Baker Without Borders

Perfect for breakfast or a snack, this cake is a healthier version of an apple butter bread recipe I created last autumn. Whole wheat flour complements the pecans, amplifying their nutty flavor and subtle crunch, and olive oil replaces butter. I was worried the cake would turn out dense because of the whole wheat flour,…

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These whole wheat scones, adapted from a maple cream scone recipe on the excellent baking blog Tutti Dolci, combine two classic autumn flavors: maple and apple cider. I replaced some of the heavy cream in the original recipe with milk and cider, and swapped all-purpose flour for whole wheat. I also skipped the maple extract,…

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Layered with a creamy maple syrup custard and crunchy oat, apple, pecan, and cinnamon granola, this parfait is a nice alternative to classic autumn pies, cakes, and other baked goods. It’s served cold (perfect for those occasional autumn heatwaves) and the oven is only involved to bake the granola. I borrowed elements from two different…

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I’ve been baking Evelyn Raab’s hazelnut truffle squares for years. The gooey, gluten-free brownies, which have finely ground hazelnuts in place of all-purpose flour, are perfect as is, but over time I’ve tried mixing things up, swapping neutral oils for butter and pecans for hazelnuts. This is my favorite variation yet. The combination of toasted…

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This is an excellent recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh’s dessert cookbook, Sweet. I made only one change to the original recipe, which happened entirely by accident. Some friends and I had planned to double the recipe to feed a large group of people. We chopped up twice the amount of apples, but forgot to…

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I first read about peach focaccia, a sweet-savory twist on the classic Italian bread, in the New York Times.  I shared the recipe with a friend, and she mentioned that all summer long, she’d been eating sliced peaches sprinkled with goat cheese and basil honey. The combination sounded delicious. So when I adapted the New York…

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In my latest Knockturnal post, I shared a recipe for a strawberry galette filled with pecan frangipane. Galettes, hand-shaped pies with origins in France, are one of my favorite ways to showcase summer fruits. I used strawberries when they were in season, but feel free to substitute any summer fruit of your choice. (Peaches, apricots,…

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The idea for these delicate, sugar-dusted sandwich cookies came about as I was brainstorming what to do with a pound of fresh apricots sitting on my countertop. I cooked the fruit into a simple jam featuring freshly grated ginger and an unusual ingredient: balsamic vinegar. Fruit preserves typically contain lemon juice, but any acidic ingredient…

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Fresh strawberries and mint are a classic combination. So are chocolate and peppermint. All these flavors come together in a refreshing fruit tart with a peppermint-flavored crust as well as custard filling. Thanks to a high concentration of menthol, peppermint has a stronger flavor than it’s cousin, spearmint, and is used more frequently in desserts.…

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For my latest column in The Knockturnal, I wrote about my vegan twist on Lebanese rice pudding, made with almond milk instead of the dairy variety and topped with roasted, slightly sweetened, cinnamon-and-salt-infused almonds. I came across the original recipe for rooz ib haleeb, as the pudding is called in Arabic, while flipping through The…

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