The Brioche ATE The Charlotte Russe!!!

There are many many perks to being a pastry chefs husband. I'm talking hundreds thousands millions BILLIONS! One of the most awesome is that you get a phenomenal cake on your birthday. ALWAYS.

It was David's birthday today. I won't tell you how old he is but it's older than me. Heehee!!! I made him this Wednesday night:

Charlotte Russe

Lady fingers soaked in Sweet Luscious Blood Orange juice line the bottom & sides. It is filled with a Blood Orange Bavarian Cream (A DIVINE stabilized whipped airy fragrant melt-in-your-mouth taste of Pure & Total BLISS) & piped decos in Belgian Chocolate Ganache.

Somehow, I always manage to make him believe this is the year he won't get a cake. He falls for it EVERY time! So when I came out with this for breakfast he was pleasantly shocked:

I told him he got 3 wishes when he blew out the candles. But I've since taken them away as he wouldn't allow me to take his photo whilst he blew out the candles. :-P



The cake was 10" in diameter & roughly 4" tall. It would have easily served 24 people. I gave 2 slices to my Aunties & 2 slices to my Mum. Brioche had one piece minus the chocolate, of course. D & I had a tiny taste each.

*Insert Deep Echoing Evil Laughter Here*

This is what's left:

The SWEETBOX

YAY! Another happy SWEETBOX recipient has blogged about her goodies!!!

I'm sure you all remember Katy, who visited our shoppe in July.

She sent me a box filled with German chocolate & candy for my birthday, so I had to send her a Birthday SWEETBOX.
Read her post HERE.

She got some of these.
I wonder if she ate any yet?

Dramatic Colour

Enticing Close-Up

A Grandiose Top

Gum paste (full blown) roses painted with deep shades of shimmery 'petal dust'. I made the Lily of the Valley. Royal icing was meticulously piped on thin green floral wire & left to air dry overnight. The leaves are tinted French buttercream.

Last Second Details

Here I am piping a few finishing touches after delivery. I hope you can see me clearly as I was shivering. Why, you ask? Well, the reception was outside & unfortunately it was chilly & raining. The whole drive there (about 30 minutes) D & I were desperately wishing for the sun to come out for this VERY SWEET couple!!!

The Lovely Bride

Awww! I don't know which one is prettier! The bride or the cake? OH! I see.....they compliment each other! :-) I do believe that in 13.5 years of business, this is the FIRST photo I have of a bride & her cake! Thank you Gina! (Aren't her shoes cute, too?!!?)

Parting Shot

I have to give you flavours! They picked some fantastic combinations!
Red Velvet Cake w/ White Chocolate Mousse
Devil's Food Cake w/ Dark Sweet Cherry Buttercream
Poppyseed Cake w/ Blackberry Buttercream
Devil's Food Cake w/ Mocha Buttercream

WELL???
Tell me what YOU think!!!

Check It Out!

jintrinsique was chosen as the "Small Business Blog of the Day" over at Pajama Market on September 13th! I got a pretty snazzy review, as well! YAY! I didn't want to direct everyone over until I had finished the accompanying interview. So, go read & then comment people!!! Here & there. I'm greedy with those comments, remember?!!?

In other news I have been busy trying to finish the Uniquely Yours Photo Blog. It now has hundreds of photos as well as many descriptions, prices & shippable pastry options. Nearly every picture I have ever posted on jintrinsique is over there, divided into 10 categories. Let me know what you think!

Oh, yes yes yes yes yes...I didn't forget.
Here are your Gratuitous Food Porn Shots:

Caramel Apple Muffin 'Crowns'


Halloween Cut-Out Frosted Cookies

You are now ALL under my Spell ;-)

"The Black Pearl"

This is one of the TOP 5 BEST things that I make. Seriously. If I give you one of these you'll do anything I ask for ALL eternity. Do you want to see the center? Ok, I'll have to take a bite of one so I can show you. Just a sec.....

MMMMMmmmmmmm............O ! M ! G ! This tastes PHENOMENAL!!! The center is a soft Belgian chocolate ganache infused with ginger, pure wasabi powder & organic black pepper. It's dipped twice in dark Belgian chocolate, then rolled in crunchy toasted organic black & natural sesame seeds. One truly CANNOT imagine the pleasant sensation it leaves on your tongue. You simply MUST come by sometime for a taste.
P.S. I ship these throughout November & December. ;-)


This cake went out Friday night. Isn't it pretty? Simple & elegant. A rarity occurred as well. I KNOW the bride was thrilled before I even delivered it. She came in to bring the flowers & was given a sneak peek. She LOVED it!


