Renato Poliafito
Contributor
Renato Poliafito is a two-time James Beard Award–nominated pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He is the owner of the bakery and café Ciao, Gloria, and Italian American restaurant Pasta Night, both in Brooklyn’s bustling Prospect Heights neighborhood. He previously cofounded the influential Brooklyn bakery Baked and is the author of Dolci!: American Baking With an Italian Accent, in addition to several bestselling cookbooks with Baked cofounder Matt Lewis.
Recipes
Mississippi Mud Pie
Coffee ice cream, bourbon fudge, toasted pecans, and an Oreo crust come together in this frozen pie worthy of any celebration.
Recipes
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Recipes
Banana Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Frosting
These cupcakes, slathered with rich peanut butter frosting, are like a banana bread recipe gone, well, bananas.
Recipes
Malted Vanilla Milk Shakes
Recipes
Brownie-Bottom Lemon Cheesecake
Your favorite lemon cheesecake recipe + brownies. We're sorry, and also you're welcome.
Recipes
Lemon Lemon Loaf
Sometimes simplicity speaks volumes. Our lemon loaf recipe is very straightforward. We do not add poppy seeds, pecans, or any other extraneous ingredient. We really feel that the most important aspect of a lemon loaf is the zingy lemon flavor, and we accentuate it by using a combination of freshly squeezed lemon juice, freshly grated lemon zest, and a mildly sweet lemon syrup. The sour cream gives this loaf a subtle tang and a dense, moist crumb that cannot be achieved with yogurt. If you want to increase the lemony goodness of these cakes, add the simple glaze after the syrup has set and the cakes are cool. This loaf freezes extremely well, so you can double the recipe and make a few extra loaves.