Puff Pastries: Inspired by miette

Hey guys, I lied a little.  Well no, I lied a lot.  Instead of properly preparing for Colombia by only eating lettuce and dustballs for the last three weeks, I have been eating big ol' burgers and  lots of  fancy artisan ice cream instead.  It's hot and ice cream is good okay?  Can ice cream be my spirit animal?  Is that possible?  Or just weird? Oh it's definitely weird... okay, I was just kidding anyway.

This last minute treat was completely justified though.  It was a baking date with the fair Rachelle and it allowed me to get some quality time in (with her and a toy I hadn't played with before) AND have something to blog out!  Win-win. She emailed me, suggesting eclairs and it only made sense to proceed with our endeavour since we had both bookmarked a recipe in our miette cook books ages ago.  I first went to miette  about two years ago and fell in love with their colors and decor, the whole shop and of course... the pastries!  We each have our own copies.  They both came in handy.

I was reminded of a very important life lesson on our date.  You can't always be perfect.  And that's okay because chocolate ganache and sprinkles can, in fact,  fix most anything.

This applies to broken hearts (obviously) or puff pastries.  But today I am talking about the latter.  Neither of us had made puff pastries before.  We certainly did not excel at our task.  We did quite a few things wrong, actually.

Our biggest mistake was assuming that we knew better than our cook book.  We were directed to pipe the puff pastry into 5x1 inch strips using a 1/2 inch diameter piping tip.  We used math and convinced ourselves that they must have meant TWO strips. Two strips of dough would bake itself together, right?

Wrong.  As evidenced above, we ended up with really big donuts... that could be divided into two.  Like one of those popsicles from childhood.  I get strawberry, you get orange but we break them in half and share!  Not much of a pretty sight to see.

And piping into them was much of a disaster since they didn't fluff up properly and we had to fill them in at least two places!  Pastry cream all over the place!  At least I got to use my cool little machine though...

Yet we had a great time laughing over our mistakes and then trying our best to fix them.  This is where we were saved by chocolate and sprinkles, the real heroes of today's story.

We zig zagged the ganache instead of dunking them.  (Bonus:  You can see the vanilla bean specks!)

We added some straight-from-miette sugar flowers to the prettiest ones.  ... and ta-dah.

We had eclairs!

We had cream puffs!

Sure there's a few flaws in them but thats okay!  At the very least TWO of them looked and photographed wonderfully,right?  ;)  Plus they were delicious. Just like an eclaire should taste like.   And we had an awesome afternoon.  We didn't let puff pastries defeat us!

I am quite confident that for our next date, Rach and I will master our technique and I will bring something even prettier to share!

xoxo,
Anna

(For the recipe, I encourage you to buy the miette book and follow the directions properly. I don't like to post exact recipes from books, nor will I post recipes when I don't think I have the recipe down enough.  Soon though, soon!)

It's the Details: Crown and Crumpet Review

It's the small details that make visiting Crown and Crumpet such an awesome experience.  I blogged about it earlier this week, and even linked you to pandippo's blog so you could check out my second visit there.  I raved about the lemon curd and the crumpets.  Oh the crumpets...

And now you get to see pictures from my first visit back in September!  An over abundance of pictures, at that.  You too will fall in love with it and want to go to San Francisco as soon as possible.  You'll want to bring your mom, sister, daughter, gay bff, mailman, husband, miniature schnauzer .  Because it is that adorable.

You'll also want to get dressed up in pretty dresses and take one million and one pictures.  Yes that many.

Crown and Crumpet Tea Salon is in the middle of Ghirardelli Square.  (Stop by Kara's for a cupcake, or get a sundae at Ghirardelli while you are there, trust.)  The minute you walk in you are hit with a wave of girly pink glee.  There are jeweled chandeliers,  floral table cloths, teapots and plates everywhere.

Their logo is a pink teapot in the shape of a teapot and it is plastered everywhere. Including the purse holder they provide for you upon request.  They sell these too and was so sad they were out of stock last time i went.

Of course, the main attraction is tea.  And tea we did have.  Three pots of it.

I recommend the Paris blend.  I had it both times, and everyone gave positive reviews.  But they have something like 5 pages full of tea options.  You seep it yourself.  And they have an adorable little teapot at the end of the chain.  See what i mean about the details???

You should definitely not forget to check underneath your tea cup, because the saucer is full of cute little sayings. And so is the back of your tea pot. 

"Gossip and scandal are the best sweeteners for tea" is the saucer that i ended up buying for myself as well.  But a close second  in the sweetener category would be the actual sugar.  Because they hide adorable little things in there for you as well.  Like a pretty pink crown.  

Seriously would could be better than spending an afternoon with the girls, gossiping and cheering to life with some tea?

Oh wait.  I just thought of something better.  All that PLUS food.

Did you just see that?  Three delightful little layers of small bites.  Light sandwiches in one, baked breakfast goods in the another, and sweet desserts in the last.  All three layers will be different each time you go, all are different from the table next to you. 

