Leftover buttercream or ganache will keep in your refrigerator for up to two weeks, to be used for another dessert, and it will taste like fresh-made if you follow a few simple steps.

Chilled buttercream is very hard, so you need to let it come to room temperature and then aggressively whip it. Put the room-temperature buttercream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, and use a handheld mixer) and beat on low speed. As the buttercream starts to break up, increase the speed to medium. After about 1 minute, the buttercream will soften and separate. This may make you nervous, but just continue mixing, and within another minute or so, the buttercream will come back together and appear brand-new.

Ganache is not as malleable as buttercream, and leftovers require a more delicate handling. Let the ganache come to room temperature (do not try to rush the process—firm chilled ganache is likely to separate and become grainy when beaten). Then put it in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, and use a handheld mixer) and whip on medium-low speed until the ganache forms soft peaks. Chill for 10 to 15 minutes, then spread it with an offset spatula.

_{Excerpted from Sweet by Valerie Gordon (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2013.}

_{Image: Peter Muka}

To seed a pomegranate, first cut a thin slice off of each end. Notice the ridges that run under the skin of the fruit from pole to pole. These pithy areas protrude a bit from the sphere like fat longitudinal lines. With a paring knife, score the outer skin of the pomegranate along those ridges. Submerge the fruit in a large bowl of lukewarm water and pull it apart along those lines. The water helps to keep any juice from squirting out all over you. Under water, remove the arils (seeds) from the skin by bending the skin backward, separating the seeds with your fingers, and letting them sink to the bottom. Discard the skin and scoop off any white pith that floats to the top. Repeat for each section until all of the seeds are out. Then drain the pomegranate seeds through a strainer and pull out any remaining pieces of pith.

To extract the juice from the arils, put them in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times to free the juice (not too long or the seeds will impart a bitter taste). Strain the juice through a wire mesh strainer, pressing gently on the solids.

_{Image: Dédé Wilson}

_{Excerpt reprinted with permission from WINTERSWEET: Seasonal Desserts to Warm the Home © 2013 by Tammy Donroe Inman, Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group.}

Recipes calling for currants are almost always calling for the small dried fruit that is similar to a tiny raisin, but occasionally we are lucky enough to find fresh currants, either red (seen above) or black, and these are as different as grapes are to raisins!

Fresh currants can be used in baking similarly to when you might use a blueberry or raspberry, such as in a muffin or coffeecake, a fancy mousse or even a simple fool. We highlighted their color and flavor in our Red Currant Curd, perfect for pairing with your morning breakfast pastry. They are very perishable, so use them soon after purchasing. Keep refrigerated and wash right before using, patting dry very gently with clean paper towels. They can be stripped off of their stalks, frozen and used at a later date as well.

As for dried currants (left), they can be substituted in recipes that call for dark raisins (right), or consider using half raisins and half dried currants for a nuanced contrast in textures and flavors. They are like a petite raisins, so if a recipe calls for chopping raisins, which can be a chore since they are sticky, you could certainly try using currants instead. Use them whenever you want a little pocket of dried fruit sweetness, such as in our Cream Currant Scones.

Baked goods get a bad rap. We live in a world of butter and sugar and white flour, so what is a health-conscious baker to do? First and foremost, we like to practice moderation around here. One slice of cheesecake at a party is fine. Two? Not so much. A warm, fresh-baked muffin in the morning is delicious and comforting and isn’t going to tip the scales when balanced with lunches and dinners filled with fresh veggies, fiber and lean proteins. Speaking of which, one of the reasons we do love to bake from scratch is because we can control the quality of our ingredients.

In general, we like to eat and cook with fresh, whole foods. When we bake a batch of cookies at home, we can name and pronounce every ingredient, and we buy fresh eggs and use high-quality chocolates – all with nary a preservative, thickener, stabilizer or who-knows-what-else. So those are the givens, but what else can we do? We hate to break it to you, but “healthy desserts” is a bit of an oxymoron. There are, however, some smart substitutes you can make to help lessen the impact of your baked goods. Here is a list of some healthy baking swaps that we recommend. You can apply these to your favorite recipes, but always remember that it is an experiment and you might have to do some adjusting, as the potential substitutes vary with each recipe. If you develop any slam-dunks, we would love to know!

• First, take a look at your recipe. Instead of baking a pound cake, look for desserts that are rich in fruit and naturally low in fat – poached fruit, fruit compotes, meringues, Pavlova, sorbets – there any many to choose from.

