IN THE PANTRY

“For easy cleanup, I reach for my rubber pie mat imprinted with clear, reliable measurement markings. Non-slip and easy to store, this pastry mat makes life in the kitchen a breeze. No. 2 on my short list would be a silicone heatproof flexible spatula for those frequent occasions when melting butter and chocolate together or stirring hot cream into caramelized molten sugar.” –Chef Jessie Sheehan, author of “Snackable Bakes” and two other books

“No kitchen can ever have enough sturdy heatproof stainless steel bowls in a variety of sizes, extra sets of measuring cups for dry and wet ingredients, measuring spoons, whisks and spatulas.” –ACF Chef Fran Costigan, author of“Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent DairyFree Desserts”

These pastry chefs and ACF members talk about their favorite pastry ingredients. Take a look.

Chocolate

“This is a no-brainer. In the world of dark chocolate, high percentage, fair trade, organic, gluten-free and raw tick all the boxes for my chocolate desserts.”

– ACF Chef Fran Costigan

MARSHMALLOWS

These are Chef Jessie Sheehan’s secret weapon. She uses them for her “extremely special whipped cream” and as a stabilizer, sweetener and thickener for fillings and toppings.

GLUTEN-FREE FLOURS

Chef Chrissy Jensen, CEPC , reaches for a variety of gluten-free flours and starches to create her own fine-tuned blends. “Getting just the right amount of fiber and starch has been the key to creating products that are unrecognizable as gluten-free. That has been the triumph,” she says, noting that even a panel of ACF judges evaluating her work for her CEPC test had no idea that the dishes she presented were free from gluten.

CITRUS

“From yuzu to calamansi and lime to orange, citrus of all kinds is for the pastry world like salt is for savory. I’d be lost without that broad range of flavor notes and necessary acidity that these ingredients lend to a dish.”

–ACF Chef Lasheeda Perry