Saturday? Yes.

Snowy day? Yes.

Cold outside and warm inside? Yes, yes.

Coffee cake anyone? Oh, yes, please.

With cocoa nibs? Yes.

And cream cheese and crème fraiche? A-ha.

Go grab the recipe for here.

This cake is so old. It’s so old that if we had any leftovers they would have been covered with green fuzzy stuff by now.

But luckily, there were no leftovers.

I just got so busy with summer (Well, not really—it’s been mostly cloudy here this June.) and kids outta school… and swim lessons… and stuff… But I still wanted to share this easy cake with you that I have made for my son’s birthday. He liked it so much that I thought it’s worth documenting and adding to the family recipe collection.

So, being busy and all + I don’t have much patience for making fussy cakes

… my little prince had to settle for a vanilla, banana, and whipped cream cake with marshmallows on top that I could make in 15 minutes. The poor guy.

Well, that one and the additional 16 individual dirt cakes + 9 *13 dirt cake I made for his party. I’m such a good mama!

Vanilla-banana cream birthday cake

for a 10-inch tart pan

petite buerre biscuits (or graham crackers, but I think petite buerre taste better and has better crumbs/texture)
1 stick butter, melted
1 package instant vanilla pudding
2 cups cold milk
1 teaspoon lemon and/or orange zest
2 cups heavy cream whipped with 2 tablespoons sugar + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to medium peaks
2-4 bananas, sliced and mixed with lemon juice to prevent browning
Marshmallow for decorating, or any candy you like
A sparkler!

Grind the biscuits with the melted butter in a food processor. Remove from bowl and press into the tart pan + the sides.

In a medium size bowl, prepare the vanilla pudding, milk, and zest according to the instruction on the package. Chill.

When pudding is chilled, fold gently with the whipped cream.

Scatter the sliced bananas on top of the crust. Pour and spread the cream over the bananas.

Decorate with marshmallow and/or candy. Chill until ready to serve.

Happy birthday!

I made dirt cake for the first time a few years ago when my son was 6 years old. I served it in beach buckets with shovels. It looked so real–—it was totally believable to be dirt–that my boy refused to try it even after he saw all of licking our fingers.

This year the cake made a come back by special request from the birthday boy. I think I took it to the next level, don’t you think? I even saved the card boxes from the nursery.

I thought I was a geniuos. I believed that since there is no baking involved this will take no time to make. Wrong! Collecting the pots, washing each and every one of them, purchasing supplies, preparing, assembling, etc, of 16 individual “plants” consumed a few good hours of my days. Thanks to my friend S who came to help with assembling and keep me company I did not lose my head spinning in the kitchen. (I rewarded her with Shakshuka for lunch!)

I didn’t keep track of what I was doing, I kinda winged it on the go, relying on the previous cakes I made, but my cousin asked for the recipe, so here goes…

For 16 “plants” (16 plastic cups that fit into 16 4-inch pots)

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
2 1/2 cups milk
2 boxes of vanilla instant pudding (2.8 oz. each)
1 teaspoon orange/lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons of sugar to between soft and firm peaks
2 boxes (16 oz. each) oreo* style cookies

For decoration:
16 sprigs of mint or any herb/edible flowers you have
16 plants tags
gummy worms
gummy mice (I put those at the bottoms of each cup, hidden by cookie crumbs)
chocolate “rocks”

To make the pudding: In a mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the milk, pudding powder, zest, and vanilla and mix. Transfer to a bowl and chill for a few minutes until it gets a bit firm. Then, gently fold the whipped cream with the chilled pudding.

Place the cookies in a food processor and grind until finely crumbled and looking like dirt.

Assemble the cakes: Put a layer of cookie mixture in the bottom of the cup, add a few spoonfuls of the pudding cream, and then another layer of cookie crumbs. Repeat with the other cups.

Chill for a few hours. Decorate with gummy worms, herbs and/or flowers.

* I used oreo style cookies that have no hydrogenated oils and no trans fatty acids. Look for brands free of those unhealthy ingredients.

