Looking Back: 30 Years

Happy New Year (23 days into 2016, so it still counts)! How was your 2015? How were your holidays? I hope everyone had a wonderful end of year. I love how everything feels so festive in December, twinkly lights and decorations everywhere. The atmosphere is fun and light, especially at work when everyone is looking forward to some time off.

I actually made this pie on Christmas Eve because I was hosting a family dinner with my dad and brother. I figured Howard likes citrus flavours and my brother loves meringue that this pie would be the perfect dessert to serve. It was . . . but it tasted better the day after when I brought it to my in-law's for Christmas day dinner. Letting it set and chill in the fridge actually tasted better than fresh!

Speaking of chill, do you have Netflix? We watched a lot of shows during the holidays that had us doing all-nighters. My whole sleeping schedule got flipped thanks to the addicting series. We managed to finish Luther, Narcos, and started Making a Murderer. Have you seen these shows? What did you think? What would you recommend we watch next?

I'm deciding to make this a combination post too. Not only are we celebrating national pie day, I also want to chat birthday. I've also hit a new milestone, I'm officially in my thirties!!! Way to make myself feel old there. My favourite cousin recently turned 13 - gasp, a teenager - and I remember babysitting him as toddler. He's still not taller than me yet, I hope that takes a bit more time (we have a height bet). It's amazing how fast time flies. There has been so many neat changes in the past year alone that I'm excited for this year.

Looking back, here are thirty highlights:

1. WE GOT MARRIED! Finally!
2. Had an amazing and memorable honeymoon in Jamaica. Which reminds me, I want to share that in a post soon.
3. In Jamaica, we visited the Luminous Lagoon. Very cool experience, we'd recommend going if you get a chance.
4. Tried scuba diving for the first time. 
5. Met new relatives that flew in from Taiwan and South Africa.
6. Felt the love at my bridal showers. Good friends and colleagues are hard to come by, so when you do find them, make them bake and cook for you.
7. We were fortunate enough to squeeze in some travel. We visited Chicago and flew Porter for the first time!
8. Work perks: Met Judy Blume and had my book signed. Had my photo taken with Chef Curtis Stone. Ate dinner with Alan Doyle. Shook hands with Al Gore. Saw Chef Michael Smith. Shook hands and had my booked signed by Chris Hadfield. Felt the excitement when Ethan Hawke and Rainn Wilson were in the office. Seen Margaret Atwood roam the floors.
9. Helped plan Anne Michaels' book launch for The Adventures of Miss Petitfour. She's a fantastic reader and there were sea shanties.
10. Gained a godson because we're awesome godparents. Still watching in awe as our goddaughter becomes more vocal.
11. Survived an office move. Boxes of books are incredibly heavy.
12. Made new friends with new colleagues thanks to the merge.
13. Switched from the editorial department to the marketing and publicity department. Every day is a learning experience, but we do such cool things.
14. Working with the coolest children's marketing and publicity team ever, I love my pod.
15. Finished watching Veronica Mars as numerous interns vouched for it. It lived up to the hype.
16. Lost at Pongapalooza. In the first round.
17. Made lots and lots of bunting. Then more and more. I've been given the title Baroness of Bunting.
18. Also been given the title Countess of Cake.
19. Featured in the Globe and Mail as an office model.
20. Had an amazing dinner at Grand Electric's Champagne Room.
21. Discovered my new favourite chocolate chip cookies recipe!
22. Had my hair coloured and my nails done for the first time.
23. Got a waffle maker. Just you wait for all the waffle posts.
24. Saw the Pan Am excitement around the city of Toronto.
25. Gave pop pilates a try and was surprised I enjoyed it.
26. My orchid bloomed!
27. Not getting cable and just having Netflix was the best decision ever.
28. Discovering canelés. Ugh, craving one now.
29. Howard surprised me with a spa date. His first one ever!
30. Booked an ambitious trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Taiwan for 2016.

