Category: food

Introduction

I’ve never had a good blondie until this one. This is an incredibly easy recipe that produces a blondie that actually rivals a brownie. The recipe uses sesame in all forms (seeds, halvah, and tahini).

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Salted Halvah Blondies	Special Equipment: Brownie Pan
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 1.5 hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 1/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Making The Batter

Baking The Blondies

Tip 1: Don’t forget to top with flaky salt!

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• If you like halvah, then you’ll definitely like these.
• They are rather gooey.
• Final Score: 3/5 – A simple, unique, and delicious recipe. A fantastic combination and definitely worth a try if you haven’t had a good blondie before.

Introduction

There are a variety of excellent Jewish dessert recipes in the book and this one doesn’t disappoint. This recipe is particularly easy and makes a lot. Most of the time is spent chilling the dough or baking it — there is very little hand-work to be done.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Recipe Review: Aunt Rose’s Mondel Bread	Special Equipment: Stand Mixer
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 6 hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 1/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Making The Dough

Tip: Be very careful to not toast the almonds too long. The recipe recommends letting them go as long as possible, but if you go too long they may burn and impart a bitter flavor.

Making And Baking The Loaves

Tip 1: Be very careful when flipping the loaves; they are extremely fragile! Consider just flipping them gently with your hands using mitts.

Tip 2: Despite making this twice, the scoring did not disappear as it baked.

Tip 3: Make sure to sugar the sides as well.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• This is a great recipe if you’re trying to avoid any butter of dairy products – as is the case with most Jewish baking.
• They go excellently with coffee.
• Final Score: 3/5 – A great and easy recipe that many people may not have tried before. Definitely worth a shot given the low effort. Although I haven’t tested it, I believe this recipe could be done without a stand mixer if absolutely necessary.

Introduction

This is a quick and easy recipe that uses miso in a way I never had before. It’s definitely worth a try as the biscuits come out delicious. Despite the miso, they taste much like ‘typical’ biscuits. Note that there is a video of Claire making this recipe here, however the process is a tad different – likewise there is a minor typo in the recipe volumes (for buttermilk) so go by mass (which you should be doing anyways).

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Miso Buttermilk Biscuits	Special Equipment: None
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 1.5 hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 1/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★☆☆☆

Forming The Biscuits

Baking The Biscuits

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Make sure you use the right miso.
• Anyone that likes biscuits should like these as well.
• Final Score: 2/5 – An easy, but fun recipe. A great way to use miso for the first time if you haven’t before.

Introduction

This recipe is more work than it looks to be… but the end result is delicious! Make sure you can get a quality pineapple before attempting this recipe though. This is definitely one of the better recipes in the book.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Recipe Review: Pineapple and Pecan Upside-Down Cake	Special Equipment: 8 or 9-inch cake pan, food processor, stand or hand mixer
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 2.5 hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★★☆

Poaching The Pineapple

Tip: Cutting the pineapple is more work than it appears to be if you haven’t worked much with pineapple before! Be patient and watch a few YouTube demonstrations first.

Making The Caramel

Tip: If you have a lot of liquid leftover in the pan, then it may take longer than usual for the caramel to come together. Don’t swirl the pan too often or it will take longer.

Baking The Cake

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• We felt the pineapple layer could be a bit thicker.
• Take your time with the pineapple and caramel and go by the indicators.
• Final Score: 4/5 – A great recipe that takes a bit of skill and effort to get right. The result is worth it though! This is a great recipe to learn the foundation of an upside down cake and working with pineapple.

Introduction

This is one of the best recipes in Dessert Person. It is absolutely delicious, easy to improvise with, and looks fantastic. The recipe is a bit difficult, so perhaps not a great first time recipe. But given a bit of baking experience, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get through. The recipe only has a few ingredients though, so make sure you buy quality ones.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Soft and Crispy Focaccia	Special Equipment: Stand Mixer, 18×13-inch pan
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 5 hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★★★

Making The Dough

Tip 1: The second mixing may take 20 minutes or slightly more. Go by the indicators.

Tip 2: Near the end of the second mixing the dough should be slapping heavily against the sides of the bowl and look as if one was throwing dough on a peel.

Tip 3: You will know the dough is done (or close to done) when the mixer literally starts moving itself about.

Proofing The Dough 1/2

Tip: The last two pictures show the size difference after the first rise.

Proofing The Dough 2/2

Tip: The last two pictures show the size difference after the second rise.

Making The Toppings

Dimpling And Topping

Baking The Focaccia

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Use quality ingredients – especially the flour, olive oil, and toppings.
• Make sure to go by the indicators for each step. The times can vary significantly due to environmental factors (temperature, humidity, etc) for this recipe in particular.
• Final Score: 5/5 – One of the best recipes in Dessert Person – beautiful and delicious.

Introduction

This is a great recipe that is deceptively hard for a seemingly simple result. This is one of the only two recipes in dessert person that doesn’t actually require any baking. This is definitely worth a try.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Classic English Muffins	Special Equipment: Stand Mixer, 3.5-inch round cutter, griddle/large skillet
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 2 days
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 4/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Making The Dough

Flattening And Chilling The Dough

Tip: Be generous with your plastic wrap and overlap. I highly recommend this brand, which comes with an easy-to-use cutter.