For 9 * 13 inch pan

2 boxes of vanilla instant pudding (2.8 oz. each)
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups heavy cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons of sugar to between soft and firm peaks
1 box (16 oz.) oreo style cookies + 1 box vanilla wafer cookies (or whatever cookies you have in the pantry)

For decoration:
gummy worms
gummy mice
chocolate “rocks”
springs of herbs

Follow the same directions as above to make a 3 layers cake.

I love&hate frosting.

Yes, frosting is sweet, and some can even make it tasty. But after eating 1/2 a cupcake I feel the sugar rushing and gushing in my veins. And after eating 3/4 of a cupcake I feel a sugar intoxication going through my bones and my brains. (And I think about diabetes too…)

This is why I can never bring myself to make frosting at home! But, the other day, there was a birthday. And, a little girl asked for cupcakes. What was I to do?

I considered making a sour cream frosting. It sounded “healthier” and less fatty than cream cheese frosting, and hopefully, I thought, it’ll contain less sugar. See an example recipe for cream cheese frosting (for 24 cupcakes!):

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar

OMG, who eats like that and lives to tell? That’s 2.6 tablespoons of suagr for the frosting only on each cupcake + add the sugar in the cake… Wowza.

(People, I think I’m becoming a “health” fanatic by the second… also see: Orange yogurt cake and… too much SUGAR!)

As I Googled-Binged “sour cream frosting for cupcakes” I found recipes like:

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• 2 – 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

***

• 1 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 2 tablespoons sour cream

***

• 4 Tbsp butter, softened
  1/2 cup sour cream
  1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  1/2 tsp lemon juice
  1/4 tsp salt
  2-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

***

• 1/4 cup of butter, room temperature
  1/3 cup of sour cream
  2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
  1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  pinch of salt

***

• 1/2 CUP (1 STICK) unsalted butter
• 3 CUPS powdered sugar
• 1 TEASPOON vanilla extract
• 3 TO 4 TABLESPOONS milk

***

OK, you got the picture. You can’t get away with using less then 2 – 2.5 cups of sugar for 12-24 cupcakes. (I really should try to make one with no more and 1/4 cup sugar and see what happens…. Sometimes in the future…)

I felt discouraged so I figured out let’s just drop off the whole frosting part. But what was I to do?

The solution? Real, homemade, freshly-whipped whipped cream! My favorite!

With a thin layer of red currant jelly (it tasted the best) on top of each chocolate cupcake + 2 tablespoons of vanilla flavored whipped cream (The whole batch of 1 cup heavy cream was made with only 1.5 tablespoons of sugar) + sprinkles + 1 marshmallow (Yeah, I know, marshmallow is not the healthiest choice, but… and… it’s only one) all the kids were very, very happy!

I’m not sure whether this cake should be filed under “small cake” or “big cookie”. I’ve seen people complain (about a similar cake, on other sites) that it is actually a big cookie. Well, the title did claim it was, well, cake… I guess that led them to develop some, you know, expectations. However and nonetheless, why complain about such a thing? On the other hand, all this business could  have been prevented had the cake been titled correctly.

My mantra is: all disappointments grow out of expectations. If one’s expectations are set straight then there will be no (major) disappointments or frustrations. Right? Certainly not about a cake that turns out looking like a big cookie!

So, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about this lil’ cake/giant cookie. Maybe we’ll call it something new: a cakookie? Would that do?

Anyway… This cakookie is perfect to nibble on when the mood strikes all of a sudden. When one is in desperate need of a piece cake, or a cookie, like… RIGHT NOW. Especially on an average weekday, or weeknight. Or weekend. Especially when it’s rainy and blue.

It is also the perfect cakookie if you’re on a diet! Yes. Because you might want to have cake and eat it too! But you don’t want leftovers sitting around the house for days and days, tempting you, alluring you, winking at you like little devils, “eat me, eat me” and this exactly what happens when you’re dealing with a 9 to 10-inch size cake. Unless you’re sharing.

(Pssstt… Has anyone noticed I said “leftover cake”?)

The hazelnut chocolate lil’ cake presented to you hear is a variation on this walnut cake. I think hazelnuts and chocolate are the perfect match+ throw in a handful of walnuts for some crunch… Perfect-er!

