It is hard to beat French patisseries (pastry shops) for viennoiseries (croissants, pain au chocolate, and brioche) and their selection of tartes. Throughout France, pastry chefs make a culinary art with exquisite fruit tarts and classics like mille-feuille made with puff pastry and crème pâtissière. Below, we highlight five tarts …

Indulging in these fresh berry shortcakes with lemon verbena cream is a delightful experience. The texture of the spongy cake contrasts nicely with the smooth, flavourful cream. The sweet and slightly tart taste of the berries, coupled with the citrusy and aromatic notes from the lemon verbena, bursts with freshness …

Last year, I celebrated International Grenache Day (September 15) by sharing a delicious cake created by Sue Tipton, owner and vintner of Acquiesce Winery, for which she doctors a box cake mix to make her Acquiesce Grenache Blanc Cake. Well, you know me — I love cooking too much to …

Before I moved to France,  I had never seen a fresh fig. The only figs I knew were in that classic American cookie – Fig Newtons. Although, admittedly, it’s a pretty good choice in the grocery store cookie aisle. Discovering Figs When I moved to the south of France with …

Clafoutis is a traditional Provencal dessert that is easy to prepare. Made with eggs and just a little almond flour, it is not quite flan or cake, but it is delicious when apricots are in season. I often create the recipe (below) for Stone Fruit Clafoutis with students in my …

Once again, I was awakened by a dream about food. This one, though, was even more specific than the one for Bistecca con Crema di Porcini. This dream was about a dessert and included all the parts of the recipe — the crust, the fruit layer, and the custard. I …

While panisse and socca include chickpea flour and water, the preparation and cooking for these typical Niçoise recipes are different. Like polenta, panisse starts with a dough cooked until it is thick. Then the dough is rolled or shaped and fried in a hot pan. Panisse is served hot and …

Fève(s) is a French word with several meanings – a trinket in the epiphany cake, chocolate disks used by chocolatiers and in baking, and fava beans. So in this Niçoise dessert recipe, we are talking about fava beans for the tart (tourte) filling, egg, sugar, and hints of citrus. The …

Regardless of the time of the year, my to-do list never seems to get shorter. Sometimes I want it all to slow down – even just for an afternoon. And this olive oil lemon cake is my answer when you need that sweet treat and a well-deserved break. I decided …

Nice, France’s 5th largest city, was not always part of l’hexagone but rather part of Italy until 1860, when it was ceded to France under the Treaty of Turin. As a result, the local cuisine evolved from Italian and French culinary influences. Mediterranean ingredients such as almonds, olives, olive oil, …