The Scoop: PastryScoop.com chocolate and dessert recipes and baking tips for pastry chefs and bakers.
    
Homehome page
The Scoopwhat's new and interesting
Pastry Coursesinformation about pastry classes at The FCI
Word of Mouthinformation from chefs and industry leaders
Look It Upconversion charts, glossary, ingredient tables, pastry resources directory
Calendarfood events, competitions, contests, scholarships
Chatstranscripts of online chats with pastry chefs and baking experts
Conference & Eventsupcoming events and pastry conference details
About Usour mission, who's who
Press Roomnews and events
Contact UsPastryScoop.com, The French Culinary Institute
  July 03, 2009 10:41 PM
  THE SCOOP
Featured Stories
 
 
   

May/June 2009
Put the Lime on a Cookie, and Eat It Up!
Key limes are a distinct fruit that can be used in more than just the classic Key Lime Pie. Growing up in Puerto Rico, where this fruit abounds, Sarah Balzac takes a closer look at baking with this citrus fruit. READ MORE...
 

 
 
   

May/June 2009
California Dreaming
Summer makes us all want to kick back just a little and take it easy, so what could be a more appropriate way to start things off than a look at the Los Angeles dessert scene? Follow us on the trail as we travel through the area on a food hunt to size up what's going on in this trendy town. READ MORE... 
 

 
   

May/June 2009
A Sweetener By Any Other Name
It seems so simple at first glance—finding the right sugar for the right job. But with more and more choices available, this simple task has taken on new complexities. Here's a look at a few of the most common natural sweeteners being used in baking now. READ MORE... 
 

 
 
   

May/June 2009
The Cool Tools of Summer
Our favorite "kick up your heels and take in some sun" months have arrived, and here are three kitchen items to help you make it even more fun. Summer weather calls for eating outside, so bring the dessert along to wherever your festivities may take you. READ MORE... 
 

 

 

  Previous Stories
 
 
May/June 2009
Put the Lime on a Cookie, and Eat It Up!
Key limes are a distinct fruit that can be used in more than just the classic Key Lime Pie. Growing up in Puerto Rico, where this fruit abounds, Sarah Balzac takes a closer look at baking with this citrus fruit. READ MORE...
back to top
 
May/June 2009
California Dreaming
Summer makes us all want to kick back just a little and take it easy, so what could be a more appropriate way to start things off than a look at the Los Angeles dessert scene? Follow us on the trail as we travel through the area on a food hunt to size up what's going on in this trendy town. READ MORE... 
back to top
 
May/June 2009
A Sweetener By Any Other Name
It seems so simple at first glance—finding the right sugar for the right job. But with more and more choices available, this simple task has taken on new complexities. Here's a look at a few of the most common natural sweeteners being used in baking now. READ MORE... 
back to top
 
March/April 2009
Sugar and Spice Make Everything Nice…And So Does Bacon!
Flavor combinations abound, and out of the thousands one can come up with, the sweet and salty one is a glorious winner. And in this category, bacon is quickly gaining center stage. See how this savory treat is upping the dessert anty. READ MORE...
back to top
 
March/April 2009
Washington, D.C., Takes the Cake
Although passing bills may not be a cake walk, take a walk in this town and you will find some good cake. We recommend detouring from The Mall and heading to where the sweet action is. READ MORE... 
back to top
 
March/April 2009
Femme Fatale
Did the cupcake hypertrend begin with those four facets of television femininity, or did the confection’s July 2000 cameo on Sex and the City simply turn an already blossoming resurgence of the homespun into full-blown craze? See how three female bakers have followed their dreams, lead by their attraction to this little cake. READ MORE... 
back to top
 
Jan/Feb 2009
Toronto's Sweet Dreams
Boning up for a recent trip to Toronto, I came across the query posited by Chris Lumsdon in Toronto magazine, "Do cities dream?" He goes on to write, "If people, then why not cities?" France may dream of fashion and London may dream of its history, but Toronto, he states, has the same recurring dream of what it can be. READ MORE... 
back to top
 
Jan/Feb 2009
How to Host a Chocolate Tasting
Chocolate offerings have become increasingly sophisticated over the past few years. Long gone are the days when the American notion of chocolate was synonymous solely with the classic Hershey's bar. The range of chocolate available now is huge (including Hershey's list of premium offerings). READ MORE... 
back to top
 
