An edible birthday present for a friend

Recently, for a friend's birthday, we opted to celebrate by staying in. I volunteered to provide dinner.

Camomile roasted heirloom carrots, whipped goat cheese ring, seed brittle and herb garnishes

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

Halloween Bake Sale

Last week, my students have been super busy creating treats for the school and a group of elementary students that are staying with us for a short period of time. Here is some of their work:

 Spiderweb sugar cookies 

More decorated sugar cookies

Sugar Cookies

A few weeks ago, an old student of mine came to Jean Augustine Secondary School as a guest baker to show our students how to make decorated sugar cookies. This student is now the proud owner of MistryCo Cakes where she creates stunning, one-of-a-kind designer cakes for any occasion. My students were super excited to have the opportunity to talk to a former student about their pathway in pastry arts -- of course, it didn't hurt they would get to hear someone besides me talk for a few days, either.

The cookie decorating was split up into 3 days. On the first day, the students rolled the dough out to a specific thickness. The dough was then baked at 375F for approximately 10-12 minutes or until it became slightly golden brown around the edges. The cookies were cooled on a rack, ready to be dipped on the following day. The next day, students dipped the cookies in royal icing in the follow colours: Yellow for Pikachu, Green for Bulbasaur, and so on. During the last day, students added the finishing touches with either icing or edible markers.

 Pokemon sugar cookies from MistryCo Cakes. 

Sugar Cookies (Recipe from MistryCo Cakes)

225g unsalted butter (at room temp) / 1 cup of flour

200g sugar / 1 cup

1 egg (at room temp)

1 tsp vanilla extract

450g flour / 2 3/4 cup

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar 

Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla

Sift all dry ingredients in a separate bowl

Add dry ingredients to butter and egg mixture, beat with paddle on low until the dough comes together

Refrigerate for 30 minutes

Roll dough out to 1/4" thickness

Using a cookie cutter, cut cookies and place them on a lined baking tray

Chill cookies for 10 minutes

Bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges

Royal Icing (Recipe from McCall's)
40g meringue powder
5g cream of tartar or lemon juice
190g warm water
1000g icing sugar

Sift meringue powder and cream of tartar
Dissolve meringue powder and cream of tartar in warm water
In a stand mixer, whisk the water mixture until foamy
Slowly add icing sugar, one cup at a time
Depending on humidity, the amount of icing sugar can change.

Copenhagen: Our Trip

The Food:

It likely won't come as a surprise that food was a big part of our trip. We'll be sharing some notes on a few of the highlights shortly:

• Noma (no surprise here)
• 108
• Torvehallerne
• The bakeries
• Carlsberg Brewery (yes, really!)

     
Sightseeing:
If you read the backstory on our trip, then you're probably aware that this wasn't exactly a typical vacation. It wasn't until after we'd booked our flight that we began some attempt at planning how we would be spending our time in Copenhagen (when we weren't eating). If I'm being honest, most of this didn't happen until a week or so before the trip itself.