I saw my neighbors with cupcakes.  I was a little jealous.  I say only a little because i was too happy eating  discovering lemon curd to care THAT much.  They give you lemon curd, jam and butter. 

Just throw it on your warm out of the oven crumpet.  Eat it first.  Even before the sandwiches.  It's okay.  No one cares.  No one judges you.  It's expected.  It's encouraged.  It should be required.

Sorry to say, you will not be able to finish it all.  I know, sad.  And i mean for $26 bucks you want to finish it all.  But you will be able to hear the tea swishing about your belly as you walk anyways, so you will have bigger concerns.  (The bathroom's far and lines are crazy.  Pee before you sit down.)

But you can always just take some tea home.  Of course they sell it to you.  Why wouldn't they. HOW couldn't they?

Alas, if that's not in the cards for you perhaps you will be lucky and get a packet with your check instead?

You will save a buck.  Which means you can go to the gift shop and take pictures with a stuffed cupcake.

Or not.  That was probably just me...  I'm sure you will find something else to strike your fancy.   Like the teapots and saucers with the witty sayings.  Or mugs, or aprons... or cute little pink knick knacks you don't need at ALL... but HAVE to have.

Writing this blog post has REALLY got me craving a crumpet.  And a trip back!  I need to invent a reason to go back.  Soon.

xoxo,
Anna

14 Minute Walk to Yum: Cako Review

I went to Cako Bakery today.  They are on O'farell Street right off of Union Square and I am so glad that they are that far from me (14 minute walk, we timed it).  I am even more glad that you can't see their glowing pink store front sign from the main street... or my subconscious would be sabotaging me even more than it already is.  Because yeah, they're kinda yummy.

You can see my friend in the picture below.  I am pretty sure that he is walking away from the store, and me because I am embarrassing paparazzi on a cell phone camera taking pictures of EVERYTHING. 

The display case is full of real cupcakes.  Sprayed with who knows what to keep them looking alive and happy.  Here's some shots from the inside and outside. I see S'mores and red velvets and carrot cake!

So we got two cupcakes --S'mores and Pink Lemonade -- and then went across the street for lunch.  As you can see, my companion ripped into his before we even crossed the street.  Pretty!

I really really really liked mine.  A lot.  Raspberry cake, a lemon filling and lemon cream cheese frosting.  It was so good.  The cake was SO MOIST and thick.  I need to learn how to make my own version of this.

I didn't really like the S'mores one.  I mean, i think i make a pretty decent S'mores cupcake and this one was just okay.  Graham cracker crust, (but admittedly very moist) chocolate cake and marshmallow frosting.  I thought the frosting was too much.  And they could have filled it with some ganache.

My friend actually didn't even finish it.  He tossed most of it.  But since he has tasted mine, he felt that they could redeem themselves some.  ( I wish we could have exchanged them.)  He said he doesn't even like chocolate, but was lured in by it's appearance.  His fault for falling for slutty cupcakes right?    So when we went back inside after lunch it was no surprise his next choice was Strawberry Cheesecake.

It's a strawberry cake, graham cracker crust, cheese cake "filling" and a cream cheese frosting.  He loved it.  I liked my Pink lemonade more, but this was still really good too.  My only critique was that it was "filled" by putting a glob on the top rather than in the center.

They have a carrot cake i will have to try next.  Because I am sure there will be a next time, they are pretty darn solid. (Just skip the S'mores one.)  So much better than Cupcake Cove!  No crappy day old frosting.  But I still love me my CupKates.  ;)  

xoxo,

Anna

P.S.  I will be baking this weekend!  And its NOT cupcakes!  :) 

Give Me Back My Calories : Cupcake Cove Review

Le Sigh.  I hate it when i waste calories on things that aren't yummy.  Especially if i know i won't be headed to the gym that day.

And that's how i feel now, sitting at my desk at work reflecting on my lunch time cheat with Cupcake Cove in San Francisco's Financial District. 

I actually literally ran into this place two weeks ago when I went to Miette with a friend.  We had just had macaroons though, so we said we'd try these later.  And later was today.  I checked Yelp first and they got decent reviews, 4 stars.  But that was not our experience.

They do have a lot of flavors, which seem to change daily.  You can see their menu (and website)  here.  They also sell cookies - which i did not try.

The store front is TINY though.  No seats.  (Which is why all the pictures you will dirty SF streets in the background.)  It's okay though... because they give you your cupcake in a little plastic container fit for one cupcake.  ITS SO CUTE.  It looks a little like the cupcake carriers I got this year for Christmas.  I will have to try mine out ASAP!

In any case, the cupcake that was given to me in the cute plastic bubble was a Guava & Passion Fruit/Vanilla cupcake.

What this means, apparently is that its a Guava-Passion Fruit frosting on a plain Vanilla cupcake.

It's pretty.  My friend got a Coconut/Vanilla. Same thing.  Coconut frosting on a vanilla cupcake.

