Recipes

Moist and delicious delicate cake layers, with their hint of banana and cinnamon literally melt in your mouth. The frosting is rich, with a bit of tartness from the lemon. The cake and the frosting combine to form light and creamy, sweet and rich dessert.

This rich, creamy custard has been a part of my Father’s baking repertoire since the 1930’s. It is perfect for this delightful, creamy Coconut Tart, as well as a number of recipes you will be see on my website. The same custard is used in the Bavarian Cream Cake, but in that case, flavored with Rum. Making it using cornstarch, as opposed to other versions using flour, makes it lighter and gives it a very different and appealing “mouth feel”. I believe you will find this to be one of your “go-to” recipes to create a wide range of sweet treats.

My family made these cookies for every season. Shaped as hearts, shamrocks, Easter eggs, turkeys and Christmas trees, and were filled, flavored, and frosted to fit each holiday. The two sides are held together by the filling, thus the name “Bacio” which is “kiss” in Italian. The recipe is really basic, and you can use your creative side to make them your family favorite. Try orange extract and orange zest, or lemon. Top with a drizzle of lemon fondant, or chocolate. Just remember, what makes these cookies so crispy, “melt in your mouth”, is the thickness. Keep them no more than 1/4″ or less thick. You can also eliminate the filling and serve as a single cookie, either plain, topped with chopped nuts, or a flavored fondant.

A combination of chewy figs, crunchy nuts, spicy cinnamon and zesty orange embedded in a rich moist loaf cake. This is just one of many in a series of loaf cakes from my Father’s 1930’s journal that reflect American and British influence in baking. It’s easy to make, and perfect with breakfast coffee, afternoon tea, or serve thin slices along with sliced pears, triple crème cheese, and a glass of Port.

Just a slight twist on the classic apple tart. Apples with caramel, so perfect. Then add a sprinkle of Maldon salt to make it even better. You can use just about any crisp apple – Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Jonagold to name a few. Save some of the caramel sauce to pour over ice cream to serve along with the tart. During the summer you could make this using peaches or nectarines for a seasonal change.

Pâte Brisée is a basic pastry dough that is buttery and flaky. It is important that you do not overmix, as the dough will become tough and dense. If mixed properly, you should see small pieces of butter throughout the dough. The dough should feel smooth and have a satin like finish. When I make this dough, I generally make two or three full recipes and freeze using my food saver. So convenient to just pull it from the freezer for a quick tart, pie or quiche. This recipe calls for sugar, but the dough can be used for both sweet or savory. Simpley delete the sugar if using for a savory recipe.