Chocolate hazelnut cake/giant cookie

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 pound hazelnut meal, lightly toasted*
1 handful chocolate chunks
1 handful chopped walnuts, lightly toasted, optional
1 cup all-purpose flour

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch springform pan and line it with parchment paper, grease it too.

Place the butter in a food processor with the sugar and process until creamy. Add the egg, rum, vanilla, and baking powder and pulse until you have a uniform paste. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Fold the hazelnut meal, chocolate, and walnuts into the butter mixture with a spatula. Sift the flour in small amounts over the batter and fold together. When all the flour is incorporated, pour the batter into the cake pan, leveling it off with a spatula.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, then test the center of the cake with a toothpick. If it comes out dry, the cake is done. If not, bake 5-10 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and remove the sides of the pan. After the cake has cooled a bit, invert it onto a plate and carefully lift off the pan base and peel off the parchment paper. Invert once again and place on a serving plate.

NOTES: you can use whole hazelnuts instead of hazelnut meal and toast them, peel, and grind to make a meal. I find that the cost ends up pretty much the same and buying a meal in the first place is a terrific shortcut!

To toast whole nuts, spread them on a baking sheet and place in the middle of the oven. Toast in a 350 degrees F oven for 5-6 minutes.

I toast the hazelnut meal in a skillet or toaster oven—watch it closely—for a few minutes over low heat.

I have finally met her. The pie lady.

I’ve heard so much about Kate McDermott’s Art of the Pie class in the past year. Some people call her “The pie lady”, some “The pie whisperer” but no matter what they call her, all of them love her and rave about her class, and her pies. Especially the pie dough.

In the past two decades I have used the same one apple pie recipe which I have had since 1990’s and the same fruit crostata recipe, and I wasn’t very curious about other pies at all. But I did get very curious to know more about Kate’s pie because all the talk about her around town. Finally, last Saturday I had a chance to participate in her pie baking class at Dish it up!

The thing that touched me the most about Kate’s pie was her relating to the pie almost as if it were a person: a friend, and at times, even as a child. She was talking to it, sending good vibes into it, thinking good thoughts about people she cares about while mixing and kneading it. She patted the chilled dough with her rolling pin, but did not hit it. “You would not do that to a child, would you?”, she asked. I confess, I banged quite a few doughs (but not kids!) that were hard to roll in the past. But no more, no more.

In short, Kate is putting her pleasant, warm personality into the pie. Making her pie was not an act without a thought or emotion, was not an automatic series of actions, although one could have expected it to be just that since she’s been making pies for many, many year. But no, watching and listening to Kate while she demonstrated making her pies was watching an act full of love, care, and warmth.

I must say, I think what I have witnessed was not only the “art” of the pie, but also the “soul” of the pie and its maker.

When we got to taste a freshly baked apple pie, I tried to identify what’s so different about it? I compared it in my head to the ones I had before. Maybe it’s the addition of leaf lard (I have never used it so far), but there was something beyond that. I think it was the love that was put into it.

The filling—it was phenomenal. Kate used many different apple varieties—one of each kind. I think there were 8 of them. Each one with a unique characteristic to add: some turned mushy when baked, some held their shape, some were sweet, some tart, there were greens and reds… And the spices… They were just right, and so gentle. Even though I saw it with my own eyes, I couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you put 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in this?”, because usually the cinnamon flavor really stands out, overpowering the fruit in apple pies.

Now what about the dough? It is definitely distinctive but more difficult to describe. I think that compared to an all-butter dough which tends to have a melt-in-your-mouth and crumbly texture, Kate’s dough  has a bite, it’s not very crumbly but more crispy, and crunchy, but most of all, it has layers—not at all a puff pastry but certainly it made me think of one. See?

Kate wrote a blog post full of tips about the pie making process, Flour, salt, fat and water.

There’s also an excellent post with the recipe and more tips here, in this post.

I took many notes during class. Here are the tips I learned:

For the dough:

Rule #1: keep everything cold! Everything—the bowl, the flour, your hands (chill in ice water), the rolling pin, etc. Keep them in the freezer! On hot days, put your mixing bowl inside a bigger bowl with ice.