Jan/Feb 2009
Pure. Smart. Delicious.
Verē has a message. And after spending time with owner Kathy Moskal and the companies chocolatier, Erika Erskine, we're believers. With many a good side to show off, this company is truly divine. PastryScoop.com takes a walk on chocolate's angelic side. READ MORE... 
back to top
 
December 2008
Platter Up: Dessert Plates for the Holidays
You’ve chopped, kneaded, zested, and baked, and now you are ready to serve. We’ve gathered our top serving picks for dishing up your holiday desserts in style—whatever your tastes may be. READ MORE... 
 
back to top
 
July 2008
Golden Scoop Award Winners
We are proud to announce the winners of the 2008 Golden Scoop Awards, which celebrate excellence, innovation, and creativity in the pastry arts. The awards were presented by Judiaann Woo, editor-in-chief of PastryScoop.com, along with Dominique Ansel, executive pastry chef of Daniel (New York City). READ MORE... 
 
back to top
 
July 2008
S'moremania
"A layer of fresh vanilla-rose marshmallow and chocolate ganache sandwiched between two freshly baked honey-cinnamon grahams, smothered in milk or dark chocolate, left plain or topped with walnuts, pecans, and gray sea salt." That's Heather Foley's signature S'mores Bar… READ MORE... 
 
back to top
 
July 2008
Milk and Cookies
Tucked away on a side street in the West Village of Manhattan, Milk & Cookies Bakery is easy to miss —that is, if you don't notice the huge cookie hanging outside the bakery door, or catch a whiff of the velvety chocolate smell that winds its way around the neighborhood. READ MORE... 
back to top
 
January 2008
Let them eat cake
Pastry chefs and bakers have long ridden the roller coaster of consumer demand with free-, low-, and "lite" baked goods all enjoying their fleeting 15 minutes of fame. Thankfully, some had less time in the spotlight… READ MORE... 
back to top
 
November 2007
Sugar and Spice
Finding just the right holiday gift for your loved one can be a serious challenge. When in doubt, PastyScoop.com staffers stick to the old adage "sweets for the sweet" (so save the Omaha steaks for that cantankerous uncle). READ MORE... 
back to top
 
July 2007
Golden Scoop Awards
PastryScoop.com is proud to announce the results of the 2007 Golden Scoop Awards. This year, PastryScoop.com received over three hundred submissions from professional pastry chefs, bakers, and confectioners from around the country. READ MORE... 
back to top
 
July 2007
Miette
I admit it. I am a starry-eyed fan that would happily travel from one shining sea to the next for the delicious baked goods at Miette Organic Pâtisserie. I have obsessed over their macaroons and longed for just another one of their deliciously moist cupcakes.  READ MORE... 
back to top
 
January 2007
Rise and Shine
Fruit-studded aromatic stollen from Germany, Polish babka shaped like a ladies skirt, Austrian and Alsatian kugelhopf baked in a fluted mold, high-hat Italian panettone, and their French kissin' cousins, the brioche, the baba, and the savarin, are all related yeast doughs that have delighted kings and commoners since medieval bakers began to leaven bread with brewer's yeast.  READ MORE...
back to top
 
November 2006
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
Put a little sugar in your gift giving! Our staff picks for holiday presents put the focus on sweets for the sweet, books for bakers, and other gifts sure to thrill your dessert loving friends and family.  READ MORE...
 
back to top
 
November 2006
High Rolling Desserts on the Vegas Strip If Walt Disney had preferred Italian white truffles over Mickey Mouse, chances are he would've conjured up an amusement park that resembles the current dining scene in Las Vegas.  READ MORE...
 
back to top
 

September 2006
An American Pastry Chef in Shanghai
Jason Licker has come a long way from selling fat-free cheesecake out of his upstate New York college dorm. Over 7,000 miles in fact. In the market for a little adventure and looking for an opportunity to pump up his career, he left the United States almost a year ago to become the executive pastry chef for The Westin Shanghai. READ MORE...

back to top
 

July 2006
2006 Golden Scoop Awards
PastryScoop.com is proud to announce the results of the 2006 Golden Scoop Awards. The awards, which were founded in 2004 with the support of The French Culinary Institute, recognize and applaud innovation, creativity, and excellence in the pastry arts. READ MORE...

back to top
 

March 2006
Hot Chocolate
Residents of a city are all but required to take their hot chocolate seriously when the phrase "winter weather" can mean more than two feet of snow in a single weekend. Good thing, then, that New York City has so many purveyors of molten cocoa. READ MORE...

