Last week I was at Kate Hill’s Kitchen at Camont teaching a 5 day Pastry Workshop on all sorts of delicious French pastries. Each day we took our time mastering all the base recipes you need to go forth and create!

For each recipe I teach, I love to offer different options so you can customize it as you wish to change up the flavors to your own tastes and preferences. This recipe is no exception. I shared it on Instagram stories at the beginning of the week and you can see it there too, saved in my highlights with videos of each step.

Introducing individual almond cakes! You can make a large one too if you’d like! This is actually my go-to recipe when I’m just at a loss for something to make and want it to be good, delicious, and super fast!

MAKE IT YOUR OWN!

To the batter, add zest of any citrus fruit you’d like, cinnamon, freshly grated tonka bean, nutmeg, or two pinches of fresh lavender. Or go classic and stick with vanilla – paste, extract or powder. You can also add a couple tablespoons of pistachio paste if you’d like. … What did I tell you – this recipe is quite the chameleon!

Ready for one more change you can make? The fruit on top… go with anything that’s in season, or even frozen berries will do. The best is to work with fruit that doesn’t have a lot of juice – so berries, like raspberries and blueberries are great, figs or apples as well. You can use pitted fruits too, just choose those that are a bit under-ripe or you’ll never quite the middle of the cake to cook.