After teasing me with a constant peekaboo of rain and shine, spring seems to have finally arrived to stay. Of course, this means that sunny days are spent slaving in class and weekends that should be spent snoozing on grass go by with me cursing the cloudy/windy/rainy weather. But it still brings a smile to my face to see a patch of bright, blue sky as I climb out of the subterranean domain we call the metro or to lick an ice-cream cone without shivering into my jacket. (What, you don’t eat ice-cream in the winter?)

I read in a book recently that we seem to have lost the fine art of doing nothing, and I definitely agree. If we’re not working, we’re rushing around in the pursuit of being entertained. Parties, movies, dinners, shopping, museums, the constant urgency to ‘do’ something – it can get exhausting. And of course, we now have the added pressure of instantaneous updates on Twitter/Facebook/Google+/… because if it’s not posted online, how would anyone know how much fun we had? Would it even be real if we didn’t Instagram it? I love my online world as much as the next person (I mean, I write a blog after all!), but some days I like to disconnect and just breathe. And spring provides a great inspiration to do just that. On my way back home a few days ago, I found myself slowing down my pace from a brisk stride to a slow saunter. I took a little detour to one of my favorite places in the middle of bustling Paris – Square du Vert Galant, a pretty square at the tip of the Île de la Cité in the middle of the Seine.

At this time of the year, there is peace to be found here and I love to sit and watch the sunlight create dappled patterns on the water and the weeping willow bend as if reaching down to meet the river. Boats with happy tourists glide by and I wave back to them – their enthusiasm is infectious. The Notre Dame and the Pont Neuf rise majestically on one side, and the magnificent buildings of the right bank glow with the light of the setting sun on the other. I hug my copy of Before Sunrise/Before Sunset, the scripts of my favorite movies the perfectly apt company for this lovely spring evening.

I come home, completely refreshed and inspired to bake my spring welcome – citrus cupcakes. I have always associated citrus flavors with spring – the fragrance always transports me to warmer climates, the picture of lemons warming under the sun and trees bending under the weight of oranges and sunlight. And while it is easy to find macarons in a rainbow of colors in Paris, a moist, flavorful cupcake is more difficult to come by. So obviously, you make your own.

These cupcakes are moist and tender with buttermilk and refreshing with grated zests of lemon and orange. I kept the cupcakes simple with a lemon-almond cream cheese frosting (I don’t like butter-cream, but that’s a personal preference). But there are many other variations that I would like to try with these – lemon curd, a dollop of raspberry jam baked in the center, blueberries, blackcurrants, a pairing with lavender…

The last time I made these cupcakes, I topped them with these colorful little butterflies, which I made with melted chocolate wafers. (The method comes from my favorite cupcake book Hello, Cupcake! and can also be found here.) The butterflies are not essential to the enjoyment of these cupcakes, which are great on their own, but they certainly pretty up the spring scene, don’t they?

Happy Spring, everyone!

Citrus Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰F (175⁰C). Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
4. Whisk in the eggs, one by one, beating until incorporated before adding another.
5. Add vanilla, zests and lemon juice beating only till combined.
6. Switch the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk beating only till combined.
7. Divide batter evenly among the lined cups filling each 3/4 full. Bake in the pre-heated oven rotating baking tin halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, about 20-25 mins.
8. Cool the cupcakes completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe adapted from Epicurious

2 cups confectioners sugar (add another 1/2 cup if you would like it sweeter)
4 oz (120 gm) cream cheese, softened at room temperature and cut into cubes
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional; you can also use vanilla)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1. Make sure the cream cheese is softened before starting. (If like me, you forget to take it out of the refrigerator until the very last minute, cut it into cubes and microwave it for 10 seconds.)
2. Sift the sugar over the cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 mins). Beat in the almond extract, lemon zest and juice just until incorporated.

Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting. Use a small offset spatula (I just use a spoon sometimes), to spread the frosting, starting from the middle and working your way towards the edges in a circular motion.

Sometimes I get the feeling that my life revolves around food. Well, now that I’m going to pastry school in Paris, I guess it kind of does. But even before I came here, I remember planning trips that centered around places I wanted to eat at or markets I wanted to visit. (In the middle of planning one such vacation, my friend informed me that his roommate, who was coming along, was “not such a big food person”. I distinctly remember my brain screeching to an unceremonious halt. I take great pride in the fact that I converted a guy, who drinks 0.1% milk, into a waffle lover. With whipped cream, strawberries AND pure maple syrup. Have you ever seen the look on a Canadian waiter’s face when asked for sugar-free syrup? Try it sometime!) If you’re reading this blog, you probably understand my obsession with food. Now imagine living in Paris surrounded by 47 other people who are similarly obsessed! It’s like meeting people who finally understand your language (and don’t think you are at least a little crazy when you marvel over the beauty of purple carrots).

