Recipe Review: Spelt Croissants
Introduction This is a great croissant recipe that produces incredible results without too much difficulty. Nonetheless it’s difficult enough that it shouldn’t be the first recipe attempted in the book. Keep track of time carefully so that you don’t overproof or underproof and don’t miss a turn. The timing doesn’t need to be exact, but…
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Recipe Review: A Little Bit Of Everything Bagels
Introduction Homemade bagels really are worth the effort. The depth of flavor and taste is incredible. Plus it’s really not that much work. If you’re not a fan of everything bagels, at least give this a try. The everything mix adds a ton of flavor. Definitely one of the best non-dessert recipes in the book.…
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Recipe Review: Creamy Greens Pie With Baked Eggs
Introduction This is a great savory pie. The greens add a ton of flavor, the creamy filling keeps it moist, and the pie dough provides great texture. It’s a fair bit of work to make this (mostly washing and preparing all of the greens), but it’s not too bad and definitely worth the effort. The…
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Recipe Review: Fruitcake
Introduction Many folks don’t like fruitcake. This recipe is a great chance to better understand and appreciate it (although you still may not like it afterwards). Despite the long duration, the recipe itself isn’t too difficult as long as you heed some of the tips below. Make sure to get started on this in October…
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Recipe Review: Cherry Cream Cheese Danishes
Introduction This recipe is a lot of work, but definitely worth the effort. Once you’ve had enough practice making the flaky pie dough and rough puff pastry this shouldn’t be too difficult. This recipe is all about preparation and precision, plan ahead. You can use just about anything you want for the filling, just be…
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Recipe Review: Kouign-Amann
Introduction This is definitely one of the most difficult recipes in the book. However, if you’ve made most of the other items in the book you shouldn’t have too much trouble with this. This recipe is pretty a much a full day effort and is best done with half of the dough being used for…
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Recipe Review: Blueberry Slab Pie
Introduction If you’ve never made a slab pie before, give this a try. It’s a great pie. The blueberries go surprisingly well with the warm spices and just about any filling could work. Despite being rated as a 4/5 in difficulty, it’s closer to a 3 (especially if you’ve had practice working with dough). This…
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Recipe Review: Preserved Lemon Meringue Cake
Introduction This is a fantastic lemon cake that will definitely impress. It’s not quite as hard as it looks, but the Italian meringue can be a bit difficult if you’re making it alone. The cake has a moderately strong lemon flavor, but it works very well. If you aren’t a fan of a lemon consider…
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Recipe Review: All Coconut Cake
Introduction This is great cake recipe that produces a beautiful cake that truly celebrates coconut. There is coconut in absolutely every element: in the batter, in the pastry cream layers, in the covering flakes, soaking each cake, and in between each layer. The cake is rated as a 4/5 in difficulty, but it is a…
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Recipe Review: Clam And Fennel Pizza With Gremolata
Introduction This is one of the few savory recipes that did not particularly stand out. The final product is certainly tasty, but not particularly unique nor quite worth the effort. Nonetheless this is a good chance to practice working with clams and fennel. The dough itself is fantastic and is a good reason alone to…
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Recipe Review: Foolproof Tarte Tatin
Introduction This is a great fall recipe when you have access to quality, firm, baking apples. The recipe is a bit complicated, but luckily the overall process can be broken down into a handful of discrete steps that can be done at different times. Definitely watch the video for this recipe, as it has a…
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Recipe Review: Buckwheat Blueberry Skillet Pancake
Introduction This is one of the most straightforward and simple recipes in the book. It’s a great way to learn how to make a skillet pancake, although the recipe itself is “just okay” at best. Nothing particular stands out or makes it special like most other recipes in the book. Nonetheless, the end result is…
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Recipe Review: Quince and Almond Tart with Rosé
Introduction This is one of the most unique recipes in the book. It is also one of the more challenging ones. This came as a bit of a surprise given that the book rates the difficulty as a “moderate 3/5”. At times the instructions were a bit brief and some additional photos and tips could…
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Recipe Review: Caramelized Endive Galette
