feature photo

Feature Article #1

Pumpkin Butter, Poached Pears, and Preserving Herbs

Shortly before Halloween, I purchased a pumpkin pie pumpkin. Yes, you read that correctly. Pumpkin varieties that work best for baking are the pumpkin pie pumpkin and the sugar pumpkin.
Pumpkin pie and sugar pumpkins  have a “smooth, sweet flesh that is much less pulpy and stringy” according to Regan Daley’s In the Sweet Kitchen.  This [...]

Megan | November 15th, 2009 | Continued

feature photo

Feature Article #2

The Newest Pastry Adventures

Hello friends! It’s time for a little update.
I’m moving to Colorado, which is an adventure in itself. My life will become significantly busier, but I’m determined to keep posting. Every time I’ve lived in a new place, I discover wonderful inspiration for desserts and pastry.
At the moment, this move isn’t permanent, but I’m excited for [...]

Megan | October 28th, 2009 | Continued

feature photo

Feature Article #3

Separating The Best From The Rest: The Ultimate Brownie Recipes

For the past month now, we have been dealing with a bit of an oven fiasco. None of the repairmen seem to know what’s wrong with it and how to fix it. As someone who bakes about every day, this has been extremely painful.
Last night we had a glimmer of hope. The lower oven started [...]

Megan | October 27th, 2009 | Continued

feature photo

Feature Article #4

Apple Season and Apple Spice Cupcakes

One of my favorite things about Autumn is going to apple orchards and picking our own apples. We always come home with more apples than we had expected…
Fortunately, apples can last a long time when they are stored in a cool place.
I recommend using apples fairly soon after they have been picked for recipes where [...]

Megan | October 22nd, 2009 | Continued

feature photo

Feature Article #5

Namaste…Peace & Ice Cream

“God, I hope you’re not turning into one of those reclusive cat freaks”, my older brother, Kyle, recently commented to me after I posted a picture of my cat Benny into an online photo album. This thought came back to me yesterday while vacuuming cat litter off of the floor. Then I remembered my lovestruck cooing over the [...]

Megan | July 11th, 2009 | Continued

feature photo

About this Site

After graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree, I decided to pursue my true passion- baking and pastry arts- at Chicago’s renowned French Pastry School.
I created this blog with the intention of sharing my experiments, disappointments, successes, stories, and tips as a newly minted pastry chef.
I like to use natural ingredients and bake everything from [...]

Other Recent Articles

post thumbnail

Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Blackberry Sauce

Alright, alright, don’t freak out too much. Yes, this is ice cream infused with a vegetable. I know this sounds weird. But think about it okay?
Why do we like corn in the first place? Because it’s sweet! This ice cream perfectly captures the irresistible flavor of fresh sweet corn. This nod to late summer flavor [...]

28Aug2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Key Lime-Cocoa Tartlets

A few weeks ago I bought a bag of key limes. While tiny, key limes are prized for their tartness. Being late summer and all, I thought a lime tart would be quite refreshing in this heat!
I was going to make a sable tart dough and fill it with lime curd when I came across [...]

27Aug2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Lemon Ginger Sand Dollar Cookies

When I first came across this recipe, I knew that I would make these. Perhaps it was the combination of lemon and ginger that got me, or maybe my mind was already on our upcoming family vacation to South Carolina, where we always find sand dollars.
These are one of those thin, chewy, types of cookies. You can [...]

27Aug2009 | Megan | 2 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Wild Mountain Blueberries and Peak-of-Summer Berry Crisp

Recently, my brothers and I took a trip down to the Asheville, North Carolina area for a repeat of our sibling adventures last summer. We wanted to fit in lots of hiking and take advantage of the cool refuge provided by the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains.
Asheville is a food lover’s paradise, with its numerous locally [...]

26Aug2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Petit fours for a crowd

Last week I made several types of petit fours for my mom’s book club meeting. They were a hit! I love being able to share the taste of French pastry with people. It’s just something we don’t get to taste a lot of here.
I chose to make russians (or pistachio stacks, as I like to [...]

30Jul2009 | Megan | 3 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

What is Pastry School?

Sometimes I mention my time spent in pastry school in my articles and blog postings. For those of you wondering what exactly pastry school is and all that it entails, I’ve done my best to create a fair summary below.
Subjects Covered:
-Baking theory, history, and science
-Food service sanitation
-Breads and breakfast pastries
-Petit fours (miniature pastries)
-European-style cakes and [...]

25Jul2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Why Pastry School?

I’ve always loved baking. You can probably tell this by taking one look at my blog.
But I wanted to learn more. I wanted to understand why failures in the kitchen happen and how to prevent them. I also wanted to know how to make those fancy, gorgeous plated desserts seen at fine dining restaurants, and [...]

25Jul2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Cupcakes, farmer’s market finds, and pastries

Most of this past week has been spent making cupcakes!
I had an order for one of my personal favorites, red velvet cupcakes. For those of you unfamiliar with red velvet, it is a buttermilk cake, tinted red, with a hint of cocoa. The buttermilk helps make the cake really moist and soft. It satisfies those [...]

20Jul2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Strawberry Season

Ever since I can remember, my mom would take us strawberry picking as kids. We would get up early to beat the heat, and head to Hilger’s Farm Market. Once there, we piled into a trailer that gets pulled by a tractor out to the strawberry fields. I know, it sounds slightly ‘hick’, but it [...]

