Before I relocated I came here frequently, but my interest has def exploded in the past five years …
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Lulu and I went there for a cake decorating class and then a massive shop. A great memory.
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This was my first time in this newer space of theirs. Much brighter.
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I’ve not been to their new shop, but my experience with the OG was always that if I went in and inquired about something, they always had it, even if it wasn’t immediately visible. (Like many small NYC shops and bodegas, they had stuff stocked to the ceiling, but would readily retrieve it.)
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Plumbed the freezer and fridge…and so: Meyer lemon curd tart with a schmear of blackberry whipped cream and blackberry compote.
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I bought a bag of those for baking. Bag is almost empty, none went for bakng. 
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I get my chocolate from Vanilla Food Company in Markham, Ontario (north of Toronto); they charge $7 for shipping any amount anywhere in Canada. I like to give them my business since they are a small company. If they’re out I then go to Amazon.
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I did zero research before buying some ( a small container) but now I’ve read they cannot be used like regular chips in cookies; too high in fat. They are for melting applications. i downloaded a recipe booklet from the manufacturer to get other ideas.
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Theres also www.flourconfections.com in pickering. Price of chocolate is sky high right now. Vanilla Food is 15 minutes drive from me. If you want to pick up you have to have the right amount of cash. Sort of annoying.
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Unexpectedly busy baking afternoon.
Self-saucing chocolate cake / chocolate “cobbler” for dessert tonight. Used the NYT recipe, checking the Dessert For Two recipe for differences. I used kefir instead of sour cream, and I just picked up eggs and haven’t finished the last dozen, so I used the egg per the NYT (D42 is eggless, which will be helpful when I make this for my many vegetarians).
My outcome was a bit of a structural fail in that the cake layer did not separate, even though there was cake and there was sauce. But absolutely delicious! I added rum (you may be noticing a pattern with that) and it was stellar. Accompanied by vanilla ice cream, and the hot + cold + chocolate sauce was wonderful.
Also baked a test batch of Kerala bakery puffs (like Chinese or Malaysian curry puffs, but Indian seasoning and more filling) for my friend’s mom who had been craving them (she spent all of brunch 2 weeks ago reminiscing about them to me 
). I cut a sheet of puff in half lengthwise to make 8, and then decided to make mini spirals from the other half. (Also used ground turkey to make the kheema filling, bec my friend doesn’t eat red meat and she asked me to use chicken or turkey so can try them.)
I’m saving the puffs for her mom, but I took the spirals with me as an extra app tonight, and they were really good with the extra spice from some chilli paste I spread on the dough and the tiny bit of melty cheese I added to bind the ground turkey and prevent it from falling out.
I’ll make the rest of the puffs tomorrow before I go over for a visit. Will adjust the spicing for the rest of the ground turkey before that.
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Oh, those spirals! They look delicious, and are exactly the reason why I can’t keep puff pastry in the house. 
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My mother’s recipe for this, which was known as chocolate pudding cake, doesn’t use eggs and in fact is pretty lean, made just with milk. (Hers differs from most in that the cake part itself isn’t chocolate, but flavored with vanilla and cinnamon.) Now I’m getting nostalgic for this dessert I grew up with.
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Secretly vegan chocolate chip cookies from Ovenly Cookbook. These are outstanding!! I add 1t of vanilla.
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I’m seeing more recipes including cottage cheese for protein.
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Last night I made the Milk Bread from Valerie Bertinelli’s “Indulge” cookbook. Her pretzel dough is currently rising on the counter.
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I love that recipe!
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That’s what the Dessert For Two version is — milk and no eggs. I’m going to try a single serving sometime soon.
I also called it chocolate pudding cake last night — no one knew what the outcome was supposed to be, and the descriptor fit.
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I usually don’t use puff unless it’s to take somewhere.
Usually when I make spirals, I use the whole sheet. Yesterday I used one sheet cut in half lengthwise, and really liked the bite-sized outcome. I was worried about filling ratio, but it wasn’t a problem.
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Heres another site i just came upon. Situated in Toronto. Prices for chocolate are resonable.
Biscuits Rose. These are a tradition biscuit served with champagne in the Champagne region. Although on our visits we never had any though lots of champagne. They are like a crisp lady finger. Color coming from 1/8 teaspoon of some powder dye I use for macarons. We had them with a Niagara, Ontario Trius BrutVGA(prime sparkling wine). Our impression was that the biscuit mellowed the dryness of the wine. Recipe is from Baking with Dorie.
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