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Chocolate Bread Pudding with Mixed Berries

11Jan12

Prep time: 15 minutes, baking: 60 minutes. 

Ingredients:

  • 6 day-old croissants, cut into 1-in cubes
  • 3/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups of sliced peaches/mixed berries
  • 1 cup of white/semi-sweet dark chocolate, chopped

In a large bowl, combine croissants, sugar, coconut milk, eggs, and vanilla, cover in plastic wraps, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight is best). Preheat oven to 325F. Remove croissant mixture from refrigerator and add peaches (or berries) and chocolate, and toss to combine. Line a muffin pan or lightly oil a 9×9-in square (or round) baking pan. Pour mixture evenly into liners or pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown.

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Clafoutis with White Chocolate & Mixed Berries

07Jan12

Filling:

  • 1 cup white chocolate, chopped
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries (e.g. raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and/or strawberries)
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 7 tbsp butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cups flour

Pie Crust:

Store bought Shortbread Cookie

Instructions:

Distribute chocolate and berries evenly on bottom of shell, carefully cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. In a stainless steel bowl or mixer, whip cream, then cover in plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator. In a different or cleaned bowl of mixer, combine butter and sugar and whip on medium-high speed until well combined. Add egg and whip until light and fluffy and colour changes from yellow to white. Stop mixer and add flour. On low speed, mix until just combined. Do not overmix. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, fold in pre-whipped cream.

Preheat over to 350F. Remove tarte pan from refrigerator, carefully uncover, and pour filling evenly over berries and chocolate. Place tarte pan on a baking sheet and bake 45 minutes or until golden brown (Mine took close to 90 minutes). Remove from over and let cool for 2 hours before serving.

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Triple-chocolate parfait

30Dec11

Warning: This took me 5 hours to make!

Crust:

  • 1-¾ cups of cookie crumbs (Ginger cookies)
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Custard Base:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 7 large egg yolks

Dark-chocolate layer:

  • 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (around 5 blocks of Baker’s chocolate)
  • ½ cup heavy cream, chilled
  • 1/3 Custard Base recipe
  • 2 tablespoons Kahlua

White-chocolate layer:

  • 1/3 Custard Base recipe
  • 2 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped (around 2 blocks of Baker’s chocolate)
  • ½ cup heavy cream, chilled
  • 1 tablespoon fine brandy or cognac

Milk-chocolate layer:

  • 1/3 Custard Base recipe
  • 7 ounces dark milk chocolate (preferably 42% cacao), finely chopped (around 7 blocks of Baker’s chocolate)
  • ½ cup heavy cream, chilled

Instructions:

For crust:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan.

Crumble the cookies into a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until blended. Or blend together crumbs and butter.

Press the crust evenly into the unlined, lightly coated pan. Bake for 10 minutes. When cool, line the sides with a 3-inch-wide parchment strip along the inside edge.

To prepare the custard base:

In a small, heavy saucepan, whisk together the cream, milk, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Using a paring knife, scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the mixture and toss in the bean. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it comes to a simmer. Remove from the heat.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the remaining sugar and egg yolks. Slowly pour approximately one third of the warm cream mixture into the yolks, stirring constantly. Pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan, stirring constantly.

Return to medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon, about 160F. Remove from the heat.

Remove and discard the vanilla bean. Evenly divide the base into 3 small mixing bowls. Cover the custards with plastic wrap touching the tops so a skin does not form. Refrigerate until cook but not cold.

To make the three chocolate layers:

First make the Dark-Chocolate Layer. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. Remove when nearly melted and continue stirring until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool, stirring frequently. Return it to the double boiler only briefly if it begins to set up.

In a separate bowl whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Remove one bowl of the Custard Base from the refrigerator and stir until smooth and creamy. There should be no lumps. Stir in Kahlua. Fold the cooled, melted chocolate into the custard. Lighten by quickly folding in one-third of the whipping cream. Gently fold in the remaining cream in 2 parts.

To make the remaining layers:

Evenly spread the Dark-Chocolate Layer the crust in the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer to set.

When the first layer is set, follow the same procedure to make the White-Chocolate Layer. Remove plastic wrap from dark layer. Spread white layer evenly over the dark layer, cover in plastic and freeze until set, about 20 minutes.

