fidzu : blog

Chris Huber, developer at Automattic, released Block Format Bridge, an open-source plugin that addresses one of the more persistent friction points in AI-assisted WordPress workflows: getting AI-generated content into the block editor reliably.

The plugin takes a pragmatic approach. Block markup is notoriously difficult for AI to produce correctly - not because AI models lack capability, but because of how the format works. As Dennis Snell explained back in 2017 in his still-essential post Gutenberg posts aren't HTML, a Gutenberg post is a serialized tree structure that happens to be stored as HTML with JSON-carrying comment delimiters. It was never designed to be written by hand - or by an AI inferring its way through a save() function it can't actually execute. The result, for anyone building publishing automations, REST API integrations, or agent workflows that call wp_insert_post(), is a familiar failure mode: content that saves fine, then opens in the editor with invalid blocks or silently falls back to the classic editor.

Even a block as common as a styled quote illustrates the problem:

The generated HTML should be treated as throwaway code.

Dennis Snell

<!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-large"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large">
    <p>The generated HTML should be treated as throwaway code.</p>
    <cite>Dennis Snell</cite>
</blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote -->

<!-- wp:quote {"className":"is-style-large"} -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large">
    <p>The generated HTML should be treated as throwaway code.</p>
    <cite>Dennis Snell</cite>
</blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote -->

The className attribute in the comment has to match the class on the HTML element. The cite tag must follow the exact structure the block's save() function produces. Get either wrong and the block is invalid - and with more complex blocks like wp:cover or wp:columns, the surface area for errors grows considerably.

HTML to Blocks converter and vice versa

Block Format Bridge sidesteps the problem by letting AI output what it does well - Markdown or plain HTML - and handling the conversion to block markup server-side, using established PHP libraries. It builds on chubes4/html-to-blocks-converter for the write side, WordPress core's do_blocks() for rendering, and league/commonmark and league/html-to-markdown for Markdown support.

The core API is compact and readable:

/ Markdown → blocks
$blocks = bfb_convert( "# Hello\n\nSome content here.", 'markdown', 'blocks' );

/ HTML → blocks
$blocks = bfb_convert( '<h1>Hello</h1><p>Some content here.</p>', 'html', 'blocks' );

/ Blocks → Markdown (for reading back to AI)
$md = bfb_render_post( $post_id, 'markdown' );

/ Markdown → blocks
$blocks = bfb_convert( "# Hello\n\nSome content here.", 'markdown', 'blocks' );

/ HTML → blocks
$blocks = bfb_convert( '<h1>Hello</h1><p>Some content here.</p>', 'html', 'blocks' );

/ Blocks → Markdown (for reading back to AI)
$md = bfb_render_post( $post_id, 'markdown' );

It also adds a ?content_format= query parameter to the REST API, so AI agents can fetch existing post content as Markdown - not raw block markup - which makes edit workflows considerably more reliable.

The architecture is extensible. New formats can be added by registering a new adapter without touching the core bridge, and the bfb_default_format filter lets you declare that a custom post type writes in Markdown by default, so any code path calling wp_insert_post() gets the same conversion behavior automatically.

Does This Need a Skill?

After sharing an early draft of this post with Chris Huber, he offered a perspective worth sitting with: this plugin is designed to eliminate a skill rather than add one.

When Block Format Bridge is bundled as a dependency and the system prompt simply instructs the agent to insert post content as Markdown, the AI doesn't need to know the plugin exists at all. A single line - "post content should be inserted as Markdown" - is enough. The conversion happens automatically, invisibly, in PHP. The complexity disappears into infrastructure rather than into instructions.

That's a different philosophy from agent-skills, which is about making AI aware of patterns and tools. The more elegant approach here is the opposite: good tooling that makes the AI less aware, not more. An end user of a plugin built on top of Block Format Bridge would never know it exists - they'd just see valid blocks in the editor.

A skill may still have a role for developers who don't control the system prompt and need to guide agent behavior through other means. But for anyone building AI-powered WordPress plugins or automations, the cleaner pattern is to bundle the plugin, set the default format, and let the infrastructure do its job.

A draft skill is available below for those who do want to experiment with the agent-skills approach.

A draft skill can be downloaded to use the Block Format Bridge .

All is still a work in progress so there might be dragons

As a small footnote, this post was drafted with AI assistance and had to be converted to blocks before I could edit it. -which felt fitting given the subject

02 May 2026 7:23pm GMT

Et si le biohacking était plus simple qu'on vous le fait croire ? Bases, pièges et vrais leviers pour optimiser sans tomber dans l'excès.

