Chocolate Pecan Torte (again)

I made a mistake. I baked something, took pictures of it while standing over the table and getting really really excited to share it with you, only to realize days later when I was getting ready to blog it, that I had already done it in 2012. It's no big deal, besides, it's a delicious idea for Valentine's Day if you're into that sort of thing. If not, it's still a fabulous cake to share with your friends and family, it's full of chocolate and still delicately sweet. My parents loved it, we each had a slice with a scoop of cookies and cream ice cream while watching tv. 

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Recipe here!

Mother's Day and Baked Chocolate Pudding with the Works

A few weeks ago, my mom flicked someone off. It was entertaining and mildly embarrassing. She was driving and we were leaving a busy plaza. At a two way stop sign, she slowed down when a lady in a van signaled to turn into our narrow path. My mom stayed put, there was another car coming behind us, giving us little room to move. The other lady began to make frivolous hand gestures, motioning us to back up but we didn’t budge. Soon, she began honking and even her daughter who sat in the passenger seat joined in, yelling through their window. Other cars crammed the intersection, impatiently honking. The lady finally surrendered and as they drove off, her teenage daughter, faced us and with a cold glare, twirling a forefinger to her temple, the universal sign for crazy. In prompt fashion, my mom gave her the middle finger. I beamed and couldn’t have been more proud of her.

My mom is the sweetest, gentlest person you will ever meet. She’s a great shopping companion, never refuses ice cream (especially when offered a Magnum bar), and she’s always there to comfort me whenever I need a hug. She’s my biggest fan of this blog and always willing to sample any of the sweets I make. For Mother’s Day, I took her to L’Avenue Bistro for dinner. We stuffed our bellies till we couldn’t move, I regretted not wearing stretchy pants. This is my third time eating there and definitely remains as one of my favourite places to eat in Toronto. It’s a cozy restaurant with exceptional service and consistently serves memorable dishes.

To start, there was yellow gazpacho and salted cod beignets with truffle mushroom mascarpone cream. The latter didn’t look too appetizing but I could have licked my plate, looks can be deceiving. I convinced my mom to have the buttermilk fried chicken, knowing she would fall in love with the crisp, crackly chunks of chicken. It was served in a citrusy slaw with a little chilli, a good balance of heat and acid. I had the duck confit in a ridiculously good blood orange beurre blanc and green beans. I ate it all, even picking at the bone with my hands and licking my fingers. 

Without missing a beat, our server brought us the dessert menu. We settled on the triple chocolate terrine, which was milk, dark and white chocolate whipped with heavy cream and then frozen. To my surprise, the white chocolate had the most pleasing texture, much smoother and lighter than it’s counterparts. 

As if we weren’t big enough gluttons, I made baked chocolate pudding the following night. It reminds me of a dense chocolate cake with a gooey centre, sort of like a molten lava cake enriched with extra eggs and butter. I topped it with Speculoos ice cream, dulce de leche sauce and crushed nuts, pretty much the epitome of indulgence. Mom and I ate it with our feet propped up on the ottoman, watching tv and satisfying our inner fat child.

I actually finished my portion in three (!!) sittings, it’s insanely rich with a truffle-like texture and big chocolate flavor. I even ate my leftovers cold, straight from the fridge and liked it more, it makes me think of crumbly flourless chocolate cake, something you just can't say no to.

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Green Bean and Red Quinoa Salad

Like the other 50% of Torontonians that flocked to High Park to admire the cherry blossoms, I thought I'd share their beauty with you (if you haven't gotten sick of them already). I went  with my mom and cursed myself the whole time how I should have worn shorts. I didn’t believe how warm it was. It seemed implausible, an evil trickery from the weather people. The moment we parked the car, we were giddy with cherry-blossom-frenzy. Teeny buds of pink and white flowers swayed under the bright sun. I always forget how lovely it is this time of year, when we can shed our bulky jackets, throw on a bright dress and show some skin, and breathing in fresh air doesn’t hurt the lungs, but actually feels pleasant.

