Tutorials

In the tutorial section of IronWhisk, I share step by step, photographed recipes. These posts are significantly longer than usual since I provide more thorough explanations. Tutorials are also a good way for me to share the process behind my recipe optimization efforts/experiments. I hope these help you in your baking endeavours.

Canelés (Cannelés) de Bordeaux

A detailed recipe/tutorial for France’s most complicated pastry: traditional canelés (cannelés) with dark rum and Tahitian vanilla.

Chiffon Cake

This tutorial covers chiffon cake ingredients and techniques so that yours will always turn out well. Includes solutions to common chiffon cake problems.

Doctor Who TARDIS Cake

A step by step photo tutorial on how to make a Doctor Who TARDIS time machine themed cake, a unique gift for your favourite Whovian!

Éclairs & Choux Paste

A 4000+ word tutorial that covers every little detail of making an excellent éclair, from start to drool-worthy finish. Contains a well-tested recipe for choux paste that can also be used for other applications.

French Croissants

Fold by fold, this tutorial covers how to make the ideal French croissant. Extra instructions included for filling the croissants.

French Macarons

These delicate French cookies are made with meringue and sandwiched together with buttercream, ganache, or jam. While delicious, they are very temperamental. Learn how to get it right the first time with this tutorial. (NB 2017/09/04: I recommend following the more recent tutorial Macaron Mania: The Recipes of the World’s Top Pastry Chefs instead.)

Macaron Mania: The Recipes of the World’s Top Pastry Chefs (NEW!)

The formerly secret recipes of the world’s top pastry chefs were compared side-by-side in an effort to find the best French macaron ever. These are the results.

Gingerbread Cookies

A step by step photo tutorial for the perfect gingerbread cookie with suggestions for both spicy and mild versions.

Lattice Pie Crust

Here, I share the technique behind baking a beautiful lattice pie crust. Elevate your homemade pies.

Opening a Coconut

Even if you don’t cook with coconut often, you should learn how to open one anyway. Traditionally, they’re opened with machetes. This tutorial assumes you don’t have one.

Marshmallow Fondant

Fondant is great for decorating cookies, cupcakes, and especially cakes. It provides a shiny or matte surface on baked goods that give them a professional appearance. Unfortunately, fondant often tastes terrible and can be expensive to buy. This tutorial offers a tasty alternative made from marshmallows.

Shortcrust Pastry & Pie Dough

An in-depth tutorial on how to make the best shortcrust pastry dough for pies, tarts, quiches, turnovers, and more.

Pre-sliced Bananas

Imagine peeling open a banana to find that it is already sliced inside…

Pulled Sugar Roses

Pulled sugar is often used to decorate cakes, as well as for centerpieces. This tutorial explains how to make pulled sugar at home and then shape it into a rose.

Tempering Chocolate

Chocolate needs to have a snap when it’s bit into or else it’s just not the same. Learn how to temper chocolate to give it a shine and a snap, just like a professional chocolatier, in this easy tutorial.