This post is all about housekeeping. I’ve received quite a few requests for a pâte brisée recipe lately. I’ve had one on the site for quite a while now, but it’s been filed under “quiche.” This dedicated post on the subject will make it easier to reference. Pâte brisée is one of the simplest of […]
READ ONTime and temperature are the secrets to a successful batch of mascarpone. Other than that all you have to work with are cream, some acid, a thermometer and a pan. Simple, right? Right… The formula is one pint of heavy cream and one pint of half-and-half (all of it un-homogenized and un-stabilized if at all […]
READ ONOh silky, lovely bavarian cream…all set to be poured into a mold (after I’ve dipped my finger in it a time or two, of course). Making a crème anglaise-style Bavarian cream is only a little more complicated than making crème anglaise. All you’re doing is combining your custard with whipped cream and gelatin. Easy. Below […]
READ ONI hesitated at first to do Bavarian cream because I’ve had so many bad experiences with it. No, not making it. Eating it. For Bavarian cream is a much abused substance in the baking world. So often it has so much gelatin in it that it comes off like JELL-O pudding. Thankfully, pastry chef Laura […]
READ ONI was going to write about how to modify ladyfingers before putting up the tutorial, but I think it’ll be easier to show the recipe first, then talk about adjustments. Ladyfingers are a lot easier to make than this series of photos might make them appear. They require a few steps, but the batter is […]
READ ONThis is a fairly standard ladyfinger recipe that produces a nice general-purpose cookie. It’s quite similar to other sponge cakes like génoise, except that it contains no butter. You can of course mess with this basic formula to create different effects, and in the next couple of posts I’ll tell you how. 4 eggs, room […]
READ ONOnions are sweet little bulbs. In fact they’re unusually so, only their sweetness is hidden in the form of long chains of fructose molecules. Unadulterated, those fructose chains don’t register as sweet sensations on our tongues because our taste buds don’t have receptors capable of recognizing them. Add to that the fact that they’re disguised […]
READ ONNary a year passes in which I don’t slow-roast at least a few tomatoes to stash away in the freezer. In the bleak month of February, their bright, concentrated flavors serve as a reminder of happier days past, and to come. Before I had a backyard garden, my standard operating procedure was to prowl the […]
READ ONI’ve always felt that “buttermilk” is a misleading term. It implies a richer form of ordinary milk, when in fact most buttermilk is about as rich as low-fat milk. That makes a lot of sense when you consider where buttermilk comes from, for it’s the liquid that’s leftover when fat (butter) is removed from cream. […]
READ ONSince I’m planning to gather all my home-dairying posts together and put them in their own section, I thought I’d be thorough and put up a separate post on sour cream. Yes, I know I did this yesterday when I posted on cultured butter, it’s just how my mind works. Sure it’s redundant, but it’s […]
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