I have been meaning to make a tiramisu for a while now, but I’ve been having a hard time finding a decent brand of ladyfingers lately. Since espresso-dipped ladyfingers are the primarily structural element of a tiramisu, it goes without saying that I didn’t get around to making one. Instead, I made something that had all of the elements I wanted to incorporate into my tiramisu: a tiramisu flavored bundt cake.

The most traditional tiramisu will be made with espresso and wine or spirits, something like marsala wine, Vin Santo or a coffee-flavored liquor. To make the cake, I added layers of espresso and Kahlua flavors to a vanilla cake base. I really like the flavor of Kahlua, especially in baked goods, and I thought that it would work out better in the finished bundt than marsala would. The plain cake batter was made first, then divided up into separate bowls and Kahlua and espresso were added to flavor some of the batter. After the cake was baked, I used mascarpone cheese and more Kaluah to make a frosting to finish it off.

The trick to getting the swirl in this cake is layering the batter in the bundt pan. Take your time and add the batter into the pan with smaller dollops of batter or a very even pour, gradually building an even layer. Don’t just dump the batter in an expect to spread it into place with a spatula. This will work for the bottom layer, but the subsequent layers have slightly different consistencies and it is best to just create the layers as you go.

The cake has a tight, even crumb and, while it is not as heavy as some pound cakes can be, is similar in its consistency. It slices beautifully and holds up very well to the frosting. The frosting is light and creamy, with a lovely Kaluah flavor. It brings out the flavor of the Kahlua layer in the cake, but doesn’t mask the flavor of the espresso layer, either. It may not be a traditional tiramisu, but it keeps the spirit of the original! It also keeps well for several days, so it can be made in a day in advance if you intend to serve it at a party or gathering.

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It’s just not fall without some kind of pumpkin dessert. How can you not think of pumpkins when the stores are filled with them and people put them out on their porches as decorations? Getting in the spirit of pumpkin desserts, as well as the Halloween season that prompts their presence, I used pumpkin in this beautiful orange and black Pumpkin and Chocolate Layer Cake. The cake is moist and satisfying, as well as spicy and chocolaty. I topped it off with a cream cheese frosting that blends in well with all of the flavor in the dessert. As if the flavor weren’t enough, this cake looks very dramatic and makes a great centerpiece for a seasonal party.

The cake has four layers, two each of pumpkin and chocolate. These layers come from two cakes that are split and stacked. Both the pumpkin and the chocolate cake start with the same basic recipe and both use pumpkin puree. The difference between them is that one includes a bunch of pumpkin-friendly spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg, with the other has cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate mixed in. Both types of cake have very different flavors, but they have just about the exact same texture and consistency, so they work together in the finished cake perfectly.

I recommend mixing up the batter for these two cakes at the same time so that they can be baked side by side in the oven. This way, the cakes are done at the same time and you can assemble the finished cake that much more quickly. Otherwise, prepare the second cake while the first is in the oven. You won’t have that much of a time difference when cooling the cakes and the oven will already be preheated and ready to go. The cakes, for the record, can be made a day in advance and wrapped in plastic wrap before slicing and frosting.

I kept the top of my cake plain, but if you want to dress up the presentation, you could garnish it with some pumpkin-shaped candy corn (a.k.a. mellowcremes) to give people a hint as to what is inside of the cake before you cut into it.
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I like roasted, salted nuts. But I also like nuts that are coated in sweet, crunchy shells, including honey roasted peanut and praline pecans. Praline pecans are similar to candied pecans, but tend to have a much thicker sugary coating on them. With a salted nut underneath, they’re indulgent and addictive. I regularly pick up praline pecans (or similarly named confections) at local farmers markets and at Trader Joe’s, which carries its own version. I generally eat them a few at a time, but I sacrificed a whole bunch to infuse their nutty, sugary flavor into this delicious cake.

I pulsed a bunch of praline pecans in a food processor until they were very, very finely chopped, then incorporated them into the batter of this cake. The cake is incredibly light, with an almost feathery, fluffy, texture. The crumb is very tight, so it tends to remind me of a pound cake in appearance, although it is much lighter. The reason that I ground up the pecans is that I didn’t want them to break up the lovely texture of the cake. I simply wanted them to flavor it, so I could get all the tastiness of pecans and still achieve that cloud-like texture. The finished cake is not too sweet and has a great hint of praline and pecans.

