Curated Cuisine: Holiday baking with Dorie Greenspan and Joanne Chang

Curated Cuisine is a monthly series examining all things edible, from the chefs cooking the food to the writers reviewing the recipes. Meet the people shaping the food industry, both local and national and enjoy a post-show bite inspired by the conversation.

It is that time of year when we are planning our holiday meals and baked goods take center stage. Join two of the most renowned bakers – James Beard Award-winning author Dorie Greenspan and James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef Joanne Chang – who will share their favorite recipes, best tips and why they love to bake. WBUR senior correspondent and host Deborah Becker moderates.

Copies of Greenspan’s newest cookbook, “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes,” and Chang's cookbook "Pastry Love: A Baker's Journal of Favorite Recipes" will be available for purchase from our bookstore partner Brookline Booksmith and both will sign following the conversation. Guests will also enjoy baked goods from both chefs. This event is co-produced by Boston University Metropolitan College Programs in Food & Wine.

About “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes”

Over the years, Dorie has created thousands of excellent recipes. And out of all of them, the ones she always comes back to are the simplest cakes. Some may have a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of icing, but most of them are straight-from-the-oven cakes that are great as-is. They’re cakes that you probably already have all the ingredients for in your pantry. They’re the kinds of cakes you can whip up, put out and know that anyone with a hankering can come by and cut a sliver or a hunk. Any time.

With evocative writing, expert advice, and gorgeous illustrations by Nancy Pappas, "Dorie’s Anytime Cakes" celebrates the simple—but still exciting and special—with more than 100 recipes for easy-to-make, easy-to-love cakes. There are recipes for all kinds of cakes, including loaves and rounds, muffins, crumbles, and Bundts—even savory cakes—plus frostings, fillings, and other flourishes:

• BFF Brownie Cake
• Morning, Noon, and Night Thanksgiving Cake
• Cafuné Corn Cake
• Simplest, Plainest, Most Old-Fashion — Also Best Tasting — Marble Cake
• Buttermilk Plum Cake
• Faux-caccia Squares
• Miso-Cheddar Scone Cake
• Feta, Sumac, and Za’atar Loaf
• The Devil’s Chocolate Cake

You’ll also find “Playing Around” suggestions throughout — Dorie’s inspirations for making each recipe to your own taste and right for all occasions. Flavor your sugar with citrus or tea for a special touch, spice your cake up with hot honey, or transform your plain cake into an impressive, layered party cake. Just like Dorie, you’ll return to baking these favorite cakes again and again.

About "Pastry Love"

James Beard award–winning baker Joanne Chang is best known around the country for her eight acclaimed Flour bakeries in Boston. Chang has published two books based on the offerings at Flour, such as her famous sticky buns, but "Pastry Love" is her most personal and comprehensive book yet. It includes 125 dessert recipes for many things she could never serve in the setting of a bakery — for example, items that are best served warm or with whipped cream on top. Nothing makes Chang happier than baking and sharing treats with others, and that passion comes through in every recipe, such as Strawberry Slab Pie, Mocha Chip Cookies and Malted Chocolate Cake. The recipes start off easy such as Lemon Sugar Cookies and build up to showstoppers like Passion Fruit Crepe Cake. The book also includes master lessons and essential techniques for making pastry cream, lemon curd, puff pastry and more, all of which make this book a must-have for beginners and expert home bakers alike.

Ways To Save

WBUR’s Legacy Circle, Murrow Society, Sustainers and Members save $5.00 on tickets to this event. To apply the discount to your ticket purchase online, you’ll need to enter a promo code. You can get your code by emailing membership@wbur.org.

Registrants may be contacted by CitySpace about this or future events.