Watch Claire Saffitz make soft & crispy focaccia, a recipe from her cookbook, Dessert Person. Not only is the recipe forgiving, making it a great introduction to breadmaking for novice bakers, it's incredibly versatile and serves as the perfect accompaniment to any meal (hello, soup weather!). You might be surprised to see just how easy it is to make a tall, fluffy, light focaccia.
Watch as Claire Saffitz makes foolproof tarte tatin and rough puff pastry, two recipes from her cookbook, Dessert Person. For a recipe that is often touted as "simple," tarte Tatin is remarkably easy to screw up. Claire has made tarts where the apples overcaramelized and stuck to the skillet, stayed blond and released tons of moisture, or shrunk dramatically. Differences in the freshness of apples was always the problem. In this video Claire will show you a method to help coax out some moisture to help correct those problems and leave you with a delicious tarte tatin that is every bit as good as the traditional version. Claire believes this recipe with buttery pastry, caramel, and apples can not be beat in a dessert.
In this episode, Claire Saffitz makes the best oatmeal cookies. This is the Oat & Pecan Brittle Cookies recipe from Dessert Person. This chewy, butterscotchy oat cookie might not be the kind you can casually whip up on a whim. But, if you go through the steps to make it, like making the pecan brittle, grinding the oats, and browning the butter, you will be rewarded with hands-down the most delicious oat cookie you've ever tried. Somewhere between a lacy cookie and a chewy one, it's giant, buttery, and sweet-salty. Make them along with Claire and remember to keep some of the dough frozen so you're never more than 20 minutes away from a perfect warm cookie.
Claire Saffitz makes carrot and pecan cake from her cookbook, Dessert Person. Claire’s interpretation of a classic carrot cake makes a celebration out of any occasion. This version has lots of well toasted pecans and a brown butter cream cheese frosting that is not to be missed under any circumstances. Watch Claire as she demonstrates how to achieve even, light layers and then assemble them into a cake that’s equal parts, impressive, satisfying, and delicious. Remember, as Julia Child said: “A party without cake is just a meeting!”
In this episode of Dessert Person, Claire Saffitz makes her easiest cake recipe. If there is one recipe nearest and dearest to Claire's heart, it's this one for simple Poppy Seed Almond Cake. It's been a Saffitz family favorite for decades, and still the easiest and most perfect cake Claire knows how to make. It's proof of the truism that simple is often the best, but try it and see for yourself. It's too good not to become a favorite in your family.
Most cakes are delicious when eaten with a cup of coffee, but what’s even more delicious? A cake that tastes of coffee itself! This coffee coffee cake has a light, silky crumb and a brown sugary flavor that’s perfectly offset by the bitter notes of brewed and instant coffee, which find their way into all three components — the batter, ribbon, and crumb topping. Watch Claire as she makes this new-classic cake from Dessert Person.
Get ready to party! And by party, we mean stay at home and be safe. But fortunately, you need no special occasion to make this delicious, celebratory, kid-friendly, and deeply nostalgic confetti cake. A tender white birthday cake studded with rainbow sprinkles and covered in smooth, tangy cream cheese frosting, it tastes like childhood (which is to say, better than the box). We took a hiatus but Claire and her crew are back with Season II of Dessert Person -- check out this first episode!
Allow us to get philosophical for a minute: brownies contain multitudes. Is there a more metamorphic recipe out there? Brownie recipes can be cakey, chewy, light, dense, fudgy, tender, shiny, matte, bitter, sweet, thin, thick -- and yet, they’re all brownies. Claire's favorite brownie is chocolatey but not too intense brownies with multiple textures, but chewiness above all. Enter, Claire's recipe for Malted Forever Brownies -- so good, it’s pretty much the only one she plans on making until the end of time.
A lot of baking successfully is having the right tool for the job. Want a beautifully glazed tart or shiny pastry? You need a pastry brush. Want even, perfect cream puffs? You really should use a pastry bag. Here Claire Saffitz goes through and explains her 13 essential kitchen tools, most of them small, simple and inexpensive, that put her (and all home bakers) on the road to success. Do you need them all? Maybe not. But if you’re committed to learning how to bake at home, these certainly help.
What’s more fun than making fried empanadas? Making fried dessert empanadas with a friend! (That is, socially distanced). In this special episode of Dessert Person, Claire Saffitz and her special guest go off-script and decide to make a recipe together just for fun. Check it, and learn from the one and only Gaby Melian how to make empanadas with the prettiest twisted edge.
