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What makes a good toaster

• Build quality: A toaster should feel sturdy, with no wobbling, flimsy levers, or loose buttons. Beyond the body itself, I paid attention to the lift lever and any knobs or dials. Thoughtful construction shows up in the details.
• Large item capacity: A good toaster should handle more than standard sandwich bread. The best ones can accommodate a variety of sizes and shapes, lowering each piece fully and toasting it evenly all the way through.
• Browning range: There should be a clear, consistent gradient from barely toasted to deeply browned, with a noticeable difference between each setting. If the lightest and darkest settings look the same, that’s a problem.
• Defrost without over-toasting: A defrost function is only useful if it works. Too many toasters spit out frozen waffles that are burnt on the outside, cold in the middle, or just soggy. The best ones thaw and toast in a single cycle, producing results that are warm, crisp, and cooked through.
• Intuitive settings: Toasters don’t need to be complicated. The best models keep controls straightforward, with clear knobs, simple buttons, and no unnecessary features getting in the way of good toast.

Other toasters we liked

Martha Stewart 2-Slice Toaster

This toaster from Martha Stewart’s brand-new line of countertop appliances performed well in my most recent round of testing. The sleek touchscreen interface includes a whopping 10 different browning settings, which is impressive (if perhaps a tad excessive) and means this toaster is a good option for anyone who wants ultra-precise control over exactly how golden their carbs are. I ultimately felt that the Beautiful toaster accomplished a similar look, feel, and performance quality at a lower price point, but I’d still recommend the Martha toaster if it appeals to you.

Smeg 2-Slice Toaster

Not only does the Smeg look nice, it’s also a dream to use—glossy cherry red exterior, chrome lever, and intuitive control knob that satisfyingly clicks into place as you select your toasting preferences. While it toasts evenly on all temperature settings, we did notice it runs a little hot and slices could come out darker than expected or even burnt. But we did like the generously sized slots, which could fit hunks of sourdough, and the slide out crumb tray that makes clean up a breeze. Overall it’s a great toaster, but an expensive one. We found other models to be better values. Still, we’d recommend this in a heartbeat to anyone who prioritizes style in their kitchen appliances.

Breville Die-Cast Toaster

The two-slice version of our favorite four-slice toaster, the Breville Die-Cast, looks sleek, works like a dream, and has the hefty price tag to go with it. Unlike some models, the Die-Cast has no lever, only buttons. You adjust your setting, press a button, and watch your slice get magically lowered away and pushed back up for your enjoyment when it’s done. The design is also friendly for small spaces—all the controls are on the short side of the toaster instead of the wide side. This makes it easier to nestle in a small spot in your kitchen. Still, the Die-Cast’s a good $60 more than the “A Bit More,” which might push it out of your price range.

Oster Jelly Bean

Don’t let the silhouette and your assumptions about the flimsiness of the plastic body fool you—the Oster Jelly Bean is actually a quality toaster. While the curvy, charcoal silhouette of the Oster sets it apart from some of its sleek stainless-steel contemporaries, the matte look actually makes it resistant to fingerprints or smudges. It also performed pretty well. It evenly toasted everything I put it up against, even on the higher settings—though the curved design does mean the bread doesn’t get fully submerged for toasting, leaving the tops of your bread bare.

Haden Dorset 2-Slice Toaster

I was charmed by the retro design of this toaster from Haden. Its simple interface is intuitive to use but has everything you need to get the job done: a dial for switching between the six browning levels, defrost and bagel settings, and cancel button. I didn’t feel it was able to achieve quite as evenly-browned results as our top pick, and thought the different shade settings lacked a bit of variety from each other (especially the middle ones). This toaster also struggled with thicker bread options—its slots were barely wide enough to fit a halved bagel, and the bagel got stuck instead of popping out after toasting. That said, if you’re drawn to this Haden aesthetically, it’s not a bad option.

Toasters we don’t recommend

For one reason or another, these toasters didn’t earn our seal of approval.

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In 2000, season three of Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw sat on a bench outside Magnolia Bakery in New York City, and bit into a big pink cupcake. Curls tucked behind her ears and frosting stuck to her lip, it was a moment that launched a million ships.

At the time, the phrase “viral pastry” didn’t yet exist. But if it did, it would be the only way to describe the frenzied explosion of cupcakes that followed. In 2005, Sprinkles (RIP) opened in Beverly Hills as the world’s first cupcake bakery. By 2009, there were multiple cookbooks dedicated to the treats, including a compendium by Ms. Martha Stewart herself. That same year, Cupcake Wars, a reality competition series, premiered on Food Network.

