snow day=baking day

SNOW DAY!! when i was living in wisconsin i would love snow days. i think i actually prayed for one at one time. what can i say; school gets rough on high schoolers^_~ this past week that sense of excitement at the sight of snow hit again when our area was hit with a "mini" snow storm. in comparison to the storms in wisconsin this was nothing, we would get snow up to our knees! AND THEY STILL DO! that's why i refer to it as "mini", its a baby. but, everyone got out of school, semi's were seen on the news flipped over, car crashes etc...well, while all this was going on outside i was warm and cozy inside trying to figure out what i could bake to keep me from going crazy. 

i got my answer in dorrie greenspan's book...double chocolate mousse cake. YUMMMM! and since i always keep chocolate in my pantry, i didn't have to leave my house to buy ingredients! EVEN BETTER! as always i set to work with all the prep...

i used trader joe's dark chocolate bar, its so pretty next to my MAC knife^_^ the recipe didn't actually need that much chocolate, which i was surprised about since that is the main flavor. but, the amount called for most certainly lends itself to a huge amount of flavor. who am i to question the ever famous ms. greenspan?!

the lovely smooth mixture of chocolate, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, and butter.

now for the egg whites...the mousse is forming so well^_^

in her recipe dorrie has it in three types of ways: one, you bake a third of the mousse and chill it, then add the rest of the mousse on top and serve. two, you bake the crust, and then bake it again, serve warm. three: bake the crust, bake again and cool again. i chose option number three. only because she said she preferred it that way...she was right, it is the best way!!

my "crust"

my finished product. i threw some fresh whipped cream on top just because...well...i love the stuff! the top layer of the cake was so light and airy, a tad spongy, not in a gross way, but in a way that just made the cake so deliciously light it just seems to play on the top of your tongue. the chocolate flavor also came out so rich, it fit perfectly with the whipped cream. and the lower layer was just as flavorful, but more dense creating the perfect contrast in texture to the weightless top. perfect little dessert for my perfect snow day^_^

and this is my snowman i made between baking. he is super excited about baking snow days too^_^ happy baking^_^

my more recent endevours

 

just a few of the things i have made or eaten since my last post...i delved into making macaroons FINALLY. i had been wanting to make these for a while now, but i suppose i didn't feel like i had the skill just yet. they have always seemed so difficult and trust me they are! all the little tricks you have to do to make sure the consistency is just right, the tops are smooth, and the edges are not all flattened out...like the below picture...

not one of my brighter moments into the world of baking.  but everything is a learning process and i am a firm believer that if you care enough to try something again, you will. and i did, three more times. ugh, i felt like such a little failure. but luckily i asked a friend of mine for some advice about making these sweet treats. he led me to this site tartelette blog. this woman, helene, is AMAZING. her entire blog is so informative and i absolutely adore her photographs! i took her advice about the macaroons and SUCCESS!! and yes, i did a little dance when they finally came out the right way! so many thanks go out to tim for sending me this link and to helene for the great tutorial!

on to the next stop...i recently went back home to hawaii to visit some family and spend some time with my friends. one of the first food places, because there are MANY,on my list was Kamehameha Bakery for their delicously amazing scrumdidelyumptious TARO BALL! can you tell i was excited?! well, you would be too if you had one of these things! first off, its purple (my personal fave), and the inside is all warm and chewy, a slight doughy texture but nothing like uncooked dough. the outside has a slight crispness and with the added glaze it all just melts in your mouth into perfect divinity.  if you haven't tried one i would suggest getting one...or a dozen^_^

i know this is a biased statement but, my grandpa makes THE BEST BEEF STEW. seriously. the carrots and potato are perfectly tender and the beef falls apart in your mouth with every bite. and thankfully my grandpa makes it for me every time i visit. he also likes to include his broccoli and crab salad. so yummy...drooooool.

shokudo honey toast. that's all you really need to say. the toasted japanese bread squares topped with huge scoops of vanilla ice cream and drizzles of honey. mouth wateringly AMAZING.

i just love japanese candy. these are my faves i have yet to find in portland...i had to take advantage while in hawaii...

chocolate peanut butter swirl brownies. i really doubt there is any better combo than peanut butter and chocolate...or i have yet to find one...

these babies were...hard. the puff pastry didn't want to come out puffy enough for me. and i was honestly getting pretty exasperated. but, after taking a breather and going back to it, changing up the recipe a bit, i was blessed with these. golden and puffy shells for my vanilla pastry cream and chocolate ganache as a topper...perfect^_^

finally, cake test #3 i believe. thanks again martha for the banana fosters style cake with mascarpone frosting. i loved eating it!

ok, everyone officially caught up?^_^

Adele - Rolling In The Deep

i only recently realized i never post videos. which is odd because in the middle of my baking i like to listen to music, i think it gives me that smooth relaxed baking feeling...my own sort of "baking therapy". so i thought i would share one of my recent "baking therapy" themes. hope you enjoy^_^