Fondant Covered Valentine’s Day Heart Sugar Cookies

It’s Friday!!  While that does not necessarily mean anything for me this weekend as I have a weekend full of work, that doesn’t mean I won’t make time for a bit of fun.  The three things I am looking forward to most this weekend include:

1. Testing out a sweet heart pancake recipe from a guest poster that will be featured on Lamb411 next week.  I have written about her recipes before in previous blog posts.  I’ll give you a clue here.

2. Baking a chocolate beet cake with beet icing for Valentine’s Day that I wrote about earlier this week.

3. Visiting my first castle in the Czech Republic.  I am headed to Chateau Mcely for tea on Sunday afternoon and I CAN”T WAIT!!  I promise to bring back pictures of the tea and castle grounds pending weather.

In the mean time, a friend of mine kindly reminded me on Facebook of my crazy Valentine’s Day baking bonanza pop-up (in-house) shop that I created back in 2008.  I woke up with the keen idea of supplying people with cookies for Valentine’s Day and wanted to put my cookie decorating skills to practice after having taken multiple courses at Bonnie Gordon’s College of Confectionary Arts (Alumni include Flour Studio, Cake Opera, We Bake in Heels and Bobette and Belle to name a few).

The cookie decorating course was one of my favourites and I was looking for an excuse to cater en-masse!  Well I got my chance and I’m going to share some pictures with you from the endeavour.  If you have never baked mass quantities of anything, it’s no walk in the park but the end result is always rewarding.  I wish I had all my baking materials with me in Prague.  I could go for round two, though not this weekend.

Guest Post: A Dash of Compassion’s Balsamic Fudge Cookies

I am excited to share with you a recipe and a guest post from Nicole of A Dash of Compassion, an extremely talented vegan baker in Toronto.  I have known Nicole for six years and have had the opportunity to taste her vegan treats on numerous occasions, my favourites are the cookies she makes and packages in cute tins at Christmas.  Her baking is full of flavour, texture and and stacks up to any non-vegan baked good any day.

I have personally never ventured into the vegan baking realm but have certainly been curious (and impressed) by the possibility of creating flavourful, vegan treats.  I look forward to giving Nicole’s recipe a try because it doesn’t look too hard or scary for a regular home baker. For more ideas, of course venture on over to Nicole’s site.  Lots to learn over there!

I thought the best way to introduce you to Nicole was via a mini interview which you can read below.  Plus she was kind enough to include a recipe for all you vegan or vegan-curious bakers out there: Balsamic Fudge Cookies.

Interview

Lamb411: How did your career start and what led you to pastry arts/specifically vegan baking?

Nicole: My passion for baking began in my childhood when I would help my grandmother bake banana bread and ginger cookies. I became even more interested in the creative process and incorporating healthier ingredients after I became vegan in 2001. By my mid-20s, I was developing my own recipes, and people loved them. So it just sort of stuck. I’ve realized that the more I bake and experiment with new techniques and ingredients, the more I love it.

Lamb411: What are you passionate about?

Nicole: For me, baking is about inspiring others to think differently about what they eat. So this sort of creative activism is my passion. Once you are faced with the disturbing reality of how our society exploits animals, it is hard to ignore. I can’t support that kind of food system. What I can do is show people how easy it is to create delicious pies, tarts, cookies and cakes without the use of animal products like eggs, butter or cow’s milk. There is a whole world of plant-based ingredients that can be used to satisfy your sweet tooth without harming your health, the environment or the animals.

Lamb411: Where do you get your inspiration from?

For me, inspiration is everywhere. It often starts with a new ingredient I want to play with, such as coconut nectar, cacao paste or vanilla beans. From there, I look at other food blogs, Pinterest or magazines, and it is often a beautiful photo of a cupcake or other dessert that inspires me to get in the kitchen. You’d be amazed by how excited I get when I have a new idea for a recipe!

Lamb411: What has been the most rewarding part of opening A Dash of Compassion?

