Roopa I’ve gone back to pastry school! This time, my friend Marcus came down from Edmonton to do a one week German baking course at the Vancouver Pastry Training Center. I knew very little about German baking going in, so this was very educational in a few different ways! This schwarzwälder kirschtorte or black forest cake … More Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)
Roopa Cannolis!! I feel like cannolis are a quintessential Italian dessert. That said, I’ve eaten maybe one in my entire life. After too much build up, I was thoroughly underwhelmed by it and never went back. It was exciting to make these because they were VASTLY superior to the one I had eaten. Also, it … More Cannolis with Ricotta Filling
Roopa A panna cotta is basically a thickened cream dessert. Apparently it used to be made with egg whites, but now it is typically made with gelatin. It is chilled rather than baked, so it really just depends on correct combining of ingredients. VANILLA PANNA COTTA INGREDIENTS 6 g gelatin sheet 180 mL homo milk … More Vanilla Panna Cotta with Strawberry Consomme
Roopa This was definitely a very interesting recipe. It certainly tasted great, but it was a very different texture than the average cake thanks to the almond flour and polenta. We layered (not gluten free) streusel on the top and bottom of the cake, so if you want the cake to be gluten free, leave … More Polenta Almond Cake with Streusel
Roopa Next in the list of Italian pastries was biscotti! Unlike typical North American biscotti, these were bite sized. Chef Marco commented that biscotti is intended to be enjoyed with a meal, and is not intended to actually be a meal in itself. All I really knew about biscotti was that it is baked twice … More Caramelized Pecan Biscotti
Roopa This was an interesting twist on the tiramisu. We adjusted the tiramisu recipe (as it would not be stable enough) and also added some whipped cream to make it a mousse, rather than a true tiramisu. This cake requires sponge fingers and a mascarpone mousse. Optionally, you can add a strawberry soaking syrup and some … More Mascarpone Mousse Cake
Roopa I went back to the Vancouver Pastry Training Center to take the ‘Tiramisu and Italian Pastries’ course. As usual, it was excellent. Truthfully, I’d never enjoyed tiramisu until going to Thierry and trying theirs. One of my favourite parts of taking these courses is getting to taste what things should taste like. Apparently most places use whipped … More Tiramisu
FOUGASSE Roopa Some extra baguette dough was chopped off, and slit up, and this lovely fougasse was formed, complete with pumpkin seeds, rosemary, and paprika.
Roopa The last loaf we made in the Breads course was a carrot loaf with herbs and caramelized onions. It was definitely more challenging to work with after the addition of all of the wet ingredients! I don’t love onions and can’t be counted on to judge accurately, but my coworkers loved this one! INGREDIENTS … More Carrot Loaf
Roopa Who doesn’t love a French baguette?! I was most excited to make a baguette and bagels when I started this class. One thing to note about this recipe is that it’s a great go-to white dough recipe. I definitely need to work on my slashing technique, but regardless of appearance, it was delicious! Technically … More French Baguette
Chateau Gateau 