Notes about Recipes in this book

• Custardy apple squares

  • Jane on February 03, 2015

    Great quick and easy dessert especially if you use a mandoline to slice the apples. The squares are more apple than batter but there is enough flavor from the batter (I added some armagnac) to make it a flavorful dessert.

  • zorra on February 15, 2015

    For bold flavors, look elsewhere. This is subtle & pleasing, plus low in sugar & fat. Used Goldrush apples, just fine knife-sliced. Baked in counter-top oven at 375 degrees in only 35 minutes, foil-topped for the last 10.

  • Astrid5555 on November 16, 2014

    My batter turned out very liquid, and the cake was finished already after 30 minutes instead of 40-50. Apart from that a very quick and delicious cake! Will make again!

  • stockholm28 on November 12, 2014

    Loved this. It is super easy and only takes about 10 minutes to prepare.

  • Zosia on October 13, 2015

    This was a lovely dessert of apple strata and creamy custard. The components were similar to the Apple Matafan recipe I made recently from the same book - thinly sliced apples and pancake-like batter - but the texture (and cooking method) of this was far more appealing.

  • swegener on February 08, 2015

    I love a cake that is mostly fruit! It came together quickly--I did add some cinnamon and cloves.

  • kellilee on February 01, 2022

    Kind of get now why Dorie used "custardy" and then describes this as a back-pocket dessert. These are really not custard, really not cake but simply a dessert with mostly apples and not too sweet. My only modification was the pan. Instead of an 8-inch square, I used a 9-inch round. I tend to overmix everything and that probably explains why determining whether it was "uniformly puffed" or that the "middle of the cake has risen" was difficult. When a toothpick inserted into the center came out clean, I was ready to remove which was the full 50 minutes for me. This dessert removed from the pan with ease - no parchment was used. I served heated and with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

• Rhubarb upside-down brown sugar cake

  • Jane on June 06, 2016

    I liked this a lot. Very straightforward to make. I didn't use a spring-form pan as the rhubarb had a lot of juices after caramelizing. I didn't think the center was cooked enough after 25 minutes so I did another two but I wished I had done an extra five as the center was quite gooey after the cake cooled. It looked very pretty (my rhubarb was quite pink) so I didn't bother with the glaze. I served it with Nigella Lawson's Muscat mascarpone cream from Forever Summer - a lovely dessert.

  • aeader on May 17, 2020

    Very nice cake, not too sweet, and a nice balance of flavor between the cake and the rhubarb. I used a little less rhubarb than specified, and it does cook down a bit so I'd try for the full amount next time. Baked it an extra 5 minutes as it didn't seem quite done, but I thought the cake ended up a bit dry so I'll stick with the 25 next time. DH liked very much.

  • Zosia on May 07, 2015

    Great ratio of sweet-tart vegetable to cake which was dense but moist with a pleasant butterscotch flavour. I used a 2" high cake pan and the batter, which seemed barely enough to cover the rhubarb, rose to the very top while baking so I'm not certain a 1-1/2" high pan would work. I reduced the sugar in the cake by 50g.

• Carrément chocolat, the fancy cake

  • Jane on June 22, 2015

    This was a lot of work but so worth it for a special occasion. It looks great and the combination of a moist chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache and salted chocolate shards is a dream dessert for any chocoholic. Don't feel tempted to skip the shards on top - the salted chocolate is fantastic.

  • Zosia on November 23, 2014

    Fantastic cake! Chosen by my son as his birthday cake based on the book's cover photo, it was everything we hoped it would be: a little short by North American standards but quite sophisticated with components that could be made over several days. The glaze was a little thinner and took longer to set than a typical ganache with most of it just pouring off the cake during the first application but it worked the second time once I'd allowed it to thicken a little. My son requested a "ferrero rocher" cake so I added hazelnut flavouring to the cake, nutella to the filling and crushed hazelnut praline to chocolate shards.

• Pear tart with crunchy almond topping

  • Jane on December 15, 2018

    I made this again with a couple of changes. My pears were less ripe and I used a hotter pan so there was less juice thrown off and they caramelized properly. I also used flaked almonds as I couldn't get slivered and I think I prefer the topping with the flaked. This is a lovely tart.

  • Jane on October 28, 2014

    This was really wonderful. The sweet tart pastry was quite a long process but the results were so worth it. The filling was of caramelized pears topped with a crackly almond meringue layer. My only issue was that my pears never caramelized because they threw off a lot of juice. I kept removing liquid but of course I was also removing sugar and butter too so it never got the caramelization going before they were reaching the point of being overcooked. I think next time I would start with a hotter pan. I suppose it depends how juicy your pears are. But anyway it looked very special and tasted great.

  • Zosia on April 29, 2015

    For a tart with three components, this was quite easy to put together: sweet tart crust (best tart crust ever!) that can be made in advance and frozen; chopped pears that are pre-cooked and caramelized in a fry pan (my pears were quite firm and gave off little liquid); a topping of sliced almonds mixed with icing sugar and egg whites. I loved the textural contrast of all of the layers but I would have liked a little relief from the sweetness of each - perhaps some lemon juice on the pears or a few cranberries tossed in with them would have been good.

• Cranberry crackle tart

  • Jane on December 21, 2014

    This was a great Christmas dessert - very pretty. I'm not generally a big fan of meringues but this was OK with the cranberries cooked inside it. You'd need to start this quite far ahead as the sweet tart pastry has lots of resting and cooling. I protected the crust edges with foil during the second bake with the filling - I think they would have got too brown since the meringue baking stage is an hour.

  • Zosia on November 23, 2014

    Surprisingly delicious and an unexpected hit with even finicky eaters! It also wasn't difficult to put together since I had galette dough (pg 420) leftover from the apple pielettes. The balance of sweet meringue and tart cranberries was perfect and the textural contrast of crisp meringue shell and fluffy centre was very appealing. Definitely one to repeat.

• Pink grapefruit tart

  • Jane on February 08, 2015

    This really was one of the best desserts I have ever made. It is quite time consuming and would be best spread over two days but the results are so worth it. The crust is Dorie's Sweet Tart Dough which is buttery and crisp - it's my favorite tart dough. There is a layer of baked lemony almond then a grapefruit/Campari mousse which is creamy but actually has no cream and is made with eggs and butter. Then it is topped with jewel-like slices of pink grapefruit. It looks gorgeous and tastes even better.

  • carlenedrake on February 28, 2015

    I left out the Campari and it was still wonderful. It is best made over 2 days.

  • Zosia on February 16, 2015

    Pretty tart with quite a few components, most of which can be made in advance. The sweet tart dough (page 414) was very easy to make and work with; I baked the crust from frozen on serving day. The cremeux is a grapefruit curd to which lots of butter is added; it's very rich and buttery, almost approaching buttercream in consistency with a nicely balanced bittersweet flavour. I omitted the gelatin and whisked powdered agar agar into it just before pouring it into the tart shell. This was very much enjoyed by tasters who don't like grapefruit; I would have preferred a stronger grapefruit presence.

• Apricot-almond cream tart

  • Jane on August 25, 2015

    I used peaches and raspberries for this tart. It would have been better with apricots but I couldn't find them anywhere. The peaches were a bit too moist so the tart wasn't as firm as I'd like but it looked pretty and tasted great. Dorie's sweet tart pastry is my favorite dessert pastry. That and the almond cream can be made the day before so the on-the day assembly and baking is easy.

• Smoothest, silkiest, creamiest tartest lime tart

  • Jane on July 18, 2016

    Wonderful summer dessert. I love Dorie's Sweet tart pastry (best ever IMO) and it combines beautifully with the lime filling. I scattered fresh blueberries over the tart before filling with the lime cream.

• Lemon squares, French style

  • Jane on February 16, 2015

    These were excellent. A simple almond shortbread base made in the processor topped with a tart lemon curd then a mix of crumbled shortbread dough and chopped almond scattered over the top. I had an issue with the curd, that I thought it had thickened and I was way past the suggested 8-10 minutes cooking so I took it off the heat and cooled it. But it was still very runny. So I heated it again, this time with a candy thermometer and cooked it to 170. That worked. So I suggest using a thermometer or to keep going until the curd is noticeably thicker (without curdling it!).

  • Zosia on December 28, 2015

    I made a few changes to this recipe to reduce the richness and liked the results: I used only 42g/3 tbsp butter in the curd and replaced half the butter in the shortbread crust/crumble with coconut oil. Next time, I'll reduce the sugar in the curd by 100g, then it will be perfect. I did as Jane suggested and used a thermometer to monitor the curd as it cooked; I don't know how long it took, but the temperature registered 185F when the first bubbles appeared on the surface (one of the signs that it was done).

• Dark chocolate mousse

  • Jane on November 29, 2019

    My daughter wanted a lighter mousse (I prefer darker mousses without the cream whisked in). This one seemed a lot of work and washing up. It involves making a sugar syrup which did not go well at first attempt, maybe because I used cane sugar. The syrup seized when I added it slowly to the eggs, despite being at the correct temp (I thought). A second attempt using white sugar worked. But folding the cream into the chocolate did not go well. My chocolate was cooler than the ideal 114F (because of doing the syrup twice) so it went solid when mixing into the cream. I ended up having to whip rather than fold. My daughter liked it so I may try again, paying a lot more attention to Dorie's precise instructions.

