Lamingtons

I'm not sure why, but the idea of making lamingtons has been in the back of my mind for a few years. I can't really explain it. I believe I saw a YouTube video of someone making them during the days of isolation in 2020. And then, of course, once you watch one lamington video, the algorithm rips the rug out from under you and you plummet down the rabbit hole. While I didn't recall eating them before, they reminded me of other desserts involving coconut that I'd seen as a child. And they certainly seemed like the sort of dessert Newfoundlanders would appreciate -- a layer of jam inside, the outside coated in coconut. In the words of Ina Garten, how bad can that be? 

When I started looking into recipes, I stumbled upon one by Barry Parsons who shares Newfoundland recipes on his Rock Recipes site. According to him, these creations were popular in Newfoundland during the 1960s and called chocolate coconut cake squares. And they weren't limited to one flavour -- raspberry and strawberry variations were common. Indeed, its the pink cake coated in coconut that I member seeing when I was young. Parsons also provides a lemon variation that sounds delicious! Decision made! Lamingtons would be this year's "cake" for a friend's upcoming birthday brunch. 

I chose to make the Cupcake Jemma recipe because I believe that's where I first saw them being made, but opted to add the jam layer that I'd seen in other variations. I started this culinary adventure on a Wednesday night, when I made the cake. First I mixed the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Then I folded in the flour and baking powder. Finally, I add the melted butter. I poured the thick batter into an 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper and popped it into the oven for 25 minutes. Once a toothpick came out clean, I transferred the cake to a cooling rack before wrapping it well and setting it in the fridge overnight. 

The adventure continued on Thursday evening. I torted the cake using a Wilton cake leveler and filled it with seedless raspberry jam, taking care not to add so much that the layers would slide around. Then I wrapped it well and popped it back in the fridge to chill.

On Friday, I made the chocolate icing. What's that you say? More butter? Did Julia Child write this recipe? Once the icing was glossy and fluid, I cut my cake into 9 pieces and trimmed off the caramelization. I dipped each one into the icing, followed by the coconut, and placed it on a cake rack while I coated the remaining pieces. I kept three pieces coconut-free for my boyfriend (and other coconut naysayers). Then I returned them one more time to the fridge to fully set. 

Initially, I admit, I was a little concerned about serving lamingtons as birthday cake. I was primarily worried that they would be too small and look more like the squares you see at a church social. But once dipped in chocolate and coated in coconut, they looked much more substantial. The result? A delicious buttery cake with a slightly tart jam layer in the centre, surrounded by super sweet icing balanced by a coating of unsweetened coconut. The cake was more dense than I'd anticipated (I'd been expecting more of a sponge cake), but that may be a result of the particular recipe I chose. 

As for the leftover chocolate icing, it made the perfect base for a decadent hot cocoa!

See you next week!

Easter Carbs

What better way to break forty days of fasting for Lent than with carbs?

It's common among my friends and coworkers to give up sweets, potato chips, and/or pop during Lent. I admire their commitment and will power. I know we talked about this sort of thing when I was a kid attending a Catholic school, but I don't actually remember giving anything up myself. Maybe I did and was so traumatized by it that I've blocked it from my memory. Or maybe because it was a "small t" tradition, it wasn't overly emphasized in my family. Whatever the case, I don't normally participate in fasting for Lent.

In more recent years, though, I've picked up alternative practices. For example, for a few years in a row, I collected 40 food items to donate to the food bank. Another year, I selected 40 items to donate to charity (inspired by a 40 bags for 40 days challenge that just seemed to be a bit too much of a commitment). When you shift your perspective in this way, you find that there are many options to make an impact that don't involve food. Donate $40 to a local charity. Volunteer for 40 hours with a non-profit organization. Engage in 40 random acts of kindness. This is my preferred way to observe Lent, but everyone should do what works for them. 

Now, despite the fact that I haven't fasted, I'm still happy to participate in the breaking of the fast. From chocolate Easter bunnies to hot cross buns and everything in between, this is one calendar custom with delicious traditions.

Today, I'm happy to have an invitation to a turkey dinner. Naturally, I felt compelled to make dessert. Inspired by Facebook memories of Easter past, I decided it was time to make cupcakes again. French vanilla sponge with vanilla buttercream dyed a pale yellow and topped with rainbow Eggies (and a few with Junior Mints Eggs). The colour is on point and the flavour is top notch. 

But before I get to that, I'll start my day with one of the raspberry Easter eggs that I made earlier in the month. Alongside a cup of coffee, I'm sure it will be heavenly. 

I know I've said more than once that I thought a particular confection was my best work yet, but the response to these raspberry Easter eggs has been incredibly positive. The raspberry ganache centre had a beautiful texture and the addition of the lemon juice really brought out the fresh berry flavour. One day, I'll sell these in a very chic chocolate lounge. 

