A Life in Baking, Pastry, and Libations.
"The free bread basket is off the table." Breaking bread before the meal begins is a social more that transcends the globe and dates back thousands of years. Not surprisingly, tampering with ‘the staff of life’ has led to many bread riots, some of which fomented the early stages of the French Revolution. In today’s... Continue Reading →
Cake is not just dessert. Cake is a nostalgic treat of joy. Cake celebrates childhood, family, and fertility. An anniversary, a birth, a marriage (and sometimes divorce), they’re all special occasions that we celebrate with cake. My early attempts at baking cake were abysmal and Duncan Hines strawberry frosting rescued an under-baked cake, sagging under... Continue Reading →
A chocolatier's worse nightmare.Watering down my chocolate goes against everything I’ve been taught. Should a few drops of water land in my chocolate, disaster! My chocolate is no longer fit for duty. As it turns out, mixing water into chocolate isn’t necessarily a bad thing. During the 1990s, Herve This and Heston Blumenthal noted that... Continue Reading →
I don’t see the appeal of the “Raindrop Cake”. Pretty presentation aside, the dessert tastes like barely sweetened spring water. It is pleasantly refreshing, but I take umbrage with calling it a ‘cake’. (And that $8 price tag.) When I reminisce about the best cake I ever ate, a tepid watery blob that jiggles... Continue Reading →
.... No, I Don’t Make Crappy Desserts (or vegan desserts, for that matter) “You’re lactose intolerant?! How are your desserts any good if you can’t eat them?” My job interview ended abruptly, yet again. Discouraged and disheartened, I’ve kept my condition under wraps for years. But worn down by a parade of cheesy, creamy family meals... Continue Reading →
Culinary Applications of Baking Powder Because leavening is instantaneous, breads leavened through acid-base reactions are called quick-breads. Generally, one teaspoon of baking powder will leaven 5 ounces of flour, 8 ounces of liquid, and one egg. If the liquid is acidic (when using cultured dairy, citrus, or honey), then the acids in baking powder will... Continue Reading →
Buttery. Salted. Caramel. 