Because I apparently don’t think I bake enough butter-laden, calorie-dense, over-the-top luscious treats in my spare time, I’ve decided to join a baking group.
I’d started to hear a lot about this alleged Pastry Queen, and I was intrigued. Many of my favorite bloggers swear by this famous baker from a small town in Texas. Her name is Rebecca Rather, and she is the proud owner of Rather Sweet Bakery and Café. How did she become known as the Pastry Queen? Well, the story is that she and a bunch of female pastry chefs used to gather for monthly dinners, and were eventually dubbed the Pastry Queens by a reporter for the Austin Chronicle. The rest of the ladies all later dropped out of the business, and Rebecca became the last woman standing – thus leaving her the last Pastry Queen. The name stuck. Love that story.
But, I didn’t know any of this yet when I first saw this post on Crème Brûlée French Toast {which, by the way, I absolutely plan on making}. This post is what introduced me to Project Pastry Queen, a blog set up strictly for working one’s way through the Pastry Queen cookbook. Like I said, I had been hearing things. So I hopped over to Amazon to check out the cookbook.
I was in.
So – I signed up, bought the book, and here I am. Snuggling nightly with my copy of the Pastry Queen cookbook. Seriously. It’s that amazing.
I think what I love most is Rebecca’s approach to baking. She may be the most un-fussy and down to earth baker I’ve ever come across. Her recipes are pretty outrageous – some of them more complicated than others – but the one thing they all have in common is they seem to have been developed with love. But not just any love. Good, old-fashioned, homegrown Texas love.
Everything is bigger in Texas, isn’t it?
Some of the recipes I am compulsively-obsessing over are her Jailhouse Potato-Cinnamon Rolls, Bourbon Pumpkin Tart with Streusel Topping, Apple-Smoked Bacon and Cheddar Scones, Tuxedo Cake, Toffee Bar Brownie Torte, White-on-White Buttermilk Cake with Jack Daniel’s Buttercream… And the list goes on. And on. And on.
Just be prepared. It’s going to get nutty.
All starting tomorrow with the Fredericksburg Peach Cream Cheese Tart. Stay tuned.
Just the names of those recipes are making me drool! I can almost taste the sugary goodness… mmm…. Cant wait to see which ones you make first as part of your blogging group!