One of Claire’s favourite desserts from childhood is, Gooey Butter Cake, a St. Louis tradition unlike any other cake. While most recipes call for a box cake mix, Claire takes it back to its German origins as a yeasted coffee cake base with a buttery, gooey, vanilla-scented topping. THEN, Claire puts fellow STL-native, long-time friend, and comedian extraordinaire Jo Firestone to the taste test while the two settle old Gooey Butter Cake beefs.
With a flavor and aroma like nothing else, vanilla is the one ingredient Claire can’t live without. It’s a tropical product that requires intense labor to harvest and ferment, making it both precious and pricey. In this episode, Claire shows you how to make the most of whole beans, from extracting the seeds to making your own vanilla extract. It’s a simple process but will ensure that no part of the splurge-worthy ingredients goes to waste.
Is there such a thing as a sweet, sticky, nutty bun that doesn’t put you down for the count? Claire set out to find it! After much testing, this is her ideal sticky bun, a soft, nutty, maple-y swirl scented with cardamom and orange zest. Claire thinks it’s a whole lot better than a giant, overly sweet Cinnabon cinnamon roll, although — ahem — some family members disagree. It’s a family affair this episode!
Spring is around the corner, but if you need a pick-me-up in dessert form, look no further than this sunny, zingy, Meyer lemon tart with a hidden ribbon of raspberry jam. It’s one thing Claire loves to make in winter, using the gift of Meyer lemons, but is even more classic if made with regular lemons all year round. Be warned, it’s very tart, but that’s how lemon desserts should be!
Claire make all sort of cakes, pies, and confections in her small NYC apartment kitchen? Well, it’s often a challenge, but she gives herself a leg up by staying organized (or, at least organized enough) and designating zones for different equipment, tasks, and ingredients. Join Claire as she takes you around the space for a quick kitchen tour and provides quick tips for making the kitchen as functional as possible.
Time for some real talk about muffins -- they’re cake without frosting, filled with sugar and deserving of no place on a breakfast table. That is, until now. Claire Saffitz engineered this seedy maple breakfast muffin to actually taste good while also providing some nutrition (in the form of seeds, whole wheat, and blueberries). It’s finally a blueberry muffin you can feel good eating -- and did we mention it’s vegan?
Claire fact: English muffins made at home are fun to make, easy, and look just as good as store-bought but taste way better. Also true: it’s the only recipe in Dessert Person that doesn’t make a trip to the oven! Follow 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.
True or False: Baking is rigid and only uses pantry ingredients, not fresh produce, and is only for dessert. FALSE! Part 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?
What 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. The hardest part is definitely waiting for the dough to chill in the fridge before baking.
In 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. What could go wrong!
Traditional 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. Try it as a side dish all summer long.
Heading 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. Check out the episode and see Claire’s tricks for avoiding a soggy bottom and a cracked top!
Claire 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. This video gives a number of helpful visual references for key techniques (How to Make Caramel, How To Crimp Pie Crust & How To Whip Cream) that are mentioned several times throughout Dessert Person.
It 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.
Honey. 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.
Claire’s been doing some light homesteading with her husband in and around a cabin outside of NYC. The newest members of the household are 4 beautiful hens that give the gift of fresh eggs every morning. Join Claire as she bakes with the eggs for the first time and makes one of the simplest desserts out there — the delicious, eggy, delicate, crème caramel. It’s a custard of eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla, baked over a caramel layer that dissolves and becomes a rich sauce for the custard. It’s a perfect dessert made better by good eggs.
Let me tell you a story about rhubarb. It’s a vegetable -- a stalk more specifically -- that grows every spring and has a piercing tart flavor and pretty ruby red hue. Some people don’t like the flavor, but those people don’t get what a special flavor and texture it has! In this rhubarb cake, Claire uses it three ways -- placed in decorative rows on top, cooked down into mush and incorporated into the batter, and chopped and folded into the cake. It’s a celebration of rhubarb, a harbinger of warm weather and an inspiration to dessert people everywhere.
After months of isolation, Claire is overjoyed to welcome kindred spirit dessert people -- friends, colleagues, fellow pastry chefs -- into her kitchen to bake something together. First up in this series we’re calling (what else) Dessert People? Claire's good friend and food stylist (maybe you've seen her work in Dessert Person?) Sue Li. Watch Sue and Claire attempt to make swirled meringue cookies, mostly fail, and then drown their sorrows in a comforting and delicious meatball recipe that Sue has loved since childhood. It's fun, a tad crazed, and delightful.
