A Black Forest (Birthday) Cake

Not too long ago, Royce and I were talking with my mum about food (no kidding eh?) and mum "casually" mentioned that for a time she had really liked black forest cake.

Tobacco Scented Whiskey Caramel Truffles

Friends of ours have just recently opened a restaurant called Big Tobacco Kitchen & Whiskey Bar in Hamilton, Ontario. The "Big Tobacco Kitchen" gets its name because the menu draws from the childhood experiences of the owner, who grew up on a tobacco farm in Norfolk county. Megan and I thought it would be cool to make them a Christmas gift that was inspired by the story of their new restaurant.

Whiskey Caramel Truffles (makes roughly 22 truffles)

Black Sesame Shortbread

These black sesame shortbread cookies make for an addictive, not-too-sweet afternoon treat. We finished ours by dipping in matcha white chocolate, and topping with a sprinkle of candied black sesame.

Sesame Shortbread (Yields 20 x 11g rounds)
50g candied black sesame (1:1 ratio of sugar to sesame seeds) (extra for topping, if desired)
75g butter (at room temp)
100g all purpose flour

Plum and Almond Tart

With a basket of Ontario plums left over from our recent cottage trip, we have decided to make a plum and almond tart. We used Pierre Herme's pate sucree recipe from our previous post as a base and added the ripened plums and an almond cream filling . 

The tart is first blind baked at 400˚F for approximately 20 minutes. The almond filling is then added with plum halves and sliced almonds. The tart is then baked at 375˚F for another 45 minutes or until golden brown. We served each slice with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream. 

Almond Cream Filling (Recipe from GBC)

112g butter
112g granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean

87.5g whole eggs

112g ground almond
37.5g cake flour

1. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla
2. Add eggs, scraping down bowl between each addition
3. Add ground almond and flour and mix until combined

Matcha, Sesame Seed and Candied Orange Cookies

Perfect timing for National Ice Cream Sandwich Day: These matcha cookies have a few fun add-ins, and a soft, cakey texture that's great for cookie sandwiches (recipe below). What better way to eat them then with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?

Red fruit, Ispahan and Piña Colada

Having some extra days to play around, I have decided to make a couple of fruit tarts with what's available at the local farmer's market and supermarkets. 

This is just a simple fruit tart elevated by the shape of a half pipe. In this version of a fruit tart, we have strawberries, red currants, and raspberries sitting on top of a pastry cream. The fruits are then glazed and decorated with gold leaves. 

Pate Sucree

I'm currently in love with the shape of these tarts. I saw this idea some time ago on Chef Laiskonis's blog and just had to try it. 

Pate Sucree (Recipe from Pierre Herme)

150g unsalted butter

95g icing sugar

30g ground almonds

2 dashes of salt

1/4 vanilla bean

1 egg

250g all purpose flour

1. Cream the butter with sugar and salt

2. add egg and vanilla bean

3. Add sifted flour and mix until combined

4. Chill dough for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator

5. Bake tart at 350˚F until golden brown

Strawberries and Cream

This dessert has only a few ingredients. Strawberries are in season, so I have decided to show it in multiple forms (sous vide, gelee, as is). It is then paired with some homemade graham and a white chocolate chantilly. 

Beet and Goat Cheese

This beet and goat cheese dish is inspired by some famous Spanish chefs (Roca and Adria) with some interesting techniques and surprises to entertain your diners. This dish has multiple components: Toasted walnut and cocoa soil, goat cheese sphere, goat cheese mousse, roasted beets and the sugar beet (a beet blown out of sugar). 

As Billy would put it - "Beets by Royce". In terms of the beets, the roasted beets were placed in 350˚F oven for about an hour or until tender, it is then marinated in orange juice and hibiscus syrup. And as for the blown beets, sugar was cooked and then blown using a sugar pump.

Rainbow Birthday Microwave Sponge

Birthday Cake Microwave Sponge (Recipe adapted from John Placko & Albert Adria)

4 eggs
80g sugar
40g flour
1 pinch of salt
2 N2O charges

1. Process all ingredients in a blender
2. Strain mixture into ISI
3. Close and charge with two N20 charges
4. Refrigerate for 12 hours




5. Dispense cake batter into different bowls and mix with one drop of food colouring.
6. Layer colours into a a prepared paper cup
7. Microwave for 40 seconds on high.

