Coconut Cream Pie

A coconut pie with whipped cream on top.

With a smooth, creamy filling, and a generous crown of whipped cream, topped with lightly toasted coconut, Coconut Cream Pie is one of the classic American pies. The recipe below, with a few modifications, is from the excellent book Pie and Tarts by Kristina Petersen Migoya.   The procedure for the filling is exactly the…

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The Friday Baking Project
Peach Blueberry Crisp

PRINT Peach Blueberry Crisp Yield: 1 medium baking pan # of Servings:6 IngredientsCrisp topping: ½ cup (2.3 oz / 64 g) all-purpose flour ¾ cup (5.4 oz / 153 g) firmly-packed light brown sugar4 tbl (2 oz / 56 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces ¾ cup (2.5 oz / 72 g) old-fashioned rolled…

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East 62nd Steet Lemon Cake

A bundt cake with powdered sugar on top.

This is the recipe that is perhaps most closely associated with Maida Heatter. Published in the New York Times in 1970 it put her on the path to becoming the author of seven baking books, with many recipes considered classics of the home baker’s repertoire.  East 62nd Street Lemon Cake is, for many, the highlight…

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Triple Layer Cheesecake

A cake sitting on top of a wooden board.

This cheesecake, from Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts is one of her creations where one wonders – how did she do that?   How did she get the layers to stay apart during mixing and baking?  It all begins with a basic vanilla-flavored cheesecake batter. I use my classic Cheesecake recipe, which is based…

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Budapest Bundlettes

Four donuts on a wooden tray with icing.

Among Maida Heatter’s many contributions to the American dessert repertoire was her recipe for Budapest Coffee Cake. It appeared in her first book in 1974, and by the late 1970’s and early 1980’s it was on the counter, under many different names, in specialty food stores across the country.  The original Budapest was baked in…

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Budapest Coffee Cake

A bundt cake with icing on top.

Budapest Coffee Cake features layers of a luscious sour cream cake batter with a brown sugar and chopped walnut filling. In the original recipe, from 1974’s Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts, there were four layers of cake and three of the filling. To achieve the four layers of cake batter, meant spreading the layers…

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Chocolate Mousse Torte

A white plate with a cake on it.

This torte, from legendary baking book author Maida Heatter, was awarded the New York Times Dessert of the Year Award in 1972. Much has changed in the world of food since then, but this torte remains a wonderful dinner party dessert for chocolate lovers.  In this unique creation, part of the mousse is baked in…

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Instructions for Budapest Coffee Cake

A bundt cake with icing on top.

Print Chocolate Mousse Torte Yield: One 9†pie pan # of Servings:  8 to 10 Ingredients8 oz chocolate1 tsp instant coffee (optional) ¼ cup boiling water2 8 egg yolksâ…“ cup sugar (2.4 oz / 68 g)1 tsp vanilla extract 8 egg whites Pinch saltâ…“ cup sugar (2.4 oz / 68 g)  1 ½ cups heavy cream …

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Budapest Bundlettes

A tray of blueberry bundt cakes on a wooden table.

Print Budapest Bundlettes Yield: 6 bundlette cakes # of servings:  6 Method: Creaming Ingredients Nut filling:    ¼ cup + 2 tbl (5.25 oz / 149 g) firmly packed dark brown sugar 1 tsp (.15 oz / 4 g) ground cinnamon  1 ½ tsp (.1 oz / 3 g) cocoa powder 1 ½ tbl (.6 oz…

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The Friday Baking Project Kugelhopf

PRINT Yield: 1 9†Kugelhopf  # of Servings: 10 Ingredients: ½ oz (2 envelopes / 5 tsp) active dry yeast ¼ cup warm water, 102 °F to 108 °F 4 cups less 2 tbl (18 oz / 510 g) bread or all-purpose flour ¼ cup + 1 tbl (2.3 oz / 65 g) sugar1 ½…

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