went into it. However, the proportions should work! And really the important part is having a saucy, creamy dish.

Also, my apologies on these photos being blurry and substandard… I was rushed as our dinner guest had places to be afterwards and I was, of course, running late. Hence my using a photo of the mushrooms as the ‘main image’ above, as the final image of the creaminess prior to plating was rushed and thus a bit blurry…