Pastry blog: techniques, breakdowns, common mistakes

A cut mousse entremet on marble: pale mousse with a crisp edge, a thin biscuit base and a red fruit insert

06 Oct 2026

Why Mousse Will Not Hold Its Shape: Gelatine, Cream, Temperature

A mousse holds its shape through two independent systems: the gelatine network and the aerated...

Three discs of raw pastry with different textures seen from above on terracotta tile, beside a rolling pin and flour

02 Oct 2026

Sablée, Sucrée, Brisée: How the Three Shortcrusts Differ

In English all three tend to get called shortcrust, and that is why they are...

Dark bonbons on grey-green stone, the front one covered in a fine crystalline film

29 Sep 2026

Fat Bloom and Sugar Bloom: How to Tell Them Apart and What to Do

A pale film on chocolate is neither mould nor a sign that it has gone...

Hands stretching a piece of brioche dough into a translucent windowpane above a wooden table with cubes of butter

25 Sep 2026

Brioche: How to Add Butter Without the Dough Breaking Down

Brioche carries 30 to 60 % butter to flour weight, and all of it has...

A baking tray seen from above: the left rows hold their shape while the right rows have spread and merged into one sheet

22 Sep 2026

Why Cookies Spread Into One Flat Sheet: Five Reasons

Spreading is a race between two processes. The dough melts and flows until the proteins...

Macro of a burgundy mirror glaze surface with a bright highlight and a cluster of trapped bubbles near the lower edge

18 Sep 2026

Mirror Glaze: Bubbles, Runs and No Reflection

The shine of a mirror glaze is optics, not a recipe. Reflection happens when the...

A bakery tray of baked escargot pastries, one sitting in a pool of leaked butter

15 Sep 2026

Laminated Enriched Dough: Why Butter Leaks and Layers Fuse

A pool of melted butter around the pastry is the most visible fault in laminated...

$Two shards of dark chocolate standing on dark ceramic, one dull and streaked, the other glossy with a clean fracture$

11 Sep 2026

Why Chocolate Will Not Temper: Seven Reasons and How to Save It

The thermometer reads the right 31 °C, the method was followed, and ten minutes later...

Three baked tart shells seen from above on a wooden board, one with a slumped wall and one cracked across the base

08 Sep 2026

Why Tart Shells Shrink and Crack in the Oven

A slumped wall and a cracked base are two different faults with two different causes,...

A twisted poppy seed babka in a parchment-lined tin, cut faces turned outward with the layers of dough and filling exposed

04 Sep 2026

Babka: Why the Twist Comes Apart and the Pattern Disappears

A babka's pattern rests on one move: the rolled and filled log is cut lengthwise...

A ribbon of tempered dark chocolate pouring from a ladle onto a steel bench and spreading into a mirror-bright pool

01 Sep 2026

Tempering Chocolate: Three Working Methods and a Temperature Chart

Tempering is controlled crystallisation of cocoa butter. There is one goal: to make the fat...

A beginner pastry chef's work table: scales, a thermometer, bowls of ingredients and an open notebook

08 Aug 2026

Pastry Recipes for Beginners: Why They Do Not Work

A familiar story: the recipe was followed step by step, the ingredients were the same,...

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