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! […]...
Matcha Creme Brulee Tarts from Tartine
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 […]...
Perfect Dark Chocolate Pudding
I hope you’ve all been enjoying the holidays! I have one last recipe to share and send out the year: a perfect dark chocolate pudding, from none other than Dorie Greenspan. After lots of elaborate holiday desserts, here’s something simple, yet very easily made spectacular; a perfect dessert to pull together when you think you’ve […]...
Best Baking Cookbooks of 2018
Time for one of my favorite posts of the year – compiling my list of best baking cookbooks of 2018. The only problem with this task is that it usually ends up becoming my own wish list! Due to serious bookshelf overflow at our house, I’m forced to consider all my cookbook acquisitions very carefully. […]...
Apple Meringue Crumb Cake
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting crisper, and fall baking season is fully underway. I’ve spent the last few weekends baking various things with apples because it just feels so properly autumnal, and also because Isabelle, at four and half, declared herself capable of learning how to peel apples. She was right; with the proper […]...
Best Baking Cookbooks of 2016
Happy December! It’s time for one of my favorite posts of the year: my picks for best baking cookbooks of 2016 ! I’ve just returned from a couple weeks out of town – visiting family in the Midwest over Thanksgiving weekend and then flying immediately afterwards to Honduras for work meant not much time for […]...
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, baby girl, and rescue cockapoo Snickerdoodle. 
