You can use melted butter instead of oil, but your cake may be a little denser.

Cooking and baking are pleasures and I want everyone to be able to experience and share them.

Do the work you are most proud of

When I'm developing a recipe with brown butter - I know how much butter I want in the end and I so I start with more butter than I'll need.

I use color as my chief guide. But I always squeeze an avocado - you want the fruit to feel close to the skin. If you can feel a separation, the avocado is past its prime. The avocado should have a little give, but not much.

I often say that eggs and sugar should be beaten until they thicken and pale and sometimes, when there are lots of yolks, that's lemon colored.

Sometimes I think there are devils at work in the kitchen - recipes that are always perfect sometimes come out less than perfect and I can't figure out why.