My Great-Grandmother was a professional baker. She was also as wide as she was tall ; I adored her sweet roundness and amazing talents! And because of her, I too have butter and flour in my blood.
Always looking to hit the kitchen, I was eager to get my hands on the Duchess Bake Shop’s new cookbook and give a few of the recipes a whirl.
This is one book you can judge by its cover.
Beautiful illustrations, wonderful recipes and a french influence. Macarons, croissants, blancmange & tartiflette, to name a few, but this time I chose to try my hand at Key Lime Tarts and Raspberry White Chocolate Scones.
First the Key Lime Tart and followed this recipe almost to a T. However, for the crust, I added a bit more graham wafer crumbs as it seemed a little mushy with all that melted butter.
As I’ve made this dessert in the past, I was impressed with how this specific recipe suggested to add a fair amount of lime zest, which is something I’ve not seen in many other cook books.
With all the ingredients mixed in and a few back and forths from the oven; Voila, a beautifully shaped key lime pie which tasted zippy and sweet.
I’m certain Marie Antoinette would waltz the halls after just one bite!
Tartly Delightful!
Up next, some White Chocolate Raspberry Scones!
But with one minor substitution. I chose to nix the raspberries and replace them with fresh blueberries instead… (The blueberries were on sale, “cha-ching!”)
And once again, this was an incredibly easy recipe to follow.
Besides the berry trade, I did not change a thing.
How did they turn out?
Well…I made them for the FAB team, (minus M), and even if I wanted to mail you a sampler, I couldn’t because there aren’t any left!
Within 1 hour the entire batch of warm buttery chocolate berry deliciousness were completely gobbled up!
The new Duchess Bake Shop cookbook is full of so many incredible recipes of all skill levels that now that I’ve handled the easy stuff, I cannot wait to tackle some of the more difficult ones.
As Giselle Courteau’s book states, it is a “balance of home baking and high-end French pastries.”
For the more complicated items, you will need specific specialty ingredients like feuilletine. And while that may frustrate some as it is difficult for a layman to find, I appreciate that the recipes are true to their kitchen and not dumbed down.
But like I’ve said, this cookbook’s got it all. From beginner to advanced, the recipes will challenge as well as satisfy anyone.
Too much to handle?
Well take a breather and head directly to Duchess Bake Shop in Edmonton, Alberta and let their professionals do all the hard work.
As for me, I accept the challenge and will continue to take solace in trying to recreate the Duchess’ delectables in my kitchen.
Bon appetit!
Bisous,
Mlle Fab rincess Baker
xo
