Category: food

Introduction

This is a fairly unique recipe that is fairly straightforward to make. It’s one of two upside-down cakes in the book (the other being a pineapple one). While both recipes follow the same formula, they stand out in slightly different ways. This one is certainly prettier than the other, however it doesn’t taste quite as good (unless you really like orange)!

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Blood Orange and Olive Oil Upside-Down Cake	Special Equipment: 10-Inch Springform Pan, Stand Mixer
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 2 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Preparing The Pan

Tip: Unlike in the picture above, don’t layer the center on top of the outside. This will cause the slices on the edge of the cake to stand out and the slices in the middle to sink in. Use the image in the book as reference. Ensure that your slices are very thin. Consider buying extra oranges for practice, as with each successive slice it gets harder to cut properly.

Making The Batter

Tip: Stream in the oil very slowly and not all in the same spot – otherwise it could ruin the egg-sugar mixture.

Baking The Cake

Tip 1: This recipe can still be done with a 9 inch cake pan. If so, make the recipe as instructed, but only use 81% of the batter and slurry to account for the volume difference.

Tip 2: Use a paring knife to cut out any batter that dripped down under the orange slices to achieve a pretty top.

Tip 3: Definitely serve this with yogurt as recommended. They go great together.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• The recipe is rather easy, however, slicing the oranges is more difficult than it looks.
• This is best made in winter when blood oranges are in season.
• The cake will taste much better the second day – it takes time for the orange flavors to diffuse throughout the cake completely.
• Final Score: 3/5 – The cake is very good, however, it’s a bit finicky to get the orange layer quite right. Similarly, the cake is a bit plain. Although if you’re a fan of everything orange, then this is definitely the cake for you!

Introduction

This is a great take on the classic carrot cake. The brown butter frosting and added buttermilk makes the cake standout. Likewise the use of pecans instead of walnuts and the lack of raisins is a good modification. This is a great cake to attempt as a beginner.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Carrot and Pecan Cake	Special Equipment: Three 8 Inch Cake Pans, Stand Mixer
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 2 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 2/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★★☆

Making The Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Tip: It takes a long time for the butter to cool sufficiently (an hour or more). If using an ice bath to speed things up, then make sure to not swirl the butter. This will cause the butter on the sides of the bowl to overly-solidify before the rest, so leave the butter as a deep pool in the bottom of the bowl. To be safe, consider just refrigerating and keeping a close eye on it (or just wait).

Making The Batter

Tip 1: The cake will sink right after; this is expected.

Tip 2: Stream in the oil very slowly and not all in the same spot – otherwise it could ruin the egg-sugar mixture.

Baking The Cake

Tip: The cake may need another few minutes after passing the “toothpick test”. The cake has a tendency to be looser and moist, so if you prefer a “cakier” cake, then go a little longer.

Assembling The Cake

Tip: Use multiple “blobs” when frosting the cake for a more even distribution. The longer you refrigerate after applying the crumb coat, the easier it will be.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• The cake takes a bit longer to make than listed.
• The frosting is the true star of this cake.
• Final Score: 4/5 – This is a fantastic carrot cake. It’s a bit moist for my liking, but that can always be ameliorated by baking a bit longer. The brown butter cream cheese frosting is incredible and should probably be illegal. This cake is worth making just for the frosting.

Introduction

This is a very interesting cake in that it uses two somewhat unique ingredients (for a cake) – ricotta and kumquat. The end result is a surprisingly delicious cake and a chance how to learn how to use these two ingredients in baking. While you can substitute other fresh berries for the kumquat and it will taste just as good, I do recommend trying it with kumquats just because they’re a super cool ingredient if you haven’t used them before. They’re like an inside-out orange with sweet skin and a tart flesh (the entire kumquat is edible; although it’s best with the seeds removed).

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Recipe Review: Ricotta Cake with Kumquat Marmalade	Special Equipment: 9 Inch Springform Pan, Food Processor, Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 2.5 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Making The Batter

Tip: Be careful not to over-mix the egg whites. Consider using a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer so you can see it more easily go through the stages. See the start of this video for clearer instructions.

Baking The Cake

Tip: The cake will sink right after; this is expected.

Making The Marmalade

Tip: Make sure to go until the liquid is a relatively thin syrup and the kumquats are very soft and translucent. It’s very hard to overshoot the doneness of the kumquats.