And if you were just here for the pie. The recipe is from the New York Times, which they adapted from Alice Water of Chez Panisse. If you read the comments, you'll see that lots of people doubled the lemon recipe. I ended up doing so as well and it gave the pie a nice inch of lemon filling. I also found that the lemon filling set better in the fridge, despite the recipe's instruction saying not to place it in the fridge after letting it cool for one to two hours.

Recipes: Flaky pie crust | Chez Panisse Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie

Matcha Macarons

I made these matcha macarons for my dad today. He has to attend a holiday potluck party tomorrow and he asked me to make him macarons. He claims that with all these macarons I've made, he's only eaten three. Which is possible as I haven't had that many myself. I keep giving them away! In fact, I only got to snack on two of these matcha macarons. My mom stole one and my dad prevented my brother from taken any. I hope dad's party guests appreciate how much we refrained!

French Meringue Macarons
(Makes about 40-50 macarons)

2 3/4 cups of almond flour
2 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
3 tablespoons of matcha powder
1 cup of egg whites (from 6-7 eggs)
A pinch of salt
3/4 cups of granulated sugar
Festive sprinkles for decoration (optional)

1. Line your baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Separate your egg whites 2-3 days before baking. Cover and store them in the refrigerator. Two hours before you start making your macarons, take the egg whites out of the refrigerator, uncover them, and let them come to room temperature.
3. Sift the almond flour, powdered sugar, and matcha powder together. If you have a food processor, put the ingredients in to create as fine as a texture as possible. This will help create smooth macaron shells.
4. Using the whisk attachment on your mixer, whisk the egg whites with the salt. Pour the granulated sugar in three stages. Dumping it all in can deflate the egg whites, so you want to add a little bit at a time. When the egg whites reach stiff peaks, turn the mixer off.
5. Fold the sifted almond mixture with the egg whites. You want to end up with a smooth batter that creates a ribbon when you lift it up from your spatula.
6. When the batter is ready, fill your piping bag and pipe equal rounds on the parchment paper.
7. Carefully tap your tray against the table or counter to eliminate air bubbles.
8. After piping, add the sprinkles on top. Let the macarons rest in room temperature for 15-30 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C (325°F/160°C for a non-convection oven, although a convection oven is preferred for baking macarons).
10. Bake your first tray of macarons for 14-15 minutes. After the first five minutes, open the oven doors to let out some of the steam.
11. When the macarons are done, let them cool and then gently peel the macarons off the parchment paper.

After all the macarons have cooled, I usually pair them up and store them in a container while I prepare the filling:

Matcha Buttercream
(Makes enough to fill 40-50 macarons)

1/2 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 stick of cream cheese
3 tablespoons of matcha powder
2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of milk

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
2. Add in the matcha powder and powdered sugar. Mix until incorporated.
3. If you find the consistency to be too stiff, add a teaspoon of milk and mix until the buttercream is smooth. Fill your piping bag and pipe out a dollop on the bottom of the macarons. Add the top of the macaron and gently sandwich the buttercream in between.

Yum! I can see these being a repeated favourite with my parents. I'm actually tempted to make another batch already...

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve tomorrow!

Festive Macarons

More macarons Sylvia? Really?

Yes, I know. I'm going crazy over macarons this year. I made some more to bring to a holiday party and I'm loving how I can customize and decorate these delicate cookies.

French Meringue Macarons
Recipe from Macarons
(Makes about 40-50 macarons)

2 3/4 cups of almond flour
2 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
1 cup of egg whites (from 6-7 eggs)
A pinch of salt
3/4 cups of granulated sugar

