Pineapple Bake Shop

New Blog!

2009-05-06T23:53:00.004-03:00

I've been trying to get in to this account for ages, finally! I'm sorry for any inconvenience. Ok, so I have a new blog at www.kelly-day.com and a new email kellyday@kelly-day.com. Come check it out!

Miya's Cake

2007-07-26T23:18:00.001-03:00

This is the cake I made for Jake and Miya. Aren't they an adorable couple!?
I forgot my digital camera, but I have some film yet to be developed, so we'll see if there are any cleared photos later. (thanks for giving me these photos Jason.)

Mia's Wedding Cake

2007-06-28T10:12:00.000-03:00

Right now I am working on a dark chocolate wedding cake. I can't wait to see how it turns out. It is for a coworker of mine who wanted crows on her cake. I will be busy baking for the next few days, but check back because I should have photos up saturday or sunday at the latest.

I've also been making whipped truffles with Dana Lumby. Photos of the chocolate making session will be up as soon as I can get them off her camera. =)

Birthday Cupcakes

2007-05-21T20:48:00.000-03:00

This weekend I made some extra special cupcakes for my friends Joy-loi and Nikolai. They had a double birthday party on Saturday and I must say it was a fantastic time! The guests were friendly, the atmosphere was electric, we ate cupcakes, drank and danced like crazy. It's Monday evening and I still feel worn out.

Chocolate Blood Orange Cupcake:

Devils food cupcake with Strawberry Pomegranate Frosting:

Royal Icing Flowers

2007-04-28T22:30:00.000-03:00

I made these to warm up for cake class the other day. The Trumpet on the Daffodil is a bit large, but I think it's cool like that.

Interested in learning how to make these flowers? Come take a course at the Cookhouse, or if you want someone to make you something pretty and delicious give me a shout!

Chocolate Cactus Cookies with Lime Icing

2007-04-28T21:52:00.000-03:00

Step 1: outline with a thick line of royal icing (I recommend tip #3).

step 2: thin your royal icing to a good consistency. Drop a spoonful back into the thinned icing, if it dissapears back into itself in about ten seconds it's good. Pipe or spread onto the cookies being careful not to smuck the outline. Let set to the touch, about 40 minutes or so.

Step 3 : pipe on any surface decoration in medium consistency icing.

Spring!

2007-04-28T21:20:00.000-03:00

For Easter Dana and I made some lemon sugar cookies!

Easter egg cookie and spring scarf:

Shamrock Sugar Cookies

2007-03-27T21:41:00.000-03:00

Sugar Cookies:

1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup of sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond flavour, optional

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Stir in flour. This is a lovely, super easy recipe.

Royal Icing: This is a little more challenging. You will need to use a hand mixer!

2 egg whites
1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 1/2 cups or more confectioners (icing) sugar

Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks, they should be still wet but hold a shape well. Add lemon juice and start adding the sugar with a sifter, about two tablespoons at a time. Make sure to mix well in between. At first it will look glossy like meringue, it will start to get thicker and thicker and start to turn less glossy. Once the icing is matte it is finished. Do not add any more sugar or it will be next to impossible to mix and work with.

Valentines Day Chocolates

2007-02-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

I'm not much into the commercial aspects of valentines day, but I do enjoy an excuse to spread a little affection. This year I decided to make my friends some home baked treats to show them I care and that I was thinking of them.
My best friend Dana and I spent tuesday baking up a storm and making/preparing boxes. We made chocolate sandwich cookies filled with orange, mint, or vanilla buttercream with raspberry jam. We baked almond peanut shortbreads with chocolate centres and hazelnut chocolate cookies. We also made dark chocolate truffles with various ganache centres, milk chocolate irish cream, dark chocolate kahlua, dark chocolate absinthe and and grand marnier coconut white chocolate. Plus two types of cookie dough truffles which use alcohol as a preservative and contain no eggs. Yum.It was so much fun.
Then next day I gave them out, which was the most exciting part!

Cookies for Lavanya

2007-01-29T22:56:00.000-04:00

I am up late baking cookies for my friend Lavanya, who is now living in Calgary.
This is my first attempt to send cookies by mail. If this works well I'll be mailing sweets more often, and all over the place. These particular cookies are super dark chocolate sandwich cookies with chocolate ganache filling, kind of like a homemade "fudgee-o".

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

2006-12-25T22:50:00.000-04:00

Double Dark Chocolate Ganache Mini Cupcakes

School is out and I have been baking up a storm! As fast as I've been baking treats they've been eaten or given to friends and family, but I managed to get photos of a few things. I've been using Chocolate in most of my Christmas treats, Dan and I have become quite good at tempering chocolate and once it's in temper its very easy to use. It's also much easier if you use good chocolate, we bought a huge block of Callebaut. (Thanks again Marina for picking that up for me). To temper all you need is a good digital thermometer and a heat proof bowl. Dark Chocolate is at working temperature at about 32 degrees.

