Crispy Chocolate Tarts

Yesterday, I was laying in bed and thinking about tarts. When will I start making tart shells? Are tart shells hard to make? What if I used something else for the shell? Something like... rice krispies!

Using the same recipe from the peanut butter crispy bars, I woke up, had a bowl of cereal, and got to work. 

Make the base of the tart in your pans first. When that is all even on the bottom, start building the sides. Press and mold the rice krispies with your hands and then put them in the fridge to firm up - about an hour.

You could fill the rice krispies tarts with any filling of your choice, I went for a peanut butter and chocolate layer. Just the one! Pour it in the shell and let it set in the fridge for another hour.

Without any doubt, this was one very sweet tart, we might try a citrus filling next time. =P

Peanut Butter Chocolate Crispy Bars

How are the holidays treating you? We've been spending time with family and friends non-stop since we got back from Las Vegas. I know I said I would have lots of time to finally tackle cake pops, but the days are just passing by!

For tonight's party, we made peanut butter chocolate crispy bars. You would think that something that doesn't require an oven would be easier to make, but nope, these took me just as long to "whip" up. But oh dear yum are they worth it!

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
(Makes about 9 squares)

1 3/4 cups of crisped rice cereal
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of corn syrup
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
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5 ounces of chopped milk chocolate
1 cup of creamy peanut butter
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3 ounces of chopped milk chocolate
1 cup of Nutella
1/2 teaspoon of corn syrup

1. For the crispy crust: Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick cooking spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Pour the water into a small saucepan. Gently add the sugar and corn syrup. Make sure none of the sugar or syrup gets on the sides of the pan. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until combined.
3. Put a candy thermometer in the saucepan, cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 degrees F.
4. Remove from heat, stir in the butter and pour the mixture over the crispy rice cereal. Quickly stir until the cereal until it is thoroughly coated. Then press into the 8-inch square baking pan. Let the crust cool to room temperature.
   
   
5. For the chocolate peanut butter layer: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and peanut butter.
6. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook (double boiler). Stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth.
   
   
7. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly.
8. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust and refrigerate for about an hour or until the top layer hardens.
   
   
9. For the chocolate Nutella layer: In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate, Nutella, and corn syrup.
10. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook (double boiler). Stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth.
11. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly.
12. Pour the mixture over the chocolate peanut butter layer and refrigerate for about an hour or until the top layer hardens.
13. Cut into squares and serve!
    

I don't know how they make it looks so neat in the cookbooks photos, but at least I know mine taste and smell just as great. There are no more bars left, I think it's safe to say that these were a hit!

Baked with Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

During the last week of October, I found out that Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (from Baked) were coming to Toronto for their book tour! Whoopie! I was pretty ecstatic because it was a close enough location (Yorkdale Shopping Centre) for us to get to, but I was a little sad that it started at 5:00pm on Thursday. At that time... I would be just leaving from work... downtown!

Now, because I have the best partner in the world, Howard agreed to go at 5:00pm and fill me in on what I missed as I took the subway to get to Williams-Sonoma as soon as possible. He snapped photos for me, took notes during their demonstration, and lined-up to have my two cookbooks signed. Sigh, he's a keeper! Here, he'll fill you in on the event:

Howard: I got there a little before 5pm and they were in the middle of being interviewed. Not too long after I showed up, a small crowd began to gather with their new book (Baked Explorations) in hand. At about a quarter after five Matt and Renato started their demonstration on how to make their famous sweet and salty brownies - the old school way - the same way they still do in their bakeries.

As they started baking, they chatted briefly about how they became known nationwide via Oprah's "O List" in an issue of the O Magazine. Hearing their funny take on how it all began for them was a lot more interesting than just knowing they were featured in the O Magazine.

Fun fact: Matt doesn't like brownie corners while Renato likes them.

During the Q&A, someone asked about their experience on Throwdown with Bobby Flay where they battled for the best peanut butter banana cream pie. Consensus say they were robbed and Bobby Flay look out, they want a rematch.

It was clear to see that both Matt and Renato love what they do. Their friendly and humorous nature made them easy to like and I must say it helped make this event into one of the better promotional experiences I've attended. I had a good time. It was nice meeting you guys.

Good news: Williams-Sonoma will soon be carrying their brownie mix.

Oh and here are the samples of their famous sweet and salty brownies (above). I wanted to take more than one, but I decided I should behave. Sylvia arrived around 6pm and didn't miss out on meeting them (or the samples). Back over to Sylvia...

Sylvia: I gave Howard a call once I was off the subway and he told me to run. Hmph! They weren't even leaving yet! They were signing extra books for the store and chatting with a few people there. I spotted someone wearing their Baked hoodie too (dedicated fan!).

Well, I went up to finally meet them and they are two seriously nice and funny guys. Of course we're gushing about them and they're asking us about our blog and what camera we were using (showed them our trusty point-and-shoot - disbelief ensued). We talked about visiting Baked during our trip to New York in the summer and really, we can't wait to visit them again some day.

Other people came up to have their books signed, so we backed off and I found brownie samples left! Yum!

I usually never do this, but I became a dork and had my photo taken with them (thanks for being an awesome cameraman Howard). So many thanks again to Matt and Renato for visiting Toronto for their book tour and we hope to see you again!

My signed copies of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking and Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented. Thanks guys! =)

Sweet Gifts

Don't you love having a "thing" or hobby? I love it when co-workers and friends tell me about cupcake and baking things they've seen. Honestly, there are trip photos from friends where I get tagged as cupcakes or bakeries on facebook. So, I wanted to share some of the baking-related gifts I received this year! (Click here for last year's edition.) Maybe you'll spot something that you would like to put on your wishlist.

1. From the holidays, I got bubble bath cupcakes (thank you Pamela)! They come in these yummy scents: lemon meringue, apple strudel, orange chiffon, strawberry shortcake, blueberry cheesecake, and toasted coconut!

2. Howard found another set of flannel pajamas from La Senza! This year they had lots of cupcake patterns, we picked the pink and white set (the pattern is called "Sugar Spice" on the website).

3. The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf was on my wish list this year (recommended by Trilby). I want to thank Secret Santa Kurt for ordering a copy for me! I am looking forward to baking from this cookbook, recipe pages have already been tagged and noted. Thing to note, beautiful photography (by Peter Cassidy) and the recipes are very easy to follow. I really like how the recipes yield a dozen cupcakes. The cookbook includes lots of classic American favourites, so I think this would be the perfect nostalgic gift. If you have a copy, don't forget to read these tips from the publisher before baking. One day... we will visit the bakery in London!

4. This drool-worthy Cakes calendar was a birthday present. It boasts a year of scrumptious recipes. What a great way to start each month! Thank you to Kurt and Diana!

5. This book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, was also a part of my Secret Santa bundle, so thanks again Kurt! It is written by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, photographs by Tina Rupp. This is such a beautiful cookbook - well done production and design! I really like the clean and simple ways their cakes and cupcakes are decorated. I am really looking forward to their next cookbook! My next trip to New York will have to include a stop at this bakery!
PS: Where do you get the little deer cupcake toppers on page 72??

6. For my birthday, we went to get mini cupcakes from Life is Sweet. I picked out earl grey with orange, butterscotch, lemon drop, white chocolate, double chocolate, and mango and lime. Sigh! While we were there, there was another couple taste-testing for an event (a wedding perhaps?).

7. Cute mini cupcake spatula/spoon! This mini set will be perfect for scraping the mixer's blade and for filling my smaller piping bags with frosting!

8. Cupcake cookie cutters from Howard's Secret Santa! Thank you to Megan for including these for me! =P

9. You see that small vintage pedestal holding the mini cupcakes? Birthday present from my brother, so thank you little brother! I know he doesn't understand ("What's wrong with regular plates?"), so even more gratitude for getting it for me. =)

10. My very sweet birthday card, thank you Howard. =)

On a random side note, after picking up my mini cupcakes on my birthday, we passed The Pie Shack/The Paw Shack. I had read about The Pie Shack in a bakery roundup from blogTO, so we quickly parked and went inside! Howard and I tried a slice of the apple cinnamon pie. Yummy pie crust! Howard also picked up the AAA Angus Beef Pie for later. We both want to let Tim know that we love the setup, decor, and the feel of the bakery, oh and Campbell? Such a well behaved collie!

Well now I'm curious, what kind of sweet gifts did you get over the holidays? Feel free to share links to the item or links to your blog in the comments below!