I had the pleasure of sharing a Sunday brunch with such friends recently. One of the greatest joys of living in Paris is the easy access to several open-air markets with products so fresh, you need to do the bare minimum to let their flavors shine. One of the most famous is the Bastille market, which also has the added advantage of being open on Sunday when most other places in Paris are closed. As I waited for my friends for our little market rendezvous and took in an impromptu music performance, my fingers inched towards my camera as usual. But this time I decided to forgo recording the experience and give the market the undivided attention it deserved. (I promise to go back soon for another post dedicated wholly to the market.)

We walked around taking in the fresh produce, oozy cheeses, sizzling rotisserie chickens, bright olives, fragrant tapenades, glistening seafood; buying this, choosing that, practicing our rudimentary French with the vendors. Even though we were buying food to go home and prepare a Sunday brunch, none of us could resist stopping at the crepe stand and sampling a crepe (each) for breakfast. (“We need the energy to haul all this stuff home!” You can see why I love these people.)

Shopping complete, it was time to prepare the food for the feast. This is how you do a fabulous Sunday brunch with minimum effort:

1. Rendezvous with your friends at the market.

2. Let the fresh produce inspire you (and try to resist buying everything you see).

3. Come home, turn on the radio, gather around the kitchen table and cook, gossip, laugh and sing along.

4. Oh, don’t forget the wine.

And if spring/summer has arrived in your city as it has here, you can take your ready-to-eat-or-assemble goodies to the park and have an old-fashioned picnic on the grass.

Bon Appetit!

Colorful carrots, roasted peppers and sundried tomatoes need no gilding.

Dips are easy and fun – avocado, hummus, parsley go well with flat bread or pita.

A good loaf of cereal bread will never let you down.

Cherry tomatoes, greens and a drizzle of vinaigrette make for a vivid and fresh plate.

Forgo the potato salad laden with mayo for a sweet-potato salad with capers and olive oil (recipe below).

And how can you forget the cheese? With encouragement from ma cherie Masha, I was bold enough to pick cheeses I had never tried before. I think I hit the jackpot with a creamy slice of Mont d’Or Coupe, Fromage aux Noix – a soft cheese with walnuts and the slightly crumbly Chaource. (Thanks to her, I have also become addicted to a breakfast of cereal bread and soft cheese drizzled with honey. Try it!)

What better way to end an amazing meal than a beautiful, golden rotisserie chicken. We bought ours at the market (and given the aromas that paper bag was emanating, it’s a wonder it made it’s way home intact), but you can make a fabulous roast chicken at home – step-by-step recipe here.

Sunday’s almost here. What are you waiting for?

Sweet Potato Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Capers
Recipe adapted from the very talented Masha
(Note that the quantities here are more suggestions and you can modify them as per your taste.)

1 pound sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped capers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped dill
1/2 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash the potatoes and put them in a saucepan with enough water to cover them by 1/2 an inch. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and cook on a simmer until the potatoes are tender and a sharp knife pierces through them easily. Drain the potatoes in a colander and cool slightly. Peel the potatoes as soon as they can be handled and mash gently with a fork. (You don’t want a mashed potato puree but enough texture as shown in the picture.)
2. Mix the potatoes in a bowl with the sun-dried tomatoes and capers; avoid crushing the potatoes.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and toss the potatoes gently with the dill, parsley, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.

Color, color, which color do you want?

{Reminder of a silly game I used to play as a kid. Culmination of two days of making macarons in school.}

I love how you can be walking out in the cold and suddenly, a sight like this takes your breath away. An amazing end to a perfect Sunday.

{Taken from Pont Neuf, Paris}

If you are in Paris in winter, it won’t be long before you are hit by a very strong craving for hot chocolate or le chocolat chaud. One of life’s simplest and greatest pleasures can be found in a cup as you wrap your fingers around it to ward off the winter chill and inhale the heady aroma of pure, dark chocolate. The hot chocolate in Paris bears no resemblance to the bland, instant blends you find elsewhere. It is rich and seductive and requires you to close your eyes for a brief moment to experience and acknowledge the true bliss contained in a single sip.

So where in Paris can you find that perfect cup? In one month I’ve done a fair bit of research in this matter (all for the common good, of course). While there are many places that are mediocre, it is far easier to find a cup of good hot chocolate in Paris than it is to find a decent cup of coffee. (Don’t get me started on that!) Here is a list of my favorites so far in ascending order of preference. (Winter is almost over, but with the grey skies and rainy weather, I’m sure I’ll be adding to this list soon.)

