Photo: Emma Fishman
Claire Saffitzis happy to adapt — both her recipes and her career.
“I think for a very long time, I treated baking as an exercise for myself. But now that I’m writing books, I realize that it’s such an incredible tool for community,” Saffitz tells PEOPLE. “To be able to experience a kind of community of ‘dessert people,’ I didn’t see it coming, but it was so great and it made the tour so fun. I would say to people, ‘I would do what I do no matter what, but hearing [from you] makes me want to do it even more.'”
Saffitz has amassed a huge following from her five years atBon Appétit. After leaving in 2020 she started independently sharing videos of herself making various recipes onYouTube. More recently, she began offering exclusive recipes onPatreon, where she shares sweet recipes but also savory ones.
“I do want people to remember that I started my career as a savory cook,” says Saffitz, who studied French cuisine at École Grégoire Ferrandi in Paris. “Patreon is just a nice, intimate, interactive space for me.”
“Other than that, I’m kind of like, ‘I’m going to wait and see,'” she says of the future. “I love teaching. I mean, the reason I do YouTube is because it’s a wonderful format for teaching, and that’s what I’m really passionate about. So anything that allows me to teach other home bakers and share my experience, that that’s really what I’m looking forward to doing.”
Saffitz had novice home bakers in mind when writingWhat’s for Dessert. None of the recipes require a stand-mixer — and she included some sweets that don’t even require an oven.
“The feedback that I got from people, not surprisingly, was like, ‘I really like the simple recipes inDessert Person, but I wish there were more of them,” she says.
Her own experience during the pandemic played a part in shapingWhat’s for Dessert, too.
“When I was promotingDessert Person, everything was still pretty locked down and there were no in-person events so I was doing a lot of demos from the book from my home, and I was having to prepare all the recipes and make swaps. And I was like, ‘Gosh, these more complicated recipes, I don’t really feel like doing this.’ So if I didn’t feel like doing it, I knew no one else was going to feel like doing it,” Saffitz adds.
Gone are her “Gourmet Makes” days of developing intricate recipes for the recreation of snacks like Starbursts or Totino’s Pizza Rolls. Saffitz says that simple recipes do the trick, like the espresso hot chocolate recipe from her latest cookbook (below), which is perfect for Valentine’s Day.
“I think the height of romance is having something chocolaty—and serving it warm makes it feel extra special,” she says. “If you’re not into espresso, swap it with ground cinnamon or a little peppermint extract.”
Antonis Achilleos
Claire Saffitz’s Espresso Hot Chocolate
3 cups whole milk
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate baking squares, chopped
⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk (from 1 [14-oz.] can)
¼ cup water
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. instant espresso granules
Marshmallows, for serving
1.Whisk together milk, chocolate, condensed milk, water and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low, heat, and cook, whisking often, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and steaming, 5 to 8 minutes. (For a frothy consistency, whisk mixture vigorously as it warms.) Do not let it boil.
2.Remove saucepan from heat, and whisk in vanilla and espresso granules until combined. Divide hot chocolate among 4 mugs. Top with marshmallows, if desired. Serve immediately.
Serves:4Active time:10 minutesTotal time:10 minutes
source: people.com