Doesn't look like much you say? Hrmph! Inside is a 3 layer carrot cake chock full of ground raisins, pineapple, walnuts & coconut. One layer was cream cheese filling & one layer was toasted walnut French buttercream filling. This baby serves around 75 people. It's 12" x 18" (5.5" tall). I made 4 of these yesterday.

Hazelnut Cream filled brownies glazed with Belgian Chocolate.


Key Lime Tarts in Graham Cracker Shells


Mini Tiramisu Cheesecakes just out of the oven!


Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes still in the oven!


Like mini bites of nutty chewy gooey pecan pie!


Mascarpone Mousse Tarts w/glazed Dark Sweet Cherry

This was Saturday's wedding cake.
Think it looks a little plain?

Ok, I'll add the topper.

Still something missing?

Let's see.....I'll put a flower here & another flower there.

VOILA!

So, do I deserve to be tired tonight? Do you want to know how many people I served this weekend? Just a minute, I'll add it up..........

..........DAMN! One thousand one hundred & eleven. That would mean: 1,111 pieces of my cake, desserts & truffles were consumed in 2 days. It probably took me 2-1/2 days to make them all. Plus I made extras...you know, for tasting! jin's get really hungry on Sunday's!

ANTICIPATION

I will have a FANTASTIC post for you tomorrow evening!
- A gorgeous wedding cake that went out today
- A beautiful wedding cake that gets delivered tomorrow
- Truffles (The Black Pearl!!!)
- Mini Fruit Tarts
- Little Cheesecakes
just to name a few!!!

That's all you get for tonight! I just didn't want any of my blogfans to think I forgot about you!!! Well...how about one gratuitous cake shot? But ONLY 1!!!

Ohhhh..... Mr. Postman!

I know everyone LOVES their postman.
But some people really get carried away!

See these cookies? They're just the 'Bee's Knees' aren't they?!!? I hear there was this chick in Canada on Tuesday that went "Postal" about a box that came in the mail. It involves chocolate AND there are pictures. Read about it HERE.




I was also told about a similar incident deep in the South. This guy supposedly stopped the Mail Delivery Truck with his outstretched arms! He rifled through the boxes until he found his, then proceeded to eat most of the treats without any photographic documentation! Read about the goods HERE.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Proof that shipped goodies from me are just as good as visiting my shoppe in person. Ok, that was an outright LIE!!! HAHAHA!!! Of course it's better to visit me IN PERSON! I'm a REALLY COOL jin! (Trust me, I should know!!!) But if you absolutely positively can't make it here, then a SWEETBOX from Uniquely Yours will just have to suffice!

It's My Birthday!

Do you think that means there will be some pics of a fantabulous cake that I've made myself?
NOT!!!

I refuse to make a cake for myself. In all fairness, if I beg & ask & pout a LOT, D will make me an ice cream cake (which I adore). I didn't think I needed one this year, so I never said anything. STUPID!!!! :-P

This afternoon I decided that I wished I would have told someone to make me hinted for a cake. But, alas...twas too late. 2:00 PM already. Suddenly I heard the front door open. It was a delivery! A package for ME!!!

Here I am opening the box.
I was so surprised to have someone snap my photo!
I wish I would have had time to pose nicely! TeeHeeee!

See! I told you it was for me! The card was really cute!
It was from Katy & she sent:

ALL THIS CHOCOLATE FOR ME!!!!

Yummy German candies & chocolates!!!

I opened this one RIGHT AWAY!

MMMMmmmmmmmm....I restrained myself.
I only ate half. Ohhhhhhh.....it was DE-LI-CIOUS!!!!

For those that weren't blogfans yet,
Katy is the FIRST blogfan that visited
my shoppe in person after travelling
a GREAT distance!!!
Read the story HERE.

THANK YOU KATY!!!
:-D

Tiramisu et al.

Here I offer you 3 different ways to make Tiramisu.
(For the record, one of miss jin's absolute favourites!)

WAY #1

Fill Snobinettes with ladyfingers soaked in strongly brewed Organic coffee. Drink the rest of the coffee in the pot before you proceed or they won't turn out! Eat any of the snobinette cups that are broken. If none are broken accidentally damage a few when no one is watching you. Eat them. Damage more if necessary before moving on to the next step.

