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Anna Markow

Anna Markow

Pastry Chef

Pastry chef, adventurous eater, maker of classic cocktails, consumer of whiskeys.

Pastry chef hailing from Maine. Married and working in Brooklyn. Took a little break behind a bar and recently back in action! Writing about original recipes and the kitchen counter-culture. Been creating crazy edibles since 2008 at VerySmallAnna.

  • Website
  • Location: Brooklyn
  • Favorite foods: Seaweed salad, crispy salmon skin, quince, dates, curried goat, soba, whisky, wild blueberries, pomegranate, scallops, molasses, duck, kumquats
  • Last bite on earth: Duck. Delicious ducky duck. And a big chewy spicy molasses cookie.

Ramp Week: Ramp Drop Biscuits

Ramp Week: Ramp Drop Biscuits Get Recipe

Biscuits are so neutral on their own that they make an awesome vehicle for the sweet, mild flavor of ramps. If your ramps are younger, earlier, skinnier little guys, you can thinly slice the bulb and add it right in. If not, use only the leaves (unless you want to caramelize the bulbs in a little butter first). More

From The Pastry Dungeon: Rhubarb and Lime Pavlovas

From The Pastry Dungeon: Rhubarb and Lime Pavlovas Get Recipe

Pavlovas are a traditional Australian/New Zealand dessert. A shell of crisp, airy meringue encases a pillowy marshmallow center. They are classically served with sour passion fruit or kiwi to offset the sweetness of the meringue. Here, pretty pink rhubarb with tart, buttery lime curd makes an excellent substitution and a colorful spring dessert. More

From The Pastry Dungeon: Banana Oatmeal Bread

From The Pastry Dungeon: Banana Oatmeal Bread Get Recipe

One of the downsides to being a pastry chef is fighting for oven space, especially when that surprise brunch service comes around. One way I deal with it is doing this make-ahead banana oatmeal bread. Like many baked goods, it actually benefits from a chilling period (freezing included), though you may not be able to resist this fluffy-yet-hearty quickbread straight from the oven. More

From The Pastry Dungeon: Black Olive Biscotti

From The Pastry Dungeon: Black Olive Biscotti Get Recipe

I'm going to be honest with you. Straight up blunt, no-holds-barred, the-truth-hurts honest. We, the pastry chefs of the world, think you're boring. Well, most of us do. Those of us who do this because of our uninhibited creativity and our interest in pushing the boundaries of what you can eat for dessert hate nothing more than to be stuck endlessly making the same tired, outdated desserts. Yes, I'm talking to you, girl who always orders the molten chocolate cake, and dude who can't resist apple pie à la mode, and friends who ooh and ah over every soufflé with chocolate sauce. More

Scooped: Ginger Green Tea Ice Cream

The color is gorgeous! Serious matcha green. That should be a Crayola color. Also yay ginger!

Behind the Scenes: Making Sprinkles From Scratch at Crave Fishbar, NYC

Yup. I used Bravetart's sprinkles recipes to make chocolate and mint sprinkles for my mint chocolate chip panna cotta "sundae" on my menu last spring.

Bake the Book: Tobacco Cookies

These sound awesome! I love the idea of tobacco in desserts. I'd add a little tonka bean for that pipe tobacco flavor ;)

From The Pastry Dungeon: Buttermilk Poppyseed Custard Cake with Roasted Strawberries

Another difference I see between this cake and most buttermilk pies is the inclusion of sugar sprinkled on top for a kind of creme brulee effect.

Buttermilk Poppyseed Custard Cake with Roasted Strawberries

Whoops! 3/4 cup goes in with the yolks and 1 tablespoon goes in with the whites.

From The Pastry Dungeon: Buttermilk Poppyseed Custard Cake with Roasted Strawberries

I haven't made or had buttermilk pie, but I consider this a little simpler despite the egg whipping, since it doesn't involve a crust.

gochujang sauce uses

Husband's signature collard greens have lots of bacon and some gochujang. Sooooo good.

What's your favorite green tea?

Gunpowder. Also a fan of genmaicha, especially if it also has popcorn in it.

Homemade Pop Tarts

I haven't tried them with savory fillings. I would suggest using things with as little moisture as possible.

Sugar Rush: Strawberry Jalapeño Profiteroles from Mulberry, Austin

Awesome.

So You Want to Make Ice Cream for 100 People?

@film_score I guess I was thinking of their "gelato" which is skim milk-based and stabilized with pectin. I think if you were too get too creative with flavors, people would get picky about them. Salted caramel would be a e great idea, but some people are too picky for even that. It's possible to make wow-inducing vanilla ice cream, for instance mine uses twice as many vanilla beans as most other recipes, which are then blended right into the base after infusion. People will remember if a wedding had a great dessert, even if it was in a standard flavor. I went to a wedding once where no one , could believe the cake was actually delicious - standard red velvet but made by someone who knew what she was doing.

Video: This Cat Loves Ice Cream

Huh, the allium thing explains why the same cat has a mortal hatred of them. She's freaky smart. She once beat the crap out of a bunch of scallions, and has jumped on the cutting board to assault onions before. Her name is Slappy.

