10I enrolled in the apprenticeship program as a novice, which meant I had to have a special interview to be accepted. I still remember how intrigued my professor was by my story of selling baked goods from the cart. I was accepted to the program with smiles. I was a big kid in a class of young guns who showed me the techniques of the trade so I could keep up. I continued on to Bakers Advanced and Patissier, graduating with honours. I loved the experience and especially my newfound knowledge. Still, it would take me many years to feel accomplished enough to call myself a pastry chef. There is just so much to learn.My apprenticeship at Dufflet Pastries in Toronto gave me good insight into mid-sized production and the importance of prepara-tion. After that, a brief stint at Wanda’s Pie in the Sky led to a job at the Senator Restaurant, Toronto’s oldest restaurant, which is still serving up classic comfort food at Yonge and Dundas.Meanwhile, my husband at the time, Marcus, who is from Trinidad, got the bug to return to his homeland. We eventually It started with a bike, a bell and a cart full of home baking. When I was growing up on the Toronto Islands, every Friday my mom and I would start baking pies, cookies, squares and muffins. By Saturday afternoon we’d have enough to load up our wooden cart and head out on the streets of Ward’s Island. We’d ring an old school-bell, and islanders and visitors alike would rush to buy our baking. We’d always sell out.Growing up, I was surrounded by a community of bakers who make the sort of comforting confections that people love best. I inherited the baking bug from my mom, Barbara (who gave me my very first apple pie lesson), my Granna and my dad. Even though my father passed when I was very young, I can still remember his bran muffins and pancakes. Naturally, I always knew I wanted to be a professional baker. I was twenty-three and had just had my son, Kyle, when I decided to become a pastry chef. I wanted to under-stand the science behind baking, and that’s what guided me to George Brown College. isL and TreaTsI N T R O D U C T I ON 11community—and all of them, it seemed, loved a good piece of pie. Salt Spring Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands between the British Columbia mainland and Vancouver Island. It’s a close community of farmers, artisans and escap-ees from the big city. Surrounded by the pris-tine waters of the Salish Sea and swept by warm, gentle breezes, Salt Spring is a garden just bursting with bounty. We’re fortunate enough to have a wonderful microclimate for growing a bounty of produce: flowers, herbs, berries, pumpkins, vegetables and tree fruits, including hundreds of varieties of apples. (Many heritage ones grow in cen-tury-old orchards.) You can even find kiwi fruit and bananas here! No wonder they call this Canada’s banana belt. There are plenty of farms on the island, not only for growing produce, but for raising beef cattle, chickens for eggs, goats for cheese and the world- famous Salt Spring lamb. Almost everyone grows something edible in their gardens, and throughout the summer, people will beg me to take their extra rhubarb, raspberries, tomatoes and zucchinis, which grow like settled on Tobago, Trinidad’s sister island, where we’d spend the winters, returning in summer to the Toronto Islands. In the Carib-bean, I learned how to bake seasonally with new ingredients such as the baby pineapples that grew in our hedge or the dry coconuts that I used in sweet breads and coconut cream pie. The people and culture took hold of me. I’d bike to work at a local catering business, a forty-five-minute scenic journey past fragrant Lady of the Night flowers and crystal-blue water; two dogs would happily chase me on my final climb to work. At work, we’d bake, listen to music and trade recipes for coconut bake, rum punch and roti. The Caribbean still flavours my baking to this day—you’ll taste it in my lamb patties (page 172) and my famous rum-soaked fruit cake (page 159).After a decade of spending all or part of each year amid the palm trees and tropical breezes, it was time to return to Canada. But I couldn’t bear the cold winters any more. So in May 2002 we landed on warm and sunny Salt Spring, another island with a welcoming 12neither too dry nor too drippy—are also very popular. Then again, you can’t have a big cel-ebration on the island without one of Jana’s cakes! In any case, you’ll find our pies and cakes at most island fundraisers and parties, as well as places like Moby’s Pub, Café Talia and the Salt Spring Inn. And those are our mini-muffins you’ll taste as you’re waiting for Salt Spring Air to take you over to Van-couver. (And by the way, I like to use the old-school baby muffin tins, which have waffle bottoms and make sixteen, rather than the modern twelve.)All these years later, I still have the same passion for baking. I don’t ring a school bell any more when my butter tarts