Nicole: Just like I wrote on my “about” page, there is nothing more rewarding than sharing my recipes with the world, knowing I have the potential to change lives or habits just by encouraging others to celebrate the deliciousness of a plant-based diet. My blog has made me fall in love with photography all over again, too, which is also very rewarding. The food styling, lighting setup and photo snapping is another excellent creative outlet.

Lamb411: What do you hope A Dash of Compassion will be known for in Toronto?

Nicole: A resource for delicious, cruelty-free dessert recipes!

Lamb411: What are your favourite desserts right now?

Nicole: Banana soft serve is a long-time favourite treat, and it’s so easy to make! Just blend one or two peeled, frozen bananas in a blender or food processor until creamy. Spoon it into a bowl and serve! There’s no need for sweetener because ripe bananas are already naturally sweet. I often top mine with chopped nuts or nut butter and dairy-free chocolate chips.

Lamb411: What are your favourite bakeries outside of Toronto (could be global…)

Nicole: I haven’t been to many bakeries outside of my little corner of the world, but Babycakes in NYC and Sweetpea Baking Co. in Portland, Oregon are definitely on the list.

Lamb411: Who are your pastry/baking superstars?

Nicole: Pastry chef Fran Costigan became my superstar after I graduated from her Vegan Baking Boot Camp Intensive training program in NYC. We both share the same values when it comes to using cruelty-free, fair trade and organic ingredients. Cookbook authors Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero are also very inspiring activists in the vegan community.

Lamb411: If you could invite one special person to taste something from A Dash of Compassion, who would it be?

Nicole: Tough question! I’d love to invite one of the above-mentioned superstars.

Lamb411: What is behind the name A Dash of Compassion?  How did you come by it?

Nicole: Compassion is a powerful word for me. I knew I wanted to incorporate it in my blog name, and “a dash of” is very much synonymous with baking. So I thought they worked well together.

via A Dash of Compassion

A Dash of Compassion’s Recipe for Balsamic Fudge Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup light spelt flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 cup muscovado sugar  (or brown sugar)
2 tbsp arrowroot
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola or sunflower oil
1 tbsp good-quality balsamic vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, cocoa, sugar, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, balsamic vinegar and vanilla extract. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Line a cookie pan with parchment paper and drop the dough by tablespoons onto the pan. Flatten the dough balls with your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are cracked. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in a tightly covered tin container at room temperature.

Travelling with a Coffee Snob

Given the bitter cold temperatures in Europe this past week, much of the time spent wandering around Berlin was spent in search of a place to warm up.  The most convenient places to warm up, of course, are coffee shops or cafes.  I had done a “bit” of research on coffee shops in Berlin in order to locate where I thought may be worthy of a sit and sip for my travel partners and made sure to have the list on hand as we roamed the city.

What I quickly (re)learned (I know this already) is that all coffee is not made equal. When travelling with a coffee snob aka coffee enthusiast, aka passionate coffee drinker, aka has the OTAKU for coffee, the difference between good and bad tasting coffee is evident and brought to light via long facial expressions, wilde gestures and mentally shutting down- talk about interesting consumer behaviour!

My list of hot, Berlin coffee spots included The Barn, Kaffee Mitte, Bonanza Coffee, God Shot, Espresso Ambulanz, Five Elephant Coffee, and Sloerm.  We siped and sampled in four of the seven place and concluded that the Barn had the best filter coffee and Espresso Ambulanz had the strongest espresso that would put hair on your chest.

The other thing I learned about on this trip was that hard core (filter) coffee drinkers seem to distinguish themselves by the accessories they used to brew, taste, and sip the beverage.  If you are not familiar with the Japanese company, Hario, then wake up and smell the coffee.  Hario has been making specialized glass and metal products (accessories) for coffee, tea and food since 1921.  I only found out about Hario after visiting several “niche” coffee shops/micro roasters around Europe and gazing around while my fiance tasted the coffee and chatted with the barista behind the counter (remember I am a non-coffee drinker).

