Author Archives: briannavasquez

A Slice of Pie

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two holiday inspired pies

Image by: Cynthia Classen

As autumn settles in and summer has come to an end, it becomes time for the colderĀ weather to take holdā€¦for the holidays to roll aroundā€¦for the winter clothes to be taken out of storageā€¦for the beauty of Indian summer to overcome nature. I love autumn as well as the winterā€¦I find that it is the most beautiful time of year. Around this particular time of year, everyone gets so crazy about pumpkin spice everythingā€¦itā€™s in fragrances, car air fresheners, lattes, et cetera. But I hardly get interested in this trendy nonsense instead this season brings on other memories. No matter who you are or the life that you lived, we all have that one personā€¦that one important person in our lives who always made us feel special, cared for, and loved. That person could be a family member or a close friend but someone who has always stuck by you despite lifeā€™s difficulties. And as the holidays are coming soon, I found myself thinking of all the people that I appreciate in my lifeā€¦every single person who has made my life better.

When I was younger, my grandmother would always purchase gifts for me and my sisters on her way home from work. It couldā€™ve be the most inexpensive thing but it meant the world to meā€¦just to have her think about getting me something specialā€¦something that she knew Iā€™d appreciate. We werenā€™t exactly the most financially stable family so there was no Christmas tree or any giftsā€¦and we werenā€™t even ones to really celebrate the holidays altogether. Still, my grandmother would try her very best to shower us with as many gifts as she couldā€¦fulfilling this traditional role of a grandparent and trying to spoil us as much as possible.

My grandmother really fought for usā€¦even as her grandchildren, she did everything in her power to keep us happy and to ensure that we had a good childhood. There is one gift that for some reason topped the restā€¦it has always held a greater value for me. Being a writer, I always had an interest in books and because I was the middle childā€¦I always wanted to be like my older sister. I was so quick to things, I wanted to learn my alphabet and then to read. My grandmother had purchased this childrenā€™s book for me and my sisters titled, ā€œSweet Potato Pieā€ by Anne Rockwell. It was a short book that describes how a family was so busyā€¦they each had their own jobs, tasks, and responsibilities but the grandmother always had a way of getting the family together by way of her homemade sweet potato pie. I still love this book just the same and it is by far the best thirty-two pages that I have ever read. This book has held such a great impact in my life and every time that autumn comes aroundā€¦as the holiday season slowly approaches; I am captivated by the thought of sweet potato pie. Much like the book, my grandmother is a phenomenal baker and has made plenty of pies for the holidays especially sweet potato pies. My grandmother holds such a matriarch title in our family that she unites us as one multi-generational family by way of both her baking and her peaceful spirit. And to quote the most pivotal line of this childrenā€™s book, ā€œEverybody’s happy. Why, oh, why? Grandma’s baking…sweet potato pie! That’s why!ā€ (A. Rockwell, Sweet Potato Pie, Feb. 1996).

Which Side is Best?

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piece of aluminum foil

Image by: Chris Bruner

There is so much going on in the world todayā€¦natural disasters have affected so many regions, the recent political issues that have faced America, the constant struggle of racial injustice, the strife that life tends to naturally bring, and trying to find a perfect balance between college as well as a social life. This is a whirlwind of craziness that has wreaked havoc on America. So for today, I decided to go for a lighter subject to counteract these difficult happenings currently occurring in the world right now. As someone who aspires to be a pastry chef, people often assume that I am always well-inclined to all things in the pastry world but the truth is that I donā€™t really know everything in the pastry world. There are many things that are still unknown to meā€¦things that I am still inexperienced in, yet I push myself to have a greater sense of those things in order to become more well-versed as a pastry chef. But as I share and post my experiences with the confectionary arts world and write about up-and-coming food trends, I realize that there are still many questions that I face on the daily basis in terms of baking.

There is one question that I still haveā€¦that often follows me around when I am baking and in all four years of college, I am still faced with this question. What is the right or wrong side to use for aluminum foil? Should the shiny side be facing up? Or should the dull side be facing up?

crumbled foil

Image by: David

My misconception was that you interchange the foil sides for specific cooking purposesā€¦so the shiny side conducts heat better so if you looking to get something crispy then shiny side up but if you are looking to lock in moisture then use the dull side. But regardless, both sides can be used interchangeablyā€¦there is no difference between each side of aluminum foil. While the shiny side has more reflection which creates more radiationā€¦the only thing that matters when baking is convection and both sides of the foil conduct the same amount of heat. The truth is that both sides of foil are exactly the same and the reason that the foil visually appears differently between a shiny and dull side results from the manufacturing process in which the way that the sheets of aluminum is rolled out, the side that is in contact with the rollers comes out shiny while the other side does not.