L'article Le biohacking peut-il vraiment transformer votre corps ? est apparu en premier sur 20SIX.fr.

02 May 2026 2:06pm GMT

Hi there,

May is an action-packed month for the WordPress community, packed with tons of local WordCamps and Campus Connect events. After so long without seeing each other, it's awesome to get together in person - sharing ideas, storytelling, and just making real connections. In this digital age, those genuine face-to-face moments remind us how much it really matters to show up in person.

Enjoy the people around you, friends and family. Speaking of which my next two weeks are all about that. We are on the road to a family reunion and the following weeks we get a visit from our long -time Canadian friends. I also will take another break on the weekend edition, though. Number 366 is scheduled to come out on May 23, 2026, the 77th Anniversary of the German Constitution.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Yours,
Birgit

Developing Gutenberg and WordPress

Amy Kamala, co-release coordinator for WordPress 7.0, published an Urgent: Testing request to Web hosts for collaborative editing by May 4th. The results will inform core architectural decisions before release. The test suite needs only bash, cURL, WP-CLI, and patch - and the Core team wants data from your actual customer environments, not clean installs. Results are aggregated and kept anonymous.

The latest episode is Gutenberg Changelog #130 - WordPress 7.0, Gutenberg 22.9 and 23.0, WordCamp Europe, Block Themes and More with Tammie Lister, Chief Product Officer at Convesio

Hamza Kwehangana, co-organizer of WordCamp Vienna, walks you through everything new in WordPress 7.0, the release that kicks off Phase 3: Collaboration. You'll see real-time multi-user editing in action, native AI Connectors for plugging in providers like OpenAI or Anthropic, a refreshed admin with Data Views, and a new Notes and Comments system for editorial teams. Block-level additions include heading variations, fit text, responsive editing mode, a native Icons block, and Visual Revisions.

Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners

The WooCommerce team is actively exploring a DataViews-powered Product Catalog Management experience that could improve how merchants handle large product sets. Led by Luigi Teschio, you can already test a working prototype via WordPress Playground. The shared blueprint installs WooCommerce nightly, Gutenberg, and sample products in one click. Smoother filtering, price filtering, inline variation handling, and improved bulk edit workflows are all on the table.

WPMet, plugin developers of GutenKit, introduced TableKit, a native Gutenberg table builder aimed at replacing the block editor's limited default table with a more sophisticated approach. You get four table types - standard tables, WooCommerce product tables with live stock and direct add-to-cart, data tables that import from CSV, Google Sheets, or JSON with auto-sync, and WordPress post tables. Standout features include conditional formatting, freeze columns, column sorting, search and filtering, and export to PDF, CSV, or Excel, all without shortcodes or leaving your editor.

Mike McAlister has been busy shipping for Ollie Pro. He posted a demo on X showing new responsive controls in the block editor - device-specific settings for typography, padding, margin, spacing, and text alignment at specific breakpoints, no custom CSS or extra plugins required. Alongside that, he introduced a completely redesigned Ollie Pattern Library with a unified design language across hundreds of patterns, a faster Browse tab with live search and one-click actions, and a brand-new Discover tab powered by Ollie AI, letting you describe a layout in plain language, use pre-made prompts, or hit "Inspire Me" to instantly assemble a full page.

Maxime Bernard-Jacquet announces that Modern Fields 1.0 is now out of beta - a custom fields plugin built for the block editor era and positioned as an ACF alternative. The 1.0 release adds JSON import/export, automatic field sync with the theme, a no-code UI for creating custom post types and taxonomies, and WP-CLI commands. A live in-browser demo requires no installation. A Pro version is in the works, with repeater and relational fields, conditional logic, options pages, query loop filters, and custom block creation planned.

Core contributors Nik Tsekouras and Marin Atanasov started an Experiment: Content types tracking issue, developer might want to keep an eye out. The idea is to bring management of majority of the cases to core and leave complex use cases in plugin territory.

Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks

Jamie Marsland shares a neat design-system-to-WordPress workflow that lets you spin up a styled site in minutes - no local install, no hosting, no deploy. Head to claude.ai/design, grab a DESIGN.md from the awesome-design-md repo (Vercel, Linear, or Stripe are solid picks), upload it to Claude, and ask it to build a homepage, about page, and blog with sample posts inside WordPress Playground. One tip you shouldn't skip: make sure Playground uses storage=browser so your work persists between reloads.

Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor.