Easy Tempering:

Suspend the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water to melt the chocolate (do NOT get water in the chocolate it will seize and be ruined). Take it off the heat and stir in bits of chocolate to lower the temperature, don't be afraid to add larger chunks. As it gets close to the right temperature add a large piece which will act as a seed to teach the sugar in the chocolate to crystalize, then stir, stir, stir. You'll feel it beggining to thicken when it is ready. If it gets too thick just put it back on the heat and repeat the process.

Oh and don't forget to set chocolate aside to stir in to cool and to act as large seed pieces, you will need to set at least 20% aside for this. (If you'd like to learn more about how work with chocolate you can always come take a class at the cookhouse where I work, Tomeq is a wonderful teacher.)

A word of caution: do NOT get water in the chocolate it will seize and be ruined. Also as soon as the chocolate is just about melted take it off the heat.

Recipe:

cupcake:
1 50ml bottle amaretto cream
200ml buttermilk at room temp'
1/2 cup dark dutch cocoa
1 1/2 cups pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temp' (1 1/2 sticks)
2 whole eggs plus 1 egg white at room temp'
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

Cream butter until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in the sugar gradually and add the vanilla. Add eggs one at a time just mixing until combined. With a spatula gently mix in the sifted dry ingredients and the buttermilk/amaretto cream alternately in three additions. Fill cups at bake at 300f (dark pan) or 350f (silver pan) until the tops will spring back when you touch them with your finger.

Ganache:

The bad news is I'm afraid I don't have a ganache recipe, I always just make it intuitively. The good news is it's easy. Melt some chocolate add a splash of liquer (I recommend Gran Marnier and a smidgen of pomegranate juice) and stir in room temperature heavy cream (whipping) until its nice and smooth. It should be silky and easy to spread. It may seem a little melty at first but it will harden up as the chocolate cools. Don't be afraid you can always add more chocolate or cream. Easy peasy, just follow your tastebuds.

Check back for the pictures of our chocolates!

Busy Busy

2006-11-20T04:20:00.000-04:00

I've been so busy with school and work I haven't had time to even think about baking cakes. *sigh* I can't wait for crunch time to be over and to start holiday baking. On the bright side the other day I had a wonderful breakfast of chocolate scones, tea and pomegranate.

Dan and I have also been trying great veggies from local farmers at the market, check out the purple potatoes and the pink oyster mushrooms!

Lazy Sunday Tartlets

2006-11-06T00:19:00.000-04:00

I decided to make these tartlets to "productively procrastinate" this afternoon. I was putting off studying for my historical techniques exam. Dan and I decided it was finally a good time for us to open the seaons first Jar of vanilla peach preserves! We'd been anxiously waiting for the days to turn colder so we'd really appreciate it. It was wonderful. This is also the first preserves we've ever made, so opening it after some time and experiencing the deepening of flavours has been really satisfying.

We mixed the preserves with some strawberries to make these tiny tarts.

Maple Chocolate Magnolia Cake

2006-10-22T12:03:00.000-03:00

I just finished making this cake for Heidi's Birthday Party. The flower is 100% Chocolate!!

I love chocolate covered maple creams, and since the Maple Cream Cupcakes were such a hit, I decided to make a cake sized version for Paulettes girlfriend Heidi.

The cake is a rich chocolate buttermilk cake filled with dark chocolate ganache. (The ganache was made with a 70% dark french chocolate). It is frosted with maple sugar frosting. The decoration is maple chocolate icing and a handcrafted white chocolate magnolia with dark chocolate leaves.

So basically chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! Oh, and maple cream, of course.
Maple Frosting Recipe:
2 blocks of local maple cream
3 cups of confectioners sugar
1 tsp bourbon vanilla
1 tbsp meringue powder
2 1/2 cups unsalted butter

This is a rich, sweet frosting.
Cream the butter. Heat the maple cream in the microwave, ten seconds at a time, until it is a stirable consistency. Beat into the butter mixture. It will melt a little, so after this step I put it in the fridge for ten minutes or so to let it cool a little, just don't leave it too long or your butter will solidify. Remove from the fridge, add the vanilla and re-whip. Slowly add the icing sugar, if it is still a little thin you can add a touch more sugar, but don't be tempted to add too much the maple cream makes this a sweet icing to begin with. It should be light, fluffy and sweet, not sickeningly sugary.

Tomeq (the owner of alchemy of angels, and a wonderful chocolatier) was in this weekend at the cookhouse doing a chocolate decorating demonstration.He inspired me to make the magnolia on this cake. I can't wait for class with him on monday, I've learned a lot from him so far and his classes are fun, and last time I brought home lots of chocolates and truffles. Dan and I sat up late that night sipping coffee from large mugs and savouring chocolates, it was fantastic.
Also, I should note that I love trades! If you want to make a trade send me an email. I could hook you up with some sweets.