  • Zosia on January 18, 2019

    This recipe was more labour intensive than others I've tried but the end result was an airy mousse with a rich chocolate flavour. Do pay close attention to the ingredient temperatures mentioned (my sugar syrup got away from me very quickly and had to be made again).

• Desert roses

  • zorra on August 05, 2017

    Maybe I shouldn't have used Trader Joe's organic cornflakes. Added sugar because I thought kids would eat them. They did not. Nor did the adults, actually.

  • Zosia on October 13, 2015

    Very little effort (and no candy thermometer - yay!) was required in producing these little candies. I used only cherries, sliced almonds instead of slivered, and made half a batch with white chocolate. A big hit!

• Traditional marble cake

  • Astrid5555 on December 27, 2014

    Baked this for 50 minutes in a 22cm silicone bundt pan instead of 80 minutes in a regular loaf pan and worked perfectly well. Despite halving the sugar by mistake, kids declared this to be the best marble cake ever. Very quick to make, will repeat!

  • angrygreycat on July 28, 2018

    Made this for book club, Started to watch it for time at around 60 minutes. Took it out at 70 minutes and it was good. This was in a Le Creuset loaf pan. Will definitely make again!

• Apple weekend cake

  • Astrid5555 on October 31, 2016

    This is a nice and moist, not too sweet loaf cake. Simple to make and simple in appearance. Would increase cinnamon next time. Keeps well for several days.

  • Melanie on March 29, 2016

    We enjoyed the simple flavours of this cake. Baked it in a round springform pan for just over 50 minutes instead of the suggested loaf pan so it made for a low profile cake. Added extra cinnamon.

  • Zosia on November 27, 2014

    Very nice moist, dense tea cake flavoured with vanilla and apples. The small amount of cinnamon wasn't noticeable so I may skip that next time and follow one of the suggestions to add some zest to enhance the fruitiness of the cake. It's a sturdy cake that slices cleanly and keeps well - perfect for travelling.

• Petite apple croustades

  • Astrid5555 on January 10, 2015

    These are amazing! Contrary to my expectations they were actually very quick to make (only 1 hour total time required before actually being able to eat them - they are delicious still warm). I used 3 small apples, which weighed only half than needed in the recipe and I had more than enough filling for 6 croustades (however my muffin tin is not that deep). A winner!

  • Zosia on November 07, 2018

    Cute presentation and I thought the flavour of the filling was fine but was disappointed that none of the caramel came through. I served them with creme anglaise and vanilla cranberry sorbet but as they weren't very sweet, I think a drizzle of salted caramel would have been good instead. I personally didn't care for the relatively large pouf of pastry on the top and would use shorter pyllo strips if I were to make this (or something like it) again.

• Apple chaussons

  • Astrid5555 on January 11, 2015

    Delicious plus very quick! I have to admit that I did not follow the instructions properly and did not freeze my puff pastry before adding the filling - I just never figured out how to fit a baking sheet into the freezer. This resulted in a very soft and sticky dough which could not be sealed properly. Apart from the ugly looking finished pastries still a keeper!

• Brown-butter-and-vanilla-bean weekend cake

  • aeader on January 02, 2022

    This was a very nice cake, easy to prepare, and we liked it a lot. Used the vanilla extract rather than a bean, and used the rum. The flavors were better on the 2nd day.

  • Zosia on January 04, 2015

    Easy and tasty, though I couldn't pick out the browned butter flavour, but with a little too sturdy a texture for me.

  • mamacrumbcake on June 02, 2020

    This is a sturdy cake, with a fine crumb. The flavor of the rum was most forward on the first day and muted after. I could not detect the browned butter flavor. Nor was the vanilla very strong. I made the recipe as written, completely by hand. I did whisk extra long because was concerned that the cake would be dense and not rise. It rose very well, doubling around the sides, and developing a substantial hump (1.5 inches) in the middle. When we cut into the cake, it was a little dry so I think should have come out at 52 minutes or perhaps earlier. Needs to be toasted to be enjoyed. Probably wouldn’t do again.

• Cannelés

  • ncollyer on January 18, 2015

    These are delicious, and much tastier than the picture suggests.Worth investing in the silicone mold. Baked them a bit longer to get a really dark bottom, which improved texture and taste.

  • Zosia on December 14, 2019

    Interesting little pastry with a crisp exterior that looks burnt but tastes of caramelized sugar and vanilla-rum custard interior. My silicone mould is larger than the "mini" for which the bake time is provided so they took 15 minutes longer to bake and my yield was only 30 (2 batches).

  • jluvs2bake on January 08, 2022

    I have a mini canelé mold — metal — that I used for this recipe. It makes 9 canelés, and I think this recipe will probably make 25-30 for me in the end. The recipe is easy to follow, but make sure to read through. Ex: Sugar needs divided, pan buttered and frozen. Got great caramelized crust but more soft cake than custard interior. I will bake less time when I do them again tomorrow. Very good flavor and excellent outer shell. Also might add some vanilla bean paste.

  • anya_sf on February 05, 2020

    I made the batter 2 days ahead. My molds were regular size, so I got 16 canneles (would have been 17-18, but my molds only fit 16). I didn't feel comfortable pulling one of the canneles out of the mold to check the color, which was a mistake. The tops (which became the bottoms) were super dark at the end of the stated baking time, so I thought they were done, but discovered after turning them out (after 10 minutes of cooling) that the bottoms were still pale. The outer edges got better color than the inner ones, so next time I'll make sure the pans are well separated, and will also pull one out to check the color. The underdone bottoms (which became the tops) were too dense inside. All of the issues were my fault, and the canneles tasted so good that I will try these again soon and cook them longer.

• Apple pielettes

  • Ordinaryblogger on August 08, 2022

    Very delicious but a lot more labor intensive than pie. Not sure it’s worth the extra effort.

  • Zosia on November 11, 2014

    These were as cute as their name would lead you to believe and delicious as well, albeit more labour intensive than a regular sized pie would be (but aren't all mini versions?). The recipe called for a double batch of galette dough (reviewed separately) which was quite easy to work with. I had the correct sizes of biscuit cutters for top and bottom crusts but found that the dough circles were too small and needed to be rolled out a little more after cutting. I used dried cranberries in place of raisins, omitted the sugar and added a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the apples, which need to be diced quite finely to fit into the dough lined muffin cups. My pastry lids didn't adhere very well and juice bubbled out of every pie so I was reluctant to invert the pan when they were done; a small offset spatula worked perfectly in loosening then removing them from the tin. These were a huge hit but I'm tempted to make these as (easier) turnovers next time.

• Lemon meringue tart a new way

  • nadiam1000 on February 08, 2016

    Wonderful crust, wonderful filling. Bright lemon flavor, not too sweet.

  • Zosia on March 23, 2017

    The lemon custard filling was very tart and needed the sweet cookie crust and meringue topping as buffers. As a fan of just about all things lemon, I really enjoyed it but some, even those who like lemon meringue pies, thought this was just too sour. I used The Cake Bible's Italian meringue to top the tart instead of the whipped raw egg white meringue from the recipe.

• Martine's lemon and apple tart

  • darcie_b on September 27, 2016

    My husband called this "the perfect balance between sweet and tart." Watch the times carefully, however, as both the par-baking of the crust and the tart itself were done far in advance of the stated recipe times. In both cases I had to cover the edges to keep them from over-browning.

  • Zosia on November 13, 2019

    The filling was reminiscent of lemon curd - both in flavour and texture - but baked in the crust rather than cooked separately in a pot. The shredded apples added juicy apple flavour. An excellent combination that we loved. My oven is not known for its ability to brown so the book's bake times worked.

• Apple speculoos crumble

  • twoyolks on November 02, 2015

    The crumble topping works well with the apples. The apples are simply combined with sugar so this isn't particularly sweet. This is pretty easy to make as it only has 4 ingredients. It can be a bit of a pain to break the cookies up and mix with butter but it worked out well enough. It took longer for my crumble to bake than the recipe indicated but it turned out well.

  • Zosia on October 23, 2016

    This made for an easy and tasty dessert with some (optional) cranberries added to the apples and a topping of homemade maple syrup ice cream. The speculoos crumble remained crunchy and its spice flavour went well with the apples. I used a mini chopper to make the crumble topping.

  • bching on October 12, 2015

    Only okay. Crumble was dry. If I ever make it again, I'd add some cider to the apples and a squirt of orange or lemon. This is the second recipe I've made from this book and my second disappointment. I'd like to discover what gives Dorie Greenspan such devoted fans.

• Lemon madeleines

  • carlenedrake on February 28, 2015

    I used #40 scoop to fill madeleine pan.

  • Zosia on March 09, 2015

    Best madeleines I've ever made! Lovely, tender, delicate texture and wonderful lemon flavour, especially with the tangy glaze. In my oven, chilling the pan made no difference to the size of the bump, which was quite respectable (a partial batch was baked without chilling). Yield was 21 in a pan that makes 16.

• Pastry cream

  • thorson on March 21, 2015

    Perfectly thick, delightful pastry cream. Used for a Boston Cream Pie.

  • jluvs2bake on June 30, 2023

    The vanilla pastry cream is thick but very light with a smooth texture. I used it for the classic fruit tart. The recipe says not to refrigerate for more than 4 hours once it's in the crust. Four days later, my crust is not soggy, and the filling is not runny. Delicious.

