Posted by Robyn Lee, April 24, 2008 at 6:15 PM
From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee
Having only been exposed to the skinny, sugar-coated, star-shaped variety of churros, I was surprised when I came across the completely different looking Chilean version at a bakery in Temuco. A churro in Chile is like an elongated hot dog bun-shaped doughnut sandwich filled with a layer of golden dulce de leche. The dough of this churro was a bit on the heavy side, but I can't say no to sweet bread slathered in sweet, creamy goodness. Not until I get diabetes, at least.
Posted by Erin Zimmer, August 24, 2007 at 12:15 PM
And it has streusel crumbles on top? Hm, Zabar's doesn't have that one in stock now—or ever. But D.C.–based online bakery ShoeBox Oven does. Since pickin's are slim in the District, babka-wise, ShoeBox wants to become the missing Babka Buff. Sure, the Jewish delis out in the Maryland suburbs sell a good standard loaf, but within city limits, selection is limited to Dean and Deluca's one location.
Krishna Brown—the aproned, and more oftentimes overalled, lady behind ShoeBox—has been experimenting with recipes lately. At first, people told her babka and danish doughs were interchangeable. But Brown flat-out disagrees. "That's like comparing cat and man," she says. "They may have the same blood, brain and skin, but are completely individual creations."
Brown has a butter totem pole all sketched out, and babka dough sits at the bottom, underneath danish, croissant, and cream puff doughs (all way more buttery). After some fiddling, she's settled on a recipe she likes. Maggie Glazer's Lithuanian Yeasted Coffee Cake" recipe from the Blessing of Bread Jewish cookbook, but the coffee cake nomenclature is a bit of a turn-off for Brown.
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Posted by Lia Bulaong, March 14, 2007 at 6:55 PM
Kelly DiNardo in the Washington Post today, on the troubles of selling cupcakes online: "There are challenges besides shipping logistics and growing a business too quickly. Getting customers to make the leap of faith about buying an item they haven't seen or smelled might be the biggest hurdle for an online bakery. In fact, Forrester Research found that the main reason people don't like to shop for food online is that they like to see or touch food items before they buy them (the report didn't mention taste)."
Except for having groceries delivered by FreshDirect, which delivers my purchases to my front door in their own truck instead of through the mail, I don't really buy food online without personal recommendations because I like to know what I'll be getting—I have Photoshop so I know photos can lie, and I've read enough press releases and website testimonials to not trust they won't be hyperbole. The only pastry I can imagine ordering online without having tried it first is a King Cake, since they're specific to both New Orleans and the Mardi Gras season, but good cupcakes, cookies and cakes seem easy enough to find in person. Have you ever bought baked goods online? Would you ever?