Introduction This is a great fall galette when you can get fresh Belgian endive (and a great introduction to working with endive). While this is yet another savory recipe that is heavily allium-based, it still stands out and it worth doing. The recipe is quite straight forward and the hardest part is making the dough.…
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Recipe Review: Spiced Persimmon Cake
Introduction This is an interesting loaf. Persimmon is a fun consistency and flavor to work with. The recipe itself is fairly simple, but there are a few spots where it’s easy to get tripped up. This is best attempted in fall when ripe persimmons a ready. If you don’t like the taste of fennel, consider…
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Recipe Review: Rice Pudding Cake With Mango Caramel
Introduction This is an easy cake and a great introduction to working with rice in a baking context. Each step is fairly straightforward, but it can be a tad time consuming as the caramel and rice pudding need to be watched closely while they cook. Note that even though the book says this is a…
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Recipe Review: Apple And Concord Grape Crumble Pie
Introduction This is a great fall pie when you can get fresh Concord grapes and apples. It’s not particularly difficult, however there are a lot of steps. So it can be time consuming. The flavor of the pie is great and probably the best apple pie in the book (there are a couple of other…
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Recipe Review: Peanut Butter And Concord Grape Sandwich Cookies
Introduction This is a great cookie to make if you have fresh Concord grapes. This is the most difficult cookie recipe in the book though, so don’t attempt it as your first cookie. The dough is very fragile and difficult to work with. Making the jam is fairly straight-forward though. Note that this recipe can…
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Recipe Review: Goat Cheese Cake with Honey and Figs
Introduction This is a fairly easy introduction to some of the techniques involved in making cheesecake. If you like goat cheese, then this is the recipe for you. If not, then you probably won’t love it – the “funky” flavor of the goat cheese definitely comes through. Make sure you use ripe figs (best in…
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Recipe Review: Plum Galette with Polenta and Pistachios
Introduction This is a great late summer galette if you can find some fresh, small plums. The recipe is not too difficult and a good introduction to galettes and flaky all-butter pie dough. This recipe isn’t particularly amazing or unique, but still worth a shot if you like plums. If you don’t like plums, any…
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Recipe Review: Peach Melba Tart
Introduction This is a great summer tart when you have fresh, ripe peaches. This is a rather complicated recipe though and the peaches can be finicky to work with. Luckily, the recipe is executed in steps – the tart, cream, and peaches are all made separately. So if you have any trouble with one step,…
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Recipe Review: Ricotta and Broccoli Rabe Pie
Introduction This is a great savory pie – especially if you like olives. While no single step is too difficult, it is a bit time consuming. Plus the pie takes a long time to cool. The olive oil dough is very forgiving to work with, so don’t worry. Make sure you get high quality ricotta…
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Recipe Review: Confetti Cake
Introduction This is a fun, delicious, and easy cake recipe. Not only does it serve as a great introduction to baking cakes, but the end result is something that will make anyone happy. Think of this as an elevated take on the classic boxed “funfetti” cake. This cake doesn’t take too long to make, but…
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Recipe Review: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pavlovas With Rose
Introduction This is a great summertime recipe whenever you have fresh rhubarb and strawberries. The recipe is also a great way to practice making meringue as that’s where most of the effort and difficulty of this recipe lies. The final product is unexpectedly delicious, despite being a fairly simple creation. The recipe is assembled in…
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Recipe Review: Sour Cherry Pie
Introduction This is the perfect dessert for when you manage to get your hands on fresh sour cherries. They are usually only available for a couple of weeks in July – so grab them if you see them. This pie really makes the cherries the star of the show as they account for ~90% of…
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Recipe Review: Rhubarb Cake
Introduction Rhubarb can be a hard ingredient to find, but worth trying out if you’ve never used it before. It’s most common in spring and summer, but may take a few tries before you find some. While the recipe is fairly straightforward, it can be more time-consuming than suggested. The end result is a tasty…
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Recipe Review: Apricot and Cream Brioche Tart
