From Scratch

This easy, one-layer cake defies the usual techniques and I wouldn’t have noticed the recipe if I hadn’t spotted a pet peeve: expresso for espresso. That the word appeared on a box of Domino powdered (icing) sugar only increased my irritation. Domino is our top sugar producer and they should know better. Of course, they […]

I grew up on this moist, light, homey cake. It’s a little different from most crumb cakes because it’s not just batter with a crumb topping, it’s layered. And the delicious topping does not use any butter. It’s perfect when you want just a litte something and terrific for bake sales.
With a cake this easy, no big […]

This delicious cake is from Nigella Lawson’s Feast and I’ll be making it again for St. Patrick’s Day, the fourth year in a row. The recipe was in the The New York Times in late 2004 and it was such a hit — people inhaled it — I bought the book.
With its chocolate base and […]

While I’ve been eating a lot of rabbit food, Mr. Knife Skills has been wondering when there might be something sweet in the house again, meaning something homemade and not the donuts he thinks I don’t know about. As much as I’d love cheesecake — any time — that’s just too fattening right now. I went […]

This recipe is so tried and true. I’ve been making it about 20 years and my mother made it for several years before that. It’s a pumpkin lover’s cake, not a spice cake at all even though it does have some spices and raisins.
One thing I like about this type of cake — made with […]

There’s always jam in the fridge or pantry but I don’t always have berries, so I was happy to run across this recipe for the frequent times when the muffin-making mood strikes too early to run to the store. As happened this morning.
It’s from Swan’s Down Cake Flour, which has a small but good website. In […]

Rosh Hashana without honey cake is like Hamlet without Hamlet.
The Jewish New Year is next week and this will be on the table. You don’t have to be Jewish to love it and it has a lot going for it; it’s Marcy Goldman’s Definitive Moist and Majestic Honey Cake and it lives up to its name. It’s from her book, […]

Raspberries are on sale so I bought some over the weekend, thinking a cake would be good. I make a couple elaborate cakes with these fabulous berries but, my goodness, it’s summer. I want something fast, refreshing and, if possible, not too sinful.
And this is it. Creamy on top, somewhat sweet, somewhat tart, loaded with appeal […]

I’ve only met one person who doesn’t like cheesecake, a teenager whose idea of a good meal is a can of Spaghetti Os, so he doesn’t count. Therefore, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like cheesecake.
There’s little not to like, but it’s certainly proof that fat gives food flavor. Cheesecake is loaded with fat, and even though leftovers […]

When the high temperature flirts with 100 degrees, as it has this week, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. All too often though, when I  need a dessert during a heat wave, I forget the option of icebox cakes, those no-bake concoctions that can be heads and shoulders above […]

These really ought to be called OMG Cupcakes, especially after I chose a peanut butter frosting — other buttercream choices included peppermint, coffee and orange. I love dark chocolate to begin with, but the complexity of Dutched cocoa with the zing of sour cream is wonderful. And whoever first paired chocolate and peanut butter is […]

Sometimes the old ways are perfect. I’ve mentioned that I’m a sucker for kitchen toys and that includes tools as well. This long-handled old tool is a favorite when I’m making something small, as I did today — six dark chocolate cupcakes, which I’ll post tomorrow. I got it many years ago in New York […]

When I took the Pastry and Baking Intensives at Kump’s there was only one recipe in my repertoire – other than those by program director Nick Malgieri – I felt was divine enough to share with the staff. It was this. It’s a marvelous alternative to pound cake, which I also love, and biscuit-style shortcakes. I like it […]

If the title is so out-of-date it’s almost offensive, it’s because this recipe goes back to the days when most “girls” thought they had to have a man to be complete. It was a 1954 Pillsbury Bake-Off winner and even though times have changed, thankfully, the recipe’s essential goodness has not.
I like this cake for several reasons. […]

That is indeed a cake. What’s more, every bit of it is edible. It’s all cake and sugar art.
There are several types of cake decorators on this glorious earth. There are the patient ones who are willing to cover cakes with hundreds, if not thousands, of little piped stars to make someone’s day with a […]