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San Francisco Chronicle
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F.'s century-old bakeries make my favorite versions of this suddenly popular cake
The United States is discovering princess cake. Just ask Eater, which last week published a piece by Bettina Makalintal titled 'The Princess Cake Gets Its Princess Moment.' This might be a head scratcher for San Franciscans, where legacy bakeries like Schubert's (established 1911) and the Victoria Pastry Company (1914) have been perfecting the domed Swedish cakes, layered with custard, whipped cream and raspberry jam, for generations. I grew up eating and adoring them, my childlike fascination with their smooth technicolor veneer giving way to an adult appreciation of their not-too-sweetness. The best versions are like a trifle, reassembled into a cake format. I had assumed that, like Black Forest cake or pineapple upside down cake, princess cake was ubiquitous — or, if not widely available, at least known. Not so! When I worked at Bon Appétit, our sister website Epicurious ran a series of articles and recipes on cake, and I offered to write an ode to princess cake. Many of my colleagues had never heard of it. Did it have something to do with Disney? I lived in New York, a city of 8 million people and nearly as many bakeries, for 20 years and never spotted a princess cake in the wild. But we are in the midst of the great mainstreaming of princess cake, perhaps thanks to Hannah Ziskin's hot Los Angeles restaurant Quarter Sheets, known as much for its cakes as for its pizza. According to the Eater article, Ziskin grew up eating princess cake from Gelson's Market in L.A., but I have to imagine her years pastry cheffing in the Bay Area (Quince, Bar Tartine, Nopa, among others) solidified her love for the marzipan-coated confection. Her version of the cake, constructed in long logs rather than the traditional domes, is a runaway hit, with over 75% of tables ordering a slice. She filmed a video about it for Bon Appétit last fall. Last month, British cookbook author Nicola Lamb published a streamlined recipe for princess cake, built in a bowl like a bombe, in the New York Times, with its own accompanying video, and she also dropped a paywalled variation substituting mango for raspberry on her Substack, Kitchen Projects. The very next day, Food Network star Molly Yeh posted an even easier hack for the finicky cake, building a sheet cake version in an 8x8-inch pan. I can't vouch for either recipe — although Nicola and Molly are generally quite reliable developers, I find — but I can tell you that the versions at San Francisco's bakeries stand the test of time. (Ambrosia Bakery, a relative newcomer at 37 years old, also sells them.) They may hail from Sweden, but I will always think of princess cakes as a San Francisco treat.
Los Angeles Times
06-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Don't have any eggs? Try this fruit when baking
Following egg news this week has been a roller coaster. Because of persistent high prices, a third of Americans aren't buying eggs, according to one marketing study. And even though avian flu cases might have decreased, any effect (like lower prices) isn't yet reflected at stores or could be wiped out by tariffs. Egg prices hit a 10-year high in February, but President Trump claimed they're coming down, while others say they're about to go even higher. Why are we obsessed with the price of eggs? Eggs hold a special place in our culture: They're associated with America's farming history, high-protein diets and big, hearty breakfasts. Besides also representing new life and rebirth, they have become a political talking point and a barometer of not just the economy but of our nation's health behavior when it comes to the spread of diseases. They're as heuristic a food as you can get: If something is wrong with the state of eggs, then we're toast. When it comes to baked goods, 'the egg is, no doubt, the most versatile and fascinating building block,' writes recipe developer and pastry chef Nicola Lamb in her hit cookbook 'Sift: The Elements of Great Baking.' 'Eggs are unrivaled shapeshifters. Whether in cake, custard or cookies, the egg is like the member of the chorus in a Broadway show, always doing the most, helping the rest of the ingredients be the best they can be.' So I called Lamb in London — her Substack newsletter Kitchen Projects also explores the inner workings of baking and pastry — and I asked her: What if I don't have any eggs? 