Taylor Drayson's WP Wireframe is a PHP library that you can include in your plugin to create complete WordPress admin settings pages using one configuration array-no JS build step required. It offers over 20 field types (like text, color, file picker, and more), an API for accessing settings, options for conditional visibility, validation, support for multiple pages, and a helper to adjust settings. Install it with Composer, point it to a settings.php file, and your settings page is ready to go. Or so Drayson promises.

AI and WordPress

Automattic's Alexa Peduzzi introduces Studio Code, now in public beta - a WordPress-native agentic CLI tool built on top of Claude Code. Install Studio CLI and run studio code to get started. Unlike general-purpose coding agents, it's purpose-built for WordPress: you can describe a site in natural language and it builds a complete block theme - layout, typography, fonts, and content - then validates block markup against the real editor, runs WP-CLI commands, audits performance, and pushes to WordPress.com or Pressable hosting. Free during beta. Details on how to get started are on the developer portal.

Varun Dubey, founder of Wbcom Designs and BuddyPress contributor, offers a developer's honest take on WordPress 7.0 AI Connectors - what they get right and what still worries him. You'll find the case for standardization (one dashboard for all AI providers, lower barrier for solo plugin developers, user choice of cloud or local models) balanced against real concerns: data privacy enforcement is still honor-system, budget limits are soft rather than hard, and local/self-hosted AI remains a second-class setup experience despite Varun's own work running a private Ollama-powered WordPress instance. His prescription for the ecosystem - mandatory data transparency declarations, hard cost caps, end-user consent hooks, and provider certification - is worth reading before you start wiring AI connectors into your own plugins.

Among other things, Varun Dubey flagged unencrypted AI Connector key storage as one of the sharper edges of WordPress 7.0 - and Encrypt AI Connector Keys by Thomas Zwirner is exactly the kind of ecosystem response he was calling for. Install it, re-enter your keys under Settings > Connectors, and they're saved encrypted using the battle-tested Crypt for WordPress library, with the decryption key stored outside the database in wp-config.php, an MU plugin or a custom file. No settings page, just one filter hook if you need to customize the encryption method.

If you've ever asked an AI to write a post for your WordPress site, you've probably seen what happens: the content looks fine at first glance, but once it's in the editor, the blocks are a mess. That's because AI tools are great at plain HTML and Markdown, but Gutenberg's block format - with its mix of HTML and JSON-formatted comment tags - is just quirky enough to trip them up regularly.

Block Format Bridge, a new open-source plugin by developer Chris Huber, offers a sensible fix. Instead of wrestling AI into producing perfect block markup, it lets AI do what it's good at and handles the conversion to blocks itself, server-side. It works the other way too, so you can pull post content back out as Markdown or HTML whenever you need it. If you're experimenting with AI-assisted publishing on WordPress, this one's worth a look. Install it and it automatically makes the conversion.

In this post, i dived a bit deeper into the matter: Block Format Bridge: A Practical Solution for AI-Generated Content in WordPress

Greg Ziółkowski maps out what he'd like to see land in WordPress 7.1 for Core AI, building on the Abilities API and server-side WP AI Client shipping in 7.0. You'll find proposals across four areas:

• a refactored Guidelines system (with a wp_guideline_type taxonomy and a wp_register_guideline() plugin API),
• execution lifecycle filters and filtering support for the Abilities API,
• new site-orientation abilities like core/get-active-theme and core/list-plugins, and
• a JavaScript @wordpress/ai client still awaiting a merge strategy for 7.1.

Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg's master branch?
Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review.

Now also available via WordPress Playground. There is no need for a test site locally or on a server. Have you been using it? Email me with your experience.

Questions? Suggestions? Ideas?
Don't hesitate to send them via email or
Send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph.

For questions to be answered on the Gutenberg Changelog,
send them to changelog@gutenbergtimes.com

02 May 2026 1:19pm GMT

Votre travail a-t-il vraiment du sens ou n'est-il qu'une illusion bien payée ? Plongez dans la réalité des bullshit jobs et leurs impacts.

L'article Bullshit jobs : et si votre travail ne servait à rien ? est apparu en premier sur 20SIX.fr.

01 May 2026 2:00pm GMT

Thanks to deep integrations with both your vehicle and your apps, Gemini in cars with Google built-in will help drivers do more safely while still focusing on the road.

30 Apr 2026 4:00pm GMT

In celebration of Route 66's 100th anniversary, Google Maps is rolling out two new ways to help you explore it, virtually or IRL.

