Photo courtesy of A Grain of Salt

Hello Real Women of Philadelphia!

Last week we carved out the best techniques, ingredients and tools for cooking those mouth-watering meat and poultry dishes, but now we’re really cranking up the oven: This week is all about baking!

Let’s start by defining the term for those cute little pastries and desserts that are oh so popular at parties and gatherings:

Here's a little back story on these bite-sized delights: There were no gas ovens in France during the early 19th century, so the bread maker’s ovens – which were large stone cabins lit underneath by a fire— were the only types of ovens around.

Because of their size, the ovens were slow to heat up and only had two settings: The grand four, or big oven, where the fire was the strongest to cook meat and vegetables, and the petit four, where the heat was the weakest. This setting was used to bake small pastries and appetizers to be served with tea, and the petit four dessert was born!

No one can pass up a tray full of pretty petit fours, especially if the tray features AMY TONG’S INDULGENCE STRAWBERRY AND LEMON LAYER CAKE!

The RWOP Bakery is open for business, and we want to know:

What’s your favorite bakery confection?

    A.    Muffins and Scones
    B.    Éclairs and Cannoli
    C.    Croissants and Baguettes
    D.    Cakes and Cookies
    E.    Something else!

Tell us which baked goodie you're likely to reach for in the Comments below!