Septembre en bonne forme

In French, the phrase "en bonne forme" basically means to be in good shape. Not necessarily jacked-up, beefcake sort of fit, but more along the lines of being well. September marks the close of summer (albeit this week's forecasted heatwave here in New England) and I am looking forward to starting off a new season. Especially without boxes lining the walls.

This move required so much energy, I cut a lot of corners along the way. I ate a lot of junk food at all the wrong times of the day and night. I fell out of my exercise and yoga routines; a bad move when combined with the reduced movement from slower shifts at work (I work in a restaurant). In a nutshell, I'm closing out the summer not in the best shape possible. 

Now that I'm settling into my new space in a new area alongside this new blog, I want to rectify all of my recent shortcomings.If anything, I'm probably going to spend the new month incorporating some of the advice Michael Pollan listed in his book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual*. I want to focus on incorporating more fruits in my diet again and eating almost entirely at home. What does this shape up mean for the blog? Don't be nervous, my adoration for desserts and pastries couldn't possibly be curbed; not that I would ever consider such a thing anyway! I'll still be taking you out and around Boston's bakeries and cafés as well as a couple of cool events this month. And of course, you can expect to go through recipes I've tried and enjoyed in my kitchen, as well as their development through history.

If you'd like to stay updated with virtually everything blog-related or not, you can follow me on Twitter as well as Instagram. If you'd rather keep to new posts, subscribe at Bloglovin'. What are your plans for September? Any Autumn recipes you look forward to trying? Leave me a comment or tweet me, I'd love to know!

Les biscuits florentins de Lakota Bakery

Between work and preparing to move house, researching and testing recipes has had to take the backseat this week. However, my sweet tooth won't allow to be put on hold, so I thought it would be nice to pay Arlington's most reputable bakery a visit during one of my packing breaks.

Lakota Bakery started as a wholesale operation in 1991. As demand for owner, Barbara Weniger's pleasing little treats continued to grow, she opened a small retail space next to the workshop. Located at 1375 Massachusetts Avenue in the Arlington Heights, the entire space is geared towards showcasing the wide variety of cookies they're selling and showing the processes behind them through the exterior windows overlooking the work space. It's not a very photogenic shop if we're being really honest, but in reality, it's all about the contents of the box you'll carry out the door with you.

I made the hasty assumption that there would be no gluten-free offerings, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that they have eight flourless creations, including their famous Florentines as of this past March! Keep in mind, these are perfectly safe for people with a gluten intolerance, but not those with Celiac's Disease. 

I chose to pick up a few of their renowned Florentines to try myself and to share with my friends. Personally, I would describe these as divinity in sugary disc form. Yes. I dare relate these to a religious experience. The friends I shared theses with (normally quite apprehensive of anything gluten-free), all reacted very positively and for good reason. Following Italian tradition, Florentines are biscuits comprised of candied cherries, almonds, and hazelnuts encased by caramel and then enrobed in decadent chocolate on one side. You just can't go wrong. 

I'm salivating just reminiscing about them. I don't have to jaunt all the way back to my old neighborhood to obtain more though, Lakota Bakery cookies are readily available at independently owned grocers around Cambridge. You can view the rest of Lakota's selection of flourless cookies here, and the rest of their traditional cookies here. Keep me posted if you go out and pick up some of your own treats from Lakota Bakery on Twitter; I'd love to know which is your favourite. And if you'd like to stay up to date with future posts, you can now follow me on Bloglovin' as well. 

L'origine du gâteau marbré plus recette sans gluten

I'm moving house next week. Between sorting through my storage unit and packing up my current room, I wanted to look into a simple recipe that would yield something to snack on in transit and also be good for breakfast. Marble loaf cakes used to make regular appearances in my breakfast line up, either at Starbucks in the United States or in the form of individually wrapped Savanne minis by French enterprise, Brossard. With these in mind lately, a gluten-free marble loaf cake seemed like the perfect contender.

 

While flipping through recipes across the internet, I started to wonder where the marble loaf cake originated. The search to find out turned up very little. Seemingly a Victorian American creation, the oldest references date back to the 19th century. The earliest recipes called for molasses and spices, not chocolate, to be used for the dark batter. The most indepth source I found, The Food Timeline, does not indicate when it transitioned from novel dessert to breakfast staple. How it hopped the pond and turned into a mass-produced treat in France is also beyond me. Clearly not that fascinating, I reverted my attention back to making one myself.

 

 

The recipe I selected to try is from Nicole over at Gluten Free on a Shoestring. I followed the ingredient list almost to a T, however my method of putting everything together is slightly different. If you'd like to see Nicole's (probably proper) way of doing it, you can view it here. Either way, the result was not disappointing.

 

What to get:

• 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups of basic gluten-free flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of xantham gum
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of natural cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of warm water
• A 9x5-inch loaf pan, lightly greased with vegetable oil

 

What to do:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together, setting the cocoa powder and warm water aside. Yes, I literally take all of the ingredients and then mix them together by hand. Why? Because after whisking all of the ingredients into one smooth batter manually, I don't feel like washing half a dozen bowls.
  
• In a second bowl, stir the warm water and cocoa powder until combined into a grainy ganache. Pour half of the batter and blend completely with the chocolate.
• Lightly grease a loaf pan. I prefer using vegetable oil, but melted butter works perfectly fine too. Pour part of the vanilla batter in, followed by the chocolate batter and gently swirl the two together with a knife or fork. Repeat until both batters are completely scraped out of their respective mixing bowls and distributed to your heart's desire.
• Set a timer for the traditionally accepted 45 minute baking time. A cake tester showed that 45 minutes wasn't enough for my loaf, but every oven is different and it's better to under time it rather than overcook it. 55 minutes did the trick and I set it out to cool for about 15 before consumption.

