Clear Flour Bread

Sometimes, it's nice to walk off the beaten path and stroll through the roads less traveled. On a beautiful afternoon, my friend Mazy (author of the blog Social Media Never Sleeps) and I decided to walk through the back streets of Commonwealth Avenue. We've always wanted to just wander aimlessly and see what we come upon. At this point, we were technically walking in Brookline and what we ultimately found was the perfect portrayal of the eclectic, boutique-y nature of Brookline. After only about a five minute walk behind the Comm. Ave. apartments, we found a beautiful, little bakery called Clear Flour Bakery. 

For a small bakery, they sure packed a lot of...everything! The minute you walk in, you see merchandise on the right, an entire bakery rack full of pastries, and an extremely wide arrangement of freshly baked bread. I absolutely loved it; everything looked so fresh. And if just seeing it for your own eyes isn't enough, then the open kitchen in the back says it all. I realized that I actually haven't seen an open bakery like this in a very long time. Isn't that the essence of any bakery? I think it's safe to say that the scent of bread baking in the oven is a natural wonder. Though I have never been to France, I'd like to think that I was transported to Europe for about ten minutes. 

So my friend and I, as per usual, decided to purchase an array of goods. We bought a bunch of desserts and bread. We bought everything from chocolate cakes, a crumb bar, a tart, brioche, and a fresh french baguette as well as sourdough bread. I really do feel like bread is a culinary trip for all five senses: the scent of fresh bread, the sight of a whole baguette, the sound when you break a piece off, the crunch after one bite contrasting with the warm interior, and I don't even need to go into the taste. And once again, just like old times, we ate it all with a mini charcuterie spread: prosciutto, two types of pate, and camembert. 

I did go back for a second round but I had to ask the employee how long this bakery has bene here for. To my surprise, it has been there for over 25 years. Where have I been!? I guess better late than never. I must say, it's a little dangerous that this bakery is so close to home. Now that I know an authentic bakery is just around the corner, I could see myself visiting quite often. And if you want to have a better idea of what exactly they sell, just visit their website. Their list of breads alone will have you salivating.

So what do you like most about bakeries? And just for kicks, what's your favorite kind of bread?

New Obsession: Macarons

Macarons are still a new concept for me personally. I was introduced to them relatively later than compared to other folks. Besides the typical confusion with "macarOOns" or the quite frequent sighting of these morsels on my Tumblr dashboard, there wasn't much talk or "eat" around macarons. It wasn't until I visited New York City that I was so determined to find a bakery that sold macarons. About a couple of months ago, I had my first macaron from Bouchon Bakery. The minute I bit into that almond goodness, I was sold. They're just amazing! And of course, being typical me, instead of buying one my first time, I ended up buying five!

So my family friends and I have all been obsessed with macarons to some degree by this point. It was our very goal to find a place in Massachusetts, preferably not too far from Boston, that specialized in authentic, French, delicious macarons. After quick research via our friends Google and Yelp, we found a seemingly promising cafe in Lexington, a town about twenty minutes out of Boston. Macaron Sweeterie, a very adorable gem in a very adorable town, is a cafe that sells not only macarons, but also gelato, teas, coffee and espresso. The store may not have too much space but their attention to detail and authenticity of their products are what really makes this place so successful. The minute you step through the door, you just already have the gut-feeling that this is the place to be if you want high-quality sweets. 

Step up onto a dark wooded-floor and you'll discover that, yes, there isn't much space. It only takes about one extra step or two to hit the cashier area of the counter after walking through the doors and the customer space in front of the counter was only about seven or eight regular strides wide. But the area behind the counter was wide open giving it almost like a workshop feel. It was kind of neat considering you could see everything that the counter staff was doing. The only available seating were two light-blue booth seats separated by a suspended sugar and mixer area for your beverages on-the-go. There were many shades of blue throughout the store all adorned with dark intricate designs. On the far left of the counter was a simple flower accent with a description of the store's macarons and gelato and on the far right was a nice display of suspended macarons inside a glass cover. But the decor doesn't stop there: it seems that their macarons are more versatile than we think! There were macaron tiers, macarons in a bird's nest, macaron towers, and even macarons hanging from strings in the front of the store. It still doesn't stop there. The lady in the store was extremely friendly and so informative. She let us know that they also sell affogatos-espresso poured over gelato-and macalatos-gelato sandwiched between two macaron shells-as well. She even told us how to care for them in terms of how long they would last for: about a week kept in the refrigerator and about four months kept in the freezer. Of course, time must be given to them so they can reach room temperature before eating. It was all very clear in the end: they live and breathe macarons! 