Le Loir dans la Théière

How can you not be charmed by a café whose name is dedicated to the dormouse that gets dunked in a teapot in Lewis Carroll’s fascinating ‘Alice in Wonderland’? If you get tired walking around the lively Marais neighborhood, step into this charming tea salon for a well-deserved break. The hot chocolate comes steaming in a copper kettle and you can enjoy it with one of the wonderfully home-style desserts that the café is famous for.

While the hot chocolate is very good, it will admittedly not take your breath away. What completes it is the relaxed vibe of the place with furniture that looks like it was picked up at a flea market and walls peppered with posters and announcements of local events.

There are no fussy desserts that look like miniature art pieces; instead, you’ll find comfort in plum clafoutis, chocolate-mascarpone tart or their mile-high lemon meringue tart. They also serve a good lunch as well as a very popular brunch on the weekend, which also means that you’ll be waiting in line outside the door. You might want to go late in the afternoon – have a chat with old friends or take a favorite book along – Alice in Wonderland maybe?

Angelina

This place needs no introduction – it is a venerable institution in Paris and a pilgrimage here is as important as the one to go see the Eiffel. You’ll recognize the place easily not just by the banners hanging outside the door but also by the line that snakes down the sidewalk. Thankfully, the line moves along quickly and you are soon inside gaping at the swanky interiors and standing just a little bit straighter as you wait to be escorted to your table. Contrary to what I had imagined, the service is not starched and stuffy. (Our waiter, a grand old man in pristine black and white, cheerfully obliged as four girls handed him their cameras for a group shot, joking that nobody wanted his picture.)

The hot chocolate is served with flourish and accompanied by French whipped cream (which I could eat by itself). It is rich and luxurious, much like the place, and some of my friends voted it as the best hot chocolate they’ve had. And while it was indeed excellent, frankly, it was a little too much for me – after a few sips, I felt like I was drinking ganache straight up and I couldn’t finish my cup. (My friend sneaked the remaining portions into her water bottle – she got me a ‘doggy bottle’ from Angelina! And I love her for it!) We also had a round of desserts (that and the huge lunch we had previously might have had something to do with not draining our cups of every last drop), but the pastries were a hit-and-miss. The ‘Tartelette Eva’ (dark chocolate and raspberry ganache) and ‘Carla’ (candied chestnut mousse, blueberry jelly) were excellent, but the puff pastry in their classic Millefeuille tasted stale and the signature Mont Blanc (meringue, chestnut puree) failed to live up to its reputation.

So should you go? Absolutely! It is the complete experience at Angelina that makes it what it is – the history, the ceremony, and of course, the hot chocolate.

L’Ebouillante

I might have a slight bias towards this cozy café located on a pretty cobbled street just off the river Seine, because it was my first in Paris, but take a look at that brilliant blue facade and tell me that you could resist stepping in. I couldn’t and it was love at first sight. Cozy interiors, blue vases on window sills, cushioned benches, windows that look out to ivy-covered stone buildings and my personal favorite hot chocolate in Paris so far – what’s not to love? (I went back with some friends for the sole reason of corroborating my research, of course, and they were immediately won over too.)

The hot chocolate comes in a big bowl – and it is literally that – hot chocolate. To this you add milk as per your preference – so you can make it as rich as you want. Their desserts are made in-house and the lunch menu looks promising, even though I haven’t tried it. (I did steal glances at what others were eating and it looked good.) The café has a casual vibe (I prefer the upstairs) and summer promises tables out on the pretty cobblestones. I can’t wait!

Le Loir dans la Théière
3 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris (Map)
01 42 72 90 61
Metro: Saint-Paul
Open Daily

Angelina
226 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris (Map)
01 42 60 82 00
Metro: Tuileries/Concorde
Open Daily
Website

L’Ebouillante
6 Rue des Barres, 75004 Paris (Map)
01 42 71 09 69
Metro: Saint-Paul/Hôtel de Ville
Open Daily

If only the world would listen.

{Taken at the Europain Exposition 2012, the biggest exhibition dedicated to the art of bread and pastry that I have ever seen.}

Happy Birthday to my dear friend! I owe you a birthday cake. Your favorite again?

{Chocolate-Cappuccino Charlotte Cake}

An event that combines what Parisians (and I) love to do best – socializing, shopping, eating, drinking…

{Taken at the Brunch Bazaar, Feb 2012, Paris}

A winter’s day view of the Notre Dame.

{Taken at the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris}

The last time I had a “first day at school”, the year was 2001, Apple had just released the iPod, Wikipedia had just gone online, the first Harry Potter movie had just been released and I sat surrounded by other Math/Science geeks as we took in our first engineering class. A lot has changed since then and if someone had told me on that day that 11 years later, I would be in Paris sitting in a classroom excited to begin a new phase in the world of pastry, I would have probably thought they were crazy. But life has it’s own strange ways to set you on the right path and here I am now.

