Chocolate Espresso Babka ๐ซ
Last month I had the chance to partner with Bosch to create a recipe featuring the Vero 800 espresso machine, and this Chocolate Espresso Babka might be one of my favourite bakes of the summer.
Coffee isn't just served alongside this loaf; it's worked right into the dough, the chocolate ganache, and even the finishing syrup. The result is a rich, chocolatey babka with just enough espresso to enhance the flavour without overpowering it.
One little tip: I intentionally make double the espresso ganache. You'll only use about half for the filling, but trust me, you'll want the extra. Spread it over a warm slice after baking, and it turns an already decadent babka into something truly special.
It's one of those projects that reminded me why I love recipe development. Equal parts baking, coffee, and a little bit of indulgence.
Simply Bread's Biggest Sale of the Year ๐ฅ
If you've been thinking about investing in a Simply Bread Oven, this weekend is one of the best opportunities you'll have.
From July 3โ5, Simply Bread is running one of its biggest sales of the year with 6% off sitewide, including ovens, slicers, dividers, and accessories. Even better, that 6% discount stacks with my exclusive 3% affiliate offer, giving you a total of 9% off your order. Accessories are also 20% off during the promotion.
I've been baking with the Simply Bread Oven for a few years now, and it's become one of my favourite pieces of equipment. From sourdough and baguettes to babka, pita, granola, and cookies, it's incredibly versatile and delivers consistent results every time.
For this weekend only, my affiliate link automatically saves you 9% on your entire order.
No coupon code is requiredโjust use my link and your discount should be applied automatically.
๐จ๐ฆ Canadian bakers: If the discount doesn't appear automatically, simply enter code SIMPLYDUFFY26 at checkout. It works for both Canadian and U.S. customers and still supports my work.
Bonus
Even if you're not ready for an oven, Simply Bread is also offering 6 months of free access to the Simply Bread App during the promotion.
Something Special from Blanc Creatives
Some partnerships just make sense.
Years ago, Corry from Blanc Creatives sent me one of his handcrafted roasting pans. Since then, it's become one of the most-used pieces of cookware I own. In fact, I packed it up and brought it to Muskoka because I use it all the timeโnot just for roasting, but for serving food straight from the oven to the table.
This week, Blanc is launching something I've been excited to share for quite a while: a handcrafted cloche lid designed to pair perfectly with the roasting pan I've been cooking with for years.
I've been lucky enough to bake on one of the prototypes for well over a year now, and I absolutely love it. It bakes beautiful bread, but what I appreciate most is that it doesn't stop there.
Last summer, I used it at work to present a rack of lamb tableside over fresh herbs from the garden. Lifting the cloche at the table created one of those moments that guests still talk about. I love cookware that can move effortlessly from the oven to the dining table, and this does exactly that.
One of the reasons I've continued to use Blanc cookware over the years is that they build things to last. Corry spent years refining this design until the cloche paired perfectly with the 11-inch roaster. These aren't pieces you replace every few yearsโthey're handcrafted, built with incredible attention to detail, and made to be used for decades.
If you already own a Blanc roaster, you'll be able to purchase the cloche lid on its own. If you're new to Blanc, complete roaster and cloche sets will also be available.
Pre-orders open Friday at 12:00 PM EST, and as a fun bonus, the first 50 orders will receive a complimentary copy of my cookbook, Bread Etc. It's honestly pretty surreal knowing my cookbook will be heading out alongside a piece of cookware I've genuinely loved using for years.
A huge thank you to Corry and the entire Blanc team for letting me be a small part of this project. I can't wait to see these cloches out in the wild.
The Kind of Dinner I Love Cooking ๐ฅ
I'm only a couple of days into my summer in Muskoka, but tonight reminded me why I love coming back every year.
