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Easy One-Layer Chocolate Afternoon Cake

Sarah Kieffer — Sun, 10 Nov 2024 22:39:46 +0000

Why I Love Single Layer Cakes Over the past year or so I have found myself gravitating towards single layer cakes (vs the traditional double). Don’t get me wrong, I do like a towering layer cake in all its glory (for instance, my favorite birthday cake or this chocolate cake with espresso buttercream), but the single layer cake feels very different: it doesn’t need fancy piping or flowers to grace a table, it’s much easier to eat, and there is a better frosting to cake ratio. You can also put it out in the afternoon and it is perfectly acceptable. Instead of hearing, “why did you make a giant birthday cake on a Tuesday afternoon for no reason?” friends and family will say, “Oh! A little piece of this afternoon snacking cake is just what I needed after this very long day.” (If you need a similar snacking cake for a crowd, I have my Minnesota Chocolate Sheet Cake, too.) What Makes This Cake so Fudgy & Moist This particular cake is inspired by several other chocolate cake recipes I make. All the usual cake ingredient suspects are there: sugar, flour, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla, and oil, but what makes […]

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Almond Cake with Chocolate and Amaretto Buttercream

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 03 May 2017 01:53:41 +0000

About this Almond Layer Cake: I’m celebrating this year with a fabulous cake, for both myself and my own Mother. I’m excited to share the one pictured above with you: an almond cake with chocolate and Amaretto buttercream. Andre Prost sent me several boxes of their imported Odense Almond Paste (from Odense, Denmark) to experiment with. It is made in a factory where only almonds are used so there is no risk of other nut allergies in this cake. If you have never used almond paste, it is found in the baking section of the supermarket. I love almond paste in so many applications (paired with puff pastry, especially, and also in a Danish braid), but I had never used it in a straight up yellow cake. I love the way it turned out; the almond cake is rich and full of almond flavor, without the need for extra almond extract. Amaretto is an under-used liqueur in my cabinet, and it pairs nicely with the almond cake and thin layer of chocolate (side note: on the rare occasion I order a drink when I’m out on the town, I do always get an amaretto sour. I’ve also been informed that […]

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thiebaud’s cakes: one

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:07:00 +0000

‘Commonplace objects are constantly changing… The pies, for example, we now see, are not going to be around forever. We are merely used to the idea that things do not change.’ – Wayne Thiebaud I mentioned in a previous post that Zoe Francois and I were getting together to bake the cakes from Wayne Thiebaud‘s painting, Cakes. Both of us have a print of Cakes hanging in our kitchen, and have spent time pondering what flavors and textures were represented. It only seemed natural that we should try to recreate them. We started with the pretty pink one in the first row on the bottom right-hand corner; the princess cake of the bunch. Chocolate cake was decided on. Because, chocolate. ‘Art is not delivered like the morning paper; it has to be stolen from Mount Olympus.’ – Wayne Thiebaud ‘Common objects become strangely uncommon when removed from their context and ordinary ways of being seen.’ – Wayne Thiebaud Zoe is a pastry chef extraordinaire, so I was happy to sit back and photograph while she took on the cake. I think she did an amazing job, and it was hard to cut into it after all her work. But we […]

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Cake!Cake!Cake!Cake!Cake!

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 02:13:34 +0000

I first discovered Wayne Thiebaud’s painting Cakes at Zoe’s house. She has a small print hanging in her kitchen, and I find myself drawn to it each time I go visit her. It’s simple but beautiful, and I’m often questioning the cakes as I study them. Are you all just chocolate and vanilla, or is there a carrot cake in there, too? Maybe even pumpkin? Is that lemon curd on top down front, or did someone get crazy with the food coloring? What kind are you, little cake peeking out from the side? Why is only one cake cut into way in the back row? Zoe and I have chatted about the piece over the years, and finally came up with a project that has been starring us in the face: baking through Thiebaud’s Cakes. We’ll be starting the series later this summer, so stay tuned. I finally purchased a print of Cakes for myself (details below), and it is now hanging proudly in my kitchen. I still find myself questioning each and every cake on a weekly basis, and it’s spurred on some delicious conversation between friends and family alike. But! I have a non-Thiebaud dessert for you today. […]

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Vanilla Lavender Cupcakes

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 02:15:48 +0000

‘And if, as we work, we can transmit life into our work, life, still more life, rushes into us to compensate, to be ready, and we ripple with life through the days. Even if it is a woman making an apple dumpling, or a man a stool, if life goes into the pudding, good is the pudding good is the stool, content is the woman, with fresh life rippling in to her, content is the man. Give, and it shall be given unto you is still the truth about life. But giving life is not so easy. It doesn’t mean handing it out to some mean fool, or letting the living dead eat you up. It means kindling the life-quality where it was not, even if it’s only in the whiteness of a washed pocket- handkerchief.’ -DH Lawrence, We Are Transmitters- This past week, I took seven whole days off from my cookbook. I haven’t done that since October 1, 2014, which feels very overwhelming upon typing. Over the past year and half I’ve taken a weekend or two as a break from my work, and days here and there when my littles have been sick (and they were sick […]

