chocolate Archives | The Vanilla Bean Blog

Sunken Chocolate Cake with Nutmeg

Sarah Kieffer — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 18:36:20 +0000

Nutmeg has been my spice of choice this last year. (If you are not a nutmeg fan, no worries! This cake still tastes delicious without it, just omit it.) This spice has been showing up in a lot of my recipe testing, and I can’t seem to get enough of the warm, nutty flavor. I’ve always loved it in Blueberry Muffins, but recently have been adding it to my soft and chewy Oatmeal Cookies instead of cinnamon. It also pairs well with chocolate, as evidence in this cake, and a fresh grating on top right before serving really elevates the spice in the cake and it gives it warm, holiday vibes. I love this nutmeg from Diaspora. This intense chocolate cake is a riff on the Chocolate Bread from my first cookbook, but now is baked in a springform pan, which makes it slightly more elegant in appearance, and perfect for serving at any holiday event you may find yourself attending. I find the flavor of the chocolate is deeper and darker a day or two after the cake has been made, and I make it ahead of time if I am bringing it somewhere, but a slice of this […]

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Easy, Moist Chocolate Bread

Sarah Kieffer — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 14:40:25 +0000

I have chocolate cake in many forms on this website: The Chocolate Cake and my Easy One-Layer Afternoon Cake, just to name a few. However, we all know that there is always room for yet another chocolate cake recipe, so here is another one, this time in loaf form. A chocolate cake baked in a loaf pan strikes the perfect balance between rich, cake-like indulgence and the comforting structure of a classic quick bread. The tall sides of the pan allow the batter to bake evenly, creating a tender crumb with just the right amount of density to make each slice satisfying. There is a soft, almost fudgy center with slightly crisp edges, and the added chopped chocolate melt into little pockets of pure bliss. It’s the kind of treat that feels both cozy and luxurious—perfect with a cup of coffee or as a late-night bite. One cup of hot coffee is added to the bowl. Many chocolate cake recipes include hot coffee or water, and for good reason. As the coffee is gently stirred in, the batter turns into an unpromising dark sludge, but bakes up into a moist, delicious loaf cake. Different coffee roasts can add a slightly […]

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Tender, Buttery Chocolate Chip Scones

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 02:43:56 +0000

About this recipe: I was in my early twenties and had never eaten a proper scone. My initial encounters had all been tasteless affairs: coffee-chain-store scones that crumbled all over my lap when I bit into them and left me frantically guzzling down coffee as I tried to swallow those dry, sugary pieces. All that changed one crisp fall day when I was working the morning shift at the Blue Heron. We were in between rushes, and I was trying to slurp down my iced vanilla latte before the next line of people marched in. Colleen pulled out a baking tray from the oven, and I’ll never forget that sight. Beautiful, creamy white triangles glittering with sugar icing and speckled with chocolate made their way to the wire racks. The flaky, buttery layers called to me, and I decided I owed them another chance. Each bite I took included tiny bits of rich, dark chocolate, a not-too-sweet icing that kept the scone moist and tender, and a creamy, flaky scone base that held the whole affair together. It was inevitable: I was hooked for life. Chocolate In Scones? There are some who believe that chocolate does not belong in scones, […]

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Fruity, Nutty Chocolate Biscotti

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 23:14:38 +0000

I am excited to be sharing a recipe with you from Zoë François’ new book, Zoë Bakes Cookies, a follow-up to her incredible Zoë Bakes Cakes book. If you aren’t familiar with Zoë’s work, the short answer is that she is a pastry chef extraordinaire, and you can check out some of her amazing recipes and process videos on her website and over on her Instagram account. Her new book is a cookie tome with not only pages of incredible recipes, but a “cookie academy” section that will answer many of your pressing baking questions. I highly recommend adding this one to your cookie cookbook collection! As for the biscotti, I first encountered biscotti at the mall coffee shop my sister and I both worked at over holiday and summer vacations. The biscotti was sent to the store already wrapped in plastic and sat out on the counters to tempt customers with a quick purchase. I found I preferred the chocolate ones that were also dipped in more chocolate, and dunked them into my already too-sweet iced mocha (which probably isn’t the “proper” way to eat one, but brought me joy none-the-less). There is also, however, the day a biscotti was used as […]

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Chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Cardamom

