Dear Elizabeth Prueitt:
You don’t know me, but I’ve stood in line and enjoyed your pastries at your bakery, Tartine, on 18th & Guerrero enough times to be eager to buy your cookbook. Now I teach high school students in San Francisco. I told them about your delicious desserts and showed them this book. Both of my classes wanted to make your lemon meringue cake and here is what we found out:
- Chiffon cake is really fun to make, particularly beating the egg whites separately with a little sugar so that they “poof up into a cloud.” More than one student wanted to dive into that bowl, it looked so much like a cozy blanket.
- That caramel layer? Man, I don’t know what we did, our caramel ended up hard and chewy – and yummy. We warmed it in a double boiler the next day to soften it, and even though we weren’t completely in on the idea of caramel and lemon, that caramel layer? IT MADE THE CAKE.
- I’ve never seen so many students smile here as we blow-torched the outer meringue.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for your contributions to the world of desserts and for making your recipes accessible. I know a few students of mine will now be looking for your shop and will tell their friends when they see your lemon meringue cake, “I made that,” and their voices will be full of pride.
All My Best,
Chef Cravens