So You Want to Make Ice Cream for 100 People?

But Haagen Dazs is stabilized crap! No, really. Homemade vanilla is in no way boring. And strawberry sorbet, made with perfectly ripe berries, is in no way similar to storebought.

This article gave me flashbacks to an event in pastry school where entrants had to make blended non-alcoholic drinks. I made gingersnap milkshakes. I spent every afternoon for almost a week making ginger ice cream at home with my one little freezer bowl. I transported it on the train during rush hour in a large bucket I'd gotten from school, wrapped in ice packs. I did not win. But the milkshakes were awesome anyway.

Video: This Cat Loves Ice Cream

I came home from work one day to one of my cats in a depressive state because we'd given her kittens away the day before. I gave her some ice cream. Kitty cheered up!

Pie of the Week: Black Bottom Chai Cream Pie

I used to be a hardcore tea drinker but I enjoy both coffee and tea now. I would recommend looseleaf companies like Adagio with several different blends of chai for someone wanting to get into tea. This pie looks delicious, btw!

Snapshots from Hong Kong: Dim Sum at Tim Ho Wan, aka the World's Cheapest Michelin-starred Restaurant

Well now I want to go to Hong Kong.

Sugar Rush: Jasmine Buttermilk Tart at Revel, Seattle

This is almost eerily similar to my next post! Minus the jasmine (but jasmine has been on my brain)

Scooped: Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches

Hm. Maybe I should do an ice cream cake version of my peanut butter banana cake?

Ramp Week: How To Make Bacon and Ramp Dumplings

WELP now I know what we're doing with the rest of those ramps. Husband had already mentioned ramp dumplings. I foresee a weekend of dumpling sweatshop.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Thanks @Littauer! Those pop tarts really are good. The crust is so flaky it looks like puff pastry. They take well to any filling you use. I've combined things like papaya jam with cream cheese and banana jam with peanut butter. I don't know about using fresh fruit since the natural moisture in fruit is mostly cooked out in the jam-making process.

Stories of Food Magic

Things like cakes require very precise measurements, though if you know anything about baking you'll be able to play around with ingredients to attain different results. Scones and biscuits and even things like pie dough can be a lot more fluid, and it's very much about feel as mentioned above. I throw together unleavened things like granola and streusel toppings a lot without measuring anything.

Baking Guides: How to Select, Freeze, and Bake with Strawberries

Frozen strawberries were my favorite summer breakfast when I was a kid :3

Ramp Week: How To Make The Rampiest Risotto

Aaaaaaarg. Ok. Heading into the kitchen. Is it too early for a strawberry shortcake? Leftover buttermilk and cornmeal want to be friends.

Ramp Week: How To Make The Rampiest Risotto

I'm going to close this and not let my husband see it. He's a ramp fanatic. I actually now have to go make some ramp biscuits (his recipe be since I'm the pastry-oriented one in this marriage, I have to do all the baking...and most of the prep work). I might post them.

First Look: Strawberry, Mushroom, and Lavender Spring Desserts at Perbacco, San Francisco

These desserts are all absolutely genius. LOVE the ideas. Stop tempting me, west coast!

Tobacco Cookies

Tobacco Cookies

Cigar aficionados, take note: this recipe makes serious use of your favorite indulgence. Smoke & Pickles flavors soft sugar cookie dough with chopped leaves, and the topping is a boiled down mix of molasses, coconut, and tobacco water. More

Preserved: Rum Raisin Apple Pie Jam

Preserved: Rum Raisin Apple Pie Jam Get Recipe

Until pie replaces pancakes, I'll have to make do with this jam. Filled with tart Granny Smith apples, juicy raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a healthy shot of dark rum, it tastes exactly like my favorite holiday apple pie. It's insanely good on cornbread and pretty darn delicious on plain old toast, too. More

Scooped: Black Cardamom and Black Pepper Ice Cream

Scooped: Black Cardamom and Black Pepper Ice Cream

A friend who tasted an earlier batch of this ice cream compared its flavor (very happily) to cigarettes. Needless to say, the recipe has been adjusted. Post adjustments, it's sweet and smoky with a slight black pepper kick, and deep spice aroma—but if you're looking to make cigarette-flavored ice cream, simply double the amount of black cardamom. Delish. More

Bread Baking: Sourdough Waffles

Bread Baking: Sourdough Waffles

The beauty of using starter for waffles is that the starter doesn't have to be completely active to still make a nice waffle. It's used for flavor more than anything else, so a sleepy starter from the fridge or a fiercely bubbling starter on the counter, or a new starter that's not quite ready—they're all just as good. More

Dinner Tonight: Sichuan-Style Chicken Noodle Soup

Dinner Tonight: Sichuan-Style Chicken Noodle Soup

This is the kind of chicken noodle soup I can get into. It's warming and comforting, with hunks of chicken meat and slinky noodles suspended in a rich stock. But this isn't some bland rendition. No, this soup is imbued with the haunting aroma of star anise and cinnamon, and tickled by the numbing sensation of Sichuan pepper. A sprinkling of chopped chile completes this assertive bowl of soup, which comes together surprisingly fast. More