Serious Eats: Sweets - Let Them Eat...

Let Them Eat: Lemon Chiffon Cake

2013-06-18T15:00:00Z

A super light version of a pound cake [Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

I love chiffon cakes because they're light, fluffy, and super moist. Chiffon cakes use both whipped whites and a leavener to create the airy texture, and use oil as the fat, which makes for a really moist crumb. Chiffon cakes are similar to an angel food cake, but less sugary and so much richer. Most importantly however, is that they're really easy to mix up. Most of the ingredients for the batter are briefly combined in the mixer (you can even hand whisk it), then whipped egg whites are folded in. That's it.

While there are many variations on a chiffon cake, lemon is among my favorites. Lemon matches perfectly with the light, spongey texture. The effect is a light-as-air lemon pound cake. How can you go wrong with that?

I made sure this version was quite zingy by adding a good amount of lemon juice and zest to the batter. It's important to be gentle when folding the meringue into the batter so as to not deflate the whites.

Unlike an angel food cake, which gets turned over to let the cake cool (so that it doesn't shrink), I never turn my chiffon cakes over. I've tried, and it flops out every time (must be the weight or the oil in the cake). Regardless, even though it shrinks slightly upon cooling, the texture is as light as ever. Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream, a dusting of sugar, or a smear of blueberry preserves.

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Lemon Chiffon Cake »

About the Author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Easy Artisan Bread. You can also watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. She presently lives in Singapore working on her new baking cookbook, and as a recipe developer for HungryGoWhere Singapore. Check out her blog: shophousecook.com . Follow Yvonne on Twitter.

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Let Them Eat: The Dark Knight Cake

2013-06-11T15:00:00Z

[Photograph: @sstiavetti]

I love cake, but I have a serious aversion to bad cake. What do I mean by bad cake? Too-sweet cake. Too-dry cake. Boring cake. Uninspired cake. Cake that tastes like every other cake from cake mixes and bad grocery store bakeries.

Some people believe that any cake can be good, just for the sheer fact that it's cake. I'm not like that. For me, bad cake is the worst.

I'm always tinkering with recipes trying to make them more interesting. Sometimes that involves reducing the amount of sugar, changing up the type of fat used, or adding other ingredients that the average person might not think to put in a cake. This cake is a great example of that aesthetic.

I've dubbed this gorgeously rich, moist cake The Dark Knight, as it's a tall, glowering tower of chocolate intensity. A generous blast of dark roast coffee and a touch of milk makes for a gently bitter tone, while a smidge of cayenne adds mystique without turning up the heat. Packed with dates for extra tenderness, it's nearly impossible to ruin this cake unless you a) seriously over bake it, or b) overmix it. Be watchful when baking and mixing, and you're sure to have a masterpiece on your hands.

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The Dark Knight Cake (Triple Chocolate Layer Cake) »

About the author: Stephanie Stiavetti is a writer and cookbook author in San Francisco. Her food blog, The Culinary Life, is a repository for all things comfort food related, from savory dinners to transcendental desserts. She also publishes a monthly culinary newsletter full of stories, review, and helpful tips. Stephanie's cookbook, Melt: the Art of Macaroni and Cheese, celebrates America's favorite dish by recreating it with specialty cheeses. Available for preorder now.

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Let Them Eat: Spiced Prune Cake With Cream Cheese Icing

2013-06-04T15:00:00Z

[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

I love prunes. There, I said it. Despite their unappetizing reputation for being able to address certain bodily malfunctions, and thus holding steady as a trusted friend of the elderly (my grandfather always kept a bottle of prune juice in the fridge, and god help you if you drank it), I also like to bake with them. Prunes (or dried plums if it makes you feel more comfortable) are super moist, sweet yet tart, and boast an over the top flavor of dried fruit. Prunes are the perfect pairing for a warm spice cake.

Though plenty moist to start, I softened up the chopped prunes in a bit of boiling water for a few minutes to make sure that they stayed moist in the cake. I also used vegetable oil to ensure an extra moist texture (I find that butter, though rich, sometimes makes for a drier cake). A handful of walnuts added crunch.

