I’m happy to report that the Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe noted earlier is in fact excellent (or “outstanding” depending on to whom you are speaking). What follows are a few action shots.

The pecans post-toasting. To toast the pecans, I placed them evenly on a pan and baked them at 300 degrees for about […]

When someone asks me for seasoning assistance, my first question is always “did you salt it?” Salt is without a doubt the most important seasoning in cooking and baking. Unsalted savory dishes can be salvaged by a sprinkle at the table, but an unsalted baked good cannot be saved. If you’ve ever […]

The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are an excellent excuse for making overly dramatic desserts that one would probably never make any other time of the year. As I was in my favorite local kitchen store today, all of the specialty chocolates, toffees and baking ingredients started to get me excited about holiday baking. […]

The part of the cheesecake most often left on the plate is the crust. Don’t let this happen to your cheesecake. In that vein, one word that should NOT be in your cheesecake vocabulary is “shortbread.” Shortbread crusts, frankly, are awful. They’re not very sweet, they’re hard — they suck, basically.
My […]

As a regular feature on I (heart) baking, I’ll be bringing you lovely nuggets of inspiration from The Best Cookbook Ever ™, also known as The Best Recipe Cookbook. Have I mentioned I love it?*
So what’s great about this particular cookbook? Every recipe I’ve tried in it from cheesecake brownies to peanut […]