Love at First Bite

The inside scoop on foodie favourites

After working in consulting, lobbying, shoe design, journalism and running a contemporary African art gallery (the last of which she still does), Ashley Peeler decided to try her hand at baking.  She has been running Ilovecake.be since 2009, selling gourmet handmade cupcakes from her downtown Brussels kitchen. Peeler grew up in the American South where preparing food for others was an integral part of community life. After moving to Belgium to study 11 years ago Ashley started baking prolifically. “Friends started asking for cakes events and I became a mascot for Southern desserts.” True to her public affairs background, she describes ilovecake.be as a platform for US/EU culinary-cultural relations. 
www.ilovecake.be

Restaurant

L'Ecailler du Palais Royale. As an American, I really, really miss good service but L’Ecailler is excellent. The waiters are a bit older, maybe late forties upwards but for them this is not a job, it’s a career and so they really pamper you. I mean the King and Queen still go there for their seafood. That’s not why I go there but I guess that is a sign that the quality and the service is top-notch. I don’t eat there all that often because it s quite expensive but in 11 years of going there I have never, ever been even remotely disappointed. Everything on the menu is good but the oysters are divine. And you can buy a carafe of champagne which is fantastic. Ok, the decor is a bit stuffy, a bit frou-frou so I would only recommend you eating at the bar but I don’t got there because I want to be hip. I go there because the food and service is outstanding.

L’Ecallier du Palais Royale, Rue Bodenbroek 18, 1000 Brussels, tel 02.512.87.51, www.lecaillerdupalaisroyal.be

Bar

I like Bar Rouge for the surprises. Every time I go there, the experience is different, particularly the later you go. There are always interesting people there and a completely different crowd. I like the atmosphere and there is always house music playing. The people are always happy at Bar Rogue. I like the Archiduc too but it’s a bit déclassé. The décor is very nice but the cocktails aren’t as good as they used to be. These days, I go to Sips in Antwerp for cocktails because you just can't get a good one in Brussels. Believe me, I have been looking for it for a loooong time.

Bar Rouge, 41  Rue du Pépin, Brussels, tel. 02.511.22.30

We say: when a bar opens its doors at midnight, you know it's no place for lightweights. Bar Rouge is a late-night/early-morning spot that's interminably popular bar with the city’s gay and straight party-hearty crowd. 

Drink

Although I am not really a big beer drinker, if I had to pick my favourite Belgian drink it would have to be a La Chouffe. It’s a nice, crisp beer, something you would drink on a hot, summer’s day – if Belgium ever had any. But to be honest, I prefer cocktails. The problem is there isn’t a cocktail drinking culture or mentality here. People prefer wine or beer. So if I am drinking beer I go with La Chouffe. It’s an easy beer. And it has a little gnome on it’s label. What’s not to like?

La Chouffe
We say: The La Chouffe story is a craft beer fairy tale. Founded nearly 30 years ago by two brothers-in-law, the brewery started off as a hobby (the gnome label was designed by a friend’s daughter) before it went on to produce one of the most popular craft beers in Belgium. A strong ale spiced with coriander, La Chouffe was bought-out by Duvel-Moorgat (Duvel, Vedett) in 2006.

Product

My favourite Belgian product is Belgian chocolate of course! I love Pierre Marcolini and Laurent Gerbaud. I like them both – as chocolates and people – but I think Laurent goes one step further with his flavours. But in terms of aesthetics and quality, you can’t beat Marcolini. Everytime I visit friends abroad these are the only chocolates they will accept. No more Leonidas!

Shop

I like to go to ISCP in Ghent, but you need someone in the food sector to go there with you. It’s a grocery store for professional cooks – a real supermarket.

ISPC, 720 Ottergemsesteenweg Zuid, Ghent, tel 09.241.51.11, www.ispc.be

We say: ISPC is a foodie’s heaven. Packed to the rafters with more than 40,000 products ranging from fresh fish, meat and vegetables to alcohol and paperware to catering equipment and furniture. But only people who work in the catering industry are allowed to shop there.

Recipe

I take my baking very seriously. Putting some cake mix in the oven and smothering it with frosting doesn’t make a cupcake. The quality of the ingredients is very important. I try to use organic, natural and seasonal products: in the autumn, for example, I make pumpkin cupcakes. But my green tea cupckaes taste good all year round.

Green tea cupcakes:
Cupcakes
170g flour (plain, rice, arrowroot etc), ¼ tsp baking soda, 4 tsp matcha (green tea powder), ¼ tsp salt, 165g sugar or cassonade, ½ cup soy yoghurt, 2/3 cup of almond, rice, soy milk, ¼ tsp of vanilla extract, 1/3 cup canola oil, ½ tsp of almond extract

Glaze
2 tsps margarine, 128g icing sugar, ¼ tsp matcha, 1-2 tsp of rice, almond or soy milk, ¼ tsp of almond extract, a few drops of vanilla essence

To make the cupcakes, mix wet ingredients together and the dry ingredients together, separately. Add dry to wet and stir until everything is smooth. Fill the cupcake cases two-thirds full with the mixture. Bake for 20 mins at 175°c-180°c. While baking, make the glaze by mixing the margarine and icing sugar. Then add the matcha and fold in the milk and extracts. Take the cakes out of the oven and allow to cool before adding the glaze.