It can be intimidating to share a kitchen with someone, especially on your first meeting. But Sara and I quickly felt like old friends. Our time baking together was spent discussing our dream kitchens, favorite kitchen appliances (kitchenmaid mixers for life!) and recommendations (immersion blenders). Her dog and cat also were constant companions. It was a delightful way to spend a day with a new friend. 

What I leaned is Sara gave me the calm, comfortable confidence to embark on this intimidating recipe. Anytime I have to work with eggs over a double broiler I hold my breath. I’ve had some lemon curd disasters during lockdown. Having someone next to you to guide you through something you haven’t done before was great. Thanks to Sara I knew when the mixture was ready - something which is really hard when baking out of books that don’t provide detailed step by step images (expensive!). 

Mostly Butter is a food based artist residency that is baking centric where you bake together with the founder Sara Nishikawa our of their Detroit, MI kitchen. At the end you share the bake together with friends and family.
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Sara, a graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art, was put on my radar through mutual Cranbrook friends who partook in the residency. I have been following Sara’s work from the beginning and knew I wanted to participate, because after all, baking is my love language. But thanks to a global pandemic that dream was put on hold. That was until my husband and I were going to remote work in Michigan for a month the summer of 2023, with a whole week in Detroit. What luck!

The one rule of Mostly Butter is you have to pick something to bake that you’ve always want to but never have before. Oh my god, the options! I’ve been buying cookbooks for years, a lot of which, if I’m being honest, I’ve never baked or cooked out of. This was my chance!! I knew exactly the cookbook I’d turn to for this challenge. Tartine: A Classic Revisited by Elisabeth Pruitt & Chad Robertson.

Thanks to my Bay friend Helen, Tartine was introduced into my life in the form of their famous Morning Buns. A truly magical bread delight, covered in orange zested sugar. However, given our schedules, I couldn’t manage the 2 days needed to make the yeasted dough. So what else from Tartine do I love? Enter LEMON TARTS. I’ve always loved lemon flavored things, especially deserts. And the Tartine Lemon Tart is like nothing else. The texture is thick and creamy but also silky smooth, and oh so tart. It can also be made in an afternoon. So I sent Sara the recipe and she gathered the ingredients and I met up at her house with my pie apron in tow!

Sara also taught me how to candy lemon peels. Something they took up during lockdown, what a sweet adventure! Looking at the photos of the final result still makes my heart flutter. It’s bakery level perfection! We shared the final bake with my husband and our mutual friend Elise (a fellow Mostly Butter resident). I now have the confidence to make this recipe, and other’s similar to it again on my own. Which in fact I did for my birthday that was 3 months later. And once again, it turned out beautifully. I’m thankful for lovely humans like Sara who like to share their love of baking with others. If you’re ever looking to be in Detroit, hit Sara up and bake your heart out!