Have a Happy Käsekuchen Birthday <3 - Signe 4/12/2011

Happy birthday to you~
Happy birthday to you~
Happy birthday Signe!
Happy birthday to you!!!

Here's to your 22nd birthday. =)

V for Valentine

St. Valentine's day has always been kind of special for me. It's special not for the boys, the cards, the roses, the chocolates (well maybe a little bit for the chocolates)or the over the top heart shaped everything. It's special because mom's birthday falls 2 days before the very marketed day of love. When I was a little kid, I thought that everyone loved mom and that's why when her birthday comes around there are heart shaped balloons everywhere, little chocolaty treats, very sweet cards, very cuddly teddy bear and discounts on diamonds. Over the years I have learned to never put off getting a birthday present for my mom. Traditionally, last minute shopping often ends up with her holding some sort of cuddly stuff animal clinching on to some chocolates or (god forbid) things that should never come from one's daughter.
Since my dad's birthday last year, I have decided to channel my love of baking in creating wonderful gifts for my loved ones. I shall bake birthday cakes for them! It is a great excuse to stretch my skills! No one (not even my dear beloved) can be mad at the overflowing amount of desserts if it's for someone's birthday!!! However, this concept is a little weird when the birthday-ee is my mom, dad or brother. Actually, it's probably more than just a little weird for most people. No, I am not referring to the cake baking but I don't live with any of my family members (thus they don't actually get to eat the cake). It's the thought that counts right? My mom thought so! Now the entire family is having cake in honor of each other's birthday!

My birthday cake plan boils down to these steps: 1) Plan ahead and think of what the birthday-ee would like as their cake; 2) Make cake to be ready for birthday (including adjusting for time zone difference in certain cases); 3) Sing happy birthday with lit candles on the cake (yes the whole shebang!) over video chat; 4) Eat cake! For mom, I decided on a decadent chocolate mousse cake, rich and just heavenly.

A Spicy Variation of Grandmère Casavant's Pumpkin Cake

It's an honour when you are given a family recipe. This Pumpkin cake recipe is a variation of Grandmère Cassavant's recipe. It's rich, moist and contains enough fiber to be a healthy breakfast cake. The variations are made as sometimes we have to adapt to what's in our pantry (and what you can fit in the cabinets). I thought the cyan pepper would give a kick to the cake! The result is quite agreeable. Make a batch with my variations if you want to be a little daring or follow Grandmère Casavant's recipe for plenty of traditional goodness.

Happy Birthday Love Part 2! December 4th, 2010

On Saturday evening, we were invited for a dinner party in my boyfriend's honor. His parents prepared a feast of appetizers, moose roast, cheese platter, and fruits. For dessert, I have made my favorite tiramisu. The recipe came from a very nice Italian lady who used to be a pastry chef. She now runs a boarding house for international students in Vancouver. She was kind enough to share her recipe. The resulting cake is the most delicious tiramisu that I've ever had. It is perfectly creamy and light. I swear if I was ever allowed I'd eat a whole cake. It is also the perfect birthday cake for a guy (aka my adorable boyfriend) who hates cream and frosting. I made one 8 inch cake for the dinner party and a 9x5 rectangular cake for the two of us for later. Traditional tiramisu is not served with anymore decor than a generous dusting of cocoa powder on top. However, I needed a way to unmold the 8 inch cake nicely as I didn't have any plastic cake collars. I my solution was to decorate the outer layer of the cake with rolled wafers. It was effective for a beautiful reveal. Downside, the wafers were soft by serving time due to the moisture of the tiramisu. I think I will go back to garnishing tiramisus with Savordi next time. Less dramatic but equally delicious!

What's Better with Strawberry and Cream?

Long long time ago, I was given the recipe to this incredibly moist chiffon cake. It's made with 12 eggs. I know... a whole pack of eggs. Please try not to judge and count your cholesterol. Yes, yes. Let's all throw caution to the wind. It's also worthwhile to know that this makes two sheet cakes about 3/4 inch thick. So for a 2 layer 9 inch cake it would probably only take half the recipe. The cake tastes great but it is slightly eggy. It may be wise to tune down the amount of egg yolks. (For both the cake and arteries.) However, it'd be a while before I decide to mess around with this recipe. It's too good to ruin!

Christmas is Coming Around Again

Here is another back posting of something that I made a while ago. As the Christmas season nears, I am reminded of last year's "Holiday Baking Madness". It was a full week of baking and wrapping and baking. There was also some force feeding of sweet stuff in my brother's mouth while he slept. It was quite amusing to watch him finish the bite while he slept. It would've been nice to get a comment from him before he fell back asleep.

Before the Christmas season started, a coworker of mine who was also an avid baker gave me a pouch of the "Amish Friendship Bread" starter. I was really excited to be a part of the chain. It was kind of fun caring for the baby yeasts and the resulting cupcakes were delicious! I ended up wrapping them and gave them away to coworkers as Christmas presents. This recipe is very common but here it is again!

Dying for French Chocolate Cake

I went on a family vacation in Europe this summer. We bought a slice of chocolate cake from a random sandwich shop in Paris for a quick decadent snack. It was the most amazing chocolate cake EVER. It was smooth, chocolate-ly, and just heavenly. Ever since then I have been craving for another slice. The first flourless chocolate cake that I had made was good but it had collapsed in the middle. I thought I'd give it a second try with a different recipe. This recipe did not call for stiff beaten egg whites to fluff up the cake which made it a easy recipe. There's no worry about breaking the egg white bubbles and deflating the cake. The table of flour in this recipe also helped to hold the cake up. The cake is finished with a dusting of icing sugar and a side of mix berries sauce.