Introduction This is a solid recipe to attempt should you ever find fresh apricots. This recipe is also a great way to practice making brioche. Despite having just a few steps, the recipe requires a fair degree of precision. You need to carefully prepare the edges to prevent overflow and distribute your toppings just right…
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Recipe Review: Tomato Tart With Spices And Herby Feta
Introduction This is a great summer recipe when tomatoes are in season and you can find quality herbs. This tastes like a rich, yet light, tomato flatbread. The recipe is more time consuming than it appears though due to all of the prep work. Nonetheless, if you find yourself with some high quality tomatoes, then…
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Recipe Review: Mascarpone Cake With Red Wine Prunes
Introduction This is a quick and easy recipe. The cake itself is especially easy and could be used as the base for a variety of different recipes. The red wine prunes come out quite well, but takes some practice to get the timing right. This is a great recipe to improvise with and try and…
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Recipe Review: Gâteau Basque
Introduction This recipe is fairly challenging, but worth the effort. It can all be made in one day if you start early, but it’s easiest done over two days. The pastry cream, cherry compote, and dough aren’t too difficult to make. The assembly is the difficult part because the dough is incredibly tough to work…
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Recipe Review: Tarte Tropézienne
Introduction This is quite a fun recipe. It’s a bit complicated and is probably best to attempt after you’ve made brioche once or twice first. Once you’ve gotten brioche down though, definitely give this a try. The recipe is fairly plain in that it’s all milk, flour, sugar, butter, and egg. But the end result…
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Recipe Review: Apple Tart
Introduction This is a fun recipe that is deceptively time-consuming. While this recipe is best in the fall when apples are at their peak, it can still be done any time of year. Despite there being no particularly complex techniques or equipment, you will need a full day or 2 partial days to make this.…
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Recipe Review: Strawberry-Almond Bostock
Introduction This is a great recipe if you ever get your hands on any particularly fresh, nice strawberries. Likewise, it’s a great reason to practice brioche as the rest of the recipe is fairly straightforward. The recipe has four main steps: brioche, frangipane, honey almond syrup, and assembly. The recipe can be done over multiple…
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Recipe Review: Chocolate-Hazelnut Galette des Rois
Introduction This is quite a recipe. It’s a fair amount of work, especially if you are making the puff pastry yourself. Nonetheless, the final product is incredibly rewarding given the difficulty and uncertainty that goes into the construction. It tastes great as well. Make sure to set aside plenty of time to make this though.…
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Recipe Review: Crispy Mushroom Galette
Introduction This is another fun savory recipe. It’s a bit more time consuming and difficult than the book suggests, but isn’t too bad. This is definitely worth giving a try as there are a lot of valuable techniques to learn (flaky olive oil dough, preparing leeks, cooking mushrooms, and folding a galette), despite not being…
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Recipe Review: All Allium Deep-Dish Quiche
Introduction This is one of the best savory/not-totally-a-dessert recipes in the book. The base is a flakey, buttery pie dough and the allium-filling (think onion, scallions, leek, garlic) is especially flavorful. Be warned though, this recipe is quite an undertaking. While no single step is particularly difficult, there are many steps and a fair amount…
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Recipe Review: Salty Nut Tart With Rosemary
Introduction This is another fairly easy tart recipe, especially if you’ve made the base Sweet Tart Dough before. The filling is especially delicious and the rosemary works surprisingly well. It’s a very pretty tart despite the relatively beige ingredients. Note that the rosemary can be omitted and it’ll still be delicious. Likewise the recipe recommends…
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Recipe Review: Pistachio Linzer Tart
Introduction This is a fairly easy tart recipe, despite a slightly vague recipe (mostly due to a lack of pictures). Unlike most tart recipes in the book this can be easily made in one sitting. It’s not quite as visually stunning (or as delicious) as some of the other tarts in the book, but it…
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Recipe Review: Pigs in a Blanket
Introduction This recipe is mostly just making brioche and then working with it a bit. Nonetheless it’s a great recipe and a great way to make brioche and apply it in a fun way. Do note that brioche is a fairly complex dough that requires an (ideally) overnight period in the fridge. While the recipe…
