Wednesday, 23 December 2015

My favourite bakery


If you think these images are beautiful, you can only imagine the smell as you enter this bakery! This bakery is called Les Moulins La Fayette Lebourgneuf. They make amazing breads, pastries, patisserie, cookies, croissants, brioches, etc. Everything is so fresh. They also serve meals and offer catering to nearby offices. A little jewel!

My sister and I love to buy their uncooked Chocolatines (chocolate croissants). We get up in the morning and put them frozen in the over and we have them with our morning coffee. Heaven!

Anyone visiting Quebec city, I recommend you stop by - it is worth it! Les Moulins La Fayette Lebourgneuf is located at 305 Boulevard Lebourgneuf in Quebec city. Ask for the owner Dominique!




Saturday, 19 December 2015

Christmas Cookies

I love baking Christmas cookies for friends and family. It makes such a thoughtful present which is appreciated by all. I also use these for Santa on Christmas Eve.

This year I baked three different types of cookies:

Nigella’s Totally chocolate chocolate chips cookies which are amazing.... I have been making these since the kids were little and they are our favourite. I prepare the dough and freeze it in balls and when I want to bake a few I simply put them on a baking tray and pop them into the oven... and voila!

I usually make some white chocolate chips & cranberries cookies but this year I decided to make white chocolate chip cookies alone. I used Martha Stewart’s recipe for White Chocolate Chunk Cookies but I used chips. Very soft a chewy cookies...yum!

And lastly, I baked Peanut Butter Blossoms which are another family favourite! My mother-in-law does not like the Hersheys so I did not put them.

I love making these lovely cookie boxes for everybody... I know that Christmas is around the corner and Santa will soon be coming!

Saturday, 5 December 2015

Reindeer Dust


Making Reindeer Dust is easy! Mix equal amounts of uncooked oatmeal, granulated sugar, glitter and any green/red/silver sprinkles. You can store in any type of jar, plastic bags, etc and decorate with ribbons. There are so many printables available on the internet. I simply printed the labels and stuck them on the jars. Reindeer Dust/Food also makes great presents for teachers.

We also leave some carrots along side Santa’s cookies for the reindeers! 

Thursday, 3 December 2015

Saajan's Birthday Cake

My son is turning 15 today and I prepared a simple chocolate cake for him! When the kids were little, I used to spend hours pipping their favourite tv characters! I made Spiderman, Dora the Explorer, Cookie Monster, a race car, a football and so many more! Now that the kids are teenagers, they are more interested in being sung happy birthday and the taste of their cake.

Saajan was extremely pleased! Happy 15th birthday!


I used the recipe from Marilou Champagne's '3 fois par jour' cookbook (Premier Tome).

Thursday, 26 November 2015

Boozy Fruitcakes

Oh... it’s that time of the year where one must be organised between all the Christmas shopping, baking and cooking... so that there’s enough time in the end of enjoy all the festivities.


I like to make this Martha Stewart recipe which contains alcohol (Boozy Fruitcake) and one recipe which has no alcohol. My husband is a big fan of the Boozy Fruitcake as the dried fruits are blended all together and form a rich paste. The cake is moist and rich with no ‘chunks’.

This Boozy fruitcake requires time and preparation as the dried fruits need to be soaked for two weeks before being able to bake the cakes.



The alcohol-free recipe which I use is by French-Canadian Chef Ricardo (Ricardo Fruitcake). This cake is very easy to make. I also add 1/2 cup of molasses to this recipe. I like to serve this cake with various cheeses after Christmas dinner.



How exciting... a few weeks until Christmas!!!:)

Thursday, 29 October 2015

Christmas Cake



Halloween has come and gone... now it's time to get ready for Christmas! 

I have been soaking my dried fruits with their alcohol and it smells delicious!

I used Ricardo's recipe for these fruitcakes. I make smaller cakes which make the ideal presents for family and friends.


Sunday, 14 June 2015

Every time I tell my boys that I am making something 'vegan'... they do not look very impressed. They prefer when I bake in the traditional way. This time, I decided not to tell them and see what happens. What I saw is that all the cookies were gone and they obviously were clueless that these cookies were 'vegan'. They actually asked me to bake another batch!


