Lemon, Polenta, and Olive Oil Cake

Last year, I made Dorie Greenspan's Simple Almond Cake for the first time. I chose to make it for several reasons: number one, I'm a sucker for cake and if it's plain and simple, then I'm really all over it, and number two, the recipe is naturally gluten- and dairy-free. While I don't have any food allergies or intolerances, I'm always appreciative of gluten- and dairy-free desserts that don't call for obscure ingredients, because my mom does have to watch what she eats. Dorie's cake is made with just almonds, sugar, eggs, and a touch of vanilla, and it's incredible. It's become a household favorite, and it never fails to make an appearance on the dessert table at family gatherings and holidays. I've made it so many times now, that I've actually grown a bit restless by it. I love it, but I don't really want to make it again and again anymore, you know?

So this year, I set out to find a new gluten and dairy-free dessert that my mom and I would love enough to make over and over again–at least until next year!–and I think I found it. I came across a recipe for a Lemon Polenta Cake from the lovely Nigella Lawson, and the second I saw that it was made with just almonds and polenta, I knew it was almost perfect. She uses butter in her recipe, and while my mom does ok with dairy in baked goods, I really wanted to make her something that was completely delicious and also had no chance of causing any unwanted reactions. I decided to experiment and made the recipe with olive oil instead of butter. If you've never baked with olive oil before (I agree, it sounds a little strange at first!), I definitely recommend it.  Olive oil has a wonderful fruity taste to it that complements baked treats so nicely, and even better, it keeps everything you bake moist for days. And that was exactly what I wanted in this cake recipe. I wanted it to be the type of cake my mom could place on her kitchen counter and periodically come back to and snack on over the course of a few days, without the cake becoming dry in the process.

Walnut Cake with Blueberry Glaze

A few nights ago, my boyfriend started a fun game of “would you rather", but with a foodie twist. While some of the scenarios were a bit tricky and took some thought to answer (for instance, would you rather never have pizza or pasta again?), the one that I answered almost immediately was: cookies or cake? As much as I really, really love cookies, I could never give up cake. My boyfriend, who is one of the few people on the planet who is rather meh about cake, was in shock. He was sure I would say cookies, given my never-ending obsession for testing chocolate chip cookie recipes, but to me, this question was a no brainer. Cake trumps all other baked treats (the only instance where I’d have to think about cake is if the scenario was cake vs. ice cream—that seems impossible to answer). 

For the past few weeks, I’ve been craving cake. And I mean, really, really, really craving it. It wasn’t a very specific craving. I didn’t know what I was in the mood for, but every time I opened my email and saw cake in some form featured in an email from either Bon Appétit, The Kitchn, Food 52, King Arthur, or from one of the multitude of bloggers I follow, cake was all I could think about. Pound cakes, fancy cakes, glazed cakes, Bundt, loaf, or traditional round cakes—I wanted them all. So when I decided that it was high time I go about satisfying my craving by baking up my own cake, I was at a loss on where to start. While all the cakes recipes sitting in my inbox would have probably been good starting points and certainly cured me of my need for cake, none of them really screamed, “Make me!” I was in a tough spot. With a pantry full of the basic ingredients I needed—flour, sugar, butter, and eggs—I knew that actually baking up the cake I wanted to eat wouldn’t be that difficult. Deciding the flavor and mix in’s and style of cake to make was a whole other story. 

Fresh Blood Orange Cake

Hope everyone survived the Snowpocalypse! I spent my entire Saturday in the comfort of my tiny apartment kitchen, cooking up my first lasagna bolognese. As soon as the blizzard was announced, I decided that I had to spend the whole day cooking up something delicious, hearty, and comforting. I settled on making a lasagna bolognese, and after braving the storm to make a 10 AM spin class, I came home and spent the rest of the day in the kitchen. I simmered a pot of bolognese for four hours and then cooked up a rich, creamy bechamel. After baking the lasagna, we settled down at the table and enjoyed an amazing meal. The lasagna was hot and cheesy, rich and hearty, and I loved every bite. Sure, there was room for improvement, but for my first lasagna, I was really pleased with the outcome. It was the perfect way to spend this blizzardy weekend; there's just nothing like decadent comfort foods to enjoy in the dead of winter. 

Unless, of course, we're talking about citrus. There are few things better than seeing bright yellows and oranges in the middle of a sometimes depressing season, and there's nothing like enjoying fresh, zesty flavors after eating bowl after bowl of hearty stew, soup, or pasta. I always make a point to seek out as many citrus fruits as I can one January hits, especially Meyer lemons and blood oranges. These two fruits are only available for a short window of time in the winter, so it's important to use them while they're available! They may be a little tricky to find, but they're out there, I promise. This year, I actually had no trouble finding blood oranges for once. I just walked right into the fruit and vegetable market around the corner from me, and there they were!  I was there to buy something completely different, but when I saw a tiny mountain of blood oranges in front of me, I just had to buy a few. Hopefully this scenario repeats itself when it's rhubarb and sour cherry season! 