To me, this is still a mind-boggling notion and honestly, it is one of those things that havenā€™t changed much for me since understanding this information. I understand that both sides are the same logistically yet I still, when faced with the decision of how to place aluminum foil for baking purposes, I believe my standards as I still somehow believe that the shinier side is more important in holding and conducting heat. But I still wanted to share this and hope that it helps fellow day-to-day bakers.

Piece of Cake

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If you are like me, then you have had your fair share of cakesā€¦whether it be a Black Forest Cake, an Angel Food Cake, an ice cream cake, or the traditional birthday cake. The first thought that enters my mind when I think of cakes is the layered cakes with overly sweet American Buttercream wedged in between the layers of cake that may have a sentimental message written on top of the cake to commemorate a special event such as a birthday as well as a specific amount of candles to represent the age in which that person is turning on that particular day.

The French word entremets literally means ā€œbetween servingsā€ and would usually consist of a small dish between courses in French cuisine. It would mark the end of a serving of numerous courses. Now, it is a term that is readily used in the pastry world, an entremet is a cake that is multi-layered mousse-based with various texture contrasts and varying complementary flavor concepts. There are entremet cakes that are traditional to the French pastry cuisine but it varies significantly from the cakes that are readily available in America.

The most important element of entremet cakes is the proper use of food pairings in which the contrasting textures and flavors being utilized still correlate to one another so it will offer a well-balanced mouthfeel. These food pairings can vary from coconut and mango, passionfruit and white chocolate, or chocolate and raspberries.

Entremet cakes are visually appealing as they can take on a myriad of shapes such as domes, pyramids, squares, rounds, et cetera. Typically, the different combinations involved in the production of an entremet cake include a balanced taste concept such as sweet but tangy in flavor but it also means a textural difference which consists of a mousse layer or gelee layer paired with a praline layer or meringue layer to have both a balance of crunch and smooth textures to better satisfy the palate.

a raspberry entremet cake

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

I had the amazing opportunity of creating my own entremet cake, to be able to concept the flavors and textures that I wanted to pair together in order to create a well-balanced cake. I decided to make an entremet cake that had a bottom layer of a dacquoise meringue which is a typical egg white based meringue with chopped almonds and hazelnuts combined into it; that was then topped with a hibiscus coconut mousse that was then topped with a thin layer of genoise cake that was soaked with a coconut rum simple syrup. This was then topped with a layer of mango gelee and coconut mousse and then a thin layer of raspberry gelee. The entire cake was delicately wrapped with a joconde cake which is an almond based cake that was patterned with pink stripes.

Breakfast for Dessert

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I can easily remember the days in my childhood where pancakes were served as breakfast. It was amazingly deliciousā€¦nothing was quite as delicious to me as pancakes, at that time. I loved being able to help with making the batter and learning how or when to flip the pancakes. The way in which the sweet aroma of pancakes would instantly fill the room would only make the breakfast experience that much better. Pancakes were such a treat to me as a kid. It was one of those meals that I never got tired of eating and I still am a fan of this food.

As I got older, I began making my own pancakes for my entire family and myself. And every single time that I do, it reminds me of my childhood. Now, Iā€™ve become so much more experienced in that now I create my own syrups and fruit compotes or coulis to pair with my pancakes rather than the traditional maple syrup or the more commercial brand of imitation maple syrup.

And just as in America, how the popularity of pancakes continues to exist as we have continued to enjoy pancakesā€¦there are other variations of pancakes in a bunch of other countries. One that is widely popular is the French version of a pancake as well as others like the Italian crespelle, Jewish blintzes, Russian blini, et cetera. The crepe has been savored for years and can be prepared to be either sweet or savory with respective fillings. As I learned in my advanced pastry arts classes, the literal meaning of crepe is translated to pancake in French. And while it can be used for breakfast just as pancakes areā€¦crepes are more versatile in which they can easily become a dessert such as with crepe suzette which is sweet crepes that are cooked with sugar and usually has Grand Marnier (Orange liqueur) poured over it in order to ignite it. This allows the alcohol within the liqueur to evaporate which results in a caramelized sauce.

green tea layered crepe cake

Image by: Shell Tu

Now, crepes have become even more popular as with the creation of the crepe cake which is layered crepes with a variety of fillings wedged in between each crepe layer. It is a tedious process but is simply delicious. It all starts with the crepe batter and then it is poured onto large cast-iron hot plates then it is spread with a rozel and flipped with a spatula. After all the crepes are prepared, then the filling is made which can range from ganache or caramel to fruit curds or whipped cream. The crepes are then stacked with the filling thinly spread in between then it is ready to be eaten.

