Archives for February 2019

The Ultimate Caramelized Apple Cake

Urb’n’Spice Ultimate Recipe Series

Homemade apple cake is a favourite any time of the year. What makes it so appealing is the versatility of how these delicious cakes can be served. There is a multitude of apple cake recipes to be found, but I wanted to give you a recipe that kicks up the flavour, texture and versatility up another notch. My Ultimate Caramelized Apple Cake uses a unique technique as well as a distinctive ingredient that is all about building flavour. This special apple cake will be a hit for breakfast, or that next coffee party, or served warm for dessert with softly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You are going to love it as much as we do!

Ultimate Caramelized Apple Cake | urbnspice.com

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How To Make The Best Chili – A Blend and Extend Recipe

By Denise Pare-Watson

Everyones chili preferences are very personal; for example, hot and spicy, meaty, vegetarian – the sky is the limit. Chili maestros will always tell you that they make The Best Chili. Well, I am here to tell you that I make the ‘best chili’ and this is the recipe that will back up that claim! If you have been following my blog, you will know that I have been experimenting with recipes that are ‘Blenditarian’, (also known as ‘Blend-and-Extend’ in Canada). By definition, ground meat recipes are stretched with finely chopped mushrooms. For my version, I add finely chopped vegetables with the mushrooms to create an even more aromatic flavour. This represents a more sustainable and nutritious approach to healthy eating. This all ties in very well with the new Canada Food Guide recommendations of eating less meat and more vegetables. I have created a base called Savoury Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable Blend. This blend (or base) can be used in a wide variety of easy to make recipes.

How to Make the Best Chili | urbnspice.com

In this post, you will learn how to prepare this base blend to utilize it to make a fabulous chili – “The Best Chili”. I make the blend base ahead of time and freeze it in family size portions. Once you have the blend base made, dinner can be on the table in less than ten minutes. Enjoy!

This Meat, Mushroom and Vegetable base can be used to make many dishes such as: Spaghetti Sauce; Sloppy Joes; Taco Salad; Hamburger Soup; Beef, Cheese and Macaroni Casserole; and much more. (Refer to “What Else Can I Do With This Recipe?” Section below to learn more).

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How to Make the Best Waldorf Salad

By Denise Pare-Watson

Food memories provide a vivid sense of fragrances and tastes as well as a clear reminder of the people that we shared them with. I was reminiscing about my Mom the other day. She had a very special gift that involved remembering every visitor’s favourite foods whenever they came over. For example, when Mom received a telephone call from my cousin that she was coming to see her, Mom would busy herself in the kitchen preparing a batch of her favourite coconut tarts. The aromas of the freshly baked tarts filled our home upon her arrival.

How to Make the Best Waldorf Salad | urbnspice.com — Waldorf Salad is a refreshing, flavourful and nutritious salad that generations have enjoyed ever since it was invented in 1896.

My daughters have wonderful food memories of when they visited their grandmother. Mom would always make their favourite – Waldorf Salad. They remember the diced sweet red apple and crunchy celery in a creamy dressing, combined with thinly sliced red grapes and fragrant walnuts that the girls helped crack open with what they considered fascinating tools.

Waldorf Salad has been a family favourite for generations ever since it was first invented by the maître d’ of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City in 1896. You will love the simplicity, flavours and textures of this refreshing salad. I am confident that this easy-to-make tasty and nutritious salad with accessible ingredients will become your family favourite too!

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Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry

By Denise Pare-Watson

Feuillette of Chocolate or Strawberry is a unique garnish that can be used for any style of dessert, whether it is a mousse, panna cotta or as in the recipe for A Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette, a stunning garnish crown. It has been adapted from recipes utilized in my chef competitions.

This recipe makes just a small amount (a little paste goes a long way); therefore, I find that utilizing a scale (weight in grams or oz.) is the simplest and most accurate method to make the feuillette paste.

Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry | urbnspice.com — An eclectic display of Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry

The chocolate feuillette paste is made by using cocoa powder for colour and flavour. The garnish’s chocolate flavour is well pronounced in the finished product.

The strawberry feuillette paste is made from dried strawberries. I used my food dehydrator to dry thinly sliced strawberries. This process took about 2 hours to achieve a crisp result. The dried strawberries are then pulverized in a spice grinder.

The strawberry paste made from this powder is delightfully tasty, with just enough texture to create a translucence appearance! My grandchildren say they look like fairy wings, as you can see from the video.

A Feuillet of Strawberry

It is important not to over bake the strawberry feuillette, as they will lose their delicate pink hue. I did not use any food colouring in my feuillette paste recipe; however, you can add a drop or two of pink or red food colouring to achieve the desired colour.

Strawberry Feuillette Paste | urbnspice.com — Feuillette of Strawberry

Feuillet of Strawberry | urbnspice.com — The feuillet of strawberry reminds me of fairy wings – ethereal and translucent

Chocolate Feuillette Paste | urbnspice.com — Feuillette of Chocolate

Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry

Yield: approximately 20 feuillette garnish

CHEF TALK:

INGREDIENTS:

21 g all-purpose flour
77 g icing sugar
12 g cocoa powder or strawberry powder
20 ml water
32 g butter, unsalted, melted

METHOD:

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Gradually add the water, then the melted butter. Stir to combine into a smooth paste.
Spread the paste in a thin layer on Silpat baking mats using an off set spatula. Start from the bottom of the feuillet and spread upwards. The bottom will be slightly thicker spreading to a thin imprecise ‘schmear’ (pastry chef slang).
Bake in a 350^oF (325^oF Convection) for 5 – 6 minutes. The feuillette will look bubbly and will not show any moist spots. They will crisp up as they cool.
Allow the feuillette to come to room temperature. Using an off set spatula, slide it under the thickest edge of each feuillet, and slide upwards to lift it gently from the Silpat baking sheet. Line all the feuillette on a cookie rack until you are ready to decorate the torte.

CHEF TIP: These garnishes are very fragile, light and almost see-through delicate. Make as many as you need at a time (make a few extra to allow for breakage). Store any unused paste in a covered container in the refrigerator. Bring the paste to room temperature before using. Store any extra baked feuillette in an airtight container at room temperature. They are excellent crumbled on ice cream, crème brûlée, panna cotta or simply nibble on them.

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my Urb’n’Spice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Favourite Kitchen Tools: Spatula
Oven Temperature Accuracy
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You Might Also Enjoy these Urb’n’Spice recipes:

A Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette

Citrus Sand Cookies

Ricciarelli – An Italian Almond Cookie

Malteser White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

How to Make Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

If you try my recipe for Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry dessert garnish, please leave me a comment below with your feedback. Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

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License Type:	Commercial

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