Sweet treats with lots of heart
From cookies to cocktails, we’ve got Valentine’s Day recipes you’re sure to fall in love with from some of Vancouver’s top chefs.
Kinako Linzer Cookies
Creator: Betty Hung,
Beaucoup Bakery
Her take: “These kinako cookies are really easy to put together and to design. They make great little gifts for that special someone.
The raspberry jam is a lovely sweet filling in these delicate cookies.”
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
½ tsp (2.5 mL) baking powder
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
½ cup (125 mL) kinako (roasted soybean flour)
½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter
1/₃ cup (80 mL) sugar 1 egg yolk
Vanilla seeds scraped from 1/2 a bean ¼ cup (60 mL) raspberry jam, for filling
2 tbsp (30 mL) icing sugar, for dusting
▶ Combine dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl: flour, baking powder, salt and kinako.
▶ In a mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until well combined on medium speed. Add in egg yolk, mix to incorporate. Add the dry ingredients, mix on low speed to form a dough. Scrape bowl if necessary, do not over-mix. Chill dough for at least one hour or overnight before rolling.
▶ Preheat oven to 325 F (170 C).
Roll cookie dough in between two pieces of parchment paper to about 1/4 -inch (6 mm) thick. Cut out desired shapes and cut small holes for cookie tops. Arrange on cookie sheet, they can be quite close to each other as they don’t spread much. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes until golden all over. Cool before assembly.
▶ Spread a thin layer to raspberry jam on the cookie bottoms.
Dust tops lightly with icing sugar and sandwich together. Cookie sandwiches should be eaten the day they are assembled.
Makes 12
Garden of Love
Creator: Christophe Bonzon of Chez Christophe
His take: “Nothing says romance more than chocolate. This chocolate dessert features the sweet flavour profile of milk chocolate and passion fruit. The heart signifies love and is perfect for sharing.”
Chocolate sweet dough:
½ cup (125 mL) soft butter
7 tbsp (105 mL) icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp (30 mL) good-quality cocoa powder
▶ Cream soft butter with icing sugar in a stand mixer. Add eggs and yolks slowly and scrape in between. Add flour and mix until combined, scraping sides halfway through. Turn dough to a lightly floured surface and form into a ball.
▶ Flatten ball slightly with your hands to form a thick disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
▶ Roll out dough to 1/4-inch (6 mm) thickness. Cut out 5-inch (13 cm) circles and line 6-8 3½-inch (9 cm) tart shells. Chill for 30 minutes. Bake at 340 F for 5 minutes, rotate after 3 minutes. Passion fruit curd:
1 cup plus
1 tbsp (265 mL) passion fruit purée
4 eggs
12/₃ (410 mL) cup sugar
1 cup (250 mL) melted butter 10 per cent Cacao Barry 34 per cent Zephyr white chocolate (see recipe for amount)
1 5g sheet gelatin, soaked in cold water to bloom
▶ Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs one at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.
▶ Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 F (77 C), or just below simmer. ▶ Place gelatin in a bowl of cold water and soak until soft. Remove the gelatin, squeeze it gently and stir into the warm mixture. ▶ Strain and weigh the mix. Ten per cent of the weight of the lemon mix is the amount of chocolate you need to add to the recipe. Emulsify chocolate into mix with a hand blender. ▶ Cool and pipe into chocolate tart shells and chill completely to set, minimum four hours.
Chocolate Bavaroise:
1 cup (250 mL) milk
1½ tbsp (22.5 mL) glucose
¼ cup (60 mL) sugar 3 egg yolks
1 cup (250 mL) Cacao Barry 42 per cent Ecuador milk chocolate
1½ sheets (7.5 g) gelatin, softened in cold water
2 cups (500 mL) heavy cream, whipped to medium peaks
▶ Combine milk and glucose in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium-low until just boiling.
▶ Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on high speed until pale and creamy and sugar has dissolved. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the egg and sugar, a little at a time. Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat to create a custard, whisking constantly. Cook until 185 F (85 C).
▶ Pour over milk chocolate and stir until melted. Remove the gelatin from cold water, squeeze it gently and stir into the warm mixture. Emulsify mixture with hand blender. Cool to 93 F (34 C). Fold in medium whipped cream. Pipe into a 2 to 2.5 inch (5-6 cm) heart mould. If you have any extra, pour on top of tart shells filled with passion fruit curd.
▶ Chill in the fridge until firmly set, about 4 hours. If you are placing it inside a silicone mould, place in freezer and allow to freeze completely, about 4 hours.
Chocolate crumble:
1 cup (250 mL) cold butter, cubed
3 tbsp (45 mL) Cacao Barry cocoa butter
1 cup (250 mL) sugar
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
▶ Place the dry and cubed butter in into a mixing bowl for a stand mixer with paddle attachment
▶ Mix until a sandy texture. Make into a ball and grate against wire rack (no need to chill). Bake at 350 F (175 C) for 5 minutes, rotate. Turn down to 300 F (150 C) for another 15 minutes. Every five minutes, fluff and redistribute the crumble on the tray with an offset spatula.
Red glaze:
½ cup (250 mL) Absolut Cristal glaze
1 tbsp (15 mL) water
Hot water
Red colour
▶ Heat the Absolut to 194 F (90 C). Emulsify the first amount water with a hand blender. Dissolve the red colour with the hot water and emulsify it in. Glaze chocolate bavaroise hearts at 104 F (40 C).
