Which is a yule log to you and me, thanks very much. It’s been a few years since I’ve made one of these, and back then I was just one member of a much larger production line. Funny how much longer projects like this take when you’re responsible for making every last component yourself. Where’s […]
READ ONIt’s human nature to never be quite satisfied with your home. Most of us would like more space, perhaps more light in the key living areas and of course, more curb appeal. The good news is that upgrading and/or renovating doesn’t have to be expensive, and can significantly add to the value of your house. […]
READ ONYou can do an awful lot with a simple four-walls-and-a-roof gingerbread house. A couple of chairs and a few throw pillows and you’ve got yourself a cozy domicile: every gingerbread man’s dream starter home. You’ll need a solid base to get going. Here I have a piece of foam board that I found in the […]
READ ONBaking off pieces of a gingerbread house is no different than making cookies, the only difference is size. The main difficulty, when it comes to shapes that are 8″ x 10″ or larger, is transferring them from point A to point B. Just use plenty of flour and check as you roll to see if […]
READ ONMaking a paper template for your gingerbread house may sound like an obsessive, fussy sort of thing to do. But trust me, there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to assemble a house out of planks of gingerbread that aren’t made to fit together. No amount of icing can make up for bad design, friends. Plus […]
READ ONSince the evolution of gingerbread is linked inextricably to the history of ginger in Europe, let’s start there. Ginger was probably the most important spice in Medieval Europe after pepper. It was known to the Greeks, who discovered it over the course of their escapades in Persia. The Romans knew about it as well, and […]
READ ONAlright. All you men out there, take a knee. Gentlemen, let’s face it, it can be hard to hold your head up high when you tell people you make cakes for fun. Pastry has certain pantywaist associations that can be hard to live down. But right here is a cake that any man would be […]
READ ONI say this a lot, but it bears repeating: the biggest secret to making great pastry is leaving yourself plenty of time to perform all the tasks involved. Trying to cram everything into one afternoon on the day of your dinner party is a recipe for disaster. Which is why a conscientious baker takes care […]
READ ONThere are lots of recipes out there for rehrücken if you start hunting around a bit. Most are simple bundt-style, extra-moist chocolate cakes that just happen to be made in a rehrücken mold. I prefer this formula by Austrian pastry chef Stephan Franz since it’s a spongecake, which makes it closer in spirit to the […]
READ ONIt’s a good question, because on an intuitive level one would think that if a corn tortilla is a simple pancake made of ground corn, there really shouldn’t be that much difference between finely ground corn meal and masa harina (literally “dough flour”). In reality there’s a huge difference, which can be summed up in […]
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