  • anya_sf on September 30, 2021

    Super thick pastry cream, good for filling a fruit tart so the slices aren't runny. This uses 6(!) egg yolks - I suspect the recipe would work with just 4-5 (I used 5 xl yolks).

• Edouard's chocolate chip cookies

  • stockholm28 on February 07, 2016

    These cookies use a blend of nut flour (either hazelnut or almond) and AP flour. I used almond as that is what I had on hand; I didn't taste the almonds in the baked cookies. The almond flour mainly changed the texture of the cookies. They were chewy yet crumbly. The cookies did not age well. They were good the first two days, but then seemed stale. These cookies tasted fine but were nothing special.

  • Zosia on January 18, 2016

    These had good flavour but I think they would have benefited from a little less time in my oven - they had crunchy edges and chewy centres initially but were as hard as biscotti the next day though I stored them as directed.

  • Frogcake on January 02, 2016

    This is a very delicious and unique chocolate chip cookie recipe. I used pecan flour in place of the almond flour. The cookies turned out a bit drier than other recipes I've tried but yummy just the same. They were demolished by my two sons in a very short period of time!

• Plain and simple almond cake

  • stockholm28 on November 08, 2014

    Nice simple cake. Flavorful, moist, and light, although quite sweet.

  • Zosia on October 14, 2015

    Very sweet and moist but also quite delicious served with fresh berries and creme fraiche.

  • stef on April 18, 2015

    Delicious.served 2 day with apricot compote and whip cream

  • joanhuguet on January 31, 2015

    This was much better the next day - the almond flavor deepened, and the texture improved.

  • C_Richardson on September 11, 2018

    Wonderful cake! I make it often for family gatherings or last-minute get-togethers. It's lovely with homemade jam or fruit. I love that I can make and bake the cake in an hour!

• Soft-centered chocolate teacup cakes

  • sherrib on November 25, 2014

    A delicious and easy recipe for individual molten chocolate cakes. I used cornstarch in this recipe. The instructions say to bake anywhere between 10 and 12 minutes so I baked them for 11. It could have used another minute (or maybe two or three) as they were a bit runny (Greenspan states that they will be runny at 10 minutes.) The tops formed a very satisfying, crunchy crust. The recipe calls for placing chunks of chocolate in the center of each cake. Greenspan hints at using frozen truffles for this. I should have taken the cue and frozen my chocolate (mine had been sitting on the counter of a very warm kitchen - I think the recipe would benefit next time from a longer cook time and colder chocolate center.) Delicious and easy, will certainly be making it again!

  • Zosia on January 31, 2016

    I couldn't tell what was going on beneath the thin top crust that formed early during baking so I relied on the timing in the book, the author's description and my newly calibrated oven. Like sherrib, I baked them for 11 minutes and also felt another minute would have been beneficial. They were as the author described but I would have liked a little more cooked cake portion. I would consider making these again because the recipe is quite easy and everyone loved them.

• Gingerbread bûche de Noël

  • Zosia on December 21, 2014

    Surprisingly delicious (not a fan of gingerbread or marshmallow!) and not nearly as difficult as it appeared at first glance. Comprised of a lightly spiced genoise with a tangy cream cheese filling sweetened only with pecan pralines that were mainly nuts and not much candy, and a marshmallow frosting, the cake wasn't overly sweet and the contrasting textures of cake, filling and frosting were quite pleasing. I used only 3 egg whites for the frosting since I wanted less than what was pictured in the book - I think my layer was even thicker! Only 2 next time. I preferred this at room temperature with a softer cake and filling.

  • MissKoo on December 21, 2020

    My second time making this particular dessert. I found it a bit bland and disappointing the first time (2016), missing an intense ginger flavor. This time I added spices from 2 favorite spice cake recipes (James Beard, Southern Living), using 1 tablespoon ginger and 1 teaspoon each nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, and let the finished and frosted cake rest in the refrigerator for a day and a half before serving. I preferred this more highly spiced version, nicely offset by the filling, frosting, and those addictive praline pecans.

• Apple tarte flambée

  • Zosia on September 09, 2016

    Surprisingly delicious apple "pizza" with a tangy cream cheese-yogurt "sauce" and crisp crust. I'll be a bit more generous with the apples next time as I used only about half the slices and the crust could definitely accommodate more without becoming soggy.

• Tarte Tropézienne

  • Zosia on February 03, 2016

    An elegant dessert comprising vanilla diplomat cream sandwiched between layers of tender brioche. You do need to plan in advance since the components require time to chill, rest, proof etc...On baking day, you're to allow the rolled dough to rest 1 hour; I waited until it was room temperature and puffed in the centre, about 1-1/2 hours, before baking it.

  • Tatiana131 on January 30, 2018

    Great looking cake, a little time consuming to make, but not hard. Tastes mild and pleasant, better than I personally imagined,, but not so good that anyone asked for it to be particularly repeated. It reminded me of a giant creampuff.

  • stef on March 29, 2015

    One of the best cakes I've made. Not too sweet. Definitely don't skip peariled sugar

  • Kojak on December 06, 2016

    Beautiful, delicious cake. Not too sweet. It was a show-stopper.

• Black-and-white baked Alaska

  • Zosia on May 25, 2018

    Poor planning meant that I was making the meringue on a humid day. Though I wasn't able to achieve the proper volume and stiff peaks, it still baked up to be a gooey marshmallow layer with a crisp outer shell that contained the ice cream cake. The cake layer was fabulously chocolatey and decadent. Ice cream of choice was cookies 'n' cream. Everyone so enjoyed it, I'll have to try it again when the weather is more cooperative.

• Le cheesecake round trip

  • Zosia on October 15, 2018

    Fabulous cheesecake. A cinnamon cookie crust and salted caramel sauce make this fairly typical American-style cheesecake very special.

• Pithiviers

  • Zosia on February 25, 2017

    Lovely to look at and to eat (though I wish I'd added lemon juice to the prune jam to brighten it a little). Assembly is quite easy but be aware that chilling time is required at various stages.

• Rose fraisier

  • Zosia on June 22, 2015

    Very pretty cake with lovely flavour. I had the rose syrup but not the rose extract so substituted with raspberry flavouring which seemed to work very well. The cake was moist and had a floral flavour that didn't scream rose - though my daughter who's very sensitive to that flavour would disagree - and the cream filling was light and airy. The recipe doesn't indicate that the cake must be refrigerated to allow the filling to set but I recommend it; 2 hours wasn't long enough and the filling started to bulge after removing the wax paper strip. It sliced cleanly after 6 hours.

• Gâteau Basque fantasie

  • Zosia on October 26, 2018

    Not quite a cake, but not a pie either. It consisted of a delicious fruit filling encased in a tender cookie-like pastry.

• Jammer galette

  • Zosia on January 09, 2016

    Like a ginormous, jam-filled cookie with a streusel topping, quite nice filled with Diana Henry's tart strawberry-passionfruit jam. I replaced half the butter with coconut oil to reduce the buttery flavour (which I'm not fond of).

• Sunday in Paris chocolate cake

  • Zosia on January 26, 2017

    A bit dry and crumbly at room temperature but with a good balance of chocolate and peanut flavour. Cold, the texture improved but flavour suffered.

• Carrément chocolat, the simple loaf

  • Zosia on September 14, 2019

    Moist and uber chocolatey. The batter was thin and most of the chopped chocolate sank so there was a rather intense and salty layer of it on the bottom of the cake.

  • Sheli on July 17, 2018

    This is a really nice cake that's easy to make, too! It ages well, and as long as you use good chocolate, it is anything but simple.

• Granola cake

  • Zosia on December 28, 2015

    With all of the butter, chocolate etc that went into this, it should have tasted far better than a soft granola bar. It wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't dessert-worthy. I much preferred the "Crunchy Granola" that went into it.

• Moka Dupont

  • Zosia on October 10, 2017

    I didn't care much for the gritty buttercream but the flavour of the finished cake was good. Thanksgiving 2017.

• Betty's chocoholic cake

  • Zosia on April 20, 2016

    Despite being in the fancy cakes chapter, composed of layers of an easy brownie-type cake and an even easier ganache "frosting", it was actually quite simple to make and was a real stunner when completed. The author mentions serving, filling or frosting the cake with whipped cream so I made a cocoa whipped cream as a third component to fill the cake and lighten the chocolate flavour a bit. The varying textures and intensities in chocolate of the components worked well together but in the end, I think this cake is only as good as the chocolate you use. I used my favourite 70% cacao chocolate in the cake and 55% in the ganache and it was a big hit. 4-1/2 stars.

  • Tatiana131 on February 22, 2018

    Very easy cake to make, and a rich, soft, chocolatey concoction. I used a good Callebaut baking chocolate for the cake, and a Lindt 70% cacao bar in the ganache and it's a decadent production. The cake is rich, rich, rich, with six eggs a large amount of butter, not too sweet and a large cake. I can see a local restaurant charging 12-14/slice and getting away with it. Solid 4.5/5.

• Cornmeal and berry cakes

  • Zosia on November 16, 2015

    These had a very nice fruity flavour and, typical of this mixing method, a dense texture. Despite the initial moistness, and all of the butter and olive oil (and the raspberries), they became dry quite quickly.