Kate doesn’t sift and doesn’t take exact measurements. She keeps it simple and feels it with her hands.

Use butter that is sold wrapped in foil. It’s a sign for good, fresh butter.

Stop mixing before you think you’re done. You should still have large pieces of butter—this will create the marbling later on, which translates into layers of flaky dough.

For vegetarian (and Kosher) dough, you can use Earth Balance brand to substitute the lard and butter.

After every addition of water squeeze the mixture to test if it holds and pulls into a ball.

The dough is freezable, unbaked, up to a month. But, before freezing it, put it in the fridge for the gluten to relax.

For the filling:

Use a variety of apples.

Cut the fruit to large dice.

Don’t judge an apple (or a person) by the way it looks on the outside. It might be delicious. Taste it and see.

No need to peel the fruit. It will make every bite a flavor and texture sensation.

Use superior quality fruit! (Go to the market, if there is one close to you.)

To estimate how much fruit you’ll need, put the whole fruits in the pie pan and pile it high. Put it back again after dicing it to measure if you have enough before you proceed with the seasoning.

The amount of spices she used to season her pile of diced apples:

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2-3 gratings of nutmeg
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar/lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour

When rolling the dough:

Put a good amount of flour on the board

The technique: place the rolling pin in the middle of your “chubby disk”, from the middle, roll up, lift, go back to the middle and roll down. Turn the dough, repeat. Flip to other side, repeat.

Roll it to be as thick as glass.

If the dough tears, use water to glue it back together

Put the pie dish in the freezer

Brush excess flour off the rolled dough, on both sides, before transferring it to the pie dish

Kate doesn’t bother with greasing her pan. (The dough did not stick. Ha!)

The dough has memory. If you stretch it, it’ll shrink when you bake it (Remembering where it used to be.)

Scatter diced butter on top of the filling once placed in the pie dish

After putting the second rolled dough on top of the filling, roll it up, making a “reservoir” so the juices don’t escape out (I’ll add to that, always put your pan in a large baking sheet when you bake!). Also, take it off the edge. If the dough sits on the edge, it’ll melt downwards and it could burn.

If once you finished preparing the pie the dough gets warm, put it back in the fridge to chill before baking

Bake: 425 F degrees for 20 minutes + 375 F, 40 minutes. If it browns too fast, place aluminum foil with a hole in the middle (for the steam to vent), matte side up, to protect the dough.

A tip about ovens: If you want to test and see if your oven has hot spots, place slices of bread on a baking sheet and bake it, see where it browns and when not.

Make “tasties” with the leftover dough.

***

I also found a recipe for Kate’s Shaker Lemon Pie here and her blackberry pie in Saveur magazine, here.

My conclusion: Wonderful Kate makes wonderful pie!

Today I’m going to preach to you. But I’ll keep is short, OK?

It’s about sugar. Wa-aaay too much sugar.

I confess, I never understood what’s the point in eating sugar as is. It might be called a “glaze” or a “syrup” or… whatever, but the bottom line is: it is pure sugar that people are eating. Why? It doesn’t really taste good, it’s just sweet, nothing interesting about that, and for sure, it doesn’t do any good to our bodies. So why, why, why do so many bakeries insist on drenching and drowning their baked good in cups and layers of sugar?

I can’t stand sugar glazed pasties. There, I’ve said it.

I had a little exercise lately. I’ve been cutting the amounts of sugar in baking recipes. And you know what? Nothing bad happened. On the contrary, good things happened.

I won’t name names but with some chefs/cooks/cookbooks I learned that I can automatically omit 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar from the baking recipes and the cake will still rise and all. For example, last week I made lemon bars. The recipe called for 3 cups of sugar but I used 2 1/2 cups instead and it turned out great—sweet just right.

A few weeks ago I looked for a yogurt cake recipe. You know how a container of yogurt can be pushed to the end of the refrigerator’s shelf and be forgotten only to be discovered one day before its expiration date? So I needed a yogurt cake recipe.

I found recipes in 2 very popular cookbooks—I won’t name names, but keep an eye open when you bump into a recipe named Lemon yogurt cake or French-style yogurt cake. The recipes were 90% identical.

