Dense as fudge but fragile as peanut brittle, sesame halva forms compact blocks that crumble when you bite into them. The crystalized sugar intensifies the taste of the toasted sesame, creating a rich flavor experience that makes you want to slow down and savor.
Category: Dessert
They say it doesn’t get more American than apple pie, but indigenous cooks were roasting pumpkin and mashing it with spices long before Europeans introduced the apple. Early settlers would boil pumpkin, reserve the sweet, starchy cooking water and add it to their bread dough to moisten it.
These crispy, crumbly, buttery scones were a favorite at the bakery I ran. The secret to the perfect texture is cutting the butter similar to how you would for a shortbread or pie dough. The dried sweetened cherries add a extra special sweet and sour chew, with a hint of caramelization at the edges.
This simple, crumbly shortbread dough keeps indefinitely in the freezer so you’ll always have it on hand to whip up pies, tarts, quiches, and more. Try it with whole wheat flour! It’s even better! I makes a tender crust that adds depth of flavor.
Easy to make and whipped up in a matter of minutes, you can’t argue with a cookie. As long as your leavener is fresh and sifted, and you mix your dry ingredients well before combining with the wet, you’ll have great results time after time.
The number one requested birthday cake in our family, this decadent chocolate dessert is made with whole wheat flour. The extra bran and germ not only make it healthier, but extra moist and dense.
I learned to make this apple tart from a French Chef in one of the first restaurants I worked in. It is simply made by turning some apples into applesauce, rolling out and blind baking a tart shell, filling it with the apple sauce, and topping with sliced apples for the bake.
Upside-down cakes are simple, stunning, and taste as good as they look. You can whip up this festive showstopper in just thirty minutes. My mother learned to make it from her mother, and I have taken over the tradition now that she is no longer around to make it for our family gatherings.
Not a pie. Not a doughnut. But a masterpiece of a cake. Classic butter cake filled to the edges with thick vanilla(or maple)custard. And topped with decadent chocolate ganash.
A pie without a pan, the galette is an easy and elegant dessert. I created this galette to make use of a bumper crop of black raspberries from my garden. You can substitute most any fruit or berry, but it’s hard to beat the decadent combo of raspberry and chocolate.