9Jul2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

It’s Done

Pastry school is finished! I graduated. I am now a pastry chef.
I did a very poor job of updating my blog with what was going on at school for the last 2 or 3 months. A brief synopsis: chocolate candies unit (molding, casting, tempering, enrobing, ganaches, pralines, truffles, rochers, gianduja…basically a chocolate lover’s dream), sugar showpieces, and chocolate [...]

9Jul2009 | Megan | 2 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Salted Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies

When I was younger and naive to the extent of flavors and ingredients in the culinary world, I thought there was only one type of salt- iodized table salt that people needed in their diets to prevent goiters.
Then I grew older and wiser, a natural progression. In fact, there are numerous varieties of salt available [...]

17May2009 | Megan | 3 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Saffron and Cardamom Panna Cotta

When I go grocery shopping, there are three things I practically stockpile every time: butter, heavy cream, and eggs. If I could carry Sam’s Club or Costco-sized loads of these products home on each occasion I would.
Living in a city where you have to carry your groceries for blocks completely changes your perspective on needs [...]

17May2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Lavender-Scented Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookies

This cookie was inspired by a number of things- the approaching holiday celebrating all things motherly, springtime in Chicago, and a recent trip to a spice merchant. I wanted to make something that is perfect for giving to moms this time of year; perhaps a bit floral, a bit feminine, fresh, and sweet.
Let me [...]

5May2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Chocolate Stout Milkshakes

I’m sitting on a lot of ice cream, folks. Nothing makes ice cream disappear faster than making a couple of milkshakes.
I love the incredible pairing of Guinness beer and chocolate and it’s a combination that’s been on my mind lately. So, naturally, when I was going through cookbooks (something I do frequently, for fun) I [...]

4May2009 | Megan | 2 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Pastry School Update: Sugar Candies, Ice Creams and Sorbets, Plated Desserts, & Jam-Making

Again, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted about school. I’ve never experienced such a period in my life where the days, and weeks…and months literally fly by. But I am back, and hoping to stay around a bit. I’ve got a zillion recipe ideas crashing around in my head and I want to try them [...]

4May2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Pastry School Update: Gumpaste Flowers & Wedding Cakes

This unit was definitely a break from our regular kitchen routine- we did almost no baking- rather, we sat at our kitchen stations and created the beautiful and realistic creations known as gumpaste flowers.
Prior to pastry school, I had no knowledge of gumpaste flowers. It wasn’t until our chef for this unit, Chef Laura Ragano, began [...]

21Mar2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Pastry School Update: Tarts and Cakes

Having completed the petit fours unit, it was time to move on to tarts, with Chef John Kraus. We had a little bit of experience making tart doughs and rolling out tart dough from the tartlets we made in the petit fours unit, but I still have a difficult time rolling out some of the [...]

16Mar2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Pastry School Update: Petit Fours and 1st Exam

So far the petit fours unit has been my favorite unit in pastry school. Everything is small and bite-sized, and therefore cute.
We started the unit by making pate a choux, which is the thick, rich paste used for making eclairs, cream puffs, and other pastries. It has the amazing ability to puff as it bakes, [...]

16Mar2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Pastry School Update: More Breads, Breakfast Pastries, and Petit Fours

This week was the conclusion of our breads and breakfast pastries unit.  This was a good thing because I was beginning to run out of room in my freezer!
We made brioche dough again, but this time we shaped it differently. The brioche has been one of my favorite breads we’ve made, especially when it is sprinkled [...]

16Feb2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Pastry School Update: Breads and Breakfast Pastries

Another week in the kitchen for our breads and breakfast pastries unit has passed, and ohh, the abundance of baked goods.
I think I have been following a strict butter diet. On to the food…
Photograph (right): Pear danish
TUESDAY:
We didn’t have class on Monday due to MLK Day. Tuesday arrived with a bang, as we made french [...]

25Jan2009 | Megan | 0 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

Marble Bundt Cake

Earlier this month, we celebrated my younger brother’s birthday. Cam is a simple guy, and he likes his desserts that way too. Nothing too fancy, just classic flavors for classic goodness.
When I came across this recipe, I knew it would be perfect for ringing in his birthday. The cake is made in a bundt pan, [...]

25Jan2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Pastry School Update: The First Two Weeks

This week at pastry school was our first week in the kitchens. Last week was mostly orientation, food safety/sanitation, and lecture classes, which were inspiring. Some of the chefs spoke to us about the different areas of the food industry our talent could take us.
The great thing about being a pastry chef is that you [...]

19Jan2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Pear and Berry Crisp

During my first solo weekend in Chicago, I took care of the ususal tasks required from a young twentysomething: grocery shopping, hemming my chef pants, ironing my chef jacket, and studying the properties of butter, cream, eggs, and flour. Exciting right?!
I’ve lived in my apartment for over a week now, but I’ve found that when I live somewhere [...]

13Jan2009 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
post thumbnail

Pastry School!

Well, I am halfway through my first week of pastry school! Each day has been exciting and exhausting, but the exhausting part comes with adjusting to any new job or semester of school.
Highlight: Getting my pastry tool kit filled with all the goods.
Lowlight: Sanitation and food safety class. I think I’ll be afraid to eat [...]

8Jan2009 | Megan | 2 comments | Continued
post thumbnail

It’s All In The Family

So it’s been awhile. Apologies. I have reason for that, it was great week of visiting family, baking jobs, and holiday hustle and bustle.
Of course there were more cupcakes to be made, which I will discuss later in my posts on Kat Rohrbacher, the artist I worked with for her thesis project, and on Christmas Red [...]

24Dec2008 | Megan | 1 comment | Continued
Older Entries