Hazelnut Cake Roll

03/23/2023

Quite a few years ago my middle brother and I were guests at a Seder hosted by a dear friend of our mother. Margaret was a lovely woman, an Austrian immigrant, very calm and soft-spoken, and the only one I knew growing up with concentration camp numbers emblazoned on her…

Dacquoise

03/16/2023

For this week’s blog I will discuss the process of designing, testing and refining a cake, from the overall design to the specifics of all the components. Constructing a Dacquoise had been on The Friday Baking Project do-list for some time and with my favorite roasted hazelnut flour around the…

Lemon Meringue Pie

03/07/2023

Lemon Meringue Pie is an American classic, and an easy choice for this year’s Pi Day (3/14) pie. In the traditional recipe, where a small mountain of Basic Meringue is spread over a lemon filling, the ratio of meringue to filling is skewed too heavily toward the meringue. Additionally, while…

A plate of food that is on top of a table.

Palmiers

03/01/2023

Palmiers are a delectable example of what the French call Petite Four Sec, which refers to bite-sized cookies, macarons, plain cakes (madeleines, for example), and puff pastries. Properly made Palmiers are buttery, crisp, slightly caramelized, and a lovely sweet to pass around the dinner table with coffee and tea. Making…

Raspberry Tart

02/22/2023

This beautiful free-form raspberry tart, utilizes the same two components as last weeks’ Napoleons; puff pastry and pastry cream. For the tart shell, we roll the dough out to a thin rectangle, cut a large circle, decoratively crimp the edge, and bake it to light golden brown. Once cool it…

A piece of cake on a plate with flowers.

Napoleons

02/14/2023

Napoleons (Mille-Feuilles) are one of the classics of French p¢tisserie and deservedly so. However, those purchased from pastry shops are often a disappointment, with soggy pastry and an overly sweet fondant topping. My version will restore your faith in Napoleons and provide you and your guests with the delightful dessert…

Baked Alaska

02/08/2023

Baked Alaska is a retro dessert that deserves a place in every home baker’s repertoire. Like any dessert constructed from ice cream, it is fun to make, and provides ample opportunity for kids to join in. Baked Alaska can be assembled far in advance of a dinner party, and always…

Strawberry Heart Tarts

02/02/2023

These delicious and original tarts were one of the signature dessert offerings of The Commissary restaurant in Philadelphia. The Commissary was essentially an upscale cafeteria, where you picked up a blue tray and slid it along a brass rail to select your food. At the end of the line was…