Out & About #958 | Gingerbread Madeleines, Office Birthday + Downtown Holiday Decorations

Eight months into my first year of regular LA Fitness visits, I was faced with a dilemma. While the group classes are enjoyable, the imminent snowfall and treacherous climate are predicted to deter me from any sort of winter driving. Simply put, there is nothing attractive enough to lure me from beyond the walls of my humble abode in slushy, subdegree conditions.
A decision emerged to freeze the membership for the time being. It made sense, given that lane reductions caused by construction merely contributed yet another level of obstruction.

​Naturally, the arrangements spurred eagerness in attending as many classes as possible before the freeze. Zumba was taken twice, with the Monday session immediately followed by a grueling Boot Camp Conditioning class involving weighted lunges (in all directions) across the studio, beep test drills, and plank-to-shuffles.

The week concluded with a late evening yoga session encompassing a heavy spiritual focus, reinforcing my aversion towards the discipline as a whole. Although I could understand the concept of forming a connection, I wasn't particularly keen on announcing or outwardly promoting foundationless barefoot spirituality.

Beyond dismal weather, the final month of the year tend to impose a great deal of holiday activities - usually year-end gatherings succeeded by a horrendous rush to complete projects before the new year.

Vacationing to more tropical destinations is also not uncommon. Prior to the annual Southeast Asia trip of a fellow July baby, a mid-day check-in was frantically scheduled for a brief exchange of life updates.

Momentarily escaping my incredulous number of assignments to grab lunch at Yum's Kitchen, the year's highlights and woes were discussed over Grilled Pork Banh Mi and Beef Brisket Pho. Since my last visit, the eatery appears to have downgraded in terms of cleanliness, restructured their loyalty program for the detriment of customers, and appended to their menu with new, pricier selections and a plethora of spelling mistakes.

​Food items remained ​relatively economic and consistent in flavour, however specialty drinks and desserts had seen downtown-esque surge prices.

We finished with two cups of Halo Halo to go, which were now less colourful, contained less ube, and swapped beans for Vietnamese jellies instead.

Other meals of the week comprised of Salt Baked Drumsticks (鹽焗雞) and Broccoli over Rice, Tomato Pork and Fuzzy Melon (節瓜) over Rice, and Congee Queen leftovers with DeCecco No. 91 Orecchiette in Tomato sauce.

I also attempted a cooked rendition of the Tomato Caprese Salad featured on the Giselle episode of Dex's Fridge Interview. ​In theory, the execution was straightforward, comprising of just sliced tomatoes and silken tofu drizzled in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. That said, I had a number of reservations towards consuming tofu straight from the packaging, consequently leading to a choice of medium-firm tofu for pan-frying. The intent had been to scorch both sides for structural integrity, then brush on a miso-mirin glaze for umami.

Having skipped the preparatory step of draining moisture from the cube though, the pan-frying process was made disastrous with splatters of oil leaping from the shallow pan. Although I succeeded in achieving a golden hue, the pieces were limp as opposed to crispy, while the glaze was brushed in excess, leading to excessive saltiness.

The tomato slices also disintegrated quickly upon contact with heat. Thicker slices managed to retain their shape, though the smaller, thinner segments disintegrated rapidly. Suffice to say, the yield did not align with the same vibe as the original inspiration.

Just two creations graced the seven-day span, for work assignment counts are unbelievable and have practically stripped me of innovation and energy.

1) Gingerbread Madeleines

Since accidentally investing in mini madeleine pans as part of my Black Friday baking haul, I'd been curious to compare baking results between metal and silicon. The purchase had been executed strictly with the intent of coating in mind, for reserving silicon pans for the decorative process would eliminate the need to wash each pan after baking then letting them cool completely. Beyond providing literal flexibility to check chocolate hardening status, separate pans were anticipated to quicken the overall process. However, when cavities emerged at least twice as tiny as my standard pans, I knew its original objective of coating would not be met.

Too haggard to commence a third project over the weekend, an attempt at Gingerbread Madeleines were deferred my next work-from-home day. As the Internet was devoid of a recipe in metric units, Sunday Baking's Earl Grey Madeleine recipe was utilized as the starting point. Of course, a number of modifications were made to suit my purposes:

• Brown Butter was swapped for mere melted butter
• Honey was substituted with molasses
• Ground ginger, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice was added
• Cake flour was not sifted before mixing (though would not recommend)
• Batter was chilled for under 1 hour (again, would not recommend, unless working near an open window in the winter)

​My three large eggs weighed in around 149 g - as opposed to Sunday's 120 g - thus the ingredient amounts were scaled up accordingly:

• 120 g unsalted butter, melted (* Sunday starts with 120 g butter, then retrieves 96 g of cooled, browned butter; 96 x 1.24 = 119)
• 80 g granulated sugar
• 68 g molasses
• 149 g cake flour
• 3.5 g baking powder

The total yield was: 40 mini madeleines and 13 standard-sized madeleines.

Marbled Banana Bread was being constructed in parallel, so the batter would chill for as long as it was required to finish washing dishes and replying to emails on the side. This period of time likely spanned greater than thirty minutes, but under sixty.