I used Angela Liddon's from Oh She Glow's recipe:

Ingredients:

Wet ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup virgin coconut oil (do not melt)
1/4 cup sunflower seed butter (see note)
1/3 cup unpacked brown sugar
1/3 cup natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1.5 cups gluten-free rolled oats, processed into flour
1-2 teaspoons non-dairy milk (I use coconut milk)
100 grams finely chopped dark dairy-free chocolate

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a large aking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flax and water and set aside for a few minutes so it can thicken up. Whisk the flax egg again once thickened.
2. Add the rest of the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flax egg (coconut oil, sunflower seed butter, brown sugar, cane sugar, and vanilla). With a hand-held electric mixer, beat the ingredients until combined and smooth.
3. Now, beat in the dry ingredients, one by one, as you go down the ingredients list (baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, oat flour). If your dough is a bit dry, add a teaspoon (or two) of non-dairy milk and beat the mixture again. The dough should be moist enough to form balls without cracking, but not super sticky.
4. Finely chop the chocolate (it should be the size of peas). Beat the chocolate into the batter or simply stir by hand.
5. Shape balls of dough (about the size of a golf ball or 2 heaping tablespoons) and place on the baking sheet 2-3 inches apart. Gently press down on each ball with your hand to form a disc (it should be 1/2-inch thick or so).
6. Bake for about 12-13 minutes (I baked for 13 mins) until the cookies are spread out nicely.
7. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 7 minutes or so and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10-15 minutes.

Tips:

Notes:
Instead of sunflower seed butter, you can try peanut or almond butter (this means they will no longer be nut-free, of course)
To bring out the chocolate flavour even more, try sprinkling the cookies with a tiny amount of flaked sea salt before going into the oven.
To make this recipe soy-free, use a soy-free chocolate such as Enjoy Life Brand.


Monday, 1 June 2015

Tarun's 16th Birthday Cake

Tarun asked me for a 'football cake' this year. I am leaning more and more towards making traditional cakes for the kids as they seem to enjoy those a lot more...

But since it was Tarun's 16th birthday, I thought I would make what he requested.

I made a standard chocolate cake which was easy to shape as a ball. Tarun is a huge Tottenham fan and so I tried to decorate the cake with navy blue... but it turned out royal blue. Oh well! He was extremely pleased with his cake.... but he did admit that he is not a big fan of fondant so I am definitely making him a traditional cake next year!

Happy 16th birthday Tarun! Poor Tarun is always in the midst of exams for his birthday!


Saturday, 30 May 2015

Vegan Peanut-Butter Cups

These treats are delicious! We are big fans of peanut butter in our house and also love any treats made with peanut butter.

I used Angela Liddon's recipe from her book 'Oh She Glows' which she adapted from The Kind Diet cookbook.


Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter or margarine
  • 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsalted)
  • 3/4 cup vegan graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares
  • 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar (brown sugar probably works too)
  • 1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips (I used vegan dark chips)
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 2 T chopped peanuts, for garnish (optional)
  • 1 T chia seeds, for garnish (optional)
  • 1-2 T ground almonds, for garnish (optional)
  • Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or reusable liners


Directions: Melt the vegan margarine/butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups. Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Top with chopped nuts and chia seeds. Place in the freezer for 60-75 minutes until firm.

Friday, 22 May 2015

Mme Vivian's Baby Shower at TFS

 I had the pleasure of working with a wonderful lady this year at Toronto French School. She brightened up my days and was so appreciative. We organized a small baby shower for Mme Vivian and surprised her along with her class and her student's parents.

Mme Vivian does not eat gluten so I offered to make her cake for her.

Gluten-free cake:

1 cup sweet potato flour
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup palm shortening
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup maple sugar (coconut sugar can be substituted)
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 large eggs

Bake at 350 C for 40 minutes.

I used a gluten-free chocolate fondant to decorate the cake.

I was pleased with the result! Mme Vivian was so surprised and we had a lovely time!