Saying "I Love You" with handmade sweets

By Douglas Habecker & Niang Chen
Translated by Naomi Lai

Probably since the dawn of time, the presentation of delicious morsels of food have been utilized to express one's affections for another. As man's culinary achievements have been refined and perfected, these items have evolved into exquisite edibles that today range from the tried-but-true heart-shaped box of chocolates to detailed cakes and pastries, laden with colorful frostings and fruit.

For Valentine's Day this year, Taichung's bakeries, restaurants and hotels are pulling out all stops, as usual, to ensure both men and women have no shortage of options when it comes to expressing their affections. However, Compass Magazine has gone a bit further this time to offer readers the opportunity to present their loved one with something they made themself. Below are a number of Valentine's Day treats, specifically recommended by leading city bakery chefs, not only for the ability to generate amorous feelings of romance, but also because it's actually possible--to varying degrees--to make them yourself, if you're feeling ambitious and inspired enough. According these chefs, all/most of the ingredients noted should be available at local bakery supply shops and other retailers. Have fun!

Truffle Chocolate (Patisserie Colette) Tel. (04) 2258-7998.

Chef: Tatjana Yeh
With years of overseas training and experience in world-famous establishment like Carton bakery and The Ritz in Paris, Tatjana Yeh, owner and head pastry chef at the popular bakery cafe Patisserie Colette, knows a few things about sinfully-rich French-style pastries, chocolates and other goodies. For novice chefs, she recommends Truffle Chocolates--moist, buttery chocolate balls rolled in cocoa powder to take on the irregular shapes of real truffles. "These are really easy to make and mistake-proof," she says. "You might make them really ugly, but they're still truffle chocolates." Asked why these make good Valentine's Day giflts, she simply replied, "It's chocolate and it's delicious." Patisserie Colette doesn't regularly offer Truffle Chocolates, but romantics who want to purchase something just as good can opt for the very similar, and tasty, Collete Name Chocolates--cocoa-dusted squares of chocolate that will be offered--12 to a box--from early February.

Truffle Chocolate Recipe
Ingredients
250g of Cream (President brand)
350g of Bittersweet Chocolate
Pinch of salt
25g of Rum (can be replaced by Grand Marnier liqueur)
Cocoa Powder (for dusting)
Directions
1. Boil the cream.
2. Pour the boiling cream over chocolate. Mix with a spatula in circular motion.
3. Add salt and the liquor.
Let the mass to harden in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Scoop out a portion of the chocolate and roll it in the palm to make a small ball. Roll the chocolate ball in cocoa powder. This recipe should make about 30-50 chocolates, depending on their size.

Heart-to-Heart Cake (Hotel National) Tel. (04) 2321-4066.

Chef: Lin Tien-tsai
With 30 years of pastry-making experience, Chef Lin is also a famous dessert teacher at the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training. This Heart-to-Heart Cake is essentially a soft moist chocolate cake with a nutty crunch. With every bite you'll feel the soft, sweet fragrance of the chocolate oozing between your teeth.

Heart-to-Heart Cake Recipe
Chocolate Cake (first layer)
Ingredients
Bittersweet Chocolate 20g (55-65% cocoa)
Cream 15g
Cake Flour 15g
Egg White 1 egg
Granulated Sugar 24g
Nuts 15g
Directions:
1. Prepare a six-inch heart-shaped mold, place foil paper on the bottom and grease mold well. Pre-heat the oven at 180℃.
2. Melt the chocolate with hot cream in a pan over water until well mixed and smooth.
3. In another pan, beat the egg white with granulated sugar until firm, then add half into the chocolate mixture and stir gently.
4. Add sifted flour and mix well. Add remaining egg white and stir gently till well-mixed. Pour into greased mold and sprinkle with nuts.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.
Chocolate Mousse (second layer)
Ingredients:
Milk 70g
1 Egg Yolk
Granulated Sugar 15g
Bittersweet Chocolate 100g
Gelatin Powder 3g
Cold Water 15g
Cream 120g
Directions:
1. Place gelatin in cold water. Heat the pan over water until gelatin is melted.
2. Mix egg yolk with sugar till smooth and add boiling milk. Stir until well-mixed.
3. Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a pan over water. Add egg mixture into melted chocolate. Stir till smooth and add gelatin. Stir well then set aside.
4. Beat the cream until fluffy (the foam should drip slowly), then add mixture from #3, stir well and pour into heart-shaped mold above the chocolate cake. Smooth out the top and refrigerate for two hours.
You can also decorate the cake with white chocolate, seasonal fruits or any preferred toppings such as nuts.

Marcarons & Cassis Chocolate Cake (Hotel ONE) Tel. (04) 2303-1234.