I had a fair amount of this thick-ish batter, so I chose a tube pan as the baking vessel. The center tube helps the cake bake evenly by distributing heat through the center. The finished cooled cake was rustic and moist, but it needed something a little extra. An icing! And there's nothing better than cream cheese to go with a prune spice cake. A quick drizzle over top and I was good to go.

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Spiced Prune Cake With Cream Cheese Icing »

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Let Them Eat: Apple Blueberry Pie-Cake

2013-05-28T15:00:00Z

[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

I wish I could take credit for everything that I create, but many of my tried and true recipes aren't originals. Built up over the years, they include magazine clippings, newspapers, family recipes, and cookbook recipes that have been penned with a big inky star (I write "no" next to the unfortunates that don't pass). One of my all time favorites is a recipe that I've made for years from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. They named it Apple Pie-Cake, but it's really a mammoth deep dish cinnamon apple pie baked in a shell of buttery brown sugar with crumbles of crunchy streusel on top. A springform pan holds it all together until it cools, and then you remove the sides to unleash it in all its glory: tall slices that are packed with thin slices of perfectly cooked, juicy apples. It's the prettiest pie around, except it looks more like a cake. Or does it?

Either way, it's delicious, and is always a great way for me to use up about 5 pounds of fruit in one flash. The best part of this recipe, however, is how simple it is (if you can ignore the peeling of a boat load of apples). Just one mixture is used for both the crust and the top crumble, which saves time. So get your kids on the job with the apples and you'll be all set for some completely stress-free baking. For my recipe here, I used a combination of Granny Smith apples and blueberries. Because the apples were quite tart and very juicy, I tossed in a small amount of sugar and cornstarch.

The hardest part is waiting. This pie-cake takes about 90 minutes to bake because of the densely packed apples. And you need to wait for it to cool substantially before cutting or a pile of warm juicy fruit will spill out instead of coming out in a perfect slice. I personally think apple pie is best at room temperature or chilled down to cold anyway.

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Apple Blueberry Pie-Cake »

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Let Them Eat: Quick Ginger-Almond Cake

2013-05-21T15:00:00Z

[Photograph: @sstiavetti]

As much as I love fancy cakes, a lot of the time I prefer simpler recipes that aren't terribly high maintenance. A seven-layer chocolate blackout cake it awesome, but I'm happiest when you give me an unpretentious cake that I can throw together easily and still impress my dinner guests. Plus, traveling with a fancy cake is particularly annoying. Have you ever left the house with perfectly coifed icing, only to arrive at your destination with a cake covered in thumbprints and scrape marks? Not good.

If you're ever on the lookout for a versatile cake recipe, one that is just as comfortable at afternoon tea as it is following your mom's famous roast beef, then look no further than this lovely ginger-almond number. It is moist and fulfilling, offering a good bit of protein from a healthy dose of almonds and a touch of spicy mystery thanks to the addition of ginger. It's a delightfully rich cake with a tender crumb, one that keeps well for up to four days in an airtight container.

This almond cake is simple to throw together, involving very few dishes almost no elbow grease. The key to its texture is to not overmix the batter once you've added the flour, which will cause the sticky gluten within the wheat to tighten up and become overly dense.

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Quick Ginger-Almond Cake »

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Let Them Eat: Coconut Mango Upside Down Cake

2013-05-14T15:00:00Z

[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

They're versatile and easy to whip up, yet upside down cakes are often overlooked.

In these tasty fruit cakes, fruit is cooked underneath a layer of cake batter. After baking, the cake is flipped over to reveal the succulent layer of caramelized fruit on top. Not only are they pretty to look at, but they're a great way to utilize whatever fresh fruit is in season. The butter and brown sugar-drenched fruit stays super luscious and juicy and the cake layer moist and tender underneath.