1. The first step in making successful macarons is to age your egg whites. Separate your egg whites 2-3 days before baking. Cover and store them in the refrigerator. Two hours before you start making your macarons, take the egg whites out of the refrigerator, uncover them, and let them come to room temperature.
2. Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together. If you have a food processor, put both ingredients in to create as fine as a texture as possible. This helps create smooth macaron shells.
3. Using the whisk attachment on your mixer, whisk the egg whites with the salt. Pour the granulated sugar in three stages. Dumping it all in can deflate the egg whites, so you want to add a little bit at a time. When the egg whites reach stiff peaks, turn the mixer off.
4. Fold the sifted almond flour and sugar with the egg whites. You want to end up with a smooth batter that creates a ribbon when you lift it up from your spatula.
5. When the batter is ready, fill your piping bag and pipe circles on the parchment paper.
6. Carefully tap your tray against the table or counter to eliminate air bubbles.
7. After piping, add the sprinkles on top. Let the macarons rest in room temperature for 15-30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 300°F (325°F for non-convection oven, although convection oven are preferred for macarons).
9. Bake your first tray of macarons for 14 minutes. After the first five minutes, open the oven doors to let out some of the steam.
10. When they're done, let them cool for 5 minutes and then gently peel the macarons off the parchment paper.

If you need some  macaron tutorials or visuals, check out the three videos that Mardi of eat. live. travel. write. made. She shows the three main stages of making macarons: whipping the egg whites, folding the batter, and piping the macarons. Chances are, one of those sections are where most people get stuck!

Vanilla Pastry Cream
Recipe from Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(Makes enough to fill each macaron, with leftovers)

2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
3 1/2 tablespoons butter

1. Flatten the vanilla bean and slice it open with a sharp knife. Peel the bean open and scrape the seeds out with the knife.
2. In a small pot, bring the milk with the vanilla bean with scrapings to a boil, set it aside to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean.
3. Fill a large bowl with cold water (or ice).
4. In a medium sized pan or small pot, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together. Gradually whisk in the hot milk.
5. Place the pan over high heat and bring it to a boil, whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes. Set the bowl in the ice bath or cold water and stir until the temperature reaches 140°F (60°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
6. Stir in the butter. Cool, cover, and refrigerate.
7. Fill a piping bag with the pastry cream to pipe.

Top tier: I made holly using three red confetti sprinkles. For the holly leaves, I used two tree sprinkles.
Bottom tier: I simply placed red, green, and white confetti sprinkles on the macarons - this one is the easiest as they'll look festive no matter what.

You can go an even simpler route and place one festive icon in the middle of the macaron, here I chose the Christmas tree.

Something even easier, add some coloured sugar sprinkles in a line or waves. I did a few in red, green, and white which creates a nice shimmer and adds a crunchy texture to your macaron.

A tip, do not use jimmies or nonpareils, the colour on these will bleed off and smudge the look or design you're going for. Probably any kind of sprinkle that looks glossy will not work, stick to the matte ones! Happy macaron designing!

Coconut Macaroon Trees

I was playing around with coconut macaroons again. This time, I gave the 400 grams of unsweetened coconut flakes a little pre-toast before mixing it with the 2 egg whites, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 290 millilitres of condensed milk, and zest of 1 lemon.

I think it worked out. The cookie dough was just right! Sticky enough to hold the coconut shreds together, but not soaking wet that puddles were forming after they were molded.

I even gave the dough a few drops of green food colouring. Then took out my tree cookie cutter for some holiday spirit.

I guess I could have used more green food colouring.

The one on the very right had no food colouring at all. I made that one just to compare. Still it wasn't green enough! I thought that the coconut flakes would help emulate the leaves of evergreen trees. What do you think? They almost look like rice krispie squares in the photo!

Drizzle some chocolate and decorate the trees with sprinkles for some holiday cheer! Yum, I love how these cookies are crispy and nice and chewy.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve or Merry Christmas depending where you are! To get into a little creative mood, I made green tea Christmas tree cookies for our families.

Green Tea Cookies

Adapted from The Cookiepedia: Mixing, Baking, and Reinventing the Classics

(Makes about 18 Christmas tree cookies)

3/4 cup of powdered sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of matcha powder

1/2 cup of unsalted butter

3 egg yolks

1 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour

A pinch of salt

1. Gently mix the powdered sugar and matcha powder together.
2. Add in the butter and beat it all together until smooth. It'll look like spinach green icing!
3. Add in the egg yolks and beat until incorporated, scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Pour in a third of the flour at a time. It will take a minute or so for the flour to absorb into the dough. Also add in the pinch of salt and mix. Make sure that there are no dry or crumbly sections in the dough.
5. Flatten the dough into a disk and plastic wrap it. Seal it up and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
6. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
7. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out to about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out shapes with your preferred cookie cutter. Set them on a parchment sheet or silicone mat.
8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until you see the edges start to turn lightly golden. Cool before decorating.