back to top
 

January 2006
Chestnut Delights: Classic and Contemporary
"Chaude, marrons!" "Hot roasted chestnuts!" "Marroni caldi!" In any language, the cry of the street vendor with his basket of shiny, plump mahogany nuts and the tantalizing smoky aroma wafting from his brazier herald the arrival of cold, crisp days. READ MORE...

back to top
 

November 2005
Chocolate & Wine
It seems that nothing could be more decadent than combining two of the most exquisite flavors on earth: chocolate and wine. Some might say that the decadence borders on sensory overload. READ MORE...

back to top
  November 2005
How To Cook A Pomegranate. My fascination with this richly colored fruit began when I learned that the pomegranate is not only grown in the United States, but is farmed a mere three hours southwest of San Francisco in the San Joaquin Valley, an agricultural region near Fresno. READ MORE...
back to top
 

November 2005
2005 Holiday Gift Guide
Need some fresh gift ideas for your food loving friends and family? Our staff picks feature items geared toward a variety of personality types—the epicure, the bookworm, the gadget geek, and even the family pooch. READ MORE...

back to top
  September 2005
Afternoon Tea for Beginners
After 10 years of being a bona fide coffee addict, I finally kicked my habit and became a tea drinker. The reason I made this lifestyle change is because I am sick of needing that caffeine fix in the morning and because I am plagued by headaches that always disappear as soon as I stop drinking coffee. READ MORE...
back to top
  June 2005
Golden Scoop Awards Honor Top Pastry Chefs Some More
It was a day of sweet celebration at The French Culinary Institute in New York City on Monday, June 6th, 2005. READ MORE...
back to top
  April 2005
Meringues
May is National Egg Month, the perfect time to pay homage to melt-in-the-mouth meringues... the voluptuous vacherins, mysterious baked Alaskas, and ethereal Pavlovas, those billowy egg white creations that have been stars in the pastry chef's firmament for centuries. READ MORE...
back to top
  January 2005
Seeing Red: The Resurrection of Red Velvet Cake
Every so often, without anyone anywhere making a command decision, a single item will appear at the same moment on menus all over the country, in disparate and far flung locations, from big cities to small town bakeries. READ MORE...
back to top
  January 2005
Sweet Talk Me Some More
This Valentine's Day, if you have a hankering for a bit of nostalgia served up in one romantic bite, look no further than New England Confection Company's (NECCO) Sweetheart® Conversation Hearts. READ MORE...
back to top
 
December 2004
Sugar and Spice and Things That Are Nice
‘Tis the season to finish up that holiday shopping. The staff at PastryScoop.com has put together their top picks for everyone on your gift list. READ MORE...
back to top
  September 2004
Cheesecake: From the Ancient Greek Olympics to a Great American Classic
James Kane, an early 20th-century newspaper photographer with a passion for cheesecake, is remembered today, not for his pictures, but for coining a phrase.
READ MORE...
back to top
  July 2004
Look Out Betty Crocker, There's a New Gal in Town
Betty Boop meets Jessica Rabbit in Mary, sassy spokescharacter for Mary's Dairy.
READ MORE...
back to top
  July 2004
In Search of Cannoli
I remember my first time. I'd repeatedly crossed paths with a young couple while sightseeing along Boston's Freedom Trail.
READ MORE...
back to top
  June 2004
Fab Four Really Takes the Cake
Looking back on her 1963 nuptials, writer and mother of two, Barbara Christian recalls an elaborately adorned vanilla sponge cake, garnished with fresh flowers and topped with a happy plastic couple.
READ MORE...
back to top
  June 2004
The French Laundry
Pastry Chef Francisco Migoya

Sitting comfortably in a quaint courtyard building surrounded by the rustic beauty of Napa Valley, The French Laundry has established itself as one of the most celebrated restaurants in the country.
READ MORE...
back to top
 

May 2004
Riding the Sugar High

On March 7th, 2004, PastryScoop.com hosted its first annual Passion for Pastry Conference at The French Culinary Institute in New York City.
READ MORE...

back to top
 

April 2004
L.A. Burdick: Of Mice, Men, and Chocolate

I came to Walpole, New Hampshire on a picturesque winter day to talk with pastry chef Michael Klug about making chocolate mice.
READ MORE...

back to top
 

February 2004
Pastry Pantheon: All-American Chocolate Pies & Cakes

"I think this is the most delicious pie I have ever eaten... a pie so delicate, so luscious, that I hope to be propped up on my dying bed and fed a generous portion..."
READ MORE...

back to top
 

February 2004
Sweet Wanderings: A Tasting Tour of the Mediterranean
I can't imagine a better respite from a rainy evening in the Windy City than Coco Pazzo.
READ MORE...