are ready, but I still live on an island, I still ride my bike and I still bake treats that always sell out. Instead of a cart, though, I have a bake shop, a cozy spot filled with sweet aromas, happy people and, every once in a while, the joyful music of the Caribbean Islands. It’s a long way from the Toronto Islands, but Salt Spring is home now. crazy here. Come September, I make a variety of chutneys when local growers come to me with squashes and green tomatoes. We opened Jana’s Bake Shop soon after we moved to the island, and we quickly built a loyal following. Since then, there’ve been significant changes: the bake shop has moved a few times (it’s now in its fourth location), my son Kyle is all grown up now and working as a chef in Montreal, and I’ve remarried to a wonderful man named Lane Grommé—and I can’t imagine running Jana’s Bake Shop without him. However, other things remain the same: I still make many of my mom’s favourite recipes, using as many local, organic ingredients as possible, and we continue to receive kudos all around for our quality. We’re best known for our pies, with their perfectly flaky crust and sweet, but not too sweet, fruit fillings. The wonderfully chewy chocolate-chip-studded cookies (page 43) and the butter tart (page 105)—with its luxurious inch-and-a-half of filling that is c o ok i e s 51 Preheat the oven to 350°f. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attach-ment, cream butter and sugars until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in rolled oats until combined, then add the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut.Using an ice cream scoop, scoop cookies onto the prepared baking sheet, evenly spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake on the bottom rack for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, then press the back of a spoon into the centres of the half-baked cookies. Bake cookies on the centre rack for another 7–ı0 minutes, or until cookies have lightly browned edges. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.m a k e s 2 4 c o o k i e scrispy coconUT-chocoL aTe- oaTMeaL cookiesThe chocolate and coconut make for a flavourful update on an old-school classic. For those who like a cookie that crunches but is still delicate, these are the perfect lunchbox treats. 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour2 tsp baking powder½ tsp baking soda1 tsp sea salt1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature 1½ cups packed brown sugar¾ cup sugar2 eggs2 tsp vanilla extract4 cups rolled oats1 cup chocolate chips1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut t o f r ee zePortion the dough on a baking sheet as if you were about to bake the cookies and freeze it. Once frozen, transfer to a zip-top freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, simply bake from frozen as per instructions.p i e s a n d t a r t s 126pec an pieWhole-wheat flour, for dusting1 disk chilled Pie Pastry dough (page 18)1 cup packed brown sugar2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted1½ cups corn syrup6 eggs1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest1 tsp vanilla extract¼ tsp sea salt2 cups pecans Dust counter and the top side of the pastry with flour and gently roll out a pastry disk to form a circle. Press together any cracks that may have formed at edges before and while rolling. Shift the pastry circle from time to time to prevent it from sticking to the counter. Turn pastry over, dust with more flour and roll into a ı2-inch circle. Place pie plate upside down over pastry and trim edges to a ı-inch overhang. (Before trimming pastry, ensure it is loosened from the counter.) Lift finished pastry circle, centre over pie plate and fit snugly into the bottom and up the sides of the plate, checking your overhang is even. Fold overhang under, creating a doubled-up edge. Press together and crimp, making a decorative fluted edge. Refrigerate for at least ı0 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°f. In a bowl, whisk brown sugar and flour. Pour melted butter to a 2-cup measuring cup and add corn syrup. Add to bowl of brown sugar and whisk to combine. Add eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and salt and mix well. Sprinkle pecans into chilled pie shell and pour filling over pecans. They will float to the top. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake on the bottom rack for 25 minutes. Move pie to the centre rack and bake for 25–30 min-utes, until filling is puffed and set. Set aside to cool, then slice.m a k e s 1 ( 10 - i n c h ) p i ePecan pie has a sweet filling similar to butter tarts, but with a layer of crunchy, toasty nuts that makes it utterly delicious. I’ve been making this recipe since I worked at the Senator Restaurant in Toronto years ago, and it’s still one of my favourites. It’s wonderfully nutty, and only better with a spoonful (or two) of whipped cream.Next >