Chef: Bansen Su, Liz Bakery
Senior Sous Chef Bansen Su has run Hotel ONE's first-floor Liz Bakery for over three years, since the hotel opened. For Valentine's Day, he recommends two very different items--cute little, colorful Macaron pastries, and a much more substantial Cassis Chocolate Cake. He says the Macarons are sour and sweet flavored "just like love" while the cake is a romantic gift, not just because of its creamy-sweet flavor, but also because of its red/pink cassis colors. Su goes a bit deeper, declaring that the cake's two layers come together, balancing and complementing each other like a good relationship. If you're too busy to try making these items yourself, call the bakery (preferably three days in advance) to put in your Valentine's Day order.

Cassis Chocolate Cake
Ingredients (for two 6-inch cakes)
Pastry:
Egg yolk 80g (approx. 4 eggs)
Cake flour 225g
Granulated sugar 145g
Baking powder 15g
Butter 210g
Almond slices 15g
Cassis (Blackcurrant) Mousse:
Blackcurrant puree 180g
Gelatin 4.5 pcs.
Egg yolk 180g Plain yogurt 22g
Superfine sugar 45g (caster sugar)
Cream 262g
Chocolate:
White chocolate 40g
Gelatin 1 pc.
Cream 40g
Decoration:
Dark chocolate shreds, blueberries, strawberries
Directions
1. Beat egg yolks with granulated sugar until smooth. Stir in butter and set aside.
2. Sift flour with baking powder. Add to #1, mix well and form into a ball.
3. Put the dough in the fridge for two hours.
4. Press the dough into 1-cm thickness and cut with heart-shaped mold. Sprinkle with almond slices. Bake for 16 minutes at 180-200℃. Set aside to cool.
5. Melt blackcurrant puree at room temperature. Soften the gelatin in cold water. Whip the cream.
6. Boil sugar with water until it reaches 112℃. Add egg yolk and beat until well-mixed. Stir in blackcurrant puree, plain yogurt, softened gelatin pieces and whipped cream separately. Stir until well-mixed.
7. Pour the mixture into the mold, on top of the pastry, and set aside in the freezer.
8. Melt white chocolate with cream. Blend in the softened gelatin.
9. Remove chilled cake from the freezer, evenly drizzle white chocolate mixture on the top. Take out of the cake mold when firm.
10. Decorate with dark chocolate shreds, strawberry pieces and blueberries.

Macaron
Ingredients (for 15)
Egg white 20g (2/3 egg)
Confectionary (powdered) sugar 45g
Granulated sugar 5g Almond powder 25g
Directions
1. Mix sifted confectionary sugar with almond powder.
2. Beat egg white and granulated sugar until firm. Gently stir in mixture #1 until well-mixed.
3. Squeeze into little balls. Let sit for 30 minutes, then bake for 13 minutes at 160-180℃.
4. Add various fillings of choice (creams, jams, etc.) after chilled.

Napoleon Strawberry Tart (Evergreen Laurel Hotel Bakery) Tel. (04) 2313-9988, ext. 2173

Chef: Ben Chang
This crispy pastry, filled with whipped cream and decorated with fresh strawberries and almonds, was inspired by Napoleon's love interest, Josephine. Josephine loved strawberries, especially topped with whipped cream or confectionary sugar. This strawberry tart was thus created in memory of Napoleon's love for her. Pastry Chef Chang, who has worked at Evergreen Laurel Gourmet Shop for 18 years, since it opened, remarks, "If Napoleon was still alive, maybe he could have won back Josephine's heart with this strawberry tart." If you purchase a six-inch or larger Napoleon Strawberry Tart or special Strawberry Cocktail at the hotel, you can get a free ticket to a Napoleon Exhibition. The bakery is also offering a variety of handmade chocolates in heart-shaped boxes (including edible ones). Call for details and reservations (3 days in advance).

Ingredients
Filling
Milk 350g
Sugar 60g
Cake flour 20g
Corn starch 20g
3 Egg yolks
Vanilla bean 1/4 pc.
Butter 300g
Icing sugar 120g
Crust
Ready-made pastry, several sheets
Decoration
Fresh strawberries, kiwi fruit slices, apple slices, pistachios
Directions
1. Mix cake flour, corn starch and egg yolks. Boil milk with sugar. Add boiling milk into egg mixture and heat till thick. Sit aside to cool.
2. Beat butter with icing sugar until smooth, then add milk mixture (1) and mix well to make filling.
3. Spread filling on top of a layer of baked pastry, place a layer of sliced strawberries, then a layer of filling, and then a layer of pastry until you have two layers of fillings.
4. Decorate with fresh strawberries, kiwi fruit or apple slices and pistachios.