Twice as Nice: Double Sesame Banana Bread
You’ve seen one banana bread recipe, you’ve seen ’em all, right? Okay, that was a lie– a big, fat, terrible, vicious lie. While a classic banana bread is perfectly scrumptious, I’ve found that my favorite recipes are the ones with a complementary flavor woven in, particular this peanut butter-chocolate version. I have not minced words about my feelings on bananas […]
Classic Passover Decadence: Flourless Chocolate Cake
Chocolate. Butter. Eggs. Sugar. That is all you need to make this wickedly dark and decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake. I don’t think that much about flourless chocolate cake when it isn’t Passover (I know, I need to get my priorities straight), but during this week when the only bread product allowed is literally known as […]
At the End of the Rainbow: Irish Chocolate Biscuit Cake
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Let me start this Irish-inspired post by saying that… I love American pastry. I believe that, for all the beautiful desserts in the world, no one makes a layer cake or a thick, chewy cookie like American bakers. But… what if I told you that there is something we are sorely […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Baked Ultimate Birthday Cake
Happy New Year! You guys, 2016 was rough. I’m hoping that 2017 will be a better year, but given the impending doom that will befall our nation on January 20, I’m bracing myself for more rough times ahead. But hey, *today* is New Year’s Day, so let’s start things off with CAKE. Because what better […]
Autumn in Brooklyn: Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting & Maple Roasted Pepitas
I’m lucky to live near San Francisco, I really am. We have a glorious bounty of beautiful, artisanal foods –in the actual, real sense of the word, i.e. handcrafted foods borne of a painstakingly detailed and loving process, not in the annoying, trendy sense– at all times of year. There is never a time when […]
Side Dish Supremacy: Southwestern Buttermilk Cornbread
I know I’m not alone in this: I’m one of those people who gets way more excited about the Thanksgiving side dishes than the turkey. I look forward to stuffing (sometimes more than one kind!), potatoes (also the more varieties, the merrier), and squash so much more than the bird. In fact, I would be […]
Kisses From Italy: Baci di Dama
I used to say that I didn’t care for Italian desserts. Even after spending three weeks in Italy a couple of summers ago, I was still fairly lukewarm, except for good cannoli, gelato, and a few other select things that were obvious no-brainers. My tastes have always leaned more towards American and French pastry styles, but that […]
Have Yourself a Boozy Little Xmas: Whiskey & Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
I cannot remember the last time I made chocolate chip cookies. I seriously have no idea. I’ve been so consumed with learning advanced pastry skills over the past several years that I have rarely stopped to revisit that all-time icon of home baking. For shame! Sometimes you need to throw back to a simpler time when cookies solved all of […]
My (Bitter)Sweet & Salty Muse: Walnut Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Caramel Cream
Apparently I’ve been living under a large rock for quite some time, because even throughout my many pastry “research” excursions in San Francisco, I had only recently become familiar with Yigit Pura and his magnificent pastry shop, Tout Sweet. I first sampled his fabulous French macarons and other creations at the SF Ferry Building Farmers’ Market, […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Buttery Pound Cake with Salty Caramel Glaze
But soft, what cake through yonder window smells so tasty? It is Buttery Pound Cake with Salty Caramel Glaze from Baked Occasions— I’m sure Juliet would approve! Pound cake is buttery, dense, rich, and unbeknownst to me until now, best served with a gooey salted caramel lid. The cake is quite good on its own, but ohhhh-so-much-better slathered with caramel. Really, […]