Assembling The Cake

Tip: Consider serving the marmalade on the side if not eating it all right away as it can make the cake soggy in spots.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Make sure to use high-quality ricotta (try out Bellwether Farms for some particularly great ricotta).
• You need a fairly large food processor to do the first part of the recipe.
• Final Score: 3/5 – A great and interesting recipe. Definitely worth a try if you haven’t baked with ricotta or used kumquats before.

Introduction

This is a surprisingly amazing pie. I didn’t think I would particularly like this pie given the description, however, it’s arguably the best one in all of Dessert Person. The mousse is incredible and the speculoos pie crust is brilliant. I can guarantee you that this pie will exceed your expectations. Be warned though, it is far more difficult and time-consuming than the recipe suggests.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Recipe Review: Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie	Special Equipment: 9 Inch Pie Plate, Stand Mixer
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 7 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★★★

Making The Pie Crust

Tip: We made the crust twice, followed the recipe exactly, and in each case the crust didn’t quite cover the whole pie plate (we double checked the measurement). This seems to be a recurring theme for most pie crusts in Dessert Person. Consider scaling up the recipe. It’s not a big deal if your crust doesn’t come up quite all of the way though – just apply less of the mousse.

Making The Cranberry Compote

Tip 1: Consider using a medium pan instead of a small pan, as recommended. This will reduce the amount of time you need to spend cooking and make it less likely to boil over.

Tip 2: The cranberries will start to burst as shown in the second picture. As cooking continues they will eventually cook away to almost nothing – just keep going. Likewise, the mixture will eventually get thick and jammy (don’t worry, just keep going!).We found it took about 20-25 minutes once we reached a boil.

Making The Mousse

Tip: Use a separate, smaller pan for the gelatin. Start on the whipped cream and gelatin about 10-15 minutes after the compote has been in the fridge.

Candying The Cranberries

Tip: Make the candied cranberries about an hour before you plan to serve.

Assembling The Pie

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• The best time to make this is when you have fresh cranberries (fall or winter).
• The recipe is a bit more difficult and much more time consuming than listed in the book. Plan out each step in advance before doing it.
• Final Score: 5/5 – Despite all of the work, this was an absolutely incredible pie and perhaps the best pie in dessert person. Give this one a try, but make sure to use all of the proper ingredients and take your time doing it!

Introduction

There are only 2 muffin recipes in all of Dessert Person (the other being corn muffins) and only a couple of vegan recipes. This recipe happens to be both. All in all the muffins come out delicious (you’d barely know they were vegan) and there are some cool vegan cooking techniques you can learn. Make sure to check out the video as it is much more detailed than the written recipe and talks about vegan cooking techniques in more depth.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Seedy Maple Breakfast Mufins	Special Equipment: None
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 1 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 1/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★★☆

Making The Batter

Tip: Be careful while making the wet portion of the recipe. As can be above if you mix in the wrong order and don’t work quickly enough the pieces of coconut oil will solidly into white chunks and render the batter slightly chunky. To avoid this do two things. First, liquefy/warm the oil completely and work quickly once it’s added. Second, make the wet portion in the following order while stirring continuously the entire time: “flax egg”, apple sauce, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, brown sugar.

Baking The Muffins

Tip: We followed the recipe exactly and only had enough to make 11.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Make sure to watch the video!
• Final Score: 4/5 – These are excellent, vegan muffins that are surprisingly easy to make. Definitely worth giving a quick try.

Introduction

I’ve never particularly enjoyed oatmeal cookies. They often taste like a half-baked compromise between a cookie and oatmeal where the whole is less than the sum of its parts. This cookie, however, produces an oatmeal cookie that is indeed far greater than the sum of its parts. The use of browned butter and the pecan brittle really sets it apart (and is a great way to learn how to do both if you haven’t before).

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Oat and Pecan Brittle Cookies	Special Equipment: Stand Mixer, Food Processor
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 16 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★★☆

Making The Pecan Brittle

Tip: The foamy mixture will eventually darken and brown, just keep waiting.

