When it comes to dessert, one of my favourite types has to be of the creamy and custard variety. I love the rich, smooth, and most of the time, cold refreshing taste of a nicely cooked custard.

I've always had my questions about creme caramel. Is it the same thing as flan? Does it actually just slip out of the ramekin? Does the caramel sauce not mingle and bleed into the custard when you pour the custard into the ramekin and bake it? To answer these questions, I finally decided to try to make it. (P.S. apparently flan and creme caramel are synonymous, but that depends on who you ask...)

This was my first time making a caramel as well. I burnt the first batch, and made the entire house smell like burnt caramel. Luckily, everyone was still sleeping at 7:30am, so no questions were asked. I think I was overly cautious when making the second batch, because it looked a lot lighter than what the picture showed in the cookbook. I always like to err on the side of caution.

After baking the custard and refrigerating it overnight, it was tasting time. After running a knife around the rim of each ramekin, the creme caramel slipped perfectly out of it's container onto the serving plate. I was also rewarded with a beautiful pool of golden caramel sauce spilling over the sides of the custard. I felt such a sense of accomplishment after my first spoonful. The custard was perfect with the intensely sweeet caramel sauce. Loved every bite of it. So did everybody else, because alas, no leftovers were to be had.

This a perfect make-ahead dessert, as well as a great summer dessert, because of it's refreshingly cold taste. The only drawback it that it takes about an hour in the oven, so this might discourage anyone whose hometown is currently experiencing a summer heatwave (like us Torontonians). But, you know, will you keep this one in mind? For later?

Creme Caramel
Adapted from "the best of Cooking Light"

Caramel

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

1. Lightly coat six 6-ounce ramekins with cooking spray.
2. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar.
3. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until golden. This takes about 10 minutes. Don't burn it!!
4. Quickly divide the caramel among the six ramekins, tilting each to fully coat the bottom. Set aside.

Creme

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until well blended and smooth.
3. Stir in sugar and vanilla extract until well mixed.
4. Divide mixture evenly among prepared ramekins.
5. Place ramekins in a baking pan and add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramkins.
6. Bake for 50 minutes. They are done when a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Remove ramekins from pan, and cover and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
8. Run a knife around the edges of each ramekin to loosen. Invert onto a serving plate.

This cake has been on my "to-bake" list ever since I came across it on The Pionner Woman blog. I've seen different recipes for it ever since I started taking an interest in baking, but I've never attempted one. This recipe just seemed so easy, using everyday ingredients that I already had on hand. Plus, I needed to use up a bunch of eggs.


Like others who attempted this recipe, I was apprehensive about the whole soaking process. Wouldn't the cake get mushy and soggy and wet? However, I found that the cake was just moist enough, and it held its shape nicely even after a few days in the fridge. Some of the pieces were even on the dry side, probably due to uneven pouring. The original recipe suggests to hold back about a cup of the soaking liquid, which is what I did. The next day, my friends suggested to pour the rest onto the cake, since it dried out a bit overnight in the fridge. So I did eventually use all of the milk mixture.


I think the texture of this cake is an acquired taste. It is quite "mushy" compared to traditional cake, and for those uninitiated into the world of the tres leches cake, your explanation of what it is may raise some eyebrows. Like a lot of things, this cake probably isn't for everyone. I liked it, but I'm not too sure if I liked it enough to make it again. It is a solid recipe, so give it a try and be your own judge.


Tres Leches Cake

Adapted slightly from The Pioneer Woman

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 eggs, separated
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

For the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 Farenheit. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan and set aside.
2. Combine flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. With a mixer, mix egg yolks and 3/4 cups of sugar on high speed until the mixture is thick and takes on a pale yellow colour. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract. Pour mixture over flour mixture and gently combine.
4. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and whip until egg whites become stiff.
5. Gently fold in the egg whites into the batter. Pour into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For the milk mixture:

1. Combine the evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk in a large measuring cup.
2. Perforate the cooled cake with a fork. Pour milk mixture evenly over the cake and let soak for at least 30 minutes. You may want to reserve about 3/4 cup of the milk liquid, just in case it gets a bit dry the next day.

