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Over the years, both at pastry school and in my work as a professional recipe developer, I’ve had the opportunity to test and work with many different brands and products. Some things I try once and never use again, and others I find myself returning to over and over, like the staple ingredients included in the list below.
These are some of my favorite staple ingredients and must-have products for baking and pastry. These are always present in my personal kitchen cabinet!
Demerara Sugar
Buy Now → Demerara sugar adds a sweet, crunchy finishing touch to muffins, galettes, and cookies.
Kosher Salt
Buy Now → Diamond Crystal kosher salt is a staple in many professional kitchens. It is my go-to for recipe testing as well as personal cooking projects.
Cornflour
Buy Now → Cornflour (or cornstarch, depending on your location!) thickens puddings and pastry creams, and adds a powdery coating to homemade marshmallows.
Vanilla Bean Paste
Buy Now → While vanilla extract will always work in a pinch, I prefer the deeper vanilla notes (and pretty speckles!) of vanilla bean paste.
Gel Food Coloring
Buy Now → I use gel food coloring to tint everything from chocolate truffles to homemade hard candy. Chefmaster is my preferred brand.
Flavor Oils
Buy Now → I love using the LorAnn brand of flavorings for candymaking, and their natural oils (such as peppermint and lemon) work for a wide variety of baking and pastry applications.
Mixed Spice
Buy Now → Mixed spice is a popular ground spice blend used in British recipes such as Christmas pudding. US bakers can purchase mixed spice on Amazon, or make their own mixed spice at home.
Black Treacle
Buy Now → Treacle is a thick, sweet, molasses-like syrup found in British baking and pastry recipes like gingerbread and Christmas pudding. Lyle’s is my preferred brand.
Corn Syrup
Buy Now → Corn syrup is a must for making hard candy, lollipops, marshmallows, and other homemade sweets. I like the Golden Barrel brand of corn syrup.
Vanilla Pod
Buy Now → While I use vanilla bean paste for most projects, I also keep whole vanilla pods on hand. They’re great for baking, as well as adding a vanilla scent to homemade simmer pot potpourris.
Trablit
Buy Now → Trablit is a highly concentrated French coffee extract, and a staple in most pastry kitchens. It is readily available on Amazon. This one is a splurge, but worth it if you want to step up your pastry game!
Leaf Gelatin
Buy Now → Gelatin acts as a setting agent in mousses, jellies, panna cottas, glazes, and flans. If you haven’t worked with gelatin sheets (leaf gelatin) before, I’ve written a helpful post on how to convert gelatin sheets to powder (and vice versa!)
Gelatin Powder
Buy Now → In the US, recipes often call for powdered gelatin rather than sheets or leaves. I like to keep both versions on hand. These big bottles of Knox unflavored powdered gelatin are ideal for making big batches of homemade marshmallows.
White Chocolate
Buy Now → In addition to dark chocolate, your pantry should include a good-quality white chocolate couverture, like this Callebaut 28% white chocolate.
Dark Chocolate
Buy Now → At Le Cordon Bleu we used Callebaut’s 54.5% dark chocolate for most of our lessons, and this versatile couverture has been a staple in my cabinet ever since.
All Purpose Flour
Buy Now → In the US, I use all purpose flours from Gold Medal or King Arthur. In the UK, I opt for McDougall’s plain flour, which I find to be the closest equivalent to US brands.
Self Rising Flour
Buy Now → Self rising flour (self raising flour in the UK) is a must for making scones, shortcakes, and loaf cakes. In the US, you can purchase self rising flour on Amazon.
Bread Flour
Buy Now → I use bread flour (or a blend of bread flour and all purpose flour) for bread recipes and and homemade pizza dough. In the US, King Arthur is my favorite.
Mixed Peel
Buy Now → You’ll find mixed peel (a blend of candied orange and lemon) in many festive British recipes. US-based bakers can order it from Amazon
Lavender
Buy Now → A must for infusing lavender flavor into everything from ganaches to simmer pots. When purchasing dried lavender flowers, select a product clearly labelled as edible, food-safe, or culinary grade.
Flaky Salt
Buy Now → I love this Maldon flaky sea salt for making homemade everything bagel seasoning, and adding a salty crunch to breads and bagels. It’s also lovely when sprinkled on chocolate barks for a salty-sweet finish.
Rebecca Frey is a freelance recipe developer, food writer, photographer, stylist, and pastry chef. She earned the Diplôme de Pâtisserie (French Pastry Techniques Diploma) from Le Cordon Bleu London in 2020 and an MSc in Culinary Innovation from Birkbeck, University of London in 2022, where she focused her dissertation research on Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. She also holds a Professional Chocolatier’s Certificate from Ecole Chocolat. Rebecca has developed recipes for websites including Serious Eats, The Spruce Eats, Wine Enthusiast, and others. Follow her on Instagram @bastecutfold.
