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Croque em Bouche Wedding Cake

by on June 30, 2010 in Blog, Musings, Weddings

Mark and Brad came to me via my friend and fellow chef Jim Mackie of The Eventful Chef. They wanted something different for their wedding cake. I suggested a French wedding cake favorite, Croque em Bouche.

After a little back and forth they decided it was a go.

It’s not the kind of cake you can make in advance. It has to be assembled and garnished just hours before serving. The Croque em Bouche is a tower of cream puffs held together with hot caramelized sugar and garnished with cooked sugar spun into fine threads that glisten and sparkle in the light.

Brad and Mark’s cake was filled half with vanilla bean pastry cream and half with Belgian chocolate mousse. It was a hit! Brad’s mother called me the next day to say with excitement in her voice that, “The cake was just wonderful and so different! Both the children and adults enjoyed every last morsel.”

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Sexy and Red Hot!

by on June 29, 2010 in Blog, Musings, Weddings

I love this cake! It’s sexy and red hot!

Thank you to my clients Melanie and Mark for their vision and the opportunity to work with them and bring their ideas to life.

Melanie and Mark knew exactly what they wanted their wedding cake to be. A heavenly blend of chocolate ganache and raspberry butter cream filling between fudge-y chocolate cake with M&Ms baked into the batter.

To complete the cake circus roses, peacock feathers and purple privet berries garnish a beautiful coat of striking red fondant with quilting, silver beads and black and purple ribbon.

I love that a wedding cake can reflects a couple’s personality. This one is assertive and bold, sexy and red hot! Just like Melanie and Mark.

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Romance

by on June 17, 2010 in Blog, Musings, Weddings

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon in Roberts Creek. The sun was shining, the water sparkled and the wind rustled in the forest. I was delivering my first wedding cake as The Sweet Chef. It was the start of the Romance Wedding Cake Collection which has become our most popular wedding cake ever.

I was to collect the flowers from the bride’s mother when I arrived to set up the cake. I didn’t know what to expect  except that it was an outdoor wedding and the flowers were from the garden. I had advised picking the flowers the day before and storing them in water over night. It gives the flowers a chance to rest and  get perky.

I was delighted to find a beautiful home on acreage with a well tended and what I would describe as an English country garden complete with arbours, pathways leading to quiet resting places and a small potting shed.

The cake table was topped with tulle and set under a tent off to the side. The flowers were fresh and beautiful. I couldn’t be happier working like this. When all was said and done the cake looked fabulous and fit into the setting just perfect.

Thus was the beginning of our love affair with the Romance Wedding Cake Collection.

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Welcome!

by on June 11, 2010 in Blog, Musings

Hi Folks!
Welcome to my new website. I’ve added lots of new photos, my blog, recipes and more! Watch me in action as I deliver a wedding cake to Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club in Roberts Creek. watch?v=5nPutZtrkDg
Stick with me and I’ll fill you in on all that goes on at the bakery.
You can reach me via twitter, face book, linkedin, you tube and right here on my blog. Leave me a comment or send me a message and tell me what’s going on!
April :)

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To Die for Dutch Cocoa Chocolate Brownies

by on June 9, 2010 in Blog, Brownies, Chocolate, Desserts, Recipes

This recipe was made famous with my appearance on CityCooks with Simi Sara on CityTV Vancouver 2008. I like them when they are still warm from the oven with a nice cup of Japanese Macha tea.

Get the ‘To Die for Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies’ Here

YIELD: 20 brownies

1 cup (227g) unsalted butter

1 ½ cup (330g) granulated sugar

3 (150 ml) eggs

¾ teaspoon (7.5ml) pure vanilla extract

¾ cup (120g) flour

1 ¼ cup (145g) Dutch cocoa powder, sifted

¼ teaspoon (1.25g) salt

Line an 8” x 11” jelly roll pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Melt butter and sugar in a medium pot over medium-low heat.

Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time until well blended.

Combine flour, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add to sugar and egg mixture all at once. Stir until all ingredients are well combined. Brownie mixture should be smooth and glossy.

Pour into prepared baking pan and bake at 375°F for 12-15 minutes. Do not over bake!

Cool and serve.

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Mont Blanc Cake

by on June 6, 2010 in Blog, Cakes, Desserts

I got a call from a friend and fellow chef, Hiro. He wanted a Mont Blanc cake for his wife’s birthday. Hiro and Saori are from Japan where the cake has a popular following but they had never had one in Canada. Of course I said “Yes”!

I did some research on the web and there seemed to be two styles of Mont Blanc. One is a cake made with sponge and the other a meringue. I decided on the sponge variety.

Next is the chestnut filling. Most use a sweetened whip cream enriched with chestnut puree. I decided I wanted something more deluxe so I went with a vanilla pastry cream filling with chestnut puree folded in. I then topped it with the sweetened cream in the classic spaghetti tube look.

Some recipes call for grated chocolate on top. I opted for icing sugar for the snow-dusted mountain top look.

I’m happy with the results! Next time I’ll try the meringue variety just for a chance to do them both.

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