Chocolate Pistachio Loaf Cake

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! I think I'm just starting to recover from my food coma, but that intense feeling of fullness was completely worth it. This year, my family celebrated the holiday with my boyfriend's family for the first time, which seemed fitting given that we moved in together literally four days before. Our families joined forces and created an amazing Thanksgiving meal with an Italian flair. We started with prosciutto and melon and caprese salad, followed by an enormous plate of the best lasagna in the world, and then all the traditional Thanksgiving fixings were served. After downing a plate piled high with turkey, stuffing, two types of cranberry sauce, two potato dishes, several types of salad, stuffed mushrooms, and an assortment of freshly baked rolls and cornbread, it was time for dessert. I went a bit overboard and ended up bringing Gluten-Free Brownies, pumpkin pie, a Simple Almond Cake, Linzer Cookies, and the prettiest Apple Pie I've ever made. Tiramisu and roasted chestnuts rounded out the meal and by the time I realized how full I was, I was in no condition to do anything except pass out on the couch...basically, I did Thanksgiving proud.

While I love Thanksgiving, I'm happy the holiday is over. One down, two more to go! The holidays are my favorite time of the year, but I'm really looking to just get back to a more normal schedule. Between getting ready for the move to Astoria, the actual move, setting up the apartment, work, and Thanksgiving, I've had an incredibly busy November. It flew by and i can't believe that I'm sharing a recipe I made in the last week of October in December. I've worked on this post in bits and pieces over the last few weeks--typing up the recipe one night, selecting photos the next, editing them a few days later, and this entire post was pretty much written on the subway ride to and from work. 

I do see an "end" to all this craziness coming soon though. The apartment is in amazing shape, and C. and I are getting used to what is now the new normal. We'd been planning on living together since we graduated from college two years ago, and even though we've spent so much time together over the last six years, being able to say that we actually live together still feels very surreal to me. I'm sure it will feel that way for a while, but it's nice that we're slowly settling into a routine and figuring out how this whole cohabitation thing works. It's been an exciting and busy time, and as much as I'm ready to just have my regular routine all figured out, I couldn't be happier about the way things are unfolding.

Apple Cider Bundt Cake

Hello again! I'm back! Really and truly. I'm back to blogging and I'm crazy excited about it. My "few weeks" of time off turned into a few months, and even though my vacation extended much longer than I had anticipated, I regret none of it. Taking some time off for myself, to sleep in on weekends, set my camera down, step away from all the pressure I was putting on myself was the best decision I could have made. I had a chance to enjoy my summer (I went to the beach! I completed two Spartan Races!! I went to Sicily!!!) and recharge my batteries. It only took a few weeks for me to realize that I really did miss this working on this space that I had created for myself.  And even though it took me a few months to feel like I was ready to get back into blogging, now that I have, all I can say is that it feels awesome.  I’m still going to work on making my blogging feel as natural as possible, so I don’t see myself getting back to the regimented schedule I forced on myself before.  While I don’t know how often I'll actually end up posting, all I know that I’m going to make sure I have a good time working on each and every post.  Because this is supposed to be my happy place, right? 

Anyway. Now that the formalities are over and we’re back in action, let’s talk cake. Because really, that’s what we’re all here for. 

This cake is the result of a failed attempt at apple picking. I’ve wanted to go apple picking ever since I learned such a thing existed, but for one reason over another, fall came and went every year and I never made it to an orchard. Last weekend was different though. My parents, sister, and I packed some snacks, got in the car, and drove all the way to the North Fork. We were ready. We made it to the orchard, and the parking lot was full of cars and people of all ages.  As we walked closer to the apple-studded trees, we saw a sign propped up against the fence that read “CLOSED.” We assumed we had just gotten to the orchard too early and that we’d be able to start picking our bushels of apples in a few minutes—but we were wrong. It turns out that the picking season had ended the weekend before, and the few apples that remained on the trees were reserved for picking during the week, so we made the best of the situation.  We drank some cider and explored the small neighboring farms, and I bought an apple pie (a really, really delicious pie) and a few jars of fruit preserves. It was fun but bittersweet nevertheless—after all, we drove almost two hours to get to the orchard, and left with zero freshly picked apples. 