• Double-corn tea cake

  • Zosia on August 04, 2015

    This was an interesting cake. Naturally gluten-free, it was dense but moist and a pretty shade of golden yellow. Unfortunately, apart from being very (too) sweet, it didn't taste like anything. A little vanilla might have helped, or the bonne idee of adding nuts or cranberries.

• Saint Pierre poppy seed cake

  • Zosia on September 22, 2018

    Moist but dense cake with the nutty crunch of poppy seeds, subtly flavoured with orange (the zest of 1 large orange only). I reduced the sugar to 180g.

  • anya_sf on March 29, 2018

    I used white whole wheat flour and an orange, and also added 1/4 tsp orange extract. It was a dense, fairly moist loaf, with lots of poppy seeds. The orange flavor was barely noticeable, so next time I'd up the orange extract. I would definitely make this again. The only quibble I have with many of Dorie's recipes is the instruction to place the pan on an insulated baking sheet lined with parchment. I never do that unless I fear the pan might spill over, or if I specifically need to protect the bottom from browning too quickly. Since that didn't apply here, I ignored that instruction.

  • angrygreycat on January 21, 2019

    I agree with Zosia - this creates a dense cake that is still moist and you definitely get the crunch texture from the poppy seeds. I felt the orange was subtle - but it might have just been me, as the rest of the family felt like it was overwhelming. Probably won't make again as no one particularly liked it.

• Hazelnut, ginger and olive oil cake

  • Zosia on January 18, 2016

    Family loved this cake. It had great flavour and texture and was very moist.

• Caramel-topped rice pudding cake

  • Zosia on September 08, 2019

    Warm from the oven, this was creamy, comforting but firmer than usual rice pudding with a slick of caramel. I liked the acidity of the caramel which was made with lemon juice but wanted more of it; my reserved caramel was hard candy at room temperature (overcooked?) so I served it with plum compote instead. It was firmer and drier by the second day. I preferred it warm.

• Spiced honey cake

  • Zosia on October 23, 2016

    The flavour is described as "fascinating" and "haunting" in the headnotes. Unfortunately, that didn't mean good tasting to many who complained that the ginger and/or the lavender was overpowering. The orange was a nice touch though so I'll be including that in other spice cake recipes.

• Touch-of-crunch chocolate cake

  • Zosia on December 09, 2019

    Its appearance wasn't very impressive but the crackle top hid a mousse-like centre and fudgy sides. Black sesame seeds added nuttiness to the rich chocolate flavour and a pleasant crunch to the texture. We quite enjoyed it.

• Apple kuchen: a tall apple-custard tourte

  • Zosia on September 19, 2015

    Delicious pastry with lots of apples that retain their shape and some bite even with a long baking time. There's only enough custard to bind the fruit chunks and the tart crust holds everything together. The sugar topping didn't brule properly for me so I'll skip that next time.

• Martine's gâteau de Savoie

  • Zosia on January 09, 2016

    Baked in a bundt, pan, this cake was light and spongy, had a lovely vanilla flavour, and appeared to be moist but wasn't really, though it wasn't dry either - it just needed to be served with something moist. Fortunately, it had the ability to absorb liquid without disintegrating so a fruit compote was a good accompaniment. It was very good with Dorie's roasted strawberries. Of course, my results were probably affected by the changes I made: I reduced the sugar by 100g and used cake & pastry flour (lower protein flour). I also successfully baked this in a 10-cup pan (smaller than recommended); the cake did rise above the top of the pan but the batter didn't spill over. I don't think I'll make this again since chiffon cakes offer a similar light, spongy texture but are also moist.

• Fluted carrot-tangerine cake

  • Zosia on October 20, 2015

    This was a really moist cake, a pretty pale orange in colour, with highly visible flecks of carrot. Unfortunately the flavour was a bit of a letdown: fruity but the ginger wasn't noticeable at all. Also, it was plenty sweet even made with only 150g sugar. I liked the idea of this cake and would make it again with triple the ginger and less sugar, perhaps following my not-so-hard-and-fast rule of equal weight of flour and sugar.

• Poached-orange topped cake

  • Zosia on January 04, 2015

    The flavour of this was wonderful with several layers of orange to experience (cake, syrup and topping). Next time though, I would add the poaching liquid/syrup to the hot cake as per the instructions for Odile's Fresh Orange Cake and add the orange slices just before serving since a thin, gummy layer of cake developed under the orange topping after sitting for a few hours.

• Cheesecake Alsace style

  • Zosia on January 27, 2018

    Incredibly good. It's tangy and not too sweet with a wonderful fluffy and moist texture, very much like eastern European style cheesecakes made with dry cottage cheese. Next time, I'll pre-bake the crust longer as it didn't seem to cook much further once it was filled. I used dried sour cherries in place of the raisins.

• Double-chocolate marble cake

  • Zosia on August 25, 2015

    This was a delicious pound cake with a fine, moist crumb and a good balance of white to chocolate cake. I couldn't taste the white chocolate in the vanilla portion but that's been my experience with other white chocolate cakes; that's not to say it didn't add some flavour, but I'll have to try it without to know for sure.

• Black-and-white marbled madeleines

  • Zosia on January 31, 2016

    Soft and tender, these little tea cakes had a very nice ratio of vanilla to chocolate, with neither overwhelming the other. The fragrance of the lime was quite powerful during baking but the flavour was subtle and added some interest. My yield was 16.

  • SpatulaClark on March 13, 2020

    After comparing dozens of madeleine recipes, these were my first to bake, with more on the shortlist. I understand this isn't a light batter, but the texture isn't quite right. A bit too greasy, and flavours could use a tweak. Lime zest had a powerful scent while mixing the batter, but faded in the baked madeleines, and vanilla was also weak. Used milk chocolate as per recipe (40% cocoa solids) - overtones of sweetened condensed milk to my taste. Made 16 instead of 12. Not exactly disappointing, but I'll move on to another recipe next time.

• Cowgirl cornmeal-pecan financiers

  • Zosia on May 19, 2016

    Financiers aren't my favourite sweets - too sweet, rich and buttery for me - but at least these ones had the flavour of toasted pecans and a little crunch from the cornmeal to commend them. Family and friends loved them. To reach the yield in the recipe, I used a scant tbsp batter (13-14g); they baked in only 14 min in my oven.

  • Smokeydoke on October 13, 2019

    These were a fun twist on financiers, you use pecan flour with the addition of cornmeal. Pic included.

• Crackle-top cream puffs

  • Zosia on April 17, 2017

    Perfectly domed with a bit of sweet crunch from the topping, these were good enough to eat without a filling but with the author's vanilla pastry cream, they were a perfect, decadent treat.

• Bubble eclairs

  • Zosia on August 04, 2015

    This is a basic recipe for a family favourite but the novelty shape seemed to make them more of a hit than usual! I used a #70 cookie scoop to portion the dough but I'll stick to piping in future as the tops were a little craggy.

• Chocolate cream puffs with mascarpone filling

  • Zosia on December 31, 2015

    A delicious variation of a cream puff. The chocolate was an amazingly strong presence despite the small amount of cocoa in the dough and the filling was the perfect cool and creamy foil for it. I made this recipe to use up some mascarpone left from another project; I had almost double the requirement (200g) so increased the other ingredients accordingly intending to freeze the extra. I used it all and my puffs still weren't as well-filled as pictured. I used vanilla flavouring only but couldn't resist adding the pink food colouring.

• Profiteroles, ice cream and hot chocolate sauce, Benoit style

  • Zosia on April 17, 2017

    An impressive dessert that was greatly enjoyed by guests. It was quite the undertaking with 4 components (5 if you made the crackle-top cream puffs as I did). I ended up buying good ice cream but made the raspberry coulis from the book in addition to the bittersweet chocolate sauce.

• Nun's beignets

  • Zosia on April 20, 2016

    No yeast-raised dough here just an easy choux pastry that's fried until puffed and crisp and rolled in sugar. They were best eaten warm but they were still tasty hours later when they had lost their crispness.

• Pailles

  • Zosia on February 25, 2017

    I really enjoyed the construction process and they had great texture and flavour - though the latter depends somewhat on the the jam you choose - but don't let their size fool you...they are very rich. If I were to make them again, I would make them half the size.

• Merveilles

  • Zosia on April 21, 2020

    Similar in appearance to Polish chrusty but crunchier and, frankly, with better flavour. I may steal the idea of adding rum and orange zest next time I make the family recipe. I used a pasta maker to roll the dough and shallow fried them in shortening (less greasy that way). With this recipe, I have finished baking through this book!

• Lime and berry tart

  • Zosia on July 10, 2016

    This is a variation of the book's recipe Smoothest, Silkiest, Creamiest, Tartest Lime Tart, page 184 and we loved it. The layer of sweet blueberries and the sweet tart crust balanced the tartness of the lime filling perfectly. I added only 1/4 of the butter to the lime custard and it was still quite loose after the initial chill so I added some powdered agar agar (2 tsp for a half recipe) to help it set up in the tart shell. It worked.

• Nutella buttons

  • Zosia on April 28, 2015

    Soooo cute! Whipped egg whites lighten the vanilla cake batter which bakes into a tender mini cake that hides a nutella surprise. I dipped some in milk chocolate and others in white with the white chocolate the clear winner.

  • SpatulaClark on August 16, 2020

    Light, fluffy and hidden surprise of nutty filling. Looks very pretty topped with ganache. A real crowd pleaser.

