Crème Brûlée Tartlets

We had a lot of egg yolks leftover after making so many macarons. We managed to use most of them for the lemon curd, but we still had another batch of yolks! So we tried to make crème brûlée, we've never made it before despite all the ramekins we have. But then we saw a recipe for Crème Brûlée Tartlets and thought we would give it a try!

To make the tart shells, we're tried a pâte sucrée recipe.

Pâte Sucrée
Recipe from The Seasonal Baker

2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 sticks of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk

1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the egg and egg yolk, mix until combined with the flour.
3. Shape the dough into a flattened disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Take the dough out and sprinkle your work non-stick surface with flour. Not too much flour, you don't want to change the texture of the dough. Roll the dough out and fill your tart pans. Trim off any excess dough and roll it flat for the next pan. Prick the bottom of the tarts with a fork. Bake the shells for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and crisp. Set aside.

Crème Brûlée

Recipe from Macarons

1 vanilla bean

1 cup of milk

1 cup of heavy cream

5 egg yolks

2/3 cup of granulated sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 125°C (255°F).
2. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
3. In a saucepan, pour in the milk and vanilla seeds. Heat over medium temperature.
4. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.
5. When the milk begins to boil (watch it carefully, it can boil over), remove it from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Pour in the yolks and whisk quickly to prevent the heat from cooking scrambled eggs!
6. Pour the mixture through a sieve. 

To our surprise, the pâte sucrée tart shells shrunk in the oven! They no longer had the height of the tart pans, which created a really shallow area for the crème brûlée. Some of the tarts could only hold a spoonful of filling. Well, we bake and we learn. Take out some ramekins for your extra custard!

Carefully ladle the custard into the tart shells and pop them back in the oven. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the custard sets. It will jiggle a little bit, but be careful not to over bake it, the custard will curdle! Remove the tarts from the oven and let cool. Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.

To create the signature crust over the crème brûlée, take some granulated sugar and sprinkle the surface. Make sure to do this when you take the tarts out from the fridge. You'll want them still cool, otherwise your kitchen torch will melt the crust.

Ignite your kitchen torch and move the flame evenly over the top of the tarts. Avoid the crust and stop when the sugar is caramelized. Serve immediately.

Oops, you can see that we burnt a bit of the crust and how shallow the tarts were! Next time, we're going to roll them thinner and let some of the dough hang over the tart pans.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Pancakes during the weekday? Yes, it's possible when you're having a stay-cation or working from home. Autumn is such a beautiful time to enjoy. We know summer is too, but to take a breather during the rush of the fall season is such a treat. Nothing beats staying warm and cozy in bed when there's a chill in the air. Aside from a warm breakfast...

Buttermilk Pancakes
Recipe adapted from The Seasonal Baker
(Makes about 12 five-inch pancakes)

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoons of coarse salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 1/2 cups of buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted

1. Whisk the buttermilk and eggs together until combined.
2. Add in the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Gently whisk to mix, it is OK for there to be lumps, you don't want to over mix the batter.
3. Add in the melted butter and gently stir together.
4. Have your hot griddle or pan ready. Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter in. Watch for air bubbles that rise to the top of the pancake. After counting about 15-20 bubbles pop, it is generally the time to flip! You can also take a peek with your spatula to see if the other side is golden brown. The pancake shouldn't stick, another indication that it's ready to be flipped.
5. Give it 20-30 seconds and take a peek with your spatula. When the bottom is also golden brown, it is ready to be served!

Changes to the recipe include using less salt (1 1/2 teaspoon) and more butter (1 1/2 tablespoon). The original amounts are in brackets.

Howard and I have to add chocolate chips to ours. We sprinkle about 5 on each pancake after we ladle the batter in. Mmm maple syrup, look at it glisten!

I don't think I liked the tangy flavour of the buttermilk in the pancakes, there is a difference compared to the good old stand-by pancakes. But hey, I managed to finish the buttermilk in the fridge with this recipe, so on to the next baking project!

New Owners of Our Favourite Cookbooks

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a very nice holiday and rang in the new year with cheer!

It was so nice to sleep in and eat out for a week. And did we eat! Howard and I tried many desserts in Las Vegas and gave ourselves a dinner at Bouchon for Christmas. When we came home, we were met with many lunch and dinner get-togethers with family and friends. On New Year's Eve, I still remember that the last item I ate was a piece of cantaloupe and Howard's was a slice of cucumber with five cheese dip (we never did finish that fruit and veggie platter as we watched the countdown on TV). It wasn't until the day before work started that we actually ate at home! I guess we may have gotten plumper.

Before the holidays, we ran our Favourite Cookbooks Giveaway. We promised to announce the winners today, so we used Random.org's List Randomizer to generate them.

