Lillian Kaplun garnishing her famous tortes. (June, 1970)
Thank you for joining us in our celebration of the life and work of Lillian Kaplun.
In honour of the occasion of the centenary of her birth, we have established this blog. We hope you will enjoy spending some time here and that you will contribute to this blog by sharing your knowledge, experiences with, and memories of Lillian and of her wonderful baking.
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I get the honour of the first comment? I promise to write more soon but I’m thrilled that Lillian Kaplun’s legacy will be celebrated.
When I was studying culinary at George Brown my aunt bought me a double edition of Mrs. Kaplun’s books “For the Love of Cooking and Baking”. In fact, my own grandmother, whom I never knew, was named Lillian Caplan so I always felt more than a little attachment to this book and its author.
From a cook’s perspective the recipes always worked but from a cultural perspective I learned the secrets behind many of the dishes I grew up loving so much.
Of course, when I opened my Deli last year, that book came with.
I realise that I stand humbly on the shoulders of all those who came before me. Lillian Kaplun is a giant in my world. You lifted her off the page and helped bring her to life for me.
Thanks and kudos for doing this.
Zane
I love this picture of Lil; this is the essence of what she did. You can just see by the expression on her face that this is her passion; this is her creation!
Hi Jill
My daughter, just alerted me to this website that you created for your mom. Really, your mom is never far from my mind. I still love baking, and I always think of her and hear her voice in my mind with her instructions and advice. I owe my love for baking to your mom and mine. The “cement” cookies aka oatmeal cookies are a staple in my kitchen. They are so called because when my mother made them she over worked the dough and they came out delicious but hard like cement. Your mother corrected her method, but the name stuck.
I enjoyed reading your historical biography of your parents. I have passed the love and ability and talent of baking to my daughter.