Visiting Valerie Confections’ New Glendale Headquarters

Founder Valerie Gordon explains the ins and outs of her 18-year-old company and its latest evolution

Over the past 18 years, Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections has baked countless desserts, obsessed over chocolate-dipped toffees, crafted jams from local produce, written a baking book and perfected the art of petit fours. Gordon makes beautifully designed sweet treats that look like art, smell intoxicating and taste delicious. In addition to her hours spent in the kitchen, Gordon collaborates with Commune Design, grilling desserts …

Tokyo Banana Pie

Japan's Twinkie-like cult treat

If you’ve ever had the good fortune to travel through Tokyo’s Narita Airport, you wouldn’t have missed the stacks of Tokyo Banana Pies in the shops, sitting among all the tasty treats for friends back home. These small vanilla sponge cakes filled with banana custard are Japan’s more upscale version of the Hostess Twinkie, so we decided to taste them to see if they were …