Mom and I walked around High Park, took more photos (I took about 259 photos that day alone) then strolled along Bloor Street West to find a good lunch spot. We were famished and sweaty and couldn’t be more happy to sit and rest our feet, we collapsed at a table at The Kennedy Public House. Getting my priorities straight, I ordered a Kronenberg, then we waited for our warm panzanella salad and chicken club sandwich (cleverly placed under the “witchcraft” category on the menu). We people-watched and again, boasted how lucky we were for the cooperative weather.

I craved something light and fresh, and the panzanella hit the spot. There were roasted tomatoes and red bell peppers, their syrupy juices seeping through the arugula and onions, softening the croutons, plus springy buffalo cheese and briny olives. I’m drooling just thinking about it. The sandwich was a delight too; moist bits of meat with mayo oozed between focaccia. Even the ceasar salad that came as a side was equally memorable; it won major brownie points for fried artichokes and homemade parmesan tuilles. I was so full I couldn’t breathe and thankful for the walk back to the car. 

The following day it was just as sunny and warm. I still wanted something crunchy and laden with vegetables. I’ve had plenty of quinoa in sitting my pantry for a while now and always promised myself to make it and feature it on my blog, but obviously, never got around to it. Maybe it was the panzanella, or the ceasar salad, but I had the urge to make something with spring greens. I made a green bean and quinoa salad inspired by Sara Forte of Sprouted Kitchen. It comes together easily and will even make you lick your plate. I know, you don’t hear of plate-lickingly good salads often, but trust me, the key is in the dressing. I made my own mustardy version for the dressing and the combination of heat, acid, and oil helps to bring the otherwise bland ingredients alive. I whizzed together garlic, lime zest, and a dollop of Kozlick’s sweet and smokey mustard.  

The green beans are blanched, then tossed with cooked quinoa, coated with the dressing and sprinkled with toasted pecans, to give you plenty of crunch in each forkful. It took less than 20 minutes to put together, I even enjoyed it on the balcony while watching the sun go down. It’s nice to see you too Spring.

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Recipe here!

Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzo Crackers

I always give away my baked goods lest I eat them all to myself, self-control is not my forte. For more than half the year, many of the goodies I’ve featured on my blog have also been shared with my boyfriend (save for one week when I forgot to pack some granola and he sarcastically bemoaned, “This is not acceptable behavior”). I’ve long understood the love that comes from cooking or baking for someone you care about, there’s nothing that makes me as elated as when my friends bring me dessert or when my mom buys me an egg tart from the Chinese bakery, so fresh it steams the plastic baggy it came in.

My boyfriend now has his own Tupperware that I put his baked treats in. When I hand over his edible gifts, he roars with excitement as if he just won the lottery, tears open the box and takes a big bite before reluctantly saving the rest for later. I think one of the top reasons I bake every week is getting to watch the way he eats followed by the giddy look on his face.

These crackers are no exception and generate the same welcome to everyone I shared it with. I’ve never eaten matzo crackers before and normally wouldn’t since they’re too bland, but covered in an irresistible combination of chocolate, toffee and nuts, you can’t go wrong. Not only is this recipe easy peasy, the result is dangerously addictive. It makes me think of peanut butter brittle minus the stone hard crunch.

I love recipes that allow you to customize it to suit your preferences or whatever you have on hand. Instead of almonds, you can sprinkle some chopped pistachios, or toasted coconut if that’s what you’re into, maybe even cocoa nibs if you’re fancy like that. I like adding flaky sea salt when I can’t decide if I’m craving for sweet or salty. No matter what you add, these crackers are transformed from bland paper-like crisps to crack-like treats. I’m warning you, these are dangerous.

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Andy's Fairfield Granola

I bought a small bouquet of tulips the other day. They were singing to me, their yellow tinged lips and ruby petals were too pretty not to bring back home. They’re sitting on my dining table by the window, happily soaking up the bright rays of sunlight. It’s March and also that time of year when you start cursing why there is the snow still lying on the ground, and whining about wearing boots when you would rather break out those sandals you bought last year. On the upside, the days are getting longer and by the time I get home from work, the sky is still streaked with brilliant shade of gold. I’m excited to strip off to break away from the biting cold. Spring is here people! Spring!

I’ve been eating this for the past few weeks and don’t think I could ever get tired of it. There’s everything I want in the morning in this granola: wholesome, crunchiness filled with roasted nuts and chewy, dried fruit. Granola sprinkled over plain yogurt makes my insides feel happy and healthy. I’ve made granola many times before, but there’s usually too much oil or sugar and it makes a breakfast food taste more like dessert than something to start your day off right. Nigella’s recipe uses applesauce to help glue the ingredients together, ground cinnamon and ginger to give it extra oomph of flavour and only a moderate amount of sugar and fat to make this granola even better.  

I love that granola is also customizable to your tastes. Throw in any nuts, seeds, flavourings, spices, dried fruit as you please. I’m an almond and coconut advocate and made sure there was plenty of it in this batch. This recipe makes a boatload of granola and I’m still working through of it. 

In other news, I’m published! In PRINT!! I wrote a piece for Acquired Taste, a magazine that features beautiful photography and inspiring food stories. It feels pretty awesome to have my name in the same magazine as Christina Tosi, the pastry chef of Milk. I’m stoked for the next issue. 

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Recipe here!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Marshmallows

Happy new year dear readers! I hope the new year is treating you well. I planned to post this weeks ago, but was hit with severe back pain, the flu, a stomach bug, and a stubborn dry cough that makes me feel like I'm retching out my lungs every.single.time. I've finally toughed through it, though there were moments where I cried myself to sleep, the back pain was too much to bear and yet, I'm here! And I brought peanut butter cookies! BIG WHOOPS!!

Sometime last year, I was flipping through Instagram and came across another foodie's afternoon treat: peanut butter cookies dotted with marshmallows and mini chocolate chips. It struck me how beautiful a marriage it was, oozy sweet marshmallows with nutty peanuts and bits of chocolate, really I couldn't think of a better combination. So sometime before The Week When I Thought I Was Going to Die I baked a batch of these lovelies. The first batch came and I struggled to stop myself from each two, three, four cookies all at once. The marshmallows leave a crusty, burnt top and melt into a puddle of sweet pillowyness, adding serious oomph to the cookies. They kind of remind me of s’mores, minus the chocolate, making them ten thousand times better.

To prove my point, here’s a picture of me with a plate of cookies, alone, nibbling away. When I uploaded these photos to my computer, I couldn’t stop laughing at how my nose twists to the side when I eat. It makes me wonder if I’m like that only when I’m dissecting cookie flavours in my head, or is it only a thing I do for the camera. Whatever the reason, I'm sure you'll enjoy these as much as I did.

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Recipe here!

Chocolate Pecan Torte

The best part of being invited to dinner parties is having an excuse to bake something I wouldn't normally make. Some cakes are too extravagant for a house of two and are difficult to share. Loafs, cookies or bars are easier to cut up and give away to friends. But when an occasion comes around and I have the opportunity to make something fancy, I jump to it.  

This chocolate cake from Alice Medrich is sure to please any crowd. It’s a humble looking cake with a collapsed center, and sprinkled with icing sugar, the crackly top looks even more beautiful in its imperfect way. All through dinner, I eyed the cake, counting down the minutes till we could dive into it. In fact, I saved some stomach space so I could have two pieces of cake, a very good skill to develop for dinner parties.

The torte is even better if it’s made in advance, so I’d recommend making it a day before a craving for chocolate strikes. Basically, butter and sugar are creamed together, eggs are added and beaten until you get a thick, frothy mixture to near pudding consistency. Then, ground nuts and flour are stirred in. Before pouring the batter into the pan, remember to lick the spatula just a little, taste testing is crucial and so very delicious. The torte puffs up in the oven and deflates as it cools on the rack. It’s cakey and crumbly, the middle still dense and moist. The toasted pecans lend a nutty, tender crumb, making it hard to resist having a third slice. It makes a beautiful cake for the holidays and the icing sugar makes up for the snow that has yet to arrive here in Toronto.

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Chewy Date and Seed Bars

I’m a snacker. Even an hour after lunch, my mouth already itches for food. It's not that I don't eat much, but I usually stop eating once my belly feels comfortably full. Before, I could eat till I felt the desperate urge to unbutton my jeans while seething for eating the last few dumplings on my plate, but I’ve practiced keeping my gluttony under control and just eat until I’ve had enough. At work, I always had a steady stash of things to nibble on, you will find my drawer spilling out fruit, polka-dotted bananas, rice crackers, raisin cookies, a Ziploc bag full of Cherrios, dark chocolate with sea salt, and when I get sick of my cereal, shiny packets of granola bars. 

I’m partial to Nature Valley crunchy granola bars, they got the right amount of crunch, there’s no metallic taste lingering on my tongue afterwards, it’s somewhat filling (depending on how hungry I am), and most importantly, they aren’t too sweet. Snacks to me, should hinge somewhere between substantial and a treat. These chewy date bars do the job, they make a good pick-me up in the afternoons when I’m ready to zonk out after lunch. 

Tweaked from the LCBO Food and Drink magazine, these chewy date and seed bars can be made in less than 20 minutes and ready to be eat in less than an hour. Basically, dates are simmered with water and added to the dry mixture to give a stickiness sweetness, oats and oat flour give the bars bulk and provide the ultimate nutritional benefits like fibre, nuts and seeds are mixed in for plenty of crunch, protein and healthy fats. Finally, toasted coconut and brown sugar are tossed in to add more flavour to the bars.

Although there are over seven ingredients, the beauty of this recipe is its flexible formula, you can use whatever you have lying in your pantry or head to your local bulk foods store to pick up what you need, as long as you keep the general ratio of oats, dried fruit, and nuts and seeds the same.

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Linzer Blitz Torte

I moved to Shanghai when I was eight, it took me a while to adjust to the cultural shock of crazy fast taxis, the thick smog that hung stubbornly above the city’s skyline, and people who stared at me with big, curious eyes like I was a foreign creature that dropped out of the sky. 

My dad had been living in China for a few years and didn’t want to be apart from his family anymore, so my mom and I packed up and left Toronto to settle in Shanghai. On my first night, I cried so hard my eyes swelled up, my nose ran like a waterfall, my lungs hurt from trying to stifle my bawling lest my parents heard their distraught daughter. But I couldn’t help it. I was upset, lonely, terrified, and so confused.

Soon enough however, I grew comfortable living in the busiest, noisiest, and one of the most exciting cities in China. I loved my school, my friends, even the mad taxi drivers became an important characteristic of the city. Since graduating high school in 2005, I’ve kept in touch with a small group of friends, including one friend who lives in here in Toronto and who I like to introduce with: “I’ve known her since grade six!” That’s 16 years, just two years shy of the legal drinking age in Quebec. That’s more than half my life. That’s big.

But what’s even bigger, is her recent good news, news that prompted me to scream in my seat when I received her text message followed by an immediate phone call to wish her and her now fiancé congratulations on their engagement (she was so happy I could hear the smile in her voice). Last year, seven of my friends got engaged, though this time, because of how long I’ve known her, because of our history, because she’s seen me through my worst and my best, it makes it all the more special. She’s loyal, compassionate, a good listener and always knows what to say after you find out that your ex has a new girlfriend. I’m thrilled for her and its news definitely worth smiling about.

Here's something just as exciting, a treat that will make you weak in the knees and dizzy with joy: Linzer Blitz Torte. Ain't that the coolest name? A blend of ground nuts, warm spices, topped with jam and baked till dark brown is sure to make you the most popular girl/boy in the room (pinky swear). The crust is at first crispy, then it becomes chewy from the delicious combination of nuts, flour and butter. The jam on top is an inevitable sticky, gooey mess on your fingers, but it heightens the playfulness of these linzertorte squares and there’s plenty of cinnamon in here, plus ground cloves which adds to the warm charm of these sweets. 

The first time I made these, I moaned--outloud. Then, went on to have a second piece. I usually have good self-control, but these torte squares have an irresistible quality that makes me reaching over for more, and that's saying a lot. I gave away the first batch and had to make these again to devour for myself share with you.

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Recipe here!

Iced Nougat Cubes

My dad, like me, can’t live without sweets. I can’t imagine a week a day without chocolate, cakes or cookies, the sheer thought of it chills me to the bone. In addition to our insatiable sweet tooth, we like foods with texture, say dark chocolate with raisins and almonds or crunchy peanut butter. Life is just more interesting with some crunch.

