We’ve all tasted something so good, we thought we could cry. It really happened to Julia Child on one of her beloved PBS shows, Baking with Julia.
This Dessert Is So Good, It Made Julia Child Shed a Tear
Published on Apr. 25, 2025
Every few years, a beloved video from Julia Child’s PBS series Baking with Julia goes viral, and it seems to be what we all need at that exact moment. The most recent clip is close to my heart. It shows a touching scene with a young pastry chef named Nancy Silverton, one of my favorite chefs in the country, making a delicious dessert. After one bite, Julia is moved to tears and says it’s the best she’s ever eaten. Even I shed a tear while watching the clip—it’s beautiful.
Of course, Julia was no stranger to fabulous food, and her enthusiasm for cooking is unparalleled. With nearly 20 books and cookbooks, over a dozen cooking shows, and movies, TV shows and countless blogs dedicated to her, she was instrumental in shaping how and what Americans cook and eat today. We still attempt her most iconic dishes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and love classics like sole meuniere and chocolate mousse. She taught us not to take ourselves too seriously in the kitchen. And the fact that her favorite cocktail is an upside-down gin martini is something I am personally 100% behind.
To make her cry with one bite of dessert? Chills.
What dessert brought Julia Child to tears?
@viewerslikeme.pbs Ultimate chef achievement unlocked. (Could also be the perfect Easter recipe, hint hint.) #viewerslikemepbs #pbs #ilovepbs #juliachild #chefs @PBS ♬ original sound – Viewerslikemepbs
For a woman who celebrated the best of everything, what recipe could make Julia Child cry? Nancy Silverton’s brioche tart with crème fraiche custard, poached fruit, whipped cream and sabayon—a dessert she served at her first Los Angeles restaurants, La Brea Bakery and Campanile. Nancy has always been known for using seasonal, locally grown ingredients and exacting techniques that make everything look effortless on the plate. (If you’ve seen her Chef’s Table episode, you know what I mean.) It’s the same today at her fantastic restaurants, Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza and Chi Spacca.
But watching vintage Julia and Nancy cook is a joy. Julia towers over Nancy at the counter and stove, genuinely interested in how the younger chef crimps the buttery brioche in a baking ring, makes a light-as-air custard and poaches fruit in a wine-infused syrup. They talk about making crème fraiche, a rich, cultured cream—about 1 tablespoon of buttermilk per cup of heavy cream—and how combining it with whipped cream simply “adds a little more character,” per Julia.
The dessert is a labor of love, and Julia loves it. After it’s plated, she takes one bite and there’s a pause. Nancy asks if it’s “a good combination,” and Julia is speechless. She pats Nancy on the back and declares with a quivering voice, “It’s a dessert to cry over,” adding that it’s a triumph (or did she say cry-umph?!) and the best dessert she’s ever eaten.
When Nancy looks back on that episode, she’s a bit nostalgic. But in the moment, she was terrified! “It’s a beloved clip now, but believe me, when it was happening, the first several seconds were frightening to me,” she told Taste of Home. “I saw those tears and immediately thought, ‘Oh my god, I have burned Julia Child.’ I really thought those tears were from the brioche tart dessert being scalding hot! Whew, what a relief it was to realize those were Julia’s tears of joy.”
If you want to make the brioche with crème fraiche custard, you can find it in the series’ companion cookbook, Baking with Julia, written by Dorie Greenspan. (Nancy was a contributing baker for the book.) Set some time aside: The recipe is six pages long. But oh, is it worth it!
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