David lebovitz

So I'm going to go ahead and be one of those people who talk about their cats. I've resisted thus far, but it's time to introduce the world ...

I am so surprised I have not before posted on this cake recipe. This is not only but my favorite cake, but I would go as far as to say it's my favorite baked good...ever! It's so dense and delicious (especially when you use good chocolate). I usually only make it about on or around my birthday because I refuse to have mediocre cake (Yes Whole Foods, I'm talking about you.) on my birthday. It's incredibly rich and dense--as soon as you read the ingredients, you'll realize why--but it's…

To skin hazelnuts, rub the still-warm toasted nuts in a tea towel, to get off as much of the skins as possible. The nuts can be toasted in a 350ºF/180ºC oven for about 10 minutes first. If you want to make your own candied citron, you can find my recipe at that link. You'll often see Panforte baked on rice paper (or made of another edible starch), which is harder to get than parchment paper. You can buy sheets of wafer paper online, and cut them to size.

UPDATED: Cake Mix Cookies are the best cookies to make for any occasion, especially when you are short on time. They are delicious, easy to make, and always a BIG hit!

The seasoning of summer

Use the most flavorful grapes you can find, such as muscat, Niagara, or Concord grapes, although it'll be fine made with regular store-bought grapes, too. If don't want to deal with seeds, you can halve the grapes and pluck out the seeds, or use seedless grapes. You can make this with a whole chicken, cut into 6 or 8 pieces, or 4 thighs (leg and thigh sections), cut in half, separating the leg from the thigh, so you have 8 pieces. I found the chicken was even better the second day, when I…

Delicious French cuisine – the most beloved French dishes in France!

Be sure to use almond paste, not marzipan, which has more sugar and is generally used for decorating. It's not the same thing. (According to Nigella Lawson, however, almond paste is called 'marzipan' in the UK.)Brioche, challah, or a close-textured white bread, like pain de mie, all work well. It's best if it's slightly stale as it'll absorb more of the flavorful syrup. And speaking of syrup, be sure to saturate the bread as you want to syrup to go all the way through the slices, not just…

Before I received a copy of Ready for Dessert I'd heard a lot about David Lebovitz's chocolate chip cookie recipe and was looking forward to trying them—and I was not disappointed.

10 Insanely Delicious Things You Shouldn't Miss in Paris - David Lebovitz

Adapted from The Great Book of Chocolate For those who live outside of the U.S., you can search for unsweetened chocolate at baking supply shops and well-stocked supermarkets. Often natural foods stores carry it. Lindt makes an Excellence bar that's 99% pure cacao, which are available in many countries. And that can be used. These are very traditional American brownies. They’re a cross between cakey and chewy, with the deep, dark flavor of chocolate. You should chop the nuts a little finer…

The crust will get a little darker as it baked, once filled. If it's getting too dark, you can either 1) Drape a sheet of foil lightly over the entire pie (making sure it's not touching the top of the pie filling, 2) Fashion pieces of foil over just the crust while the pie is baking, or 3) Use a pie shield. To make this gluten-free, you can use the Pretzel Pie Crust (using gluten-free pretzels) and cornstarch in place of the flour in the filling. The pie dough can be made in advance and…

If you want a fuller caramel flavor, use the 3/4 cup (150g) of sugar to caramelize in step 2. The caramel flavor will be a bit more pronounced than the coffee flavor but I tried it both ways and like it, for different reasons. And you can use lowfat milk rather than whole milk, although it'll be less-smooth, but I wouldn't call this an overly rich dessert. It goes without saying that the stronger the espresso, the more forceful the coffee flavor will be. I tried it with a few long (allongé…

I’m not sure which variety of chile that I used, since they don’t label them as such in Paris, but mine was somewhat spicy. (It may be a Mirasol, or mature Anaheim chile pepper.) You can use any kind of pepper that you want, adjusting the quantity to your taste, depending on the spiciness of the variety. Jalapeños would work nicely, if available. But the chimichurris I’ve had were not necessarily spicy , so don’t overdo it. You want the flavor of the herbs and garlic to shine through…

Chocolate-Prune Tiramisù

Feel free to use any meatballs that you wish. I have a meatball recipe here. Depending on the recipe, the meatballs may fall apart if cooked too briskly, or if you stir them in the pot. It's not the end of the world but if you want to cook them separately (frying them in some olive oil on the stovetop, or baking them in the oven), you can add the cooked meatballs when the soup is done. In place of meatballs, slices of sausage would be nice instead in this soup. I cooked my own beans…

Gruyere and Chives Gougeres... a David Lebovitz Recipe!

Adapted from Life is What You Bake It by Vallery LomasI made a few changes to the recipe, adding more bacon (sorry/not sorry), and dicing the cheese, rather than grating it, so there would be little pockets of cheese inside the eggy custard. I'm not convinced it made a difference so you could do it either way. Vallery doesn't turn up her nose at store-bought crusts, and she's not alone; pre-made tart dough is very popular in France and every supermarket has several varieties, including tart…