(Coffee soaked ladyfingers in snobinette cups.)

Next whip up some Mascarpone with Turbinado sugar, heavy cream, a sprinkle of Dutch cocoa powder & real Vanilla. BTW-don't ask me for 'quantities'. I wouldn't know...it's one of those "little bit 'o this" & "a little bit more 'o that" kind of things! Just keep tasting it! When it tastes good, it's finished! (If you eat it all, just start over!) Pipe it on the soaked ladyfingers & top with a Belgian chocolate deco. Voila!

Way #2

Follow all of the above instructions using ramekins instead of the snobinettes. Alternate several layers of the ladyfingers with the whipped mascarpone mixture. Make sure your ramekins are large enough to serve 2-3 people. Then serve ONE to EACH guest. I call these David & jinny size portions. *Insert EVIL laughter HERE*

(Best served with tea but only if you have a funky tea kettle like I do! ;-)

Way #3

This is by far the easiest method. Pick up your telephone. Call Uniquely Yours Pastry Shoope LLP. Order the Tiramisu. Pick them up. YAY! Eat & ENJOY!!!

Wait...what's that?!!? You like cheesecake, too? Well then it's your lucky day!!! Try these:

(Mini Tiramisu Cheesecakes in shortbread. 1" in diameter & topped with a chocolate coffee bean.)

.....or were you thinking more along the lines of JUST CHOCOLATE? Then how about a triple chocolate fudge bar topped with freshly whipped cream?

Hmmm...still not your thing? You're PICKY! Last chance. This is an old-fashioned cheesecake in a mini cinnamon graham cracker shell topped with a raspberry glazed dark sweet cherry half.

I have to finish this post with a note on "sliced Tiramisu". You know the kind, when you go into a restaurant & they have a huge pan (sometimes round sometimes square) full of Tiramisu dessert that they give you a SLICE of.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!!!!!!!!!

Tiramisu should ALWAYS be in a glass or dish or mini chocolate cup!!! NEVER a slice!!! Never ever!!! It's just WRONG!!! Repeat after me: "I will only eat Tiramisu in single serving self contained vessels.

Thank you. I'm so relieved now. *SIGhhhhh....*

CHOCOLATE CALLETS

I need to cover that last sad post with a satisfying chocolate feel good type of post. I have made thousands of these:

(I have eaten, most likely, hundreds of pieces, too. *BLUSH*)


This is the chocolate I use in them.
During a slow month I go through these 2 bags:

(Notice I cut my face out! LOL! The bags started to slip & I looked weird!)

During the month of December I usually go through around 8 bags of this plus several bags of a different brand of chocolate (an even higher quality for the truffles I create).

However, I think I have a very tall sneaky British mouse batting about my shoppe. Handfuls of chocolate seem to be disappearing on a very rapid basis. I wonder if I should call in Jane Tennison?

Gratuitous Cake Shot
(I just thought this was a cool angle!)

Emotional Impressions (Warning, this is a Sad one.)

I totally believe that what you put into something is what others get out of it. 99% of the time I LOVE what I do, the things that I create & the joy I bring to people who BLISS OUT after one small bite.

Ever see "Like Water For Chocolate"? You know the scene. The one where they cry while preparing the food, then everyone who eats it starts crying.....I had one episode like this. For real. I've not been able to write about it yet & it's nearly a year already. This is also the first time I'm posting pics of this particular wedding cake. I've never shown them to anyone. They aren't in my portfolio, either.

It was last October 1st, a Saturday. I had an Open House, many orders & one unique wedding cake to serve several hundred people. One of those weekends where I go to sleep at 2 AM-ish & wake up at 5 AM-ish.

I was home at a little after 1 AM. My Australian Shepherd, Bella, always came out to greet D & I when we got home. Sometimes it would require a call from each of us, but she always came out from her bed in the back of the house. Well, she wouldn't come out for us, but I heard her tags jingle & figured she was just tired. Once in bed, I heard the pitter patter of her paws & contemplated checking on her, but I fell asleep first. I awoke at 4AM. First thing I did was go over to Bella, sprawled out on the floor & gave her a kiss. She didn't move. I knew. Damn it, I knew right away. It didn't stop me from shaking her repeatedly & screaming her name. She was only 5 years old & in good health (or so we thought).