Making The Batter (Including Browning The Butter)

Baking The Cookies

Tip: Be careful not to overbake them. They will harden significantly (and quickly) while they cool. Multiple baking sheets will be used, so feel free to try a variety of times amongst baking sheets to get some particularly chewy cookies as well as some more brittle ones.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Be careful spacing the cookies apart for baking. They get to be quite larger.
• It’s best to make this a 2 day recipe to allow for chilling overnight.
• Final Score: 4/5 – This is a truly elevated oatmeal cookie that will even win over those that have never liked oatmeal cookies. It’s also a great way to learn about browning butter and making brittle.

Introduction

I’m not a fan of lime nor mint in desserts, so I knew this wouldn’t be a favorite of mine from the start. Nonetheless, it was a fairly educational recipe. It covered making a shortbread that can topped and a citrus curd. The curd topping is much more tart and sour than sweet and the mint in the shortbread is only slightly noticeable.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Minty Lime Bars	Special Equipment: 8×8 Inch Pan
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 3.5 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★☆☆☆☆

Making The Shortbread

Tip: The mint taste is very subdued. Consider adding an extra tablespoon or two.

Making The Curd

Tip: We used 10 less grams of lemon juice as some other have complained the lemon overpowers the lime in this recipe. We believe this was a good choice as the balance of lime and lemon came out very well.

Baking The Bars

Tip: Be careful not to overbake them. The indicator given is that it will be set but still a bit wobbly in the center. We found ours to be quite wobbly by time it needed to be removed from the oven. Watch that it doesn’t overbake around the edges. Don’t worry if it does though as it will still taste good and the center pieces will likely be fine. You can use the edges de-puffing and getting too brown as an additional indicator of when it’s overbaked.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Consider using more mint and less lemon.
• Be careful not to overbake them.
• It is very tart and rather sour.
• Final Score: 1/5 – This was a fun recipe, but not my favorite. Making the curd and then baking it can be a bit temperamental. That being said, the taste profile might have just not been for me.

Introduction

This is a rather simple, great fall dessert for when fresh apples are in season. The recipe has a lot of steps, but none are particularly technical nor time-consuming. The cake itself tasted great, but didn’t stand out in any particular way. I’d rate this slightly behind the other fall cake in the book, the Pear Chestnut Cake.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Double-Apple Crumble Cake	Special Equipment: 9 Inch Springform Pan
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 3.5 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 2/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Making The Crumble

Making The Batter

Tip: It’s not clear exactly how many apple slices should be used based on how the recipe is written as it seems to specify the weight on the apples before they have been peeled, prepped, etc. In terms of prepped apple slices we used about 450 grams and felt that resulted in plenty of apple in the cake.

Baking The Cake

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• This tastes best with fresh apples. The recipes recommends tart ones, but sweet ones work fine as well.
• Final Score: 3/5 – This is a fairly quick and easy recipe for a great fall cake. Definitely worth a try.

Introduction

This is a fantastic fall cake. It’s relatively straight-forward and doesn’t require too much technical work aside from paying close attention to certain indicators. If pears are in season, then give this recipe a try! Note that many of the ingredients in this recipe can be substituted for – including the chestnuts and type of pears. See the linked video for more details (and a rare full baking video from Dessert Person).

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Pear Chestnut Cake	Special Equipment: 9 or 10 Inch Springform Pan, Stand Mixer
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 3 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 2/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★★☆

Preparing The Pairs

Tip: The firms should be firm-ripe. Claire explains this in the recipe video, but it basically means a pear that can be pressed-in slightly, but not significantly (there should be a slight amount of give). Bartlett and Comice pears work well.

Making The Batter

Baking The Cake

Tip: In the linked video Claire uses parchment paper but not in the written instructions. Simply add a circular layer of parchment paper on the bottom of the prepared pan (but not yet sugared) and then butter the parchment paper top as well.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• If you have fresh pears, this is the recipe to make!
• The chestnuts leave some crunchy bits in the cake, so be careful!
• Final Score: 4/5 – This is an excellent cake and one of the few where the fruit is really the star. Only make this cake when you have fresh, in-season pears.

Introduction

Banana bread is the “hello world” of baking. As such, it’s a great way to bake for your first time. There’s no special equipment and no complicated techniques. Claire’s take on banana bread manages to elevate the classic banana bread without making the recipe more difficult.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Almond butter Banana Bread	Special Equipment: Standard Loaf Pan
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 2 Hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 1/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Making The Batter

Baking The Bread

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Final Score: 3/5 – A classic recipe with some easy improvements. It’s the best way to make banana bread.