One of the best parts of this job is having incredible ingredients right outside the kitchen door. Before dinner service, I wandered through the garden picking rosemary, thyme, basil, mint, and chives for a butterflied leg of lamb I'd salted the night before. I blended the herbs with olive oil, anchovies, capers, and garlic, let the lamb marinate overnight, then grilled it over binchotan charcoal.
While the lamb rested, cooked a batch of fresh whole wheat pitas in the wood.
I honestly don't think I'll ever get tired of watching pita puff. It happens in seconds, but it's still one of the most satisfying things to bake.
To finish the meal, I roasted Sicilian eggplant in the wood oven, made a quick cucumber tzatziki, shaved some onions, picked fresh lettuce from the kitchen garden, and let everyone build their own pita.
It wasn't a complicated dinner. Just good ingredients, cooked simply, with a little help from the garden and the wood oven.
If you've never made homemade pita before, this is the recipe I'd recommend starting with. It's quick, incredibly versatile, and works beautifully whether you're baking in a home oven, on a baking steel, or in a wood-fired oven.
A Day in the Life of a Private Chef ๐ฒ
One of the questions I get asked all the time is, "What's a typical day like as a private chef?"
The truth is... there really isn't one.
Especially during the summer in Muskoka.
Plans are constantly changing. The weather changes, meals move from the dining room to outside, and sometimes the number of people around the table changes too. That's just part of being a private chef. My mindset is pretty simple: say yes, stay flexible, and make it happen.
That said, there are a few things that almost always stay the same.
My day starts around 8:00 a.m. with my family. My youngest is usually the first one awake, so we have breakfast together before getting the girls ready for the day. One of my favourite parts of the morning is that they walk me to work. We live on the property during the summer, so my commute is a five-minute walk through the forest.
Before I even step into the kitchen, we stop by the gardens. The first is a dedicated herb garden filled with basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, chives, and just about every herb you could imagine. Then there's the kitchen garden, made up of sixteen large raised beds overflowing with vegetables, berries, edible flowers, and whatever happens to be at its peak that week.
We have an incredible gardener who helps look after everything a few days each week, but I'm free to harvest whatever I need. I usually spend a few minutes walking through both gardens to see what's ready before saying goodbye to the girls and heading into the kitchen. More often than not, those few minutes help shape the menu for the rest of the day.
Once I'm inside, it's knives out, cutting board down, a quick walk through the fridges, and a prep list for the day. I check the fruit, see what needs ordering, and map out lunch and dinner. I'm still getting settled into the kitchen for the summer, so this first week has mostly been about organizing equipment and making the space feel like home.
Lunch is usually light, seasonal, and built around whatever looks best that day. I always try to use as much from the gardens as possible.
Once lunch is finished and the kitchen is cleaned up, I usually sneak home for five or ten minutes if I can. Even if it's just to give the girls a hug, hear about their morning, or see what they're up to, it's one of my favourite parts of the day.
After that, it's back to the kitchen to put together snack platters for the dock before diving into dinner prep.
Dinner can be anything from a relaxed family-style meal to a five-course tasting menu. Along the way I'm baking bread, making cookie doughs and scones, preparing meals for both the adults and the kids, and trying to keep the kitchen organized and running smoothly. Thankfully, I work with an amazing team who takes care of the dining room and service, which allows me to focus almost entirely on the food.
By the end of the night, the kitchen is clean, the garbage is out, and I make the short walk home through the trees. Depending on the menu, I'm usually home somewhere between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m.
They can be long days, but I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.
I get to cook in a beautiful kitchen with a fantastic La Cornue range, Mauviel cookware, an outdoor kitchen with a charcoal grill, smoker, and wood-fired ovenโall surrounded by incredible ingredients and two amazing gardens.
I thought it might be fun to make this a regular feature over the summer and bring you behind the scenes of life as a private chef in Muskoka. If there's something you're curious about, hit reply and let me know. I'd love to answer a few of your questions throughout the summer.
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Happy Baking,
MJD
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Want to learn more from me? Check out my online video resources ๐
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