Aren't the covers and back covers of these cookbooks appetizing? The two lucky winners are announced below:

The winner of The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook: The Best Sweet and Savory Recipes for Every Occasion by John Barricelli is:

Congratulations Ceri Marsh! Ceri shared What to Cook and How to Cook by Jane Hornby with us. Thank you! We hope you enjoy creating yumminess like this:

Next, the winner of Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz is:

Congratulations Sara! Sara shared Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. It's actually quite puzzling as to why we don't have this cookbook yet! Please enjoy the scrumptious creations:

Ceri and Sara, please e-mail info@abakedcreation.com - we will need your mailing information in order to ship you your cookbook (d'oh! I forgot to ask for e-mails again).

Thank you to everyone for entering and we wish you a delectable and delicious 2011!

Our Favourite Cookbooks of the Year

Hey Sylvia, do you want a new shirt or a new book? Book please. Are you a cookbook enthusiast? I hope so. I thought that I would recommend some of our favourite cookbooks that we got this year. In alphabetical order:

Ad Hoc at Home
by Thomas Keller with Dave Cruz, Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman, and Amy Vogler
Photographs by Deborah Jones
Blackboard art by Dan Bunter and Nick Dedier
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published by Artisan
ISBN 9781579653774

Do I thank this cookbook for giving me my favourite carrot cupcake? Yes.

Apart from the delicious dessert recipes, this is one of those gift or coffee table books for those looking to be inspired to cook. There are beautiful photographs and the chalkboard design accompanying these stellar recipes.

Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented
by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
Photographs by Tina Rupp
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang
ISBN 9781584798507

You know I'm going to recommend the guys at Baked. If I didn't love their cookbooks that much, I wouldn't have ran through rush hour to meet them.

I love learning about reinvented desserts, I have enough cookbooks that share basic and classic recipes. This book is fun and filled with the right amount of twists and tweaks to old favourites.

Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch, and Beyond from New York's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant
by Neil Kleinberg, Diana H. Lahman
Photographs by Michael Harlan Turkell
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published by Little, Brown and Company
ISBN 9780316083379

This book gave us brookies. Need I say more?

This was also my first breakfast and brunch cookbook. I went and picked up others after this. Who knew there were such great treasures to be found in brunch cookbooks? Admittedly, I thought it would be all about pancakes, eggs, ham, and toast. I guess I haven't had a real breakfast until I've eaten at Clinton St. Baking Company!

Momofuku
by David Chang and Peter Meehan
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published by Clarkson Potter
ISBN 9780307451958

This book is a really good read, while you might not go out and make their soup stock, you'll still be satisfied learning about David Chang's restaurants.

I know that this is one Howard really likes because Momofuku Noodle Bar is one of his favourite places to eat in New York City. Watching him go through the cookbook to find dishes he's tried and then seeing him gasp at how much work it takes to make is priceless!

Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes
by David Lebovitz
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published by Ten Speed Press
ISBN 9781580081382

With a title like that and a cover like that, it is no wonder that I would pick this up. And am I glad I did!

Remember that I said I like new variations to classic desserts? This one also fits the bill! Most of the recipes are ones that I haven't seen elsewhere and I like that they intrigue and challenge me.

The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook: The Best Sweet and Savory Recipes for Every Occasion
by John Barricelli
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published by Clarkson Potter
ISBN 9780307449450

I love curling up with this book in bed. There is such a feeling of comfort when you're with fantastic photography and yummy recipes at your fingertip.


Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix 'em, Match 'em, Eat 'em Up Recipes
by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell
Photographs by Antonis Achilleos
Hardcover, 120 pages
Published by Chronicle Books
ISBN 9780811874540

Yes, I discovered whoopie pies this year. I'm still on a whoopie pie high!

This is an adorable book with puffy covers. (Like a whoopie pie! Well thought-out ladies!) Hopefully this book will give you lots of fun and lots of inspirations from their different whoopie pie recipes.


Since it is also the season to be giving, I bought an extra copy of David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert and John Barricelli's The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook. Would you like to win them?

To enter our Favourite Cookbooks Giveaway:

1. Please tell us your favourite cookbook in the comments below! Also tell us which cookbook (Ready for Dessert or The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook) you're hoping to win. One entry per person please.
2. This contest is open to residents of Canada and the U.S.A. only! But, if you have friends and family with a Canadian or American mailing address, feel free to enter.
3. The Our Favourite Cookbook Giveaway is open on December 17th 2010 until January 3rd 2011. So you have plenty of time to enter! Comments submitted after 12 midnight EST on January 3rd will not be considered.
4. There will be two winners, one for Ready for Dessert and one for The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook. Winners will be randomly drawn.
5. The winners will be announced on January 4th 2011 on our blog, a nice way to ring in the new year.