I made a lady named Evelyn some roses once and this weekend she brought me a piece of her "black cake" (a traditional cake from Trinidad) with homemade marzipan. I was so impressed! It was heavenly and I was very happy with our trade.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-10-09T15:19:00.000-03:00

Dan, Mom and I had a quiet Thanksgiving. Dan and I are vegetarians so we made a spread of different vegetarian dishes, with lots of local produce and root vegetables. We also made a sweet potato pie with pecans and caramel, which I must admit was one of Martha's recipes. Instead of the white sugar in the crust recipe, I added 2 tbsps of brown sugar. I also added a little more cream to the caramel, and a handful of dried cranberries which gave a little colour and a nice tang.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies with Orange Glaze

2006-09-19T18:21:00.000-03:00

I ran into my neighbor, Pam, and she told me that tomorrow is her birthday. So I decided I'd whip her up a quick treat.

I thought to myself, gingerbreads would be good. Hmmm, what could be tastier than gingerbreads? And then it hit me, of course, chocolate gingerbread! These cute cookies were the result.

The orange glaze is a nice compliment to the spice and the chocolate. I use minced ginger instead of ground for a fresh gingery taste. This dough expands and puffs up a little during baking. Be sure to chill it or it will be difficult to cut rolled cookies nicely.

Chocolate/Gingerbread Cookie Dough:

2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Dutch Process Cocoa
1 1/2 inch piece of Ginger, finely minced
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cloves
1/4 tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks/ 1 cup Unsalted Butter (room temp)
3/4 cup Darkest Sugar you can find
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 large Egg (room temp)
2 tbsps Hot Water
2 tbsps Dark Molasses
1 tsp Baking Soda

In a large bowl wisk the dry ingredients together (the first seven ingredients) and set aside.

In another large bowl cream the butter. Beat in the sugars a little at a time until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, and then beat in the egg on low speed until incorporated.

In a small bowl, or cup, mix together the molasses, baking soda and water. Add this to the creamed butter and beat for a few seconds at low speed. Stir in the dry mixture in several additions, remembering to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until just combined. The dough will be a little soft and should be chilled until it is firm enough to roll out. I divide this into three disks which I then wrap separately and remove from the fridge as I need them.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Any scraps should be gathered up and chilled as you move on to the second and third portions of dough. This dough is dangerously tasty, try not to eat too much of it. I bet if you removed the eggs and used a safe substitute this would be a mean addition to homemade ice cream.

Baking:

Preheat oven to 300f (dark/non-stick pan ungreased) or 350f (shiny pan, greased). It is difficult to tell when dark cookies are done, and these burn easily. Touch the tops of the cookies with the pad of your finger tip, the tops should be set but with a little give. Check them often. They take about 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.

The glaze:

1/2 cup of Unsalted Butter, just barely melted
2 cups of Icing sugar
Orange Oil to taste, or 1 tbsp Orange Zest
2-4 tbsps Orange Juice (room temp)
1 tbsp Meringue Powder

I tried a concentrated orange oil for this recipe, but you can use zest if you can't get orange oil. Melt the butter and stir in the remaining ingredients and one tbsp if the orange juice until it is smooth. Add more orange juice a little at a time until the glaze falls into itself without leaving lines or any peaks. It should be very thick, but runny. To test drop a tbsp into the bowl, if it sinks in slowly and leaves no trace of itself the glaze is the proper consistency.

Pour over cooled cookies on a cooling rack. Remember to put something under it to catch drips; a large cutting board, or waxed/parchement paper.

Decorate with a simple decorator icing. These will also make great Jack o Lantern cookies at halloween, just darken the colour with a little food colouring and get creative.

New Blog in The Links: hunger for light

2006-09-16T01:16:00.000-03:00

Hunger for Light is my other "blog" where I post clips and things I find on the internet about science, art etc, but mostly concerning space lately. I also use it for jot notes, and eventually more art related things. I discretely added this to the links a few weeks ago, but decided on second thought that it should be mentioned officialy in post form. Otherwise some visitors may never notice it's existence.

Busy September

2006-09-15T23:30:00.000-03:00

I realized tonight at my cake decorating class that it's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I'd do a quick update. I am back at NSCAD taking full time classes again. I've started teaching cake decorating courses which seemed intimidating at first, but has turned out to be a lot of fun. It helps that I have a great group of enthusiastic students who really love to bake.I've also been busy bakeing, canning, and gearing up for fall in general.