When my mom told me that Kashi had an advertised offer for a free cereal sample, I signed up immediately. I guess it's a similar advertising strategy as their granola bar campaign. The only difference was that for the granola bars, you were mailed a coupon for a free box of granola bars. For this cereal, you were mailed a small sample-sized box of cereal. There were two flavours to choose from: Honey Almond Flax and Toasted Berry Crisp. There was a limit of one box per household, and the one I mailed to my address here in London never came (I blame the mailperson), so we only ended up with one box of cereal.

Isn't this cake pretty? Dusted with icing sugar, with decorative cutouts of snowflakes, nothing reflects the winter season more. Plus, the lemony flavour reflects the fact that January is citrus season!

I know...red and green? Is this deja vu? Surely Christmas must have already passed! I did make these chocolate cupcakes before Christmas; my post is just a wee bit late...

I know, I know, I should be studying. But I have to nourish myself too, right?

This banana gingerbread came together as a spur-of-the-moment type thing. There were some bananas in the house that were slightly past their prime, which meant that they were perfect for baking. Using a recipe from Baking Bites, I happily began measuring and mixing. In no time, there was warm banana gingerbread to be had! The loaf was very moist, and it used a minimal amount of fat. I used a mixture of soy milk and a squeeze of lemon juice as a substitute for the buttermilk.

I'm on the search for more recipes that includes molasses, since I have a Costco-sized bottle of molasses. Blogs and magazines are abound with molasses-heavy recipes right around now, so I'm sure I will have no problem with that. Did you know that one tablespoon of molasses provides you with 10% of your daily intake of calcium? What's more, it also gives you 20% of your recommeded dose of potassium! I had no idea molasses was so nutrient-dense until I read the back of my molasses bottle. Therefore, eating slice after slice of banana gingerbread must be good for you, right?

Holiday baking has officially arrived, which, of course, includes typical flavours such as ginger. Whether it's in the form of gingerbread cookies or a moist gingerbread loaf, ginger is just one of those things that is associated with the holiday season. It just seems out of place to be eating gingerbread in the summer months, although I am certainly not opposed to it. I am especially not opposed to making these ginger cookies all year round either.

My first time trying beets was fairly recent; last year, to be exact, during my first year of university. The residence dining hall had a pretty generous salad bar, and among one of the many choices offered were beets. Obviously, they were of the jarred or tinned variety, but I wasn't picky. I tried it and it was okay, although I don't recall getting beets again (they're heavy little buggers, and the residence charges you by weight!).

There always comes a time within the school semester where you stop and say to yourself, "is it November already?" Not only that, but mid-November is just a few days away. Next thing you know, you'll be waking up with frost on the rooftops and pearly white snow glistening at your doorstep. And this only means one thing. Winter is coming. It's inevitable.

And winter means Christmas, and lots of holiday baking. The scent of spices in the air and the feel of the warm, toasty oven against a bitterly cold day will never fail to comfort me. It's akin to snuggling up in a warm blanket with a big bowl of steaming hot soup. Although I have had a tough couple of weeks, I know that I just need to take a deep breath and take everything one step at a time. Although the brunt of my work has passed (or so it seems), I know there is going to be more in the immediate future.

I know I am committing a cardinal blogging sin, by posting without a picture. But I promise, once I am homeward bound for the holidays (which is not soon enough, unfortunately), postings will most definitely include lots and lots of pictures.

For now, take a deep breath and let it all out.

Sorry for being MIA for more than a month. I want to post new entries, but lately, I have not had much time to devote to baking. This is because a.) a new school year has started, b.) I am living off-campus for the first time, c.) I have no ingredients on me right now, as well as a whole bunch of reasons that I will not bore you with.

• 1 1/2 cups glutinous rice flour
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• lotus paste

To freeze, lay the uncooked dumplings in a single layer on a sheet pan and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, you can clump them together in a bag/container.

These are tasty chocolate cookies. And coming from someone who doesn't really like chocolate, that's saying a lot. They're nice and soft and fudgy. But make sure to eat them cold. I don't know if it's just me, but my opinion is that any kind of chocolate tastes best when it's cold.

I love curling up with a big bowl of hearty soup, any time of year. I was able to catch an episode of Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics one Sunday morning, and she was making her lobster and corn chowder. Corn is in season, and we had just bought a dozen ears of corn from Longos. So into the chowder it went, along with celery. And onions. And potatos. And lots and lots of milk that was simmered with the corn cobs. And just whatever veggies I had leftover. I topped each bowl with freshly snipped chives from the garden!

When I was younger, my mom and I used to go strawberry picking and make jars and jars of strawberry jam. Since we haven't done that in a while, and I have been itching to make some sort of jam, I thought a peach jam would be perfect. Fresh Ontario peaches are in season (you know, those peaches that are in those trademark "Ontario Fruit" baskets that are everywhere nowadays), and I wanted to do something with them other than just eat them out of hand (which there is absolutely nothing wrong with).

I woke up actually feeling really excited at the prospect of making this jam. The recipe called for 8 cups of fruit, so I spent a good amount of time prepping for this dish. The recipe was very straight-forward, using ingredients that I already had on hand. The actual cooking-the-fruit-down-to-jam-like-consistency was a very easy process, requiring only occasional stirring.

The result? To be honest, I haven't tried it yet. I'm going to bring a couple of jars with me to school, once I move in, so I can tell you how it tastes then. Until then, make yourself some jam! I can't belive 16 peaches basically boiled down to 7 mini-jars of jam. That's some heavily concentrated peach flavour!

Fresh Peach Jam

• 8 cups peeled, pitted, and slice peaches
• 1 peeled, cubed apple (I used Granny Smith)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tbsp freshly grated citrus zest (I used lemon and grapefruit, because I only had one lemon)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Put all ingredients in a large pot.
2. Cook over medium heat, for about 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. 3. Mash the fruit up a bit, if there are large chunks (leave the little ones...this will give your jam a nice chunky appearance).
4. Check for the right consistency: place a bit of the jam on a plate and put it in the freezer until cool. If the jam is still runny, continue cooking. If the jam is thick and jam-like, the jam is ready.
5. Ladle the jam into sterilized mason jars (to sterilize them, just stick them in a large pot of boiling water and let them boil away), and let the jam cool slightly.
6. Seal the containers with a thick layer of melted wax (make sure it's canning-safe!) and let the wax set before putting the lids on.
7. The jars should keep at room temperature (probably for a while, considering it has been sterilized and sealed).
8. Once open, keep the jam in the fridge.

I'm writing this post with a heavy sigh. It is now August 23rd, and school is just around the corner. This means that summer is pretty much over, and fall is just around the corner as well. The last of the summer berries have ripened, and this has paved the way for late-summer corn and baskets of peaches. Although I am excited at the prospect of comforting fall/autumn flavours, I don't think I'm ready to give up the sensation of biting into a perfectly ripe peach just yet.

I can't remember the last time I went to Taste of the Danforth. It was a looong time ago. Last Friday at 6pm was Taste of the Danforth 2009's official start. Since my Grandmother lives within walking distance to Greektown, my mom offered to go with me.

Why?

• 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, your choice. I used smooth because it was what I had at home)
• 1/4 brown sugar
• 1/4 granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking soda

July 26th was my sister's 20th birthday, which is just another excuse for me to bake a cake. I wanted to make a more complicated cake, but I didn't have enough time! So I settled on making a chocolate buttermilk cake with a white chocolate pastry cream filling. I knew she didn't want anything with fruit in it, so I obviously looked for something chocolatty. I made the filling and the cake one day, and then filled it and let it sit overnight (so that the pastry cream could kind of soak into the cake a bit and let the flavours meld).

The filled tarts ready to be cooled. Don't they look like those Chinese egg tarts?

The final plated dessert! It looks better in real life, actually. My photography sucks.

Lime Meringue Tartlettes

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• 5 egg yolks
• 1/2 freshly squeezed lime juice
• finely grated zest of 1 lime
• 3/4 granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

• 5 egg whites, at room temperature
• scant 1 cup of packed brown sugar

On my trip to Mississauga in order to get our lease (which was a real pain in the ass to get) for this upcoming school year, we went to The Apricot Tree Cafe for lunch. I found it on Google, since I knew we would be going to be eating lunch in Missisauga. I was intrigued because of it's name. I looked up the menu and I have to say, they seem pretty dedicated to their apricots. I think they also serve dessert later on at night.