Baking

All kinds of seasonal fruit are great in galettes. Serve warm (with ice cream or whipped cream) or at room temperature.

Dried red dates, also known as jujubes, contribute an earthy-sweet caramel flavor to this toffee-glazed cake from Pastry Chef Danielle Spencer of Win Son Bakery in Brooklyn. Look for red dates in most Asian groceries or health food stores.

The secret to the fudgiest, most chocolaty brownies is cocoa powder—not melted chocolate. We borrowed chocolate expert Alice Medrich’s technique, then added a cream cheese topping for tangy balance. 

Sour cream isn’t just a gimmick. Used in place of the more typical cream or buttermilk, it adds a rich, tangy flavor, and its acidity helps make the biscuits incredibly tender.

If you want to bake these cookies now and don’t have buckwheat flour on hand, whole wheat flour is an acceptable substitute. Your cookies won’t have the same depth of flavor, but they will still be delicious.

These fluffy buttermilk rolls are filled with a cinnamon-scented date purée to capture all that sticky bun glory without being overly sweet.

Sweet rice flour makes this super-adaptable cake gooey-bouncy on the inside and crispy-chewy on the outside. Even better, this particular recipe can go in any flavor direction you want: Add cocoa, matcha, or malt powder; throw in some cinnamon, cardamom, or turmeric.

Letting the dough do its first rise in the fridge overnight means improved flavor and ease of handling, but if you don’t feel like waiting that long, leave it out at room temperature until doubled in size—three to four hours.

We took millionaire bars—shortbread plus caramel plus chocolate—and gave them an upgrade (hence, billions) with sesame seeds and tahini. The shortbread is tender, the filling is gooey, and the chocolate ties it all together.

This cake, made with whipped cream instead of butter, is a deliciously plain, moist, coal-black loaf flavored with orange zest and steeped in orange juice after it is baked.

At first glance, this cake seems to contain no butter or oil. But on closer analysis, I discovered that the butterfat contained in the cream was more than equal to the usual amount of butter added.

Take your time when streaming the butter into the egg and sugar mixture—you want to create an emulsion, as when making a vinaigrette. If you go too quickly, you’ll end up with a greasy batter.

Because you don’t have to chill the dough, this cookie cuts your kitchen time in half. And when it comes time to decorate, no need to panic if your first attempts don’t work out. Simply wipe off the failed glaze and let the cookie dry for about five minutes, then try again.