• Limoncello cupcakes

  • Zosia on March 31, 2015

    Like the liqueur, these are very sweet and lemony. The batter comes together quickly with a whisk and the cakes bake up with nicely domed tops; the American style frosting is, as expected, excessively sweet and applied "French-style" was double what was needed. I tripled the lemon juice in the buttercream to introduce the tartness of the fruit into the dessert; lemon curd filling would also have been a good addition.

  • Littlebirdchoc on January 06, 2015

    Delicious cupcakes. I added an extra teaspoon of fresh lemon juice to the frosting. Thought it needed a little extra.

• Tiger cakes

  • Zosia on January 31, 2015

    Financier-type cake with the typical crisp and chewy crust and moist interior of the pastry also includes chopped bittersweet chocolate and a ganache topping that help cut the sweetness. Warm, they were all about the chocolate, but the flavour of the nutty vanilla cake came through at room temperature.

  • bwhip on July 18, 2020

    These are definitely a favorite. Sort of like a chocolate chip financier. They really melt in the mouth, and have a nice, crispy edge. Super easy to make, and they’re really delightful.

  • anya_sf on May 31, 2023

    Quick to make and really delicious, but mine stuck terribly to the pans (nonstick mini muffin pans sprayed with cooking spray). I chopped the chocolate by hand into tiny pieces, but the larger bits sank to the bottoms and acted like glue. Maybe the chocolate truly needs to be like dust? Next time I would grease and flour the tins.

• Les whoopies

  • Zosia on July 10, 2015

    Creamy peanut butter buttercream sandwiched between tender chocolate mini cakes make for a crowd-pleasing treat. Also quite quick to make. My yield was 30 sandwiches using a #70 cookie scoop.

• Pistachio and raspberry financiers

  • Zosia on June 04, 2016

    The raspberry provided some relief from the sugar and butter in these but also succeeded in overwhelming the pistachios. Perhaps toasting the nuts first would help.

  • anya_sf on October 19, 2023

    Pistachio and raspberry go well together. These had the classic financier texture, which I love. Despite liberal buttering and flouring, I did have to use a knife to pry the cakes out of the tin - annoying, but Dorie does say this. Not overly sweet, these were nice with tea.

• Matcha financiers

  • Zosia on January 31, 2015

    Very buttery and sweet, they had the usual crispy-chewy texture of a financier and tasted of green tea without any bitterness. The batter was a very scary shade of green that fortunately baked up to be a much more attractive hue. Not expecting that to happen, I baked the batter in a madeleine pan in an effort to make them more appealing.

• Brown butter-peach tourte

  • Zosia on August 25, 2017

    Ripe peaches baked in a sweet tart crust is always going to be a hit in my family but mine didn't look much like the photo. I used 1.5x the amount of peaches, which after 35minutes of baking had shrunk to a fraction of their original size leaving a large gap under the top crust. Also, I couldn't detect the nuttiness of the browned butter....I think regular melted butter would have worked just as well. If I were to make it again, I would omit the top crust (and the browned butter).

• Apricot-raspberry tart

  • Zosia on June 04, 2015

    Lovely, fruity tart that requires practically no effort apart from making the crust, which is the easiest, most foolproof recipe ever and can be made in advance. Also quite pretty - definitely company worthy.

• Cherry crumb tart

  • Zosia on July 24, 2015

    I had hoped the cherries would shine but embedded in a sweet almond cream, sandwiched between a cookie crust and streusel topping, they were quite lost. The tart was very sweet, rich and buttery, but not very fruity.

• Classic fruit tart

  • Zosia on July 02, 2018

    The base recipe does not contain rum and almond flour but does contain egg yolks, vanilla beans and milk.

  • Zosia on July 02, 2018

    The recipes for sweet tart crust and vanilla pastry cream from this book are among the best I've ever made and these 2 components, combined, create the perfect vehicle to showcase beautiful seasonal fruit. Fantastic dessert. Canada Day 2018.

  • jluvs2bake on June 30, 2023

    Ingredients here show rum & almond flour, neither of which is in recipe. Missing ingredients: whole milk; egg yolks; vanilla bean, which can be subbed w/vanilla extract. The sweet tart crust is delicious & an easy dough to work with. Rolls beautifully. The vanilla pastry cream is thick but very light with a smooth texture. Assembled, this makes a striking dessert, particularly for summer. It's a lovely showcase for fresh berries and light enough to serve during the hottest days of the year. Although the recipe says not to refrigerate for more than 4 hours, there were only two of us, and the day after I made it we went out of town. I just taste-tested today, 4 days after making it, for the purpose of this note (& ended up eating the whole piece haha) Crust is not soggy; filling not runny. I cut my strawberries in very slim slices & laid them on a paper towel as I was slicing and then while I continued arranging them on the tart. I used whole blueberries. I dusted w/powdered sugar.

  • anya_sf on September 30, 2021

    Great, classic recipe. I used the regular sweet tart crust, vanilla pastry cream, topped with just strawberries, which I opted to fully glaze with strawberry jam. Lovely! Like all fruit tarts, this doesn't keep well, but was still OK the next day (crust wasn't soggy but berries started to break down the pastry cream).

• Fall market galette

  • Zosia on September 16, 2018

    I used a combination of Italian prune plums, red grapes and honey crisp apples to make this delicious galette. And, as usual, Dorie Greenspan's galette dough recipe did not let me down, producing a crisp yet tender crust.

• Pear-cranberry roll-up tart

  • Zosia on November 04, 2015

    The filling of pears and cranberries flavoured with ginger was so fabulous, I wanted more of it. Next time, I'll double it and bake it in a more typical free-form galette shape. The recipe uses the book's galette dough, another pastry from this book that's very easy to work with.

  • mamacrumbcake on November 26, 2016

    I was so bummed that I did not love this tart. The pear/cranberry/ginger filling did not have a great flavor. It's hard to describe but I thought it tasted slightly funky. I used Anjou pears and raspberry jam and would love to learn of others results with the marmalade alternative or with a different variety of pear. The galette dough was very nice and easy to work with. Make sure you seal the tart well. The filling juices leaked out of mine and created a burnt caramel on some portions of the bottom crust.

• Simplest plum tart

  • Zosia on October 23, 2016

    This is my favourite type of fruit tart - fruit baked in a tart crust - but its success depends on the quality of the fruit and my plums were a little underripe, quite sour bordering on bitter. The speculoos crumbs that absorbed the liquid added a subtle spice flavour. Edited to add: I made this a second time with ripe fruit (2017) - delicious!

• Summer-market galette

  • Zosia on July 10, 2015

    This is a good, basic recipe with a ratio of fruit to pastry that works well. The lime and fresh ginger set it apart from others and I wish I hadn't forgotten the mint because I think that would have been very nice as well. I'll definitely be making this throughout the summer with whatever fruit looks best.

• Philadelphia blueberry-corn tart

  • Zosia on July 22, 2016

    I liked the idea of this tart and with a few tweaks it could be fabulous but I found it to be too sweet. I fixed the topping with extra lemon juice and added the optional yogurt to the filling, and the chocolate tart dough I used (p418) brought a little of the bittersweet to the dessert but next time, I'll just reduce the sugar/honey all around.

• Tropical tartlets

  • Zosia on October 24, 2019

    A sunshine yellow tart with a bright flavour to match. The warmth of the red pepper was unexpected but quite pleasant. I doubled the recipe to make a full-sized tart; an extra 15 minutes baking time was needed for the filling to set.

• Rhubarb meringue tart

  • Zosia on May 03, 2016

    Very nice tart. Both the rhubarb and lime flavours come through clearly in the filling and it was tart enough to withstand the sweetness of the meringue. I did notice that the tart shell was not as crisp as it should have been (and usually is since I've used this recipe several times) and wonder if this is a case for shellacking the hot baked crust with egg white to protect it from the moist filling.

• Caramelized cinnamon-milk chocolate tart

  • Zosia on June 18, 2018

    Fabulous tart! The chocolate ganache filling wasn't as intensely chocolatey as some but it had great chocolate flavour and was incredibly silky and luscious. I served it with the recommended salted caramel and whipped cream.

  • Frogcake on January 02, 2016

    This tart is very decadent! I would definitely make it again. I served it with the salted caramel sauce as recommended. A five star recipe for sure!

• Caramel tart

  • Zosia on October 05, 2016

    Surprisingly good, not-too-sweet, silky caramel custard baked in a sweet cookie crust. I strongly recommend skimming off the foam before baking.

• Chocolate-coconut tart

  • Zosia on January 09, 2019

    Delicious! Like an upscale Mounds bar.

• Crème brûlée tart

  • Zosia on October 12, 2019

    Great tart. I included the (optional) raspberries which were a bright and fresh contrast to the classic sweet and rich creme filling. My sad little kitchen torch wasn't up to the job of bruleeing the sugar but my oven broiler was quite effective, though I must remember to protect the tart crust edges with foil next time.

• Chocolate-chestnut tart with chestnut-vanilla syrup

  • Zosia on December 05, 2015

    The candied chestnuts added sweetness, some texture and a subtle nutty flavour to an already delicious chocolate tart. The ice cream and syrup took this dessert over the top.

• Brown sugar tart

  • Zosia on November 10, 2017

    It reminded me of tarte au sucre with its sweet, custardy filling. Fans of this kind of pastry thought it was very good.