Ever have a burning baking question you wished you could ask a real baking expert? Does your pie dough flop instead of flake? Ever botched a batch of brownies without knowing why? Well, you might have these questions answered because Claire is here to address all your burning queries in this new mini-series called Claire-ified.
One of the great things about baking is discovering that you can make a pastry at home that tastes better than one from a cafe. On this episode of Dessert People, pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz shows Claire how to do just that — and in the process, convinces her that a proper scone can be tender, light, flavorful, and not at all dry. Check out the episode for all the secrets to making a scone so good that it will change the mind of scone skeptics everywhere.
Is there anything better than birthday cake? I don’t know about you, but to me, bday cake always means yellow cake and chocolate frosting. This vanilla-scented cake bakes up extremely light and tender, but still has the unmistakable richness and color of a yolky batter, while the super-easy frosting gets balance and tang from cream cheese and unsweetened chocolate. Claire gives lots of pointers for layer cake construction, like what to do if you’re trying to frost it in a 90-degree kitchen (hint: it involves an AC window unit).
Think you have to make a zabaglione or ladyfingers or anything technical to make tiramisu? Think again! On this next installment of “Dessert People,” Pal and Munchies Culinary Director Farideh Sadeghin shows Claire how to make easy and non-traditional Nutella and Bourbon Tiramisu.
Friends, there’s still time to enjoy strawberry season, and in this episode of Dessert Person, Claire shows you three quick desserts you could practically make in your sleep to highlight everyone’s favorite berry. No real recipes here, just some easy methods and preparations, because simple is always best, especially when it comes to strawberries.
Follow along as Claire makes a delicious puff pastry recipe from scratch. This recipe, a hybrid of pie dough and traditional puff pastry, relies on a series of rapid folds to flatten slices of butter into thin sheets within the dough, which then release steam during baking and produce a flaky, layered effect. The key to the flakiest pastry is to keep it very cold, so feel free to return the dough to the refrigerator as frequently as needed while you work. Stick around for a bonus recipe as Claire walks us through how to make Palmier cookies.
What do you make for a group of people who love to eat but can’t have gluten or dairy? This Flourless Chocolate Wave Cake! It’s a rich-but-light-at-same-time cake made with almond flour, a dash of amaretto, lots of chocolate, and lightened with egg whites for a mousse texture. This cake might meet a number of dietary restrictions, but you’d never know from the taste.
These soft-on-the-inside and crispy-and-charred-on-the-outside flatbreads have a secret ingredient: cooked potato. It keeps them pillowy and flexible and ideal for stuffing with feta cheese and slathering in zaatar oil. But if you take away nothing else, let it be the delicious eggplant dip that accompanies these flatbreads, which is easy and simple and can be your go-to late summer side dish.
Don’t know what to make with your late-summer farmers market fruit haul? Try this simple custard tart — a crisp but tender base filled with a rich vanilla pastry cream — and top with any fruit you like. This is one of those desserts that might call to you from the pastry case in the bakery with its gleaming and perfectly arranged fruit, but homemade is almost always better. Claire walks you through all the steps.
If you're in a hurry and looking for a quick and easy homemade doughnut that isn't too greasy or heavy then this recipe is for you! On this next installment of “Dessert People,” Friend and Author of "Life is What You Bake It" Vallery Lomas shows Claire how to make easy Old-Fashioned Doughnuts. These cake doughnuts come together quick as they are not yeast-raised and the added sour cream provides for a fantastic taste and texture.
Sour Cherry Pie occupies a perch on the dessert hierarchy above all others, sitting high and mighty. That’s because sour cherry pie, when executed well, has juicy but set filling, a balanced sweet-tart flavor, and golden flaky pastry. It’s everything a dessert should be and more. Here is Claire’s, inspired by the pies her mom used to make when she was a kid and informed by all the pie-making wisdom she’s gathered in her baking lifetime. Sour cherry season is fleeting, but seek out frozen ones and make this pie all year long.
In case anyone needs reminding, baking is more than just sweets — it can be dinner! This Crispy, Cheesy Pan Pizza is an all star recipe by the amazing bakers at King Arthur Baking Company, so who better to walk Claire through it than her good friend David Tamarkin, King Arthur’s editorial director. Everyone deserves a little pan pizza in their life, and this one delivers and then some.
Today on Dessert Person, Claire Saffitz walks you through 3 different variations (Swiss, Italian, French) for buttercream frosting. Although the french-style buttercream requires a bit of choreography - Claire believes it might be the best chocolate frosting you'll ever try. You can find the recipe for Claire's Silkiest Chocolate Buttercream on page 359 in Dessert Person.
