So with summer being here and wedding season beginning, I figured that posting a few pictures of the amazing custom creations of the Ma Maison pastry team won’t hurt anyone… Enjoy
Category Archives: Baking
Sugar, part 3
From a culinary perspective, sugar is a very important ingredient so understanding how it reacts while being heated, melted, dissolved, etc is very crucial. One of the most integral parts of this is an understanding of what happens in a simple sugar and water solution. In this case, the sugar molecules have a tendency to …
Sugar, part 2
There are several different types of sugars, all with various qualities and sweetness levels. Different sugars give different impressions of sweetness with sucrose being the longest to be detected on the tongue and the most lingering of the bunch. By comparison, fructose registers quickly and strongly but it also fades very quickly. But before we …
Moroco Chocolat, Toronto
Let’s just say, that if Willy Wonka and Alice in Wonderland had a baby, well, it would look a lot like Moroco Chocolat!!!! Located just behind the store fronts of Yorkville Avenue, this venue calls out to every adult’s inner child while still allowing them the sophistication that the neighbourhood endorses. It’s cute, whimsical and it will …
New and exciting at Ma Maison
So it’s been a while since I’ve updated the Ma Maison cake and pastry line-up, so here goes…. Also, drooling over the pictures is a good way to pass time on excruciatingly long Mondays!
What is a macaron?
So all week I’ve been posting about these wonderful little desserts but I haven’t even answered the most basic of questions: What is a macaron? Before I get into details, I would like to point out that we are talking about French macarons as opposed to the North American coconut counterparts…. those are spelled with …
History of the macaron
Their name comes from the Italian word “maccherone” which means to beat or crush, used here in reference to the nut (predominantly almond) flour that these desserts are made with. Although the history of the macaron is a little foggy, most sources agree that they date back to the early 1500’s when Caterine de Medici’s …
Macaron Day 2012, Toronto
What is macaron day? It’s very simple: top pastry shops in Toronto team up for a good cause and give out these amazing little pastries to everyone who walks through the door. This year 25% of all the proceeds of macaron day will be donated to the Red Door Family Shelter (http://www.reddoorshelter.ca/). When is it? …
The Grizzly Project, Barcelona
This is a very interesting clip on the design and making of a chocolate grizzly bear by the Barcelona Pastry Guild School for the World Chocolate Masters competition this year. Enjoy!
Whole wheat, banana berry muffins
Simple and very very healthy, possibly also somewhat tasty, these muffins are a great way to start the day. Should mention that they are egg free and can very easily become dairy free or gluten free. I made mine with wheat germ, blueberries, dried currants and coconut but the possibilities are endless as long as …
Food Pairing Site
Food Pairing This is a site for pairing foods and drinks – great for chefs and bartenders. Foodpairing shows tasty food pairings based on scientific data – it’s amazing because it takes the worry if “this tastes good with that”. They hold food pairing workshops and also match ingredients to brands. Check it out! Jill
Ma Maison enters a gingerbread competition
Just in time for the holidays, the Ma Maison team decided to enter a fierce but fun gingerbread competition. The rules were simple, make “something” out of gingerbread was basically all we were told. The construction had to be 2x2x2 feet and everything except the base had to be edible. Ma Maison came up with …
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Sugar flowers
Since baking in general is not dangerous enough, I’ve taken on a new challenge…. sugar pulling. For those not familiar with this concept, well, it’s pretty much what it sounds like, hot sugar being shaped and pulled into diverse “artistic” shapes. The sugar is warmed, dyed (any colour of the rainbow) and once it’s the …
Ma Maison’s Macarons, Toronto
If you’re not familiar with French Macarons, well, you should head out there and definitely try them. Two crispy yet chewy almond cookies sandwiched together with a velvety ganache, or a delightful jam or even better a smooth and subtle buttercream…. what’s not to love?!!? There’s plenty of places around Toronto doing them well but …
The pig cake
I’m very proud to announce that I have completed my very first novelty cake all by my lonesome. Six or so hours later and 2 kg of butter, 18 eggs and a tonne of red food colouring later, I give you the pig!