Bake from Scratch May/June 2020

recipe index

BARS AND COOKIES Chocolate-Coconut Macarons 44 Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons 46 Cornmeal Ma’amoul with Apricot & Pistachio 22 Mixed Berries & Cream Bars 65 Pecan Pinwheels 83 Vanilla-Strawberry Sandwich Cookies 11 BREADS Banana Muffin Tops 93 Blueberry Biscuits 66 Brioche Burger Buns 55 Cherry-Almond Sweet Rolls 19 Chocolate Chunk Banana Scones 39 Cinnamon Roll Loaf 77 Double-Chocolate Zucchini Muffins 37 Hot Dog Buns 53 Peanut Butter-Banana Braid 91 Potato Loaf Bread 57 Pretzel Buns 52 Strawberry-Pecan Scones 5 Summer Herb Dinner Rolls 111 Upside-Down Heirloom Tomato Cornbread 39 CAKES Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream 96 Butter Pecan Poke Cake 86 Butter Pecan Pound Cake 85 Gâteau Basque Loaf 78 Hungarian Pull-Apart Pecan Coffee Cake 86 Lemon Poppy Seed Coffee Cake 39 Peaches & Cream Cake 67 Pineapple-Raspberry Upside-Down Cake 76 FROSTINGS, FILLINGS, GARNISHES, AND GLAZES Bittersweet Chocolate Buttercream 44 Buttermilk Glaze 39 Chocolate Buttercream 96 Cream Cheese Frosting 86 Cream Cheese Glaze 77 Custard Filling 78 Glaze 94 Lemon Poppy Seed Streusel 39 Lemon Whipped Cream 66 Peanut Butter Filling 91 Pecan Streusel 94 Strawberry…

editors letter

WITH THE RETURN OF FARMERS’ MARKETS AND PEAK SUMMER PRODUCE IN STORES, I have one thought: bring on the berries, the stone fruits, and all of the rich, ripe tomatoes! I’ve got big plans for said tomatoes: popping them into our Upside-Down Heirloom Tomato Cornbread (page 40). And the berries? They’re gracing the blueberry-packed and custard-filled Gâteau Basque Loaf (page 78), just one of the many ways we’re branching out with the 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bananas also get their due with our banana baking bonanza starting on page 87. I’m eyeing our Peanut Butter-Banana Braid—because it has peanut butter, obviously. And don’t miss our collection of butter pecan recipes starting on page 79, a particularly nostalgic roundup that pays homage to one of my mom’s favorite flavor combinations. The secret’s out…

summer sensations

BAKING NEWS A HIT BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, BAKERY CLIMBS A STEP HIGHER IN THE MILE HIGH CITY Famous for their Mochi Muffin, a deep golden muffin made of gelatinous mochiko rice flour and topped with sesame seeds, Third Culture Bakery, based in Berkeley, California, is expanding its already adoring fanbase to a new location in Denver, Colorado. After opening a showroom in Aurora, Colorado, in February of this year and with a downtown Denver bakery slated to open this summer, owners Sam Butarbutar and Wenter Shyu are taking the Denver metro area by storm. You’ll find old favorites like the Mochi Muffin and Butter Mochi Doughnuts at these new locations, as well as some epic new additions to the lineup: mochi waffles topped with caramelized custard and an ever-changing rotation of pastries inspired…

ma’amoul

When I was a growing up, I hardly acknowledged the dates of holidays we celebrated at home where I was raised in the city of Ajman, located along the Persian Gulf in the United Arab Emirates. I was too oblivious and innocent to comprehend how the calendar mapped out the whole year, so instead, I remembered the time of year based on the food my parents would make. Food, you see, was always the indicator of which occasion was nearing. Every year in the late springtime, my mother would make ma’amoul for Ramadan. These not-too-sweet cookies are like little pockets of deliciousness packed with a surprise center filling made with walnuts or dates and enjoyed with morning coffee or as dessert. I was always mesmerized by my mother’s dexterity and fluidity as…

pecans

Pee-can. Pih-kahn. Pee-kahn. A nut by any other name wouldn’t have such a hotly contested pronunciation, but however you say it, the pecan’s influence on American baking is a universal truth not up for debate. Naturally growing along the Mississippi River, from the tip of Illinois down to the bayous of Louisiana, the pecan tree is the only nut tree native to North America, and its plump, brown nut has become a signature ingredient in some of our most beloved baked goods, from rich pecan pie to nut-studded hummingbird cake. Even with its assured place in American heritage, the pecan has journeyed a winding path from foraged food to pantry staple. The Native Americans were the first to eat the indigenous nut and, fittingly, gave the pecan its name. The word…

living the sweet life

As “Can’t Help” by Parachute reverberates across a spacious home kitchen in Minneapolis, Minnesota, morning light hits gleaming copper pans that hang on a rack, ready to become the vessels for a sweet jam filling, sticky caramel, or a boozy reduction. In the corner, double ovens preheat and fill the room with effusive warmth while a stand mixer is posed at full tilt, waiting to whip up a velvety batter or shiny meringue peaks. At the center of it all is Zoë François, dancing around the room as she moves from one step in her baking process to another. Her two sons, Henri and Charlie, 21 and 19 respectively, rush into the kitchen with their two standard poodles, Miles and Roffman, in tow, hoping for a taste of Zoë’s latest…