Want a simple, easy, delicious fall treat you can make with one bowl and pantry ingredients? Guest Yossy Arefi -- photographer, food stylist, and author of the brilliant cookbook Snacking Cakes -- shows us a simple loaf cake that will fulfill all your baking desires.
As a classic Thanksgiving dessert, pumpkin pie really should stay classic. Claire’s recipe amps it up with some brown butter and caramelized honey, but it stays close to home and simply results in the best pumping pie you’re likely ever to have — silky, balanced, rich, and not weighed down by too much sugar or spice.
Claire makes Chocolate Coupes from What's for Dessert
Claire makes Cherry Crisp from What’s for Dessert
Claire makes a Dinner Platter with aioli
Claire answers your questions and reacts to Novympia parody
Claire makes Blueberry Buckle from What’s for Dessert
Claire makes Lemon Bars
Claire makes Monkey Bread for the holidays
Claire gives a tour of the kitchen in her cabin
Claire makes Banana Cream Tart from What's for Dessert
Claire makes Honey-Roasted Apple Cake from What's for Dessert
Claire makes her Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie from What's for Dessert
Claire makes her Sweet Cheese Blintzes from What's for Dessert
Claire makes a moist & delicious lemon bundt cake
Claire makes here Butterscotch Blondies from Dessert Person
Claire makes her Whipped Cream Tres Leches from What's for Dessert
Claire makes her homemade s'mores tart
Claire makes her Pinwheel Cookies from What's for Dessert
Claire makes a Tiramisu inspired Wedding Cake
Claire makes her Blood Orange Pudding Cake from What's for Dessert
Claire makes her Banoffee Pudding from What's for Dessert
Claire makes a version of her Black and Blue cookies from What's for Dessert
Claire makes irresistible Strawberry-Ricotta Scones
Claire heads to her outdoor grill to make her epic Breakfast Sandwich
Claire makes Hot Fudge Sauce from what's for Dessert
Claire makes her Molten Chocolate Cake from What's for Dessert
Claire makes her Cherries Jubilee from What's for Dessert
Claire answers your burning baking questions in a Q&A
Claire makes her Crunchy Almond Cake from What's for Dessert
Claire and Natasha Pickowicz make a Pineapple Galette from Natasha's new cookbook
Claire makes Ice Cream sandwiches from What's for Dessert
Claire returns to her childhood home in Cape Cod where she heads on a boat journey to learn about oyster farming.
Claire makes her Fried Cherry Pies from What’s for Dessert. She also makes a baker version
Claire makes Salted Caramel ice cream
Claire makes 3 easy cocktails
Claire makes Key Lime Pie
Claire brings another episode of Dessert People where she makes an easy green salad with Ali Slagle
Claire makes her coffee stracciatella semifreddo from What’s for Dessert?
Claire makes delicious homemade garlic knots
Claire fries up some oysters and makes a quick mignonette sauce
In another episode of Dessert People, Claire makes blueberry muffins with her mother
Claire is set out to make the best clam chowder
Claire makes Beignets from What's for Dessert
Claire makes a Clam Pizza at her parent's house in Cape Cod
Claire makes a perfect lobster roll
Claire makes a delicious lobster pasta
Claire tackles your top baking questions
Claire makes a perfect fall dessert: Vanilla Pumpkin Crème Brûlée
Claire shares her recipe for sweet potato dinner rolls for your Thanksgiving celebrations
Claire makes a pizza in her homemade pizza oven
Claire makes an iconic French pastry for the holidays
Claire whips up a holiday breakfast for a crowd
Claire makes a Yule Log for the festive season
Claire makes an easy pavlova with fresh passion fruit
Claire goes foraging for wild grapes and makes a perfect grape tart
Claire shares a BTS on how she made Vinny's wedding cake
Claire is in Texas, making kolaches and klobasneks
Claire is learning how to make tamales
Claire learns how to make breakfast tacos
Claire leans how to make conchas
Clair makes a stop at a Flour Mill in Austin, TX
Claire makes homemade cheddar biscuits
Claire attempts making sourdough bread in her outdoor oven
Claire is back at recreating a grocery store staple, Drumsticks
Claire makes a Red Velvet Cake with no artificial food coloring
Claire makes her Rhubarb Shortcake from What's for Dessert
Claire makes the perfect Patty Melt
Take a look behind the scenes at the making of the Dessert Person cookbook with Claire Saffitz, photographer Alex Lau, food stylist Sue Li, and prop stylist Astrid Chastka. Video brought to you by the inimitable Vincent Cross with lots of help from Tim Sauer
