scones

Triple Chocolate Scones

Triple Chocolate Scones excerpted from Kitten and the Bear Cookbook: Recipes for Small Batch Preserves, Scones, and Sweets from the Beloved Shop by Sophie Kaftal and Bobby Zielinski. Photography by Johanna Martin.

Kitten and the Bear Cookbook: Recipes for Small Batch Preserves, Scones, and Sweets from the Beloved Shop by Sophie Kaftal and Bobby Zielinski Inspired by turn-of-the-century American apothecaries, farmhouse living of the northern East Coast, and intimate British tea rooms, Kitten and the Bear is beloved for its cozy feeling of nostalgia, blue-ribbon collection of signature scones, and hand-crafted, small batch fruit preserves made using time-honoured cooking methods.

Sophie and Bobby, artisanal jam makers and co-founders of Kitten and the Bear, share a heart-warming collection of over 90 recipes to create your own sweet world of glistening jars of jams, jellies, and marmalades, and homespun delights from flaky buttermilk scone sand traditional spreads to savoury treats and hand-crafted drinks. Full of magical flavours and the comfort of home, the recipes range from Strawberry, Raspberry, and Cream Jam; Sunshine Peach Jam; Pink Apple and Lilac Blossom Jelly; Lemon Cream Marmalade; Morning Glory Scones; Blueberry Crumble Scones; and Orange Blossom Angel Food Cake with Fresh Peaches; to Savoury Cheese Sables with Cranberries and Walnuts; Clotted Cream and Potato Quiche; Lavender London Cream; and Baked Apple Toddy. Refined yet understated, the recipes in the Kitten and the Bear Cookbook were written to create homemade delights using easily accessible ingredients and equipment you already have in your pantry, while offering a thorough lesson in jam making theory and the art of preserving. (more…)

Book Review: Baking with less sugar by Joanne Chang

We could all use a little less sugar in our diet. Some need to lower sugar intake for health benefits, and others are baking for their children, who should be discouraged from worshipping sugar. I, for one, am not ready to totally ditch the sweet stuff. Thankfully there’s Joanne Chang, of Flour Bakery + Cafés in the Boston area. In her latest book, Baking with Less Sugar, she has completely reformulated Flour favourites with much less or zero refined white sugar.

The book’s five chapters tackle 60-plus recipes using minimal or no refined sugar. You’ll find the famous Flour banana bread made with only six tablespoons of refined sugar. Using natural sugar alternatives such as honey, maple syrup, chocolate, and fruit, make for more complex flavours and bring deeper, more interesting elements to the desserts. Keith’s Super-Snappy Gingersnaps derive some of their spicy snap from the bite of molasses, and a carrot layer cake is sweetened with apple juice. An entire chapter is devoted to chocolate, most intense when not tempered by the addition of sugar.

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Book Review: Williams-Sonoma Gluten-Free Baking

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I know what you’re thinking. I’ve succumbed to the ever-present fad that is gluten-free. Let me assure you that I have done no such thing. But for many people, living with a gluten intolerance or sensitivity is serious business.

According to the CDHF, more than 330,000 Canadians are believed to be affected by celiac disease (a condition where people’s immune systems react to gluten found in wheat, rye and barley). In the U.S., that number is a staggering 1 in 133 Americans, or about 1% of the population (according to the NFCA).

With the help of Williams-Sonoma, gluten-free expert and author Kristine Kidd released her eighth book, Gluten-Free Baking, featuring 80 recipes that are naturally gluten-free. Ms. Kidd is a gourmet chef and was the food editor at Bon Appétit magazine for 20 years. After adopting a gluten-free diet due to an intolerance, she set to work developing recipes in her own kitchen, exploring an array of gluten-free whole grains with the goal to create baked goods with great flavour and texture.

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