A Chocolate Lover’s Dream

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a tower of different flavored chocolate bars

Image by: Dave

As a kid, all you care about are the sweeter things in life, like the candy and all the other sugary delights that you can get your hands on. You might have formed a strong love or addiction for chocolateā€¦an overwhelming intense need for it in any form whether a candy bar or morsel chips in a cookie. Chocolate is everywhere, there are restaurants that cater their entire menu to chocolate lovers such as Jacques Torres and Max Brenner. Chocolate is an ingredient that can easily stand-alone but can also be accompanied with many other flavor concepts. I have such a strong interest in chocolate, its history, its creation process as well as how it has always been popular in both the culinary and confectionary world.

There is dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate but there is a new chocolate version on the horizon, pink chocolate. Yes, you heard me correctly–pink chocolate. There are typically only three different varieties of chocolate which consists of Criollo, Trinitario, and Forastero. The higher quality chocolate is the Criollo and Trinitario beans which are the more expensive varieties as it isnā€™t cultivated as much and has a higher concentration of cocoa within the bean. These beans tend to be more robust, with a more potent flavor and bitterness. But the large-scale chocolate that is readily sold around the world for wide consumption is created from the Forastero beans. The cocoa bean itself is a fruit that is usually dried and fully fermented before it can go through the necessary processes to become chocolate.

pink colored chocolate

Image by: Independent UK

With the exception of white chocolate, which is only created from cocoa butter and not the actual cocoa bean. This amazing creation was invented about eighty years ago, but today, the production of white chocolate is old news. Now, everyone has a newfound interest in pink chocolate. It has officially become the newest type of chocolate in the world. Ruby chocolate has a reddish-pink hue which comes from the Ruby cocoa bean and its flavor concept is not bitter or sweet but it has flavor notes of fruitiness and a smooth mouthfeel. Despite the popular debate, there are no berries, flavoring, or coloring added to the chocolate. The history of this chocolate is still unknown but has taken many years to have been developed. And now, gone are the days of a cheap Hersheyā€™s candy barsā€¦ Hereā€™s to welcoming the new-age innovation of gourmet chocolate.

A Summer’s Treat

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the outside view of the brooklyn farmacy

Image by: Michelle

If anyone knows me then they will know how thoroughly obsessed I am over ice cream. I am the type of person that will eat ice cream all year round. Ice cream is my ultimate favorite dessert, I appreciate the variance that it can offer as well as the mouthfeel. It is an amazing creation that enables flavors to be so prevalent even in a frozen state. Ice cream reminds me of some of my best memories in lifeā€¦it takes me back to fun memories in my childhood or great times spent with close friends.Ā But as time evolves, ice cream trends are constantly changing from the simplicity that most of us are readily accustomed to. There is Thai rolled ice cream, liquid nitrogen ice cream, mochi ice cream, and gelato. Overall, the range and variation Ā in which ice cream is prepared has expanded. The debate about what constitutes as ice cream based on its percentage of fat has also broadened.

a maple flavored egg cream

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

The beautiful thing about New York is that it has so many amazing ice cream places integrated into it but unfortunately many are unknown to others. Personally, I prefer the sanctity of ice creamā€¦the simplicity of traditional styled ice cream.Ā Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain is located ideally close-by to the college which makes for a great and fun lunch spot. They offer many menu options from soups and sandwiches to egg creams and ice cream sundaes. They even seasonally offer student discounts on meals, desserts, and drinks as long as you have a valid student identification card.

an ice cream sundae

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

Over the summer, I had the greatest opportunity of visiting this awesome restaurant which is a short walk from the school. It looks quite small from the outside but it has a quaint amount of seating inside. The restaurant offers the option to either dine in or to take out…and I decided to dine in since I was strongly looking forward to laying my hands on one of their handcrafted sundaes as well as quenching my thirst with one of their house-made drinks. I had the maple egg cream which was robustly delicious as well as an almond joy styled sundae which was seasonally available when I visited the restaurant. The sundae was absolutely delicious and everything was made in house. The restaurant itself has an old school vibe which is interesting given the modern flavors of ice cream that is offered. I would recommend that everyone try this little ice cream shop that is neatly tucked into the heart of Brooklyn.

The Donut Shoppe

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a tray of chocolate glazed donuts covered with rainbow sprinkles

Image by: Robyn Lee

I am finding that as my skills as a pastry chef improve, I am gaining a better appreciation for the bakeries and small shops that are in New York. Not just the most popular but the small places that you appreciate as important in your lifeā€¦that are popular in your life even if they are not widely franchised. One of the most appreciated desserts in America is donuts because they are viewed as a breakfast food as it is usually paired with a cup of coffee or can even be a dessert. It has become such a centrical part of Americaā€™s confectionery world.

