5 Questions with Sweet Melissa

Cobble Hillbilly “Sweet Melissa” Murphy not only runs one of the best bakeries in Brooklyn, but she’s also an author. Her new cookbook, The Sweet Melissa Baking Book is out now. We’re thrilled/shocked that she took time out of her busy schedule to answer 5 questions for us:

How’d you end up opening in Cobble Hill?

I moved to Brooklyn in 1997, at the time I was working as a pastry chef in Manhattan. Once I moved here, I instantly fell in love with the neighborhood, and decided that this is where I wanted to open the shop I had always dreamed of. The locals were not convinced, they thought the last thing we needed on Court Street was another bakery!(There were at least 5 Italian pastry shops in the hood at the time). I had to convince them that mine would be different- and when I finally opened my doors on April 1st, 1998, they understood. The neighborhood’s support has been the main reason for Sweet Melissa’s success.

What’s your favorite part about the neighborhood?

I love the sense of family that the neighborhood has. Once people are here, they seem to want to stay here. I have made customer’s bridal shower cakes, and then their wedding cakes, and then their baby shower cakes, and then their baby’s first birthday cakes. These babies eat their first croissants and madeleines in my shop. This feeling of being part of the big events in peoples’ lives is fantastic and very rewarding. I hope the children refer to it as adults- “we used to go to this great little bakery when I was a kid, they made the best madeleines…”

What got you into baking? How are bakers different than chefs?

I am lucky, because I consider myself a baker and a chef. I love ALL FOOD. I went to culinary school at the French Culinary Institute, and at the time they didn’t have a dedicated “pastry program”, so I kind of “self majored” in pastry while I learned all of the stations in the savory kitchen as well. When I first graduated, I was a savory cook in a restaurant and then in a catering company. At the catering company, I wound up doing most of the baking, and became in charge of that department. From then on, professionally, I focused on baking and desserts, and only took pastry chef positions. I love to cook at home, and dinner at my house, even for the two of us, is always well planned and I like to think the dishes could appear on any given restaurant menu. I really enjoy preparing beautiful and delicious food. The combination of knowing both worlds makes a well rounded cook, and I think that anyone who is strictly pastry or strictly savory, is missing out.

What’s your favorite recipe in the new book?

That’s a tough one. I’ve said it before- “it’s like asking a mother to choose between her children”. All of the recipes in this book are my favorite of its kind. So they are all of my favorite things. I do crave certain things depending on the season. In the fall, I can’t wait to go apple picking, and make Caramel Apple Pie, or Pear Cranberry Pie with Gingersnap Crumble. I love those fall fruits. Then in winter, I love warm spicy things, like my Guinness Gingerbread, all warm and topped with freshly whipped cream that gets all melty. I also like to make crazy delicious things in the winter, the things that you need to eat 3 or 4 servings of, and you can because you’ll just wear a bigger cozy sweater, like Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake (actually, the thought of that cheesecake just made my mouth water, it is unreal). Then in the spring, when the first rhubarb comes up, I love Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Pie, which is a pie with buttery cobbler biscuits on the top. In the summer, I love fresh fruit pies and using juicy messy drippy-sweet peaches for my North Fork Peach Raspberry Pie or Cinnamon Peach Preserves. I love the Strawberry Shortcakes- oh- also in the fall, Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Rum Raisin Sauce, or my Butterscotch Pudding!-Ooo I love that too… See what I mean? And now I feel bad for those I didn’t mention… I really do love them all and can name something very special about each recipe.

Which one is easy enough for a knucklehead like me to try?

I’d bet that you can make all of them, if you are good at following directions. I challenge you. Pick one, and make it. I’ll bet you it turns out great. And if you need help following directions, I can help you with that. But I won’t need to help you with the recipe.

We’ll be trying a recipe soon… stay tuned!