The Pastry Queen
Rebecca Rather's Royally Good Recipes from her Rather Sweet Bakery
These two collections of sweet and savoury dishes will spark your culinary urge to be Queen (or King) of your own kitchen
The Pastry Queen - Royally Good Recipes From the Texas Hill Country’s Rather Sweet Bakery & Café (by Rebecca Rather, with Alison Oresman, Ten Speed Press, 2004) is the first of two books by this noted pastry chef.
No-Nonsense Cookbook is Fun to Read
This is a no-nonsense cookbook that is fun to read. It is filled with gorgeous food photography, and recipes that will make you want to run into your kitchen, pull out the mixing bowls and get started making some of this great food.
Early her book, Rather explains that “almost anything can be saved with whipped cream and powdered sugar.” Such a declaration is bound to win new converts to such a baking philosophy.
Some favourite recipes include: Black-and-White Cranberry Tarts (great looking, and tasting); Texas Big Hairs (Lemon-Lime Meringue Tarts) – who would not be charmed by that name? – and Mahogany Cake (with lots of chocolate, making it perfect for any time at all). The Curried Butternut Squash Soup is perfect to take away the winter’s chill.
Sequel to The First Cookbook
The Pastry Queen Christmas - Big-hearted Holiday Entertaining, Texas Style (by Rebecca Rather, with Alison Oresman, Ten Speed Press, 2007) is written in the same easy-going, no-nonsense style as her first book. It, too, is filled with mouthwatering food photography, and recipes that you will want to try as soon as possible.
As in The Pastry Queen - Royally Good Recipes From the Texas Hill Country’s Rather Sweet Bakery & Café, Rather gives you tips to help ensure that your culinary efforts turn out well.
For one of my favourite recipes, the ‘Sweet Potato Scones’, she suggests that you should eat them warm, on the day you make them. That’s definitely not a hardship.
Another thing that is not a hardship is eating the ‘Red Velvet Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream Cheese Icing’. Rather writes that “although legend has it that the red velvet cake originated in the early 1900s at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, it’s been a Southern favorite for as long as I can remember.” Regardless of where it originated, these cupcakes are delicious.
And when you’re tired of red or white wine, try ‘Larry Doll’s Famous Cranberry Margaritas’. They will add a different twist to any party. Be warned, though, these Margaritas pack a powerful punch. Cheers!
