I'm Not Dead, I Promise!

On the contrary, I've actually been baking. A lot.

Here's my baking life in pictures thus far:

Lite Bakery's (my bakery partner Lizzie and I's company) Holiday Gift Boxes came out!

I finally got a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. SO happy!

Vanilla Cakes for Cake Pops - let me just say I will never willfully go back to making Cake Pops

Went through the repeat process of rolling cake balls, sticking in the lollipop stick, freezing it, dipping it in melted moulding chocolates, and letting it dry until 5 am for Halloween treats.

Yorkshire Cheesecake that I meant to post up onto the blog a while ago

Christmas hit the apartment!

Espresso Macarons from a little while back, probably the worst night of baking I've had in a WHILE. Went through about 7 faulty batches to finally get to this one.

Vanilla Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream from a previous event! Gorgeous!

Spent the last 2 weeks baking these macarons nonstop. Pistachio Creme Brulee, Peppermint Mocha, and Apple Caramel!

The worst part is I still can't explain to you how to get a perfect batch of macarons, but this one came out beautifully!

Apple Caramel

I wanted to cry (tears of joy). The perfect batch at 2:30 am, was it?

Apple Cider and Pistachio

My permanent workstation. Sounds delicious but not amidst finals! Very stressful!

And Voila! Our Lite Holiday Gift Boxes!

It's been suuuuper stressful and exhausting lately but I hope to update this blog soon when I find time! Thanks for coming by!

- Jane

Pumpkin Spice Macarons

Pumpkin Spice Macarons! I love love love Fall for its colours, cinnamon, pumpkins, and hot chocolate.

Side note - exciting event of baking today:
My glass bowl exploded atop the double boiler - apparently it wasn't heatproof. So I made a meringue without heat which took much longer but the macarons came out just fine!

What was left of my poor mixing bowl

Nonetheless, I made Pumpkin Spice Macarons, perfect for the Autumn season!

I also made it with a twist - I replaced half of the regular almond flour with flaxseed meal. The consistency stayed the same and it's the slightest bit healthier.

The macaron shells are also spiced with delicious cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

The filling is made with pumpkin and cream cheese. Delish!

Spiced Macaron Shell:

• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup flaxseed meal (you can easily replace this with 1/2 cup of ground almonds, pecans, or walnuts)
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of allspice
• 3 room temperature egg whites 
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling:

• 1/2 cup of room temperature butter
• 1 1/4 cup of icing sugar
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin pie filling (or 1/8th cup canned pumpkin)
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• Pinch of salt

Grind your almonds in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and sift into your mixing bowl. Grind your flaxseed meal next with 1 tablespoon of icing sugar and sift into the same mixing bowl.

Sift in the remaining icing sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

If using a double boiler:

Put about an inch of water into a pot and turn the heat on low-medium (you want the water to just simmer). Clean your heatproof (I've learned my lesson) bowl and egg beater with lemon water to whisk away any oil. Put your bowl on top of your pot and add in your egg whites and sugar. 

Using a candy thermometer, beat with an egg beater until stiff peaks. This takes about 6-8 minutes. If you don't have a candy thermometer, take a spoon and scoop a little out. The mixture should feel perfectly smooth between your fingers. Don't dip your fingers in. Oil can ruin a meringue! 

No double boiler:

Mix your sugar and eggs in a bowl. Make sure your egg whites are room temperature! I made the mistake of beating them when cold, they don't fluff up nearly as much when cold. Beat them on medium-high speed for about 10-15 minutes until stiff and glossy peaks.

Fold your egg whites lightly into your almond and flaxseed flour mixture. Add any food colouring to change the colour (always test a little first!).

Line your cookie trays with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 325 F. Use a macaron template (like this) under your parchment sheet to help you make even circles. Scoop your macaron shell mixture into a pastry bag and pipe onto your cookie tray.

Set aside for 20-30 minutes until the macaron shells have a matte surface and skin formed. This is super important for getting your macarons to hold their shape and lift up when baking.

