Test Kitchen Tease
Warning: Test Kitchen Tease snapshots may cause cravings, lip-smacking and an unshakeable desire to cook.
Citrus zest packs a big punch, so you usually only need a small amount to lend lots of flavor. We test hundreds of recipes for the magazine, books and our website, which has taught us that chefs, bakers and cooks often call for way too much of it in their recipes. That’s why we were a smidge skeptical when testing this lemon bundt cake from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (co-founders of Baked in New York City). Their recipe called for the zest of ten lemons, which sounded absurd! But, because these boys haven’t led us down the wrong path before—their cookbooks are F&W staff favorites and they're part of our Masters Series—we elected to trust them. Ten lemons and one dulled Microplane later, this cake was exactly what we’d hoped: tender, moist and incredibly lemony. A good amount of sugar creates a lovely caramel-colored crust, and the cake is drizzled with a tangy lemon glaze before being sprinkled with toasted almonds. Look for the recipe in our December issue, but in the meantime, try this grapefruit-spiked Lemon-Glazed Citrus-Yogurt Pound Cake. For more recipes from Matt and Renato, click here or check out their latest cookbook: Baked Elements.
Related: More Cake Recipes
F&W's Ultimate Guide to Dessert Recipes
Grace in the Kitchen
Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In this series, she shares some of her favorite recipes to make right now.
What's the difference between a crisp and crumble? And what the hell are Buckles, Grunts and Bettys, exactly? Maybe this clears it up? Whatever the case may be, I don't think this recipe's title is entirely accurate, because pound cake is not a traditional baked-fruit topping. But it is fast, easy and entirely delicious. Here, toasted, sugared cubes of pound cake (lemon-yogurt might just be the perfect choice) cover a steaming, bubbling dish of tart blueberries. Plums, nectarines, peaches, berries, rhubarb, pears, etc., would also do terrifically, especially when served with ginger, coconut, cinnamon or plain old vanilla ice cream. SEE RECIPE »
Related: More Fruit Cobblers and Crisps
Amazing Fruit Desserts
Recipes with Blueberries
Grace in the Kitchen
Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In this series, she shares some of her favorite recipes to make right now.
I remember thinking how fancy those soft, cakey lady fingers were. My mom would have them in the freezer waiting to be put to good use: Zuppa Inglese (English Trifle, Italian style), cheesecake edges, ice cream bombes…yum! I've put them inside a very light and lemony frozen dessert called semifreddo, which is easier and more elegant than ice cream because it's served in slices. You see the lovely cross-sections—like an inside-out ice cream cake. SEE RECIPE »
Related: More Frozen Desserts
Recipes with Honey
Italian-American Classics
Grace in the Kitchen
Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In this series, she shares some of her favorite recipes to make right now.
If you have puff pastry in your freezer and some ripe fruit, there's really no excuse NOT to have dessert. All it takes is 15 minutes to roll out and cut the dough, slice some fruit and tuck it into the pastry. Thirty minutes later, it's baked and bubbling and awesome with some vanilla bean ice cream and a glass of chilled, sparkling moscato. SEE RECIPE »
Related: The Ultimate Summer Fruit Desserts
Fantastic Fruit Desserts
10 Fast Dessert Recipes
Grace in the Kitchen
Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In this series, she shares some of her favorite recipes to make right now.
Cassata—a traditional Sicilian cake that uses sponge cake, sweetened ricotta, chocolate bits and candied fruit draped with a bright green marzipan fondant—was the very first dessert I made as a kid. The occasion was "International Day" at school, and I was so proud. The taste was rather "acquired" for my little class of eight-year-olds, accustomed to Carvel ice cream cakes and Entenmann's coffee cakes. So when the cake remained largely untouched, I was pretty crestfallen. Fast-forward to a recent trip to Boulud Sud, where pastry genius Ghaya Oliveira prepared her deconstructed version of cassata, and I felt utterly vindicated. Fast-forward again a few months, and I've created my own homestyle, pared-down version that incorporates all the familiar flavors—ricotta, dark chocolate, pound cake, almond liqueur and candied orange—but I've caramelized the cake to give it a crunchy exterior, like crème brûlée. SEE RECIPE »
Related: More Amazing Italian Desserts
Beautiful Layer Cakes
F&W's Favorite Cake Recipes
Ice Cream
Though school is starting around the country and Labor Day is approaching, we still plan to nurse our ice cream obsession until chilly fall really sets in. Here, the members of F&W's inaugural class of Best New Pastry Chefs share their recommendations for the best ice cream around the country (other than their own, that is).
Read more >
Grace in the Kitchen
This simple tart's almost-instant crust is made with vanilla wafer cookies and smoked almonds. / © Tina Rupp
Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In this series, she shares some of her favorite recipes to make right now.
We're in the midst of stone-fruit season, and that means all sorts of delicious things, like this creamy tart. This divine tribute to juicy summer peaches is made with a thin layer of creamy cheesecake then topped with nearly unadulterated peach slices. Look for firm but ripe peaches and always buy more than you think you need—I know my bowl is nearly half empty before I can assemble my tart. SEE RECIPE »
Related: More Peach Recipes
Fruit Pies and Tarts
Make-Ahead Summer Dishes
Grace in the Kitchen
Bring out the flavors in berries (both in and out of season) by baking them into luscious desserts like this mixed-berry cake.
Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In this series, she shares some of her favorite recipes to make right now.
A great trick to bring out all the flavor in berries (in and out of season) is to bake them into desserts. I like this luscious berry-laden spoon cake because it's a bit lighter and less fussy than traditional cobblers that use a pastry crust. The cake is buttery and light yet holds up to all those yummy fruit juices. Sometimes I make a double batch of the batter and put half on the bottom and half on the top, but it's delicious (and easier on the waistline) as is. SEE RECIPE »
Related: More Brilliant Fruit Desserts
Cookout Desserts
Recipes Using Berries
Grace in the Kitchen
Grace Parisi's Caramelized-Pineapple Baked Alaskas / © Stephanie Foley
Food & Wine's senior recipe developer, Grace Parisi, is a Test Kitchen superstar. In this series, she shares some of her favorite recipes to make right now.
Baked Alaska is so old-fashioned, but retro is supertrendy—especially if it means updating something comforting and homey. I've put these individual baked Alaskas into ramekins and topped them with caramelized fresh pineapple and golden, toasted meringue. What I love about these is that you can do all but the meringue way ahead and assemble (and torch) them at the last minute. Fresh pineapple is a must, and my ratcheting pineapple slicer from OXO makes peeling and cutting painless. SEE RECIPE »
Related: More Fast and Easy Desserts
Desserts with Meringue
Fruit Desserts
Taste Test Tuesday
Think all vanillas are created equal? F&W staff sampled some of the most popular supermarket ice creams to find the creamiest, most deliciously vanilla offerings available for your summer pies. Here, the results >
2 FREE PREVIEW Issues
Tablet Edition | Give a Gift
f&w everywhere