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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A lemon drop is a cocktail that is made with vodka, lemon juice and sugar. They are bright and refreshing, and since the acidity of the lemon takes the edge off of the vodka, they’re very easy to drink. These cupcakes are inspired in part by lemon drop cocktails and in part by summer strawberries - making them a sort of adult strawberry lemonade cupcake. There are lots of fresh strawberries in the cupcakes and quite a bit of vodka, too. I really like these as a bit of a grown-up alternative to classic cupcakes and cocktail-inspired cupcakes are usually a big hit at parties.

The cupcakes themselves are very moist and fairly sturdy, as cupcakes go. This means that the strawberries remain suspended in the cupcake batter and don’t all sink to the bottom. The cakes actually look gorgeous when they’re unfrosted and you can see bits of berry sticking out all over. The cupcakes are also not too sweet, thanks to the fact that they don’t include an excessive amount of sugar and because the vodka doesn’t lend any additional sweetness. This gives the berries another chance to stand out. Only a bit of lemon zest is included in the cupcakes and it doesn’t make a big impression on its own, although it does allow the cupcakes to tie in very well with the frosting.

The buttercream frosting has lemon zest, lemon juice and a bit of vodka. I’d say that you can get a hint of the vodka even with the lemon in the frosting, but it is very subtle. In fact, you don’t get more than a hint of the vodka in the cupcakes themselves even though there is about a 1/2 cup in the recipe. If it is necessary for you to leave it out, you can replace it with milk if you have to, but I don’t think that anyone at the party will get tipsy from these, even if they eat the whole batch. I used Ciroc vodka for these cupcakes, but feel free to use any brand that you like.

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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 might be right. Tastykakes come in a wide variety of flavors, many of which are unique to the brand, and usually taste fresh and moist. I’ve made a homemade version of their Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes before, and this time around I decided to tackle Tastykake’s Butterscotch Krimpets, which are simple vanilla cakes that have a butterscotch icing.

Snack cakes, whether you’re taking Twinkies or Tastykakes, almost always have a sponge cake base. Sponge cake is more resilient (less crumbly) than butter cakes are and often stays moister, longer. I used a similar sponge cake base that I used to make my previous peanut butter Tastykakes, adding in some brown sugar to give the cakes themselves a little bit of a butterscotch flavor. The sponge cakes are made by beating lots of air into whole eggs, then folding in flour and finally mixing in hot milk and butter. The sponge turns out to be very light and moist. It’s nice on its own, with notes of butter, milk, brown sugar and vanilla, but a little on the plain side without the flavorful icing. It is very similar - although perhaps a bit better - to the taste and texture of a regular snack cake.

Most butterscotch icings rely on butterscotch chips to infuse them with flavor, and this is no exception. The frosting is very sweet, but since it is spread on in only a very thin layer on the cake, everything balances out by the time you go to eat it. I also tempered the frostings’ sweetness by mixing in a good-sized pinch of salt.

The cakes had a great butterscotch flavor and tasted fresh, moist and delicious. My tasters - a couple of Philly natives - said that they felt that this was what a butterscotch krimpet was supposed to taste like. I’m not sure about that myself, but they’re very good. The wavy shape I cut mine into was achieved by carving the sides with a knife to match the look of the packaged krimpets. You can come close by using Wilton’s ZigZag Cutter, but can also cut the bars into squares or rectangles for simplicity’s sake.

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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 helps out in lower fat treats because it can prevent, or at least mitigate, dryness, and it has a very mild flavor so it usually isn’t very noticeable. By itself, it doesn’t tenderize baked goods like oil and butter do, so recipes where people have gone overboard with the substitution of fat for applesauce often turn out gummy and sticky.

This isn’t to say that applesauce doesn’t have a place in baking. The way that it adds moisture is not just because of the apple juice portion of the sauce. It comes from all those little bits of apple that spread out in a cake or cookie dough and release moisture over time. This can actually help keep a baked good fresh-tasting, if you don’t go overboard with it. This Applesauce Chocolate Layer Cake is a perfect example of a good use of applesauce. It doesn’t “replace” anything in this recipe, it just serves its own purpose. The applesauce is used as the main liquid in the recipe, where other cakes might use milk or sour cream, and it works out beautifully. It also helps to making the cake a good choice for those who prefer their cakes to be dairy-free. This recipe comes from the LCBO magazine and is available online, although my copy was thoughtfully clipped out and mailed to me by a chocolate cake-loving friend.

This cake is moist and fluffy, with a very good chocolate flavor - more dark chocolate than milk chocolate. The unsweetened applesauce and unsweetened cocoa powder keep the cake from being too sweet, in spite of the fact that there is a fair amount of sugar in it (less than some chocolate cakes I’ve made, however). The fluffiness comes from the applesauce and from the fact that the egg whites are separated, beaten to soft peaks and folded into the batter. You can use any kind of frosting you like for this cake. Chocolate frosting is good if you’re trying to please a crowd of chocolate lovers, and vanilla is good for contrast. If you want to stick with the dairy-free aspect, use a meringue or marshmallow-based frosting.

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I have always been a big fan of marble cakes. They satisfy cravings for both chocolate and vanilla cake, and always please everyone if you need to serve a crowd. They’re also not difficult to make, even though they make for a really beautiful presentation when you slice into them. All you really need to do is add some chocolate - either cocoa powder or melted chocolate - to half of a vanilla cake batter and swirl everything together.

These marble cupcakes work the same way as full sized marble cakes, just in a smaller package. The only drawback to making them this way is that you can’t really swirl them as much as you can swirl a large cake with a large amount of batter. You could try to swirl the batter in the bowl before portioning it out into the cupcake cups, but this generally leads to over-combing the chocolate and vanilla and you don’t end up with a distinct marble pattern. I prefer to measure out the chocolate and vanilla into each cupcake cup, then give the batter a quick single swirl with a knife before baking. Every cupcake ends up with the right amount of chocolate and vanilla this way, and the very distinct black-and-white swirling layers make for a beautiful contrast.

The cake is the same basic recipe that I used for my Rainbow cupcakes, except that instead of dividing it up into many small portions for food coloring, I simply added some melted chocolate to half the batter. One ounce of dark chocolate (semisweet will work, too) adds just the right amount of chocolate flavor to the mix. I used a similar technique on the icing, dividing a basic recipe and adding cocoa powder to half. I put both icings into the same piping bag so that the frosting would have a marble look to it. The wider your pastry tip is, the clearer the effect will be.

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