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 …
Praline Pecan Cake
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 …
Lemon Meringue Roulade
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 …
S’mores Cake
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 …
Homemade Butterscotch Krimpets
If you’re from the Philadelphia area, I probably don’t have to tell you what Tastykakes are. For those of you who aren’t, Tastekakes are a regional brand of packaged snack cakes. Fans of these cakes will say that they’re better than those other brands (Hostess, etc), and I think they …
Little Blueberry Upside-Down Cakes
For some reason, I don’t think about making upside down cakes too often. It seems to occur to me more just to mix-in whatever fruit I’m thinking about pairing with the cake. But upside down cakes are easy to make and have a lot going for them. They tend to be moist …
Applesauce Chocolate Layer Cake
Applesauce is a slightly misunderstood ingredient in baking these days. It is often described as a “fat replacer” when it is no such thing. Applesauce is a semi-solid ingredient (basically a liquid, since it doesn’t fall into the dry ingredient category) that can add moisture to some types of baked goods. It …