I am highly enjoying Yossy Arefi’s new cookbook, Snacking Cakes, a lovely collection of simple, every day cakes. I’ve tried several recipes from the book now: Vanilla Buttermilk Cake, Minty Chocolate Malt Cake, and Cherry Coconut Almond Cake, and all of them were delicious. But my favorite so far is this Powdered Donut Cake, described as: “Heavy on the butter and nutmeg, this cake has all the flavors…
I had my first taste of basil and chocolate almost two decades ago, out with friends at Lucia’s restaurant in Minneapolis. Our server recommended the chocolate cake paired with the basil ice cream, and the combination sounded so intriguing we decided to trust him. The bright blue of my shirt, the buzz of voices at tables surrounding us, the candles speckling the dimly lit room, and chocolate and…
This is an older post, originally posted in 2011, that I’m highlighting this December. My daughter and I were looking through old blog posts, trying to decide on a birthday dessert for her upcoming day, and she died laughing at how terrible the photos were for this post (they were pretty bad). So I remade the candy cane cake this week updating not only the photos, but the…
This post is sponsored by California Walnuts. As always, all opinions are my own. I’m a fan of cake, of course, and while I’ve made plenty of layer cakes and snack cakes on this site, I realized that I could also do with a sheet cake, an essential for birthday parties, picnics, and other large get-togethers. This one is double chocolate, with sides coated in candied walnuts. I’ve…
There has been a slight chill in the air the past week – just the faintest whisperings of September – so naturally I found myself in the kitchen baking bundt cakes. I used to make an Espresso Bundt Cake back in my bakery days, but I found the recipe slightly lacking and dry when remaking it in my home kitchen. I decided to revamp my Lemon Poppy Seed…
I have a gigantic stack of cookbooks that I have been meaning to bake and cook from, but sadly they have sitting on my dining room table (along with heaps of legos and papers to be sorted and summer homework that hasn’t been started and laundry to be folded and and and…) while I finished working on my next book (and the manuscript is in! And the photographs!…
This post is sponsored by California Walnuts. As always, all opinions are my own. I’ve teamed up with California Walnuts to bring you some recipes over the following year (such as this chocolate walnut cake and these chocolate donuts). Over 99 percent of walnuts grown in the U.S. come from California’s walnut orchards, many of which are on family owned and operated farms that have been around for generations. Walnuts are nutritious…
This week I was sent an advance copy of Odette William’s new book, Simple Cake. It is a beautiful book filled with all kinds of (wait for it) simple cakes, and after flipping through the pages I was immediately inspired to head to the kitchen and bake. I decided on this Lovely Lemon Cake with Nana’s Simple Glaze; we have been buried in piles and piles of snow…
This post is sponsored by California Walnuts. As always, all opinions are my own. I have another cake for you; this one is in Bundt form, studded with white chocolate and topped with candied walnuts (which, you may remember, is my new favorite treat). I love Bundt cakes because they fall in the dessert category of ‘simple but classy’, and can be eaten any time of the…
This post is sponsored by California Walnuts. As always, all opinions are my own. I’m excited to share this cake with you, for two reasons. First, it has been a whole month since I made a layer cake, so I was due for another one. Second, this cake involves candied walnuts, and I didn’t realize until I made them how incredibly delicious they are. (My family agreed, and…
