Making the world a little sweeter one pastry tip at at time.
Okay, I know National S’mores Day was a couple of days ago, but I’m a big s’more fan. We celebrate by eating s’mores every time we go camping. And with Girl Scouts in the house, well, the dessert is part of the household now. 🙂 …read more
After reading Sugar Baby (see the review here), I was excited to read another book from Bullock-Prado. And I wasn’t disappointed (except for all the errata, see more below) when I had the opportunity to read Bake It Like You Mean It. From her own words, this …read more
The recipes take you from breakfast treats to cookies in seven chapters: Desserts for Breakfast; Cookies and Bars; Pies, Tarts, and Cobblers; Cakes and Cupcakes; Spoon Desserts; Drink Up!; and Basics. Her two intro chapters, Sweet Pantry and Allergy-Free Baking, provide great resources for those experimenting or are new to vegan and specialty diet baking.
The pictures are clear, and the recipes easy to assemble. Mostly, she shows in the book as in her appearance in Cake Wars that vegan baking is more than baking with vegan ingredients – it’s baking that looks and tastes good.
This recipe is adapted from the book. It, like all the other recipes in this book, are quick and very tasty. And you don’t have to be vegan to enjoy them.
Book Information:
Disclosure: This ARC was provided by the publisher and any opinions are my own.
Quick Snapguide on torching a crème brûlée dessert with a hand-held blow torch for an even, caramelized crust. Check out How to Torch a Crème Brûlée for a Caramelized Crust by Renee Shelton on Snapguide.
Baked goods such as chocolate cupcakes and apple pie bring to mind family favorites and sweet treats. Is it possible to bake desserts like these without refined sugar? That was Laura Martin’s goal when she set out asking her culinary friends for recipes of baked …read more
My favorite parts were the many color photographs for recipes, and the serving suggestions that accompany them.
Book Information:
Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher and any opinions are my own.
It’s that time of year again when the summoning of sweet potato pies draws near. I have a houseful of sweet potato pie lovers (except for the husband who doesn’t care for any pie with cinnamon spice) so they get to enjoy my trials, and …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 flan with no crust or shell. Depending on where you are, the dessert will be spelled with an ‘s’ at the end or no ‘s’. After baking, it is generally dusted with powdered sugar and served warm or room temperature. The baked dessert puffs up as it bakes and deflates slightly after it cools and since it is served in the dish it is baked in, decorative or favorite bakeware is used. Oven safe cookware is also used: I used my stainless steel lined copper frying pan; you can use your favorite seasoned cast iron pans, too.
Recipes vary greatly for this dessert but typically contain eggs in either whole form or yolks, and some recipes call for whipping the egg whites into peaks then folding into the batter before baking. Milk, sugar (granulated or powdered), and a flavoring such as vanilla or lemon zest are also used.
Cherries are most frequently and traditionally used in clafoutis, in either fresh, sauteed, or reconstituted dried forms. Other fruits are also used such as fresh pears, peaches or plums, or dried fruits. Traditional recipes will call for whole cherries (not pitted) but for convenience for the guest, clafoutis is now more often then not prepared with pitted cherries.
Here is my recipe for clafoutis. Use the ripest, darkest cherries you can find for best flavor and color.
Clafoutis aux Cerises (Cherry Clafouti)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a baking pan well and reserve.
Whisk everything but the cherries in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Pour into the buttered baking dish and add the the cherries, distributing them evenly over the surface.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the center tests done. Serve warm and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
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