I’ve decided to go with the one that uses more yogurt (1 cup compared to 1/2 cup). Both recipes use a lot of sugar: 2 1/4 cups of sugar in one and 2 1/3 cups of sugar in the other. Now, let me break it down for you:

2 1/4 cups = 36 tablespoons of sugar.

For a cake that serves 8-10 people, that’s 3.6 to 4.5* tablespoons of sugar per slice/per person!!

* If you need more visualization, 4 tablespoon = 1/4 cup. Could you eat 1/4 cup of sugar if it was not hidden in a slice cake?

I was horrified only by the thought of it so I decided to skip the sugar glaze and the sugar syrup altogether and see how the cakes turns out. Instead I used only 3/4 cup sugar total in the cake’s batter, and, what do you know… it turned out perfect!

That’s a total of 12 tablespoons for the whole cake. That’s only 1 to 1.2 tablespoons of sugar per slice/person.

Halleluiah.

I also used oranges instead of lemons for 2 reasons: 1. it looks like lemons are way more expensive than oranges, and 2. oranges are less acidic and sweeter than lemons so I could use much, much less sugar (but regardless, I think it’s better to add other ingredients to balance a lemon’s sour taste than sugar like herbs (Thyme, rosemary, for example), or honey (more natural and rounded).

I also used a thick yogurt, Greek style which has less fluid and the cake was moist.

This cake is so easy to make, you just mix the ingredients, no mixer needed, and it tastes divine!—minus the 1 1/4 extra cups sugar—delicately tangy, so fresh, with a wonderful, light crumb.

Citrus yogurt cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup thick, Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
3 extra-large eggs, room temperature
2 small oranges/lemons, juiced* and zested
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, zest, and vanilla.

Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Whisk the oil into the batter, until it’s all incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. While the cake is still warm, pour the orange juice over the cake and allow it to soak in. Let cool before unmolding and slicing.

* NOTE: This is optional. Pour the freshly squeezed 1/4 cup fresh orange juice over the baked, cooling, cake, or drink it for your pleasure.

Last week I went grocery shopping. (How exciting is that?) I stopped by the plastic bags dispenser and grabbed two handful of bags, anticipating to fill up my cart with a bounty of fruits. To my surprise, there were no peaches, no nectarines, no plums, no pluots, no… no summer fruits in sight—No summer fruits! (OK, there were grapes.) I slightly panicked.

Two days later, full of optimism, I went shopping again, but to another store on a hunt after some summer fruits. I found nothing. So I had to interrogate the produce guys about the whereabouts of the fruits.

“You got no peaches”?”

“No.”

“No nectarines?”

“Nope, no nectarines.”

“No plums?”

“No”.

“Reeeally??? What about pluots?”

“Oh, we might have pluots. Let me check in the back.”

Yes!

And then he returned with a case of wonderful, red, flowery smelling pluots. I almost bounced with joy—but I didn’t—and I bought 6 lbs.!

Now, what do I do with 6 lbs. of pluots?

Luckily, the day before I stumbled upon Melissa Clark’s Plum Polenta Upside Down Cake. I used nearly 2 lbs. of pluots for my cake.

2 individual pluots made it into the fridge—they softened/over ripened so quickly—and the rest I used to make ice cream. Mmm…

I hope that wherever it is that you live you can still enjoy summer fruit. As for me, I am mentally preparing myself for a few good months of pears, apples, and oranges. Clementines too. They’re nice, I like them, but it’s just not the same thing, you know…

Pluot Polenta Upside Down Cake

Slightly adapted from Melissa Clark: I used less sugar for cooking the fruit and I added thyme and salt. (I know I was tempted to grind some black pepper too but I’m not sure if I did it or not.)

Makes a 9-inch cake, 10-12 servings

1 3/4 pounds pluots, rinsed, pitted, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 1/4 cups sugar
2-4 thyme sprigs
Pinch of salt
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream or ice cream for serving, optional

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9-inch springform pan* with parchment paper and grease the parchment and pan well (I like to use butter).