Assembly:
▶ Sprinkle chocolate crumbs into the top of the filled chocolate tart to create the “dirt.” Place glazed heart on top of tart. Enjoy
Makes six to eight
Birds and Roses
Creator: Stephen Whiteside, beverage director at Minami Restaurant
His take: “A traditional symbol of
St. Valentine, Birds and Roses represents a refreshing celebration of love with an elegant spritz of life.”
1 oz (30 mL) Yu Nigori
1/₃ oz (10 mL) Giffard Rose Liqueur
1 oz (30 mL) crisp apple juice
½ oz (15 mL) simple syrup
▶ Shake all ingredients with ice, and fine strain into chilled champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine.
▶ Garnish with sliced apple and rose petal.
Makes 1
A Lover’s Embrace
Creator: JS Dupuis, beverage director at Homer St. Cafe and Bar, Tableau Bar Bistro and Mussette Caffé.
His take: “This cocktail combines the subtle richness of cherry and pomegranate with a delicate kiss of rosemary and vanilla and, just like a lover’s embrace, this libation will warm your heart and soul.”
1/2 oz (15 mL) Luxardo Sangue
Morlacco Cherry Liqueur
1 oz (30 mL) rosemary vanilla pomegranate syrup (see recipe)
4 oz (120 mL) Chevalier Blanc
de Blanc Sparkling Wine
1 orange twist
▶ Build all ingredients into flute, top with sparkling wine and garnish with a twist.
Pomegranate Syrup:
▶Take 1 cup (250 mL) of boiling water and 1 cup (250 mL) of white sugar and combine together in pot, while the mixture is still hot, add a long, bruised branch of rosemary and a vanilla pod, let sit until the mixture cools down to room temperature. Strain the rosemary and vanilla out of the syrup. Blend in a 1:1 ratio with pomegranate juice.
Paper Plane Cocktail
Creator: Nightingale Restaurant bar team
Their take: “A throwback to the days of passing love notes across the classroom, Nightingale’s exquisite Paper Plane cocktail is sure to send your heart soaring.” ¾ oz (22 mL) Bulliet Bourbon ¾ oz (22 mL) Amaro Montenegro ¾ oz (22 mL) Aperol ¾ oz (22 mL) fresh lemon juice ▶ Shake, double strain into a chilled coupe. Enjoy.
Hallmark Hurricane
Creator: Scott Marshall, bar manager at Mamie Taylor’s
His take: “It’s not that the bar team at Mamie Taylor’s doesn’t love Valentine’s Day, they just like Mardi Gras more. The annual bacchanalia celebrating excess before the privations of Lent is one of the restaurant’s signature holidays, with two weeks of special-themed menus and cocktails (Feb. 2-15). This year, Mardi Gras takes place on Feb. 13. The Hallmark Hurricane is a love letter to the classic New Orleans Hurricane cocktail. It might not bring you true love, but with enough of them under your belt, you won’t really care!”
2 oz (60 mL) light rum
2 oz (60 mL) dark rum
2 oz (60 mL) passion fruit juice
1 oz (30 mL) orange juice
½ oz (15 ml) fresh lime juice Splash of grenadine
▶ Combine ingredients in a Boston glass filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with an orange twist and a mint sprig.
Makes 1
Mushroom Pasta
Creator: Eva Chin, executive chef, Royal Dinette
Her take: “I think a bowl of pasta is one the warmest, most comforting ways of serving food to your partner.”
Egg pasta:
2 cups (500 mL) Durum 00 flour
½ tsp (2.5 mL) salt 10 egg yolks
1 tsp (5 mL) extra virgin olive oil
Mushroom sauce:
4 cups (1 L) cream 2 onions, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 cups (500 mL) Parmesan rinds
2 oz dried (60 ml) porcini
½ cup (125 mL) butter
7 oz (200 mL) winter mushroom mix (chanterelles, black trumpets, hedgehog)
▶ In a stand mixer, mix together the flour and salt with the paddle attachment on low speed. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and olive oil. With the mixer still running on low speed, drizzle in the egg yolk and olive oil mixture. Let paddle for 3 minutes, turn onto a smooth table surface and knead the dough by hand until the dough feels firm and turns bright yellow.
▶ Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes in room temperature. Roll out the pasta dough into thin rectangular sheets and cut into 1/3-inchsized (. 85 mm) noodles. Dust generously with flour, and keep covered until ready to cook.
▶ When ready to cook, bring a large pot of salted water to boil, stir in the pasta and cook until al dente, around 3-4 minutes. Reserve a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water. Make sure you have pasta sauce ready when you cook pasta so you can strain and stir in pasta directly into the pan.
▶ To make the sauce base, put the cream, Parmesan rinds, sliced onion, and bay leaves into a pot and let simmer until the cream is reduced in to half of its original volume. Pick out the Parmesan rinds and bay leaves. Blend the remaining cream and onions and the dried porcini in a high speed blender until smooth.
▶ Season with salt, black pepper and lemon juice.
▶ Heat up the butter in a pan until frothy and caramelized golden brown. Sear the mushroom mix until crispy and golden. Add the cream sauce, and some reserved pasta cooking water and the strained pasta.
▶ Serve with Parmesan cheese and fresh-shaved truffles.
Serves 2