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One Bowl Tiramisu

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 03:03:07 +0000

Twice a week in the evenings Adam has band practice. The kids go to bed, he leaves, and I’ve got two whole hours to myself. Most nights I pop the top off a pale ale into an ice cold mug from the freezer, and snuggle into the couch by the fire, covered in piles of blankets. Then up goes the laptop, on goes the TV, and I spend all my alone time burning through sitcoms, editing photos, and catching up on work. Basically just staring at screens. There is something about a quiet house in the evening hours that makes me feel unsettled. I like the voices from the television filling the first floor rooms, I like browsing my social media channels knowing there are other people around, awake. It’s time to myself, finally, but I’m not quite ready to be alone. “How much better is silence; the coffee cup, the table. How much better to sit by myself like the solitary sea-bird that opens its wings on the stake. Let me sit here for ever with bare things, this coffee cup, this knife, this fork, things in themselves, myself being myself.” -Virginia Woolf I used to spend time each […]

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Chocolate Pots de Crème with Lavender and Sea Salt

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 15:54:53 +0000

Back when I worked at the Blue Heron Coffeehouse, I spent a lot of time making banana bread. It was one of my daily tasks, and after weeks and weeks of mixing and mashing I could have made the bread in my sleep. However one Friday afternoon, after making it had become more routine than pleasure, I had four loaves that sunk in the middle and tasted terrible. I had no idea how it happened, as this recipe was etched in my soul for all eternity. Larry (the coffeehouse owner) walked over to my prep table to take a peek at the wasted loaves, and I’ll never forget his words. “The kitchen gods are always watching,” he said. “You may think you have a recipe down, and that you can never make it wrong, but the minute you feel you own a recipe, or have pride approaching your workspace that lacks any form of humbleness for your ingredients and movement, the gods will remind you, and teach you respect again.” He said it in all sincerity, and in such a strong, kind voice, that those sentences have never left me in my own kitchen. Which brings me to chocolate pots […]

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spice cake with cardamom-coffee frosting

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 01:08:23 +0000

I’ve been sick for quite some time – going on 6 weeks, in fact, with this on again off again cold and cough nonsense. I’ve spent the last 3 days under my covers, rereading comforting books and pinning my little heart out. I have lots of things racing through my mind (it always seems to happen when I’m sick), but I just don’t quite have the energy to articulate them. Somehow I did find the strength to sneak out of bed and bake a cake, but, well, I just couldn’t help myself. So, here is a cake, and here is a recipe. My thoughts I’ll keep for now. Spice Cake with Cardamom Coffee Frosting adapted from Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland by Lucia Watson and Beth Dooley I haven’t changed much from the original recipe here; I swapped out some all-purpose flour for whole wheat, and added a bit more cardamom to the frosting. This is a lovely cake, and stays moist for several days. It has a great, but subtle spice flavor, and the cardamom-coffee icing compliments it nicely. I was highly inspired by Beth and Molly’s cakes – I love the ‘naked’ cake look. I didn’t […]

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chocolate heart cake with raspberry buttercream

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 03:33:00 +0000

My daughter has been dreaming of a Valentine’s cake for weeks, after seeing a heart-shaped cake in this little cookbook she received for Christmas. It was sort of a last minute affair regardless of all her planning and sketching; I was up late last night baking the cake, and there was a quick trip to the co-op this morning to get forgotten frosting ingredients. Also, Ms. [W] was insistent on red flowers. She was convinced the last little bouquet at the market was full of roses, and I let her believe it. We all agreed that the best part of this special treat was the raspberry buttercream, hands down. It is from The Smitten’s new cookbook, and while I added a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt [I couldn’t help myself], I found it to be absolutely perfect. The berry flavor is light, but just right with the chocolate. And the chocolate cake is always a winner in our house. Happy Valentine’s Day! Chocolate Heart Cake with Buttercream Frosting We used our favorite chocolate cake recipe for the base of this cake. Instead of baking it in two 8 inch round cake pans, I baked it in one […]

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blackberry and basil focaccia bread

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:33:00 +0000

One little basil leaf stared at me today, and it’s posture struck me as I snapped it’s picture. There it lay so small, so lonely, as if it were trying to curl itself up and sneak out; wishing for a gentle gust of wind to just take it to the right. I was instantly flooded with hundreds of similar stories of myself; there were all those awkward moments, flashing right through me. I knew this leaf well. A little basil leaf has so much to offer. Although the plant can grow strong and tall, turning itself into white blossoms, it would be silly to keep it just for this end. If it flowers too soon, it will dull the flavor of the leaves, keeping the plant from it’s full potential in the present. Because those leaves! those lovely green leaves with their perfectly cut lines have so much to give. Beautiful on their own, simple but sure, deep and determined, they will make your food dance. Chop them into long, lengthy ribbons, crush them gently, whirl them with some sugar, and they come alive, ready to accent everything they can get into. And sometimes, it can take thirty-four years or […]

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