'Sure, some things aren't possible to make without eggs, but many things often are,' she said. Eggs can play an essential role in the structure, volume, color, hydration and flavor of our bakes. But there are other ways to get the same or similar results. 'Take crème patîssière or pastry cream, where of course eggs are critical, but actually most of the setting is coming from the starch, not the egg,' Lamb said. You could make a pastry cream without eggs and rely on the milk, cream and cornstarch for its texture and body. Cookies? 'It's mainly just moisture replacement. Egg adds a bit of body and moisture. All it's having to do is replace that. 'With any chocolate chip cookie — I'm pretty sure most cookies — you could easily just throw in some banana and it would probably be fine.' (I asked specifically about banana in cookies, because 'Sift' features an eggless brown butter banana cookie recipe. Mine didn't spread as much as hers, but let me know how yours turn out.) Brownies, you need the eggs, she said. 'There's so much fat you need the emulsifier, otherwise it will split' (or curdle). 'Something really fatty — and [with] chocolate — you usually do need an egg.' But you could make lemon curd without egg. 'Lemon juice, caster sugar, up the cornflour, maybe up the butter a bit, I reckon that could make a thickened, yummy, citrus-y thing,' Lamb said. 'It might not have the same texture, but it will be pretty good.' Lamb mentioned British chemist Alfred Bird, who in 1837 formulated a powder for making eggless custard sauce, for his wife, who had an egg allergy. The Bird's brand was so popular it became synonymous with custard. He later invented baking powder, also in the name of love (his wife was allergic to yeast in addition to eggs). Cakes take a tiny bit of tinkering by upping the fat or moisture. For cheesecake, replace egg whites with more cream; it would be 'slightly less airy but really delicious.' Any of the sweet bread doughs, 'get rid of the eggs and replace with milk without any problems. Enriched dough recipes might not be as rich because you're missing a bit of that egg flavor, but replace it with a bit of liquid and your bread wouldn't not come together. Brioche is slightly more challenging because egg is helping fat bind with the dough.' Then, she added, 'God, I really like eggs.' But if you, like me, are currently ovo-challenged or don't want to crack any into a batter, here's a list of recipes for your weekend bakes — no eggs required. Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes to get our restaurant experts' insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they're dining right now. The combination of overripe banana and vegetable oil in this recipe for chocolate chip banana bread, adapted from baker Valerie Gordon, give it its just-right tenderness. Dark chocolate baked into the bread and crunchy peanuts on top make it extra tasty, says former L.A. Times cooking editor Genevieve Ko, but this bread is also great without the recipe. Cook time: 2 hours. Makes 1 (9- by 5-inch) loaf. The bananas that stand in for eggs here both bind the batter and give it body. Use bananas whose peels have gone mostly black for the best flavor, says former L.A. Times cooking columnist Ben Mims. Mims says the amount of sugar gives the cake the best balance of sweetness, but if you want a less sweet cake, use 3/4 cup total; if you want it sweeter, use 1 cup. Working within this small range will not affect the cake texture or chemistry negatively. Get the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes. Serves 8 to 12. This double-strawberry muffin recipe from Go Get Em Tiger coffee shop is fast and easy. Strawberry runs through the super-soft muffins with swirls of jam in the batter and fresh-cut fruit on top. Coconut oil and macadamia milk bring richness to the two-bowl batter, which bakes into muffins that taste delicious whether or not you're the recipe. Cook time: 1 hour. Makes 1 dozen. This cookie recipe from pastry chef and recipe developer Nicola Lamb uses overripe banana — the more gooey, the better — as a stand-in for egg. Inspired by chef Milli Taylor's viral banana bread and featured in Lamb's cookbook 'Sift,' it has rum-soaked raisins, complemented by nutty oats and the flavor of fruity, creamy banana. Get the recipe. Cook time: 45 minutes plus soaking time for the raisins. Makes about 9 large cookies. This vegan version of a rich, delicate, crumbly sable, the classic French cookie named for its tender texture, uses only a handful of ingredients, including coconut oil, almond meal, sugar, flour and cacao nibs. The cacao nibs, besides having great chocolate flavor, add a subtle crunch to the cookie. Get the recipe. Cook time: 45 minutes. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies.
