Out & About #922 | Nathan Phillips Farmer's Market, Espresso Lemonade + Injeolmi Cake Attempt

​On a devoted hunt for tonic water, I wound up at Loblaws one Saturday afternoon. Renovations can slotted once-familiar aisles into odd sections of the supermarket. Joe Fresh apparel had been moved to the centre of the store - for no good reason, should you ask me - while Starbucks was now positioned near the entrance (a good choice).

Of course, the produce and freezer sections remained as they were, along with the alcohol aisles and their corresponding sommelier station. Just before checking out, I found Ruby Cacao Häagen-Dazs on sale. A 2 for $10 deal prompted acquisition of the tried-and-true Vanilla Almond.

The Ruby was beautifully fruity, refreshing, and just a tad acidic, as ruby chocolate was intended. Vanilla Almond was a classic flavour, earning itself a loyal following and well-deserved nods of approval.

​Given that weekly team meetings had been rescheduled to Thursday, my in-office presence was also adjusted accordingly. In the earlier half of the work week, Espresso Lemonade experiments were executed. 

​Both Perrier and Montellier Sparkling Water had reacted severely with freshly pulled shots of espresso, causing overflow of the entire mixture. But omitting the fizziness entirely led to a reduction in freshness factor. Tonic water came to my rescue, instilling a lightly sweetened, zesty aura without unwarranted reactivity.

​​Into mason jars filled halfway with ice, the following were added: 2 parts lemonade, 1 part espresso, and 1 part tonic water. Distinct layers remained, along with luscious crema on the surface. The combination would fare equally well with cold brew.

The summer season is prime time for ice cream; beyond Häagen-Dazs, the household also took advantage of Baskin Robbin's 31% off Pre-Pack promotion on the 31st day of the month. Chocolate Mousse Royale was obtained in the absence of plain Chocolate ice cream. It was silky smooth, as mousse often is, with a handful of chocolate chips woven within. That side, its profile wasn't nearly as complex as chocolate, nor as intense.

​After a last-minute trip to the east end of the GTA, the sleepy polar bear brought back a number of treats for sharing. Alongside my requested Fruit Tea from Yi Fang were canned cakes from Hokkaido Bakery and assorted (overpriced) desserts from Adore Cake and Blackball's combined space.

Black Sesame, Strawberry, Houjicha, Mango, and Hazelnut Cookie Choux were laid out before me. Each rang in at six dollars apiece, as per Google Reviews. Mochi Bites were priced at a whopping ten dollars per bag, with flavours spanning Cocoa, Matcha, and Coconut. In reality, the sole difference was the topping, for the condiments of a tacky white dipping sauce and sweet-savoury corn flake topping were identical across the board.

In spite of the atrociously steep price tags, I failed to find joy in majority of these items. The twelve-dollar cake from Hokkaido Bakery was as bland as could be; its sponge was passable, though the syrup-soaked slices of strawberry and tasteless "chocolate" cream were absolute abominations. I likened the experience to one's world being vibrant and saturated one second, then stripped of colour the next. The sleepy polar bear later informed me that the Green Grape edition hadn't proved much better either.

The Black Sesame Puff appeared promising, but once again enlisted disappointment in its mild profile. Its dark grey filling was velvety, but nowhere near as potent as my own creation. Comparatively tastier was the Strawberry Puff, which was a good balance of sweet and tart with sizable pieces of chopped strawberry. The Houjicha rendition was akin to the Black Sesame in terms of mildness, featuring a very loose, grey-brown crème pâtissière and tiny jellies that were essentially flavourless. Not a single cookie choux featured a crispy surface however. Excess moisture had seemingly seeped from the cream filling into the once-crunchy shell.

Though, the Mochi Bites were notably the worst of the selection. The pieces were rigid and bland instead of elastic and addicting. Being further coated in unsweetened shredded coconut heightened its dismal texture without contributing depth. The savoury corn flake-esque topping and goopy white sauce were unidentifiable and unenjoyable.

On the other hand, the $3.50 Fenglisu was scrumptious, likely my one-pick of the pack. It also helped that I had been craving the Taiwanese pastry in the days leading up to the unexpected gift.