When the second layer is set, follow the same procedure to make the Milk-Chocolate Layer. Spread evenly over the white layer. Cover in plastic and freeze for at least 4 hours to set.

To serve, loosen and move the side of the pan. Remove the parchment. Serve ice cold, directly from the freezer, using a warm dry knife to cut.

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Spinach-Polenta Soup

29Dec11

Absolutely delicious and very easy to make.

Prep: 15 minutes; Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

1 bag (2 packages) frozen chopping spinach

3 cans vegetable broth

1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

Instructions:

  1. Heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook garlic and onion in oil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender.
  2. Stir in frozen spinach and broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Stir in remaining ingredients except cornmeal. Gradually stir in cornmeal.
  3. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until soup is slightly thickened.
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Truffle Cake

09Oct11

Ingredients:
Crust:
  • 2/3 cup hazelnuts
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Filling:

  • 2-1/4 cups dark chocolate chopped
  • 1-1/2 tbsp corn syrup
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened (for filling)
  • 1-3/4 cups whipping cream
Instructions:
  1. To prepare crust: Preheat over to 350F. In a food processor or mixer, combine hazelnuts, sugar, flour, and 1/2 cup + 2tbsp butter and blend until mixture is smooth like peanut butter. In a 10-in cake pan with parchment paper, pour crust mixture evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
  2. For filling: Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine chocolate, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup butter and set aside. In a saucepan on medium-high, heat whipping cream until bubbles form on outer edges, then remove from heat and add to chocolate mixture. With a whisk, stir until mixture becomes smooth and silky. Once crust is finished baking, remove from oven, pour chocolate mixture into crust, and let it set for 4 hours (or overnight is best).
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Corn Bread

09Oct11

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 3 tbsps sugar
  • 1 cup cream corn
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup melted butter

Instructions:
  1. Grease an 9” X 9” dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 425 F.
  2. In a medium bowl mix all the dry ingredients well. Mix in the baking powder before adding the salt. Set aside.
  3. Beat the egg lightly in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and creamed corn and stir to combine.
  4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix until just moistened. Do not overmix. The batter will still have lumps.
  5. Pour evenly into your greased dish. Spread gently with the spatula.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out dry.

Source: From Sue Riedl’s Cooking Staples on the Globe and Mail

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Banana Bread

13Sep11

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • ¾ cup sugar (50% with white sugar, 50% in brown)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 cups flour

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep loaf pan (grease and flour)
  2. Combine the 3-4 mashed bananas with the melted butter and add in the sugar, egg and vanilla.
  3. Sprinkle the top of the banana mixture with the baking soda and then add the flour.  Stir until just combined (do not over stir or this will make the loaf tough).
  4. Add in about half a package or so of chocolate chunks that have been dusted with flour.
  5. Bake in the center of the oven for 50-55 minutes (longer if you’re making more than one loaf at a time) until cooked through.

Thanks D!

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Peanut Butter M&M Oatmeal Squares

20Aug11


Ingredients (Makes 10)

  • 2.5 sticks of butter
  • 2.25 cups of brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla
  • 2 cups of flour
  • 2 squares of 70% dark chocolate
  • 3 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 4 cups of oats (Quakers, or regular baking oats)
  • 1 package of peanuts M&Ms

Instructions:

  1. Preheat over to 350 degrees
  2. Mix butter, brown sugar, and vanilla
  3. Add flour, baking soda, and oats to mixture
  4. Sprinkle with grated dark chocolate
  5. Put on greased piece of foil on a cookie sheet with raised edges
  6. Massage and press the dough flat on the sheet
  7. Cover with M&Ms
  8. Bake for 20 minutes or until smarties start to sink
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The Powerful UBC Connections

30Oct10

U of T and UBC alums and students from Pathways to Education at the TFC game on October 16.

Published on UBCTO.com

The other day, I thought hard about how it would sound when I tell people that UBC-TO has 6,000 alumni living in the GTA. Statistically, that is only 0.1% of the population of 5.6 million. At first, these numbers could sound small and insignificant. However, I experienced too many of a UBC coincidence during the planning of the recent Toronto FC soccer game in late October. I cannot help but wonder, how strong our UBC connections in Toronto really are.

