The Suisse Shop

Where was The Suisse Shop when I was choosing wedding cake? The answer is: Polaris Parkway, where they've been located since 2003, quietly dominating the Columbus wedding cake market. And actually, wedding cake is just one thing they've perfected. Perfection is the name of The Suisse Shop's game and as much as it sounds like hyperbole, all of The Suisse Shop's offerings are flawless. They hit a magical point of balance with each product, never being overly rich or cloying texture while still offering an amazing flavor profile.

In The Suisse Shop's nearly 27 year history, European pastries have been their specialty, offering an authentic product made with the highest quality ingredients available. We sampled a beautiful array of cakes, pastries and cookies during our visit, here are a few of my favorites:

Chocolate Decadence Torte - This comes as close to chocolate cake perfection as one can get. The cake has a delicate texture with deep rich chocolate flavor and the butter-cream frosting's impossibly smooth texture make for the perfect finish.

Pumpkin Walnut Pound Cake - Normally, i can take or leave things that fit into either the "pound cake" or "pumpkin" categories, but this was really tasty. The pound cake highlighted the delicate flavor of the pumpkin, allowing the spices to play a supporting role in the background - right where they belong.

Sugar Cookie - The sugar cookie is the bar by which i judge baking. so simple and yet so easy to get wrong. The Suisse Shop's sugar cookie is just slightly chewy, having the perfect amount of body that plays well against the light and heavenly icing. Not one hint of the overly sugary "so sweet it will make your mouth ache" some sugar cookies can be guilty of (I'm looking at you Cheryl's Cookies).

Suisse Almond Torte - If The Suisse Shop had a signature item, this would be it. And signature worthy, it is. The pure, rich flavor of natural almond really translates in this torte, providing a rich background for the raspberry filling, which sings on top of it all.

What impressed me about The Suisse Shop was the painstaking and impeccable detail that goes into creating their product. Only the best ingredients are sourced from around the globe (you won't find any crisco in this kitchen), recipes are researched and perfected (sometimes for years!) before they hit the cases and quality and consistency are never compromised. Another thing I love about The Suisse Shop is that their products are priced appropriately. What you're paying a fair price for is quality, not pretension or trend. Five inch versions of their tortes, called "Cute Cakes" are available for $15. Speaking of trendy, Columbus Monthly named The Suisse Shop's cupcakes the best in Columbus, and considering the competition, that's no small feat.

And even though this gem just recently hit my radar, The Suisse Shop has plenty of loyal clientele who have been worshiping them for years. Seasonal orders for pies and cookies book up quickly, so if you'd like to serve The Suisse Shop goodies this Thanksgiving, you should get on the phone now. Pictured (from top, clockwise): Chocolate Chip Cookie, Princess Bar Cookie, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie and Coconut Triangle.

The Suisse Shop
2119 Polaris Parkway
Columbus, Ohio 43240
614.846.5102

*This review was completed upon request for Columbus Underground. Thanks for asking me, guys!

i heart northstar

northstar cafe offers the perfect warm-you-up treat for cold winters days: hot chocolate and a raisin oatmeal cookie. the northstar's hot chocolate is so rich and decadent, i could make a meal of it. it's topped with cold, dense whipped cream and bits of dark chocolate covered in cocoa powder. so good!

pecan pie bars

this recipe comes from my neighbor back home, who is an excellent baker. it's fairly easy to put together and is rich, gooey and nutty. the recipe calls for brickle chips, which can be hard to find. i found mine at meijer after striking out at kroger. heath brand makes both toffee bits and chocolate toffee bits. i've never tried the chocolate ones, but i can't imagine it would be bad.

i like to use a little trick with tin foil to make cutting easier. before baking, line the pan with tin foil, using a long piece of foil running the long way in the pan. make sure the foil comes up to and covers the short sides of the pan. now take a second piece of foil and lay it across the pan the other way, so that the long sides of the pan are covered in foil. when the pecan bars are completely cool, lift them out of the pan with the foil. this helps to avoid making a mess with cutting and then scooping the fragile bars out of the pan. the same trick works really well with brownies.

pecan pie bars

2 c flour
1/2 c confectioners sugar
1 c cold butter

14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 8 oz. package of brickle chips
1 c chopped pecansA

cut butter into flour until course, press firmly into 9" x 13" pan. bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

beat egg, milk, vanilla, and then stir in pecans and brickle chips. spread over crust. bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. cool completely and cut into 1 inch squares.

that jeni...

is a flavor genius.
i was blown away today by a seasonal sorbet from jeni's: the cranberry royale.
cranberry royale is the joyful marriage of cranberry, grapefruit and champagne. each component pops in perfect harmony with the others, it's tart, sweet and complex. this sorbet had me thinking, where else i can recreate this beautiful flavor combination, or will i need to buy cranberry royale by the pint and eat it daily to satisfy my cravings?
behold:

crepes in bed

the wedding is over. it was wonderful. and the food was excellent, as expected.
we went on a honeymoon. it was also wonderful. and the food was ok, as expected.

when i get the photographers pics, i'll blog the wedding food.
until then, here's a short word about the food we ate on the honeymoon. we stayed at an all-inclusive resort that was perfect for relaxation, sunshine and fun. the food was good, but nothing to rave about. there was one highlight to mention, and that is crepes. there was a creperie on the resort that had a really fantastic mexican crepe (with caramel and nuts) served with homemade coconut ice cream. once we discovered this little gem, it became a nightly ritual to get the crepes to go and eat them in bed. yum:

i'm back - boston food

thanks to skybus, a friend and i scored some $10 tickets to boston. columbus foodies: if you can get $10 tickets to boston, do it! boston had some great food, unfortunately there just weren't enough meals in my 4 day trip to fit in all the food i wanted to eat.

i was surprised by the quantity and quality of ethnic food in boston. the north end had an impressive offering of italian cuisine and specialty shops. we also had a great time in china town. i'd like to go back and eat for a few days straight in china town. two meals i regret not eating in china town: shabu shabu and dim sum. maybe next time. another thing that surprised me was the quantity of french food to be had in boston. maybe it's columbus' decided lack of french food that made it seem so prevalent.

a tasty dessert of fresh berries with brown sugar and honey creme fraiche from bouchee:
doing my best to consume as much lobster as humanly possible, i had this yummy dish of lobster ravioli with crab cream sauce at trattoria il panino:
then it was on to modern pastry for the best cannoli of my life. no joke:

other notable desserts were the chocolate gateau petit robert from le petit robert:
and the giant profiterole also from le petit robert:

and the crowning jewel of the entire trip, a dish so good i've thought about it at least once a day every day since and what will be my next recipe to obsessively attempt to duplicate and perfect:

carrot cake pancakes with maple cream cheese butter

from sugar magnolia's in gloucester mass. yeah, you heard it right. carrot cake + pancakes + maple + cream cheese + butter = pure heaven. i think i moaned aloud for the -entire- meal. so light and fluffy, yet rich. texture was perfect and the taste was just the right amount of pancake and just the right amount of carrot cake. i'd fly back to boston just to eat these pancakes.

batter & bowl - new vendor at the worthington farmer's market

at the worthington farmer's market, there's a new vendor who has some really yummy baked goods. the pie above is a berry pie that was pretty tasty. i also had a mexican brownie that was so good i ate it before i could take a picture. batter and bowl's mexican brownie has cinnamon and cayenne pepper, yum! check these ladies out:

batter and bowl
custom cakes, cookie & more
sara yates
614.905.1922
batterandbowl at gmail.com

raspberry lemon creams

raspberry lemon creams

for phyllo cups:
1 lb package of phyllo dough
2/3 cups sugar
2 sticks butter

for lemon curd:
(from epicurious)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
3/4 stick butter, cut into bits

for cream:
2 cups chilled whipping cream
3 tsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

for garnish:
1 pint raspberries
lemon zest

equipment:
mini muffin tins
pastry bag
cooling rack
zester

prepare lemon curd using the following method: whisk together juice, zest, sugar & eggs in a heavy saucepan. stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of a whisk and first bubble appears in surface, about 8 minutes. transfer to a bowl and chill for at least one hour.

prepare phyllo cups using following method: melt butter. layer 6 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing with butter and sprinkling with sugar between layers. cut into squares big enough to lay in mini muffin tin cups. bake cups at 375 degrees until golden, about 10 minutes. cool on baking racks.

for filling: beat cream ingredients together until stiff peaks form. fold in lemon curd and beat briefly.

assembly: put filling into pastry bag and pipe into phyllo cups. garnish with raspberries and lemon zest. refrigerate until serving, but not longer than 6 hours.

makes about 48 pastries

after my tart issues, i needed to redeem my baking abilities. i have to say this recipe was a lot of work but really worth it. they make a pretty presentation and they taste excellent. i am glad i made my own lemon curd, it's easy and it tastes great. i am not glad i made the phyllo cups. they were a pain to make and i've heard a rumor you can buy them pre-made. i'd go for this next time.

strawberry tart

i made this strawberry tart from an everyday food recipe found here. i added about 1/8 c ground almonds to the dough. it turned out fine, but there were two aspects that were less than perfect:

1. fresh out of the fridge, the dough was too tough. you had to exert a fair amount of force with a fork to break off a bite. after the tart came up to room temp an hour or two later, the dough had a nice shortbread-y consistency and was easy to eat. however, by this time the cream cheese had really gotten runny. i can't figure out if this is a function of the dough recipe or temperature. i don't know enough about pastry to figure it out and that frustrates me. mix it less in the food processor? don't add almonds? serve at just below room temperature? grrr.

2. also, the glaze wasn't as smooth as i wanted. despite spending about 20 minutes in whole foods examining every jelly they had by holding it up to the light to see if it looked clear enough, i still had trouble with it. this happened with the orange, honey & pistachio tart too and i used orange marmalade. it seems like the jelly gets up to a certain temperature, boils a little and then doesn't fully liquefy. i'm trying not to burn it and i both times i heated for over 20 minutes. next time maybe i should use a whisk and heat even longer?

lack of patience and an unwillingness to follow a recipe to the letter are just a few examples of why baking is not my calling. this being said, i do love to consume baked goods, so i guess i'll soldier on and hope to improve along the way.

on a positive note, the taste of the tart was really delicious and was a great way to highlight strawberries that are finally in season!

orange, honey and pistacho tart

a while ago, three flavors were bouncing around in my head.
orange, honey, pistachio. orange, honey, pistachio. orange, honey, pistachio.
after mulling things over for a while, this is what developed.
it's cool, juicy, and refreshing with a crispy, rich crust. a yummy summer dessert.

orange, honey and pistachio tart

tart crust:
1/4 cup pistachios
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, cold & cut into small pieces
1/3 c sugar

mascarpone filling:
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 tbs honey
2 tsp orange zest
2 tbs orange juice

topping:
segments from 6 oranges

glaze:
1/4 c orange marmalade (clear variety)
2 tbs honey

garnish:
1/8 c pistachios, roughly chopped

preheat oven to 350 degrees. put pistachios in the food processor, and run until finely ground. add remaining tart crust ingredients and blend until moist crumbs form. place in tart pan and press dough evenly into pan. freeze crust for about 15 minutes.
pierce crust with a fork and bake for 25 minutes.

cut oranges into segments and set aside.
blend ingredients for mascarpone filling with a spatula in a metal bowl and set aside.

when crust is golden, remove from oven and allow to completely cool.

take a break, and enjoy a pom pomegranate lychee green tea. i love that stuff.

when crust is cool, spread mascarpone filling evenly and arrange orange segments on filling. heat marmalade and honey over low heat until smooth and liquid. brush over orange segments and garnish with chopped pistachios.
chill for at least one hour before serving.