Whenever I can, I like to pair the cake and fruit with another flavor that will tie the two together. For the mango in this cake, I couldn't think of anything more perfect than to fold shredded sweetened coconut into the batter. Except rum—I kicked myself for dropping the ball on the booze as I pushed the cake in the oven. Another time, another fruit. In the meantime, this will more than satisfy your sweet tooth.

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Coconut Mango Upside Down Cake »

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Let Them Eat: Hazelnut Chocolate Torte With Espresso Ganache

2013-04-30T15:00:00Z

[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

In pastry school there was a course called "Classic Cakes and Tortes". After having worked in the most popular bakery in my home town, I thought, "Yes! finally I'll learn how to make all those fabulous layer cakes". Not exactly—what the culinary school had in mind was to teach us the traditional French and Austrian classics, not how to assemble a malted Milky Way mousse cake. Nonetheless, in making sacher tortes, opera tortes, and all those fancy Vienna coffee house cakes, I gained an appreciation for the oldies but goodies.

Though not out of the school recipe books, this cake reminds me of exactly the type of classic, low-to-the-ground type torte that we'd mix up in class. Toasted and ground hazelnuts form the flourless base to this dense crumbed cake, and orange zest complements the hazelnuts well. Whipped egg whites are folded in to the batter to lighten up the texture. Bread crumbs are an unusual but common addition to these types of rich nut tortes, as they not only help to lighten up the cake but were probably a way to stretch the nuts. Instead of standard bread crumbs, I folded in a handful of light and airy Japanese Panko crumbs.

Though not gluten-free, this flourless cake is outrageously moist. So much so that it's almost squishy—but who ever complains about a moist cake? No one. And what better to enrobe it but a smooth slick of espresso flavored chocolate ganache.

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Hazelnut Chocolate Torte With Espresso Ganache »

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Let Them Eat: Tender Citrus Sour Cream Cake

2013-04-23T15:15:00Z

[Photograph: @sstiavetti]

When I close my eyes at night, I dream of dousing tender sponge cakes with a huge helping of sweet, delicious syrup or dessert sauce. I've made all sorts of cakes and soaked them with countless different liquids, but there's one cake in particular that stands alone as my favorite of all time: my Tender Citrus Sour Cream Cake. I keep coming back to the same recipe over and over again. It's like the dessert version of my "safe space."

I recently started playing with the idea of smaller cakes, similar to Miette's 6-inch cake policy. Really, you don't need a lot of cake to satisfy your cravings, and stuffing yourself leads to not feeling all that great about the miracle of sugar you just devoured. In a moment of self control, I opted to make this cake in a single-layer style. It's short and to the point. Because really, a small helping is all you need.

You'll find this cake moist, tender, and citrusy, holding a touch of spice from pungent cinnamon. The whole things is soaked with a mixture of condensed milk and heavy cream, then covered with a generous blanket of ultra-smooth Swiss buttercream frosting after a brief spell in the icebox. If you like, you can cover the cake in buttercream roses a la I am Baker. It's a quick and easy way to make an already impressive cake stand out, though I prefer a more traditional icing style that leaves a little something to the imagination.

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Tender Citrus Sour Cream Cake»

About the author: Stephanie Stiavetti is a writer and cookbook author in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her food blog, The Culinary Life, is a repository for all things comfort food related, from savory dinners to transcendental desserts. She publishes a monthly culinary newsletter full of stories, review, and helpful tips, and teaches home cooks how to bake like professional pastry chefs in her online baking and pastry classes.

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Let Them Eat: Rum Glazed Banana Bundt Cake

2013-04-16T15:15:00Z

[Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

I love to eat bananas, but only when they're still green around the edges. I rarely eat my way through a bunch before they turn me off, and the last one that I stuff in my mouth is always met with regret. Thankfully you can still bake with bananas when they're past their prime. In fact, that's exactly how you want them to be: deep yellow and loaded with black spots. This week I mashed up three of 'em and and turned a favorite banana cake recipe into a bundt.