Aside from the readily franchised shops, there are so many other doughnut shops that are considered mom and pop shops as they are not franchised which makes them more unique. There are so many Dunkinā€™ Donuts and Krispy Kremeā€™s, but I further enjoy small shops that are not so widely franchised which allows the quality of the product to taste better as it is being freshly made instead of mass produced. And fortunately, New York is home to many mom and pop shops especially for something as delicious as doughnuts. There is Doughnut Plant, Dough, but my personal favorite is in Brooklyn named Donut Shoppe but is also known as Shaikhā€™s Place. It is located near the southern end of Brooklyn on Avenue U and is a 24-hour shop. The story behind the name is that the current owner who is named Shaikh Kalam was once just a native of Calcutta before moving to America to better himself by attempting to receive a college education. When he began working at this coffee shop called, Donut Shoppe with the original owner of the shop, Carlo Radicella. Kalam became so invested in his job role that he began to be a baker in the shop and was working long hours to reinvent a way to make better tasting doughnuts that were less dense and less oily. He somehow created a foolproof way to make doughnuts that were light and airy in texture with a balanced level of sweetness. He was able to adjust his recipe by changing the amount of time that the dough proofs before being fried as well as the temperature of the frying oil that the doughnuts are fried in. When the original owner had a stroke and his health declined, he promoted Kalam to be the head baker and eventually he took over the shop in the 80ā€™s.

a box of a dozen donuts

Image by: Mary Bakija

There are so many flavors to choose from such as Boston Cream, Glazed, Powdered, Jelly filled, Vanilla Sprinkled, Chocolate Sprinkled, Strawberry Sprinkled, et ceteraā€¦the flavors serve such a variety to the customers. The prices are so affordable and are inexpensive. When you purchase a dozen of doughnuts, you receive a bakerā€™s dozen which costs a little less than eight dollars. The doughnuts are absolutely delicious and I would suggest anyone to go to Shaikhā€™s place to eat a great doughnut. It is the perfect balance of doughnut as it has both the chewiness of the dough as well as the crumble of a cake.

My Spring Break Adventure: The Finale

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a crepe filled with blueberries and ice cream

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

After we had a great time in Union Square, enjoying delicious drinks of bubble tea and a great dinner of sushi…next on our adventure was dessert. We had such a long process of trying to figure out what we would have for dessert until we decided to keep the Asian cuisine theme going and wanted to have an Asian dessert. My sisters deliberated on Japanese crepes which I had never really heard of as crepes are typically only viewed as a French dessert. We finally landed on a great location for Japanese crepes which was blocks away from Union Square which made it ideal for a short walking distance, it was a small shop called T-Swirl Crepe.

Their crepes vary greatly from the other typical French as it is made differently and with differing ingredients. Normally, crepes are made from wheat flour to allow it to have more stability to not rip when filling are added to the crepes. Crepes are a diverse type of food as it can be either a meal with savory fillings such as ratatouille, salad, eggs, steak or vegetables; or a dessert with sweet fillings such as whipped cream, custard, ice cream, or fruit. While the Japanese crepes have similar fillings, they are more Asian inspired which incorporates more seafood options in the savory fillings like shrimp or smoked salmon with typical Asian flavors such as Thai chili sauce or peanut dressing. And the sweet fillings include well-known Asian flavors like lychees and matcha infused ice cream or custard. But the crepes are made differently as they are made from rice flour instead of wheat flour which allows the crepes to be completely gluten-free.

a crepe filled with mangoes and raspberries with vanilla pastry cream

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

The Japanese crepe was absolutely delicious as the one that I had ordered was the Mango and Raspberries which is a sweet crepe that is filled with fresh raspberries, sliced fresh mangoes, slivered almonds, chocolate sauce, vanilla yogurt, vanilla pastry cream, and chocolate pearls. It was utterly delicious and one of the best crepes that I have ever tasted. Although, we were enjoying the dessert versions, there were savory options available as a meal. It was a fun occasion to be so immersed into an Asian culture in terms of food. I find that it is always enjoyable to try new things and to learn about other cuisines. This was the first thing that I had eaten that actually was new to me, just as much as it was for my grandmother. All in all, it was a great trip to Manhattan. It was a good experience filled with some amazing eatery choices. A simple trip of spending time with my grandmother and my sisters turned into an expansive culinary event. My grandmother loved trying all the new foods but most of all; she enjoyed spending time with us as we have been so busy that we havenā€™t really had the chance to have quality time.