​The silicon mini madeleine pans were arranged on top of a cookie sheet lined with parchment, then filled to about 80% full. Baking time was reduced from thirteen minutes to 7.5 minutes, with the latter thirty seconds used to gain a uniform golden border. I was careful to prevent overbaking, as this would lead to dryness, yet was also took note of silicon's poor heat retention properties. Unlike metal, there is no residual heat from the pan to crisp up the underside of the pastry once removed from the oven. Consequently, a longer baking time may (would?) be needed for a silicon pan compared to a metal pan of equivalent size.
In this sense, due to the material's innately poor insulation, baked goods would likely be more easily impacted by fluctuations in oven temperature. One ought be mindful of this aspect should your oven already prove inconsistent (like mine!).

​As predicted, the edges of the madeleine did not crisp up with silicon pan, despite releasing effortlessly. The underside bore a pleasant sheen, a plethora of holes indicative of airiness, and a hue relatively similar to its surface. The signature hump was not particularly distinguishable in the mini format.

Meanwhile, my new USA pan provided drastically different results in terms of appearance and texture. The underside of the standard madeleine was also glossy, but was at least two shades darker than the humped surface. Whether it be a result of batter quantity or pan depth, the rise observed at the centre of the pastry was now prominent. While the size of the air pockets were largely consistent across both trays, the Swiss cheese-like visuals were emphasized in the mini madeleines due to their small size for relative comparison.

​Both versions were moist when warm, with subdued notes of spice. These gingerbread-y notes became recognizable after cooling completely, though only the standard-sized madeleine boasted crispy edges while retaining its spongy, delicate centre. That said, the overall flavour profile was quite moderate versus initial expectations. As with all things gingerbread, a hint of citrus would have elevated depth - and, thereupon, enjoyment levels - significantly; maybe a few drops of orange extract should be included next time.

My findings concluded that, while silicon was not an ideal material for baking, I appreciated easy detachment of the pastries and rapid drying for subsequent re-use of the pan.

​2) Marbled Banana Bread

This clearly needs no introduction.

​Downtown days were defined by verification of ice cream cake prices and availability at Baskin Robbins.

Baskin Robbins at Village by the Grange was stocked amply with various Pre-Packs and cakes. Their Large size was informed to serve 8 people and rang in at $49.99 with customization options at no additional charge. Interestingly, the Eaton Centre kiosk was cheaper, with the XL size (capable of serving 10 people) priced at $45.95.

​Along University Ave, I found Nutcracker-inspired holiday installations as well as Sweetie Pie's hospital district outpost on Elm Street.

The product selection varied minimally from the Distillery location, though the store interior boasted improved visual allure with uniform seating by way of brilliant, Barbie pink chairs.

I took to the Steak & Ale pie once more, intending to bring it home as a supper complement. The Braised Short Rib had earned a spot on my radar as well, though sold out on the day of my visit. The ideal scenario would be to procure both options frozen and reheat at home later, though the office is regrettably devoid of a freezer.

Retracing my steps southbound, I found my way into Canadian Tire.

​The concourse level access no longer permitted entry into the Eaton Centre, thus visitors were required to route about the store along Dundas towards the vestibule connecting Starbucks, Best Buy, and the Ted Rogers School of Management.

Miniso often occupies a short duration of my mall walks. In visiting the shop, Sanrio beauty products and Sulley-themed merchandise were discovered.

Pet accessories were fawned over, then ultimately returned to their position on the shelf. Meanwhile, fuzzy, horn-embellished gloves could not be resisted. Each pair rang in at a whopping $15.99, nearly prompting me to reconsider the purchase. Two pairs had been brought to the cashier - one for utilization, and the other for preservation. Ultimately, both departed the store in my reusable Rexall tote, admittedly with the purchaser harnessing some slight bewilderment.

​A sturdy claw clip had also been discovered during this trip. Not only did it fare much better at keeping messy hair pinned back than the Dollarama or OOMOMO counterparts, it was offered in a diverse range of colour choices at an extremely reasonable $2.49. Given Miniso's rotating range of products, it is advised to secure more at the next opportunity.

A Peppermint Mocha was obtained just before heading back. In the meantime, I hovered about the nearby Machi Machi to familiarize myself with their daily specials.

The Adidas lab's exclusive, high-fashion section also served as a point of interest with sleek off-white shelves and mixed-medium apparel.

​The following attendance day aligned with the long-awaited office birthday.

A few of us discreetly began preparing for the surprise. We bonded over After Eight squares, an imaginative collection of food stories, and bubble letters and decorative tissue paper.

While one coworker restored her appetite in the Eaton food court with vegetarian ramen from Sansotei, I departed the fumey facilities at my first opportunity. 

Browsing the glittery, gilded goods at Saks Fifth Avenue and Pusateri's was comparatively more enthralling.

​We met back at Baskin Robbins afterwards, where we settled for a Coffee Ice Cream cake with a gold plaque decoration. The lady behind the cashier was extremely friendly, enabling samples of all flavours we expressed interest towards. The franchise's newest flavour of Cup of Cocoa was also provided to us; while delicious with gooey strands of marshmallow, we resorted to delaying acquisition in consideration of already purchasing a cake. 

​Iced Gingerbread Oat Chai in (my) hand, we meandered back to the office and sneakily slid the cake into the fridge, praying for nominal dissolution.

In spite of the slightly gaudy decorations, the cake was quite delicious: aromatic with the unexpected inclusion of nuts.

Melting instantaneously upon being placed in the stifling meeting room, each team member was served a hefty slice as to quicken the rate of cutting. The cake was creamy - satiating even - though nowhere remotely close to the super-saturated Tres Leches Cake that sent all of us into a food coma.