Stump the chump.

For a know-it-all, I’m quite frequently (and rather easily) befuddled. For example, a reader wrote in late last week to ask if I knew why a jelly roll and/or a Swiss roll is referred to as a “Gypsy’s arm” (brazo de Gitano) in Spain and Cuba. I have absolutely no idea. However I do have […]

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Tan, rested and ready.

I actually got a little color on my face this past weekend attending an Easter parade, where my youngest, little 2-year-old Joan, was amazed to discover there are places on Earth where people dressed as rabbits throw candy at you (that you can actually pick up and eat). Moreover, she learned that the more she […]

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And on that note…

…I’ll say goodbye for a week or so. I’m taking pre-Easter week off. Call it spring break. I’ve got to take short trip, then I have some projects that need tending to. Say…speaking of Easter, that cake down below — whether made from génoise or regular butter cake layers — might make a pretty good […]

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Cake-style génoise

This simple little cake isn’t the best use of génoise, as génoise technically isn’t designed to be eaten in stacked layers, but among other layers of mousse or fruit filling (e.g. in a gâteau-style pastry). Still, we do what we have time for, eh? (And actually, now that I think about it, this “simple little […]

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Gish.

I provide the cake syrup recipe to you on the understanding you’ll use it responsibly. For there is far too much cake syrup abuse that goes on in the world for my liking. Sure, for génoise cakes it’s necessary, but for the vast majority of the cakes it’s applied to — I’m thinking of butter […]

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Is génoise dry?

Sort of, yes. At least compared to very fine-crumbed butter cake layers, the kind most of us New Worlders are used to eating. But then where layer cakes are concerned, the cake is the whole point. Sure, there’s a smear of buttercream in between the layers and on top, but the cake is really the […]

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Continental Curd Emergency

My good friend Gerhard from Vienna writes in: I’d really love to try your recipe for Lemon Curd, but… oh those ounces! We, the people of continental Europe don’t know ounces (anymore) and hereby kindly request to see also metric measurements in your posts 😉 thank you! What about cups… 5 ounces sugar would be… […]

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One man’s curd…

…is another’s honey. At least if you live in New Zealand. Bronwyn from Dunedin writes in: In New Zealand we tend to call it Lemon Honey. Lemon Honey sounds so much nicer, don’t you think? I remember reading in some food blog or other some months ago several people commenting that the name “Lemon Curd” […]

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