Spring yard sale season is in full swing here in East Hampton with treasures galore to be had for a pittance. Witness my new Wilton kugelhopf pan - never used, label intact though showing the benign neglect earned by long storage under sub-optimal conditions. No matter, it was well worth its 25¢ price tag. And not just any label, but one with a recipe! The Wilton recipe … [Read more...]
CHOCOLATE MONT BLANC
If you're hankering for an opulent dessert, look no further. This Chocolate Mont Blanc recipe is an update of a post we did last year; click here for more history on this classic dessert. Chocolate Mont Blanc is a craggy peak of cocoa-infused chestnut strands studded with boulders of dark chocolate. The snow-capped summit is afloat in drifts of fluffy whipped cream. A … [Read more...]
CROQUEMBOUCHE
Croquembouche: The dessert that "combines elegant traditionalism with an imaginative modern approach to the elaborate form of styling."* It's not quite fair to say that Croquembouche is simple, but the effort-to-reward ratio is off the charts, thus making the endeavor well worth the undertaking. Croquembouche's translation, basically "crunch in the mouth," is spot on. … [Read more...]
THE TRIUMPH OF GLUTTONY
Could there ever be a more tantalizing recipe name than Triumph of Gluttony cake? I think not. Director Luchino Visconti's 1963 classic The Leopard stars Bert Lancaster as Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina; Claudia Cardinale plays Anglica, a maiden so ripe she practically exudes sweet juices from her heaving bosom, and studly bad boy aristocrat Tancredi is brought to … [Read more...]
DIAMOND JUBILEE CAKE: LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
A Buckingham Palace favorite, this recipe for Diamond Jubilee Cake is Her Majesty's favorite tea cake, as well as the birthday cake of choice for the young royal princes. Also known as Chocolate Biscuit Cake (how terribly common....) this was the groom's cake Wills chose when he tied the knot with cute little Kate. So why, you may ask, do the Brits … [Read more...]
MONT BLANC
Acclaimed blogger and urban farmer Charles Thompson introduced me to Gail Monaghan's Lost Desserts, a treasure trove of over-the-top sweet extravaganzas which was to be my initial inspiration for this Spectacularly Delicious recipe for the dazzling Mont Blanc. These first two photos are my Mont Blancs; the third is Ms. Monaghan's dazzler (paired with another of her glorious … [Read more...]
HAWAIIAN CREME BRULEE
Aloha! One should be forgiven for venturing into Tiki-tacky territory if one is, in fact, a real live Hawaiian-born native. Hence my unapologetic pride in sharing this recipe for Hawaiian Crème Brûlée, a Polynesian delight that need not wait for your next luau to prepare. Click here for the recipe for Hawaiian Crème Brûlée if you'd rather get right to it before my little … [Read more...]
BLUE RIBBON COFFEE-TOFFEE PECAN PIE
It's official: This recipe for Coffee-Toffee Pecan Pie is a winner. A Blue Ribbon winner in the fiercely competitive Malibu Pie Contest, one of the most celebrated culinary happenings in all of Hollywood, greater L.A. and beyond. Except perhaps in certain circles in Orange County and Beverly Hills, where apparently the housewives neither bake nor consume pie. At least not … [Read more...]
FRANGIPANE CLAFOUTI WITH YELLOW CHERRIES
Frangipani, frangipane -- I've come across these words from time to time but never really known what they meant. My assumption was something slightly exotic involving mixed fruit, nuts and spices perhaps, and most likely fragrant. Still, not knowing what something is doesn't stop me from making it anyway -- remember the great blueberry semifreddo scandal this past Fourth of … [Read more...]