Graham cracker crust figures into many classic desserts, such as Key lime pie and New-York-style cheesecakes, but it lend itself to all kinds of fillings and can be used in pie plates, loose-bottomed tart pans and springform pans. Here are the amounts you need for a variety of desserts. Read Tips for Handling Crumb Crust first for […]
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Yellow Cupcakes
This is a classic, moist yellow cake in mini form. These yellow cupcakes work wonderfully with many different frostings of your choice – vanilla, chocolate, espresso, raspberry – you name it. Adapted from A Baker’s Field Guide to Cupcakes by Dédé Wilson (Harvard Common Press). Image: Dédé Wilson Print Yellow Cupcakes Author: Dédé Wilson Makes: Makes 12 […]
Milk Chocolate Ganache
A ganache at it most basic is a combination of chocolate and cream, and we are used to seeing it made with semisweet or bittersweet chocolates. Here, milk chocolate takes center stage, but the applications are the same. In its liquid form it can be used as a sauce over ice cream or a glaze […]
Frangipane
This almond filling can be used as the base for fruit tarts, such as our Pear Frangipane Tart, but works well with other fruits as well, like fresh raspberries, figs or poached peaches or plums. You can bake it along with the fruit or you can also bake it in a tart shell until done and […]
Vanilla Sugar
Vanilla extract is used so often in baking, we consider it a staple. Vanilla beans, on the other hand, are expensive and more of a rarity. When we do use them, we want to make sure to wring every bit of flavor out of them to take advantage of what they have to offer. Many […]
Dark Chocolate Butter Ganache
This dark chocolate ganache is enhanced with butter, making it richer and even creamier than a classic chocolate/cream ganache. Use it as the frosting for our Bûche de Noël, or anytime you want a smooth, spreadable ganache. The recipe maybe doubled or tripled. Image: Dédé Wilson Print Dark Chocolate Ganache Author: Bakepedia Makes: Makes about 2 ¾ […]
Pastry Cream
This smooth, rich pastry cream is a classic component in many desserts such as fruit tarts and trifles. Variations abound, those using whole eggs, some with just yolks and some with a combination thereof. The dairy component can also range from milk to cream to a middle ground of half-and-half. No one is better than […]
Caramel Buttercream
This rich caramel buttercream frosting recipe is featured in our Chocolate Caramel Buche de Noel, but can be used for any layer cake you like. Try it with our Easy Chocolate Cake or Yellow Cake. Make sure to review the Tips, as there are some tricks to making this buttercream as smooth and creamy as […]
Classic Caramel Sauce
You will be surprised at how quick and easy it is to make real homemade caramel sauce. Monitoring the heat and constantly stirring when adding in the cream and butter will give you just the right consistency, as well as a to-die-for caramel flavor. Photographs by Alexandra Defurio from Caramel by Carole Bloom, reprinted with permission by […]
Chocolate Sauce
Because this chocolate sauce is made with cocoa powder instead of chocolate, it’s great for production, because it doesn’t separate and remains shiny even when it’s been on the plate for three hours. It is best served warm. Note: this recipe is used within the Duo of Coffee and Chocolate with a Mascarpone-Espresso Shot recipe, but is […]
Sweet Tart Crust
Adapted from Unforgettable Desserts, by Dédé Wilson (Wiley) Turn to this tart crust recipe when you want a crisp, sweet crust for tarts in tart pans. Print Sweet Tart Crust Author: Bakepedia Makes: Makes one 10-inch tart crust Ingredients ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature, cut into small pieces 5 tablespoons sugar […]
Basic Flaky Pie Pastry
Image courtesy of Bakepedia This pie pastry recipe is used frequently throughout Ken Haedrich’s book, Pie, because it yields such excellent results. He sometimes calls it a half-and-half pastry, referring to the equal amounts of vegetable shortening and butter—the former for flakiness, the latter for flavor. It can be made in a food processor if you have […]
Clarified Butter
This version of clarified butter comes from The Model Bakery Cookbook (Chronicle, 2013). It is featured in their English Muffins, but feel free to use it anytime you need it for other recipes as well. Butter is a great cooking medium with one major drawback—its milk solids burn easily. Clarifying the butter is an easy […]
Génoise
Génoise is a classic French building-block dessert, often used in classic multi-tiered tortes found in patisseries. It is spongy and actually a bit dry, but by design. It is made for soaking up lovely syrups and usually flavored with liqueurs, but they can also use simple sugar syrup or be flavored with coffee or fruit […]
Easy White Cake
This is another great basic cake to have in your repertoire. Its flavor is more subtle than yellow cake, with a lighter texture that is similar to classic American butter cake, and is very versatile, too. You can easily torte the cake into many layers if you want to add several layers of filling. We […]
Sugar Cookies
Everyone needs a basic recipe for sugar cookies – sometimes referred to as rolled or cut-out sugar cookies. This is a basic dough, not too sweet, but sweet enough, buttery and handles easily. Make sure to chill the dough as recommended to retain your cookie’s shape. Print Sugar Cookies Author: Bakepedia Makes: Makes about 60 two to […]
Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting
You will be amazed at how two ingredients come together in such a luscious way in this sour cream chocolate frosting recipe. This is very rich, chocolatey and decadent. And, by the way, extremely easy. Note that different chocolates will affect the thickness of the final frosting. Have a little extra sour cream on hand […]
Nonfat Greek Yogurt Ganache Frosting
Our Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting has been a staple, and for good reason. Two ingredients yield an amazing result that surprises us with its deliciousness every time. One day we had run out of sour cream, but had plain nonfat Greek yogurt in the fridge. Would it work? We thought it would, but were wary that the […]
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