back to top
 

January 2004
Twelfth Night King's Cakes

The French call it Galette des Rois, in Spanish it's Rosca de Reyes, and folks in New Orleans say King Cake.
READ MORE...

back to top
  December 2003
Gingerbread Journeys

Gingerbread, with its myriad forms, alluring aromas, and symbolic significance, has been a quintessential holiday treat for centuries.
READ MORE...
back to top
  December 2003
Where the Last Course Comes First

If it were empty, you would probably guess it was a sushi joint. You'd be half-right.
READ MORE...
back to top
  December 2003
Sugar and Spice and Things That Are Nice

OK, you've figured out that a cooking-related gift is the way to go for the baker in your life, but knowing is only half the battle.
READ MORE...
back to top
  November 2003
The American Harvest Pie

"I ate some apple pie for supper and then said my prayers and had good health, good thoughts, and good humor. . .," the Virginia planter William Byrd recorded in his diary in 1710.
READ MORE...
back to top
  Financier's individual Saint-Honoré

October 2003
Saint Honoré—Patron Saint of Bakers & Pastry Chefs And the Evolution of the Cake Created In His Honor

Although you can't launch a Web site with a bottle of Champagne or a ribbon cutting ceremony, how about a blessing?
READ MORE...

back to top
   October 2003
Chic Chocolatier Offers Exotic Treats Fit for the Catwalk

I want to be Katrina Markoff when I grow up—despite the fact that she may be younger than me.
READ MORE...
back to top
  September 2003
Grand Marnier "Pacific Breeze"

Since its creation in 1880, Grand Marnier has been a favorite ingredient with top-notch chefs. inventing fanciful creations using this cognac mellowed with tropical oranges.
READ MORE...
back to top
  September 2003
The Legacy of Chunky Bread

I was born in Fresno, California, and although my family criss-crossed North America for my father's career while I was growing up, we returned to our home state every summer to visit our cabin high in the Sierras at Huntington Lake.
READ MORE...
back to top
  August 2003
Tiny Chocolate Shop Is No Shrinking Violet

Classic or cliché, depending on your point of view, crème brûlée blossoms anew as an exquisite bonbon at the Kee's Chocolates in Manhattan's SoHo.
READ MORE...
back to top
  August 2003
A One Dish Wonder

There were six recipes for rice pudding in the first American cookbook written by Amelia Simmons back in 1796.
READ MORE...
back to top
  July 2003
Chocolate at the American Museum of Natural History

You wander past a beautiful mannequin dressed in a frilly skirt and a designer bustier sculpted entirely out of chocolate.
READ MORE...
back to top
  July 2003
You Scream, I Scream. . . . for Gelato!

Amaretto cherry, candied lemon, butterscotch copetta. . . scoops of gelato just fly out of the kitchen at Mario Batali's popular new Greenwich Village restaurant, Otto Enoteca and Pizzeria...
READ MORE...
back to top
  July 2003
Pastry Chef Sam Mason at WD~50

When we think of ingredients for dessert, we naturally think of butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, and perhaps something a little more unusual, maybe pine nuts.
READ MORE...
back to top
  July 2003
Rice Crispy, Peanut Ice Cream, Chocolate, and Condensed Milk Cappuccino

A classically trained French patissier who enjoys surfing American supermarkets? Mais oui!
READ MORE...
back to top
  July 2003
Dressed Up Or Dressed Down, Pastry Chefs Fire Up A Classic

S'mores are simple. Just three ingredients—graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow—and you're all set.
READ MORE...
back to top
  July 2003
Dinners End On Sweet Notes With Take-Home Goodies

"I have a hard time saying goodbye to customers," says Gale Gand, executive pastry chef/partner at Chicago's luxe restaurant Tru.
READ MORE...
back to top
  June 2003
wichcraft spells sweet success

Although its doors have only been open a short time, 'wichcraft, a take-out shop near New York City's Union Square, is already busy.
READ MORE...
back to top
  June 2003
Lacroix at The Rittenhouse
Pastry Chef Fredrick Ortega

When asked what led him to pursue a career in the culinary arts, Fred Ortega answers that it was something he just fell into.
READ MORE...
back to top
  June 2003
A Muse of One's Own
Where San Diego's Pastry Pros Find Inspiration

On a recent visit to San Diego, I decided to leave the beaches to the surfers and instead set out to indulge my passion—sampling pastries.
READ MORE...
back to top