After eating my way through the cupcake craze, I'm ready to put my muffin tins away and dust off the cake pans that have been sitting at the back of my cupboards. Don't get me wrong: I love a tiny handheld treat. But there's something very satisfying slicing into — and serving — a full-sized cake. This time of year, I want something that goes well with a cup of tea or a scoop of fresh Read more

If you're not a fan of pumpkin desserts but want to stun guests with a seasonal finish, make this buttermilk spice cake with walnut cream cheese frosting. It's layers of moist-fluffy cake with smooth-rich frosting and a nice crunch from the toasted walnuts. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice is found in classic pumpkin pie, and here it's used in the buttermilk-based cake batter. Read more

A long time ago, I was watching Martha Stewart, and she mentioned that her favorite ice cream was buttermilk flavored. For some reason, I've always remembered this, and when I purchased an ice cream maker, I was determined to make it. However, I got distracted by more glamorous flavors, strawberry, mint chip, vanilla bean, and only recently remembered my desire to try Martha's buttermilk ice Read more

As much as I love sticky, sweet barbecued chicken, there're only so many times you can eat it during the Summer. That's why I recently looked for an alternative to barbecue sauce and decided to give this buttermilk-marinated grilled chicken a chance. The buttermilk, which is seasoned with lots of garlic cloves and fresh rosemary sprigs, tenderizes the chicken. The key to making this chicken Read more

At his sous vide seminar in Aspen, Momofuku chef David Chang urged us not to fear the buttermilk. "Buttermilk is just cultured milk!" he exclaimed — at which point I realized that I knew very little about the stuff. Although they are both rich, creamy dairy items, the term buttermilk refers to two different products. There's old-fashioned buttermilk, which is the thin liquid left over after Read more

When planning a meal for a particular person — say, your mom for Mother's Day — be sure to make food that she loves. My mom spent some time living in New Orleans, and over a recent brunch, she devoured a plate of melt-in-your-mouth beignets. Thus this weekend, for the dessert to a special brunch in her honor, I'm going to whip up some buttermilk beignets. The dough can be made up to eight Read more