“Merry, merry, take a cherry, mine are sounder, mine are rounder, Mine are sweeter for the eater, when the dews fall, and you’ll be fairies all.” -Emily Dickinson Before the cherry season passes us by, I want to put up my mom’s cherry torte recipe. It has a chewy, meringue-y crust that is not too sweet. If you use canned cherry filling you can make this in about half the time, but it will be a much sweeter dessert. […]
Today is Beatrix Potter’s birthday, and in her honor I’m passing along her recipe for blackberry-apple upside down cake. It’s just the sort of homey pudding (to use the English word for it) that you could imagine the beloved author and illustrator serving with tea at her Hill Top farm. As a child I always loved the stories of Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Tiggywinkle, Squirrel Nutkin, and the dangerous Mr. Tod, as did my own children. Later I came to admire […]
Today is Bastille Day, La Fete Nationale of France. What could be a more appropriate moment to learn how to make a proper macaron? I’m delighted to offer a recipe from no less an authority than Chef Christophe Tanneau, executive chef of the French Embassy here in Washington. Chef Tanneau turns out exquisite French cuisine every day for those who enjoy the generous hospitality of His Excellency, Ambassador Francois Delattre, and Madame Sophie L’Helias. Sophie and Francois are quintessentially accomplished […]
I’m thrilled today to offer a recipe from my friend Bill Yosses, who recently left the White House, where he worked for eight scrumptious years as the Executive Pastry Chef. When the White House needed a new pastry chef in 2006, it was my job to locate and interview candidates, along with White House Head Usher, Gary Walters. I liked Bill from the start. He was calm, pleasant, and discreet. (It was not uncommon for chef candidates – and people […]
I want to sneak this recipe in before the strawberry season is over. This is an easy yeast dough coffee cake with fresh strawberries baked on top – a good starter recipe for anyone who is intimidated by yeast dough. The kuchen is best eaten soon after it comes out of the oven, because the strawberries on the warm dough are a particularly tasty combination. “Kuchen” is the German word for cake, but this recipe of my grandmother’s was more […]