Paulette and I have been talking about preserves since mid-summer and one day she offered to give Laura and I a ride to the supermarket on the way home from work so I could pick up all the stuff I needed to start canning. I picked out Mason Jars, pectin, vinaigres for pickling and salsa. Paulette and Laura are more experienced "canners" than I am, so they gave me tips and advice, they also helped me pick through baskets for the best tree ripened peaches. I decided to make peach preserves with vanilla and raspberry liquer.

Dan and I went to Farmer Clems on Sunday to buy some small cucumbers, but alas their time had passed. Instead, we picked a peck of barlett pears and decided to make pear butter with lemon and chopped ginger. Canning was a laugh, we stayed up until four in the morning even though I had class the next day. It was so worth it, and not as hard as I thought it would be. It will be wonderful to open a jar of vanilla peaches together in january. I also can't wait to give my very helpful friends a couple of jars.

Dan and I have decided that these will be our "Crow Time Preserves" because we've noticed that the crows are coming back to the old motherhouse, behind Mount St. Vincent. They meet in large numbers in the fall, it is a sure sign of the season turning. Later canning will be labled with the time of year we make it. Dans lables are still in the works.

We also made 4 batches of banana bread that day. Dan's been baking bread and montreal style bagels; in other words we've been having a good time feeding ourselves now, and preparing to feed ourselves and others in the future. Yeay food.

Dan has also been procrastinating from dish washing by making these crazy bubbles with the dish soap! At this point he can blow huge bubbles using just his hands.

I feel like I'm finally getting adjusted to being so busy, finaly. I'm also feeling really inspired by my cake decorating students, so cupcakes and sweets like you've never seen before are soon to come!

Cake Lake =D

2006-08-29T17:13:00.000-03:00

Wedding cake is done! Celebrating with Pocky

2006-08-27T19:30:00.000-03:00

I am finally done baking and decorating! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy both of thoses things quite a bit, but making a wedding cake is pretty intense. It's a big responsibility and is a lot of work over a short period of time. I ended up baking seven cakes in total, which combined into four tall cakes; three tiers for the wedding cake itself and one extra 6 inch. The top and bottom cakes were Almond Cream Pound Cake with Cherry Preserves and pure Vanilla Buttercream. The Middle was Chocolate Mocha Buttermilk Cake with Espresso filling.
Dan and I were rushing to set up the cake at the reception and our cabbie (who was very nice) accidently took us to the wrong aquatic club. We drove towards the other club and only to reach a dead end. The street stopped there, so rather than turn around and drive around the lake we decided to take turns running the cakes across a little foot bridge over the canal. It felt like a bad reality tv challenge, he stayed with the cakes while I carried the first one across the bridge to the club, which proved difficult to get into. No one answered the doors when I knocked. Luckily I found an open door out back, but when I returned with the second cake the door was locked! I guess someone must have heard me, maybe thought I wasn't supposed to be there, and locked the door. At this point I was very stressed and exausted. Those Pound cakes are awfully heavy.
To make a long story short, after some wait a staff member finally answered the door and we lugged the other cakes one by one over the bridge down the path to the club, around the back, up the stairs to the reception area. After which I set up the tiers, arranged the fondant roses and had a stiff drink. In all this hurry I didn't take any photos. I can hardly believe I forgot, but I am hoping soon I will get one from someone to put up.

Tamara and Trevor cut the cake late into the night, and served generous portions, it was great. (She looked stunning by the way).

The photographer, Mohammed, seemed to like it a lot, he asked me what the mocha cake was and said something to the effect of "If I want you to make me a cake, I want one like this. None of that Frosting Bullshit." Which I took as a compliment, I bet he tastes a lot of sickly sweet or shortningy wedding cakes. I noticed a box outside in the dumpster that was smeared with acid green shortning frosting. Yuck.

On a different note, I found Pineapple Pocky at Tian Phat on the bedford highway, simply labled "pine cream" flavour. Definitely going to make some cupcakes or cookies based on that next. Pineapple Curd maybe? If you have any fun suggestions let me know. I'll try to whip something up and post the recipe for you. = D

2006-08-25T14:22:00.000-03:00

Bunnies

Who doesn't like baby bunnies?
Too cute

Roses for Evelyn

2006-08-25T14:18:00.000-03:00

On top of the wedding cake I'm making this weekend I've also been working on some sugarpaste roses for a lady I met at the store. She is going to pipe on the rest of the decorations.

Baking Wedding Cakes!

2006-08-25T00:15:00.000-03:00

Tonight I'm up baking a wedding cake for my friend Tamara. (Check out her blog in the links) Photos will be up soon.

The Almond Pound Cupcakes

2006-08-19T23:08:00.000-03:00

Cherry and Almond tastes awesome.
Check the wikipedia articles about Almonds and Cherries here.
Excellent for Elevenses :D

Almond Pound Cup Cake Recipe:

1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups of cake flour
3 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
11/2 cups heavy cream
100g (average small bag size) almonds
1 tsp bourbon vanilla
1 1/2 tsps pure almond extract

Red Cherry Preserves for filling

Remove eggs and butter from the fridge so that they can warm up to room temperature, preaheat oven to 300f.

