Pastries: A 10,000 calorie study

I had to go up to Seattle to the big Asian specialty market this morning to stock up on some staples . The place is a nightmare from the early afternoon on, so I decided to head up there early and avoid the crowds.

This is dangerous territory for me to step in, as there's a bookstore in the same building full of Japanese books and magazines. The Japanese love their crafts of all kinds and their books are so inspiring with beautiful photographs. I knew I was going to buy some craft books, but just wasn't sure what was going to catch my eye. Well I ended up walking out with these:

They're books on how to make pastries out of felt and wool roving. I've always wanted to make these, and I just couldn't choose one book. I mean look how freakin cute they all are!

While there, I also stopped by Beard Papa's for a cream puff. Cream puffs are big in Japan and when I heard that a Beard Papa was opening here in Seattle, I had to check it out while I was in the area. Their special today was a matcha (green tea) cream puff, so I brought one home.

It was sprinkled with a confectioners' sugar and powdered matcha blend and the inside custard was also flavoured with matcha.

If you love matcha, you'll love this, but even for a matcha-lover as myself, I think the matcha was just a bit too overpowering in the custard creme filling. It was still delicious though! I would love to try their pumpking filling next time.

On my way home, I also stopped by the hugely popular Macrina Bakery, as they opened one of their cafes in the SoDo area. I've had the Macrina Bakery cookbook for awhile and although I haven't tried all of their recipes yet, I'm really pleased with the recipes I have tried.

So while waiting for my triple tall nonfat latte to be made by the barista, I also took home a Macrina favorite: the Morning Glory muffin, which is a really moist muffin filled with carrots, raisins, pineapple and coconut. I usually stay clear of things that contain raisins, pineapple and coconut together (mostly because I've had a few carrot cakes that incorporate all of these that were just way too sweet), but I've heard so many good things about these muffins that I had to try it. I'm so glad I did!
This muffin rocked the moistness! It's in the cookbook and I will totally be making these at home.
I also took home a raisin brioche. Brioche is a very rich, buttery bread. It's pretty fun to make too. I was intrigued by their Nutella brioche, but decided on the raisin one instead. They sprinkle a light layer of turbinado or demerrara sugar on top, so you get that wonderfully light crunch with every bite.
I also took a boule of their Macrina Casera which is their house bread. It's leavened with a natural wild starter made from organic grapes and whole wheat flour. I hope to enjoy this with a pasta dinner tonight.

If the photos above haven't made you feel like you just gained 20 pounds, let's lighten it up with some calorie-free versions, shall we?

This is one of the photos from the inside one of the books. It's a rolled fruit cake made out of roving. I love it.

And these macarons? Almost look like the real thing, don't they?

Can you believe that the picture of this box of "chocolates" are all made out of felt???? Crazy, I'm telling you.

I'm so inspired to make pastries and breads (both real and felted) from my little excursion this morning. So this is what has inspired me - what's inspiring all of you? Please share!