• Baking with applesauce (unsweetened) is a great substitution for part of the fat in your recipe. Start by replacing about 1/3 of the fat with an equal amount of applesauce and if it works, try replacing up to half. (So if the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ½ cup butter and ½ cup applesauce). There are great jarred, unsweetened applesauces available, so this makes it an easy swap, too. The applesauce also boosts the vitamin content of your recipe.

• If you like the applesauce results, try other mashed fruit like bananas, prunes, canned 100% pumpkin purée or even mashed avocado.

• Alternatively, you could simply try reducing the fat in a recipe by 25%.

• Sugar can often be reduced by 25% to 50%. Again, results will vary, but give it a try if sugar in particular is what you want to reduce in your diet.

• Swap organic cane sugar for regular sugar. It is less refined and some studies suggest that it retains antioxidants. Just substitute cup for cup and you are good to go.

• Many healthy bakers use puréed black beans (either cooked from scratch or canned are fine) in equal measure as a substitute for all-purpose flour. This works great in chocolate brownies where the bean flavor is masked.

• An easy substitute for white flour is King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, which is a very subtle whole-wheat flour, both in taste and texture. You will increase your fiber and antioxidant content and you can substitute in equal measure. Start by swapping it in for half of your all-purpose white flour, assess the results, and increase as you like.

• Smart Balance makes a 50/50 Butter Blend which is trans-fat-free, high in heart-healthy omega-3 fat and has less saturated fat than pure butter. It can be used in equal measure to the original amount called for.

• Add chopped nuts to many recipes for their added health benefits, or try substituting 1/4 of the all-purpose flour with nut flour.

• Many bakers have success using ground flax seeds as an egg replacement. For every large egg, substitute a blend of 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds and 3 tablespoons of water. This is best done blended together in a powerful blender, such as a Vitamix, for larger amounts, or a clean coffee grinder for small amounts. Blend until creamy.

• 1/4 cup of silken tofu, blended till creamy, can also stand in for a large egg. This saves calories and adds calcium.

• Think about size. A cookie recipe might state that it yields 15 cookies, but why not try making the cookies smaller than instructed? Not only do you increase your yield, but you also have built-in portion control. Remember to reduce baking times.

• Neufchatel cheese can usually be swapped in for regular cream cheese, saving you calories and, depending on the recipe, providing an even creamier texture.

• For a classic chocolate chip cookies recipe, use mini chips instead of regular and reduce the volume by half. You will still feel like you are getting your chocolate fix, but will save fat and calories.

• Better yet, reduce the chocolate chips in any recipe and sub in cacao nibs, which have all of the positive health qualities that we want from chocolate without any of the extra sugar or other additives.

• If you are using vegetable shortening, read the labels. Avoid products that contain partially hydrogenated fats and look for ones that are derived from coconut or palm oil. We recommend the Spectrum Organics brand.

Left to right: Black Mission, Kadota and Brown Turkey  fig varieties

Our local Whole Foods had three different kinds of fresh figs all at the same time the other day, so we snatched them up and hurried back to the kitchen with Black Mission, Brown Turkey and Kadota fig varieties, our minds racing with all of the things we could do with them. First, let’s talk about their flavor profiles and what each type brings to the table.

All types of figs are eaten with the skin, flesh, seeds and all – though the tiny stem can be snipped away. They should be plump and heavy for their size and blemish-free. They do not store well, so buy them ready to eat and plan on using right away – and make sure to get them when you see them in the store, because they might not be there tomorrow. We prepared them simply. See Fresh Figs, Ricotta and Honey.

• Black Mission figs – Our favorite type of figs. They’re very sweet with notes of honey, and are rich and almost jammy in their intensity. We are also partial to their purple-black skin and their gorgeous pink flesh.

• Brown Turkey figs – Another dark-colored fig, although these feature a dark brown skin, often with a hint of dark pink near the stem. The flesh is rose-colored just like Black Mission, but their flavor is less intense. If you are preparing something that contains a lot of sweetener, it might be better to go with these rather than Black Mission, which are so sweet unto themselves.

• Kadota figs – These chartreuse-green figs have a lighter-pink interior; sometimes a thicker, less delicate skin; and a mild flavor. Kadota is not our favorite, but an array of various colors of figs on a cheese plate for dessert would look beautiful.

Look at the picture above. All types of peanut butter, yet very different peanut butters – even apparent without scratch and sniff! When you are making a peanut butter recipe, hopefully the recipe developer will specify what kind. What do we mean? Well, there was a time that peanut butters like Skippy, Peter Pan and Jiff were the only ones on the shelf, unless you were a fringe hippie (or your Mom or Dad were) and frequenting the weird little “health food” store. So when you made your cookies with one of those peanut butters, your dough acted as expected because the recipe was developed with that kind of peanut butter in mind, which has hydrogenated fats and sugar added. Decades have passed and the types of peanut butter available at the supermarket has broadened. If you use a different kind than what is recommended, your recipe might not work and that is a waste of time, money and energy.

On the left in the picture is fresh ground peanut butter. This is the kind you can grind yourself with the machine right in the store and pay for by the pound. It is typically dry and coarse, in comparison to others, and sometimes has salt, sometimes not and sometimes you won’t know! The one in the middle is commercially prepared natural peanut butter (we used Smucker’s); the only ingredients are peanuts and salt. Peanuts’ natural oils do rise to the top, but are easily stirred back in. The type on the right is Skippy Creamy, which is the “regular” Skippy and the one you might have grown up with. It’s ultra-smooth, but in addition to peanuts and salt, it contains sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oils (cottonseed, soybean and rapeseed).

It is not hard to imagine that the same recipe made with each type will bring very different results, so hopefully the type used when the recipe was developed will be specified – and you will use it.

Now we don’t want to confuse you further, but just to emphasize that it is vitally important that you read a recipe carefully and use what ingredients are called for, there are now eleven types of Skippy peanut butter on the market! Eleven! Many of the commercial brands have branched out and now also offer a reduced fat option, a reduced-sugar and sodium and probably the most controversial of all is what is called “natural creamy”. This is a hybrid where manufacturers promise a classic creamy texture but without the hydrogenated fat. The ingredients will be listed as peanuts, sugar, palm oil and salt and the label will often boast that it is “no stir”, meaning that the oil doesn’t separate – something that some consumers find annoying. The problem is that palm oil is very high in saturated fat.

As we always say, use the specific ingredient called for in any given recipe to ensure best results. Read the labels. If what you have is a recipe that just says “1 cup peanut butter,” you need to think critically. If it is an older recipe from a conventional cookbook, the classic Skippy Creamy style is probably what is needed. If the recipe is from a magazine, ditto. If you make peanut butter cookies with the “wrong” product, they will still be edible; it is mostly the texture that will suffer. So don’t worry too much, just get in the kitchen and bake and take notes for next time.

Bakepedia Notes

• When using peanut butter in recipes we use dry measuring cups. Spritz them first with nonstick spray so that the sticky peanut butter releases more easily.

Left to Right: Natural cocoa, Dutch-processed cocoa, black cocoa. Front: Cacao nibs

Any Bakepedia recipe that calls for cocoa will specify which kind, usually natural or Dutch-processed.  There is also black cocoa that we purchase from King Arthur Flour – which is the color and flavor of Oreo cookies. All of these types of cocoa have their own qualities and it is important to know the difference. Here is a quick look at cocoas compared.

First of all, if a recipe just says “1/2-cup cocoa” then you have some sleuthing to do. What is the context? If you are reading an older cookbook, say an American cookbook from the 1950s, then chances are they want you to use natural cocoa, as that is what was available and widely used at that time. Devil’s food cakes were often made with natural cocoa. The classic Hershey’s tin of cocoa in the supermarket is natural cocoa.

Natural cocoa labels might also say “cocoa powder” or “unsweetened cocoa.” Typically if a cocoa has been Dutch-processed, the manufacturer does take the time to point that out.

When a recipe calls for Dutch-processed cocoa, it has taken into consideration the fact that this cocoa has been treated to reduce its natural acidity. Substituting natural cocoa for Dutch-processed can wreak havoc with a recipe and is not recommended. Or rather, you are on your own with the results. Truth be told, we have at times had as much success with one as with the other. It all depends on the specific recipe, however, always use what is recommended and is hopefully specified.

Black cocoa, as mentioned above, gives your baked goods the really deep, dark, rich flavor of the cookie portion of Oreos that you can probably imagine in your mind’s palate. It’s one of those childhood flavor memories that many of us have! We typically use black cocoa to make up half of the amount of cocoa called for in a recipe. You can see it put to good use in our Blackout Cake.

As an aside, it appears that antique cocoa tins are collectibles. Tins like this come up on eBay from time to time and can add color to your pantry.