Ispahan Pate de Fruit

Ispahan Pate de Fruit (Recipe Adapted from Chef Migoya)

8.4g Pectin
160g Sugar (1)

360g Raspberry Puree
320g Sugar (2)
40g Lychee syrup
20g Rose water
85g Glucose powder

6.3g Citric Acid (l)

1. Whisk together the pectin and sugar (1).
2. Place the pectin/sugar mixture in a pot and whisk in raspberry puree, lychee syrup and rose water.
3. Combine sugar (2) and glucose powder in separate bowl.
4. Bring mixture to a boil.
5. Add sugar/ glucose mixture and bring mixture to 107˚C/.255˚F
6. Remove from heat and stir in citric acid.
7. Pour into a prepared frame of 9" x 9".
8. Let it set overnight without wrapping.
9. Cut and toss in sugar.

Popcorn and Passion Fruit

Popcorn and passion fruit are a perfect pairing. On this plated dessert, there's a frozen popcorn parfait with a passion fruit ganache and fluid gel. It is accompanied by a banana caramel, roasted peanuts and some mock popcorn.

More strawberries...

Pistachio ganache tart with compressed strawberries and chocolate garnishes

Strawberry Tart

This strawberry tart is composed with a sweet dough filled with a basil ganache, topped with a chantilly, compressed strawberries, strawberry crisp pearls, basil leaves and chocolate deco.

Sweet dough (yield 4)

562g pastry flour

170g icing sugar 

316g butter, cold

112g eggs

34g water

5.6g vanilla extract

1. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar and butter

2. Mix until a sandy texture

3. Mix with eggs, water and vanilla extract until combine

4. Refrigerate until use

Basil ganache

130g 35%

114g milk chocolate

21.5 dark chocolate

50.6g butter

6g basil

1. Bring 35% and basil to a boil

2. Pour 35% into a bowl with both chocolates

3. Wait a minute, stir

4. Add butter and stir 

5. Pour into cooled tart shells

Compressed strawberries

500g Ontario strawberries

50g strawberry liquor 

1. Combine strawberries and liquor in vacuum bag

2. Vacuum on high 

3. Refrigerate until use

Choux Religieuse

The Religieuse is a stacked pastry with a smaller choux on top of another. In this case, it is filled with a light chocolate and caramel chantilly. Both choux are topped with a craquelin, the smaller one is dipped in a mirror glaze and finished with some chocolate deco.

Pistachio and Raspberry Financier

Financiers are small, light and airy petit fours which often contain almond flour with a distinct flavour of beurre noisette (brown butter). The lightness comes from egg whites and baking powder as leavening agents. It's commonly baked in rectangular form but in this case, I have decided to baked them in rounds with the additional flavour of pistachio and raspberries.

Campfire Smore

On June 15,2015, John Placko, Rodney Alleguede and myself, with the help of our friends from Cacao Barry, offered a free demo for pastry chefs in the city at George Brown College. Each one of us had a task, a idea to present, for me it was chocolate with modernist techniques.

Aerated Chocolate At Home

Matcha Maddies

Green Tea Madeleines

150g butter

165g eggs

140g sugar

24g honey

4g salt

4g baking powder

15g matcha powder

150g pastry flour

1. In a stainless steel bowl. Sift all your dry ingredients

2. In a small sauce pan, heat up butter

3. In another stainless steel bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and honey together

4. Combine melted butter with egg mixture

5. Mix in dry ingredients and refrigerate

6. Grease moulds with butter

7. Pipe batter into moulds

8. Bake at 392F/200C for 10 minutes 

Microwaved Pistachio Sponge

Microwaved Pistachio Sponge (Recipe Adapted from John Placko of MCA)

3 eggs

70g Pistachio paste

70g sugar

1g salt

20g flour

2 charges isi

1. In a stainless steel bowl. whisk all ingredients until combined

2. Transfer batter into an isi siphon and load with 2 charges

3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before use

4. Dispense batter half way into a prepared paper cup 

5. Microwave for approximately 45 seconds

6. Remove from the microwave and immediately turn it upside down

7. Allow the cake to cool before use