Purple Plum Torte
There are cakes, and then there’s Marian Burros’ Purple Plum Torte. People have feelings about this cake. Intense feelings. Certainly feelings not felt about, say, Ho-Ho’s. Food is like that sometimes. Consider Fergus Henderson’s Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad. Or Judy Rodgers’ Roast Chicken and Bread Salad. You see…
Alice Medrich’s Almond Cake
Over the holiday weekend a friend kindly gave me a copy of Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert. If you, like me, have never read Alice Medrich’s cookbooks, much less baked from them, please head for your nearest indie bookstore or library and acquaint yourself with Ms. Medrich’s oeuvre. Barring these options,…
Cherry Cranberry Muffin Cake
Cherry Cranberry Muffin Cake is just what it sounds like: muffins that have become cake. Credit for the muffin cake concept goes to Dorie Greenspan. Writing in Baking From My Home to Yours, describes having readied the ingredients for apple nut muffins only to have her brunch guests show up….
Nantucket Cranberry Pie
Nantucket Cranberry Pie is not a pie. It is a cake. How it came to be called Nantucket Cranberry Pie is something of a mystery: the recipe comes from Laurie Colwin’s More Home Cooking. There she describes the cake as coming from her friend Ann Gold, who inherited the recipe…
Easy Blueberry Cake
I know what you’re thinking. It’s broiling outside, and I’m asking you to bake? Hear me out. Easy Blueberry Cake may be baked from a standing start, so to speak. The batter is mixed in a single bowl. The butter is melted, meaning it doesn’t need to be at room…
Wacky Cake Revisited
As more people are vaccinated and lockdowns lift, social life is gradually resuming. People are once more gathering and eating together. Sooner or later, you may be invited someplace, and you may be asked to bring a dessert. Many people, rightly or not, find the entire business of baking anxiety-inducing….
Pandemic Cooking with Pantry Items
Social media is awash in titles like the above. They’re decidedly grim, but no sense messing around, is there? Unrelated pretty picture. I’m sorry if you’re sick of these kinds of posts. Who could blame you? By now you’re probably sick of just about everything. You long to go outside….
Little Lemon Cakes
Too many lemons is a first world problem, but there you are. We have a lemon tree in our yard, but so do lots of other Bay Area inhabitants. Free lemons aren’t always met with appreciation. Searching for a productive way to use up my lemon glut, I turned to…
Lemon Cake with Almond Flour
As I write, California is experiencing terrible fires. Here are some ways to help: The United Way is helping people affected by the Camp Fire. The American Red Cross is also accepting donations. The North Valley Community Foundation is accepting donations. To help animals impacted by the fires, the Conscious Cat…
Marble Pound Cake
The past week saw your hostess dealing with rodents in kitchen (that screaming you heard? it was me), and a near automobile accident. The other driver–who was at fault–attempted to confront me. (That screaming you heard? It was me.) This driver, who was backing out of a parking lot…