Dessert Person with Claire Saffitz (2020)
In her cookbook "Dessert Person," Claire Saffitz celebrates and defends her love of desserts and empowers reluctant home bakers to work with new ingredients, attempt new techniques, and bake with more confidence. Join Claire in her home kitchen as she highlights recipes from the book in this baking series to help you take your baking skills to the next level.
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Episode 1 - Claire Saffitz Makes Classic English Muffins
Release Date: 2021-04-15Follow Claire as she walks you through the steps to getting those telltale nooks and crannies in your English muffins and how to make sure they cook all the way through in a skillet or griddle. Whether you like it sweet with jam or savory as the base of a breakfast sandwich, you’ll love the versatility of a freshly cooked English muffin.
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Episode 2 - Claire Saffitz Makes Easy Pie Dough & Savory Galette
Release Date: 2021-04-22Part of being a dessert person is celebrating all the possibilities that baking offers -- in this episode, it’s a beautiful savory tart filled with caramelized onion and endive and topped with a fresh, bright salad of bitter and tender greens (this salad pizza is all dressed up). Who said baking can’t be dinner?
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Episode 3 - Claire Saffitz Makes CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Release Date: 2021-04-29What makes the best chocolate chip cookies? In Claire’s opinion, it’s a chewy edge, soft and chewy center, puddles of chocolate (in this case, dark and milk), a healthy amount of salt, and, crucially, lots of butterscotch-y flavor from the interplay of vanilla, brown sugar, and brown butter. That might sound like a lot, but it all comes together easily in a couple of bowls, no stand mixer required.
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Episode 4 - Claire Saffitz Teaches Amateur How To Make Croquembouche
Release Date: 2021-05-06In this episode of Dessert Person, Claire teaches her brother-in-law Nick, a dessert enthusiast but amateur baker, how to make Croquembouche. It’s a French tower of caramelized cream puffs and an exceptionally challenging pastry feat that combines lots of technique, precision, and architecture.
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Episode 5 - Claire Saffitz Makes Cornbread
Release Date: 2021-05-13Traditional cornbread this is not, but you won’t be overly concerned with strict definitions or categories when you try this savory, slightly spicy, bacony, baked corn [insert name here: cake, bread, pancake, etc.]. It’s a maximalist bakers’ dream, filled with lots of flavorful and textural bits that complement the corn flavor. Best of all, it’s baked in the same skillet used to cook the filling and comes together with two bowls and a whisk.
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Episode 6 - Claire Saffitz Makes Cheesecake
Release Date: 2021-05-20Heading into spring and summer fruit season, for your consideration: a light, lemony, interesting-in-good-way cheesecake that pairs perfectly with any topping. The key ingredient is goat cheese, which adds a complex flavor, and the key technique is using less filling to keep a reasonable filling-to-crust ratio. See Claire’s tricks for avoiding a soggy bottom and a cracked top!
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Episode 7 - Claire's 9 Essential Baking Techniques (#8 Will SHOCK You)
Release Date: 2021-05-27Claire Saffitz goes through and explains her 9 Essential Pastry/Baking Techniques. Follow along as these techniques and end points will put all home bakers on the road to success.
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Episode 8 - Claire Saffitz Makes Banana Bread
Release Date: 2021-06-03It might not seem banana bread — a recipe made maybe BILLIONS of times — leaves a lot of room for innovation, but this version from Dessert Person is subtly different than your typical loaf. The almond butter swirl on top and almond butter in the batter adds a savory edge and toasty flavor, while coconut oil and yogurt keeps it tender and moist. Claire demos the very easy, quick recipe that requires little more forethought than forgetting some bananas on your counter until they turn brown.
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Episode 9 - Claire Saffitz Makes Challah Bread
Release Date: 2021-06-10Honey. Tahini. Challah. It sells itself! But we’ll tell you about it anyway because it’s so good and is a great starter recipe if you’re interesting in getting into bread baking. Challah is a lightly sweet enriched bread in the Jewish baking tradition, and this version is infused with honey, olive oil, and tahini, which gives it a subtle sesame flavor and rich silkiness. If you can braid, you can make challah, and if you can’t, Claire will show you how.