And of course, I can't forget to mention hot cross buns. Ever since moving to Cape Breton, I've been hunting for the best hot cross buns. Almost every year, I take off Holy Thursday and visit local shops and bakeries, buying all of the delightful things I can find. It's less about Easter and more about the start of Spring (which brings with it balcony coffees, gardening, and Birkenstock season). I've bought hot cross buns in North Sydney, Sydney River, Sydney, and Glace Bay. But there are two key issues. First, it's not uncommon to have to buy hot cross buns in large quantities. One year, the smallest pack I could find was 8. Now, as one person, I can't possibly eat 8 hot cross buns before they go stale and hot cross buns are the sort of thing were you eat one or two to get your fix and then you're over it for another year. The second issue pertains to the icing cross that is common here. I've seen it made with a very loose royal icing and I've also seen it made with buttercream. While it adds a delightful sweetness if consumed immediately after buying, leave it even a few hours and the sugar begins to absorb moisture from the air and the icing begins to weep and melt. It's a sticky mess (and that impedes toasting them when they're a few days old). 

Consequently, for the last few years, I've made my own hot cross buns. I use a small batch recipe that I found online, which makes only 6 small buns and I riff on that to make it my own. (Next year I may try cutting the recipe in half, because really 3 would be the ideal number to make.) This year, I used a bread lame to cut the crosses into the buns, thereby eliminating the need for an icing cross (I realize that traditionally a flour paste is used to bake the cross into the top of the bun, but it seemed like an unnecessary step). And I also glazed them with apricot jam, which gave them a delicious flavour. Next year, I plan to substitute apricots or blueberries for the more common raisins. (I may have to write a note to my future self so that I remember to try one of these variations.)

Until then, I'll enjoy this year's Easter carbs while I can, for Eggies and hot cross buns come but once a year.  

Happy Easter!

Raspberry Easter Eggs

Over the years, I've made many different Easter eggs. Peanut butter fudge, Cadbury creme egg dupes, strawberry cream, orange creamsicle, Oreo cookie, potato chip, Rice Krispies, peanut gianduja... They've all been delicious and it would be easy to just pick one and repeat it (especially a peanut butter one). But Tuesday night chocolate study and this blog aren't about what's easy! They're about trying new things and learning in the process. And so as much as I'd like to be making myself a gianduja bunny again, this year's Easter eggs will instead have a dark chocolate raspberry ganache filling.

Now, I've experimented with ganache a fair amount, particularly with alcohol as the flavouring. Beer, cider, port wine, Cointreau, brandy... I've also made a variety of truffles flavoured with oils (peppermint, orange, key lime, lemon, strawberry), and even a few that used pulverized freeze-dried fruit. But I can't recall making a truffle with fruit puree (though I certainly used fruit purees in buttercream frosting when I was doing more cake decorating).

In preparation for my Tuesday night chocolate study, I reviewed a number of recipes. I settled on a recipe in the Ewald Notter book The Art of the Chocolatier as a base recipe upon which I would riff. And that meant I needed to make raspberry puree.

I started with half a bag of frozen raspberries, tossed them into a pot with about 20 grams of sugar, and heated and stirred until they started to break down and become liquid. Then I pureed them and strained out the seeds, first with a mesh strainer and then with multiple layers of cheese cloth. Neither was particularly efficacious. After significant effort (and mess), I had about 120 grams of puree. I set it in the fridge and called it a night.

The next day, I prepared the ganache. Based on the quantities outlined in the Notter book, I decided to half the recipe. I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous making this ganache. I've never added lemon juice to chocolate and I worried that it might break or seize. Presumably the addition of lemon juice was meant to enhance the flavour of the raspberry puree, so once the ganache was a beautiful emulsion, I took a deep breath and added the acid to the mixture. The gods favoured me and the ganache didn't split. And the resulting flavour was incredible.

Sadly, the gods didn't favour me for long. I'm not sure if the chocolate I was using as seed was itself out of temper or (more likely) if I was impatient and rushed the process, but my first attempt at shelling was a failure. I knew when I took the mold out of the fridge that the chocolate was not in temper. So I started over. I wasn't present the first time around, but I was hyper-focused the second time and it worked as expected. 

Next I filled the shells and set the mold aside to crystallize before proceeding with capping the following day. When I tapped out the finished eggs, I had one casualty, which cracked coming out of the mold. The rest were perfect. 

As I write this, a week later, I am in the process of doing it all over again so that I will hopefully have 23 eggs in total to share with friends. The molds are shelled and filled, and tomorrow night before a museum board meeting, I hope to cap them.

Now, about that casualty. I did not discard it. Nay, I uncharacteristically ate it. (If you've been reading these blogs long enough, you know that I don't normally sample the finished product so soon after it's been made). What can I say about these eggs? They are incredible. The raspberry flavour is intense. The pairing with dark chocolate is ideal, ensuring the eggs aren't overly sweet. While I'm not a huge lover of raspberry, I would definitely make these again. I'm thrilled with how they turned out and can't wait to share them with family and friends.

Yes, I said family. I don't normally mail chocolate home, but my sister's birthday is coming up and there is a Canada Post flat rate box headed her way. Conveniently, there's a little room left in it for three Easter eggs. Hopefully she and my parents will enjoy them (though I'm guessing they won't survive until Easter Sunday). 

This experiment definitely has me wanting to try additional chocolate and fruit puree pairings. I'm curious: What fruit and chocolate pairing would you use in an Easter egg?