Chocolate cake cravings are one of those things that happens to me about twice a year. And when I say craving, I mean it comes on strong and sticks around for weeks until I satisfy it. Yesterday, Valentine’s Day, was the perfect day to bake up this recipe I’ve saved for months. As soon as I saw Jenn’s post, I immediately archived this recipe in my MUST TRY folder. That was a good decision!

I’d describe this cake as heavy, rich and super moist. It isn’t one of those spongy cakes and I’d almost say it was brownie-like, even fudgy; a completely and utterly fabulous cake.

Check out foodess.com for this Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe and for other delicious finds.

For the icing, I whipped up a Fleur De Sel Chocolate Butter Cream using 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. fleur de sel, 1/2 cup of icing sugar and approximately 3 Tbsp. of heavy cream. Add more or less cream to get your desired consistency or for a more traditional sweet icing, only use a pinch of salt.

1) The macarons will be ready for you between 8:30 and 9pm next Sunday, February 19th. You’ll need to be downtown Vancouver during that time to receive them. We can come to you if you’ll be close or you can meet us (we’ll work that out).

2) These macarons will be best enjoyed that evening or over the next day or two. Maybe you’ll want to plan a little gathering?

TO ENTER the contest you can do one or many of the following (each will be an entry so you could end up entering several times to up your chances). YES, you can do these all and enter the context 4 times!

1) Like our facebook page

2) Follow us on twitter and retweet – RT@kitchening ‘s giving away 100 macarons to one lucky winner. The easiest contest ever! Details here: http://bit.ly/y1XtoR

3) Sign up for our brief seasonal newsletter

4) Order macarons online

Good luck! Remember, get those entries in, tell your friends and watch for the winning announcement this Friday at 5pm on twitter and our facebook page.

She interviewed me (and several other local macaron-bakers) for the piece:

“You can’t just follow a list of rules,” Wintschel says. “You have to know the batter, when to stop beating, how humid the weather is. You can have it too runny or too thick. If it’s too thick, the surface will be bumpy. If too fluffy, it will crack. If too runny, it might not get the ‘pied’ or the ruffly skirt at the bottom. It’s touchy,” she says of preparing the batter. “When I was learning in France, there were days we had to turn the air conditioner off. For me, success comes with being observant.”

They can definitely be finicky, but they are oh-so-melt-in-your-mouth amazing, too. Go and check out the article!

Bids were going wild for me and finally near the end of the evening a vivid couple I’d met earlier that evening came over to announce “I think we’ve won you!”. Indeed they had. They’d won myself, our macarons, my good friend Mike Nierychlo (aka “the wine guy”) and lots of great wine…for an evening.

Here is the wine and macaron pairing details and a few glimpses into our epic night.

In closing, you’d be amiss not to check out a few of Mike’s episodes and see what wine de-pretentiousized is all about: Mike Nierycholo Online

I don’t own very many cookbooks, well, that isn’t true. What I should say is that I don’t use many of the cookbooks I own. I have a love for cookbooks, but they don’t get pulled off my shelf frequently enough. One that I have started to make better use of is Laura Calder’s French Taste: Elegant Everyday Eating.

As one might expect of me, I did take some liberties with this recipe. If you’re trying it out and feel like playing around, try some pesto and white wine in the beef while it’s cooking. Yum!

We’re easy to find, located right across from the concierge desk on the main floor. So if you want to be a hero and bring macarons to your Friday meeting, or bring some home to your loving spouse, by all means do so.

Hours

Until December 13th
Friday: 2pm-7pm
Saturday: 2pm-7pm
Sunday: 12pm-5pm

December 13th-23rd
Open every day from 12pm-7pm

December 24th
All day!

It would mean the world to us if you stopped by and said hello to either myself, Dan or Linda (we’re sharing the duty) and told any of your friends or colleagues who might want to support us.

Thanks again for being awesome.

I have to say however, that as great as her products are (my favourite is The Cloud!), she is great. Honestly, an amazingly passionate and inspiring woman that I’m blessed to call a friend.

As a beauty master, Daniela has shared some fantastic tips with us to share with you on foods that can give your skin the radiance you desire.

Top Foods for Healthy Skin

Indulge in these top foods to get a beautiful glow from within, you’ll feel great and see the results on your skin as well.

Water

Hydration plays a key role in keeping skin cells healthy. It is essential to maintaining your skin’s elasticity and suppleness. Keeping cells hydrated helps cells move nutrients in and toxins out, which helps keep skin clean and clear. We can all drink more water.

Wild Salmon, Walnuts, Olive Oil

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are responsible for skin repair and moisture content. The body cannot produce its own EFAs, they must be obtained through the diet. Fish, walnuts, and olive oil are among the best sources for omega 3 fatty acid. Eating good-quality olive oil helps keep skin lubricated and keeps it looking and feeling healthier overall. Which olive oil is the best for your skin? Those labeled “cold pressed”, “expeller processed”, or “extra virgin” are the least processed forms. As a result, they contain the highest levels of anti-oxidative substances.

Carrots and Yams

Healthy skin is directly dependent on the amount of vitamin A in our diet. Vitamin A acts as an antioxidant to neutralize harmful elements in our skin, helps to prevent wrinkles, resist infection and maintain the skin’s elasticity. One of the best places to get Vitamin A is vegetables that are deep orange in color.

Green Tea

Green tea’s ability to slow down the development of some signs of aging is attributed to its high levels of polyphenols, which have been well-documented for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

I encourage a wholesome clean diet that feels good for you. Foods that are local and in season as much as possible is always a great way to eat year round. Mix it up, there are far too many food options to always eat the same thing daily – Enjoy the variety!

Daniela Belmondo – Belmondo Skin Care

On this note, over Thanksgiving I tried two pastry recipes. One very typical recipe – butter, water, flour and salt, and one I’d learned in France that was used for tarts, quiches & the like. It has the addition of egg & potato flour. I grew up on pastry with Crisco and though my mom’s pies are always OUTSTANDING, I really wanted to try to learn a recipe that was more natural. Now, let’s open this up for discussion and sharing. What fat are you on board with for your pastry making? Is it butter (dairy product)? Is it lard (pig fat)? What do you look for in a crust’s texture, sound, appearance, feel, flavour? Please don’t be shy. Hey, if you have a pastry recipe you love and are willing to share, maybe I’ll try it out and feature it in another post!

The French pastry (B) seemed to be flakier than the other, but honestly, was not flaky enough for my liking. Flavour all around was great though. My mom’s recipe includes a bit of baking powder. Does this account for the flakier crust in whole or part or would the flakes be more attributed to the Crisco?

Verdict: I’m still on the hunt for my epic pastry. As you can see though, the pursuit isn’t too onerous.

Dan half “wung it” (do you know the origin of this phrase by the way?) and half used this adapted Julia Child recipe to create our masterful dinner. Seriously, it was killer! I licked up my bowlful with a huge grin.