This week we’re thrilled to have Emily Kastner of the highly enjoyable blog Tar-Tryin’ as our guest author. You can also follow Emily’s journey through James Beard Foundation award-winning bakers Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson’s Tartine cookbook at facebook.com/tartryin and @emmykastner.
If you leave a comment below, you’ll be eligible to win copies of Tartine and Tartine Bread! (Offer valid in the US and Canada only.)
This past September I decided to bake every single thing in the Tartine cookbook. I’ve written about the specifics on my blog as to why it all started, but the abbreviated gist would be: I used to live in San Francisco and loved the bakery. Now, my little family calls Michigan home, and we often are missing so much about that city. While I cannot ride a cable car in my house, I can whip up some Tartine treats. And that’s exactly what I’m doing, and documenting every twist and turn along the way. Today, chocolate friands are on the menu.
While I have baked a great many cakes and cookies in my life, the vast majority (we’re talking a solid 95%) of the recipes in this cookbook are new to me. A ‘friand’ would fall in that category, and it wasn’t until I started reading the recipe that I even knew what a friand was. Thank you, Elisabeth Prueitt, for the French lesson, because I can now share that friand is French for “small mouthful.” It’s a little treat that is so rich and chocolaty that just a few bites make for the perfect serving.
I’m quite the anxious baker. I will say that this is slowly fading, as I am logging hours and hours in my kitchen every week. While the fear isn’t quite as suffocating anymore, I still expect everything to go wrong, and I watch my friends eat what I bake with bated breath. (Probably uncomfortably so, for them.) As it turns out, either all my friends, neighbors and mailman are really good liars, or the food is genuinely amazing. I’m venturing to say it’s amazing, and I feel guilty taking the credit for all the delicious things I’m making.
My husband sincerely tells me “This is my favorite thing you’ve made so far,” after he eats nearly everything I feed him from this cookbook. The rest of the story of these delicious friands is over on my blog today! Come and read all about it!
Purchase: Tartine and Tartine Bread.
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Yum. Looks delicious Emily!
Hooray! Emily is da best!!!!
What a delicious journey! I'd love to do the same, with both Tartine and Tartine Bread! Glad to have found Emily on Pinterest.
OMG … both of the Tartine books are on my wishlist. I actually just set a goal for myself this week to improve my collection of baking tools and accessories because I want to be able to open any cookbook and just start baking anything I choose. And friands seem like perfect little portions. I guess that my first purchase will have to be mini cupcake tins!
These look delicious Emily!
Yum! and with the cookbooks, NO LINE! :)
Love both those books! I'd love a copy…Tartine is on my places to visit next time I get to San Fran :)
Emily, you never cease to amaze me with your delicious experiments!
I'm inspired! I would have added a comment earlier but I had to run to my kitchen and eat some chocolate.
Yum! Those all look so yummy. I wish I lived closer to San Francisco. I would probably go to Tartine on a daily basis.
Still afraid to attempt the bread with my wonky oven but Tar-Tryin' always gives me the extra courage to pull out the wannabe pastry chef side of my personality :)
I love the word friand! Thanks for translating for us. Your blog is a huge inspiration for me in the kitchen! And I just love your sweet little family and pictures!
Anything chocolate! Anything! Inspires me to try more food adventures.
This blog is such a wonderful treat! I love reading about all the beautiful goodies.
You are an inspiration!
Wonderful post & pics, Emily! I've seen your blog before. I LOVE baking and if I wasn't in grad school I'd like to think I would have gone to pastry school. I NEED these books for my collection!
I bought some almond/raspberry friands at the farmer's market last year. A chocolate version would definitely be yummy!
Looks delicious!
I want to try all the recipes, carbs be danged
I love Tartine. Thanks for letting me know about Tar-Tryin’
Yay! I could go for a tasty "small mouthful"!! Nice work Emily!
Wow those look really good. I'd be stoked to win even one of those books. Thanks for the generous offer!
Hey, I know that girl!
Not trying to win the books obviously. Just wanted to thank you for stopping by our blog!
Wow! I wish I had your patience to move through all the recipes! Tartine is such a gem. Hope you were able to recreate their croissants!
Have been wanting to make the Tartine Lemon Meringue Cake.
Everything looks delicious! Best of luck to you. I personally love Tartine's lemon shortbread bars.
I love this idea, and I love Tartine too. Favorite brownie recipe of all.
I love it when the learning curve begins to level out. Thanks for turning me on to a new book and a great new-to-me blog!
The Tartine bread cookbook is not only beautiful but full of good information and recipes.Love it and my husband has become obsessed with bread baking now.
the lemon bars=bomb.
Ever since I tasted the sourdough bread my colleague made from the Tartine cookbook I've been determined to make my own. Can't wait to be elbows deep in flour and sugar!
Thank you for sharing your Tar-trials! Happy Baking!
The croissants were the first recipe I tackled! (And they were delicious!)
Love Tar-tryin’! One of my favorite blogs!
I thought Friand meant small sweet snack ( collation).My mother never was a success in breadmaking and I do not know if she passed the gene to me since I am afraid attempting breadmaking.
Those buns were hard as rocks on my baby teeth. Baking I have it down. I may have inherited the lousy houseplant gene too.
Nice job Emily, I can attest to the deliciousness you have created from the Tartine cookbook, keep up the good work!
Michigan? So sorry…
Have wished for Tartine books! Thanks for the chance!
How fun! My mouth is watering at the moment…
This is an inspiring task that you have decided to take on! I LOVE Tartine and Chronicle Cookbooks are always the BEST!
No need to be sorry! I love Michigan!
I'd love to cook from the Tartine books!
I love Tar-tryin! Would love a copy of one of these cookbooks too! ;)
Tartine's Chocolate Friands look amazing! Really makes me want to check out the book.
Ack. Another blog added to the reader. But so yummy and from a local (well ex-local), How can I not follow your blog Emily! Looking forward to reading past and future adventures!
I love Emily’s blog, as it's very entertaining and fun to read. Another reason might be that I have made several dishes from the Tartine book as well and love them. I would really like to win the Tartine Bread book though.
Emily I love your blog! It actually reminds me to eat at Tartine more often, but maybe I should be baking instead! The photography and all your little inspirations are amazing too.
I am so flattered and excited about all of your lovely compliments. Thank you so much for following along, and I am so happy you're all enjoying the process! Wish I could send you all a slice of this cake I'm making today! (Seriously. We don't need this whole cake around here!)
Both cookbooks are BEAUTIFUL and you totally feel like you're in on the behind the scenes secrets to the bakery. Best of luck to all who entered. I hope I win, because two copies of these books would be amazing. (I'm kidding, of course. About me winning the books, not the cookbooks being amazing.)
The winner of Tartine and Tartine Bread that's been randomly selected is…Athena! Congrats and happy future baking to you!
Thanks for all the wonderful comments to Emily's blog post.
I just visited her blog and holy cannoli it's gorgeous! I love the Tartine posts esp'ly Passion Fruit and Lime Bavarian, Lemon Bars on Brown Butter Shortbread, Zucchini and Orange Marmalade Tea Cake, Almond Breakfast Cake, Almond-Lemon Tea Cake, Shaker Lemon Pie and Brioche (my favorite bread!) Brilliant!
Thanks for introducing me to Tar-Tryin'. I love a copy of the book to follow along with Emily.
They look delicious..Im glad to have found u on fb.. I have been trying to find a good croissant recipe ,since i have done some that i find on the internet but seem to be really dry and bready,and i want the flaky buttery result.. All your pix on ur blog are amazing…!!!