Sweets

Twisted matcha tea buns (and a cinnamon version)

November 23, 2020 by Ariel Leave a Comment

I havent had good quality matcha to cook with in ages.

Call it pure laziness on my end, I just hadn’t taken the time to shop around for a decently priced alternative since my last matcha plug stopped shipping to Canada. Luckily, the universe has been on my side and clearly heard my prayers because the Canadian company Yupik contacted me on Instagram, about a month ago, to send me some of their delicious matcha tea along with other goodies.

May I say that I’ve been happily surprised with the quality of organic products that was sent to me and their matcha is no exception!

If you’re ever shopping on Yupik.com, make sure to use the code: ARIEL12 at checkout for a nice discount.

Now, this recipe for matcha twisted buns is a nice twist (pun intended) on the classic and oh so delicious cinnamon buns but because when they are baked in a giant muffin pans, they come out with a crunchy exterior and a nice soft interior. The brightness of the matcha, when you cut right through, is not only pleasing to the eyes but also so bursting with flavours.

Along with these gorgeous green buns, I’ve added the recipe for the classic cinnamon version (but still twisted) and baked in a regular rectangle oven dish. You’ll noticed that both recipes are slightly different in execution than what you might be used to but, this minor extra step makes such a difference in the potency of your preferred flavours, in the end.

Obviously, both baking methods can be used for either one of the fillings, it only depends on the final texture you prefer. As mentioned above, baking them in individual portions in giant muffin pans makes the outside crunchier while baking them in the classic rectangle oven dish will make keep them more hydrated and chewy.

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Choux au craquelin

October 29, 2020 by Ariel 2 Comments

The result of my second stream on Twitch!
Oh my, oh my… this is what heaven is made of; pastry cream, pâte à choux, sugar and vanilla aroma.

I sincerely hope you get to try this super fun to make French pastry which translate to cream puff crack buns if I may borrow the title from chef John (food wishes). It was so fun trying this recipe for the first time, last night, surrounded by so many of you.

Pastry cream and choux pastry dough was something I was familiar with but the craquelin part on top was new to me. Let me just say that it adds such a fun and crunchy dimension to the regular pâte à choux. Definitely something I’ll be making again for my friends and family once we can gather again… like in the good old days.

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Apples & sweet clover extract scones

October 22, 2020 by Ariel 4 Comments

Yesterday was my first day back on Twitch and may I dare to say that it was a blast.

Talking to everyone again and meeting new awesome peeps really made my Wednesday afternoon magical. It had been over a year since my last Twitch stream and I was a little nervous to get back on the horse, manage the chat and make sure the recipe I’m making isn’t a total disaster.

Luckily, everything went great and I’m already looking forward to the next stream. Here’s the recipe that was created yesterday which turned out incredible! Not that I expected it to be bad but, it was created on the spot and it took two hours to make it because of all the talking and probably a bit of the nervousness of being live.

In normal time, this is a recipe that will take you a maximum of 20 minutes (beside the rest needed for the apples) to make and I really hope you get to try it because it’s a strong 8-9/10 in my book. A nice mix between a flaky savoury biscuit and sweet scone with the tartness of the apples (Cortland & Lobo) and the delicate aroma of my new favorite extract: sweet clover flowers. If you ever come across this product, buy it right away. If you don’t have any, don’t worry. You can use vanilla extract instead but try to seek that sweet clover extract because it will be making a world of difference in these delicious scones.

Sending a huge thank you to everyone who came to the stream yesterday, I’m looking forward to next Wednesday 3pm eastern time for the next one.

Now let’s get to the recipe…

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Bee pollen cupcakes with jam.

June 24, 2020 by Ariel 2 Comments

The jam part of this recipe is quite simple. I had mulberries in my freezer that I mixed with cane sugar and brought the mixture to a boil. After a few minutes, the berries starts to fall apart and the jam appears. Since they have a LOT of annoying little seeds, after blending the mixture even more (I used the trust worthy hand blender for that) I’ve strained it to remove them. What’s left is more like a coulis than an actual jam but it doesn’t matter because it’s delicious.

You may use any other types of berries or fruits as long as they have a little tartness to them. That little tartness will be balancing the sugar of the bee pollen which is the star of today’s recipe.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than ever before, I’m mostly buying local produces or at least as much as possible. Intermiel was the first local company I happily gave my support to as they were so generous with me in the past and still always repost my instagram stories. Beside being total sweethearts, I like knowing my money goes to passionate people which is exactly how this apiculture company started.

Today’s bee pollen cupcakes were my way to celebrate receiving my second online order from them and the recipe was created from another recipe for vanilla cupcakes made for a friend a few weeks ago. If you remove the bee pollen of this recipe, they stand great on their own as well without being too sweet. The original recipe was topped with diplomat cream which you can image is sweet enough.