30 Apr 2026 2:00pm GMT

As AI Max turns 1, we're helping you capture even more opportunities in the expanding Search universe.

30 Apr 2026 1:00pm GMT

The episode recaps Checkout Summit in Palermo, highlighting insights from WooCommerce creators. Hosts discuss the event's intimate nature, engaging talks, networking opportunities, and plans for more future gatherings, enhancing community growth and connection.

30 Apr 2026 12:26pm GMT

Ptose mammaire, mastopexie, lifting des seins à Lyon : ce que vous devez savoir avant de franchir le pas, de la consultation jusqu'aux suites opératoires.

L'article Ptose mammaire à Lyon : et si une poitrine galbée était la clé pour vous réconcilier avec votre image ? est apparu en premier sur 20SIX.fr.

30 Apr 2026 6:35am GMT

Acheter des originaux sur le site LesDessinateurs.com Vous pouvez me suivre sur Instagram, Bluesky ou Facebook.

02 Jan 2024 10:41am GMT

Dans le journal L'Equipe du dimanche et du lundi, vous pouviez trouver un de mes dessins en dernière page. Voici un petit échantillon des dessins réalisés en 2023 pour le quotidien sportif. Acheter des originaux sur le site LesDessinateurs.com Vous pouvez me suivre sur Instagram, Bluesky ou Facebook. Acheter des originaux sur le site LesDessinateurs.com Vous …

Continuer la lecture de « Une année de sport »

01 Jan 2024 9:11am GMT

Acheter des originaux sur le site LesDessinateurs.com Vous pouvez me suivre sur Instagram, Bluesky ou Facebook.

30 Dec 2023 1:06pm GMT

Much as I love pasta, I'm not sure it loves me. Last year my carb-heavy comfort food diet led to some weight gain so I looked into low carb pasta as an alternative. There's a lot out there and I'm still trying different brands and styles, but I thought now would be a good time to share what I've learned so far.

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts

My introduction to legume and bean-based pasta was thanks to Barilla. I was lucky because I got to attend a webinar with Barilla's incredible chef, Lorenzo Boni. I tried his recipe for pasta with butternut squash and Brussels sprouts which I definitely recommend and have now made several times. If you've seen his wildly popular (150k+ followers!) Instagram feed you know he's a master at making all kinds of pasta dishes and that he often eats plant-based meals. I followed up with him to get some tips on cooking with pasta made from beans and legumes.

Pasta made with beans and legumes is higher in protein and so the recommended 2-ounce portion is surprisingly filling. But the texture isn't always the same as traditional semolina or durum wheat pasta. Chef Boni told me, "The nature of legume pasta makes it soak up more moisture than traditional semolina pasta, so you always want to reserve a bit of cooking water to adjust if needed." But when it comes to cooking, he says that with Barilla legume pasta you cook it the same way as semolina pasta. "Boil in salted water for the duration noted on the box and you'll have perfectly al dente pasta." They are all gluten-free.

Chickpea pasta

When I asked Chef Boni about pairing chickpea pastas with sauce he said, "Generally speaking, I prefer olive oil based sauces rich with vegetables, aromatic herbs and spices. Seafood also pairs well with chickpea options. If used with creamy or tomato-based sauces, keep in mind to always have some pasta water handy to adjust the dish in case it gets too dry." He added, "One of my favorite ways to prepare a legume pasta dish would be a simple chickpea rotini with shrimp, diced zucchini and fresh basil. The sauce is light enough to highlight the flavor of the pasta itself, while the natural sweetness helps keep the overall flavor profile more appealing to everyone." I like the Barilla brand because the only ingredient is chickpeas. Banza makes a popular line of chickpea pasta as well although they include pea starch, tapioca and xanthan gum.

Edamame pasta

I tried two different brands of edamame pasta, Seapoint Farms and Explore Cuisine. The Seapoint pasta has a rougher texture than the Explore. With the Seapoint I found the best pairings were earthy chunky toppings like toasted walnuts and sautéed mushrooms. The Explore Cuisine edamame & spirulina pasta is smoother and more delicate, and worked well with an Asian style peanut sauce. I was happy with the Seapoint brand, but would definitely choose the Explore brand instead if it's available.

Red lentil pasta

Red lentil pasta is most similar to semolina pasta. Barilla makes red lentil pasta in a variety of shapes. But for spaghetti, Chef Boni says, "Barilla red lentil spaghetti is pretty flexible and works well with pretty much everything. I love red lentil spaghetti with light olive oil based sauces with aromatic herbs and some small diced vegetables. It also works well with a lean meat protein." I have to admit, I have yet to try red lentil pasta, but I'm excited to try it after hearing how similar it is to semolina pasta. It is made only with red lentil flour, that's it. It's available in spaghetti, penne and rotini.

