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Dessert First

a san francisco food and travel blog | all things sweet

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{Review}: PastryNow Raspberry Tart Kit

Jan 15 by Anita 1 Comment

Although baking (and this blog) are a big part of my life, there are days when I just don’t have the motivation to bake. When time and energy (or lack thereof) make me want to have something sweet now, instead of having to go through the effort of making it. Lucky for me I was […]...

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: baking kit, pastry now, raspberry, review, tart

Best Baking Cookbooks of 2015

Dec 17 by Anita 2 Comments

I’m always so excited when I get to do my holiday roundup of best baking cookbooks of 2015, partly because I finally have an excuse to sit down and go through the cookbooks piling up on my shelf! I may not have enough time during the rest of the year – or ever – to […]...

Filed Under: Cookbooks, Reviews Tagged With: best baking cookbooks, chocolate chip cookie, cookbook, gesine bullock-prado, middle east baking, pierre herme, review, roundup, sarabeth levine, scandinavian baking

{Sweet San Francisco}: Chantal Guillon SOMA

Jul 15 by Anita 3 Comments

Although there’s a lot of focus in SF on pastry with modern, funky twists, I’m also very pleased to see there’s also been a quiet resurgence in classic French pastry as well. Case in point: Chantal Guillon, my favorite maker of macarons in San Francisco, who has expanded to three shops in the Bay Area, […]...

Filed Under: Reviews, San Francisco, Sweet Spots, Sweet Spots Tagged With: chantal guillon, macaron, review, san francisco, SOMA, sweet san francisco, sweet spots

{Cookbook Review}: Honey Cashew Morning Buns

Jul 8 by Anita 28 Comments

Joanne Chang is one of my baking heroes for accomplishing what many an aspiring career-changer has dreamed: leaving her job and opening a highly successful bakery, then a restaurant, and then authoring two fantastic cookbooks. (At the very least I’m proud to say I’m a fellow Chronicle Books author with her now!) With her third cookbook, […]...

Filed Under: Breads, Cookbooks, Recipes, Reviews Tagged With: baking with less sugar, cookbook, flour, honey, joanne chang, morning bun, review

{Cookbook Review} Mini Berry Hand Pies and Baking With Kids

May 21 by Anita 14 Comments

Now that Isabelle is almost two and half (what?), she wants to do everything herself. Which is equally in terms endearing and exasperating. What I like even better is when she wants to do what Mommy is doing....

Filed Under: Cookbooks, Recipes, Tarts Tagged With: baking with kids, berry, cookbook, hand pie, kids, review, summer, tart

{Cookbook Review}: Alice Medrich’s Flavor Flours

Jan 15 by Anita 28 Comments

If you read my baking roundup in December, you might have noted that I gushed briefly about Alice Medrich’s newest cookbook but promised a longer followup. Here it is, my review of her latest cookbook, Flavor Flours: A New Way to Bake with Teff, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Other Whole & Ancient Grains, Nuts & Non-Wheat Flours […]...

Filed Under: Cookbooks, Cookies, Recipes, Reviews Tagged With: alice medrich, chocolate chip cookies, cookbook, flavor flour, gluten free, review

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Archives

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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