Forming The Muffins

Cooking The Muffins

Tip: Be patient and cook on low for a while as directed.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• The recipe is very well-written.
• Make sure you have enough fridge space to fit a pan of dough.
• Final Score: 3/5 – The muffins may be a lot of work, but they taste great.

Introduction

This is a great introduction to baking a cake. It uses a simple frosting and basic batter so that all of the focus can be on the technique. The resulting cake is delicious, albeit a bit rich for my tastes.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Classic Birthday Cake	Special Equipment: Stand Mixer, 3 8-Inch Cake Pans
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 4 hours
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 4/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★☆☆☆

Making The Cream Cheese Frosting

Making The Batter

Tip 1: Make sure to periodically scrape the dough in the stand mixer with a flexible spatula – including the bottom of the bowl.

Baking The Cake

Frosting The Cake

Tip 1: Each of the layers needs to be leveled (made flat) so they can be stacked. This takes some practice to get right if just using a serrated bread knife. One alternative is to buy a cake leveler. Another is to set your cake on a spinning cake tin and spin the cake about your knife to cut it evenly. One of the best techniques is slicing evenly through with dental floss. Likewise I’ve seen some place toothpicks in a circle around the cake at the desired height (measured with a ruler) and using them as a cutting guide. Another possibility is using a baking strip to get a level cake from the start.

Tip 2: Use a small offset spatula for frosting.

Tip 3: Be careful to not put all of the frosting in the center of the cake and then spread sideways. That can often result in the layer of frosting at the center being thicker. Make sure to account for this. One way to do this is to evenly apply the frosting about the top of the cake in different spots and then spread evenly.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Take your time with each step, especially removing the cake from the tins and cutting+stacking them.
• Make sure you have cake flower, not just all purpose flour.
• Final Score: 2/5 – There are a lot of small technical skills that one has to learn when baking a cake. This recipe is a great way to learn those early so that for future cakes you can focus on the batter and frosting itself. The cake is a great birthday cake, but quite rich.

Introduction

This recipe is much like the Palmiers from Dessert Person in that 80% of the work is making the dough – except this time it’s brioche instead of puff pastry. Brioche is a great buttery dough that can be used for anything where butter will shine (such as French toast and a variety of desserts). The twists themselves can be topped with a variety of different sugar blends – listed ones include coriander sugar, cinnamon, etc.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Brioche Twists	Special Equipment: Stand Mixer
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 1 day
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Making The Dough

Making The Twists (And A Loaf)

Tip 1: Don’t worry if your twists don’t grow significantly in size.

Tip 2: Feel free to try some other shapes. You should have plenty of dough if you follow the recipe. Alternatively, only use half of the recipe for twists and make a loaf with the other half.

Baking The Brioche

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Keep a close eye on the brioche so it doesn’t over-bake.
• Final Score: 3/5 – Brioche is a must know bread and this recipe is a fun way to learn it.

Introduction

We knew that there were chocolate and cinnamon babkas. But, it turns out there’s another – the Speculoos Babka. The main ingredient is Speculoos Cookie Butter (store bought versions are sold by Lotus and Trader Joe’s), which tastes much like those little cookies they hand out on flights. It’s a fun babka variation, but requires a bit of technique and practice to get right.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: Speculoos Babka	Special Equipment: Stand Mixer, 2 Standard Loaf Pans
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 1 day
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 4/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★☆☆

Making The Sweet Yeast Dough

Tip: Claire covers the sweet yeast dough in first portion of this video.

Making The Babka

Tip 1: You’ll need all of your filling to get a thick enough layer and you’ll need to stick to the recommended dimensions.

Tip 2: Make sure the spread is applied very evenly and perhaps even a little thinner in the middle. Otherwise, the “swirl” will come out unevenly undistributed.

Topping And Baking The Babka

Tip 1: Keep a close eye on the temperature and remove immediately at 185° – this could be at even just 40 minutes.

Tip 2: Add more flour for a crumbier top.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Make sure everything is done precisely to measurement, indicators, and temperatures .
• Speculoos cookie butter is dangerously delicious.
• Final Score: 3/5 – A fun babka variation. It was very good, but not quite as good as the babkallah, however.

Introduction

This is an incredibly cool and rewarding recipe. It’s amazing what this recipe manages to achieve without including a single non-staple ingredient (i.e. no chocolate, nut, fruit, nor anything special like that). It’s a masterclass in what you can do with just baking staples in your pantry. The result is absolutely delicious. It’s a moderate amount of work though and requires a stand mixer. A pastry bag helps slightly, but is not necessary at all.

Recipe Outline

Recipe: St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake	Special Equipment: Stand Mixer, 13×9 Glass Pan
Source: Dessert Person	Time: 2 days
Author: Claire Saffitz	Difficulty: 3/5
Type: Dessert (Baking)	Score: ★★★★☆

Baking The Dough (Day 1)

Tip: Don’t worry if it doesn’t rise significantly (or at all) overnight. Ours barely did and still came out great.

Making The Topping (Day 2)

Tip: If you don’t have a pastry bag simply top the cake with splotches and smooth with an (offset) spatula.

Baking The Cake (Day 2)

Tip: Use a dusting wand for an even coating at the end.

Final Product

Key Takeaways

• Try to stick by the indicators, but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t all come through.
• You can do some amazing things with just butter and flour.
• Final Score: 4/5 – An incredible interesting, unique, and delicious cake. Definitely worth trying!