As most of you know, TFC tickets are hard to come by, but it turned out that all we had to do was talk to our fellow alumni in GTA. Back in June during our first pub night ever, an alumna Patti Turnbull connected us to another alumna Bree working at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, home to the TFC. She then introduced us to Laura McGee, Account Executive for TFC. When she called me and told me she is also an alumna, I was simply jumping up and down with joy. When she offered UBC-TO a group discount and extra perks, we ordered our group tickets without much hesitation. Would you say this chain of events was simply a coincidence?

Our UBC-TO mantra is giving back to Toronto. So through Justin Pintwala, a Sauder alumni who mentors youth in the Regent Park community, we were introduced to Pathways to Education. Pathways was created seven years ago to reduce poverty and to increase access to post-secondary education among disadvantaged youth in Canada. Their impact on the neighbourhood has been phenomenal, and they have helped lowering the neighbourhood’s high school dropout rate from 56% to teens. As we learned more about Pathways’ work, we could not help but notice how its mission was in line with UBC’s work in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside – the UBC Learning Exchange and “A Place of Mind” campaign.

image

Regent Park

On a late September afternoon, Pathways’ mentorship program coordinator, Nikki, gave me a walking tour of Regent Park. Within moments, I started identifying the area as a place of change. With constructions going on everywhere, it seemed that the neighbourhood was in transition, and its landscape was changing dramatically. New condo owners were moving in; ubiquitous stores like Sobey’s, Shopper’s Drugs Mart, and Tim Horton’s were now open with their big, brand new signs. But it was the murals and the memorial gardens that inspired me. I could see the community was trying to create a better, safer environment for everyone, and Pathways was a big part of that effort. We wondered what we could do. So we put two and two together; UBC-TO was going to sell TFC tickets to the alumni in GTA to sponsor Regent Park youths to come watch the soccer game with us, and hopefully come away with a memorable UBC experience.

We could tell how much our alumni in GTA liked the idea, as tickets were selling quickly. And within weeks, University of Toronto Alumni Association also decided to take part and Sauder Business Club of Toronto joined in. After much discussion and number-crunching, we settled on sponsoring seven grade 9 youths from the Regent Park community. The seven youths had recently completed a leadership-training program ran by students at Ryerson University who used art and photography to empower the youth to fight against the stigma towards Regent Park.

Two days before the TFC event, I received a call from Pathways. The seven youth and Nikki could not come to the game, as they needed to attend to their friends’ funeral. I had heard about what happened in Regent Park over the weekend through local media, but I was too naïve to connect the dots. The reality was that Regent Park is a very tight-knitted community and everyone was affected in one way or another. It was sad to see the youths had to go through something like this. Despite being personally impacted, Pathways’ staff handled the situation professionally. Nikki had a contingency plan executed and shared with us their bereavement process. She managed to find another seven youths that were able to attend the game.

So as planned, on a gorgeous, sunny October Saturday, 79 alumnus and friends gathered for a pre-game mingle and walk around the BMO Field before meeting the Pathways group. As the youth were walking towards us, I found out Pathways sent one of their staff to the event. If I could use the word again, coincidentally, Amina, Student/Parent Support Worker who arrived with the youth, was a UBC History alumna. Together with Katherine Lee, one of the UBC-TO executives, they kept the youths company. The youths played soccer at a pre-game event and each won a TFC scarf. And later, everyone got autographs from the TFC player Dwayne De Rosario on their TFC brand new scarves.

View the TFC Photo Album

“As a UBC grad and as a Pathways staff, I was so psyched after the game! Like I said, I don’t think we could have picked a more eventful game to go to and the students really loved it! I think we made some TFC fans despite the loss. It was also cool to see others who went to both UBC and UofT and share that with the students. They had questions about what UBC was like and UofT and I think the whole experience showed a fun side of what post-secondary life can be like. I really hope we get to do more things together because the students gained a lot from it.”, Amina Farah

“I have never attended at Toronto FC game before and had a great time absorbing the crowd’s energy and all the brilliant sunshine. The pre-game mingle was perfect for catching up with some old UBC friends over a pint! An all around great day!” Shayne Tryon

“It was a great day in the sunshine and a very interesting game – most enjoyable in every way.” Donald Cooper

“Thanks for inviting us” Eqbal, the shy eleventh grader

So would you say this is a story where a series of coincidences is woven together? Or is it a story where a dream became a reality? In any case, I learned that there are only 0.1% of us here in the GTA but the special and strong connections we have through UBC are everywhere and when we put our heads together, we can make a difference in our communities. The alumni who were part of this journey gave the youths from Regent Park an opportunity to be kids and to worry about nothing – a kind of experience they will cherish for a very long time.