Penne for Your Thoughts

Do you remember seeing photos from Italian supermarkets where the shelves with pasta were barren except for penne? I too seem to end up with boxes of penne or rotini and not a clue what to do with them so I asked Chef Boni his thoughts on the subject. He told me, "Shortcuts such as rotini and penne pair very well with all kind of ragouts as well as tomato based and chunky vegetarian sauces. One of my favorite ways to prepare a legume pasta dish would be a simple chickpea rotini with shrimp, diced zucchini and fresh basil. The sauce is light enough to highlight the flavor of the pasta itself, while the natural sweetness helps keep the overall flavor profile more appealing to everyone." Thanks chef! When zucchini is in season I know what I will try!

15 Feb 2022 6:46pm GMT

Julia is a new film based on Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz and inspired by My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme and The French Chef in America: Julia Child's Second Act by Alex Prud'homme. Julia Child died in 2004, and yet our appetite for all things Julia hasn't waned.

I grew up watching Julia Child on TV and learning to cook the French classics from her books, And while I never trained to be a chef, like Child I also transitioned into a career focused on food, a subject I have always found endlessly fascinating. I enjoyed the new film very much and while it didn't break much new ground, it did add a layer of perspective that can only come with time. In particular, how Julia Child became a ubiquitous pop culture figure is addressed in a fresh way.

I reached out to the filmmakers,Julie Cohen and Betsy West to find out more about what inspired them and why Julia Child still holds our attention.

Julia Child died over 15 years ago and has been off TV for decades. Why do you believe we continue to be so fascinated by her?

In some ways Julia is the Godmother of modern American cooking - and eating. Her spirit looms over cooking segments on the morning shows, The Food Network, and all those overhead Instagram shots the current generation loves to take of restaurant meals. Beyond that, though, Julia's bigger than life personality and unstoppable joie de vivre are infectious. People couldn't get enough of her while she was living, and they still can't now.

There have been so many Julia Child films and documentaries, what inspired this one?

Well there'd been some great programs about Julia but this is the first feature length theatrical doc. Like everyone else, we adored Julie & Julia, but a documentary gives you a special opportunity to tell a person's story in their own words and with the authentic images. This is particularly true of Julia, who was truly one of a kind.

The impact of Julia Child how she was a groundbreaker really comes across in the film, are we understanding her in a different light as time passes?

People understand that Julia was a talented television entertainer, but outside the professional food world, there's been an under-recognition of just how much she changed the 20th century food landscape. As Jose Andres points out in the film, almost every serious food professional has a sauce-splashed copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" on their shelves. We also felt Julia's role in opening up new possibilities for women on television deserved more exploration. In the early 1960's the idea of a woman on TV who was neither a housewife nor a sex bomb but a mature, tall, confident expert was downright radical. She paved the way for many women who followed.

The food shots add an extra element to the film and entice viewers in a very visceral way, how did those interstitials come to be part of the film?

We knew from the start that we wanted to make food a major part of this story, not an afterthought. We worked with cook and food stylist Susan Spungen to determine which authentic Julia recipes could be integrated with which story beats to become part of the film's aesthetic and its plot. For instance the sole meunière is a key part of the story because it sparked her obsession with French food, and the pear and almond tart provides an enticing metaphor for the sensual side of Julia and Paul's early married years.

Note: Susan Spungen was also the food stylist for Julie & Julia

Julia is in theaters now.

23 Nov 2021 11:30pm GMT

I met Rick Rodgers early in my career as a recipe developer and food writer when we were both contributors to the Epicurious blog. Not only is he a lot of fun to hang out with, but he has also been incredibly helpful to me and is usually the first person I call when I'm floundering with a project, client, or cooking quandary. His interpersonal skills, business experience, and cooking acumen explain why he's been recognized as one of the top cooking instructors in America. Literally.

You built a career as a cooking instructor and cookbook author. How many cookbooks have you written?

I was asked recently to make an official count, and It looks like an even hundred. Many of those were collaborations with chefs, restaurants, celebrities, bakeries, and business entities, such as Tommy Bahama, Williams-Sonoma, and Nordstrom. I made it known that I was available for collaboration work, and my phone literally rang off the hook for quite a few years with editors and agents looking for help with novice writers or those that wanted a branded book.

