Pate a Choux = Eclairs

So, like I said before, I am mostly self taught, but am definitely still learning! I have a couple days off this week and my goal is to make some eclairs. These pastries are basically pate a choux (choux pastry - same pastry is used to make cream puffs) piped out and filled with a pastry cream, topped with chocolate, of course! Seems challenging, but I think it's easier than it looks! I have never made these before, but have enjoyed them in the past. To date, the best ones I've had come from a little shop called 'Beard Papa's', located right here in lovely Vancouver! Anyways, I'll leave this short and sweet and next time you hear from me, hopefully I'll have indulged in my own homemade eclairs...wish me luck! (**Will share recipe and techniques later**) For the record, don't ever hesitate to challenge me with anything!

Serving is my day job, baking is my dream job.

Wedding Cake

Hello all! I am happy to become a part of what has become a blogging world! I figure the first thing I should do is bring you up to speed on what it is I do. I moved to Vancouver from a very small town a few years ago. I come from a family of bakers, yet they all thought I was crazy when I told them I wanted to be a pastry chef. I am a server saving up for culinary school to try and make it in the big city. Life in Vancouver has really changed me altogether. I bake on the side for friends/coworkers; they're tough critics but easy to please and of course my biggest fans all at the same time! I must say that my grandma is my biggest influence in all of this. To this day, I call her when I'm on the edge of having a panic attack and she makes everything okay. I can't forget my mom either! <3  Other than the help of these two amazing women, I'm mostly self taught. Pastry books, in my mind, ARE the bible! My most recent and biggest challenge to this day was a wedding cake I made a few weeks ago for some friends of mine. I ended up having about 30 hours to throw it all together and i did it pretty successfully! Other than that, I make a lot of birthday/going away cakes and a lot of the time just make anything because I feel like baking! I push myself everyday and try to make something more difficult than I have ever done before. I have applied to school and am waiting to hear back. In the meantime, I'll be baking in my tiny apartment kitchen!  However, the housewife in me is calling and I must go make dinner for the bf! Til next time...

Raspberry swirl cheesecake on chocolate shortbread crust covered in ganache and topped with white chocolate covered strawberries.

Tiramisu: Sponge soaked with coffee and kahlua layered with cream cheese mixture topped with chocolate covered coffee beans and dusted with cocoa powder.