Vancity Vibes | DAY 10: A Day of Baking

With the bruises on the left wrist hurting significantly less than two days prior, I opted to undertake the baking mission I had planned from the onset of the vacation. On the singly unoccupied day of the week, I would commence with Banana Bread to use up the rapidly browning trio on the countertop; it would serve as a warmup before progressing to the comparatively more challenging recipes.

1) Hot Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread

Banana Bread is quite versatile and, really, requires no more than a scale, bowl, whisk, and spatula - items already existing in the average household or items that could be easily acquired within a reasonable timeframe. The endless variations of this classic and, more importantly, its ability to be constructed manually in its entirety was its most attractive aspect.

SK's Marbled Banana Bread remains my go-to formula. It has never ever failed me, whether I had marbled it or not. In the absence of my potato masher, I took to the good ol' three-prong table fork, taking care to not bend the piece of cutlery in the process (as I had with my own back home). The bananas weighed in at 115 g, 112 g (with a small brown section removed), and 120 g respectively. "Virtually smooth" is subjective, and I had a few chunky bits remaining in the bowl after my right wrist began to fatigue.
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One stick of cultured butter, melted, would be used to substitute the oil (as per usual), crusty brown sugar was salvaged using a damp paper towel and the insulative capabilities of a microwave, and cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice was omitted, as I simply was not in the mood to purchase the tin for a one-time use. The same would apply to the specks of raw sugar I customarily dusted across the surface.

​For the marbled portion of the batter, I had not cocoa powder on hand. Instead, I reached for a can of Tim Horton's Hot Chocolate Mix. It would prove a tad sweeter than natural cocoa powder, but contribute an interesting dose of creaminess from dehydrated milk components.

​Subject to the power of a convection oven half the size of that of a standard house, the batter baked evenly, though browned quickly at the top.

The results were fabulous, even if I do say so myself. A thin layer of plain batter served as the foundation. Chocolatey goodness was found in the centre, followed by moist bits of roughly mashed banana above it, then lastly a crunchy, satisfying surface. Cinnamon and nutmeg would have been welcome accents, though the slices were nonetheless scrumptious!

2) Green Tea Cookies

Next up were sugar cookies. Reaching for my SK favourite, I folded in expired matcha without hesitation. The grassiness was way subdued than before, naturally, as the container had expired. The same water bottle trick was used in place of a rolling pin, though this attempt saw insufficient chill time and an utter lack of cookie cutters.

​The back of a butter knife served to separate the dough in a grid formation. The lines, as with all my creations, were crooked, making for wonky squares and rectangles that only became wonkier with partially chilled, pliable dough. Shortbread-esque indentations were docked across them using a chopstick. These markings spread and flattened throughout the baking process, emerging quite amusing afterwards. The inconsistent oven temperature and failing to rotate the trays between the racks for even heat circulation caused cracking and uneven browning. The cookies were cracked and disappointing in appearance - probably my ugliest cookies crafted to date!

​That said, they were still tasty: the thinner ones a bit crisper, and the thicker ones cakey but still crunchy.

3) Layered Birthday Cake

​The main project of the day was creating a layered birthday cake capable of being presented alongside La Patisserie's. Mind you, this task was easier said than done with the limited array of tools on hand.

Leading up to the day, I was unable to locate cake flour, thus settled on an all-purpose flour and cornstarch swap. The vegetable oil had gone rancid, prompting my substitution of melted margarine. The swap had been made with the hope that the spread would prove lighter than butter due to its lower concentration of animal fat and greater oil content.

​​I had ordered a hand mixer a few days in advance of this planned project, only to have Amazon delay its arrival by a pivotal 24 hours. Despite being the most budget-friendly buy from their assortment, I was impressed with its performance. Aeration of the eggs was made effortless, allowing the batter to achieve adequate height. Consistency of the cake was a tad denser than preferred, but not nearly as dense as those using melted butter. The inclusion of G7 was evident in the toasty, aromatic emissions of coffee.

My filling was to comprise of a stabilized whipped cream, but only then did I realize: I did not own a single stabilizing ingredient. With no gelatin nor instant pudding mix on hand, I nearly reached for flour/cornstarch for an ermine-style frosting until I landed on the possibility of Swiss meringue.
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An ancient Reddit thread on this possibility had remained unanswered. I opted to test it out, for my belief was that the mixture would not curdle if the difference in temperatures was minor. It quickly dawned on me that the I had no thermometer for validating the sugar syrup temperature - approximating it would be!

​Swiss meringue was formed by whipped to a glossy, sticky consistency, to which whipped cream was folded within. Vanilla extract and more sugar had been added into the cream, which made for an excessively sweet filling that, interestingly, bore traces of honey. I confirmed my suspicions though: Swiss meringue is a capable stabilizer.

​Halving the cake was no straightforward feat without a turntable and long-handled-knife. Moreover, due to curved edges of the plate atop it was resting, I was sliding the knife towards the cake at an angle. It was a miracle in itself that the layers were level. Coffee syrup was spooned - not brushed, for I had no pastry brush on hand - on top the bottom layer, then the cream filling would be smeared atop using a rice paddle.
Without an offset or bench scraper, I turned to Google for assistance. A mini cutting board would later be used to smooth the edges of the cake and obtain the "naked cake" appearance.

Two attempts at dalgona for topping ended in failure. The same would apply to a shiny, amber disc of burnt caramel that never set.

​The cream filling set up nicely overnight, but was still delicious on the day of. Positive remarks were received in regards to the cake. Though, the consensus lay with the creation being wholly too sweet, even when paired with a steaming mug of Americano.

My last venture of the day was soft-boiled eggs, notably easier and quicker to create on a gas stove than my induction stovetop at home.