Just a Taste

I can still taste the silkiness of this poached pear, the vanilla-scented honey syrup with a faint aftertaste of anise, the perfect warm ending to an amazing meal.

This is just a taste of a transcendent lunch we ate in Paris, and just a nibble of our entire European adventures. We are back in Edmonton after an amazing summer. Three and a half weeks in Europe, and so many stories and experiences. Plus my sister's wedding in Halifax and some fun times here at home too. I'm so lucky to have these memories - it truly was the summer of a lifetime.

I can't wait to share it with you all, but unfortunately the blogging software I use isn't working on my computer right now, so we'll all have to wait a little bit longer. (I'm using blogger to post this but I really can't stand it for long posts).

I promise lots of good things coming up - photos of Claire's wedding cakes, plus more food experiences in Halifax, excessive amounts of cheese and sausage products in Europe, some special meals, and also some big news. This blog is about to head in a new direction ... and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

See you soon!

Wedding cake: a last-minute update!

I’m flying out of Edmonton for Halifax bright and early tomorrow morning. After four test cakes, I think I’ve decided on the cake I want to make … but I’ll still need to test it before the wedding. The consensus from my testers (mostly grateful opera students in a program with J) was that the first cake I made, the orange one from the last post, was the best. So the plan right now is orange cake with lemon buttercream and a vegan lemon creme filling with sliced strawberries. The filling is made with silken tofu, and it’s delicious.

Wish me luck with the final product! We’ve also decided not to do a tiered, stacked cake but instead bake several individual layer cakes and display them all together on one table at the reception. The idea of all those dowels and huge cake pans just made me too nervous.

There are still a few details to iron out, but I think we’ll mostly decorate with fruit and some fresh flowers, plus a little piping thrown in for good measure. Buttercream won the contest against fondant, which I’m pretty happy about.

I’m hoping to update the cake results from Halifax, because when I get home I’ll be computerless for about three weeks. I’m going to take a little blogging break … not sure how long yet. I’m heading to Europe to join J in August for three weeks. I’m sure there will be lots of amazing food to blog about, but it might just have to wait until I get back in September.

So have a great summer! I’ll be enjoying Halifax, Edmonton, Vienna, Paris and Denmark … what fun!

Out of the Park

On Tuesday night we had supper at the Wildflower Grill with J and his Mom. She was visiting for a week and we thought we’d take the opportunity to go there for the first time. I also took the opportunity to review the place for CBC. And it hit the ball out of the park, delivering up one of the best restaurant meals I’ve had in Edmonton. For this price level, I only have Zinc to compare it too so far, but it is many notches beyond.

No photos (I try to go incognito when I’m reviewing), but the best dishes were the beef carpaccio – stunningly soft, creamy and flavourful – and the chocolate tasting. Oh. my. god. If you like chocolate at all you must try it. But what impressed me most was the overall package. Wonderful atmosphere, fantastic service and original, high-quality food.

For more details listen to my review Friday morning on Edmonton AM (93.9 fm) at 7:50. If you miss it you can listen here.

Wildflower Grill
wildfloweredmonton.com
10009 107 st.

A very important wedding cake

I have an announcement to make: I am baking a wedding cake!

Not just any wedding cake. The cake for my sister Claire’s wedding. The same sister who is as obsessed with food as I am. The same one who is a passionate vegan and baker extraordinaire. That sister.

There might be a wee bit of pressure involved in this project.

But the prospect of fun and excitement far outweigh any nerves I may have. I’m no professional baker, and most cakes I bake aren’t even frosted, but I want this to be the best. wedding. cake. ever. Which is partly why I’m sharing this news here.

First up, the details:

- the wedding is on July 10 in Halifax.
- the cake will have to serve about 175 guests (eep!). This means at least three tiers, possibly four.
- there is to be no chocolate involved (groom’s request) and also no nuts (just in case people have allergies). Flavours such as coconut and mocha have also been vetoed. For now, the flavour palette involves some kind of fruit, most likely citrus.
- of course, it must be vegan!

The fondant/buttercream debate continues. We are thinking fondant would be a neater, cleaner-looking cake (see above about not being a professional cake baker), and there is no risk of melting frosting (the reception is indoors, but you never know). The downside is it doesn’t taste so hot, and doesn’t look so natural. I’ve never worked with it and don’t remember ever eating it either.

So far I’ve baked one test cake – the one you see here in the photos. It was an orange cake with lemon buttercream (both recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World – a must-have book in vegan baking circles). J took it to a party where it was a huge hit. I like it too, but I’m not convinced it’s the one. I used the buttercream to fill and frost it, but I thought that made it too sweet – this was likely also because I made the filling too thick. Ideally I’d like to have a filling different from the frosting (if we end up using frosting and not fondant).

There’s a lot I need to learn about construction and decorating a cake this big, and a lot of supplies to buy – dowels, cardboard cake rounds, a turntable, tinting colours, and if the frosting option prevails, palette knives and tinting colours. For preparation, I plan on baking the cake once I get to Halifax and freezing the layers. The morning of the wedding I’ll frost and fill each tier, then transport them to the venue to assemble and add final decorations. Did I mention I’m also the maid of honour? It’s going to be quite the day.

Tomorrow I’m going to buy a vegan desserts cookbook that looks promising, and I’m hoping it has some inspiring cake and filling recipes in it. I’m thinking of testing a lemon cake or vanilla cake next, and possibly experimenting with some kind of strawberry filling. I’m planning for several more test cakes before I head to Halifax July 1st.

So now I appeal to you, dear readers. Any advice for the first-time wedding cake baker? Fondant or buttercream? Flavours, decorating techniques, words of wisdom?? I am beyond excited about this, but a little guidance would not hurt at all.