• Cream cheese and toast tartlets

  • Zosia on September 30, 2019

    Very nice tarts with a tangy, no-bake cheesecake-like filling. The crunchy cinnamon toast topping was particularly delicious and was a nice textural contrast to the smooth, rich filling.

• Espresso-espresso tiramisu

  • Zosia on July 18, 2019

    The espresso-flavoured mascarpone filling was a very nice twist on traditional tiramisu, which in this recipe, was quite light and mousse-like. It was particularly delicious with the chocolate tart shell, one of the options listed in the recipe. My tub of mascarpone had an extra 50g that I included without increasing the other ingredients.

• Cookies-and-cream tartlets

  • Zosia on May 21, 2019

    We really enjoyed this. This foolproof cookie-like crust is always a hit and you can't go wrong filling it with silky ganache. The cookies and cookie spread (the latter is an optional ingredient) added subtle spiciness. I made the recipe as a single, large tart.

• The rugelach that won over France

  • Zosia on December 21, 2014

    These had wonderful texture and flavour (provided you're a fan of coconut!) but the pastry was the star. The food processor method of making the dough, leaving bits of butter and cream cheese and baking chilled cookies ensured a rich and flaky pastry, somewhat like puff pastry without all of the work.

• Cocoa Linzer cookies

  • Zosia on November 28, 2017

    I filled these with chocolate ganache so the chocolate flavour was quite intense and really fought with the spices. I prefer the traditional linzer without chocolate and with fruit filling.

• Fruit and nut croquants

  • Zosia on September 07, 2019

    They looked like biscotti, and held up well to dunking like biscotti, but they had a different texture....moister and chewier. With the long baking time, I did find that the dried fruits on the exterior of the cookie logs were quite hard at first; they softened after a few days' storage. I made them with almonds and sour cherries and flavoured the dough with fiori di Sicilia instead of almond extract.

• Croquets

  • Zosia on April 23, 2017

    They tasted mostly of the nuts that went in to them that became nicely toasted while the cookies baked so you'll want to use your favourite. I couldn't quite tell when they were done and ended up underbaking them so most were still a little chewy but the end pieces were as hard as they should have been based on the author's description - I preferred the chewy ones.

• Lavender galettes

  • Zosia on April 15, 2016

    Wafer thin and delicately flavoured with orange, vanilla and lavender. They were tender and flaky like a rich cracker and not very sweet. Those looking for a super sweet treat were a little disappointed but I loved them. I rolled them 1/16" thick as instructed but my cookies seemed thinner than those in the book photo and my baking time was only 6 minutes.

• Olive oil and wine cookies

  • Zosia on October 12, 2019

    These were quite sweet and crunchy but apart from being very rich tasting, didn't seem to have a great deal of flavour. The author mentions pairing them with drinks or other foods.....they were very nice served with a fruit salad.

• Canistrelli

  • Zosia on October 12, 2019

    Crunchy, not too sweet and with a noticeable anise flavour. We quite enjoyed them.

• Cinnamon spice cookies (Speculoos)

  • Zosia on October 23, 2016

    These were pleasantly spiced but I didn't care much for the texture which was hard rather than crisp. I made them to use in other recipes in this book and they worked well in both the plum tart and the apple crumble.

  • khopkins1012 on July 01, 2020

    Dorie announced after publication that this recipe is missing an egg. She thinks they accidentally sent an older version of the recipe to the printers.

• Granola energy bars

  • Zosia on January 04, 2015

    A delicious and portable little snack. I made the recipe as written using cranberries and apricots but I appreciate that the author provided ingredient ratios so you could customize to match what you have in your pantry. And, as promised, they held together beautifully with the brown rice syrup.

  • mharriman on August 23, 2019

    Much better than any commercially sold granola bar. I used raisins, cherries and apricots. I thought the bars were worth the time, and it wasn’t difficult or time consuming. I didn’t have the pan size Ms. Greenspan uses, so I used my Emile Henry 7x9 baking dish. I can see why a Pyrex would be better because you can make sure visually that you have an even layer. Mine was pretty uniform but in my oven, the spread baked a bit unevenly. Maybe turning the pan at midpoint would solve that. I cut the cooled mixture (4 hours) into 20 squares and most adhered well. There were a few that had soft undersides with baked parts falling away and I had to press them back. My first time making granola bars- it was a positive experience.

• Chocolate-cherry brownies

  • Zosia on May 30, 2015

    I think these are impossible to over-bake - over 40 minutes in my oven (internal temp 200F) and they were still very fudgy. Also uber chocolatey and delicious. I used cranberry juice from an open bottle rather than wine from an unopened one to plump the fruit. I preferred them chilled.

  • HerBoudoir on January 28, 2016

    Very very fudgy - don't skip lining the pan with foil and spraying it well with cooking spray. That said - really delicious!

• Strawberry shortcakes Franco-American style

  • Zosia on May 24, 2015

    There's no better summer dessert than fresh strawberries with sweetened whipped cream; adding delicate cake discs and roasting some of the strawberries for more intense flavour certainly doesn't hurt. Loved this! Ladyfinger batter recipe (page 424). Roasted Strawberries (page 458)

• Apple matafan

  • Zosia on September 27, 2015

    Apple flavour was okay but pancake texture was heavy and doughy. Instructions on when to turn over were a little confusing: I cooked it 18 minutes on 1 side and an additional 7 minutes on the second side using a 30cm cast iron pan (a little larger than recommended)

  • anya_sf on March 29, 2018

    I cooked it in a 12" nonstick pan and it turned out perfectly (20 minutes on one side, 8 minutes on the other). I used white whole wheat flour and lowfat milk to make it slightly healthier. I had some boiled cider, so used that instead of the brandy. My family enjoyed it for breakfast with a bit of maple syrup (because syrup is required for pancakes in my house). Not much syrup was needed since the matafan is sweeter than a regular pancake. I might use half the sugar next time.

• Mascarpone mousse

  • Zosia on October 15, 2018

    Incredibly light and billowy but despite its cloud-like texture, also very rich. I served it with a fruit garnish but I would have preferred the proportions in reverse, a bowl of berries with just a spoonful of the mousse to top it. I used slightly smaller dessert dishes so it served 6 instead of 4.

• Honey-yogurt mousse

  • Zosia on January 26, 2017

    I replaced the honey with maple syrup and used far less of it so this ended up being only a little sweet with the tang of the yogurt coming through. We quite enjoyed this light and airy dessert.

  • anya_sf on April 05, 2018

    This dessert is super simple, just requiring some advance prep. I used 2% Greek yogurt, because that's what I had on hand, but I love that nonfat is recommended. The mousse was delicious with fresh strawberries. The honey flavor really stands out. It's not as light and airy as a regular mousse - it's creamier like a cross between a mousse and pudding.

• Laurent's slow-roasted spiced pineapple

  • Zosia on November 09, 2014

    Lovely way to serve pineapple. I used only orange juice, apple jelly, vanilla bean and pink peppercorns and the intensified flavours of both the fruit and syrup were fabulous! However, what I thought was a rather large pineapple shrunk considerably during roasting and served only 4 in the end.

  • bching on March 15, 2015

    I made this with lime marmalade. None of us liked this dish. Maybe the marmalade was to blame?

  • joanhuguet on March 08, 2016

    I made this with a average-sized pineapple. For the liquor I used brandy, and I added a squeeze of lemon to the orange juice as my pineapple was more sweet than tart. Instead of a jar of jelly, I used a few tablespoons of honey; as a result, it was considerably less sweet and had a thinner syrup than if I had used the quantity of jam specified. For spices, I added a cinnamon stick, a star anise, a few slices of fresh ginger, a few pink peppercorns, and some Korean chili flakes. Served with a dollop of creme fruit, which I found necessary to cut the intense flavor of the fruit and syrup. A very good everyday fruit dessert.

  • MissKoo on October 11, 2023

    I've made this several time, using brandy for the liquor, and either apricot jam or orange marmalade. Definitely prefer the apricot jam. Spices included vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, ginger, cardamom, peppercorns. I serve it warm with ginger cookies. It's a lovely lighter option at the end of a meal.

• Crispy-topped brown sugar bars

  • Zosia on March 09, 2015

    The bars, consisting of a shortbread-like base topped with a layer of bittersweet chocolate were good but not particularly special. The highly addictive caramelized Rice Krispies topping (page 428) was a different story, adding texture, flavour and lots of interest to the cookie. I preferred these at room temperature with the more tender, crumbly base and softer chocolate layer.

  • Smokeydoke on December 02, 2016

    This was clever! Very decadent, but not overly heavy or sweet. The brown sugar cookie base is amazing. Recipe makes a small portion, almost the size of a large candy bar.

• Roasted rhubarb with bitters

  • Zosia on May 23, 2016

    Delicious variation of a simple recipe. The bitters flavour wasn't as strong as its fragrance but it added complexity and complemented the rhubarb beautifully. I added some (optional) lemon juice to cut the sweetness and brighten the flavours. It made a lovely spring dessert served as suggested with the plain almond cake (which I made with 50g less sugar this time).

  • Cathyschuh on July 05, 2022

    the simple is sometimes the best. Diabetic so I used sugar substitute and it is lovely.