I usually pair my banana cakes with walnuts, but there must have been a run on walnuts at the grocer, so I grabbed a bag of cashews instead. Toasting the cashews briefly helps to bring out the flavor of this delicate nut, and the sweetness of the cashews goes well with the sweet banana. To that mix I also threw in a handful of shredded sweetened coconut, which added great texture and a bit of tropics to match the banana.

I would have left this super moist cake alone but after unmolding it onto a plate, I was face to face with the results of my hasty pan grease. It took a few seconds to sink in that the impeccable surface of my cake was still attached to the inside of the pan. Oh well. Dusting of sugar to cover it up? No, too boring. To top it off, I drizzled on a sock-it-to-me glaze of dark rum and powdered sugar. Now that most definitely helped me forget my little misstep.

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Rum Glazed Banana Bundt Cake »

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Let Them Eat: Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

2013-04-09T15:00:00Z

[Photograph: @sstiavetti]

Hey you. Yeah, you there in the corner, trying to hide behind the big bag of flour. You think you can't bake fancy desserts? I don't believe you. What? You say that none of the cakes you make turn out? Pssh. Let me show you a recipe so easy that I made it when I was eight years old.

Yeah, you heard me. Are you going to let an eight year old outbake you? I didn't think so.

This cake recipe is one of the easier desserts you can possibly make. It's very low in flour so you don't have to worry about overworking the gluten, and the only part that even remotely smacks of "intermediate level" is melting the chocolate. (And if you've got any idea what a double boiler is, it shouldn't give you any trouble at all.) If the idea of roasting hazelnuts gives you the cold sweats, skip the roasting altogether and use 3/4 cup of pre-ground hazelnut flour instead. You can also use almond flour.

Once you've got the chocolate and nuts squared away, all you have to do is mix a bunch of stuff in a bowl and pour it into a greased pan. That's all there is to it. Despite the lack of complexity involved in this recipe, the end result is still a gorgeously elegant, densely decadent chocolate cake that will surely impress whomever you offer it to. A generous dusting of powered sugar on top completes the presentation.

Guess what? You now look like a baking ninja.

This torte is a classically dense, rich dessert. The darker the chocolate you use, the more intense it will be; I prefer 70% chocolate, though you could use 63% if you like, or semi-sweet, or even milk chocolate if you're of that ilk. The hazelnuts round out this cake with a wonderfully toasty flavor, while a healthy dose of vanilla provides a gently sweet aroma to balance out all that dark chocolate. I add a pinch of cinnamon for a little something-something, and if you like, you could even double that amount for a little something-something extra.

Regardless, it's pretty tough to screw up this cake. It might even survive overbaking, but I wouldn't push it too far.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Torte »

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Let Them Eat: Strawberries and Cream Pavlova

2013-04-02T15:30:00Z

Pillow soft, chewy, juicy. [Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

Pavlova is a scrumptious Australian/New Zealand dessert made from baked sweetened egg white meringue topped or layered with fruit and whipped cream, and the first time I made it, it was a disaster.

Early in my career I was commissioned by a local catering hall to make around 100 individual pavlovas to be filled with fruit for a dinner honoring an Australian food personality. Up to this point, the only time that I'd made anything resembling a pavlova was for a plated dessert composed of a completely crisp meringue shell holding a mousse. So off I went, full steam ahead, and baked up 100 shells that were crackly crisp from the outside to the center. To make matters worse, I practically shrink-wrapped the boxes to make sure that they would stay completely crisp. All was successful, I thought, until some months later, when I came across a truly proper recipe that explained that a good pavlova meringue is crisp on the outside with a marshmallow-y soft center. Oops. I can only imagine the sound of folks clumsily shattering though the crunchy meringue, bits of dried egg white flying everywhere.

This pavlova, however, is baked to perfection. Cake pans contain the meringues as they bake, which helps to retain a manageable shape (free-form meringues can sometimes get unruly). Keeping the temperature low ensures the palest color, and I added a small measure of ground almonds for texture. For the filling, simple macerated strawberries and billows of fresh whipped cream—both of which are only lightly sweetened in order to balance the sweet meringue. Once assembled, this dessert will only keep a short time before the juicy berries start to melt the meringue away.

