March 20th, 2013

Bouchon Bakery: Decorated Pumpkin Muffins

Being that it is the first day of Spring, I know I’m getting a little ahead of myself by making decorated pumpkins but I just couldn’t wait another 6 months to sculpt these.

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November 11th, 2012

Spider Web Carrot Cake

Inspired by the most adorable spider cake I saw in a Paris bakery window, I made a version with Ina Garten’s Carrot and Pineapple Cake as the base. Studded with walnuts, plump raisins and pineapple it is a moist, rich and dense cake. The outside has a traditional cream cheese frosting, which I dyed orange.

This is really the only time I’ll ever say spiders are cute and I love how they hang down the sides at varying heights.

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October 31st, 2012

Autumn in Paris

This post is one of many documenting my week in Paris, a present to myself for graduating pastry school in the fall of 2012. Every moment was spent eating and one post wasn’t enough. It’s now a short novel. Kidding. I hope.

It was nice to experience Paris in the fall. On previous trips I’ve always had the luxury of the summer warmth and while this time it was an unfriendly 40 degrees, it didn’t stop me from taking in the city by foot. Most of Paris continues to be green but I was happy to find some autumnal colors here and there.

Walking along the Seine river towards the Louvre

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October 8th, 2012

Oktoberfest-Inspired Butterbeer Ice Cream with Pretzel Crunch

I was in the mood to make something for Oktoberfest. Not particularly excited about sausage or sauerkraut I landed on pretzels and beer. But how to make that more exciting? Butterbeer ice cream! The recipe comes from my go-to ice cream book, Humphry Slocombe. To pair with that, I selected a pretzel crunch topping from the Momofuku Milk Bar book from Pastry Chef, Christina Tosi.

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October 17th, 2010

Miette Cookie Decorating Class

I’ve always admired the artistry and technique that goes into decorating sugar cookies. Jeff Gosche, a cookie decorating genius, lends his talent to San Francisco’s Miette patisserie, creating the most gorgeous cookies for the shops. The best part is that he shares his tips and tricks at the patisserie’s cookie decorating classes. I had the great opportunity to attend one last week.

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December 12th, 2009

Glazed Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

After dessert, I love making brunch. I’ve gotten really good at savory items but when there are a lot of people over I jump at the chance for sweet things- pancakes, french toast, crepes. It’s like having dessert in the morning. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas I make a sweet brunch item. It’s a warm up to cooking the holiday dinner.

Last year, I made pumpkin cinnamon buns for Christmas dessert. It could have been for brunch but after waiting for the dough to rise two times, it was a bit late. These are probably better suited for dessert anyway with all the sugar in them

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December 3rd, 2009

Thanksgiving Past: Apple Cranberry Galette

For this year’s Thanksgiving dessert, I made an elegant French Apple Tart. It was all about the perfect presentation of apple layers. In contrast, last year I made a Cranberry Apple Galette. A galette is a free-form tart so no need for rolling out dough or a tart pan. You simply gather up the edges of the crust around the mound of juicy apples and cranberries. While not as fancy as the French Apple Tart, it is equally impressive-looking when the fruit bakes down and it has a rustic, golden look when finished.

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November 25th, 2009

Simple Sage and Honey Cornbread

Super simple, super moist. Sounds very Sandra Lee but it’s true. This recipe from Bon Appetit is easy to add on last minute to round out your Thanksgiving menu. It has ingredients you probably have in the pantry or on hand for other dishes. I made it last week for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner and there were no leftovers. It has just the right amount of sweetness and if you spoon some cranberry sauce on top the contrast of sweet and tart is great.

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