Rose Levy Beranbaum offers her own solution to the problem below (scoll down a ways). A combination of techniques may well wind up producing the perfect focaccia. I will give it a try this weekend. David A.

I was just researching this issue. In The Pie and Pastry Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum says you can store a fruit pie at room tempertaure for two or three days although, as Jen noted, the crust will not be as crisp. Beranbaum...

You should get a copy of “The Cake Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum. It has a very nice recipe for classic buttercream, with variations. The book also has tons of useful tips. I cannot recommend it highly enough !

Rose Levy Beranbaum in her book The Pie and Pastry Bible says egg whites will keep in your refrigerator for ten days. After that I’d throw them out.

According to Rose Levy Beranbaum: A buttercream cake will keep for 1 day at cool room temperature. A butter cake will keep refrigerated 3 days, a genoise 5 days. You must remove a butter cake 6 hours before serving for best...

This is why it’s so much easier when baking to use weight than volume. According to Rose Levy Beranbaum in The Cake Bible and the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, one cup of blanched whole almonds...

Get a copy of Rose Levy Beranbaum's “Cake Bible.” In it, you’ll find lots of good recipes, and the cakes are not cloyingly sweet. I’ve been making cakes out of that book for the better part of a decade,...

For a pastry reference with solid techniques and lots of great recipes, you can’t miss with The Pie and Pastry Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I also like Bernard Clayton’s Complete Book of Pastry – probably out...

I really like the Pineapple Upside-Down cake from The Cake Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The base is a delicious sour cream cake that is very easy to put together and light and moist. The mild tanginess of the sour cream in the...

There are great recipes for this type of cake in Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible, and Flo Braker’s The Simple Art of Perfect Baking. If you don’t have either book, I’ll post a recipe

Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible has directions for upping the size of cakes. Basically, all ingredients are increased in proportion to the increase in the square of the radius (or diameter), except for leavening which does...

I have made the sticky caramel buns from Rose Levy Beranbaum's “The Bread Bible.” When I made them, I froze them after they were baked—sticky caramel and all—and they reheated just fine. In fact, I plan to...

and Naomi Duguid) Bread Bible (yep, Rose Levy Beranbaum) The American Boulangerie: Authentic French Pastries and Breads for the Home Kitchen (Pascal Rigo and the Bakers of Bay Bread — I hope this refers to Bay Bread in SF,...

I recently came across a recipe for chestnut pannetone. It’s in Rose Levy Beranbaum's “The Bread Bible”. I don’t know if I will attempt it, but I do love chestnuts!

) to support the tiers. I could go into great detail on both techniques, but if you’re ever going to make another tiered cake, it’d be worth your while to buy a copy of Rose Levy Beranbaum's “Cake Bible”...