French pastries day 2: Guimauves and madeleines

Day two of my French pastries course at the Bonnie Gordon school started quietly enough. We were to finish decorating the macarons we made the day before, and we were to bake the canelés batter sitting in the fridge.

But in the middle of our demo on guimauves, I realized what I dismissed as a mere headache was quickly becoming a migraine, an ailment I had avoided since becoming pregnant and having my baby.

French pastries course day 1: Macarons and canelés

You've heard me say it a kajabillion times so I won't draw this out for too long. I love macarons. But try as I might, I was unable to reproduce these heavenly confections in my own oven.

So when Toronto's Bonnie Gordon's School of Confectionary Arts offered a two-day French pastries course teaching how to make macarons, among other things, I leapt at the opportunity. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, I cleared it with my husband and mother to see if they could cover watching my son for the two days before registering. And then I leapt.

Walnut torte with dark rum syrup

This torte is not for the faint of heart. It is dense, it is sticky, it is syrupy sweet. The recipe for this walnut torte comes from Jill O'Connor's "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey."

I've referred to this book time and time again (Re: Bahama Mama Banana Rum cake; Sticky Toffee Pudding; Cheesecake pops) and this won't be the last time either.

I made this cake for my mother's birthday this year, as she had pointed it out in the book as something she'd like to eat.

Barefoot Contessa's Ice Cream Bombe

I promised myself I'd tackle one of Martha Stewart's ice cream bombes this summer, a rather delicate, precious one called a "raspberry pavlova bombe" that involves placing dozens of delicate raspberries inside a bowl.

Yes, well, as much as I'd love to do that, I thought I'd start with something less ambitious. And so when I saw the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for an ice cream bombe in her book "Barefoot in Paris" I knew I'd found the right recipe for me: only three ingredients.

Giada's pea pesto crostini

It's my unspoken mandate to write mainly about baking and pastries, although I do veer off track now and again, and this is one of those times because I just can't resist.

While planning for a barbecue at our house this summer, I decided to add something new to the tried-and-true mix of hummus and kebab that appear at every gathering.

I made hummus, yes, but I also made Giada's pea pesto crostini. I had all the ingredients on hand and I was able to whip it up in a jiffy even though I also had to make several other dishes for our lunch.