You can eat the cookies as they are, but if you want to dress them up like sugar cookies, you'll need to make some royal icing.

Green Tea Royal Icing

(Makes enough to line and flood 18 Christmas tree cookies)

1 1/2 tablespoon of meringue powder

2 cups of powdered sugar

1 tablespoon of matcha powder

2 1/2 tablespoons of water

1. Beat all the ingredients together until icing forms peaks. I would recommend using a clean and grease free stand mixer. You can add more green colour if you like, but I found the light green from the matcha powder to be sufficient.
2. This is your stiff consistency, have your piping bag and tip ready, fill about a handful of royal icing into the bag.
3. Pipe along the edges of your cookies, refill if necessary. Add any remaining icing back to the batch.
4. To thin out the royal icing for flooding, keep adding 1 teaspoon of water until you reach the proper consistency.
5. Using the same piping bag and tip, carefully fill it with the thinner icing and pipe them onto the cookie. By now, the edges should have hardened enough to stay as a border. Decorate as you see fit!

Use clean toothpicks for correcting, if you need to slightly shift a line or pop an air bubble. I clearly need to work on my cookie piping skills.

I really like the look of the simple hollies on the tree.

I have an extra copy of Stacy Adimando and Tara Striano's The Cookiepedia: Mixing, Baking, and Reinventing the Classics. Would you like to win it? Our Christmas gift to one lucky winner!

Giveaway Regulations and Conditions: 

• The Cookiepedia Giveaway is open from Saturday, December 24, 2011 to Sunday, January 8, 2012. Entries submitted after 12 midnight EST on Sunday, January 8, 2012 will not be considered. 
• There are three ways to enter, post in the comment section below or on A Baked Creation's facebook page: I could eat ______________ cookies all year long. (Fill in the blank with your favourite cookie.) 
• To enter via twitter, tweet: @abakedcreation I could eat ______________ cookies all year long. (Fill in the blank with your favourite cookie.)
• Please leave a way for us to contact you (via e-mail, twitter handle).
• The winner will be randomly chosen and announced here on A Baked Creation on Monday, January 10, 2012. 
• The winner will have 7 days to claim their prize. If we do not get a mailing address, the prize is forfeited.
• This contest is available to residents of Canada and the U.S.A. only! However, if you have friends and family with a Canadian or American mailing address, feel free to enter. There will be four different winners, one for each book.
• Disclaimer: My copy and the giveaway copy of The Cookiepedia was not sent to us by the publisher.
• UPDATE: A winner has been chosen! Congratulations to SweetThingsTO who said, "I could eat chocolate peanut butter cookies all year long... or anything chocolate peanut butter actually..."

Decorating Cupcakes for EverythingMom

This took some time, but I think it was all worth it in the end. Through twitter DM and e-mail troubles, Carrie Anne was finally able to get in touch with me. I'm glad she did, because she had a fun idea for me! Carrie Anne Badov is Partner and Editor-in-Chief at EverythingMom, I actually know her from work because she is an avid reader and helps promote books and literacy. Long story short, she wanted to know if I would be interested in doing a Christmas/Holiday cupcake article. I said yes!

I spent the weekend brainstorming some simple, but fun ideas for families to make. I even went out and bought some holiday sprinkles. Trees, stars, snowflakes, and candy canes - all in miniature sugar form - perfect!

I took out some colourful cupcake liners (thank you Mike and Megan) and baked some old-fashioned chocolate cupcakes. Then took out the piping bag, my piping tips, and some candies.

Click here to see the cupcake creations on EverythingMom.com!

