Alex Lau
Staff Photographer Emeritus
Alex Lau is the former staff photographer at Bon Appétit. Born and raised in New York City, Lau moved to San Francisco at the age of 12 until returning to the East Coast to attend Emmerson College in Boston, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Lau is currently represented by 2D Creative Artists. His clients include Boylston Trading Company, Nylon Guys, Esquire, and more. He has shot both food and travel photography for countless cookbooks—and he takes photographs of other things sometimes as well.
Bacon and Egg Tortellini
Are filled pastas still good at room temperature? This tortellini recipe proves that they are; if you don’t have tortellini or ravioli on hand, use any short, ridged pasta, such as fusilli or penne rigate.
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos
Some kids like it hot. If so, add a small handful of pickled jalapeños or a few dashes of their favorite hot sauce to the mix.
BA's Best Soft Scrambled Eggs
Medium-low heat is the key to the fluffy, creamy, melty texture of these scrambled eggs. We like to serve them when they’re still runny, but keep them on the stove for another 15 seconds if you prefer them completely set. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes. Learn how to make this recipe and more in our online cooking class with Sur la Table.
Grilled Padrón Chiles with Fish Sauce and Lime
Other not-too-hot chiles are great with the same seasonings if you can’t find Padróns. Look for shishitos or Italian frying peppers instead.
Grilled Baby Artichokes with Aleppo Pepper and Parmesan
The parcooking is essential for a tender result, but the extra effort’s worth it.
BA's Best Cheesecake
A whole vanilla bean takes this supremely creamy, wonderfully rich, classic New York–style cheesecake to pro-level.
Pasta Primavera with Crispy Onion Gremolata
We wanted a recipe that was a better expression of “primavera,” literally "spring" in Italian. We swapped the oft used tomatoes and angel hair pasta for sturdy linguini and the first of spring’s green offerings.
Four-Layer Chocolate Birthday Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache and Nutella Buttercream
This chocolate birthday cake recipe calls for dark chocolate in the ganache to balance out the sweetness of the Nutella. For a more kid-friendly cake, use milk chocolate. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.
Simple Two-Layer Chocolate Birthday Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache
Icing on top and in the middle, sides left bare: This modern-looking style shows off the cake’s decadent (and perfectly even) chocolate layers.
Chocolate Birthday Sheet Cake
The genius part of this rich and moist sheet cake recipe is the “reverse creaming” method. Instead of creaming butter and sugar before adding the liquid ingredients and flour, you’ll gradually add the liquid ingredients into the flour. As a result, the cake bakes almost perfectly flat—no domed tops, no layers to trim.
Block Island Lobster Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Play around with different herbs in this lobster salad recipe, such as parsley or mint, and other citrus, like grapefruit in place of orange.
The Troy Monson
Yes, you can use regular oranges, but don’t you just love the color you get from blood oranges?!
Vadouvan-Roasted Cauliflower with Harissa Chickpea Curry
Faster! Faster! Skip the pickling and just top the curry with sliced fresh Fresno chiles. Or leave them out altogether if you’re spice-averse.
Greens and Cheese Vegetable Lasagna
A decent amount of béchamel keeps this tomato-less lasagna moist as it cools.
Croquembouche
Is this caramel cream-puff skyscraper a showstopper? Yes. Is it a major-league project? Yes! Here’s the strategy: Make the puffs and the pastry cream a couple of days in advance, then tackle assembly on the morning of the day you plan to serve this.
Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
For extra texture, trick out your cake with rainbow or chocolate sprinkles, chopped candies, or your favorite cereal.
Six-Layer Chocolate-Coconut-Cashew-Graham Bars
Use your favorite nut—or mixed nuts—in place of the cashews.
Vanilla-Bean Pots de Crème
The water bath insulates these custards from the dry heat of the oven to ensure a lush, creamy custard.
Blueberry-Lemon Hand Pies
It may not seem like very much filling, but these handheld pastries deliver the perfect filling-to-crust ratio (and if you overstuff the dough, they’ll be impossible to seal).
Lemon-Thyme Ice Pops
Like frozen lemonade on a stick; in place of thyme, try basil, mint, or lemon verbena.