Making the world a little sweeter one pastry tip at at time.
Lemon Meringue Pie. The name fits the dessert: a sweet-tart confection with a cooked lemon pudding and a light and airy topping. Not only is the treat served chilled making it a perfect ending to a summer barbeque, but you don’t have to worry about leftovers – there often aren’t any. …read more
Prickly pears are an incredible tasting and colorful fruit. We get ours fresh from local cactus around where we live but they can also be found in select markets. Unfortunately, most of the prickly pears are harvested before their time so the full, sweet flavor …read more
If there is one dessert to make with fresh, ripe cherries, it would be a clafoutis. Originating in France, clafoutis is a fruit dessert with an egg-y batter that is in between a custard and a pancake. Think of clafoutis aux cerises as a cherry …read more
The thing about being a pastry professional is whenever there is a birthday around you are called into action. You don’t even have to be a professional to appreciate that if you can bake a cake, your family considers you the resident baker. Even if …read more
I’m a dulce de leche nut. The first time I had tried it was when a bride requested it as a filling for a her wedding cake many years ago. It was before there were dulce de leche Girl Scout cookies were invented and dulce de leche ice …read more
Lemon Tart – Renee Shelton Fruit curd is a common condiment on the breakfast table and is delicious over toast or waffles for breakfast. Fruit curd is also used in prebaked tart and pie shells for an easy dessert. Typically, a fruit or citrus curd is …read more
Chess Pie Chess Pie is a classic Southern dessert custard pie made with eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, with some recipes containing either/both cornmeal and vinegar. Open up a dozen different community cookbooks and you’ll find that many different versions of Chess Pie, or more. The origin of …read more
Opéra Cake – courtesy Flickr User arnold | inuakithrough a Creative Commons License. To me, there is nothing more close-your-eyes decadent than an Opéra Cake, probably because I know what goes into it. It is sinfully rich and since it is typically served in small portions, the whole …read more
Traditional Galette des Rois – photo courtesy Flickr User Gael Chardon through a Creative Commons License. Twelfth Night is a celebration that marks the coming of Epiphany, and most Christians celebrate it on the 12th day after Christmas. Epiphany celebrates the divination of Christ, and …read more
Cannolis – they inspire both hunger and fear: hunger as they are crispy tubes filled with a sweetened cream filling, and fear as they have to be made and fried just right or else you’ll end up with a hard, greasy shell. Cannolis are one of those …read more