Sweet treats for Valentine’s Day
Home-baked goodies celebrate love and family
Whether it’s the finishing touch on a romantic dinner, at re at for the little ones, or a sweet something for friends or colleagues, home-baked goodies are sure to be welcomed on Valentine’s Day. Taking the time to make something special conveys the sentiment of the holiday, and of course, you can’t go wrong with chocolate.
Sarah Kieffer, the author and baker behind The Vanilla Bean Blog, le ans toward chocolate y de lights for Valentine’s Day. This year, she’ll likely make a double-chocolate snacking cake decorated with tiny candy hearts for her children, ages seven and nine.
“(Before we had kids), I loved breakfast in bed. Just reading in bed together in the morning and having warm cinnamon rolls, that sounds amazing. But Valentine’s Day has changed for me—it’ s more about making things for my kids than being romantic. When it falls on a school day, I try to make it exciting and have something waiting for them when they come home,” Kieffer says.
“Especially with young children, I just see it as celebrating love, and celebrating our family in a different way. It’s so fun to bake and share that —taking it from the commercialism of :‘ we have to buy something’ or‘ we have to go out for a fancy dinner.’ I like to bring it into my home and have a fun treat, and make it about our family and what that looks like to us.”
As Kieffer write sin her first cookbook, The Vanilla Bean Baking Book
(Penguin Canada, 2016), she prefers minimal cake decor — favouring fresh flowers, sprinkles and nuts, and texturing to embellish party cakes. For Valentine’s Day in particular, adding a few rosy red or blush blooms is an approachable way to beautify baked goods. (Look for flowers that are foodsafe, and haven’ t been sprayed with pesticides.)
“I like to use fresh flowers (for Valentine’s Day). My grocery store sells tiny little roses in different colours and I like to decorate with those a lot. They could go on cookies with frosting or on cake, and it would look so pretty and simple. Otherwise, just a little pale pink food colouring on something looks really pretty,” she says.
Although she has many years of professional baking under her belt, Kieffer says that home baking is where her heart is. She has great respect for pastry chefs — their skill and commitment — but adds that creativity and artistry can also be exercised at home. As a starting point for burgeoning experimental bakers, she offers various types of cake bases (chocolate, yellow, and white), and buttercream in the book (Swiss meringue, Italian meringue, American, and ermine) that can be mixed-and-matched.
“It’s good to learn recipes and to bake something as it’s written the first couple of times, but once you get familiar with it, there’s room to create and try new things. Be open (to the fact), that it might not work out, but still take that step in being creative.
“I want more people to take that chance and to not be afraid in their own home. To just play in the kitchen, even when it comes to baking, and to lose that intimidation of ‘it has to be this certain way’ or ‘this pastry chef says I can’t do it this way.’ Maybe you can,” she says, with a laugh. Excerpted from The Vanilla Bean Baking Book by Sarah Kieffer.
Rosemary Ice Cream:
14 oz can (396 g) sweetened condensed milk 3 sprigs rosemary 2 tsp (10 mL) pure vanilla extract ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt 2 oz (57 g) cream cheese, room temperature 2 cups (500 mL) heavy cream
Chocolate Lava Cakes:
6 oz (170 g) bittersweet chocolate 9 tbsp (113 g) unsalted butter, cold 3 large eggs 3 large egg yolks 1/3 cup (66 g) sugar 1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract 1 tbsp (15 mL) bourbon (optional) ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt 5 tbsp (45 g) all-purpose flour 1. For the ice cream: In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the sweetened condensed milk, rosemary sprigs, vanilla extract, and salt to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let the rosemary steep for 2 hours. Remove the rosemary sprigs and transfer the milk mixture into a large bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and chill until cool to the touch, about 2 hours. 2. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the cream cheese on medium until smooth. Turn the mixer to low and add the heavy cream in a slow steady stream, mixing until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and whisk until stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. 3. Add half the whipped cream mixture to the sweetened condensed milk mixture and whisk until completely combined. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the remaining whipped cream mixture, until no streaks remain. Pour into a 9-inch (22.5-cm), loaf pan or Pullman pan with a lid and freeze until firm, 6 hours or, covered, up to 1 week. 4. For the chocolate lava cakes: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). 5. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the chocolate and butter, making sure chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the eggs, yolks, and sugar on medium-high until pale yellow and doubled in volume, 5 minutes. Add the vanilla, bourbon (if using), and salt and mix on low to combine. Add the flour and mix on low just until it is incorporated. Add the chocolate and butter and mix gently with a rubber spatula. 6. Fill 6 ramekins halfway with the batter and place them on a baking sheet. Bake 11 to 12 minutes. The edges should be starting to bake up, but the centre should still look underdone. 7. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack. Let the cakes cool a few minutes, before serving with the rosemary ice cream. Makes 6 servings Note: These lava cakes would pair well with crème fraîche or whipped cream. They are also delicious on their own.