• Ladyfingers

  • Zosia on July 18, 2019

    The beauty of these is their ability to absorb liquid without disintegrating. I made them to use in the book's espresso tiramisu tart and we enjoyed the leftovers dunked in espresso. Interestingly, they were very firmly attached to the parchment they baked on - I don't recall any of my other bakes sticking to parchment - so they weren't very pretty.

• Cocoa palmiers

  • Zosia on February 25, 2017

    They have a very cocoa-forward flavour and require a very generous hand with the sugar. I didn't add enough so these were quite bittersweet (but with great texture!)

• Vanilla-bean sablés

  • Zosia on June 23, 2018

    These turned out exactly as described: sandy, buttery, sweet and just a little bit salty (and quite addictive). I used vanilla bean paste.

• Viennese sablés

  • Zosia on May 06, 2015

    Lovely vanilla flavour and perfect balance of salt-sweet but the dough was very thick and I really struggled to pipe the cookies out. They didn't spread during baking but the finished texture was as described: crisp followed by melt-in-your mouth. This is the second sable recipe from this book I've had a problem with; I'm weighing my ingredients so I don't think that's the issue. I wonder if Canadian flour, which is higher in protein than most American flours, is a problem in this type of recipe. Other things I've baked from this book using the same flour (cakes, pastry dough) have turned out well. A conundrum for sure. Edit Sept 29. I made these again with Cake & Pastry flour, a lower protein blend that's available here. The dough was not nearly as stiff and the cookies spread a little during baking; this batch looked like the photos in the book. I'm now wondering if the things I thought turned out well would have been even better with this flour.

• Berry and cream croustades

  • Zosia on September 21, 2019

    I realized as I was making these that the author wanted you to use a jumbo muffin tin. I used a regular muffin tin when I made the apple variation and thought there was a disproportionate amount of pastry to fruit filling; now I know why. I used a regular 12- cup muffin tin for these as well but adjusted accordingly: 1 sheet of pastry per croustade cut into 6 strips the length of the short end; mounded the berries high before sealing the pastry. I filled the pouches with almond cream, blackberries and blueberries and served them with raspberry coulis. They were delicious!

• Banana-chocolate chaussons

  • Zosia on February 19, 2019

    I'm not a fan of the texture of cooked banana and though these were better than I expected, they weren't good enough to convert me. It didn't help that the (optional) peanut butter that I hoped would help detract from the banana didn't soften and meld with the other ingredients. I omitted the butter (which I also don't like!) from the filling.

• Green tea sablés

  • Zosia on March 22, 2015

    I'm in complete agreement with br22's review. With much effort, I did manage to make the crumbly dough come together but wondered why it couldn't have been made in a food processor; I was tempted to add an egg yolk or a little water to help bind it. The raw sugar didn't adhere to the rolls of dough and the cookies didn't spread during baking and were a rather unattractive colour. On the positive side, they did taste good!

  • br22 on January 26, 2015

    These tasted wonderful. The instructions however are a disaster in terms of method. To add insult to injury, the finished product looks nothing like the picture with respect to size and color.

• Double-butter double-baked petit beurre cookies

  • Zosia on May 05, 2018

    Crumbly, buttery, shortbread-like cookies that were made with an unusual method: the dough was first baked as a crumble, then combined with more butter to form a dough that was rolled, cut with cookie cutters and baked again. I must have rolled them thinner than recommended, though I didn't think so at the time, because my yield was twice what the recipe states. Fans of shortbread loved them. I used them in the springtime cookies and curd recipe from the same book.

• Palets de dames, Lille style

  • Zosia on November 09, 2014

    Pretty iced cookie buttons with a cake-like texture and pleasant vanilla flavour. Nice coffee or tea time treat.

• Jam-filled sandwich cookies

  • Zosia on August 25, 2015

    The shortbread-like cookies were crisp with a melt in your mouth texture; the tart rose hip jam I used saved them from being too sweet. The dough was easily rolled out between parchment sheets but softened very quickly so I appreciated the author's directions to keep it chilled.

• Cat's tongues

  • Zosia on June 23, 2018

    Lovely, delicate vanilla cookies with crisp edges and soft, cake-like centres. They were very quick to make and the batter was quite forgiving as well; my piped worm-like squiggles transformed into even flat ovals during baking.

• Stained glass cookies

  • Zosia on December 05, 2015

    I'm not much of a cookie baker so these were a little too fiddly for me. The dough was easy to work with but I found I had to mound the crushed candy bits in the cutouts to get a decent layer once melted (quite messy, this). I wasn't using the optional herbs so completely forgot the egg wash and the finishing sugar. They were still very good and quite festive and pretty but not something I'll make again.

• Basque macarons

  • Zosia on March 23, 2017

    I love finding quick and delicious ways of using up leftovers - egg whites in this case - and this recipe is one of them. The cookies weren't much to look at but they had wonderful texture with a crisp exterior and a moist chewy centre. I wish I had omitted the optional cinnamon to allow the delicate almond flavour to shine. I used a #70 cookie scoop which was too large so my yield was only 25.

  • stef on December 10, 2018

    Yes it's a very quick recipe to make. My first batch burned to I cut the baking time to 6 and turned then 2. A very crisp sweet cookie.

• Toasted buckwheat and chopped chocolate sablés

  • Zosia on June 04, 2016

    Melt-in-your-mouth cookies with a bit of crunch and an interesting nutty flavour from the toasted buckwheat flour. Rather than re-rolling and chilling scraps of dough, I avoided scraps altogether by using one of the author's tricks of putting the dough into ziplock freezer bags (1/2 batch per large bag), rolling it out (to a scant 1/4"), chilling it then cutting into rectangles/squares.

  • SpatulaClark on October 15, 2021

    Agree with Zosia. These are shortbread with a difference.

• Macaron biscotti

  • Zosia on February 25, 2016

    A cookie that even the author admits has little flavour, dipped in melted butter and baked again sounded odd to me but with half a batch of failed Parisian macarons on hand, it seemed worth a try. As it happens, these were quite good: they were a lovely caramel colour, had incredible crunch and tasted of browned butter.

• Cocoa crunch meringue sandwiches

  • Zosia on March 31, 2016

    These light, crisp chocolate meringue cookies sandwiched with a melt-in your mouth ganache filling were fantastic. I thought the yield of 8 cookies was very low but the chocolate flavour was so intense, one was enough as a serving. I used walnuts in the meringue and 70% cacao chocolate in the ganache.

• Almond stripes

  • Zosia on January 18, 2019

    As written, the dough was much too stiff to pipe. I doubled the egg white - and of course overworked the dough trying to mix it in - which helped a little. They weren't particularly pretty but they had a delicate flavour and crunch.

• Hot or cold salted-caramel sauce

  • Zosia on October 14, 2023

    My go-to salted caramel sauce. It's not too rich and the vanilla adds extra flavour.

• Spiced hibiscus syrup

  • Zosia on March 31, 2015

    This recipe has a lot of potential: fruity, lightly spiced, laced with vanilla but it's far too sweet even with the juice of an entire (large and juicy) lemon added. I used 8 dried hibiscus flowers and perhaps I should have crushed them first, but I found that 20 minutes steeping wasn't long enough to bring out their flavour though that may have been sufficient if I'd used tea. I followed the package directions for making a hibiscus beverage and steeped the mixture for 4 hours instead. I served it with Coconut Tapioca (page 382). I'll definitely make this again but with half the sugar.

• Sweet tart dough (Pâte sablée)

  • Zosia on July 25, 2015

    Sweet, shortbread-like crust is one of the easiest I've made, and foolproof too. It can be rolled out or simply pressed into the tart pan.

  • jluvs2bake on June 30, 2023

    This is delicious & an easy dough to work with. It rolled out beautifully with plenty of dough for my 9-inch tart pan. I made the Classic Fruit Tart, and though the recipe says not to refrigerate more than 4 hours, we did because we went out of town. Today, 4 days after making it, the crust is not soggy. (If you decide to make the classic tart, fyi, the filling also was not runny. I have a note on the tart.) I'm going to try this for quick shortbread cutout cookies because it was such a smooth and delicious dough.

  • anya_sf on September 30, 2021

    Method worked very well. I made a press-in crust and there was extra dough, as Dorie said. The crust baked fully in slightly less time than stated (5 min after removing foil) and didn't shrink at all. The cookie-like texture was perfect for a fruit tart.

• Bread and chocolate (coffee-can-brioche ice cream sandwiches)

  • Zosia on June 07, 2017

    These were incredibly involved with brioche, ice cream and salted caramel sauce to make and a finicky assembly, and I didn't think they were worth the effort. Each of the components was excellent on its own but the frozen brioche took on a stale bread quality as it warmed. I would have been quite happy with just a bowl of ice cream and the caramel. I baked the brioche in a regular loaf pan.

  • stef on August 08, 2015

    Good instructions. Was wonderful for french toast.

• Sweet tart dough with nuts

  • Zosia on July 25, 2015

    With ground nuts replacing some of the flour, both dough and baked crust become a little more crumbly and harder to work with than the version without.

• Chocolate tart dough

  • Zosia on July 18, 2019

    I've made this recipe twice, most recently for the espresso tiramisu tart. Both times, it was fully baked and cooled before being filled and refrigerated and both times it cracked after several hours in the fridge, fortunately not seriously enough for filling to seep through. I'm not sure what I did to cause this; the dough wasn't dry and the shells looked great after baking and cooling. Flavour was like a good chocolate cookie.

• Galette dough

  • Zosia on November 11, 2014

    This dough was a breeze to put together in the food processor but I really had to overcome my paranoia about overworking pastry since this is processed to a fairly fine meal with no flakes of butter in sight. I used it for the Apple Pielettes, a recipe that called for quite a bit of handling of the dough, and it still baked up tender and flaky.

  • stef on September 01, 2020

    My go-to recipe. Comes out nice and crisp every time in a good way.

  • Kojak on December 06, 2016

    My go-to galette dough recipe. Perfect and simple.

• Chunky chocolate fruit-and-nut bars

  • Zosia on September 07, 2019

    An easy treat to put together and a delicious way to use up a surplus of nuts and dried fruit (candied orange peel is optional).

• Chocolate truffles

  • Zosia on November 27, 2016

    Incredibly decadent little bonbons that become silky chocolate cream in the mouth. Having never made truffles before, I was surprised by how easy it was though you do have to work quickly to shape them. These taste exactly like the chocolate you use - so use a favourite - but with a greatly improved texture.

• Honey-nut nougat

  • Zosia on December 14, 2019

    I don't eat candy so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. The varied textures of nuts, dried fruit and nougat were part of the appeal for me and the toasted nuts - almonds and pistachios - and tart cranberries balanced the sweetness of the candy.

• Chocolate-covered toffee break-ups

  • Zosia on November 04, 2015

    An upscale version of a Skor candy bar but much nuttier and made with good chocolate. A candy thermometer is recommended but my instant read digital worked just fine, and lacking large cutting boards, I used baking sheets to flip the candy over.

• Soft salted-butter caramels

  • Zosia on December 13, 2017

    The name says it all though it should include the word "delicious".

• Crunchy granola

  • Zosia on December 28, 2015

    This certainly lived up to its name with wonderful crunch from the oats as well as the nuts and seeds. I made some substitutions based on ingredient availability and personal preferences (maple syrup for honey, maple sugar for brown sugar, coconut oil for butter, pecans for almonds) which may have led to a shorter baking time of only 45 minutes. I also added the pecans after 30 minutes of baking so they wouldn't burn. I'll definitely repeat this one.

• Real hot chocolate

  • Zosia on February 28, 2016

    Delicious! Texturally, it's the best hot chocolate I've made from scratch: smooth and creamy despite being made with 1% milk and water, with the chocolate and sugar completely dissolved. The flavour can be as sweet and chocolatey as you like it. For my family, I used a semi-sweet (54% cacao) and the smallest amount of sugar.

• Double-mint milk chocolate mousse and gelée

  • Zosia on June 23, 2019

    The mousse was light and airy and the chocolate and mint flavours were well balanced. Though I would have preferred a less sweet chocolate, I think that would have overwhelmed the mint. Interestingly, the gelee was not strongly flavoured but it did add a fun textural contrast to the dessert.

• Marquise au chocolat

  • Zosia on January 31, 2015

    Rich and velvety frozen chocolate mousse "cake" that was incredibly easy to make (and to eat!). Great company fare that can be made ahead and dressed up as you wish. The mixture didn't fit into a 8-1/2"x4-1/2" loaf pan which foiled my plans for the Cocoa Crumb crust so I served it with Creme Anglaise (page 441), another excellent recipe, and Raspberry Coulis (page 449) from the same book.

• Mint-white chocolate pots de crème

  • Zosia on June 23, 2019

    The mint was rather subtle and the flavour from the orange peel wasn't present at all so these were mainly decadently rich and creamy white chocolate baked custards - not a bad thing at all for fans of white chocolate. I made 8 and the 40 minute bake time for the smaller ramekins was perfect.

• Chocolate crème caramel

  • Zosia on January 27, 2018

    Creamy and chocolate-y, and the baking instructions worked perfectly.

• Caramelized-coffee bean pots de crème

  • Zosia on June 04, 2016

    These had a silky, creamy texture and a great balance of coffee to caramel so even those who aren't coffee lovers enjoyed them. I used hazelnut flavoured beans which added a subtle hazelnut flavour (and perhaps resulted in a slightly less concentrated coffee flavour) and served them with the toasted buckwheat chocolate sables from the same book.

• Caramel pots de crème

  • Zosia on September 19, 2015

    Lovely silky texture and very nice flavour but it could have used a little vanilla.

• Vanilla-mango panna cotta

  • Zosia on June 14, 2015

    Really lovely dessert. The richness of the panna cotta was nicely balanced by the fresh mango puree. I used 2 tsp agar agar flakes in place of the gelatin.

  • anya_sf on August 18, 2019

    I had mango puree in the freezer, which I used plain without lime or honey. The amount of gelatin made the panna cotta very stiff; I think I'd have preferred a slightly softer texture (especially since it wasn't unmolded), but it was still fine. I stupidly forgot the vanilla, but the flavor was still nice.

• Bettelman

  • Zosia on September 22, 2018

    The flavour was good, reminiscent of cinnamon-vanilla French toast, but the texture was odd. It's described as somewhere between a cake and a pudding and it was that: dense and moist, like a cake that had risen and fallen. I used Cinnamon Swirl Bread from Everyday Baking by Abby Dodge, pears and dried cranberries.

• Pistachio and berry gratins

  • Zosia on May 30, 2015

    Most of the topping sunk into the fruit, sweetening it and thickening the juices. What resulted was similar to a thick berry jam topped with a thin, crunchy crust. Also, there wasn't much fruit for 6-6oz custard cups....I used only 4 and filled them close to the top. I prefer crisps/crumbles where there's more of a distinction between fruit and topping and the fruit retains its integrity.

• Hot chocolate panna cotta

  • Zosia on January 31, 2016

    Creamy, delicious and easy to make, this was perfect for those who prefer milk or semi-sweet chocolate to bittersweet. I used 60% cacao chocolate, and agar agar instead of gelatin.

• Speculoos panna cotta

  • Zosia on May 21, 2019

    I made this to use up some cookie spread I had purchased for another recipe. It was extremely rich and creamy - I could have gotten away with half-sized portions - and tasted of caramel and spice. It was good served with chocolate cookie crumbs.

• Cold chocolate crémeux, wine-poached cherries, and lots of crumbs

  • Zosia on July 27, 2018

    Delicious dessert that at first seemed to be quite a bit of work but each of the components was easy to make and I prepared them a few days before serving. Excellent dinner party dessert.

• Rice pudding, strawberries and spiced hibiscus syrup

  • Zosia on May 19, 2016

    Never having had or made rice pudding before, I was pleasantly surprised by this dessert. It was very creamy with good vanilla flavour and the rice grains retained their integrity. Really delicious with the fruity tasting syrup which I made with half the sugar and the juice of 1 lemon.

• Coconut tapioca

  • Zosia on March 31, 2015

    This was a very nice creamy, subtly flavoured coconut pudding with chewy tapioca adding interesting texture. I used the visual cues provided to determine doneness but kept my eye on the clock as well and was reluctant to pull it off the heat after only 7 minutes even though it appeared cooked. My cooking time may have been reduced because quite a few of the pearls fell apart while soaking. It was a little rubbery after chilling, probably a sign of overcooking. I served it as suggested with the hibiscus syrup (page 450) and fresh strawberries. I'll definitely make this again. Edit to add: I made this again but omitted the pre-soak and boiled the tapioca in water until almost cooked, then proceeded with the recipe, replacing some of the milk with the cooking water. It was perfect.

• Springtime cookies and curd

  • Zosia on May 05, 2018

    A dessert comprising grapefruit curd, macerated strawberries and the double-butter, double-baked petit beurre cookies from the same book. I probably shouldn't review this recipe as I made rather significant changes to the curd (two-thirds less butter and half the sugar) but I liked my version which allowed the grapefruit flavour to shine. The fruit flavours were bright and were complemented by the rich cookie.

• Odile's fresh orange cake

  • Tatiana131 on January 25, 2018

    Orange slice variation is excellent. Since I'm using more than one orange, I zest two usually into the cake. This creates incredible orange flavor. Two oranges is enough to mostly cover the cake, as well as the one orange that gets juiced into the batter. So three oranges total for a great cake.

• Lemon curd

  • stef on April 19, 2019

    Nice smooth curd. Next time I might add 2 cups of sugar as the curd is puckery

• Chocolate ganache

  • stef on December 02, 2019

    This came together quickly. Perfect for my French macarons. As Dorie says you have to watch closely because it thickens pretty quickly. You can add flavoring to it if you want, I added a teaspoon of raspberry.

• Parisian macarons

  • stef on December 04, 2016

    I always have success with this recipe. Love that egg measurement is in ml. Dorie is so right 5 egg whites is 150ml. For fillings I use pierre hermes macaron cookbook

• Nutella-banana panna cotta

  • anya_sf on May 22, 2021

    Instead of heavy cream, I used homemade creme fraiche which hadn't thickened much; the slight tang was nice here. Just served to family, I didn't bother with garnishes, but would use them if serving to guests. The panna cottas were very tasty - son especially loved them.

• Palmiers

  • MollyPellecchia on August 30, 2022

    A bit too much sugar, if that is possible or perhaps it was the butter which leaked quite a bit. I noticed many recipes omit the butter so may try without next time. Quite good.

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