JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Fresh herbs aren’t just for dinner. According to pastry chef Liz Thompson, they’re one of the easiest ways to take summer desserts to the next level.
During In Depth with Kristine Bellino, Thompson shared simple baking techniques, her favorite herb pairings, and why she believes anyone can become a better baker with a little patience.
Pastry chef Liz Thompson shares her secrets for savory summer desserts
While fruit pies are one of Thompson’s favorite summer treats, she says fresh herbs are what really elevate seasonal baking.
One of her go-to tricks is making herb-infused sugars. By blending sugar with fresh basil, lavender, rose petals or lemongrass, she creates flavored sugars she uses in scones, cookies, pancakes and other desserts. She also recommends infusing heavy cream with herbs to make ice cream or chocolate truffles and blending herbs into butter before freezing it for future baking and cooking.
Thompson said herb-infused sugars can last about six months in a sealed container and aren’t just for desserts. They also work well in iced tea or as a garnish for cocktails and mocktails. If the herbs haven’t been treated with pesticides, she typically doesn’t wash them before using them because moisture can dilute their flavor.
Her favorite summer dessert is a blueberry pie with crystallized ginger, but she encouraged home bakers to experiment with herbs throughout the season.
Some of her favorite flavor combinations include:
- Rosemary with olive oil cakes, focaccia and lemon cookies.
- Thyme with peaches in pies and tarts.
- Lavender in shortbread, scones and lemon-lavender cake.
- Basil with strawberries, scones or infused into olive oil for desserts.
- Mint in brownies and shortbread.
- Tarragon with citrus desserts and stone fruits like peaches.
Thompson also shared a few pie crust secrets. While many bakers debate between butter, shortening and lard, she said she still prefers Crisco for most pie crusts, though olive oil crusts are a great option for vegetarians. Her overall philosophy is simple: enjoy dessert, just do it in moderation.
Before wrapping up the baking portion of the conversation, Thompson encouraged people who don’t have room for large gardens to grow at least two herbs: basil and lavender, calling them two of the most versatile ingredients for summer baking.
Truckee High Altitude Baking Club founder crafts baking recipes for Northeast Florida
Thompson is also the founder of the Truckee High Altitude Baking Club, a group she started after moving from Los Angeles to the mountains of Northern California and discovering that many of her favorite recipes no longer worked.
Readers can learn more about the club, browse recipes and baking resources, or contact Thompson through the Truckee High Altitude Baking Club website.
She explained that baking at high elevations requires adjusting recipes because lower air pressure affects how cakes rise, how sugar behaves and how leavening agents perform. What worked perfectly at sea level often collapsed in the oven after moving to Truckee.
Today, the club meets monthly to test recipes and adapt them for high-altitude baking. Thompson is also working on a cookbook that will include versions of recipes for both sea level and high-altitude bakers, making it useful whether someone lives along Florida’s coast or in the mountains.
She said she’s also exploring the idea of creating her own dry scone mixes after years of developing products for other companies.
Through her website, she answers baking questions from home cooks on everything from choosing quality vanilla to troubleshooting recipes.
Thompson ended the interview with one message for anyone intimidated by baking:
“Lose the fear. Bake the cake. There’s no such thing as a bad baker. It just takes patience.”
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