Christmas Cake Balls

My family is having our Christmas Day dinner up in Whistler at my sister's, and I was put in charge of desserts. Several batches of cookies and a pie have already been baked for the occasion, but on Wednesday night I decided to add something new and unique to our dessert line-up. You know - because I don't already have enough on my agenda this week.

I decided to make Cake Balls. For those of you who aren't up-to-date on the happenings of the baking world (or who have been living under a rock) Cake Balls are all the rage among foodies and dessert lovers these days. In a nutshell, they're little balls of cake dipped in melted chocolate. In reality, they're time consuming little suckers that took me several hours to complete and kept me up until the wee hours of the morning.

But look at the finished product ... adorable, right? Yup, I think so too.

For those of you who want to give this treat a try, all you need is cake mix, cake icing and chocolate to melt. Oh, and HOURS of free time. (Kidding. Sort of. No, not really.)

I really wanted the red and white look for Christmas so I bought colored melting chocolate at Michaels for $3.99 a bag, but you can probably get the same result with any chocolate as long as it can be melted down to a smooth, creamy texture. Once you've got all the necessary ingredients, bake the cake as per usual and let it cool for at least 20-30 minutes. I believe this is where I went wrong with my Cake Ball attempt ... I was impatient so I only let it cool for 10 minutes or so. Because the cake was still warm when I added the icing, it was extra gooey and hard to work with. Let it cool people, trust me, otherwise you'll waste lots of precious time trying to get the right texture.

When the cake is cool, crumple the cake dough into a bowl and begin to add the icing. Blend well. You should end up with a sticky, batter-like texture. Roll the mix into small balls. If they're extremely gooey (as mine were) you may need to put them in the freezer for a few minutes to keep them from falling apart. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove. Using a lollipop stick, a chopstick or a fork gently dip each ball into the chocolate. If you're planning to add sprinkles to your balls, do this as soon as you've coated the ball in chocolate ... if you wait too long, it won't stick. Place the balls on a plate and put in the fridge for one hour to set.

serve & enjoy!

Starbucks cookies

My boyfriend was in Seattle a few weeks ago and he stopped by the original Starbucks store for a visit. Of course, being the Starbucks fanatic that I am, he brought me back some goodies including some of their famous Pike Place coffee. Unfortunately, he grabbed a bag of whole beans instead of the already grinded stuff. Well, I don't have a bean grinder and I keep forgetting to bring it to my local coffee shop from them to grind up for me. Boo. Today I put those beans to good use ... 

I chopped them up into little pieces ... 

... added them to a cookie dough mixture and ... voila ...

COOKIES! Made with yummy Starbucks coffee :-)

Happy Saturday!

The Chocolate Chronicles, part 1

Xinxin and I are both foodies and every time we hang out together, our conversation always finds a way of shifting to food.

"Have you tried such-and-such restaurant yet," she'll ask.

"No, I haven't. I've heard of it, though."

"Oh, well we HAVE to go! Add it to the list."

"Consider it added. Oh hey, that reminds me ... have you tried such-and-such cafe?"

I'm not even kidding, this is how 99.9% of our conversations unfold. The list (and yes, we really do refer to it as "the list") is a continuously growing collection of restaurants, cafes, bakeries, delis, grocery stores and sushi bars that we have promised to explore together. One of the places on the list was Thomas Haas Patisserie. Xinxin is a big Thomas Haas fan, and when she heard that I'd never been it was one of the first things she added to our "must try" list. Then Lynda showed up at Grace's birthday party with a Thomas Haas crispy chocolate raspberry cake and goodness gracious it was "shut your pie hole" delicious! What really sealed the deal, though, was the ridiculous craving I've been having lately for French macarons. When I did a little research online and found out that Thomas Haas apparently has the best macarons in the city, I knew we had to cross this place off the list pronto. So a chocolate date was set, and this afternoon Xinxin and I braved the damp rainy weather outside to get lattes and dessert here:

Thomas Haas grew up and began his career as a culinary genius in Europe. He came to North America in 1995 and has worked as the executive pastry chef at the Four Seasons Vancouver Hotel and, later, as executive pastry chef at Daniel restaurant in NYC. He's appeared on Martha Stewart several times and was voted one of the top ten chefs in America by both Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design magazines, so you know he's the real deal. Needless to say, with credentials like that, I had some big expectations for his patisserie.

Truth be told, it doesn't look like much from the outside. In fact, I've passed by here a bazillion times during my strolls down Broadway Street and I had no idea it was even there until I googled it to find out the address. But trust me ... once you step inside, it's love at first sight. Chocolates, truffles, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, macaroons, croissants, danishes, breads and scones all neatly showcased in clear glass shelves, each one calling out to me. I eventually chose a champagne truffle and Xinxin ordered almond mascarpone. And, of course, we ordered six French macarons in pistachio, chocolate and raspberry flavors.

The champagne truffle was delish, but the French macarons are what really stole my heart:

I'm not gonna lie - this place is just a tad bit crazy expensive. The $7 truffle didn't really surprise me as that seems to be the going rate for gourmet desserts here in Vancouver, but six macarons cost a whopping $9.99 .... and in case you can't tell by the photo, they are teeny tiny! Gosh.

Overall impression - Thomas Haas is definitely home to some absolutely fantastic goodies and I'll be back for more French macarons when I need an indulgent pick-me-up, but with such a lofty price tag I doubt this patisserie will become one of my frequent favorites. And that's probably a good thing, because I could seriously eat those macarons every day, all day, for the rest of my life.

Love + chocolate, Stephanie

xox

Cupcakes!!

I'm quickly learning that Vancouver is a cupcake city. There are several cupcake shops all around town and, unlike the cupcake shops back in Montreal, these ones actually seem to be thriving. What can I say? We're just a city that loves little bundles of deliciousness. You can find yummy cupcakes pretty much anywhere, but my personal favorites are sold here:

The name of this adorable pink mecca of awesomeness is Cupcakes by Heather & Lori. If that name sounds familiar to you, you've probably seen an episode or two of Cupcake Girls, the reality show that's filmed here. It's not the camera crews that keep me coming back, though. It's the atmosphere. This is just hands down one of the most adorable places on the planet and the cupcakes are sooooooo good. I mean, look at these babies:

My favorites are Red Velvet (of course!) and Blue Hawaii (coconut and vanilla flavor - yum!). There are several Cupcakes by Heather & Lori locations around the city, but this particular shop is on Broadway Street - just a 15 minute walk from my apartment! I have to say, I've been REALLY good and I've only slipped in once or twice to pick up a treat for myself. Usually when I swing by, it's to pick up a birthday cupcake for a friend. Here's the one I picked out this afternoon for Alan's birthday -

Mint Chocolate Chip. *be still my heart*

Happy Weekend! :)

xoxoxox