Baking the Best of It

The first cheesecake is closer in time to the construction of the Pyramids of Giza than it is to the creation of the Basque Cheesecake in the 1980s. To make fresh cheese desserts is to be human. We cover cheesecake past, present, and future and make a Basque Cheesecake!    Patreon / Instagram / Twitter Sources:  The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, Oxford University Press, 2015 https://devourtours.com/blog/san-sebastian-cheesecake/

The most important part of this episode is the discussion of UK tax code. We get into confusing cookie taxonomy, chocolate tempering, the bizarre hardtac of the Roman centurions, and bake three fabulous and very different cookies! Patreon / Instagram / Twitter Sources: The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, Oxford University Press, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQiii4pg4s8  https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/03/almond-biscotti/  https://levainbakery.com/pages/our-story

Part 3 of our introductory miniseries on our perfect tea party: Welcome to the Sugar Tier! The stars of this tier are a strawberry and lemon Battenberg cake and a rhubarb & custard mini tartlet. Lots of history in this one, as well as some diversions into our hot takes on fondant, decoration, and pie crust. Patreon / Instagram / Twitter   Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battenberg_cake http://foodhistorjottings.blogspot.com/2011/08/battenburg-cake-truth.html

AKA The Butter Tier. We talk you through classic English scones and unravel the history and technique behind clotted cream, strange and wonderful beast that she is. Plus, lavender & lime shortbread! Patreon / Instagram / Twitter   Chef John's Clotted Cream: https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-names-cream-clotted-cream.html Mary Berry's Scones: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tea_time_scones_77839  https://britishfoodhistory.com/2019/10/11/clotted-cream/

Our first full episode and part 1 of our series on tea party baking! Some tea history to set the stage before we get into tier 1 of our 3-tiered tea party menu: our favorite sandwich bread and our twist on classic tea sandwiches. Patreon / Instagram / Twitter   Sources for this episode: The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, Edited by Tom Jaine, Oxford University Press Inc, 2006   For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History by Sarah Rose,

Welcome to Baking the Best of It! Episode one out Friday, June 21   We're lifelong bakers and best friends who love sharing our recipes, baking experiments, and knowledge.    Patreon / Instagram / Twitter