Pumpkin Cake With Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti

Today’s guest is Emily Luchetti, an award-winning pastry chef, cookbook author, educator, and entrepreneur who helped shape the American pastry scene. Emily spent decades working at some of Northern California’s most celebrated restaurants, including Stars, Farallon, and Waterbar, and won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2004. She’s also the author of several baking books, including “Stars Desserts,” “A Passion for Desserts,” and “The Fearless Baker.” Most recently, she launched Sweet Queen, a line of fruit spreads and caramel sauces.

Emily joins host Jessie Sheehan to talk about her early love of sweets, how she found her way into professional kitchens, her fascination with making chocolate from scratch, and how her longtime love of jam-making inspired her latest venture.

She also walks Jessie through her Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Upside-Down Cake recipe from “A Passion for Desserts.” It’s a festive alternative to traditional pumpkin pie, featuring a moist cake with tart cranberries, toasted pecans, and a buttery brown sugar glaze. 

Thank you to Fisher & Paykel and California Prunes for supporting our show. 

• Emily’s Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Upside-Down Cake recipe
• The new issue of Cherry Bombe Magazine
• Subscribe to our Substack for more baking news and recipes
• Visit cherrybombe.com for magazine subscriptions, tickets to upcoming events, and more
• More on Emily: Instagram, Sweet Queen
• More on Jessie: Instagram, Substack, “Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes”