baking

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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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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Cheap brioche

August 10, 2019 by Ariel 2 Comments

There’s this really cool bread baking book that’s been gathering dust in my bookshelf for way too long. If you’re a bread making affectionado, you’ve heard of the bread baker apprentice for sure. It offers three different versions of the brioche loaf with titles like: pore man’s brioche, middle class brioche and rich man brioche. What’s being presented, today, is an adaptation of the recipe that is lower in eggs and butter content hence the title of this post: cheap brioche.

Don’t get too excited yet, this is still a pretty caloric bread but it is so worth every bit of sweat and every pieces of butter you’ll be putting in to it. The process is a little longer than a regular bread but it’s mostly proofing time. If you wanted to try something easier, there’s this old recipe for knotted bread that’s pretty decent and this one made with sourdough and pretty fast.

This recipe was also created before I officially converted myself back to the metric system so it’s using cups and teaspoons but, in the future, I’ll make the conversion and update this page. Happy bread baking everyone, it’s the perfect activity to do on a lazy Saturday.

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Two ways dinner rolls

July 30, 2019 by Ariel Leave a Comment

I’m combining “two recipes” in one today. The reason why I’m using “…” it’s because the two recipes aren’t really different but the images displayed in this posts will show you two fun versions for these sweet, airy and soft dinner rolls. The first version is made with fancy molasses which gives the buns an incredible taste and dark colour. The second version, which I think is the most common one, is made with honey and brushed up with an egg wash, topped with Maldon salt flakes, black sesame seeds & hemp seeds.

For freshness, keep them in the fridge or the freezer (even better) and warm up what you need at dinner time. They will feel very hard and stale (even kept in the fridge) but don’t worry because the second you’ll warm them up, the soft texture will come back.

I don’t think I need to say how amazing they are warm, coming out of the oven with only salted butter O_O

This is what life is all about, warm bread with butter.

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Spiced, gooey brownies with candied ginger

April 1, 2019 by Ariel Leave a Comment

Ohhhhh snap. These are the good ones.

When I first made this recipe, a few week ends ago, my bestie and I added a little secret ingredient to make them “magical” and then we went on this crazy adventure all around Montreal. Allow me to be dead honest, some parts of this adventure is a little blurry today but overall we had a blast and I’ll forever cherish this memory. Today, I’m offering you the updated, upgraded and non magical version of this delicious creation which I hope you’ll love as much as I do.

The recipe doesn’t make that many brownies and can easily be a serving for one. I used a much smaller pan (6″ x 8″) to make sure they are thick enough so all the gooeyness shines through. It’s also my fifth time tweaking this recipe (my friends are drowning in brownies from all the previous batches as it would have been impossible for me to eat everything) to make sure they are banging and I really think they are!

If you’re a fan of decadence and gooeyness, you got to try this recipe. Enjoy!

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Maple & Carrot Semolina Cake

September 13, 2015 by Ariel 1 Comment

Just tasted this beauty I made yesterday.

Usually, it’s not my style to let some freshly baked goods wait on the counter before being honoured by our palates but, by the time it had come to the right temperature, it was getting way too late for me to indulge in such decadence. As a first “fall baking” project, I’m very pleased with the results and I’m sure you’ll be pleased to. The final texture is extremely silky soft and dense, very close to a pound cake but with a nice variation because of the semolina flour.

Cut yourself a slice, toast it the traditional way or put in the oven for a few minutes before devouring it with melted butter or cream cheese spread on top.. It’s worth it.

Bon Appétit!

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Ricotta Orange, Cardamom Pound Cake

March 25, 2014 by Ariel 2 Comments

Ohhh pound cakes… It’s so easy to do and so comforting. Before this one, I had never made pound cake myself but I always bought slices at the cute little coffee shop down the street. Some people call it pound cake, other bread. As far as I’m concern, I could easily put it in the same family as the banana and walnut bread or even the Anastasia bread I made last year.

Although the only difference is that this batter create a much softer cake/bread compare to the two other ones. It has the feeling of a little pillow in your mouth, thanks to the ricotta and the added egg white.

I hope you’ll also enjoy this orange and cardamom mix. It’s a new obsession of mine (I seem to develop obsessions pretty easily). I recently made a tapioca pudding flavored with orange blossom flower and cardamom and it was out of this world! Definitely a match of flavor to remember for future recipes.

On this, enjoy this soft and silky ricotta, orange & cardamom pound cake with a nice cup of tea as a fun afternoon snack or as a desert topped with ice cream!

Have a great Tuesday everyone 🙂

PS: You can even toast it and add butter on it.. it’s divine! 😉

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Oven Baked, Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers

September 4, 2013 by Ariel 13 Comments

Let’s jazz up those good old chicken fingers with this super crunchy almond and oats crust. Use the same crust on a full breast, slice it and it’s perfect for a salad! I usually prepare a pot in advance and use the crust mix when I need it. It’s like having my own pimped out shake and bake ready to use in my pantry. If you want to make a big batch in advance and keep it for a long time, place your mix in the fridge and use it when you need it.

I’ve also had interesting result with fish fingers using this same mixture.

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Apple Crumble Pie

October 26, 2012 by Ariel 4 Comments

I wish I had the time to go pick up apples myself in the trees but I don’t… instead, I’m doing like a ton of city people and I bought them at the grocery store. Next year, I will make the time to go outside the city and go pick them up myself to them prepare a ton of tasty goodies for this blog but this year I have to make sacrifices to work on my online business full time with barely any time to play. Boohoo so sad 🙁

I was stressed out yesterday before making this. Not for any particular reason but I guess I was just working too much and because of my overdose of productivity I started getting all annoyed and stressed out so I decided to step away from my computer for an hour to be creative in my kitchen. Removing the skin of the fresh apples, touching the flour and smelling the aroma of cardamon and cinnamon was exactly what I needed because right after making this apple crumble pie, I felt amazing and accomplished. Then the day went by, I had to go to my yoga class and the second I came back, the only idea I had in mind was to try my crumble. It was orgasmic! I sincerely hope you get around to try out this recipe because it’s worth it 🙂 I used Spartan apples because they were the only fresh one at my grocery store but feel free to use the one you prefer. I honestly prefer a more sour tasting apple so that was perfect for me. I’m even thinking on trying out this recipe with green apples this winter. If you do it before me, let me know how that turned out!

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Mini Banana & Walnuts Breads

August 28, 2012 by Ariel 4 Comments

It’s the end of August already and once we start September, we can officially said that fall is coming up and then the cold and dark season of winter.. boohooo…. But no need to get all depressive YET because the season of fall bring us a TON of tasty goodies and between you and me, it’s my favorite season.

To celebrate the end of the summer and the beginning of fall, I decided to be make 3 mini loaf of delicious banana bread with 2 of my favorite spices; cinnamon and nutmeg. I don’t know about you but I like to eat my bread warm with a bit of butter… I know it’s not the healthiest way but it’s so worth it!! Hope you enjoy this recipe and happy baking!

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