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Strawberries and Cream Pavlova »

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Let Them Eat: Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Cake

2013-03-26T15:00:00Z

[Photograph: @sstiavetti]

I'm a chocolate girl through and through, but sometimes I get the undying urge to cook through a huge amount of fruit. This usually happens when a huge bag of Meyer lemons appears in my kitchen, as if by magic, and I've got only a week or two before they go bad. It's almost like a Food Network challenge: Ten Pounds in Ten Days! But really, what the heck am I going to do with ten pounds of lemons? Bake them, of course!

While I'm completely enamored with lemon meringue pie, I want something new. Something rich. Something so decadent that I'll want to hide in the closet and eat it all to myself, growling like a rabid cat, not sharing a bite with anyone. Ok, that's not really how I roll—anyone who's ever been to my house realizes very quickly that they'll leave my clutches stuffed to the gills with all sorts of ridiculously rich goodies—but you get what I mean. I wanted something stupid good.

My first thought for "stupid good" is always cheesecake. My second thought is lemon curd. My third thought, of course, has to be "GET THEE TO THE GROCERY STORE, STAT!" There's no stemming the urge to bake once the culinary gods have you in their grip. So off to the store I went, and the end result is this gorgeous little pie.

If you need to make use of a huge bag of Meyer lemons, start with this incredibly rich cheesecake. Made from smooth, rich mascarpone cheese and topped with a tart lemon pudding, you'll find this cake best suited cut into dainty little slices for afternoon tea. A little goes a long ways here, making this a great cake for a party. A hint of cayenne in the cheese filling makes for little hint of something-something, and your guests will never be able to figure out why they love the mystery zip of this early spring treat. And you shouldn't tell them. It can be our little secret.

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Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Cake »

About the author: Stephanie Stiavetti is a writer and cookbook author in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her food blog, The Culinary Life, is a repository for all things comfort food related, from savory dinners to transcendental desserts. She publishes a monthly culinary newsletter full of stories, review, and helpful tips, and teaches home bakers how to make gourmet desserts in her online baking classes.

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Let Them Eat: No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

2013-03-19T14:30:00Z

An old favorite [Photograph: Yvonne Ruperti]

My earliest memory of cheesecake was an unsettled one. I was about 9. My great grandmother mixed one up and then set it out on the front porch overnight. Now I'm assuming that it wasn't summertime during this even, but I still remember thinking, "umm, shouldn't something like this be in the fridge?" Clearly I should have grown up to be a health inspector.

Aside from her questionable storage, it was beautiful and delicious. Once I got over the first few moments of trepidation, I succumbed to how good it tasted and convinced myself I was in the clear. Creamy sweetened cream cheese topped with bright red strawberries. And the best part for her was that it was no-bake. Just press the graham cracker crumbs in the pan, fill, top with berries, and chill. Confectioners' sugar dissolves easily in the egg-less batter, which is brightly flavored with lemon zest and lightened with whipped cream. Unbaked cheesecakes are refreshing compared to your average baked cheesecake, making them a perfect Spring dessert, especially when topped with big juicy berries. You might think that an egg-less, no-bake cheesecake needs something to hold it together, like gelatin, but it really doesn't. The thick cream cheese is enough to keep things cohesive. But that said, the texture becomes soft at room temperature, so keep it chilled to get perfectly slice-able pieces.

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No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake »

About the author: Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Easy Artisan Bread. You can also watch her culinary stylings on the America's Test Kitchen television show. She presently lives in Singapore working on her new baking cookbook, and as a recipe developer for HungryGoWhere Singapore. Check out her blog, shophousecook.com, or follow her on Twitter @yvonneruperti.

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Let Them Eat: Chocolate Decadence Cake

2013-03-12T14:30:00Z

[Photograph: @sstiavetti]

Every time I go to my local Whole Foods Market, I stop by the bakery and gawk at all the lovely cakes. I ooh and aah over the lovely piped flowers, the perfectly coifed cannolis, the swaths of ganache that seem to cover everything in front me like a glittering chocolate boulevard. I usually save the best for last, and I end my tour of their cake case with their most sinful creation, aptly called the "Chocolate Decadence Cake." Dear lord.

