Joe Pastry

…because this is getting ridiculous. Please stand by.

http://joepastry.com/2015/switching-hosts/

We've got some ongoing login issues with the new site, friends, sorry for any inconveniences. A pesky bug, which I've tried spraying RAID on but it just won't die, is serially locking me out for ...

http://joepastry.com/2015/curse-you-wordpress/

The primary port of entry for bananas coming into the US from Central and South America in New Orleans. Why? Because New Orleans is at the mouth of the Mississippi River, which is a terrific dist...

http://joepastry.com/2015/banana-as-post-colonial-neo-imperialistic-metaphor/

The banana is truly one of the weirdest plants in nature. Not a tree, it’s actually an herb. Which means that every year it sprouts up, fruits, and dies back to its underground rhizome (technic...

http://joepastry.com/2015/whence-the-banana/

Funny thing on this blog, there are two types of posts that get lots and lots of attention: extremely complex pastries like Opera cake, and extremely simple preparations like vanilla pudding. L...

http://joepastry.com/2015/simple-pleasures-1-cheddar-tart-apples/

A timely question given the season, and an important one. Pick the right apple for an apple upside-down cake and you get a firm flavorful apples inside a sweet, moist (yet still firm) cake. Pick ...

http://joepastry.com/2015/which-are-the-best-baking-apples/

Reader Deb asks if it's necessary to sift the flour for an upside-down cake, or whether a vigorous whisking will suffice. I advise a full sift myself, for cakes especially, but everywhere light...

http://joepastry.com/2015/how-important-is-sifting/

Reader Caitlin wants to know why, when she makes tarte Tatin with tart apples like Granny Smiths, they seem to melt away with heat. That's a great question, for as much as I love Granny Smith app...

http://joepastry.com/2015/speaking-of-tarte-tatin/

That's not easy to say, since upside down tarts and cakes have been made since at least the day of the great Antoine Carême . Indeed Carême published recipes for several glazed gâteaux renvers...

http://joepastry.com/2015/where-does-upside-down-cake-come-from/

Reader Marianna from Rio de Janeiro writes: > Hang on a second Joe, this is almost identical to a famous Brazilian > cake called Bolo de Banana. The small difference is t...

http://joepastry.com/2015/no-fair/