Clik here to view.
Origami and Anger Management
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we covered the subjects I was most looking forward to learning about - croissant and brioche. I've never worked with either dough due to my crippling fear of yeast. After...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pear Charlotte, Written Exam
On Friday, we actually made a dessert that doesn't contain butter! The pear charlotte contains a shell of pipped lady finger sponge, filled with diced pears and pear mousse.It's certainly one of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mogador Cake
We made the Mogador cake on Monday. Apparently it's one of the classic French cakes, although I've yet to find where the name comes from... As far as I know, Mogador the place is a city in Morocco, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Galette des Rois Revisited
We had another puff pastry class on Tuesday. This time, we made Pithiviers (puff pastry cake with almond cream) and Sacristains (puff pastry twists). Pithiviers are really like the Galette des Rois...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Living on the Edge
(Sorry for the lull in the posts, life has been pretty crazy since the middle of last week, with the final exam, graduation, and a quick trip to my beloved Edinburgh before rushing back to Seattle and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Last Demo, Final Exam, Graduation (and David Lebovitz!)
Last Thursday and Friday were kind of a blur. We had a final demonstration Thursday morning, followed by the practical final exam in the afternoon. Friday was spent rushing from Versailles to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Last Meal in Paris
Since I posted about my first meal in Paris, it's only appropriate to bring things full circle with a description of my last meal in Paris. Both meals took place in my tiny kitchen, but whereas my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kathy's Wedding Cakes
I had the privilege of making wedding cakes for my friends Kathy and Colin's wedding on Sunday. I spent all weekend working on two cakes and a batch of mango-mint macarons - I don't think I could work...
View ArticleClik here to view.
August 2010 Daring Bakers' Challenge: Ice Cream Petit Fours
The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chocolate Strawberry Birthday Cake
I was on birthday cake duty last Friday, when three friends hosted a spectacular joint birthday party. There were no allergies, but chocolate had to be involved. I briefly toyed with the idea of making...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kinako Ice Cream with Soy Sauce Caramel
A friend had the brilliant idea of hosting a homemade ice cream party last week, which gave me the chance to try something unusual. My original idea was to make a peanut stracciatella gelato, but while...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Weekend Pastry Adventure
People usually ask me what my favorite bakery in Seattle is, to which I usually firmly but gently assert that I've been spoiled by the great pastry shops in Paris* and refuse to visit any in Seattle....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Birthday Cake Part I: Tiramisu Cake
I'm used to making birthday cakes for other people, so when it came to my own birthday, it seemed natural that I'd be making it too (a friend told me he was too intimidated to make me a cake, hah.) I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Birthday Cake Part II: Ispahan Charlotte
I know sometimes I seem schizophrenic, but really, I just like variety. In college, I went from singing Brahms in choir to playing guitar in a rock band, sometimes in the same day, even. (In hindsight,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
Two weeks ago, I had a lovely Friday lunch in a cute neighborhood cafe with a friend. The food was comforting (mmm wild boar shepherd's pie), but the real attraction was the baked goods piled behind...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Salmon Head in Agar - Jet City Gastrophysics' Modernist Dinner
I recently had the privilege of being a guinea pig for a group of wildly creative and talented gentlemen who go under the name Jet City Gastrophysics. Their mission? To learn modernist cooking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Baking Orgy at Kathy's
I haven't had time to post in a while due to grad school application/decision craziness. Thankfully that's all settled now, and it'll be "Paris Sweets in Boston" come September (note to self, don't...
View ArticleClik here to view.
"Healthy" Desserts
No, I haven't gone completely mad. I still love butter and cream, and you won't see recipes for tofu cheesecakes or fat-free brownies any time soon. It just happened that I made some desserts this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chocolate Mousse Cake for Maggie
I'm a firm believer that cakes are for special occasions. And truthfully, the kind of cakes I make really should be reserved for special occasions only, for the health of everyone involved. Last week,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Exploring My Southern Roots, Part I: Peach Cobbler
A standard piece of cocktail party trivia I like to tell is that I was raised in the South. I love to tell people I grew up in Texas* and watch their reactions. To be fair, it's not like I lived on a...
View Article