Which cookbook(s) are you most proud of?

There are three books that I get fan mail for almost every day: Kaffeehaus (where I explore the desserts of my Austrian heritage), Thanksgiving 101 (a deep dive into America's most food-centric holiday and how to pull it off), and Ready and Waiting (which was one of the first books to take a "gourmet" approach to the slow cooker). These books have been in print for 20 years or more, which is a beautiful testament to their usefulness to home cooks.

How did you get started as a cooking instructor and what are some highlights of your teaching career?

I was a theater major at San Francisco State College (now University), so getting in front of a crowd held no terrors for me. When more brick-and-mortar cooking schools opened in the eighties, I was ready for prime time. During that period, there were at least twelve cooking schools in the Bay Area, so I made quarterly trips here a year from the east coast, where I had moved. My Thanksgiving classes were so popular that I taught every day from November 1 to Thanksgiving, with a couple of days off for laundry and travel. The absolute pinnacle of my teaching career was being named Outstanding Culinary Instructor of The Year by Bon Appétit Magazine's Food and Entertaining Awards, an honor that I share with only a handful of other recipients, including Rick Bayless and Bobby Flay.

Flódni

How have cooking classes changed since you started?

Because there are so many classes available, I can teach at any level of experience. At the cooking schools, we tended to walk a fine line between too difficult and too easy. The exposure to different cuisines and skill levels on TV also has seriously raised the bar. Unfortunately, students want to walk before they can run. They want to learn how to make croissants when I doubt that they can bake a pound cake correctly. It is best to build on your skills instead of going right to the top. That being said, in my online classes, I am concentrating on the more challenging recipes because that is what the market demands of me.

Tell me about your baking school, coffeeandcake.org

As much as I loved my cookbooks and in-person classes, I knew there was a more modern way to reach people who wanted to cook with me, especially since so many cooking schools had closed. I retired the day I got my first Social Security check. But…as I was warned by my friends who knew me better than I did…I was bored, and wanted a new project. I heard about online classes through other teachers who were having success. I found an online course specifically for cooking classes (Cooking Class Business School at HiddenRhythm.com), got the nuts and bolts down, and I finally entered the 21st century!

How do you decide which recipes to teach?

I felt there were plenty of other places to learn how to make chocolate chip cookies and banana bread-just take a look on YouTube alone. I had a specialty of Austro-Hungarian baking thanks to my Kaffeehaus book, so I decided to niche into that category. I have branched out to a few other locations, but my goal is to expose students to something new and out of the ordinary. I also survey my students on what they would like me to teach, and those answers are amazing. People are truly interested in the more difficult desserts. Perhaps it is because so many people discovered baking as a hobby during the pandemic?

For students who have your cookbooks, what are the advantages of taking an online class?

There is no substitute for seeing a cook in action. Plus you get to answer questions during class. In a recent class, I made six-layer Dobos Torte in two hours' real-time to prove that you can do it without giving up a week of your life. And we don't have to travel to each other to be "together." My classes are videotaped so you can watch them at your convenience.

What are some highlights of your upcoming schedule of classes?

Honey cake

In October, I am teaching virtually all Hungarian desserts, things that will be new to most people. I am making one of my absolute favorites, Flódni, which is a Jewish bar cookie (almost a cake) with layers of apple, poppy seeds, and walnuts between thin sheets of wine-flavored cookie dough. San Franciscans in particular will be happy to see a master class that I am teaching with the delightful Michelle Polzine, owner of the late and lamented 20th Century Cafe and author of Baking at the 20th Century Cafe. We will be making her (in)famous 12-layer honey cake on two coasts, with me doing the heavy lifting in New Jersey and Michelle guiding me from the west coast. That is going to be fun! In November and December, I am switching over to holiday baking and a few savory recipes for Thanksgiving, including my fail-proof turkey and gravy, which I have made over 300 times in classes over 30 years' worth of teaching. It ought to be perfect by now

Head to Coffee and Cake to sign up for classes or learn more.

05 Oct 2021 3:56pm GMT

03 Dec 2014 8:12pm GMT

16 Jul 2014 6:08pm GMT

Après presque un mois et demi d'absence, deux bouclages d'albums et plein de projets, je trouve enfin le
temps de poster quelque chose sur ce blog ! Ces jours-ci, je vais avoir pas mal de choses à vous montrer !
On commence tranquille avec un petit dessin aux couleurs estivales.

14 Jul 2014 4:25pm GMT