I'll occasionally buy a piece and then feel silly for buying premade cake. No matter how gorgeous their cakes are, I know that I can easily make this at home, probably using higher quality ingredients and certainly having a much fresher treat than the slices that have been hiding under a cloak of plastic for the prior week. So I finally set to recreating their recipe, and you know what? I was right. It's way better when I make it at home.

This is a relatively simple chocolate cake to make, though it does have a few different moving parts: the chocolate sponge, two layers of chocolate buttercream, an exterior layer of vanilla buttercream, and then a slathering of chocolate ganache over the top, like a deep, sugary halo. If you have basic baking skills, you should be able to pull this cake off with aplomb. You can even prepare the buttercream the day before to lessen the load of the day you put it together, and it keeps well for another few days so you can make the whole thing one or two days before its grand entrance.

As far as chocolate cakes go, this one is the ultimate in decadence, hence its name. The moist cake is hugged tightly by smooth buttercream, and thick blanket of ganache on top seals the goodness in with a kiss. There's no escaping this cake, so don't even try.

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Chocolate Decadence Cake »

About the author: Stephanie Stiavetti is a writer and cookbook author in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her food blog, The Culinary Life, is a repository for all things comfort food related, from savory dinners to transcendental desserts. She publishes a monthly culinary newsletter full of stories, review, and helpful tips, and teaches home bakers how to make gourmet desserts in her online pastry classes.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

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Let Them Eat: Winter's Bounty Breakfast Cake

2013-02-26T15:30:00Z

[Photograph: @sstiavetti]

As anyone with a CSA membership knows, winter can be a season of consistency; when you open your produce box, you'll find a regular selection of kale, beets, fennel root, carrots, celeriac, parsnips, and other cold-weather goodies. I'm 100% pro-hearty greens and root vegetables, but even I can only make so many root purees and creamy, cheesy gratins. After a while, I start craving change.

This cake is an ode to my winter veggie box, putting to use all the vegetables that have been languishing in my root cellar (read: forgotten in the bottom drawer next to my refrigerator). By sharing this recipe, I'm hoping I can help you put to good use all those little roots that have been tucked away for weeks because your family threatens mutiny at the mere mention of one more roasted beet or carrot.

I opted to use half cake flour in this dish, as the lower protein content makes for a finer texture that holds solid chunks, such as walnuts and dried cranberries, more effectively in its clutches. I did want to keep a little of the chewy gluten that all purpose flour brings to the table, hence the half-and-half mixture.

Why a breakfast cake and not a crazy-sweet dessert concoction? When it comes to winter, I'm not always feeling the huge, lofty tower of flour which many bakeries turn out on a regular basis. Sure I love a superlative layer cake, but during the cold, short days of February I'm searching for comfort, not just a binky for my inner four year old's sugar cravings.

You'll like this cake if you're looking for something that's sweet enough for breakfast but not instant-cavity sweet. It's tender of crumb and incredibly comforting, but if you are looking to add a bit more sugar for a full-blown dessert, you can easily pour a little glaze over the top and voila! Dessert course!

This cake is hugely forgiving. It can be made with all AP flour, or all cake flour, or even whole wheat flour if you're looking for some added bulk. You can make it with all carrots or beets or even zucchini, and you can toss in a teaspoon of whatever flavoring you prefer if you want to change it up a bit (I like cinnamon and coriander). If you prefer, try making this cake in a bundt pan for an interesting presentation, but you'll have to carefully gauge your baking time to suit whatever size pan you're using.

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Winter's Bounty Breakfast Cake »

About the author: Stephanie Stiavetti is a writer and cookbook author in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her food blog, The Culinary Life, is a repository for all things comfort food related, from savory dinners to transcendental desserts. She publishes a monthly culinary newsletter full of stories, review, and helpful tips, and teaches home bakers how to make gourmet desserts in her online pastry classes.

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