Cook the pluots and 1/4 cup sugar in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the pluots are tender and most (but not all) of the liquid has reduced, about 20 minutes. Scrape the pluots mixture into the prepared cake pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one a time and beat to combine. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients, using a spatula.

Spread the batter on top of the pluots and smooth with a spatula.

Bake until the cake is golden and springs back when touched lightly, 45 to 50 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and release the sides. Invert onto a plate.

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

NOTE: I know that my springform pan leaks so, to make cleanup easier, I wrap it with foil and place it on a baking sheet.

This was the perfect cake to take to the beach.

***

I really have nothing else to add to that.

I made H. go into the kitchen to bake a cake! With his mom! (The in-laws visited us.We haven’t seen them in a long, long time.) You know, to snoop around and learn her secrets…

But really there are none! It is so simple to make. Besides the carrots’ part.

You grate and grate and grate the carrots… It requires some muscles and hard work.

Unless you have a trick up your sleeve you would like to share with me?

What’s your best cake to take to the beach, or picnic/potluck/party?

Mother-in-Law Carrot cake

(Or, in Romanian: PRAJITURA de MORCOVI)

For a 9.5 inch (28 cm) cake pan, or a 30 cm * 30 cm pan

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 lb. (500 grams) carrots, peeled and grated
3 oz. (100 grams) raisins or dried currants
3 oz. (100 grams) walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped

Grease a baking pan and line with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 360 F (180 C) degrees.

In a bowl of a mixer put the eggs, sugar, oil, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, and beat (We used the beater attachment but my MIL says she uses the whisk attachment) for 7 minutes on medium-high.

Add flour, carrots, raisins, and nuts, and beat on low speed.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes.

For easy and safe transport, take it to the beach in the pan.

Oh My Goodness! The last time I posted a cake recipe was in April!!!!

I love baking and I have to bake a cake for the weekend—no, no one is putting a gun to my head–or else I go bananas. Or nuts.

I might have missed 2, or 3, or 4 Friday baking sessions in the past year and yes, I felt a tickle in my fingertips about skipping a baking opportunity. For me, the big idea is the baking act itself more than the actual eating of the cake. Although I do eat it too. Of course.

So what happened with the cake posts? Well… We had some of our favorite cakes repeated, like:

Jam crostata

Vanilla Pavlova

Chocolate cake

Ricotta Bundt Cheesecake

Walnut cake which I made with hazelnuts this time

and Crostata with Summer Fruit among others…

I think repetition of favorite dishes is part of what makes them an integral part of the household, part of our home.

I think about my kids growing up on a handful, but more likely two or three handfuls, of our favorite cakes that will always remind them of their childhood and of home. And of their mommy—that’s me. Hopefully, the latter will be fond memories… At least as much as the cakes themselves.

I will always continue to try new recipes, but I will always repeat some of those they love.

Then, one day I saw a photo in a magazine for blueberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream and I really really wanted to make it. However, I left the magazine in the car and H. took the car, and… I looked for another idea for the cake instead of shortcake. Then I saw a package of almond paste in the pantry and I wanted to use it before it gets too old… It’s been sitting there for months! So, almond cake it was.

I have 2 good recipes for almond cake that I made before but I wanted a new one. A more almond-y one. One that uses the whole tube of almond paste, not just a 1/4 cup of it. I Googled “Almond cake” and the first result that came up was a David Lebovitz recipe.

David Lebovitz? Chez Panisse? Those names guarantee that the recipe is a good one. Without a doubt in my mind, I raced back to the kitchen to bake it.

And so should you…

The recipe I used can be found here. (For another, later variation for it, made by David, click here.)

The cake was tall and handsome—can’t you see?—with a fine crumb, and delicate, but definite, almond flavor. It stayed good and moist, like new, even after 4 days.

It was perfectly matched with a blueberry compote I made:

Cook 1 cup of fresh blueberries with a bit of sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of water for a couple of minutes. When the fruit bursts and soften, add a squeeze of lemon juice and vanilla extract. Taste and fix the flavors until you’re happy and go “mmmm, this is good stuff”.

Serve with a dollop of ice cream. Or whipped cream. Or both.

***