Make the Almond cream; put the almonds in the blender so that you are ready to add the cream as soon as it's to temperature. Bring the cream to a boil in a heavy bottom saucepan, pour over almonds and blend for two minutes. Let cool. Strain the mixture and reserve 1 cup of cream for the recipe. If there is a little less liquid than that when the process is finished top up to 1 cup with cream. You have the option of using half of the almonds in the recipe for crunch. Stir in extracts.

Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, approximately 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add flour and cream in two batches alternately. Cook cupcakes for 20- 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Cut a hollow out of the top of the cupcake and fill with preserves, top with rich vanilla buttercream.

Almond Pound Cakes on August 19th

2006-08-19T03:06:00.000-03:00

Today at The Cookhouse; Almond pound cake filled with Cherry preserves and Frosted with Vanilla Buttercream. 2$ each. This cake or some variation of it will be used for two tiers of Tamaras wedding cake.

Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Biscotti

2006-08-17T12:37:00.000-03:00

There is no reason not to make and enjoy biscotti. I mean it; it's quick and simple to make, plus it's also pretty low in fat when it comes to desserts. These are great for taking to parties or get togethers with friends. Coffee and a biscotti make a rich duo and are suitable for any get together from casual to formal. I must confess, I can't resist dipping this flavour in particular.

Don't have time or don't feel like baking it? I'll make a batch for you and package them in cello bags with simple satin ribbon. 15$ a dozen

Recipe:

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
100g of dark chocolate cut into chunks
1/2 cup whole shelled pistachios
2 large eggs at room temperature
4 1/2 tbsps melted butter
1 tsp Bourbon vanilla extract

coarse sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 and line with parchment if using a shiny cookie sheet, or 300 if using dark or non stick.

In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients. In another smaller bowl combine all the wet ingredients and wisk these together. Make a well in the centre of the dry and pour in the wet mixture. Use a silicone or rubber spatula to mix until it start to come together.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead a few times, do not over work it. Divide in half and form into short baguette like shapes, but low and with a gentle curve. If you'd like to brush on a little butter and sprinkle the top with sugar you can. They are already a sweet cookie, though.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, then remove from the oven, let cool on the sheets a few minutes and cut into slices on a diagonal. Put the cookies back in the oven, eat the little bits at the ends, and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes turning halfway through. The cookies should feel firm to the touch and have a little golden colour.

Ps: I can make other flavours too, such as, but not limited to; Orange Cranberry Almond, Almond and double dark chocolate, Cinnamon Sugar, Anise Almond, Chocolate Orange cashew, chocolate hazelnut, lemon almond poppyseed.

Thinking About Rain and Chocolate Cake

2006-08-16T21:20:00.000-03:00

It can't believe summer is almost over, it's halfway through august and I still haven't had a good run around in the rain. My daily routine forces me to arrive dry to work, the store, etc, and has stopped me from fulfilling one of my oldest summer rituals; getting soaked and laughing in a good summer downpour. I love the "bad weather" and we've had a lot of rainfall this summer, but I guess I am always headed here or there hiding under my oversized umbrella.

I'd better do something about this quick. I hope it rains tonight, or tomorrow morning. Dan and I tend to wake up early on stormy mornings, we lay in bed listening to rain and thunder. I'll have to try to get him to agree ahead of time to join me in my adventure next time (I know he'd never say yes at 5am, he's a sleepy bear).

My mother ran around in the rain with me when I was 13 or so, maybe younger. It was spring and the air was wet with the smell of lilacs and we laughed in our raincoats, we were soaked right through all our layers of clothes. Mom was probably trying to keep us somewhat dry, but I knew that it would be pointless to try, she's a mom though, that's her job.
We stopped at my friend Kelly MacNeilys house to visit her and her mother. I must have waved at greeting of some sort, because water shot out the sleeve of my coat, into the entryway and splashed the two of them.

Those were the days.

Now you're probably wondering what this has to do with chocolate cake? Well, sensual moments are important. Whether it's running around in the rain or eating a piece of cake, I believe it's good to truly enjoy experience and that means, at least for me, connecting my self of this moment with this moment through the senses. You only live once; the past is behind you, the future is only foresight, what matters is you, now and here.
Feel every moment to the fullest.

(oh and question everything, if it's worth living it's worth thinking about)

Honey Cupcakes

2006-08-12T00:19:00.000-03:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Mainly because I've been angry with my camera. I took so many great photos of the miniature roosters I made for the last run of cupcakes and somehow the photos were corrupted and I can't move them from camera to computer.

On the plus side the maple chocolate cupcakes were delicious.