My dad frequently eats something before bedtime while lounging on the couch (a major culprit to his rotund belly), a typical snack would be milky scoops of ice cream sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts or broken bits of chocolate chip cookies. As he’s digging into the dessert bowl, he looks like a 5 year old ripping through Christmas gift wrap on Boxing Day, in other words, hilarious and charming. I prefer something less rich, say a square of Lindt dark chocolate in either the sea salt or intense mint flavour. I slowly nibble off each corner and let it melt on my tongue, prolonging the pleasure and I swear, I sleep much more soundly with a little extra sugar running through my veins.

I’ve owned French Food at Home for a number of years and still, I’m always intrigued by Laura Calder’s delicious ideas whenever I flip through her book for inspiration. Armed with a mandatory post-it dispenser, I frantically bookmark all the recipes that jump to my attention, which is to say, quite a few. 

One particular recipe that stood out for me were these Ice Nougat Cubes. Doesn't it sound like it belongs on the Queen's dinner menu every night? Its name practically beckons you to dash to the grocery store and buy all the ingredients so you can have it ready to eat the following day (you know, in case the Queen stops by for a visit). These nougats are more of a frozen dessert than candy, they are fluffier than ice cream and the flurry of dried fruits, almond brittle and nuts make it fun to eat as the various chewy and nutty textures jostle for attention in your mouth. The best part is its not cloying sweet, so you won’t feel guilty for lying on your bed and mistakenly whiz through three or four of these jewelled cubes. 

It’s a shame it took me more than four years to make these nougats, but like that old saying, good things come to those who wait.  

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Recipe here!

Pear, Pistachio and Ginger Blondies

Meet my grandpa (or in Cantonese, my yeye). He passed away more than five years ago, I didn’t even go to the funeral, I was in school and the ceremony was in Hong Kong. My dad went alone instead. This photo was taken at Centre Island, when I was four and attached to neon green objects (note: polka dot capris and tennis balls) and also very close to my grandpa (who breathes coolness with his shades and coke). 

Yeye was a quiet, kind-hearted man. You would have liked him, maybe even spent an afternoon watching cartoons like Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry while splayed out on the carpet. He’s the kind of grandpa that would pick you up from school at 3pm every weekday and walk the thirty minutes back home. No matter what the weather conditions were, be it sunny or thick snow that piled to knee height, he still walked with you because that’s what families do (and when both parents are working). He took you home despite how you purposely delayed the walk to play in the snow, or you ‘accidently’ have to tighten your boots or you spotted 'something' in the snow.

But once, he told on me. He ratted out to my mom that I ate snow, and not just any snow, but snow straight from the sidewalk (hey, I was curious!). So much for being my best friend. My mom threw a fit, yelled at me for not knowing the difference between clean and dirty and punished me by forcing me to write Chinese poems 50 times over. Yuck.

When he wasn’t being a snitch, he would give in to my pleas for candy. My parents rarely gave in to my desires for fancy packaged candy since they had zero nutrients save for sugar and corn syrup. When I pointed at fruit gushers, I got a pink gumball that lost its flavour within a minute of chewing. I even tried to trade my seaweed at snacktime for a teeny piece of Fruit Roll-Ups from the blond girl in pigtails. I lived a sad candy-deprived childhood.

So, with no sweets at home, my yeye gave me a bowl and filled it with three spoonfuls of sugar. I crushed the sugar into white powder, smashing a spoon against the table, then dabbed my fingers before licking them clean, anything to prolong my treat. 

If he was here today, I think he would be proud that I moved on from eating snow to making my own treats, like these blondies. Sitting in the cakey, soft cookie-like batter are chewy bits of dried pear along with crunchy nuts, not to mention the spicy kick of crystallized ginger (which I lurve), a combination that would make any grandparent happy.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart and also where these treasures were born. I made these blondies last week for a friend’s birthday and gave some away to other friends too. One friend in particular sneaked a bite for breakfast, mumbled how yummy it was because it wasn’t too cloying, returned it to its foil packaging, went on to eat two bowls of cereal and milk for a real breakfast and then without missing a beat, reached for the blondies again for what I can only assume was dessert for breakfast. I approve.  

By the way, happy Chinese new year! May the new year bring you and your family happiness and prosperity. I just got home from a very filling dinner of roast chicken and steamed fish marinated in a ridiculously scrumptious tomato and coconut broth. In other words, may the new year bring you lots of good food too.

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