So what type of coffee accessories do all the cool coffee shops use? I have posted four pictures below to give you an idea of what I’m talking about.  If you see the following items being used or sold the next time you enter a cafe, you know you are out of Starbucks land and into some serious coffee business. Happy tasting.

Photos via 1, 2, 3, 4

heart treats

I returned from Berlin on Sunday all eager to edit my photos from a weekend of gluttonous dining and instead went right to bed as I came back with a 24 hour cold.  Literally, all symptoms were on deck and then disappeared in 24 hours.  I think the massive 16 quart Le Creuset stock pot of chicken soup, that my fiance made, helped! I’ve consumed at least one quarter of the pot.  Apparently chicken soup is as good as penicillin.

Back to Berlin, I visited four or five new restaurants in Berlin that I can’t wait to share with you, plus some of the greatest baklava you could ever imagine eating (coming soon) and had a lovely meeting and taste-test with a new macaron business in the city (more details to come soon).

Finally, I have been spending a bunch of time on Pinterest, my new favourite inspiration site, and put together some adorable heart treats for Valentine’s Day.

Red for Valentine’s Day: Eating and Buying

We’re in the home stretch for Valentine’s day.  Start your engines for present time.  I am personally a fan of the homemade Valentine’s day gifts, especially homemade baked goods.  You know, something small, a token to say “I am thinking of you,” “you’re sweet,” “I love you so I slaved in the kitchen all day.” Here are some ambitious and adorable Valentine’s day baking ideas that would be perfect for next week such as Martha Stewart’s heart shaped pancakes for a V-day morning surprise or Love and Olive Oil’s Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream or Camille Styles Red White Strawberry Cream cake and finally Joy the Baker’s Chocolate Beet cake with Beet Frosting.  Fiance take note, I will gladly accept any of the aforementioned desserts! 🙂

On another note, it is interesting to observe how V-day crazy, some cities go around promoting gifts, sweets and chocolates for the holiday.  I have noticed a couple heart shaped items in Prague such as cookies and candies but nothing over the top.  Maybe Valentine’s day is not a big here.  Oh well, either way, on the “buying side” here are some more ideas for you all.

Gingerbread Cookie Packaging

This week, I am teaching two classes on products and new product development.  In light of the theme of my class, I wanted to share an example that I found while researching content.

I love the packaging for Kanniston Leipomo’s Christmas gingerbread.  The minimalist packaging demonstrates exactly how effective market research can be in terms of influencing package design and the success of the product.  The package design company took the time to examine the attitudes, cultural meaning and behaviours of the customers toward gingerbread and gingerbread consumption over the holidays.    The result is a simple, luxurious package, where you clearly know what you are purchasing. Additionally, the packaging incorporates elements of Scandinavian heritage represented by the heart shaped gingerbread.

The package design was created by Packlab Partners in Finland for Kanniston Leipomo, a bakery that has been around since 1914 in Helsinki.

both photos via Packaging of the World

Fun Items for a Tabletop

Here are my favourite items for a tabletop right now!  I think they should all be in my house, on reserve so I can access them at whim and decorate!!  Happy Thursday. The sun is shining and I am about to hit the road for Berlin.

Love This: Metallic

I am off to Berlin on Thursday for the weekend to dine on delicious food and take in some more sights around the city.  I look forward to reporting back on my finds next week but don’t worry, still more to come this week.  The temperature has finally dropped in Prague, so I am doing my best to find reasons to hibernate and only come out for air when the sun is shining in the sky for warmth or to take a long walk.

I love the different metallic characteristics seen in the colour pallet of products below.  They remind me of winter, when everything is a bit more muted and less bright outside. The great thing about metal is its wide range of hues such as a mate metallic seen in the spoons and Nordicware baking sheet, to the shinier, bling of the Harry Winston ring, Alessi trivet and the DVF clutch!