Tomorrow I am trying an experiment. I've made some honey pecan cakes, they are a little sturdier than a typical cupcake. They are a buttery buttermilk cake with a generous amount of dark buckwheat honey instead of sugar and a smattering of pecan pieces.

The first icing I made with hazelnut paste, but when I got home tonight I wasn't quite satisfied. It seemed a bit too sweet for this kind of cake, so I experimented and made a batch of light icing with red wine and peanut drizzle. Come try them out tomorrow, Saturday the 13th.

Maple Tastes Like Trees!

2006-08-04T22:49:00.000-03:00

Saturday, August 5th at The Cookhouse ; Chocolate Mocha Cakes with Maple Cream Frosting. These little cakes are made with Dutch Process Cocoa, fresh unsalted Butter, and Real Maple Cream from Nova Scotia.

These Canadian cakes are a toonie each.

Pineapple Bake Shop Pricelist

2006-07-30T22:29:00.000-03:00

Cupcakes are $20 for a dozen or 2 dozen for $30. The cupcakes are made with care in small batches. This price includes small decorations and some piping, for more elaborate or custom work prices may vary.

Coming soon, additional Cookies and Cinnamon biscuits.

Petit Fours

2006-07-30T19:40:00.000-03:00

Celebrate Today, have a Little Cake!

Cappucino Cupcakes

2006-07-30T18:55:00.000-03:00

Well, Saturday was a great cupcake selling day, as a matter of fact we sold out. Since I forgot my camera and I had none to take home there will be no photo of the cupcakes this week. To make up for it, next week I will make some really interesting cupcakes. As a matter of fact, if anyone has a request or challenge, I'd love to know what it is. (You can contact me through email, in my profile.)
Saturday was one of the tastiest work days in a long time, Tomeq, who is the Chocolatier from Alchemy of Angels, came in to give a chocolate making demonstration. He had the most exquisit chocolates with him; raspberry cognac, arpicot brandy, rolled truffels, cashew and maple truffles. Paulette and I ate so many chocolate and cupcake samples we were sugar high. Laura was a little better behaved. We bought a few packs of truffles as well, now I wish I had bought more.
He suggested I try selling down at the local farmers market in Anapolis and offered to take some of my cakes down some time. It's so generous of him, I'm thrilled. Tamara keeps saying she has to get me into the market here. I think I need to take the cupcakes to the street.

Hazelnut-Vanilla Cake with Toasted Pecans

100g of Toasted Pecans
2 1/2 cups Cake Flour
1 1/2 tsps Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter (room temp')
1 1/2 Cups sugar
5 Free Run Eggs (room temp')
1 cup Buttermilk (room temp)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 tsps Hazelnut extract
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Set oven to rack to middle, preheat tp 300f. On a baking sheet or in the fry pan toast the pecans, they will burn easily when you smell them they are done. Set aside. Sift together the dry. Cream the butter, add the sugar gradually until it looks light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, blending to encorporate slowly and briefly after each addition.
Using a spatula to fold together the buttermilk and dry mixture in separate batches, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the pecans. Fill the cupcake pan.These take about 20 mins to cook, but check them before that time.

Cappucino Frosting

1 Cup Fresh Butter
3 1/2 Cups Icing Sugar
2 Shots of Espresso (or a little more)
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsps Meringue Powder

WHIP until fluffy and delicious!

Today at the Cookhouse

2006-07-29T03:45:00.000-03:00

(Full and Sample size) Hazelnut-Vanilla Cupcakes with pecans, frosted with Cappucino Buttercream!

Flower Cupcakes

2006-07-24T01:26:00.000-03:00

These flower cupcakes are generously frosted and great for tea parties. I served these particular cupcakes on antique saucers. I've collected quite a few of them over the years, most were given to me, others I bought at yard sales and flea markets. None of them match, but they do compliment each other. They are great for serving deserts like cupcakes, petit fours and cookies. Definitely worth the cupboard space!
I just aquired a new tea cup and saucer from my good friend Lavanya. She moved to Calgary recently, and left me a set decorated with waterlilies in the hallway of her old place. I will think of her every time I use it. I had been thinking about making waterlilies out of fondant the day I picked it up, which is a coincidence. So now that is a plan.
(Lavayna, I have not forgotten about the dinosaurs, will do.)

How To Make a Rose Cupcake:

Easy Buttercream: Stiff consistency

1 1lb Icing Sugar
1 tbsp Meringue Powder
1 tsp Bourbon Vanilla
1 tbsp Liquid, such as milk, cream (water if it has to sit out for long)

Cream all ingredients until light, fluffy. It should hold a stiff peak.

Tools: Piping bag, Tip no. 127 (large ruffle/petal tip)

Step one: Insert the tip into the end of the piping bag, score the bag to fit the large tip, remove it and trim to size, it should not require a coupler. Replace the tip and fill the bag with buttercream.(To create a two tone effect paint a line of gel colour up the seam of the bag before filling. This can also be done by spreading a thick line with contrasting buttercream up one side, but the bag would then need to be filled more carefully so that the colour doesn't get mixed together.)