​I broke my weekly attendance record for gym classes, visiting not once but thrice (!) in the same week.

​Two Mat Pilates sessions, one brief Stairmaster warmup, and one Zumba class were made up the bulk of my work-from-home evenings.

Heading into the downtown core on Wednesday granted an opportunity to explore the Nathan Phillips Farmer's Market.

​Several members of our team had unknowingly adopted the same revised in-office schedule, thus we collectively ventured towards the vendor booths.

There were but only a handful of vendors, but varied between stalls serving hot sauce, specialty meats (Superior Meats from St. Jacobs, and beer from Left Field Brewery. In contradiction of de la terre's website info, the Hamilton-based bakery was not present at the event as I had hoped. Seasonal produce was available from Jack's Farm, which priced quarts of cherries and overly ripe, watery-tasting peaches at twice the grocery retail value.

​After perusing the selection, I meandered my way over to That Pretzel Dough's booth.
Most of their offerings fell within a 3 for $10 deal, while Small Pretzels rang in at $5, Large Pretzels at $7, and Focaccia rounds at $8.50. Custard Tarts retailed at 4 for 10, while Butter Tarts (plain, walnut, or pecan) could be combined with the 3 for $10 deal. The system was confusing at best, leading to a hefty amount of deliberation before coming to a decision.

​Between my coworker and I, we had opted to split four Custard Tarts, one Pizza Pretzel, and at least two cookies. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the prices were skewed. Received instead were two Custard Tarts, priced as if they fell within the 3 for $10 promo. Raising my case to the lady manning the stall was of no use, for her declarations were inconsistent. Ultimately, we resolved to dismiss the unfortunate circumstance.

My bill had come to $28.50 plus tax - a regrettable sum for a bakery that had failed to provide satisfaction of any sort.

The cookies were greasy and appalling, with me feeling sickened after ingestion of a small chunk. In place the gratifying crispy edge associated with creamed butter came the satiating tenderness of an oil-based product. Their texture was reminiscent of a slice-able bar instead of a crunchy-chewy cookie. In addition, the chocolate chips were dry and utterly unappealing. The M&M-containing version was comparatively better, yet its base dough was equally as disappointing.

Inclusion of tomato sauce in the Pizza Pretzel made for an interesting profile, though there was minimal cheesiness present, despite the abundance of charred, cheddar-tinted threads.

​I had nabbed the last Strawberry Lemon Muffin from the display with great anticipation, but was, once again, met with disaster. Nonexistent lemon zest had robbed the creation of its citrusy essence. Strawberries were mushy and discoloured. Finally, the topping of cinnamon was immensely unnecessary. Specks of coarse sugar did not improve textural contrast whatsoever and, instead, had the opposite effect of giving off a soggy surface.

​Though I should have braced myself for the tremendous letdown, That Pretzel Dough's focaccia was nothing like that of Inn on the Twenty. While the olives were savoury and delicious, there were little to no notes of rosemary in the supposed Olive Rosemary loaf. The distinctive fluffiness associated with focaccia was only present in the upper half, while the lower half of round was bland and somewhat dense.

Neither the Pecan Butter tart nor overcharged Nata had been sampled, though I had arrived at my verdict: That Pretzel Dough was sheer tragedy.

​Over lunch, I found myself roaming the hospital district, then seeking air conditioning whenever internal body temperature had amounted too quickly.

At Eaton, I observed new progress on the Ontario Line station as well as a reinstated connection between Uniqlo and the rest of the shopping centre.

​My first order of business was confirming the handover timeline for The Alley app. Staff at the College Park location had been incredibly helpful, even towards a non-paying customer.

​I wasn't ready to commit to holding a drink for the rest of the trek. My agenda first involved errands at Staples, wherein a Mos Mos location was found towards the back of the stationery store.

​Eventually, after confirming that sports bras had yet to return to Miniso shelves, I obtained a Wintermelon Punch with Pineapple Jelly and Green Tea Jelly from The Alley's outpost in the PATH.

​Evening plans would involve more errands, more gym, and more moving about.

