Month / September 2014

by colleen xie

Marshmallow Chocolate Cupcakes

 Sometimes, I wonder if I would like baking as much as I do if it became my full-time job. If my living depended on my ability to be the most innovative recipe developer, most thorough recipe tester, most creative food stylist, most skillful food photographer, most patient photo editor… I don’t know. Or if I were to be a pastry chef, going to pastry school, being challenged while working under great chefs around the world, trying to be the most innovative, accepting nothing short of perfection…

It’s so easy to idealize something you’ve never experienced.

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by colleen xie

Salted Honey Mascarpone Banana Bread

I am a banana bread freak, plain and simple. Over the years, I’ve experimented with many, many different variations, and all sorts of combinations of fat/sweetener/flours/flavours: creaming the butter, vegetable oil, coconut oil, avocado, apple sauce, greek yogurt, mascarpone, buttermilk, honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, no sugar, peanut butter, tahini, black sesame, cherry, chocolate, almond, oat flour, spelt flour, whole wheat flour, coconut flour etc. etc. etc.

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by colleen xie

Paris Bakeries

Hello hello, I’m baaack! And this time FOR GOOD. As a personal goal, I resolve to update this blog at least every three weeks for the entire year. It’s going to happen 🙂
During the summertime, I went on a 8.5 week trip to Europe, first to volunteer, then just for travel. One of my last stops was Paris. What I couldn’t get used to was how many patisseries, boulangeries, brasseries, cafes, etc. on the streets. In every arrondissement. Food lover’s dream, I’m telling you. I never got around to eating at a Michelin star restaurant (the price of everything in Paris just killed me a bit), but I did drop a few euros here and there (ok, a lot of euros) at a few of these boulangeries/patisseries.
Also, what I found weird is that these have been around for a long time in Paris. But as a first-timer in the city, everything felt so novel and it seriously was my first time seeing so many great pastries. Continue reading →