My Spring Break Adventure Continued

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a plate of different styled sushi

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

The spring recess had somehowĀ provided us with this exceeding lot of time in which we were able to essentially do whatever we wanted, while enjoying spending time with our grandmother. But as we walked through the crowded streets of Manhattan, our hunger began to build and eventually we were looking around for a decent place to eat. Being that we were trying to make the day as eventful as possible for our grandmother, we began deliberating the type of cuisine that we had wanted to eat. Our grandmother eventually said how she had never tried authentic sushi, she explained that she had wanted to at least try it onceā€¦to acquire the whole experience. Because we had been vegetarians for so long, it did not truly allow for us to eat exotic dishes like that of sushi or some readily recognized comfort food such as fried chicken. It kept us to a strict diet of fruits and vegetables as well as the incorporation of all sorts of different sources of protein such as legumes, vegetarian meat substitutes, and endless amounts of tofu. So over the years, we had gained such an appreciation for the Asian culture as it had aided so much in our lives as vegetarians. But sushi was an uncharted territory, there is no such thing as tofu sashimi or a spicy tofu rollā€¦sushi was an unknown that had never been divulged.

So here we were looking for sushi in what I consider the heart of Manhattan. My sisters began a yelp search looking for the highest rated sushi restaurant in the area. And finally we landed on a place…one that was only a short walk away. We were on our way to eating sushi, our grandmother was elated…she was finally going to try sushi for the very first time. When we arrived at MI-NE Sushi Totoya, we were seated by the bar as we did not know that for this particular restaurant, we should’ve made proper reservations. But the staff was so attentive in explaining the menu and giving suggestions. We all enjoyed the sushi…we each made our own selections and then shared it all so we could try everything. The funniest part of the whole sushi experience was how much my grandmother struggled with using chopsticks. She tried her best to hold them properly but she always seemed to drop sushi because it was too difficult to carry the single roll from the plate to her mouth. But we encouraged her and told her that it takes lots of practice which only means she needs to eat a lot more sushi.

After that delicious dinner, I couldn’t wait for what was next on our culinary adventure which would be dessert. Although, it was a time to relish in the relaxation of spring recess…to spend quality time with my grandmother, it became so much more than that. I was able to share new cuisines with her as well as new foods and that was far more special.

My Spring Break Adventure

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two adjacent cups of bubble tea

Image by: Nadine

Now, it is the last few weeks of the spring semester and while many are preparing to take their final as well as completing a couple last assignment before the summer break is officially here. Although, school has been on a recess for the past week and a half, school is now back in a full swing of things. I thoroughly enjoyed the spring recess by visiting many places in the city. Manhattan has such a vast amount of restaurants and shops that you can literally travel the world by just walking a few blocks. My grandmother had expressed her deepest desire of wanting to spend time with me and my sisters over the spring break. While we were struggling to figure out what we should doā€¦going to Manhattan was the best bet. It had become a place that you can essentially do anythingā€¦there are so many activities to partake inā€¦the choices are endless.

With my being in the hospitality management major, it has helped me to become more culturally aware and to gain a better appreciation for different cuisines all over the world. My grandmother was eager for whatever we had planned to do as long as we were spending time together. I think what most people do not realize is that New York really is a haven for everything; it just needs to be sought out. As I get older, I find that I only begin to appreciate New York City that much more, I am able to understand how great the city truly is and why so many people visit here. We finally decided to take our grandmother to one of the many places we used to readily visit when we were youngerā€¦one of the best spots in Manhattanā€¦Union Square.

And the one thing that I absolutely love doing is trying new food but this time, it was my grandmotherā€™s turn. We decided to take her to Asia for two days, every single thing that we ate was Asian inspired. Our first stop was bubble teaā€¦my sisters and I have become lightly addicted to bubble tea which is Taiwanese and not just any bubble tea but Viviā€™s Bubble Tea. Ā So we decided to take our grandmother there in order for her to experience it as well. She ordered the ginger milk tea with bubbles and I ordered the honeydew milk tea with bubbles while my sisters respective ordered the tiramisu slush with bubbles and Thai milk tea with bubbles. My grandmother loved the tea but wasnā€™t too fond of the bubbles. The bubbles that are used in the tea are actually boiled tapioca pearls. They are boiled in brown sugar and water then afterwards they are slightly cooled and can be added to the tea. My grandmother was not a huge fan of it but she did love the tea as she has always loved tea. She was a good sport about it even though the bubbles were not a favorite of hers. All in all, it was a great first stop on our trip. But the adventure seemed to have continued, and I couldnā€™t wait for what was in store next.