Bake from Scratch January/February 2020

I can’t think of a sweeter way to ring in the new decade than with an issue loaded with baking inspiration. As winter sets in, we all need some baked-from-scratch comfort to warm our souls. It’s the height of Meyer lemon season, and this flavor-packed citrus is my favorite way of brightening up my baking. You don’t want to miss the Meyer lemon magic we’re whipping up (page 43). Make the most of a chilly weekend in and try your hand at our all-American Yeasted Doughnuts with Vanilla Bean Icing (page 61), or share a moment with that special someone over our decadent Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes made for two (page 74). With the new year, we’re introducing some epic new columns! Turn to our Hot from the Oven column (page 19)…

BARS AND COOKIES German Sour Cream Twists 105 Meyer Lemon Bars 54 Peanut Butter Cookies 112 Spiced Lemon Crinkle Sandwich Cookies 51 Walnut Cookies 94 BREAD Cheddar-Pecan Scones 84 Hazelnut-Banana Sour Cream Muffins 105 Herbed Pain d’Épi 27 Herbed Sour Cream Pull-Apart Loaf 105 Meyer Lemon Danish Loaves 53 Mexican Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls 81 Pineapple Buns 95 Tahini Brioche 42 CAKES Brooklyn Blackout Cake 110 Butterscotch Coffee Cake 30 Coconut-Almond Rice Cake 94 Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes 74 Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting 75 Heilala Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping 17 Meyer Lemon Snack Cake with Crème Fraîche Glaze 52 Milk Chocolate Tunnel of Fudge Bundt Cake 75 Orange Coffee Cake 79 Sour Cream Almond Cake 106 Triple-Chocolate Layer Cake 75 FROSTINGS, FILLINGS, GARNISHES, AND GLAZES Almond Streusel 80 Butterscotch Sauce 30 Chocolate Glaze 60 Chocolate Pudding 110 Citrus Glaze 60 Cream Cheese Frosting 52 Cream Cheese Glaze 82 Crème Fraîche Glaze 52 Hazelnut Streusel 106 Meringue Topping 54 Meyer Lemon Curd 54 Milk Chocolate Glaze…

BAKING NEWS LA TARTE TROPÉZIENNE OPENS ITS FIRST US LOCATION IN DALLAS, TEXAS The world-famous bakery where Brigitte Bardot first discovered the tarte Tropézienne while shooting a film in Saint Tropez, France, crossed the pond as we went to press on this issue to open their first North American location in Dallas, Texas. With 28 locations across France, La Tarte Tropézienne is a true culinary institution that serves up authentic Tropézienne as well as pastries inspired by this Riviera staple. Now, thanks to their new location in Dallas, you can get a taste of the famous tarte stateside. The bakery serves up its signature tartes Tropézienne and Baby Trop’ (individually sized tartes) in a new way exclusive to the US location: each guest’s tartes are made to order by a pastry chef…

GET IT RIGHT, BRUSH IT RIGHT GIR, one of our favorite kitchen tool brands, is back with their newest product: a Kickstarter-launched pastry brush. We love the Ultimate Basting Brush because it’s designed for precision in delicate tasks, like applying egg wash to pastry or getting a glaze in all the right places. Made of premium-grade silicone, these brushes contain two types of bristles: a tapered outer set and a series of zigzagging perforated flaps in the middle to catch generous amounts of liquid—say goodbye to continuous re-application. They’re durable, flexible but not floppy, and easy to control with ergonomic, comfortable handles. gir.co, $9.95 THE MUST-HAVE TOOL FOR BREADS THAT RISE TO THE OCCASION Zoë François recommends these Brotforms from Frieling as the ultimate kitchen item for bread with a perfect crust. The Brotform…

Last year, Bake from Scratch teamed up with Nordic Ware to create the first-ever baking club entirely dedicated to making the Bundt cakes of your dreams. Each month, our resident Bundtologists in the Bake from Scratch test kitchen created and delivered an exclusive, unique Bundt recipe directly to members’ inboxes. Our editor-in-chief, Brian Hart Hoffman, kicked off the first month of baking with an Instagram post captioned, “Do you even Bundt, bro?” Turns out, a quartet of bakers and bros in arms heeded this call. To experience the Bundt cake fun together, Victoria Oswald, Ethan Hill, Jon Paretsky, and Sam Mann created the Instagram account @brosthatbundt. Soon, these scientists became specialists in a new field: Bundtology. Through all 12 Bundt of the Month Club recipes, the bros baked with us…

Whoever said it’s the simple things that matter most in life had it right. There’s not much to my Aunt Peg’s butterscotch coffee cake except for butter, eggs, sugar, pecans, and vanilla and butterscotch instant puddings, but every time Aunt Peg made this for me when I was a little girl, it was enough to fill me with a warm and comforting feeling. It was a simple stir-together recipe baked in a 13x9-inch pan, but the rich butterscotch flavor and crunchy streusel topping made it unbelievably satisfying. Neither my parents nor my grandparents baked for my brother and me when we were growing up in Indiana. Only Aunt Peg did, but she lived hours away in Michigan. During school holidays, my mother, grandparents, brother, and I piled into the car to…