| No Images? Click here  All the Staples You Need to Make Amazing Desserts  Aside from fresh fruit, dairy, and eggs, the pantry is where you'll find a baker's true arsenal—the shelf-stable building blocks of dessert. These are the essential baking ingredients no pastry chef can do without.  Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder This style of cocoa powder has an alkaline profile that gives it a darker, earthier flavor and color. Because it's a specialty product, the quality tends to be a little higher overall, giving most brands a deeper flavor. Stella's favorite is Cacao Barry Extra Brute, which has twice the cocoa butter content of low-fat supermarket cocoas from more famous brands.  Refined Coconut Oil Refined coconut oil has no odor or flavor whatsoever and a high smoke point, making it a great neutral oil for frying doughnuts and cannoli. It can also lower the melting point of chocolate, which is great for frozen treats like stracciatella or even homemade Klondike Bars.  Cake Flour We don't use this type of flour for every cake—a blended all-purpose flour is great for heartier options, like carrot, chocolate, gingerbread, and even chiffon—but for bakers who love an exceedingly fluffy cake, it's a make-or-break ingredient.  Instant Dry Yeast Successfully resurrecting dry yeast will depend entirely on how it was processed, so when a recipe calls for a certain type, the directions will be tailored to its specific needs and may kill a different type—or else fail to provide the conditions needed for it to thrive. At Serious Eats, we use plain instant yeast, like SAF Red Label.  Good Vanilla In dessert, vanilla is nearly as ubiquitous as sugar or salt, an ever-present seasoning that can elevate the flavor and aroma of almost anything. That means we're constantly on the prowl for new contenders, and we've reviewed many brands in the past—but we use Watkins most often, mainly due to its large bottle size and easy-pour spout.
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