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Recipe Review: Brown Butter Corn Muffins
Introduction This is a great and easy corn muffin. It stands out from other corn muffins in its use of fresh corn kernels cooked in browned butter. Likewise it uses slightly less flour so they are less dry than a typical corn muffin. These are very good, but not quite as good as the loaded…
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Recipe Review: Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
Introduction This is a great chocolate cake with an even better frosting. Similarly, the frosting is much more difficult to make than the cake. Note that there is a video available that explains how to make the frosting (there is not one for the cake). Keep in mind that the video instructions are slightly different…
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Recipe Review: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Introduction This is a great chocolate chip cookie recipe and one of the only recipes that took us 2 tries to get right (thought it is a fairly easy recipe). This is not a mind-blowing chocolate chip cookie, but it is a very good one. The mix of chocolates used and brown butter are great…
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Recipe Review: Blood Orange and Olive Oil Upside-Down Cake
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…
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Recipe Review: Carrot and Pecan Cake
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…
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Recipe Review: Ricotta Cake with Kumquat Marmalade
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…
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Recipe Review: Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie
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,…
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Recipe Review: Seedy Maple Breakfast Muffins
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.…
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Recipe Review: Oat and Pecan Brittle Cookies
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…
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Recipe Review: Minty Lime Bars
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…
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Recipe Review: Double-Apple Crumble Cake
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,…
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Recipe Review: Pear Chestnut Cake
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…
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Recipe Review: Almond Butter Banana Bread
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…
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Recipe Review: Feta Zaatar Flatbread with Charred Eggplant Dip
Introduction This recipe may look simple, but it’s surprisingly intensive and difficult. The dough can be a bit difficult to work with and get right. Likewise the dip takes a while to make. Nonetheless, the recipe comes out delicious and is highly recommended for a few reasons. First, the dip is incredible and arguably even…
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Recipe Review: Coffee Coffee Cake
Introduction It turns out coffee cake usually doesn’t have coffee in it — it’s meant to be eaten with coffee. This coffee coffee cake, however, actually has coffee in it (and quite a bit). Don’t worry though, it’s not too strong. It actually has just the right balance. The recipe is very straightforward and quite…
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Recipe Review: Pull-Apart Sour-Cream and Chive Rolls
Introduction This is a surprisingly difficult recipe for a seemingly simple dish. It takes some time to make the “pull-apart” magic happen, but it really does work! This is a highly educational recipe that involves multiple techniques that can be used elsewhere. The rolls themselves are delicious and will earn a lot of inquiries for…
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Recipe Review: Black Sesame Paris-Brest
Introduction This recipe is quite an undertaking, much like the croquembouche. While the croquembouche has more work and steps, this one is slightly more difficult due to the elaborate choux ring made. The black sesame pastry cream is absolutely incredible and really makes the recipe standout. The final product is quite avant-garde. The recipe involves…
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Recipe Review: Strawberry Cornmeal Layer Cake
Introduction This a great summer cake recipe for when strawberries are ripe and fresh. It’s also a great introduction to cutting a cake in a half, which is by far the most difficult step in this recipe. This cake was surpassingly delicious given its simplicity. Don’t skip macerating the strawberries. Recipe Outline Recipe: Strawberry Cornmeal…
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Recipe Review: Walnut-Maple Buns
Introduction This recipe is a good twist on a cinnamon roll/bun. The sweet yeast dough gives the dough a light and tender feel, while not being overly rich. The walnut-maple topping is similar story, delicious but not too rich. As a result, the final product is not too rich either. That means if you’re looking…
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Recipe Review: Croquembouche
Introduction This recipe is quite an undertaking. The final product looks great and is delicious, but if this is your first time making all of the components then set aside a full day to make it. The recipe involves making pâte à choux, pastry cream, and caramel. There are multiple reference videos: here and here.…
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Recipe Review: Gougères
Introduction This recipe is basically pâte à choux with gruyère thrown in. It’s a good recipe for learning to make choux as that’s 95% of the work. This is definitely more of a savory dessert than a sweet one. The end result is good, but make sure you get quality cheese as that will be…
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Recipe Review: Kabocha Turmeric Tea Cake
Introduction This is a delicious and rather unique loaf cake. It was the first time we had ever worked with kabocha. It’s hard to describe exactly, but it’s kind of like a pumpkin mixed with a sweet potato. It’s the perfect taste to accompany the turmeric. Definitely give this one a try. Recipe Outline Recipe:…
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Recipe Review: Coconut Thumbprints
Introduction This recipe is a bit more difficult than it looks/sounds. Nonetheless, these bite-sized cookies are delicious and look fantastic. The coconut gives the caramel a beautiful sheen and a unique taste. Definitely one of the best cookie recipes in the book. Recipe Outline Recipe: Coconut Thumbprints Special Equipment: Stand Mixer Source: Dessert Person Time:…
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Recipe Review: Salted Halvah Blondies
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…
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Recipe Review: Aunt Rose’s Mondel Bread
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…
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Recipe Review: Miso Buttermilk Biscuits
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…
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Recipe Review: Pineapple and Pecan Upside-Down Cake
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…
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Recipe Review: Soft and Crispy Focaccia
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…
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Recipe Review: Classic English Muffins
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…
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Recipe Review: Classic Birthday Cake
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…
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Recipe Review: Brioche Twists
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…
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Recipe Review: Speculoos Babka
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…
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Recipe Review: St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
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…
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Recipe Review: Malted Forever Brownies
Introduction This is a fantastic brownie recipe. It has everything a great recipe needs: simplicity, a secret ingredient, and it’s a crowd-pleaser. Notable features include the use of malted milk powder, nice chunky bits throughout the brownie, and the ability to easily add variety (mint, nuts, and whole grain). The recipe isn’t particularly difficult either.…
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Recipe Review: Flourless Chocolate Wave Cake
Introduction This is a solid recipe for a flourless chocolate cake. It is well-written and instructive. The cake is very well balanced and not too rich. It definitely takes some effort and precision, but no particular part is very difficult. A hand mixer works perfectly fine in place of a stand mixer. Recipe Outline Recipe:…
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Recipe Review: Spiced Honey and Rye Cake
Introduction This is a simple and easy loaf cake. The loaf is very good, but isn’t quite amazing. It would go great with a glaze of some sort. Recipe Outline Recipe: Spiced Honey and Rye Cake Special Equipment: Standard Loaf Pan Source: Dessert Person Time: 3 hours Author: Claire Saffitz Difficulty: 1/5 Type: Dessert (Baking)…
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Recipe Review: Blackberry Caramel Tart
Introduction This is a fun, yet moderately complex tart to make. I’d highly recommend doing the Meyer Lemon Tart from Dessert Person first. This recipe uses the same sweet tart dough base, but has a much more technical and complex filing. Specifically you will need to make some caramel and work with gelatin. It’s definitely…
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Recipe Review: Thrice-Baked Rye Cookies
Introduction This is a unique and delicious cookie. The ingredients are incredibly simple, yet the taste is complex and subtle. It’s hard to describe. The recipe is particularly well written. Note that the linked recipe is not an exact replica of the recipe as it appears in Dessert Person (although it is close enough). Make…