She waited until I got home. Then she went to sleep & never woke up. She had the most peaceful, beautiful look on her face. Her eyes were closed & she was smiling. I woke D up & told him, crying my eyes out with a severe migraine coming on. He didn't believe me. That made it worse, he thought he was having a bad dream. He went over & tried to wake her up.

We decided to go to the shoppe & open, setting everything up so our helpers could take over from there, then go & buy a tree when the landscape company opened & bury her in the back yard next to it.

I am the ultimate when it comes to obligation. I have never, & would never cancel a wedding cake under any circumstances, including this one. D & I got the shoppe going, finished up a few orders & left at 10AM for the tree. I think I'll skip the rest of the details because I'll just start crying otherwise. Suffice it to say, she was buried & the tree was planted by noon. I had to get back to the shoppe to finish the wedding cake.

I had frosted & decorated the top tier with my tears flowing non-stop & a full-blown excruciating migraine. It still looked good! HA! Some of my most gorgeous cakes were created when I felt my worst, go figure?!

The decos were solid Belgian Dark Chocolate with golden leaf imprints.

A dear customer came in just after I finished everything. I told her what happened, she gave me a hug & said, 'The last thing you need to be doing is making a wedding cake!' I replied, 'I can't stop crying. I just don't want everyone at the wedding to eat the cake & cry.' I was quite serious, although I think this lady didn't understand my thought process. *chuckles* She looked at me strangely.

I was worried about that. I knew it would look great & they would be pleased. I just didn't want to bring all my sadness into someone else's special 'happy' day.

The delivery was a good 20+ minutes away, & wouldn't you know it! I had to pull over a few times as the migraine progressed to that final stage of 'cookie tossing'. We made it there eventually, set everything up & D said he'd take pics. I didn't want any because I new they'd only remind me of Bella. He insisted. I suppose now, looking back, I'm glad that he did.

This last paragraph is for those of you that thought I was crazy with my 'silly' worries about crying while finishing the cake. The aunt of the groom was a friend of mine (BTW, she did NOT know what had happened with my Bella). She called a few weeks after the wedding to tell me how fabulous the cake looked & tasted. Everybody raved about it. Then she said, "I have to tell you this! I went over to see the cake first thing. It was so beautiful I had to make sure the bride saw it before everything got too crazy. I pulled her away from the photographers & took her to see the cake. The second she saw it she started crying. She thought it was perfect. Then I started crying. The two of us were standing in front of the cake table and crying! I don't know what came over us!"

Wonderful Weekend of WOW (!) Weddings!

"Marzipan Cherries & Cream"

For the record: each & every single marzipan cherry & leaf was hand-moulded & (food colour)painted by moi!

The top tier: White cake w/ raspberry French buttercream filling.
The middle tier: Poppyseed cake w/ lemon French buttercream filling.
The bottom tier: Devil's food cake w/ caramel creme filling.

Hard to tell from the pics, but it was decorated in 2 tones. All the frosting & top borders were in a deeper champagne colour while the bottom bead borders were in (slightly off)white.

A close-up of the cherries. If I do say so myself they looked AWESOME!!! (Sometimes I even amaze myself! ;-) I can't tell you how many people took a glance & said 'Oh! That's nice.' I replied with: 'The cherries are marzipan.' Then I got OOOh's & Ahhhh's! 'But, those aren't REAL cherries just put on the cake?!!?' HAHAHA!!! 'No!' *Insert jin grinning like a Cheshire cat & looking ridiculously pleased with herself!*

"A Pink Christmas in September"

The front view. Taken in an outdoor (VERY posh)tent. With lit-up Xmas trees EVERYWHERE!!! Fake snowflakes, too. What's the deal, you ask? This couple was married last December with no reception. They decided to have one yesterday, in the beautiful weather, with a funky pink Xmas theme! It all looked SO COOL! (HOT?!!?) Hahaha!!!

This is the 'Artsy Angle Shot'. All tiers were chocolate cake w/ dark sweet cherry French buttercream filling. The topper was created by moi. Royal icing piped into snowflake shapes & sprinkled with glittery sugar crystals.

Close-up of the snowflakes. I LOVE using these. (I'm not quite sure that I LOVE piping them! Very time consuming! LOL!) But they do look fantastic, don't they?!!?

Unfortunately, you don't get any pics of the Open House pastries. By the time I got 5 free minutes to run out & take photos (at about 10AM) everything was GONE! I kid you not! It was as busy as our Xmas Open House yesterday. Something in the air...? Yeah, probably the scent of Baklava wafting around Uniquely Yours!