This cake doesn’t need any accompaniments - no frostings, no fillings and no glazes. It goes perfectly with just a cup of coffee. If you want to dress it up a little bit, however, fresh raspberries or a drizzle of raspberry sauce adds a nice touch of color and sweetness.
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Peaches are a great fruit to bake upside down cakes with. In fact, most stone fruits are. The fruits are tender to begin with, so there is no need to precook the fruit or worry that it will be too firm after the cake is done baking. Peaches also have a beautiful golden color that they add to a cake, making the dessert look very summery and warm.

This is a simple upside down cake with a plain, vanilla cake base. It’s moist, tender and does a great job of soaking up excess juice from the peaches on the top of the cake. To make the cake, start out with some whole, fresh peaches. Cut the peaches into thin slices and arrange in a spiraling pattern on the bottom of a cake pan that is coated with butter and sugar. Make sure that the peaches are in a single layer so that the cake batter can effectively hold them in place. The batter-topped cake is baked like any other cake would be, then turned out to reveal the fruit when it comes out of the oven. The cake goes very well with whipped cream, as well as with vanilla and peach ice cream, both of which will bring out the vanilla and peach flavors of the cake.

The one final note I have about this cake is that it looks its best on the day that it is made. The peaches look their plumpest and their color is the most vibrant. After being stored overnight, the cake will looks a bit of its color and, while it will still look good, it just won’t look quite as good. If possible, make it the same day you intend to serve it, then enjoy the leftovers yourself the next day.

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Meringues are usually a light, crunchy and fairly delicate. It’s hard to believe that they can be rolled up into a roulade shape, just like a sponge cake can. Meringue roulades work because the meringue is not overbaked, so that when it comes out of the oven, the meringue is still moist and chewy in the center - and because it stays that way. The softness of the center allows the thin meringue to be rolled up, even though the top and bottom of the sheet of meringue are crisp. It makes a very light dessert that is surprisingly easy to prepare.

The one drawback to a meringue roulade is that the meringue part is very sweet (this is a drawback to a lot of meringue cookies, actually), so you can’t just put any old filling inside. Plain whipped cream works well to balance the sweetness of the meringue if you want to be as basic as possible, but something tart works even better, something like lemon curd. This filling uses a mixture of cream cheese and lemon curd, lightened with whipped cream. I made a filling using items I had on hand, literally, so don’t feel married to the filling suggestion given below. If, for instance, you don’t like cream cheese, just fold some whipped cream into lemon curd and use that as the filling.

All that said, this dessert is fairly sweet because of the meringue (the meringue needs a fair amount of sugar to maintain its nice chewy texture) but the zestiness of the lemon still shines through and it has a great overall flavor, especially if you’re a fan of lemon meringue pie or other sweet lemon desserts. This can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for a day if you want to make it ahead of time before serving. It’s nice to bring it out after a cookout on a hot summer night.
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Ever since I had my first one, sitting in front of a roaring campfire with a semi-clean stick skewered with lots of toasting marshmallows, I have been a big fan of s’mores. If I could go back in time, only thing I’d do differently now is to use a really clean skewer for my marshmallows, but when you’re camping and very young, you don’t tend to think about those things. I still like classic s’mores made with squares of milk chocolate, store bought graham crackers and jet puffed marshmallows. Now that my culinary skills are a little improved, however, I do like to experiment a little bit and see how I can get even more flavor out of my s’mores. Homemade graham crackers and homemade marshmallows are great examples of small changes. A big change is to turn a simple s’more into a S’mores Cake.

You don’t need a campfire for this cake, but you do need an oven. It’s a graham cracker cake, layered with marshmallow creme and milk chocolate frosting. The cake is made with graham cracker crumbs where you might otherwise use all purpose flour, and is leavened with both baking powder and egg whites that have been beaten to soft peaks. The finished cake is light in texture, but has a ton of graham cracker flavor. It is very moist, so it will crack if it isn’t handled with care when you’re stacking up the layers.

The milk chocolate frosting - chosen because the typical s’more uses milk chocolate - is almost like a milk chocolate ganache. It is made with chocolate, half and half and butter. The thing that differentiates it is that I included a little bit of corn syrup, which gives it a shiny look and makes it very easy to work with. The marshmallow creme is just store-bought marshmallow creme. It spreads onto the cake easily and stays nice and soft, making the cake easy to cut and serve.

One final note: a fire pit makes a great backdrop for a photo of a S’mores cake, but the cake really isn’t designed to hold up to heat of any kind. Both the frosting and the marshmallow creme are a little heat-sensitive. Unless it’s a cold day, you can - and should - store this cake in the fridge to keep everything intact. The cake will stay moist and tender even after a couple of days in the fridge. But if you don’t mind a melty, slightly messy cake that is like a real s’more, than by all means, go for the fire.

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