The Baking Medic

I’m a bit behind on my posting, so I’m afraid the recipes I post won’t be in chronological baking order.  But I’m sure no one will mind. ;)

So after a week off of posting, I’d like to start with this one: the Black Magic Cake with Chocolate Buttercream.  I made this cake as a farewell to my coworkers at the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, the kickass peeps of the molecular diagnostics department. » Read the rest of this entry «

For many weeks now a colleague at work has been bugging me to make a “zebra” cake.  A zebra cake is named so for its unique striped pattern caused by alternating bands of chocolate and vanilla batter, which extend out from the centre of the cake in an impressive bull’s-eye.  The process of creating the stripes was surprisingly easy to make; all it takes is a bit of patience and attention.  And as I first read when I discovered this recipe on another great blog, Baking Bites, if you’re attention wavers and you make a mistake, don’t worry.  Just take a knife, give your batter a quick swirl and call it a marble cake; you can try again for the exotic stripes next time.

Not surprisingly, this cake was very soft and moist.  I say not surprisingly because the recipe calls for four eggs and a full cup of oil for one 9” cake.  Still, even after a few days the cake retained is moist texture and did not taste stale at all. » Read the rest of this entry «

I’ve made these twice this summer, and both times were met with resounding success. The best part about these bars is that they take almost no time to put together and are infinitely versatile. My mother has Celiac disease, a condition that prevents her from eating anything with gluten in it. This basically means that anything with wheat in it is off the menu, unless she’s got a hankering for a good case of nausea and the runs (in my experience, she has never desired this).

But as I was saying, these bars are really flexible. When I make them for my mum I keep the same ratios of ingredients, but sub in cornflakes for raisin bran and add cranberries and white chocolate chips. A very different taste, but still a delicious, gluten-free treat. » Read the rest of this entry «

As promised, I brought in my Marbled Chocolate Almond Brownies to work this past Friday.  If I do say so myself, they were as good as I remembered them! ;) And the container, empty save a few crumbs, is one of my favourite sights. » Read the rest of this entry «

So for a while now I’ve been getting requests at work for a certain type of brownies I made a month or so — Marbled Chocolate Almond Brownies.  Almonds are really the star of these brownies: the almond butter in the batter, the hint of almond extract, and the chocolate almond spread that swirls gorgeously throughought it all.

Without a doubt, this recipe depends on the Chocolate Almond Spread in the marble.  Today, I’m posting the recipe just for the spread, which tastes great on toast too! In a few days, I’ll get around to posting the actual brownie recipe. » Read the rest of this entry «

/cue groan at that awful pun.  But it must be said, that these rich bars do leave you wanting more.  It all started when I was at my cottage (big surprise there, eh?) and we made s’mores one evening.  Dutifully, we roasted our marshmallows over the goals of our bonfire until they were golden, bubbling, and deliciously gooey on the inside.  I’m not gonna lie: a few of my marshmallows ended up as blackened puffs of charcoal before I finally got a half decently roasted marshmallow.

So, two things inspired these bars, which if you haven’t guessed, are supposed to taste like s’mores.  Firstly, we had a *ton* of leftover marshmallows and a box full of graham crackers.  I knew they wouldn’t be even nibbled at by my parents at the cottage, so I crammed them into my suitcase and smuggled them back to Toronto. » Read the rest of this entry «

So, I’m back from the cottage and what do I do? Cook up another batch of fudge of course!

Yet another fudge recipe, and sadly I can’t promise this will be the last. This recipe is different again than the other three, and gets top marks for it’s taste, texture, and ease of preparation. I wanted to try this one because it looked very easy to make, didn’t require cream (of which I am out), and I had just enough icing sugar.  It also looked easy to “mint-ify” as I wanted chocolate mint fudge, not just chocolate fudge. » Read the rest of this entry «

I can think of almost no better way to start the day than eating a plateful of steaming blueberry cakes, smothered in sweet syrup with a few sausages or pieces of bacon on the side.   You may find it a bit strange, but in Canada it is common practice to eat your sausages with the syrup.  That way you get the sweet taste of maple melding beautifully with the savoury, saltiness of the bacon.  Try it sometime!

The recipe is quite simple and comes from our good friend, Victor, who has made these for years before finally sharing with us his recipe. I find it varies just a little bit each time I make it.  So if the batter looks too runny, add a bit more flour.  And if it looks too thick, dribble a bit more milk into the batter. » Read the rest of this entry «

Before we get to the baking, I’d like share a few photos from the cottage so far. A few days ago, the lake was like glass again so we took the boat out to go fishing (alas, no trout) and then across the lake to Hugo Bay.

I can’t get over the brilliance of the colours of this lake.

Then, yesterday we “kids” took the car out to the Caves, out near Mile 25. There we hiked around the crevices on the rocky shore of the lake. I’d always just taken the clearly marked path, but it was beautiful to step off it and do a bit scrambling! » Read the rest of this entry «

I am one lucky girl. Every summer, with two exceptions, I have been coming to northern Manitoba with my family. We have a cottage on Clearwater Lake, about 20 minutes out from the town of The Pas.

It is so beautiful here, in more ways than one. Firstly, the natural beauty is stunning. The waters of the lake are breath taking in their clarity — you can see the bottom of the lake from the middle of the bay! At night, you can catch a glimpse of the northern lights or track the fiery journey of a shooting star against the black, black sky. It’s quiet and peaceful and once a friend from London commented on the amazing (to her) fact that you could see an uninterrupted horizon in a 360 direction, without the smear of a jet stream across the sky’s even surface. » Read the rest of this entry «