Step two: Spread a little buttercream on top of the cupcake to create a small mound, it should be more conical than rounded. This will be the base which you will pipe the rose petals on to.

Step three: Pipe the petals ; while you squeeze the bag, move the tip and rotate the nail.. Use the hand holding the bag to control the pressure and your other hand to turn the cupcake while you pipe. Make sure the tip is at a 45 angle and the wide end of the tip is facing downward. Slowly turn the nail to bring a ribbon of icing around to overlap at the top of the mound, then back down to starting point. It should completely enclose the tip, like the centre of a rosebud. Make sure to move the tip up and then down to ovelap were you began.

To form the petals you will move the tip up and down again, this motion will make a half circle and will shape the upright petal. There are 3 rows of petals, the first has 3, the second 5, and the third seven. Begin the petals after the first at the mid point of the last petal piped.

If it doesn't work the first time, scrape off the icing and try again. =D

Very Berry Saturday

2006-07-22T21:42:00.000-03:00

Don't let the sweet look of these cupcakes fool you, these cupcakes have a berry kick!

The cake is a white butter cake flecked with the last of this seasons fresh local strawberries. The icing is a Raspberry Red Currant butter cream. It was made with a reduction of sweet raspberries, tart red currants, and a splash of pure maple syrup. I used the resulting precious syrup to colour and flavour the buttercream. There is no pink colouring in the frosting, only berry goodness.

Sweetest Samples: These little gems were free to try.

Join us next saturday at The Cookhouse for the latest sweet treat!

Cupcake Selling Day

2006-07-22T20:49:00.000-03:00

The new morning shone silver and overcast. Paulette picked me up well before we would normally go to work. I lugged my bags of tools, pans and ingredients to the car, jumped in and we took off. She paused to look at me as we started to head down the lane,

"You smell like Sugar."

* * *

We aren't morning people, but the cool air pepped us up and I think we were both secretly hoping it would rain. We are those people who can't help but smile when we hear about "Bad weather". Rain, thunder, lightning; we're cheery.

When we pulled into the driveway the sky opened up. The sound poured down around us, it was wonderful.

We chatted while I whipped up the cupcakes. We drank coffees topped with chocolate milk. Paulette is the type of friend and co-worker whos presence reminds you of all the goodness in the world.

Cupcakes are the Sweetest!

2006-07-21T23:22:00.000-03:00

Saturday at The Cookhouse (1512 Dresden Row) I'm selling a small batch of strawberry-flecked white cupcakes with Raspberry/Red currant Buttercream. Sweet like it's your birthday! At the amazing price of 1.50$ per cake.

Clover Honey Shortbreads

2006-07-14T04:05:00.000-03:00

2 tbsps Red Clover Petals
2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Demerara Sugar
2 sticks of Unsalted Butter (must be 67f)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsps Local Honey

This recipe really is quick and easy when you get down to it, but there is some prep time before hand. The dried clover petals must be plucked from their green stems which can be pretty time consuming. Luckily you only need two tablespoons of petals for a nice hint of colour and flavour.

In a large bowl mix togther the clover petals, the sugar and salt with your finger tips, make sure there are no lumps of sugar. Demerara is a soft, moist sugar that tends to clump together it needs to be evenly distributed in the flour before you any of the moist ingredients.
Ensure the butter is at the proper temperature by sticking an instant read thermometer into one of the sticks. It should read about 67f, be cool to the touch and flexible, NOT soft and greasy. If it is too soft return it to the fridge for a few minutes.
When the butter is ready cut the sticks into a few smaller cubes and add to the bowl, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles a soft meal. Drizzle in honey and rub into the flour, after this addition the dough should form a soft crumbly ball. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin on a floured surface, cut into shapes and bake for about ten minutes. They should be golden brown at the very edges and bottom of the cookie.

This is a very simple cookie which isn't too sweet; it pairs well with coffee, tea or fresh fruit. I'm sure the addition of Lavender would be great too.

Dark Chocolate Minneola Cupcakes

2006-07-09T23:31:00.000-03:00

I made these cupcakes to sell on saturday at The Cookhouse. I added a generous amount of coarsely grated minneola zest at the creaming stage of my dark chocolate buttermilk recipe. Adding it while beating the butter helps release the flavours into the batter. I just love trying new citrus and chocolate combinations, I think next time I'll try making an chocolate citrus spice cake. The Frosting was made with chocolate from equador; dark, rich and very fragrant.