All kingdoms crumble, though, and after a decade-plus reign, the cupcake was left behind—an aging monarch overthrown by Dominique Ansel’s cronut, and the neophilic nature of social media feeds.

Could now—a quarter-century after Carrie’s afternoon snack—be the right time for a cupcake revival? We think so. In fact, we believe in it so strongly, that for the first time in a decade at Bon Appétit, we’re publishing not one but three new recipes.

All the things that made the little cakes popular are still relevant today. They’re quick to make, baking up faster than their full-size siblings. They’re easy to transport and share, with no last-minute cutting or slice-size negotiating with your great aunt who wants “just a sliver.” And they’re cute!

Approached with a little consideration and curiosity, cupcakes can feel modern and sophisticated, the sort of treats we’d proudly unveil at any party, even if there are no kids running around. Consider these our contemporary cupcake commandments, illustrated by three new recipes that are, as Carrie would say, fabulous.

For new flavor combos, look in your pantry

Chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet are all solid flavors, classics that we’ll love forever. But just like MomTok admits, switching things up on occasion can make for interesting results. Your pantry is the ultimate source for simple flavor boosters. Other teas like Lapsang Souchong, jasmine, and genmaicha are all great additions to any basic batter. Rip open an Earl Grey tea bag and add it to chocolate cake batter for a smoky florality.

When it comes to frosting, ground spices like cinnamon, cardamom, or fennel; dried and powdered curry leaves or fig leaves (find them at a farmers market or neighbor’s garden) are all welcome inclusions. Or just whip a jar of cookie butter for the easiest frosting ever. Look around you for inspiration! It’s closer than you think.

Cookie Butter Banana Cupcakes

Make the recipe

Think outside the box, er, cupcake pan

Almost any baked good can be downsized to fit in a muffin pan. Brownies, popovers, cookies, and even galettes can all be cupcake-ified. We turned lamingtons, the classic Australian dessert, into an adorable bakery-fancy cupcake, complete with sponge cake squares sandwiched with jam and sealed in chocolate. Quick breads, like banana, zucchini, and pumpkin, can also transform into a sweet ready for a swoosh of frosting. Anything can be a cupcake if you try hard enough! And honestly, you don’t have to try that hard.

Lamington Cupcakes

Make the recipe

Frosting doesn’t have to be so sweet

Introducing an element of acidity can do wonders in taming frosting’s inherent sweetness. Think about how lemon juice or vinegar wakes up a salad dressing. Same principle. This magenta colored frosting is crammed with a half pint of fresh blackberries and generous splashes of lemon juice, both of which cut through the richness of the buttercream, making it all too easy to eat multiple spoonfuls on its own. Director of cooking, Emma Laperruque, is partial to a cream cheese frosting—this one, in particular, that’s almost universal in its application. Heavy on the cream cheese, light on sugar, it’s full of “milky and tangy and sunny” flavors.

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Lamingtons are a classic Australian dessert, thought to have been made by the French chef of Lady and Lord Lamington, the former governor of Queensland. A square of vanilla cake with a smudge of jam in the middle, robed in chocolate, and coated in shredded coconut, the lamington is rightfully iconic. Here, a cupcake pan streamlines the process, eliminating the need to cut large squares of cake. You’ll still split the cupcakes in half and spread a thin coat of raspberry jam in the middle before dunking the whole lot in a dark chocolate glaze and rolling in shredded coconut. These lamington cupcakes are a fuzzy delight, resembling cartoon rabbits from a fairy tale.

Dipping the cakes in glaze is messy business. Make peace with the process and it’ll go much faster (or get an assistant). Just like breading chicken, it helps to have one “wet” hand for dipping the cakes and one designated “dry” hand for rolling the glazed treats in coconut.

Read More: It’s Time for the Cupcake Comeback

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With a few buy-it-for-life exceptions, kitchen tools need replacing, some more than others. And no one knows that better than professionals. I was on set during the “Restaurant Wars” episode of Top Chef: Season 23 – Carolinas, where I sat down with some of those pros: judges Kristen Kish, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons, to discuss how they cook at home and kitchen products.

During our interviews, I asked the judges a simple question: What do you keep replacing, even with decades of professional experience? Here are the tools they mentioned, along with my recommendations based on my own years of testing kitchen products.

