Today is national Pie Day according the National Pie Council, so there is no better time to perfect our crust.
Pie dough is one of those things that once you master it, your life in the kitchen is a happier place. It frees you to make fruit pies, quiche, potpies and anything else, sweet or savory that requires a crust. But, mastering the dough is not always as easy as one would hope. In my first video I’ll show you how I create a tender and flaky crust that make pies delicious, no matter the filling. Then, I follow up with a video on how to successfully roll out, fill, top and decorate a double crusted apple pie. With these videos I hope you’ll be making pie with confidence. [click to continue…]
It is a brand new year and I figured I should start 2012 with a fresh start; right at the pastry beginning. For me that’s vanilla extract, probably the most used ingredient in my kitchen after flour and sugar. I always have a stack of beans and bottles of extract. I admit I don’t always make my own, but it is something, like homemade yogurt, that once you make it, you’re ruined to the store bought version. It is easy to make, but to get the best result you have to be patient. The longer you let the vanilla beans sit in the vodka, the better and stronger the flavor. I let this bottle sit for 5 weeks before opening it, which was a test of will power I didn’t know I possessed. The result is like perfume, I want to add it to all of my recipes and dab a bit behind my ears. I’ll use it in everything from cakes to cocktails.
This year I have only made one work related resolution…to make more how-to videos on my ZoeBakes YouTube Channel. If you have any ideas for cake decorating, baking, pastry or any other sweets you’d like to see in more detail, please let me know. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel to see all my new videos. Hope they are helpful. [click to continue…]
It is smooth and sophisticated, but there is a mystique about working with rolled fondant that keeps too many people from using it. Fondant reminds me of Play-Doh, you can create everything from an intricate wedding cake to a birthday cake in the shape of a Tonka truck. Your imagination and few helpful hints will open up a new world of cake decorating options. I chose this simple winter motif to get us started. First, we have to choose our color and tint the fondant, next we’ll cover the cake in the perfectly smooth fondant and to finish we’ll add simple snowflakes.
I’ve broken the videos into 3 parts: coloring the fondant, covering the cake and decorating. Enjoy and happy holiday baking! [click to continue…]
Cakes? It is a slight mystery why these are called cakes and not cookies, but no matter the name, they are delicious. How can you go wrong with toasted pecans, brown butter and sugar? The texture is like a shortbread cookie that is taken to new heights by the richness of the nuts. They are typically served at the holidays, maybe because they look like little snow balls, and at special occasions, like weddings, as the name suggests. This holiday my aunt Kristin, who is my pastry muse, requested them. It is ridiculous that my house isn’t stocked with them all year round. The recipe is so simple and the results so incredible. Thanks to Kristin my cookie jar is now full. They make a great gift because they pack up well and actually improve with a bit of time, which can’t be said for many cookies. [click to continue…]
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Thanks for stopping by. I'm Zoe Francois, pastry chef and cook book author. This is where I play with sugar and take the mystery out of baking everything from cookies to wedding cakes. 