Chocolate frosting:

100g of good quality Dark Chocolate
1 cup of Butter
3 1/4 cups of Sugar
1 tsp Bourbon Vanilla

Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or carefully in the microwave. If using the microwave cut the chocolate into small pieces and heat it a little at a time (10 to 20 seconds) checking it and stirring in between. When the chocolate is almost done stir until it is completely melted. Beat in a tablespoon of butter and let it cool until it is still soft but not hot.

Beat in the butter and vanilla, then the sugar a 1/2 cup at a time. Yum.

Psst to my co-workers, sincere thanks for all your help and support. You guys are the best :D

Space Cupcakes

2006-07-08T00:54:00.000-03:00

Neapolitain frosted cup cake

2006-07-08T00:39:00.000-03:00

Vanilla is in a class of it's own

2006-07-07T23:53:00.000-03:00

Creamy vanilla cupcake batter. I'm trying a new bourbon vanilla with vanilla seeds in it.

Sweet Canada Day Strawberry Pie

2006-07-02T02:15:00.000-03:00

It's Canada day and I thought I'd celebrate by trying a new strawberry pie experiment. This time I made an almond pastry crust which I filled with strawberries, and yes, dark chocolate chips!

Pastry:

1 cup of cold butter
200g of ground almonds
1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
4 tbsps granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
4-5 tbsps ice water

Filling:

2 pints of strawberries (preferably local)
4 tbsps granulated sugar
1 organic orange worth of zest
sprinkling of good quality dark chocolate chips

Preheat the over to 400 f. Toast the almonds on a baking tray until they are just beggining to brown, no longer. When you can smell them, they're done. Whisk together the dry ingredients and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter. Add the extract and tbsps of water until the dough forms a ball easily when kneaded. Chill.

Hull strawberries and cut any large ones into bite size pieces. Toss into a bowl with the sugar and zest.

Roll out the dough. This dough is a little difficult to work with since the almonds make it a bit crumbly, if it cracks it can easily be pressed together in the pie plate. Add the berries in two amounts, sprinkling a the dark chocolate chips over each addition. It's easy to go overboard with this part, but if you practice restraint you'll have tangy strawberry bites with a bit of chocolate which is nice. The crust tastes like a cross between pie crust and almond shortbreads, it's very rich.

mmm, strawberries and chocolate!

New Blog in the Links - Tamara Mabley

2006-06-29T13:44:00.000-03:00

If you love handmade, one of kind Jewelry you should take a look at Tamaras site. She is an artist friend of mine who makes all sorts of beautiful things, and her jewlery is striking and lovely to wear. I recently bought a necklace from her that I now call my singing necklace because of how musical the handmade silver pieces and the beads sound when I move. It's fantastic.
These earrings are some of her most recent organic work.

Sunshine Strawberry Tarts

2006-06-28T00:06:00.000-03:00

It's strawberry season; that time at the end of june and start of july defined by local berries. Strawberries as sweet and fresh as the ones we plucked right off the plants when we were kids. These aren't anything like the flavourless mutants we can pick up year round, these are special, the product of summertime and sunshine.

This recipe is simple enough I managed to whip in up in no time before I left the house for work today, which is kind of amazing. The orange zest and almond bring out the flavour of the berry wonderfully.

Pastry Crust

2/3 cup fresh butter
2 tbsps granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsps pure almond extract
4-5 tbsps ice water
1 1/4 cup flour
pinch of salt

Tart Filling

1 Pint of local berries, hulled
2 tbsps granulated sugar
1/2 an organic orange worth of zest

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter until you have a meal with pieces that range in size from that of small peas to fine bits, all coated in flour. Add the almond and water, don't add the last tbsp unless you need it. Knead the crust until it forms a ball, being careful not to melt the butter and/or overwork the dough. Wrap and set aside in the fridge.

If you haven't already, hull the berries and cut any larger ones in half. (Try to leave the small ones whole, your tart will have a more luscious texture. It's nice to bite into a juicy berry.) Combine the berries, sugar and zest.

Roll out the dough, put your tart pans on top of the dough and cut around them to get an idea of how much you need. Press in and divide berries amongst them. Bake at 400f until golden on the edges.

Oh, and next time I make this I'm going to try adding ground almonds to the crust, I bet that would be wicked.

Enjoy!

Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes

2006-06-27T00:58:00.000-03:00

The reduced juices from ripe cherries give this icing a deep blush colour. Seasonal berries and fruit give rich natural colours to icings. Try mango puree or fine orange zest for warm yellows, (always use organic citrus fruit if you intend to use the zest.)

Spiced Kahlua Cookies with Kahlua Buttercream

2006-06-26T02:05:00.000-03:00

The Pineapple : Ananas Comosus

Pineapple Bake Shop

2006-06-26T01:59:00.000-03:00

Soon to come: Contemporary Cupcakes and Gourmet Cookies

Wedding Shower Cupcakes
Handmade fondant blue birds and eggs on orange chocolate cupcakes!