Vegetable Peelers

Vegetable peelers are an item many chefs replace because they don’t last long, even with the best care. Some models feature replaceable blades, like the Milk Street Kitchen Precision peeler, which retails for $30, but by peeler standards that’s high. Kish loves Y-peelers but is constantly restocking them. “They’re so sharp and cheap,” said Kish. “But the problem is that I get lazy, throw them in the dishwasher, and they rust.” Colicchio also said he often replaces Y-peelers because they get dull and stop working.

As for which peeler to stock up on, ask any chef, and they’ll tell you the Kuhn Rikon Original Swiss Peeler is the best on the market. I’ve tested so many vegetable peelers, and the set I love is also a favorite among chefs. You get three very sharp Swiss-made y-peelers in various colors. They’re incredibly sharp and comfortable to hold when peeling awkward vegetables. To prevent rust, handwash them, (though even though I know better I still throw mine in the dishwasher. Laziness sometimes reigns.)

Nonstick Frying Pans

“I replace coated pans anytime they get a scratch,” said Simmons. “I am hyper-crazy about it. Now, I try to use more ceramic pans.” There are so many nonstick pans on the market, and none of them will last more than a few years, so that is a common problem, whether you are a Top Chef judge or not. And scratched nonstick pans are a real concern for most home cooks.

“I’ve been using Hexclad pans lately, and I’m kind of into them,” said Simmons. “They’re pretty and so much heavier than other nonstick pans.” Hexclad hasn’t tested well for us, but we do love this hybrid ceramic nonstick pan from Zwilling. It has a stainless steel exterior that not only makes it attractive but also conducts heat well. The nonstick coating is so durable so you can use metal utensils. It can go in the dishwasher and withstand oven temperatures up to 500°F.

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Welcome to The Receipt, a series documenting how Bon Appétit readers eat and what they spend doing it. Each food diary follows one anonymous reader’s week of expenses related to groceries, restaurant meals, coffee runs, and every bite in between. In this time of rising food costs, The Receipt reveals how folks—from different cities, with different incomes, on different schedules—are figuring out their food budgets.

In today’s Receipt, we follow a 36-year-old public relations professional making $100,000 a year in San Gabriel, CA. Keep reading for her receipts.

Skip ahead

• The finances
• The diet
• The expenses
• The diary

The finances

What are your pronouns? She/her

What is your occupation? I work in PR at a large global firm. I was a pandemic hire and work remotely on most days. More time to cook at home!

How old are you? 36

What city and state do you live in? San Gabriel, CA, but I grew up in the Philippines

What is your annual salary? $100,000, not counting my husband’s salary of roughly $65,000; he works in community health for the unhoused population

How much is one paycheck, after taxes? $2,800

How often are you paid? Twice a month

What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food? (i.e., rent, subscriptions, insurance, bills)

• Rent: $2,588 (includes water/trash/HOA)
• Electricity: $150
• House gas: $150
• WiFi and phone: $150
• Car loan: $529
• Car gas: $250
• Subscriptions: $30
• Credit card: $500
• College savings plan: $400
• Kid sports and other extracurriculars: $200
• Gym membership: $159
• Fixed monthly total: $5,006

The diet

How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? I definitely eat out way more than I ever did growing up in the Philippines. But I’m a social homebody—I love staying home and hosting friends for brunches and dinners. Also, the cost of eating out adds up, and I’m trying not to spend my entire paycheck in restaurants.

That’s probably why our house is the hangout house. Everyone comes over, whether it’s my kid’s neighborhood friends, my husband’s friends, my girlfriends, or our couple friends. Meals are usually chill, and potluck-style. (Think Monica’s place on Friends.)

This week I’m trying not to eat out a single time. Will I succeed???

Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? I don’t follow a specific diet, but I’m trying to lower my BMI/body fat percentage after a steady increase over the past three years. It’s tricky, trying to manage eating healthy while having a kid and husband who love all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ and sushi.

I try to prioritize healthier proteins and whole foods, limiting anything too processed and aiming for an even split of protein, carbs, and fat daily.

I recently started an accountability group with some gym friends who have similar health goals. We basically just send each other pictures of what we’re eating. It gives me meal ideas, sure, but the real appeal is seeing how other people eat and cook. I’m nosy, okay?

What other factors influence how you and your family eat? My Roman empire (and I’m sure many women feel the same) is “what the hell am I cooking today?” It’s my main domestic task, while my husband manages the laundry and cleaning. It never ends.