Iron Cupcake Toronto: Christmas

Last Sunday, Howard and I were judges at Iron Cupcake Toronto's Christmas challenge. Genevieve Griffin, from For the Love of Cake and the organizer of the event, asked us a week earlier and of course we said "yes!" How exciting, we never judged a cupcake contest before!

So we got there and Genevieve had us set up at the Judge's Table, complete with a Judge's badge, clipboard with pen, napkins, and a bottle of water.

She explained to us that we would be judging based on 1/3 presentation, 1/3 taste and 1/3 creativity (how well you incorporate the secret ingredient). Then, we were given a plate with mini cupcakes for the taste testing. I had #1-5, the third judge, Josh Rachlis, had plating #6-10, and Howard had cupcakes from participant's #11-15. We then pick our two favourite cupcakes to move onto Round 2 of the taste test. All in all, we wouldn't get to taste 6 of the competing cupcakes.

This wasn't easy at all! Howard and I didn't check the presentations yet, so we had no idea what to expect. I think it was fun that way, as we simply relied on our taste buds. I choose #4 to move on and was torn between #1 and #2. After much back and forth, I moved #2 to the final round. Howard picked #11 and #13.

Next up, judging the presentations. There wasn't a display for #1, so we'll start here:

Participant #2: Santa's Chocolate Candy Cane
I loved this display, it was a very cute concept, and you can tell that a lot of work went into this. You've got a conveyor belt of cupcakes along with a cooling and packing station!

Participant #3: Naughty or Nice?
Look at that, social media being incorporated into cupcake displays. While you may think the cupcakes look like coal, the inside is coloured!

Participant #4: Wild White-Tufted Cupcake (Cupcacheus Christmaseus)
It's a bird! It's a cupcake! It's a completely new species!

Participant #5: Gingerbread Cupcake with Eggnog Buttercream
This won't be the last gingerbread house we see!

Participant #6: Have you been naughty or nice?
I had to wonder if the sweet trees on the stands were handmade? Regardless, I liked them and thought they were really pretty.

Participant #7: Cupcake #1 and Cupcake #2
Hmm, never tried red and green candy corn before...

Participant #8: Gingerbread Cinnamon Apple
Wow! Great sugar work here, check out the Grinch coming out of the cupcake, also love the backdrop and scattered presents around it.

Participant #9: Black & White Forest
A forest I don't mind getting lost in...

Participant #10: Caramel Gingerbread Hot Chocolate
First thing that popped into my head was gingerbread men hot tubs!

Participant #11: Spiced Cranberry Pear
Oh warm, roaring fire! I hope Santa prefers cupcakes to cookies.

Participant #12: A Filipino Christmas Dream...
Sweet dreams indeed...

Participant #13: Oh, bring us a Figgy Cupcake
Is that sign handwritten?! Nice penmanship and illustration!

Participant #14: Chipy the Minty Cupcake
Aren't these two cute?

Participant #15: Gingerbread Lane (Gluten-Free)
Neato, check out those candycane trees!

The presentations were very fun to judge. We gave everyone a score from 1 to 10. Howard and I based on their overall concept and how well it showcased their cupcakes (this is a cupcake competition after all). So this meant we took into consideration the creativity, originality, props made/used, and the title of their entry.

When we were all done judging the presentations, Genevieve had Round Two of the taste testing ready for us. In this round, we gave each cupcake a score from 1 to 10 based on the taste. We also had to rate how well the contestants incorporated "Christmas" into their creation.

The Judges Table: Sylvia, Howard, and Josh Rachlis.
After we gave our scores, the three of us compared ratings. We found that we all had similar tastes and gave roughly the same scores.

While we were deliberating, a cupcake decorating contest for the attendees was held. Four attendees had to decorate six cupcakes in five minutes using the frosting and candy. Winner was determined by loudest applause.

After the contest, the judge's scores and the People's choice ballots were tallied. Genevieve introduced all the participants and announced the winners.

Congratulations to Alex and Beth, Iron Cupcake Toronto: Christmas winners!