So far so good right?  Convenient location?  Check.  Variety? Check.  Cool flavors?  Check.  Pretty containers?  Check.

But I mean at three dollars a pop, it is a lot about how it tastes.  And I was underwhelmed.  For two reasons.  The first and most important is that is WAS three dollars for a cupcake whose frosting was wayyyyy dry.  As in I question if these were even today's cupcakes.  It was the same for both my Guava and my friend's Coconut.  The cupcake itself was all right, it was moist (enough) but the frosting was not up to par with what you can get in this area, what you can MAKE at home.   I could probably get a fresher cupcake at Walgreens... and that was the biggest issue for me.  It was at 1PM, they open at 11AM.  If you cant make them stay fresh for 2 hours, or even worse yet if you're giving me frosting you prepared earlier this week and shoved in the fridge to be used throughout the week?  Come on.  Really disappointing.

The second problem I had was the flavor combinations.   Let me explain.  All but one (maybe two) of the cupcakes there were EITHER a plain vanilla or a chocolate cupcake with a flavored frosting.  That's kind of taking the easy way out isn't it?  You're only baking two kinds of cakes and putting (old) flavored frostings on top?  No thanks.

That being said, the actual flavor of both of the cupcake frosting were not bad.  (If i wasn't totally aware that I was eating refrigerated 3 day old frosting, that is.)  The guava came through nicely, the coconut wasn't overwhelming and neither were sickeningly sweet.  If they had been FRESH I would have forgiven their lazy approach to baking.

But I bake cupcakes with 4-5 elements to them (cake, filling, frosting, garnish, sauces etc) so coupled with the old frosting issue, I cannot forgive Cupcake Cove.  Not when i have CupKates down the street.  The extra block is worth it anyways.  Burn more calories getting there?  Anyways, needless to say I will not be going back to Cupcake Cove anytime soon.  

xoxo,

Anna 

I Finally Went To miette!

I was going to be totally good this week.  And i was.. mostly.  But then a friend asked me to go to miette with him on our lunch hour.

You see, I don't know if i have mentioned this before but i work in downtown San Francisco. (The FiDi  to be exact.)  Most of the time, i'm grumpy because its early and i am at work and its cold.  It's always cold.  But every now and then i step outside and breathe in the SF air and actually take a look around and i realize what an awesome city it is.

I also realize this when i step out for a ten minute break and go shoe shopping.  I do that a lot, actually. 

So today instead of spending my lunch time shopping i got talked into going down to the Embarcadero, to the ferry building.  The ferry building houses a ton of cute little shops and restaurants and markets. 

Outside they even have a farmers market and food tents set up on certain days.  Yeah - it's the dead of winter right now and they are still there.  It's 62* and sunny in the city today.  Yeah you can be a little jealous.   Anyways, inside the ferry building is miette patisserie.  they are one of the places that i have been meaning to try.  it's one of those requirements of living in the bay that i somehow failed to meet.  

I was actually a little surprised by their store front.  I thought it would be a little bigger.  (I have been to the outside of the Oakland location and that one was bigger.)  But i guess i cannot be surprised.  All the shops there are pretty tiny.

But man what it lacks in size, it sure makes up for it in pure cuteness.  love at first sight.  i want to live there, real talk.

Everything is so adorable!  The cute little pastel cake stands are to DIE for and have convinced me to buy my own pink one later this month.

I love all the perfectly written signs and all the packaged sweets.

They have all sorts of goodies here.  They have cookies.  They have chocolate.  They have cakes.  They have whipped cream in a jar!  I honestly don't even know what that whipped cream in a jar thing is except that i want to photograph it. And eat it.

They also had birdies.  And you guys know me.  I love me my birdies.  These hold napkins.  WHERE CAN I FIND THIS IN REAL LIFE.  No, really.  WHERE???

They also have cupcakes.  Yummy looking ones at that.  HOWEVER i did not get one today!  Surprising, i know.

My trip to miette was not for the cupcakes though.  It was for the macaroons.  The friend i went with is a big fan.  And so i bought the ones below.  Well, not all the jars.  Just one of each.  (Blue Bottle) Coffee and Chocolate Orange.  He got three Hazelnuts.

Then we went outside to eat them.  Where i was once again reminded how awesome SF is.  I really need to start walking around the Embarcadero on my lunch time more.  Because the sights are admittedly much prettier than the mall is.  

 So back to the macaroons that were wrapped and sealed.  I love stickers.

They were good!  I was expecting more fruity flavors to be honest, so i was a little worried about my choices but i ended up liking them all.  The orange chocolate was interesting and took a minute to get used to, but they were still all really good.

I'd be interested in checking out more flavors though.  They seem to rotate them out.  So maybe in a few weeks?  And while i am there i could eat a cupcake too.  Oh and once, my co worker brought me back some chocolate covered gummi bears that were delicious... Want to join me?

xoxo,
Anna