The first day of school dawned bright and clear. I was up before the alarm went off, too excited to sleep. I left the house with a spring in my step and five minutes later, I was at the Monoprix, Paris’s ubiquitous supermarket, buying fresh notebooks and pencils. (“Don’t forget your water bottle!” my friend joked on the phone.) I stepped into school and after getting lost twice, I finally entered a bright classroom to greet my classmates. I’m glad to say that they are an amazing group of people, who come from all over (S. Africa, Poland, California, Australia, Nicaragua, Taiwan, Belgium, Canada…), have varied backgrounds (architecture, education, finance, dance, design…), but are joined by one common thread – the love and passion for good food. It is an amazing joy to share this experience with so many like-minded individuals.

The first day was an orientation as we toured the school, visited our labs (or kitchens in regular terms), and got lost again and again in the maze of corridors. It was a little like being visitors at a very civilized zoo as we gawked at the chefs and students, who nonchalantly went about their work and tried to ignore the “tourists” with their cameras and awe-struck expressions. We were introduced to our chefs, one each for 12 students in Pastry A (that’s me) and Pastry B. The tour ended with us getting our tool-box and that very magical of all things – our chef’s jacket, each one customized and embroidered with our names in blue. I don’t think I have ever been more excited to receive anything. (The smartness of the jacket is unfortunately offset by the supremely non-glamorous hats that we are regulated to wear – they look more like shower caps, and none of us would be caught dead in them outside of the lab.)

The week began at a galloping pace that has refused to slow down – they don’t call it an intensive course for nothing. Our chef is an amazing guy, who makes even the most complicated things look effortless – blink your eyes and it’s done as he looks up with a twinkle and says “Any questions? No? Then – Allez – Go!” We have to of course, then try and match his beautiful masterpiece. He is a perfectionist, but also eccentric and fun – being in his lab is a little like being in a musical. There can be pin-drop silence in the lab as we concentrate on piping out perfect circles and suddenly we hear strains of “Somewhere over the rainbow…” Dialogue is punctuated by sound track and vigorous arm movements.  A day in the lab can be amazing or excruciating depending on how things are going, but it is never ever boring.

We began our first week with tarts, covering the basics of tart dough, making them by hand and by machine, lining, crimping, baking. If I thought I knew how to make tarts before, I could forget about it. Every little thing mattered and was critically scrutinized. “Your lining is not even.” “The angle of the crimp is wrong.” “You’ve overworked your dough.” I got used to all this until one day, the chef finally looked at my painstakingly lined tart shell and said “Pas mal” (not bad), which is high praise indeed and I could have cried happy tears. (I did cry two minutes later as I clumsily dropped and shattered my beautiful shell.) In two weeks, I have already made 12 tarts. I have tarts coming out of my ears and after making 3 of them, I don’t think I can eat another Tarte aux Pommes. I wish I could share my bounty with you all, but the very least I can do is treat you to a visual feast.

Chef’s Tarte aux Pommes:

Our huge oven and my very first attempt:

Flan and my friend’s artistic creation, who we named ‘Wilbur the Pig’:

Poor Wilbur had to be rechristened ‘Marie Antionette’ as his head melted in the oven:

Pears prepped for Tarte Bourdaloue:

Tarte Bordaloue (Pears and Almond Cream) and Tarte Amandine (Almond Tart):

This is how you get pretty lemon slices:

But be careful with that slicer!

Laying out perfect strips for Lintzer Torte, roll once with the rolling pin and Voila!

Lintzer Torte (Raspberry Jam and Almond Cream) and Tarte au Citron (Lemon Tart) – these are the chef’s. Let’s just say this was the beginning of my “Thou shall break thy tart crust” jinx.

My Tarte Dacquois (Dacquois, Vanilla Pastry Cream and Fresh Fruits):

Tarte Victoria (Pineapple, Pastry Cream and Hazelnut Praline):

Being in a pastry school can sometimes mean that you get to taste leftovers from Pierre Herme:

Or that you get to make the exact recipe for his Coffee Tart (this is the chef’s, mine is a tragic story I’ll save for another time):

Did I mention that I get to take an art class? This is the chef’s masterpiece:

And this is my attempt:

The course is intense and between pastry, boulangerie, art, French, history I can sometimes be in school at 6:30 am to only leave when it’s dark outside. I’ve burnt my hand, cut my finger and broken tart shells. It’s hard work and I sometimes return home with only enough energy to crawl into bed. But I know I can speak for everyone when I say that everyday, we are happy to be in class – because we chose to be here. You know you are in the right place when waking up early on a Monday morning does not depress you. I am happy to say – Monday blues begone!