Constellation Inspiration is a sweet, buttercream-coated journal that started in early 2015.
A journal I was hesitant to start but one that I am so glad that I did. I have always struggled with starting a new journal or notebook; I never wanted to ruin the pristine, clean nature of the blank slate and writing the first letter on the first page has always proven to be the biggest challenge. But once the first word has been gently etched on, the rest just flows.
The words all flow at an ebullient rate until it becomes an ode, a love letter of some sort. One that declares my love for all things beautifully sweet. Once the first recipe was developed and the first set of photos was edited, the desire to learn more, the hunger to create, and the need to perfect, overtook me.
These recipes, these love letters dedicated to all things delicate and sweet, are inspired by seasonal flavours and florals. They are also inspired by places I have been and flavours that have lingered since. They are grounded by many accounts of late-night recipe testing that took precedence to whatever else I was doing at that time.
At that time I was completing my Master’s degree. In psychology, to be exact. I loved psychology and still do. I will never regret dedicating over six years of my life and a bit of my sanity to it. But it was during this time I found myself in a love affair with creating. I bake to create. To create something that really shows that the sum is indeed greater than its parts of flour, butter, and sugar. To create something that shows that there is splendor in the familiar and you can always tease beauty out of the prosaic.
I bake in my tiny little kitchen in Vancouver, BC. But inspiration stems from all over. I still catch myself dreaming about the Ispahan croissant I lined up for outside the Pierre Hermé storefront on a rainy Parisian afternoon, the English pea cake that ended the most perfect meal at Rose’s Luxury in Washington D.C., and the mountain of fresh beignets I washed down with a café au lait at Café du Monde in NOLA. I travel to eat, to experience, and to be inspired.
Ultimately, this journal is a collection of recipes, stories, and love letters that are sweet to read, and even sweeter to eat.
These love letters are dedicated to you.
Here’s what’s most popular on Constellation Inspiration right now:
Lunar New Year Cookie Box
Grilled Chewy Rice Cake (燒餅)
Easy Sugared (Tanghulu-style) Strawberries
