happy pastry day!!

every year it lost in the shuffle. smack dab in the middle of the most food centric holiday season - nestled among the thanksgiving pumpkin pie, the hannaukha jelly donuts, the eiz ma’moul, and flood of christmas cookies you'll find national pastry day.

i'm a little dismayed that such a yummy holiday is not getting the attention it deserves. despite the good baking weather, autumn through spring is too snack centric to let this holiday shine. from halloween to new years, i find myself earlobe beep in sweet treats. then february ushers in the romantic season of chocolates, strawberries and the distinctive flavor of glue from licking all those valentine envelopes. chocolate bunnies, jelly beans and marshmallow chickens burst on the scene as spring is busting out all over.

the way i see it, summer is when this holiday can really step into the lime light. i won't dispute that this is traditionally snow cone and ice cream season (or hot cocoa season if you're in the southern hemisphere), but basically it's bit of a pastry wasteland.

ok, june is a pastry chef's nightmare with wedding cakes galore, but, unless you're committed to a serious schedule of wedding crashing, it's the start of the pastry dry spell. i think a nice pastry centric holiday in july or august would be just the ticket. i haven't nailed down a date yet. i'm thinking of a spontaneous holiday where you can just whip up a batch of profiteroles or a plate of cookies on a whim. then while singing the official pastry day anthem the treats are loving exchanged with friend and foe in a gesture of tasty goodwill.

i'm sure president elect obama has this on the top of his agenda. (i think i'm shortlisted for the position of snack czar!)

then again, every day is pastry day at my house,

enjoy whipping up some treats yourself!

• clotilde's fabulous and easy to make chocolate cake
• meringue kisses
• shortbread cookies
• panda cupcakes
• key lime pie (quick version too!)
• holiday fruitcake (the secret family recipe)
• amazing sour cream lemon pie
• rice crispie treats
• rock cakes
• craig's gran's apple crumble