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Dessert First

a san francisco food and travel blog | all things sweet

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Sakura Strawberry Cream Puffs

Mar 20 by Anita Leave a Comment

Happy Spring! These sakura strawberry cream puffs are a beautiful welcome to my favorite season! Click here to jump to recipe I hope you are doing well and staying safe, wherever you are. Quite a lot has changed since my last post here; if you follow my instagram you know that I am sheltering in […]...

Filed Under: Pastry, Recipes Tagged With: amoretti, cherry blossom, cream puffs, sakura, strawberry

Chinese New Year Cotton Cheesecake (Year of the Rat)

Jan 20 by Anita 4 Comments

  The lunar new year is on January 25, and I’m celebrating the Year the Rat with some cheesecake. Namely, Japanese style cotton cheesecake adapted from Joanne Chang’s Pastry Love. Coincidentally, this recipe appeared in the New York Times around the time I was contemplating making it so maybe we were on the same wavelength! […]...

Filed Under: Cakes, Cookbooks, Recipes Tagged With: cheesecake, chinese new year, cookbook, cotton cheesecake, japanese cheesecake, pastry love

Totoro Cookie Box

Dec 23 by Anita 2 Comments

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all my readers! Thanks for visiting my site and for all the lovely comments you leave here and on my social media – I appreciate them all! For my Christmas cookies this year I was inspired by the beautiful cookie box trend that’s been around for a while on […]...

Filed Under: Cookies, Recipes Tagged With: christmas, cookie, cookie box, totoro

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls from Pastry Love

Dec 20 by Anita 4 Comments

Happy almost-Christmas! These brown butter cinnamon rolls from Joanne Chang’s new cookbook Pastry Love are on the list for the Christmas morning breakfast menu. They’re one of my favorite recipes from her latest book, and there were a lot of contenders to choose from – I almost earmarked the entire table of contents! If you […]...

Filed Under: Breads, Cookbooks, Pastry, Recipes Tagged With: brioche, brown butter, cinnamon rolls, cookbook review, joanne chang, pastry love

Matcha Creme Brulee Tarts from Tartine

Nov 21 by Anita 4 Comments

These matcha creme brulee tarts from Tartine’s latest cookbook are gorgeous and capture everything I love about this landmark San Francisco bakery: they’re classic, updated with a twist, and come together perfectly. The original Tartine cookbook is a long time favorite of mine, a lovely ode to this institution that’s served up sweet bites of […]...

Filed Under: Cookbooks, Custards, Recipes, Tarts Tagged With: cookbook, creme brulee, matcha, tart, tartine

Apple Butter Linzer Cookies

Oct 23 by Anita 2 Comments

Among the many things I made with my apple picking haul were some apple butter linzer cookies. These spiced cookies really capture the epitome of autumn. If you haven’t made apple butter, it’s basically a very rich, concentrated form of applesauce. There’s no dairy butter in it, just apples, sugar, and spices cooked down to […]...

Filed Under: Cookies, Fruit, Recipes Tagged With: apple butter, linzer cookies

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best of dessert first


The Making of Macarons (Sucre Cuit Style)

Hong Kong Eggettes (Daan Jai)


Tis the Season (Chocolate Mint Macarons)

A Better Brioche


Consider the Humble Chocolate Chip Cookie

A Feast of Figs


Pure Dessert, Pure Inspiration (Chocolate Citrus Tart)

My Own Remembrance of Things Past: Daan Tats


The Slow Drip of Coffee on a Languorous Summer's Day

Still Life of Strawberry Tart

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about pastrygirl

Anita Chu, also known as pastrygirl, is a baker, writer, and photographer with a passion for pastry. She trained at Tante Marie's Cooking School and is the author of Field Guide to Cookies, Field Guide to Candy, and Lollipop Love. Anita lives in San Francisco with her husband, daughter, and dog Max. More about pastrygirl

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Please e-mail anita {at} dessertfirstgirl {dot} com with all collaboration inquiries, pastry questions, or just to say hi! I look forward to hearing from you!
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