On this have a wonderful day and hope you enjoy this recipe.

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Carrot cake with cream cheese butter cream

April 20, 2020 by Ariel Leave a Comment

My nephew’s first ever birthday cake. <3

Such an honour to have had the chance to make this for this little boy starting his life in quarantine. No worries, he’s good and well surrounded plus, he liked the cake and the frosting so it’s confirmed: he’s also pretty cool.

Cakes aren’t something I dare to make often, for obvious reasons. Luckily this delicious experience turned out to be perfectly moist and, just as I hoped, with a strong flavour of cinnamon and a touch of sweet nutmeg. You can manually grate the carrots for this but, my personal favorite will be to use the hand blender. The icing is not fully solid, nor too drippy either so it’s easy to spread and won’t fall everywhere as it sits in the fridge for a few hours. Without being too sweet, it’s a definitely noticed added sweetest that balances all the strong and subtle flavours of the cake which I hope you will enjoy.

Another important trick to remember is to FOLD the dry ingredients in to the wet ones. As we want a crumbly texture in result, the goal is to avoid the flour having time to build too much gluten which would create a more elastic texture once baked. Gluten development happens when we over mix the batter like when we make bread. As when we want to make a batch of perfectly crumbly muffins, making cake isn’t much different.

Oh and guess what?? You make this beauty a good day in advance and keep it in the fridge overnight until you’re almost ready to serve. For top notch results, leave it outside of the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.

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Hot Chocolate mix, gluten free brownies

March 25, 2020 by Ariel Leave a Comment

The end texture of the mixed almond flour and chickpea flour is INCREDIBLE.

Soft, almost melt in your mouth but still a bit chewy and cakey at the same time. The idea was to make a worthy chocolate afternoon binge while using a minimum amount of ressources as we all know what’s happening in the world today. Since this new reality, my cooking has switched a bit and is focussing even more on managing waste and using limited produce to create delicious meals and snacks. Follow me on Instagram, if you’re not already, to see what I come out with almost every day.

When coming up with this recipe, I remember looking at the thin choice of chocolate snacks in the pantry. Truth to be told, I try not to have chocolate in the house because I’m too immature for that and ALWAYS end up eating almost all in one sitting. People that are close to be know that I still prefer a fruit tart over a chocolate cake but it’s hard to say no when it comes to brownies.

Also because eating too much high in gluten ingredients hurt my stomach a little, it’s been fun to experiment with gluten free baking. This recipe is a great success, hope you get to try it.

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Honey & raspberries cheese cakes

February 20, 2020 by Ariel 1 Comment

The idea here was to make individual cakes that weren’t too sweet but just enough to balance the tartness of the raspberries. You can absolutely change the topping for any other berries or fruits you might prefer. The final texture is a mix between a regular cake, a sponge cake and a cheese cake.

I dare you to try to eat only one.

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Week day wholewheat carrot muffins

February 3, 2020 by Ariel Leave a Comment

There’s a few snacks out there that reminds me of my childhood and carrot muffins is one of them. Fight me on this but, the best way to enjoy them is warmed up with soft salted butter. This is a much lighter version of the classic carrot muffin of my childhood because, let’s face it, there was probably a ton of oil in those. Nonetheless they are perfect for the lunch box and the recipe gives exactly five beautiful muffins for each day of the work week. For those afternoon snacks at the office when you’re craving something sweet without gaining a million pounds.

Since the final sugary taste is noticeable but not overpowering, they would be amazing with a sugary cream cheese glaze but, that would make them super caloric and let’s reserve those for the weekend.

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Peaches & olive oil skillet upside down cake

July 29, 2019 by Ariel Leave a Comment

This was a fun little Saturday experiment.

An easy and delicious peach & olive oil skillet cake that gives an interesting rustic feels, like something your grand mother would have made and put on the table. I’ve debated serving it inside the skillet itself but it looks so much better reversed in the plate. The cake batter comes out very light as airy while the subtle yet noticeable aroma of the olive oil is a wonderful pairing with the peaches and the brown sugar.

Hope you get to try this.

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Poor man’s pudding (Pudding Chômeur)

June 27, 2019 by Ariel Leave a Comment

This recipe got a decent amount of attention on Twitch because not only it’s super delicious… it’s also super easy to make.

Pudding chômeur (direct translation – poor man’s pudding) is a French Canadian classic dessert our grand mothers used to make in the Spring when the maple trees are dripping down their delicious sap to make maple syrup. You can absolutely substitute the maple syrup for a more basic sugary syrup, if you don’t have any but, I don’t think you can call it “pudding chômeur” if you do that. Neitherless to say, it will come out delicious for sure and I really hope you get to try this.

Are you a sugar bug? …because if you are, this recipe is for you!

Got hyperactive kids at home? …this might be the last thing you should be feeding them XD

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