 

 

I'm quite pleased with the way this came out and look forward to making it again in the future. For now, I have to get back to packing. In the meantime, what are some other breakfast loaves I should look into? Leave me a comment or let me know on Twitter. And for the sake of convenience, I'm now also on Bloglovin'. Thank you for reading and thanks even more for following!

Le thé de l'après-midi chez L.A. Burdick Chocolate Shop & Café

Not so much involving tea. More or less focusing on chocolate; as you do in a chocolate shop, I would say.

I spent the afternoon perusing the various shops in Cambridge's Harvard Square with a friend. We were so thorough (and yet so impressively well-restrained with our spending!) we worked up a small appetite. L.A. Burdick was the perfect choice. Established in 1987, the company has four locations, a French-inspired restaurant, and a specialty gourmet grocer. I thoroughly appreciate the amount of effort this company has put into offering not only quality products, but making a variety of those products gluten-free! And tasty at that.

The owners of the company are both Francophiles in their own right, and the atmosphere of the café reflects that. The shop is split up into two sides, lit with mismatched chandeliers and decorated with warm pastel stripes above mirrors lining the walls, the front being the chocolate counter and the back being the pastry and café counter with limited seating in between.

My friend and I shared an end slice of the Hazelnut Orange cake with a healthy dollop of fresh whipped cream, four macarons ("Luxembourgers" as they call them), and one of their divine iced chocolates. Definitely a staple summer treat, the Burdick Iced Chocolate is literally a glass of liquid chocolate and admittedly my favourite goody to pick up. I indulge in these on the go regularly but not too frequently, as they are quite decadent. 

We had considered grabbing chocolates on our way back out when we arrived but the treats we had satiated our sweet tooths (sweet teeth?), we couldn't muster the effort. These little guys are almost too cute to eat, although that hasn't stopped me in the past! The story goes that these cuties were born out of leftover chocolate ganache and scraps of yarn in Switzerland as treats for the local children. They're now a trademark of the company, perfect to give and receive as gifts. 

A trip to any of the four L.A. Burdick Chocolate Shops is guaranteed to be a treat. If you find yourself in the vicinity of one, do stop in. What is your favourite chocolate confection? Let me know in the comments below or weigh in with me on Twitter.

Première dégustation avec Northlight Baking Co.

Two weeks ago, I attended a tasting of a selection of Northlight Baking Co.'s macarons hosted by Cocoanuts Boston. Those macarons were so impeccable, so delectable that I'm still thinking about them now! If you've never been to Cocoanuts, it's a darling little boutique off the beaten path in Boston's North End that you absolutely should take the time to venture to. Located at 28 Parmenter Street, the store is filled with gourmet sweets and treats made by local artisans available for purchase individually or in custom gift baskets. 

One such artisan is Shira Melen, the owner of Northlight Baking Company. We chatted very briefly and I learned that she tries to source the ingredients she uses as locally as possible, in particular the herbs that she grows right in her own garden! Rather than use a molded mat to make perfectly even shells, she pipes them by hand. While she doesn't have her own storefront (yet?), she works out of EHChocolatier and does tastings regularly at other specialty stores as well. 

Slightly on the larger side at about two inches in diameter, the interesting variety of flavours is definitely worth attention. It's not so much that they're outrageous, it's more that they are actually quite traditional flavour combinations that I simply would not have expected in the form of a macaron. For example, the dirty chai: chai spice shells with an espresso filling, or the green tea with red bean ganache. Unexpected but executed in a way that makes it seem like it should be the norm. 

You can purchase them individually for $2.50 or in pre-packaged sets of two for $6 and five for $14. In addition to Cocoanuts, you can also find her macarons at Follow the Honey in Cambridge and MA France in Lexington. 

I went to this tasting with a friend and we unanimously agreed that we simply could not leave without a selection for ourselves. From left to right: kalamansi, London Fog, milk chocolate coconut, milk chocolate orange blossom, salted caramel ganache, and strawberry basil. We had our own private tasting sitting by the Charles River Basin and all of these flavours were nothing short of divine.

I look forward to getting my hands on more of Shira's macarons and highly recommend you get on that too. 

Une petite introduction

I am not a morning person. However, I was up yesterday morning (because I hadn't gone to sleep yet, if we're being honest) and all I was thinking about was walking down the hill to Dunkin' Donuts for an iced coffee and probably a cheeky doughnut. I was strongly considering just burning through the new day and most importantly kickstarting this project I've had floating around in my head for a few weeks now. I actually did not leave the house at that time. In fact, I finally fell asleep for a few hours, but don't be too disappointed. I did go and get my iced coffee before work and, as you can see, I am building a space to record and share my discovery of the world around me, one pastry at a time.

While my core focus here at The Pâtisserie Review will be exploring the varied baking scene in and around the city I call home, it will not be a strict limitation. Frankly, I envision sharing anything that meets my fancy (of the gastronomical variety, or not; from this region and beyond). Research about the origin and development of traditional desserts will undoubtedly be a thing. My attempts at gluten-free baking may occasionally make an appearance. Macarons will be a regular feature. Moving on from here, I can say with a certain level of confidence that we'll be avoiding franchises*. Everything else, I'll figure out when need be. 

In the meantime, the sun has risen and with it, I imagine, copious amounts of treats in ovens across the city. Happy Sunday to whoever you are out there, I'm now going to sleep. 

*Please don't judge me for starting my blog at a Dunkin' Donuts, it was just very convenient. New England runs on Dunkin' to start anyway.