Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Super simple recipe requires only a few ingredients and a little patience. Before you start, you need paper cupcake cups and a muffin tin (if the mini version of both is available it makes for a better size) and a pot of boiling water for your bain marie. -Melt about 500g of dark chocolate in …

Book Review – Sourdough: A Recipe For Life

It’s amazing. Loved it. It’s small. It’s cute. Having recently begun baking my own bread, at work and personally, this book was given to me by Ryan, the butcher and charcuterie Yoda at Marben. He suggested I read it to get a better understanding of leavened bread and specifically sourdough. I assume he handed me …

Macarons

Having always been fascinated about the art of making macarons, I’m proud to put up this little post as a tutorial for those wanting to try this process out. Just to clarify, I’m not talking about those fairly disappointing and overly sweet coconut confections but about the colourful and extremely flavourful french macarons. A thick …

Nadege Patisserie in Toronto

Have you ever had a very strong urge to overpay for mediocre products?!  Well if that’s the case, Nadege Patisserie (Queen West between Bathurst and Ossington) is the place for you. With clinically white walls and bare decor this cafe offers its patrons almost as much warmth as the Mental Health Ward of a hospital. …

All tiramisu wishes it was Lime Thyme!

I was recently given the opportunity to create my own dessert for Ma Maison, the pastry shop where I’m currently employed and after many months of trial and error it’s finally out. With the guidance of the pastry chef and a very vague idea, Lime Thyme was born. It is our take on a traditional …

Strawberry Shortcake Continued…

It seems as though I may have a fixation with this little dessert but it’s one of the simplest I know to make and it’s really good for clearing your pantry and your fridge. So this time I made it a little different due to the lack of whipping cream in my house. So this …

Frangipane Patisserie

Hidden away on good ol’ Dupont just east of Spadina, this little pastry shop has proven that location isn’t always everything. With it’s big bay windows and open floor plan, this tiny patisserie gets to play in the big leagues of the dessert scene of Toronto. Although it’s lacking any kind of seating, the place …

Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart

I made this a lot last fall/winter after we had a delicious one from the Queen of Tarts in Roncesvalles (which has since closed) and I become obsessed with recreating it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the contrast of the salt with the sweet caramel. Its a great dessert to make ahead of time and I …

Rhubarb Crumble

Keeping in tune with seasonality, I’ve decided to share my rhubarb crumble recipe with the world…. you can make it in individual ramekins or in just one giant deep (pyrex-like) dish. Best served with either a dollop of creme fraiche (make your own by adding 1/2 cup buttermilk to 2 cups of whipping cream and …

Lemon Creme Brulee

I can officially say that i have now baked… never before have I tried or dared to mix eggs, sugar (also brown), vanilla and whipping cream to make something let alone something so damn good and simple. Yet i can’t help thinking that’s the key to this desert, that and lucky and praying to the …