Now, not everyone knows what a macaron is. It's a sweet confectionery supposedly originating from France that is glutton-free that is made with almond flour or ground almond. Sandwiched between two macaron shells is commonly ganache, buttercream, or jam filling. Food coloring is what makes them all so colorful. What sets Macaron Sweeterie's macarons apart is that each one has their own personality, "made to be savored for their delicacy and unique character." They have about twelve to sixteen different original flavors a day including rotating seasonal flavors. You can purchase their macarons in sets too-mainly one, two, six, twelve, or twenty-four packages. I'd let you guys guess how many I bought but you'll probably get it right because it's so predictable. I actually bought a doppio espresso with six macarons: vanilla, nutella, caramal fleur de sel or salted caramel, rose petal, honey lavender, and pistachio. (Fun note: my family friends and I bought in total thirty-eight macarons.) A simple description of what it's like to eat a macaron is just basically heavenly. For starters, there are so many textures going on at once: the flakiness of the outer coating of the shells, the crunchy nice of the macaron shells themselves, and then the sweet creaminess of the filling. And of course the flavors are just out of this world. What I love about macarons is that the almond taste just adds a hint of nuttiness to the overall specific flavors. So in the end, everything is just absolutely perfect. In my opinion, when you're eating a macaron, you're pretty much on cloud nine!

Macarons are honestly a bit hard to find in the city itself. In the course of a whole semester, I found only about three places in Boston that sells macarons: Cakeology in downtown, Thinking Cup Cafe by the commons, and Crema Cafe in Cambridge by Harvard Square. I haven't tried them all but I must admit, the Macaron Sweeterie is a force to be reckoned with. I realized that it is always the small hidden gems of local towns that have the best of the best because they tend to specialize in one item and put the most care into being as authentic as they can be. And what else is great? Being able to enjoy them right in the vicinity of your own home! I have a lot left to eat. So...
Have you ever had a macaron before? If so, what is your favorite flavor? If not, GET ONE!

Zest Up the Chocolate

So first I want to just apologize for not blogging in awhile. College and real life got in the way! But no worries to all my amazing readers because after a twenty-minute driving slash contemplative session, I decided to put a twist on a classic! So it has been a pretty slow Tuesday; just one of those days. But I figured since I had so much free time, why not and bake something? It has been awhile too so why not right? Now I'm not sure if I've mentioned it yet, but I'm a hardcore chocaholic. But ironically, I actually don't like eating chocolate cake that much because in my opinion, it's not smooth enough! But I will eat a chocolate cake if the frosting and toppings are crazy good. So this is exactly what I decided to bake. How about some orange-infused dark chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream topping and a generous sprinkle of chocolate wafer bits and orange zest? Yup, we're putting the zest in chocolate!


Ingredients

• A box of chocolate cake mix (or you could do it from scratch; I used cake mix to save time and for my mother's kitchen's sake)
• Three eggs
• 1/2 cup of oil
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (or bought with no pulp)
• Whipped cream (I used store bought but you can certainly make it yourself by whipping together heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract)
• One full ripe orange
• Chocolate wafers

Procedures

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and make sure your cupcake wrappers are prepared in advance inside the cupcake pan.
2. Wet ingredients: crack and beat three eggs then add the oil, milk, and orange juice. Blend everything together well. The orange juice is what's going to add that zesty flavor to the chocolate mix.
3. Next, add in your dry ingredients slowly. In my case, I just slowly added the cake mix in and kept on mixing until everything was blended in nice and thoroughly.
4. Poor the mixture into eat cupcake cup about 2/3 of the way up so that when you bake them, they do not overflow too excessively. Bake for about 22-25 minutes!
5. While you wait for your cupcakes to finish baking, you can prepare your toppings!
• For the chocolate wafer bits, just put chocolate wafers into a plastic bag and smash them until everything is course and fine.
• For the orange zest, just zest up one full orange (Tip: Before you squeeze your orange juice, zest the same orange first in advance to save oranges and money!)
• Put the whipped cream into a plastic-lock bag and squeeze all of the contents into one corner. When you're ready to frost the cupcakes, just snip the end of the bag and you have yourself a quick and easy pastry bag!
6. After your cupcakes are finished baking, pull them out and let them cool. 
7. Now the fun part can commence: whip those cupcakes and sprinkle a healthy dose of chocolate wafer bits and orange zest for a colorful and crunchy dessert!

