100% vegan, soy-free, made from scratch
UPDATE: My desserts are no longer available at M.O.B. Please sign up for my mailing list for the most updated locations where my cakes can be found, or contact me to place an order. Thanks!
M.O.B. Opening Night Party, a set on Flickr.
Last week’s opening was crazy! I am so excited to see interest in this amazing restaurant building.
Check out these pics of my cakes and some behind-the-scenes action in the kitchen on that very busy night.
Thank you to Sarah Peltier, Pine Box Rock Shop, the vendors, and the shoppers who made the Vegan Shop Up such a lovefest. Between slinging mac ‘n’ cheese and finding excuses to leave my table to find snacks, there was little time to document the festivities. But a few favorites can be seen above.
If only there had been time to visit every vendor and sample every delicious morsel.
The first moments were torturous–after all the vendors had set up, but before the rush of shoppers had descended. Rows of flaky, golden brown croissants–still puffed from the oven–were neatly arranged in rows on the Champs Bakery table. Glistening raw chocolate truffles caught the midday light from a nearby window and distracted me as I rushed past the One Lucky Duck station. Rumors of a six-foot long sandwich somewhere in the back room circulated. But as a vendor, I was preoccupied with my own setup, and had to wait to dive into the cornucopia of hard-to-find, here-today-gone-tomorrow goodies.
From Vegan Bodega’s Bee-Free Honey to Gone Pie’s amazing Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, all my one-of-a-kind favorites were there. In addition, there were some amazing newcomers, including the most beautiful handmade sprinkles you have ever seen–naturally colored AND flavored–from Scintilla Microconfections….and the most happenin’ party my mouth has had all year provided by a Dark Chocolate Mint Cake Bite from Cake Bites NYC.
If only Valentine’s Day happened every month.
(Photos of my mac ‘n’ cheese and sweet treats coming soon.)
Earlier this month, I taught a holiday confections class at The Brooklyn Kitchen. We made peppermint caramels, maple-glazed hazelnut halva, sugarplums (my favorite) and chocolate toffee brittle.
When I teach, it feels like I learn just as much as the students. For example, while demonstrating the caramel recipe, I became distracted (talking + cooking = sweat) and added the coconut milk all at once. It was supposed to be in two parts; one at the beginning and the rest after the mixture reached 230 degrees. So we also made a second, true-to-recipe batch.
It wasn’t necessary–the first one turned out perfectly.
I should have pretended to do it on purpose. Earlier, I’d told the class how it’s a misconception that baking/pastry/dessert-making is an “exact science.” On the contrary, my best discoveries are sometimes made through improvisation, tinkering and mistakes–and this was a perfect example.
Sugarplums (left) & maple-glazed hazelnut halva (right). Thank you to Nashville Wraps for the perfect, 100% recycled candy boxes.
Later in the class, one of the students added some whole hazelnuts to a bowl of confectioner’s sugar to make the maple glaze. I caught her just before she was going to add the syrup and vanilla. After explaining that the hazelnuts were to decorate after glazing, she fished them out of the sugar and placed them aside.
After glazing, each piece of halva was topped with a hazelnut–now coated with a light layer of confectioner’s sugar. The result was more beautiful, elegant halva. The sugar gave the candy a snowy, wintry look and a French patisserie feel.
Just like mutations create beneficial properties so that species can evolve, a chance mistake caused an unforseen improvement I never would have thought of otherwise. Next time I make this recipe, I will incorporate this new step.
Thank you students! You have no idea how much you inspire me.
