Sweet Thea » flourless chocolate

Chocolate Mousse and Cake with Caramelized Pears

laurie — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:08:56 +0000

Bittersweet chocolate caramel mousse and flourless chocolate cake with golden rosemary infused caramelized pears, earl grey tea crème anglais, apricot fruit sage coulis and filo.

Served at Sooke Harbour house April 2004.

Canoli with Stewed Strawberries

laurie — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:32:10 +0000

White chocolate mousse filled canolis with stewed strawberries, bittersweet chocolate anise sorbet, blackcurrant and flourless chocolate cake pave and sweet cicely glaze.

Served at Sooke Harbour house March 9 2004.

David and Reynante’s Wedding Cake

laurie — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:15:49 +0000

David & Reynante

August 12, 2009

Base tier is flourless chocolate and raspberries, middle tier is passionfruit and raspberry, top pier passionfruit. Decorated in Sampaguita and Scotch Thistle.

location: Brock House Restaurant, Vancouver (where is that?)

Congratulations to a wonderful couple!

Specialty Wedding Cakes

laurie — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:48:03 +0000

Often Thea is asked if she can provide specialty cake for weddings, and the response is always ‘Yes!’

Her most frequent requests are for:

(a) flourless chocolate
(b) allergy-specific, such as spelt, egg-free, or dairy-free cake
(c) traditional fruitcake

Flourless chocolate cake is much like a Genoise cake – using air suspended in the batter during mixing to give volume, it uses low heat from melted chocolate to create an aerated chocolate custard, used to build the cake – a very delicious and safe option for gluten-free diets!

Flourless Chocolate Cake by Sweet Thea (photo credit Suzanne Paxton)

Spelt is an ancient grain, which has had a considerable revival as a health alternative in the last several years. The organic farming movement has embraced it because it uses fewer fertilizers than many grains, and it has a lower gluten-content, allowing some people with wheat allergy or intolerance to use it. Slightly crunchy with a nutty flavor, it can be sprouted, and has even been used to make vodka and beer!

a Sweet Thea Spelt Cake

Egg-free cakes are also quite popular. Many young children are hypersensitive to eggs, and some people remain allergic for their entire lifetime – some to egg whites, others the yolk, while some can’t tolerate either. This allergy can cause a severe overreaction of the immune system, leading straight to a hospital emergency room – not fun! Eggs work in a cake as an emulsifier – they help the ingredients to mix smoother – and other options are available – even applesauce can work as an emulsifier.

Dairy-free Cakes are very important, as dairy products affect many people poorly. Some are lactose-intolerant, while others are allergic to specific dairy-based items. The best way to manage these reactions is by avoiding milk proteins altogether. This is hard to do in an average supermarket, where most processed foods use dairy products or derivatives in their composition!

Fruit Cake is most often requested by couples of British descent, where it has been traditionally used since the Victorian era, when it was a symbol of prosperity and goodness; there is even an old wedding custom that has an unmarried wedding guest sleeping with a piece of the fruitcake underneath their pillow, so that they may dream of their future spouse!

Fruit Cake on the Top Tier

Thea is enthusiastic about bringing her preference to fresh, natural ingredients to her specialty cakes, and will be happy to design one for you. While many bakers prefer not to make specialty cakes, as it incurs additional cost and labor (and non-traditional ingredients can be fussy work in the kitchen!), Thea can generally deliver a delicious and beautiful high-quality cake for you, for only about an additional fifty cents per slice.

When you book your consultation with Thea, let her know about your specialty requirements – you will not need to sacrifice anything to have your dream cake on your special day!

Jennifer marries Marcel – wedding photos

laurie — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:49:34 +0000

Here are some charming photos sent to us by Jennifer Channon, from their wedding on August 2 of 2008 – what a beautiful happy couple! Every tier is a different flavor – chocolate & vanilla, black forest, passionfruit, and ‘Encore’ – flourless chocolate with raspberry mousse. Yum!

Photo credit: Uncle Rick & Laura Channon

Jennifer also sent this lovely email:

Marcel & I would be honoured to have the delicious & beautiful work of art that you created for our wedding on your fabulous new website! ..

I feel terrible I have yet to mail you the heartfelt thank you that you deserve for creating such a tremendously perfect confection for our day. It was a huge hit! It held up perfectly outside all day, it was exactly what we wanted and we couldn’t have been more pleased.

Photo credit: Uncle Rick & Laura Channon

4 tier square fondant cake with yellow ribbon

1st tier: Black & White (chocolate & vanilla)

2nd tier: Black Forest

3rd tier: Passionfruit

4th tier: Encore (flourless chocolate cake with raspberry mousse)

Photo credit: Uncle Rick & Laura Channon

location: private residence

guests: 70

More photos of this cake here. Congratulations Jen and Marcel, and thank you!

Nicole Misisco – Troy Gray Wedding (Photos by Suzanne Paxton)

laurie — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:29:15 +0000

Suzanne Paxton, The Image of You Photography, sent us these great photos of the cake for the Nicole Misisco – Troy Gray Wedding at Pitt Meadows Golf Club last summer: