Trust us when we say, these cakes did not last long in the presence of our staff. Moist, gooey, perfectly sweet; everything you could want in a cake and more. The fact that it pairs so wonderfully with our 2016 Meritage is, well, icing on the cake! Thanks to Chef David Sider at Redstone Winery for whipping up this delicious recipe for us to pair and share.
A beautiful cake and a beautiful bottle of fine wine…there may not be a better way to say HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to the special Mom in your life. Whether you make it as a surprise or spend time baking together, we guarantee this combo would be a hit this weekend.
Ingredients:
Cake:
220g all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
300g granulated sugar
45g unsweetened cocoa powder
2g baking powder
3g baking soda
1g salt
2 large eggs
115g vegetable oil
225g whole milk
Filling:
220g heavy cream
45g whole milk
220g semisweet chocolate, chopped
45g unsalted butter, room temperature
Glaze:
12g powdered gelatin, unflavoured
60g cold water (for gelatin)
70g unsweetened cocoa powder
75g room temperature water (for cocoa powder)
200g granulated sugar
140g heavy cream
Method:
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour an 8 inch cake pan and set aside. Combine all wet ingredients, as well as all dry ingredients, and whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients one third at a time. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out of the center clean. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan, and then cool completely.
For the filling:
Combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until combined. Once all the chocolate has melted whisk in the butter. Let cool completely.
For the glaze:
Combine the gelatin and cold water and mix until dissolved. Combine the cocoa powder and water and mix to form a paste. Combine the sugar and heavy cream and cook over medium heat until it reaches a simmer. Add the cocoa powder mixture and the gelatin mixture and cook until hot to the touch, approximately 5 minutes. Note – the glaze must be kept warm until ready to use so it is best made once you are ready to glaze the cake.
To finish:
Cut the cake in half horizontally and fill the middle with the chocolate filling. You may also wish to shave a bit off of the top of the cake so the top is flat. Transfer the cake onto a wire rack over a baking sheet. In a quick, confident fashion, pour the warm glaze over the cake. It is important to pour the glaze relatively quickly and only at the top of the cake. Have confidence that the glaze will flow over the cake rather than trying to pour all around the sides etc. Let stand until the glaze is set (approx. 30 minutes) and serve.
This recipe from David Sider at Redstone Restaurant is simple, filling, and oh, so flavourful.
Ingredients:
2 cups dried chickpeas soaked overnight in 6 cups water
2 celery stalks
1 carrot
1 leek
8 sprigs thyme (tied together)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 pints cherry tomato
4 slices high quality sourdough bread, ½” slices
Salt and black pepper to taste
1C combined picked parsley, basil, dill, and tarragon
Method:
Cut the celery, carrot, and leek in half lengthwise and tie together using butchers twine. Combine the vegetables, thyme, and drained chickpeas in a large pot and cover with 6 cups of water. Heat to just below a simmer and cook until the chickpeas are tender, approximately 90 minutes. Remove from the heat and season liberally with salt and black pepper.
To serve:
Set your oven to broil. Drizzle some of the olive oil over the bread and toast. Broil the tomatoes until the skins crack and they begin to collapse, about 3 minutes.
Laddle the warm chickpeas into bowls and finish with the tomatoes and herbs. Garnish liberally with olive oil (approx. 25mL per bowl) Serve with Toasted Sourdough.
Recommended Pairing:
2019 Tawse Gamay Noir, now available at the LCBO.
Another delicious recipe from Chef Sider at Redstone Restaurant! This time it’s a great option for Easter as an alternative to a traditional Ham dinner. Paired with a Tawse Wine, it’s a match made in Niagara Winery Heaven!
Ingredients:
8 pieces chicken thighs, skin on
2L water
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 medium Vidalia Onion, small dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeds removed, diced
2 cups frozen peaches, pit removed (or fresh in season)
1 tbsp smoked papria
1tbsp chili powder
1/2 cup apple cider vinegard
2 cups honey
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
The day before:
Combine the water, salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Allow to cool completely and pour over the chicken thighs. Refrigerate for 12 hours.
Combine all ingredients for the BBQ Sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour and puree in a blender. Exercise extreme care when pureeing hot liquids. The BBQ Sauce can be made up to a week in advance.
To serve:
Remove the chicken thighs from the brine and pat dry with paper towel. Season with salt and black pepper and grill, skin side down over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes. Flip the chicken and brush with the BBQ sauce. Continue to do this, flipping and re-basting every 4-5 minutes until cooked through, approximately 15 minutes.
Enjoy with a bottle of 2019 Lawrie Pinot Gris!
It’s Vege-Wednesday! This week we’re excited to have a recipe from Chef Sider at Redstone Winery & Restaurant for you.
The wines we feature on Vege-Wednesdays are certified Vegan friendly by VegeCert, an organization that certifies vegan and vegetarian products. This means the wine in question was not made using any animal byproducts. But some of you have been wondering, what does that mean?
🌱Sometimes fining agents that are made from things like eggs, isinglass, and casein are used in the production of wine. This would result in a wine NOT being considered Vegan! Wines of ours that do not have any of these animal byproducts used during production proudly carry the VegeCert certification of being Vegan.
Apricot-Glazed Tofu with Catalan-Style Spinach
Ingredients
- 2 lbs extra firm tofu, pressed & dried
Glaze
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 honey or your favourite substitute
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
- 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch each ground nutmeg, ground cloves, black pepper
Catalan-Style Spinach
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, diced
- 1/2 cup unsalted mixed nuts (or whatever you have on hand! We like almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, and pistachios) toasted and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup mixed dried fruit (Chef recommends raisins, apricot, dates, and figs) roughly chopped
- 1 shallot, minced
- 5 oz baby spinach
- splash of dry white wine (2016 Cuddy Chardonnay works perfectly!)
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Bring all glaze ingredients to a boil and simmer until combined, approximately 5 minutes. Cool.
Preheat oven to 425F. Cut each piece of tofu into slices and shingle them out on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Pour the glaze evenly over the tofu and wrap tightly in the foil. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake a further 10 minutes.
Heat a pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add diced apple and sauté until caramelized. Add the nuts and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly. Add minced shallots and dried fruit, cook until both are soft, approx. 3-4 minutes. Finally, add the spinach and cook until evenly wilted. Season with salt and splash of dry white wine and cook for a final 1-2 minutes.
Remove the hot tofu from the aluminum foil and lay out on serving platter. Place spinach around tofu and serve!
Pairing with Wine
We recommend pairing this delicious recipe 2016 Cuddy Chardonnay, certified Vegan by VegeCert! Delightfully sticky sweet but layered with toasted nut flavours and earthy greens, this dish highlights the fruity characteristics and subtle oak on a crisp and dry Chardonnay. Hearty but light, this pairing is just waiting to be enjoyed on the patio, in the warm, setting sun on a new Spring evening.
This sweet, spicy, tart recipe is the perfect pairing for an equally intriguing Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine…
CRUST
– 5oz Gingernaps
– 1 cup Walnuts
– 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
– 4 tbsp Butter, melted
FILLING
– 12oz bag of fresh Cranberries
-1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
– 3 large eggs
– 2 egg yolks
– pinch of salt
– 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
– 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp & cut into pieces
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F, lightly spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.
- Put the gingersnaps in a food processor and process until they are fine crumbs (a heaping cup) Add the walnuts, and brown sugar and process again until everything is finely ground. Add the butter and process briefly to combine.
- Pat the crust into your pie plate, and up the sides. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Put the cranberries, 1 cup of the sugar, and 1/4 cup water to a simmer in a saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer the cranberries, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until they’ve popped and the mixture is quite thick. Let cool slightly and then puree until completely smooth.
- Whisk the puree, the eggs, yolks, salt, lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar together in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, this will take about 10 minutes or so. Stay by the pan the whole time and stir!
- Push the curd through a mesh strainer, using the back of a spoon to get it all through.
- Let the curd cool for a few minutes and then drop the room temperature butter in, bit by bit, while you stir to melt it.
- Pour the curd into the pie crust and smooth out evenly. Chill the pie until it is firm, about 2 hours or so.
- Decorate with sugared cranberries and fresh Thyme sprigs!
It’s Vege-Wednesday! We’re bringing back our Vegan Wine features with a little twist….now you can pair these wines with a delicious Vegan meal (tried and tested and plates completely cleaned by our team here, so you know they’re good!)
We’re thrilled to be continuing to partner with VegeCert in certifying our Vegan and Vegetarian wines, making it easier for Vegan customers to find and enjoy new and exciting wines in their area!
The wines we feature on Vege-Wednesdays are certified Vegan friendly by VegeCert, an organization that certifies vegan and vegetarian products. This means the wine in question was not made using any animal byproducts. But some of you have been wondering, what does that mean?
🌱Sometimes fining agents that are made from things like eggs, isinglass, and casein are used in the production of wine. This would result in a wine NOT being considered Vegan! Wines of ours that do not have any of these animal byproducts used during production proudly carry the VegeCert certification of being Vegan.
Now, let’s get cooking!
Orecchiette with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce & Carrot Top Gremolata
Ingredients
- 8–10 ounces orecchiette pasta, cooked in salted water, according to package directions.
Carrot Miso Sauce:
- 2 shallots, rough chopped
- 4–6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 heaping cups carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons White Miso Paste
Carrot Top Gremolata
- 1/2 cup carrot tops (tender leaves) packed
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley
- 1 fat garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup– 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions: Pasta
- COOK PASTA: Set 6-8 cups salted water to boil for pasta, and cook according to directions.
- COOK the SAUCE: Heat oil in a medium pot, over medium heat. Saute shallot and garlic until fragrant and golden, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add carrots, cashews, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat to low and simmer gently until carrots are fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the 3 tablespoons of miso and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- BLEND THE CARROT MISO SAUCE: Once the carrots are tender and slightly cooled, place all in a high-speed blender, covering tightly with a kitchen towel, blend on the lowest setting, gradually increasing speed, until fully blended, creamy and silky smooth about 1- 1 1/2 minutes.
- Drain the pasta and pour the sauce over the pasta, gently warming if needed. Taste and adjust salt.
- Divide among bowls, and sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs and spoon the flavorful Carrot Top Gremolata over top.
Instructions: Carrot Top Gremolata
- Place carrot leaves, parsley, lemon zest and garlic in a food processer and pulse repeatedly until finely chopped. Add the salt and oil, pulsing a few more times until incorporated (but not too smooth). Add more oil if you prefer a looser version.
Pairing with Wine
Enjoy this dish with our 2017 Tintern Pinot Noir, certified Vegan by VegeCert! This Pinot is light and bright but harmonizes beautifully with the earthiness of the carrot sauce, and balances the savoury miso flavours nicely. This completely vegan meal is FULL of flavour and seems rich, but doesn’t leave you feeling heavy and over-stuffed. The Gremolata is optional, but we love the fact that we didn’t waste anything from our carrots and let’s be honest, who could say no to more garlic in your pasta?
In ‘Spirit’ of the Holidays, our resident mixologist Alex has created 3 new Grappa cocktails, one more potent than the next! We invite you to quit being a Scrooge about Grappa, and give them a try!
Grappa of Christmas Past – Sweet & tart, easy to drink
1.5oz Tawse Riesling La Pressatura
1/2oz Tawse Vermouth
1/2oz Lime Juice
1/2oz Pink Peppercorn & Anise Syrup
2oz Grapefruit Juice
Few dashes Tawse Orange Bitters
Star Anise pods for garnish
Grappa of Christmas Present – Spicy & warm, with a kick
1oz Tawse Gewurztraminer La Pressatura
1oz Green Chartreuse
1/2oz Lime Juice
Bar Spoon of Honey
Few dashes Tawse Aromatic Bitters
Cinnamon Stick for garnish
Grappa of Christmas Yet to Come – Boozy & sultry, the perfect nightcap
1oz Tawse Pinot Noir La Pressatura
1/2oz Sweet Vermouth
1/2oz Heering Cherry Liqueur
Cocktail Cherry for garnish
Choose wisely!
Merry Christmas from the Tawse Team
December 24th ❄ 11am-3pm
December 25th ❄ CLOSED
December 26th ❄ CLOSED
December 31st ❄ 11am-3pm
January 1st ❄ CLOSED
Please refer to our Social Media pages for any closures due to weather.
Have a safe and happy Holiday season! Take care of friends and neighbours, and always #SUPPORTLOCAL
The Tawse Team
WINE ALIGN 2020 Guide to Canada’s Best Wines: TOP TEN CATEGORIES
TOP 10 CAB FRANC
Tawse 2017 Growers Blend Cabernet Franc
Tawse 2016 Laundy Cabernet Franc
TOP 10 CHARDONNAY
Tawse 2016 Quarry Road Chardonnay
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Tawse 2018 Sketches Chardonnay
TOP 10 RIESLING
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Tawse 2017 Limestone North Riesling
Tawse 2019 Carly’s Riesling
TOP 10 SPARKLING
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Tawse 2017 Spark Rose
Tawse 2016 Spark Blend
TOP 10 GAMAY NOIR
Tawse 2018 Cherry Gamay
TOP 10 SAUVIGNON BLANC
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Tawse 2019 Growers Blend Sauvignon Blanc
TOP 10 PINOT GRIS
Tawse 2019 Lawrie Pinot Gris
TOP 10 PINOT NOIR
Tawse 2017 Quarry Road Pinot Noir
TOP 10 ROSÉ
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Tawse 2019 Cherry Avenue Rosé
TOP 10 RED BLENDS
SPECIAL CONSIDERATION
Tawse 2016 Meritage
TOP 10 SYRAH
Tawse 2018 Guy Lafleur Syrah
TOP 10 OTHER
Tawse 2013 Chardonnay Icewine
CREEPY VODKA CRAN
Developed by A. Drumm
Get in the Hallowe’en SPIRIT 👻 with this twist on the classic.
🧛🧛🧛
2 oz Tawse Vodka
½ oz Tawse Vermouth
2 oz real Cranberry juice
1 oz Apple Cider
¾ oz Rosemary Syrup (We love KVAS Cran Rosemary!)
2 dashes Tawse Barrel Aged Bitters
🧛🧛🧛
Combine in a cocktail shaker over ice, shake thoroughly and strain into a glass fit for Lestat. Dry ice optional, but always appreciated.
HALLOWE’EN CONTEST! Tag #TAWSESPIRITS on social media when posting a photo of your Hallowe’en costume and spooky drink of choice for a chance to win a bottle of Tawse Vodka! We’ll pick our favourite at the end of the weekend. (02/11/2020)