I actually didn't frost all of my cupcakes because I left one or two of them for me to taste. When I was younger, I never really liked the idea of something fruity mixed into my chocolate. I only liked pure chocolate and nothing else. But as I grew older, I somehow developed a palette for fruit and chocolate whether it is fruity-infused chocolate cakes, chocolate covered dried fruits, or even simple Raisinets. So this orange-infused cake was actually quite delicious! There wasn't a powerful orangey burst in your mouth of course, but the hint of orange was just enough to give the classic chocolate cake something out of the ordinary. The whipped cream was light, the wafers added a crunch all together and the orange zest was definitely a great way to add some zest overall. The cooking time wasn't very long at all. For something that only took about half an hour at the most, it looks good enough to EAT!

I definitely went a bit out of my zone for this time around. I'm not the most skilled baker in the world, but I do like to try making food visually appealing and tastefully amazing the best that I can. I actually had my first orange-chocolate twist at a candy shop here in Boston called Truffles and yes, it is one of the few fruit-and-chocolate blends I loved! 

What is your favorite fruit-and-chocolate goodie?

{Travel Size It} Sontuoso Illy Issimo

What does a long weekend mean to me? What else than an opportunity to travel? During the President's Day weekend, I had the privilege to attend an amazing opportunity. I am a member of the executive board of Boston University's chapter of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality. To make a description of an amazing networking, professionalism developing, all-kinds-of-fun packing organization short, we plan and attend site visits to a vast array of hospitality brands, social events, community service opportunities, as well as major annual conferences. Recently, I just returned from NSMH's Nationals Conference which was held at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City near Washington D.C. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life!...But I'll leave it at that, because I want to get to the munchies!

So across the street was the Renaissance and I couldn't help but notice a sign that says "Illy". Illy Issimo cafe isn't something new to me; we serve the coffee at Sweet Cupcakes! But I've never seen a Illy Issimo coffee shop! For those who are unfamiliar, it is basically a luxurious brand of Italian coffee where the packaging is different; "in steel containers pressurized with inert gas rather than air."A friend of mine gave it great remarks so as you all know, I just had to see it for myself. Turns out, the name of the cafe was Espressamente Illy. Walk into a contemporary haven of bright whites, bold reds, and splashes of black. As you greet the knowledgeable barista, you can't avoid the sleek-silver coffee and espresso machines ready to be handled with cafe expertise. Now, I've had Illy Italian drip coffee but I have never had their specialties; espressos, lattes, macchiatos, freddos you name it. My friend got himself a single espresso with a dollop of whipped cream on top; an Espresso con Panna! Served in a mini-espresso coffee cup, just the right amount of bitterness and earthiness to have just about anyone wired for a fully packed day. For me, I wanted to try something that was out of the box; so I went for a single Greco All'Italiana. If the exclusive Illy freddo cup wasn't enough to catch your attention, then the perfect balance between ice, milk, and espresso had to do the trick. You even have a nice dusting of chocolate powder on top! It had the chill of a cappuccino and the energy-inducing power a cold espresso treat should have. I just couldn't get over the freddo glass; how neat! But just to note, you don't want to miss the classy goods the cafe has to offer. There were desserts that resembled a chocolate cake cylinder elegantly garnished with a long chocolate shaving and even pies! Unfortunately, I had to abstain myself but I promise you all, I won't be holding back next time. But as great as the experience for the palette was, there was much more to appreciate.

If it isn't food, then it's art that has me marveling at any coffee shop. It's ordinary for a coffee brand to have art incorporated into its mission and values; almost every one I've been to has showcased a local artist of some sort. Illy's art project is derived from an ancient Greek philosophy called kalokagathia; "what is good cannot but be beautiful, what is beautiful can only be good." When applied to the Illy experience, "taste and beauty are inseparable". So Illy has chosen creativity to express its values and philosophy, "for a complete coffee experience involving the eye and the mind." As you walk around Espressamente Illy, you will notice a series of cups all designed by contemporary artists, all of which are miniature versions of reputable pieces and wholly contribute to the Illy Art Collection. Illy has also given artists the opportunity to design onto their cans, which they call the designer coffee cans. I find it absolutely unique; it adds a different perspective for coffee drinkers. The art on all of these coffee cups just added a cultural element to a very modern place.

It was like a brief moment of perfect pleasure. An hour out of a busy day to just enjoy a small glass of espresso and marvel at each and every single piece of art displayed. And to discover and understand Illy's connection between taste, the cafe experience, and beauty, the art on the coffee cups, made me feel nothing short of appreciation. I love when art is showcased because it shows an appreciation of culture from not only the people purchasing the coffee but also the brand itself.
I think people just enjoy art for various reasons. But when they are displayed in cafes, it adds a different vibe. Why do you like the art in cafes?