Having these staples on hand means you can whip up most of the desserts in this book on the spur of the moment.
Unbleached all-purpose flour
Granulated sugar
Brown sugar: light and/or dark
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Cornstarch
Chocolate of all kinds, including chocolate chips
Cocoa powder: natural and/or Dutch-process
Spices: cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, whole nutmeg, ground and/or whole cardamom pods, ground cloves, ground allspice, aniseeds, black pepper (preferably whole peppercorns, in a grinder)
Pure vanilla extract
Pure almond extract
Peanut butter and almond or other nut butters
Dried fruit: raisins and/or currants, cherries, pears, apricots, dates
Crystallized (candied) ginger
Nuts: almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts (filberts), peanuts, pistachios, pecans
Unsulphured (but not blackstrap) molasses
Vanilla ice cream
Fresh lemon juice and/or lime juice (squeeze the juice after you’ve zested the peel, freeze in an ice cube tray, and then bag the juice cubes)
Pineapple juice concentrate
Milk
Cream (pasteurized cream has a better flavor, but ultra–pasteurized cream keeps well for a long time)
Unsalted butter
Sour cream
Eggs
Plain yogurt: Greek and/or regular
Lemons and limes
Apples
Oranges
With your basic pantry, here are just a few of the quickest desserts you can make without reaching for your shopping bag and car keys.
Almond Cake (page 202)
Apples in Cardamom Lime Syrup (page 50)
The Best One-Bowl Chocolate Cake (page 174)
Bittersweet Brownie Drops (page 248)
Cocoa Brownies with Walnuts and Brown Butter (page 251)
Honey Balsamic Sundaes (page 16)
Maya’s Lemon-Scented Apple Upside-Down Cake (page 69)
My Chocolate Pudding 3.0 (page 88)
Pantry Gingerbread (page 213)
Queen of Sheba Torte 5.0 (page 183)
Right-Brain Nutty Butter Cookies (page 238)
Sour Cream Soufflés (page 123)
And don’t miss the ideas on page 22, Things to Do with Vanilla Ice Cream.