Beyond numerous Espresso Lemonade iterations, my sole creation of the week comprised of an (attempted) Injeolmi Cake.

Amusingly, just as with the previous week, cake cravings crept up towards the end of the work week. My heart - or rather, stomach - yearned for a similar sponge-and-cream concoction. In close proximity to my scale was a bag of roasted soybean powder. It had probably been procured several months back, when I had just had it with The Cups' Injeolmi Tiramisu, then promptly forgotten as work chaos unravelled. With minimal consideration, I constructed a sheet of mochi using Sunday Baking's Mochi Brownie recipe as a guideline, then added in two large knobs of butter towards the end.

The sponge utilized Sunday's No Butter Victoria Sponge recipe, on the basis that it would neither require separation of egg yolks and whites and meticulous aeration. Furthermore, the process could be completed in one bowl, hand-whisked.
Compiling the ingredients was, quite literally, a piece of cake, for whole eggs would be whisked with sugar, combined with a milk-oil mixture, and, lastly, mixed with flour and baking powder. The inclusion of a chemical leavener had eliminated the need for prolonged whisking of the eggs for volume. Afterwards, the batter would be divided between two 6-inch aluminum pans for a speedy baking time of twenty minutes. No sheet pan lining needed!

But, of course, the results were considerably telltale of the amount of effort required. The layers emitted a predominantly yellow, eggy hue with cross-sections bearing both large and small air pockets. The observation allowed to be deduce the following:

• Chemical leavener: Larger, non-uniform air pockets, but faster to construct batter; less diligence required to obtain volume
• Physical leavener: Aerated eggs forming fine, uniform air pockets, consequently yielding a soft, delicate texture

Milk and oil had contributed to moistness, allowing the sponge to remain plush without a brushing of syrup. However, the irregular air pockets and sporadic structure lent a tougher mouthfeel, as opposed to the airiness I had coveted.

Attempting to create a mousse-like filling, I proceeded to whip 200 g of heavy cream in a stand mixer. Taking place concurrently was the melting of 100 g of white chocolate couverture in the microwave and the hasty mixing of earl grey powder in hot heavy cream. The cream appeared fine at first, thus I folded in the melted white chocolate, using the sacrificial mixing method. It curdled immediately, forming a repulsive watery, clumpy mixture.
By this point, I was frantically scrambling to complete the ordeal. The lumpy mess was discarded with tremendous annoyance, all bowls and tools were rinsed out rapidly, and the process was restarted.

The second time around, I folded in the melted white chocolate all at once, just as I had for previous mousse iterations. All was swell: the formula persisted with a smooth sheen.
Half of the cream was intended to be plain, while the other half would be laced with earl grey. The latter was folded with the earl grey paste I had crafted earlier. Lo and behold, the same outcome unfolded. Why?!
Disposal of the curdled portion meant insufficient cream to fill the cake. Needless to say, I proceeded anyway.

In later consultations with Sunday Baking, I was informed that the heavy cream had either failed to maintain its temperature or had been overwhipped. Given my careful attention to temperature control, I alluded my failure to the second possibility. We agreed to revert back to a hand mixer for better control over the incorporation of volume, despite the undeniable convenience a stand mixer brings.

​Using whatever successful components had remained, I began to assemble the cake: Sponge-Cream-Injeolmi Mochi-Sponge-Cream. In hindsight, I ought have spread a thin layer of cream between the mochi and top layer of sponge to improve cohesion, for the soybean powder had prevented the formation of friction.

About two hours after assembly, the miniscule quantity of cream had solified. The surface was dusted liberally with injeolmi powder, topped with small bits of injeolmi mochi (think bingsoo), and finally drizzled with sweetened condensed milk (think bingsoo again).

​The cake was delicious, which, honestly, came as a surprise. It lacked cream, both for its adhesive properties and textural contrast, and was a tad dense given the thick layers of sponge cake. That said, it was slightly nutty from the injeolmi and adequately sweet after the incorporation of sweetened condensed milk.

Following refrigeration, the sponge layers became softer (due to the moistness factor of oil and milk), though the mochi layer more rigid and reluctant to yield. As such, a thin layer of mochi is recommended for this application.