Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake

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Bittersweet Chocolate Pear Cake

bittersweet chocolate pear cake

I made this cake a year ago to share with my dear friends Tom, William, and Meghan who were returning from an expedition to the Grand Tetons. My intentions were sound as I assembled the ingredients and baked the cake. However, once I tasted it, all good intentions were thrown out of the window.

bittersweet chocolate pear cake

I ate a fourth of the cake when it was mere minutes out of the oven. For breakfast the next morning, I ate the rest. I just wanted a taste, you see. A sliver. A tiny little bite to satisfy my taste buds. And then, well, things just got out of hand. My fork began moving of its own volition. Really. You must believe me.

this cake is hard to share

It is safe to say that my returning friends received exactly none of the cake I had boasted to them about. I could have made up a story about how it didn't turn out, or how I had "accidentally" dropped it on the floor, but I didn't have the heart to lie to them about a cake so dangerously good. And this cake is good. The pears keep the cake so deliciously moist and the chocolate adds a nice contrast to the fruit flavor. And then there's the browned butter. It gives the cake this lovely nutty flavor which pulls everything together... straight into your mouth.
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Whole Wheat Wild Blueberry Muffins

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Whole Wheat Wild Blueberry Muffins

blueberry explosion

I have moved to the eclectic, diverse city of Montreal. French is spoken wildly and freely on the streets, in the shops, and in the charming little cafes (and though I do not speak a word of it, so far I have managed to get around). Montreal is a hodgepodge of European and American cultures as evidenced in the shops and markets, but also in the essence of the city. It feels simultaneously like both cultures, but belongs in neither location. Montreal is very much its own entity.

Learning of my baking (and eating) habits, my roommate brought me to the Jean-Talon Market. It is a huge farmer's market with an unbelievable amount of fresh and organic fruits and vegetables (I will mention this more and in greater detail as time goes on, I am sure). I picked up peaches, pears, cherry tomatoes, a wonderful variety of bell peppers, and these fantastic wild blueberries. I knew instantly I wanted to eat them in muffins.

whole wheat wild blueberry muffins

These wild blueberry muffins are delicious and healthy. Most muffins I have eaten seem more like white cupcakes than a solid, nutritionally sound muffin. Not these! With whole wheat flour, honey, tons of blueberries, and applesauce instead of oil, these muffins are actually good for you. Which means, of course, that you can eat more than one (or maybe three).
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Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

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Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

espresso chocolate shortbread cookies

I made these cookies as a going away present for my sister. She loves coffee, she loves shortbread, and she recently headed off to college as a first time freshman. As she seemed a bit nervous about making new friends (although she would never admit this), I thought cookies would be the perfect gift. She could lure new and exciting people into her life by bribing them in with baked goods. What better conversation starter is there than ”Hey, would you like a delicious cookie?” I thought this was ingenious. I thought I was oh so clever. Of course my plan backfired on me faster than you could say “milk and cookies.”

As my sister later informed me, she was able to bribe off one (only one?) cookie. What self respecting college students turn down free food? Much less free cookies?! Ohh, freshmen. They have got a lot to learn…

So now, as my sister eats them all by herself, she mourned that she is one step closer to gaining that freshman fifteen.

milk and cookies

Although seemingly snubbed by college freshman everywhere, these cookies are a fantastic representation of taking a basic shortbread recipe to the next level. These cookies still have that classic sandy texture shortbread is known for, but the espresso flavor is so distinct it redefines the entire cookie. The bittersweet chocolate points these cookies closer to a mocha flavor. I never had the chance to dip one of these in a hot cup of coffee, but I only have reason to believe it would be fantastic.
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