Our special thanks go to all the alumni who have connected us to TFC and Pathways, especially TFC’s staff Laura and Pathways’ staff Nikki and Amina for being patient with us! Another big thanks to Teo Salgado, University of Toronto’s Manager, Regional Programs, without whose help, we couldn’t have had such a great event.

So it’s now your turn – share your own UBC coincidences. Email us at elliot@ubcto.com.

Calls for volunteers at Pathways

Are you interested in volunteering for Pathways? Pathways needs volunteers in their mentoring and tutoring program starting in January. Contact them at Sonia Arana, Volunteer Engagement Specialist at soniaa@regentparkchc.org.
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How Apple's kerfuffle led to Apple Kerfuffle

03Jul10

It all started more than a month ago, on a hot Sunday afternoon as my friend Joseph from Seattle was picking Toronto as his first sabbatical destination.

We were sitting at a park and chatting over many things including our philanthropic goals. Then we started talking about Steve Jobs’ recent post on “Thoughts on Flash.” Joseph bursted out laughing when I said “the kerfuffle between Apple and Adobe…” He thought I had made up the word. To my protest, he conveniently pulled out his brand new Kindle from his backpack, and we looked it up. So here I was, a Canadian boy, for whom English is not his first language, teaching an American an English word! I asked him if “conundrum” would be a better choice, but he agreed that “kerfuffle” is the perfect word to describe the situation. I was glad that I managed to expand a friend’s vocabulary!

Another week had gone by, and I found myself at an alumni event where my friends and I debated once again which word to choose between “kerfuffle” or “conundrum”. So I posted a question on Twitter:

Then Y N responded:

Lucy said:

My Twitter friend Lucy and I have been swapping recipes and exchanging foodie tips for a while now. She has given me her infamous carbonara recipe and I’ve become her “Toronto food concierge”.

Fast forward a month, this Wednesday Lucy and I met for the first time where we each brought our very own versions of Apple Kerfuffles. We met at a downtown Starbucks and I was nervous as I waited. Having never baked any dessert pastries in my life, I had told her not to judge me by my pastries. Like a blind date, we each brought a friend to make sure the meeting didn’t go weird. Lucy brought Stuart, and they are one of the nicest couples I have ever met.

So we unveiled our creations. Lucy’s on the left and mine on the right. With plastic forks and knives in our hands, four of us sampled the kerfuffles à la Iron Chef.

Lucy’s was delicious and filled with cream cheese and different kinds of apples. I loved the pastry itself and colour of the kerfuffle.

Here’s a closer look at my version, made with granny smith apples and a special topping (Kit Kat).

Recipe (Makes 3):

  • One peeled, ripe granny smith apple
  • 2 tsp of cinnamon brown sugar
  • 5 tsp of sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp of butter on each kerfuffle
  • 1 tsp of flour
  • 1 bar of Kit Kat
  • Frozen puff pastry
  1. Thaw puff pastry overnight. Set aside eight sheets of puff pastry and lay them on a flat, dry surface.
  2. Layer three sheets and cut into 3″x3″ squares as the foundation of the pastry.
  3. Layer one sheet and roll them up as a tube. Bent the tube into a 3″x3″ square as the pastry walls.
  4. Fold any excess from (2) to cover the walls. Set aside.
  5. Cut apples into thin slices. Add both kinds of sugar, flour and salt. Mix well.
  6. Gently pour apples into the well. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar. Use a cheese grater and grate Kit Kat on top. Brush butter all over pastries.
  7. Put pastries on cooking sheet and cover with foil. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes. Take out when pastry turns golden.

Thanks to Twitter, I’ve met a new friend! Lucy and I became so inspired that we decided to start our own food revolution. Next month we will be making Blueberry Brutality, followed by Cherry Conundrum – this is our way of expressing our feelings towards what happened with the recent G20 summit in Toronto. We need a name for our food exchange!

Until then…

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