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Recipe Review: Brown Butter and Sage Sablés
Introduction This recipe is definitely worth a try. The cookies are good, but are more “interesting” than they are “great”. The brown butter and sage is an excellent combination. While a hand mixer can be used if you’d really like, a stand mixer is definitely ideal. Recipe Outline Recipe: Brown Butter and Sage Sablés Special…
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Recipe Review: Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies
Introduction This cookie is basically a gingerbread cookie, minus the fun shapes. The recipe is incredibly straightforward and absolutely delicious. It’s definitely a great holiday cookie recipe. Recipe Outline Recipe: Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies Special Equipment: Hand/Stand Mixer Source: Dessert Person Time: 2.5 hours Author: Claire Saffitz Difficulty: 1/5 Type: Dessert (Baking) Score: ★★★★☆ Making…
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Recipe Review: Marcona Almond Cookies
Introduction This is a fun recipe built around Marcona almonds. Marcona almonds are especially savory, but can be hard to find depending on where you shop. If you ever have some, then this is a fun cookie to make. While you can substitute something other than a Marcona almond, it isn’t ideal unless the replacement…
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Recipe Review: Poppy Seed Almond Cake
Introduction This is a quick and easy recipe. The cake is delicious and definitely worth giving a try. Recipe Outline Recipe: Poppy Seed Almond Cake Special Equipment: Hand Mixer and 12-Cup Bundt Pan Source: Dessert Person Time: 2.5 hours Author: Claire Saffitz Difficulty: 1/5 Type: Dessert (Baking) Score: ★★★☆☆ Making The Batter Tip: When dusting…
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Recipe Review: Earl Grey and Apricot Hamantaschen
Introduction This is the best cookie in Dessert Person and one of the best cookies I’ve ever had. The recipe is fairly involved, but it’s worth the effort. Claire says that you can swap out making the earl grey and apricot filling with a store-bought alternative. Don’t do that. Or at the very least only…
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Recipe Review: Honey Tahini Challah
Introduction This recipe is very similar to the babkallah recipe from Dessert Person in terms of technique. This challah, however, is much more traditional as it uses primarily oil instead of butter. The tahini is a unique, yet great addition. The sesame flavor it imparts is very subtle and it makes the dough very rich…
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Recipe Review: Caramelized Honey Pumpkin Pie
Introduction This recipe is a great introduction to making your own pie crust because the filling itself is very little work – it’s all about making the crust. The caramelized honey is a nice touch and a good way to easily elevate a relatively simple pie. Note that the linked recipe doesn’t contain the exact…
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Recipe Review: Loaded Corn Bread
Introduction This is a quick and easy recipe for delicious cornbread. There’s not much else to say other than this is definitely the right technique for loaded cornbread. Do keep in mind that this isn’t 100% traditional southern corn bread given the 2:1 ratio of flour to corn meal. Recipe Outline Recipe: Loaded Corn Bread…
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Recipe Review: Meyer Lemon Tart
Introduction This recipe looks intimidating, but is surprisingly accessible because it is broken up into distinct parts. There are three main parts to this recipe: making the lemon curd, making the sweet tart dough, and assembly. If you are a reasonably skilled baker you can multitask and work on the components in parallel to reduce…
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Recipe Review: Cinnamon Sugar Palmiers
Introduction This recipe is 80% about making the dough — the remaining 20% is forming the curled palmier shape. As a result, this is a great recipe to practice making puff pastry because the puff pastry is the star. Technically this recipe can be made using puff pastry or pie dough. While either is delicious,…
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Recipe Review: Babkallah
Introduction The babkallah combines the best of challah and babka into a single recipe. It’s also a surprisingly accessible recipe in that it requires almost no special equipment (although an instant read thermometer will help). The assembly looks complicated, but in practice it was fairly straightforward. Claire also provides many instructive pictures. Note that the…
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Recipe Review: Pistachio Pinwheels
Introduction This was the very first recipe I attempted baking with my partner. It was also the first recipe we did from Dessert Person. Despite being a moderately difficult recipe, we managed to do fairly well. We were immediately impressed by the instructive quality of Dessert Person. This recipe in particular had many helpful photos.…
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