Meanwhile, work on the filling!

Beat your room temperature butter, icing sugar, and cream cheese until nice and smooth. Add in your pumpkin filling and pinch of salt! Beat until smooth. Add in more icing sugar if you find the mixture to be too liquid.

I'm actually not a fan of using pre-made pie fillings, ever. But! The grocery store didn't have any canned pumpkin so this was the next best thing. It has a very weird consistency that doesn't mix into frostings well. Still tastes great, but doesn't mix well.

Bake your macaron shells for 12-15 minutes (with my oven, they're perfect at 12 minutes). Make sure you keep a close watch on them - if over-baked, the centres will rise up and crack. Tap one lightly on the top with a chopstick or toothpick. If they're crisp and sound slightly hollow, they're perfect.

Take them out and let them sit for at least 45 minutes. Don't touch them! They're extremely delicate fresh out of the oven and break pretty easily. 

Once cooled, match them up, flip one side over, and pipe the filling on. Gently sandwich the cookies and ta-da! You have Pumpkin Spice Macarons!

Aren't they gorgeous?

Enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate and some good music. Thanks for coming by!

P.S. Organized my baking shelf with all my ingredients and jars! So exciting.

- Jane 

Empire Cookies

My boss at work is getting married! He took us out to lunch today at the University of Toronto Faculty Club where we gave him a framed photo of our work team, a scarf, and Empire Cookies (which he had sent me an email about long ago to make).

Empire cookies are pretty much sandwiched sugar cookies with jam, icing, and a candied cherry bit.

This recipe makes 12 regular sized sandwiched cookies. I had a large cutter so it only made 8.
Sugar Cookie Recipe (from Anna Olson):

• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp icing sugar, sifted
• 1 hard-boiled large egg yolk
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups cake and pastry flour, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Icing and Middle:

• 1/3 cup raspberry jam
• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 1-2 Tbsp warm water
• 1/4 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
• 6-8 glacée (candied) cherries, each chopped into 6 bits

Preheat your oven to 325 F.

In a large bowl, combine your unsalted butter and sifted icing sugar.

 Beat until nice and fluffy, about 30 seconds to a minute.

Boil one egg and separate your second egg. Drop in your egg yolk from the separated egg. (Tip: you can freeze the egg white providing that you don't touch it too much and keep it for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container! Perfect for macarons)

Scoop out your hard-boiled egg yolk and push it through a sift.

Beat this all together on medium for a minute or two to combine.

Push your dough into a shape of a ball, wrap it up, and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Sugar cookies are especially hard to deal with when warm because of their high butter content (think warm butter, it melts!). You can also make the dough the night before, put it in the fridge, and roll it out the next day. Makes for more manageable cookies!

After it's been in the fridge for a while, roll your dough out. You want it to be rolled out to about a 1/4 of an inch's thickness. Any thinner and the butter will start melting when you touch it. 

A big tip for sugar cookie dough - touch it as little as possible. I've always had a lot of difficulty trying to cut shapes and move it onto a tray because the moment i try to pick it up, it droops and the shape is lost.

Using a cookie cutter (or other circle object), bake your cookies about an inch apart for 10-12 minutes until just golden brown at the edges. Be sure to let them sit for at least 20 minutes before you touch them to assemble. They're very delicate straight out of the oven and I actually cracked one trying to move it when it was warm. 

Once cooled completely, grab a jam and spread it out in the middle. Gently sandwich your cookies together.

For the icing, combine the icing sugar, water, and vanilla extract. Whisk or beat it until mixed. Spread a thin layer onto your cookies.

For your candied cherry, I suggest drying it on a paper towel before placing on top of your cookie. I didn't dry mine very well and they turned the icing a little red.

Let the cookies dry for 2-3 hours before placing into an airtight container. You can freeze them overnight to keep them fresh for up to 3 days.

Photos from our lunch:

Olive oil & balsamic vinegar

Mac and Cheese with Smoked Salmon!

Thanks for coming by! Enjoy.

- Jane