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 22:24:51 +0000

I have been making some version of these chocolate sugar cookies with cardamom for twenty years, and the recipe has made it’s way, with various tweaks, into two of my cookbooks. In this recipe, the chocolate dough balls are rolled in granulated sugar that’s mixed with cardamom. These cookies are easy to make, and adds to my list of best holiday cookie box recipes. They also will satisfy any chocolate craving you may have. I had never even heard of cardamom until I started working at the Blue Heron Coffeehouse; Colleen had made cardamom chocolate scones and after one bite I was completely hooked. I made sure cardamom found it’s way into a lot of my baking, from Pound Cake to Sugar Buns to Layer Cake. While I love all of those recipes, my favorite way to use it is still paired with chocolate. If you’re not a fan of a cardamom, I think you’ll love my Chocolate Espresso Sugar Cookies. These cookies have deep chocolate flavor, slightly crisp edges the day of baking, and a tender, rich center that lasts for days. They incredibly easy to make, no refrigeration of the dough needed. And they freeze well, which helps when […]

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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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Scotcharoo Blondie Bars

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 17:54:06 +0000

I am sharing today another new recipe from 100 Afternoon Sweets! This might just be my favorite recipe from the new book. I do know that my family is addicted to them, and I fear you will be, too. They combine the perfect crunch and peanut butter flavor of a Scotcharoo bar with the gooey, brown-sugary goodness of a blondie bar. (Also: Minneapolis friends! Join me at the LynHall to celebrate the launch of 100 Afternoon Sweets on October 3rd!) What are Scotcharoos? Scotcharoos are essentially an over-the-top Rice Krispy bar: instead of marshmallows, the crispy base is filled with butter, peanut butter, and butterscotch, and then topped with a thick layer of chocolate. Rumor has it that the recipe first appeared on a Rice Krispies box in the 1960’s, and they are still a midwest classic. They showed up at many a pot luck in my youth, and most the coffee houses I worked at sold them in thick squares. Inspiration for Scotcharoo Blondies While I do have a recipe for straight-up Scotcharoos in 100 Cookies, I wanted to take them a step further. I was inspired by Dominque Ansel’s caramelized puffed rice; in his book Everyone Can Bake […]

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Minnesota Sheet Cake

Sarah Kieffer — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 15:43:41 +0000

Minnesota has found itself in the news this past week and a half, as our very own governor is now on the campaign trail. I thought it might be fitting to post a recipe from my next book, 100 Afternoon Sweets (signed copies are now available here for pre-order!), in honor of all the local and national press: Minnesota Sheet Cake. Sheet Cake Inspiration This cake is inspired by the famous Texas sheet cake – a large, thin chocolate cake covered in icing and often toasted pecans. I found that most recipes for the Texas version had only a small amount of cocoa in the cake, which wasn’t enough chocolate for me, and the icing that graced the the thin cake was often too sweet. My Midwestern sensibilities needed a more substantial dose of chocolate, so I set to work on a cake that would satisfy both my taste buds and any pot luck table I were to set it on. Extra cocoa powder and a hot cup of coffee in the cake base did the trick, but then, even more chocolate (in the form of ganache) poured over the warm cake truly made this a winner. Pecans, or black […]

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Sesame Chocolate Rye Breakfast Cookies

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:54:47 +0000

You have my permission to give me any and all side-eye for suggesting cookies for breakfast, but, hear me out: what if sometimes, just occasionally, we had them for that first morning meal? Because while I don’t eat cookies every day first thing, I pretty much want to. And if I was eating cookies for breakfast, these would be the ones I choose. They are included in my cookbook 100 Morning Treats, and are inspired by the the rye-cranberry chocolate chunk cookies in Dorie Greenspan’s excellent book Baking with Dorie (which she graciously allowed me to feature on my website). Her cookie recipe is from Moko Hirayama, who serves them in her popular Paris restaurant, Mokonuts (which I have never been to, but hope to one day!) I am obsessed with the Mokonuts cookie (it is perfect). It’s known for its signature indentation on the top, which I’ve reproduced here, as well as its great flavor. But I couldn’t resist putting my own spin on it in the form of a breakfast cookie. What Makes This a Breakfast Cookie I use oats and whole-wheat flour in addition to rye flour, cut out some of the butter, and use all my […]

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Chocolate Dipped Cacao Nib Cookies

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 23:24:39 +0000

Cut out cookies come in handy many times throughout the year: Christmas, of course, but also Halloween and Valentine’s Day and birthdays and just because. This dough is very forgiving, rolls out smooth, and can be rerolled multiple times with good results. It is based on my Cut Out Cookie Dough, but I’ve added cacao nibs for some crunch, and then dipped them in chocolate so they are extra special for Valentine’s Day. Ingredients for Cacao Nib Cookies: Tips for Rolling Out Cookie Dough: This dough is very forgiving, and does not need to be chilled first. Lightly flour your surface and rolling pin, and add flour as needed to keep it from sticking. A metal spatula is a good tool for transporting cut cookies from your work surface to the sheet pan. To Freeze Cookie Dough: Cookie dough can be formed and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Freeze the dough tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and in a freezer safe bag. When you’re ready to bake, let the dough sit out at room temperature until the oven preheats. More Cut-Out Cookie Recipes:

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