Aside from getting an obvious lesson for next year (call BEFORE leaving to drive to the orchard), we got to pick up a gallon of some incredible spiced cider and enjoy a few cider donuts, still hot from the fryer.  I had been planning on baking up some kind of delicious apple-filled quick bread (perhaps swirled with salted caramel??) as my welcome-back post, but given that all I had was some cider, my plans had to change. I still wanted to go in the direction of a simple cake, because this is me we’re talking about and there’s nothing I love more. When I came across this recipe for an apple cider cake covered in cinnamon sugar, I was sold. I didn’t need to think twice about the recipe because it essentially makes a giant cider donut, and who needs to think twice about that?

The recipe starts off by boiling a roughly chopped apple (a supermarket Granny Smith, in my case) in spiced cider. Once the apple is soft and the cider has reduced, it all gets pureed until smooth. This, along with warming spices like cinnamon and cloves, are what give this cake its quintessential fall flavor. After the apple puree is made, the recipe is straightforward. Dry ingredients are whisked, then added to creamed butter and sugar, along with the apple puree and milk. A 45-minute trip in the oven and a brushing of melted butter later, the entire cake is sprinkled with cinnamon-scented sugar. At this point, you just have to resist giant cake donut sitting in your kitchen making it smell all kinds of delicious. Once it’s cooled completely, simply slice into it and enjoy. The wait will be worth it! 

Apple Cider Bundt Cake
recipe adapted slightly from Serious Eats

Ingredients

For the Cake

1 1/2 cups spiced apple cider
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil

For the Topping

6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Add the cider and chopped apple to a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring the cider to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until half of the cider has been absorbed and the apples can be smashed easily with a fork, about 15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Pour the mixture into a food processor or blender and blend until pureed and smooth.  Measure out 1 cup of the cider mixture and add to a large measuring cup, along with the milk and vanilla extract. Stir with a fork to combine.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the middle of the oven. Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with non-stick spray  and dust all over with flour, tapping out the excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.

In the bowl of standard electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add in the oil, and beat to combine, about 1 minute.

Lower the mixer speed to low, and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the cider-milk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix only until incorporated and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.  After the last addition, increase the speed to medium and beat for about 20 seconds to fully combine.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until the top is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer the cake to cooling rack set over a baking sheet and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert directly onto the cooling rack.

While the cake is still warm, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon to make the topping. Brush the warm cake with melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, using your fingers to rub it onto the sides.

Let the cake cool completely, about 1 hour, before slicing. Enjoy!

Makes 1 Bundt cake

Tiny Chocolate Cake (GF)

Hello! I'm here! I haven't disappeared.  I've just been a bit quiet and taking things easy over the past few weeks. I think I'm just in need of a break of sorts.  I'm not really even sure what I need, but having slowed down recently has been nice, I'll admit.  I've been taking some time to think about this space I've carved myself online, and reflect on how I've spent the last four years (almost) of my life.  The time really just flew by, and it's amazing to me how quickly it's gone.  Over 300 posts, more photographs (both good and bad) than I would ever want to count, and so much time have gone into this.  Creating content on such a regular basis and maintaining a site has been more work than I could have ever imagined, but it's been incredibly rewarding at the same time.  Despite that, I'm starting to drive myself crazy. 

Carrot Cake

No cake makes me think of Easter or spring more than carrot cake.  I LOVE it. It's the best flavor outside of vanilla and chocolate cake, and that's saying a lot, because I love nothing more than a perfect slice of moist, rich chocolate cake. This is something else though! Carrot cake has been a treat that I've looked forward to ever since I was little.  It's not that I remember ever having a particularly good carrot cake when I was younger, but I do remember that whenever my dad brought a slice home, it was a cause for celebration (in my mind, at least; no one else seemed to love carrot cake as much as I did).  I love all types of carrot cakes, from a the most basic to the one with all the mix-ins.  This carrot cake took a middle of the road approach.  It's got a fair amount of extras stirred in (shredded coconut and crushed pineapple), but lacks the raisins and nuts that would make this a hefty, fully-loaded cake.  Nevertheless, it's an incredible cake. 

Simple Almond Cake (GF)

Here's a fact that I’m slightly embarrassed to admit: I never actually took the time to really read through Dorie Greenspan’s newest book, Baking Chez Moi. I’ve had it for months sitting on my shelf, and while I made a batch of rugelach using her recipe, I just never got around/made the time to peruse through its contents.  A fact that I’m even MORE embarrassed to admit is that this is my ONLY Dorie cookbook.  Seriously.  I know she’s a goddess when it comes to flour and chocolate and sugar in the kitchen, and yet the only thing I’ve ever baked using her wisdom are her rugelach (which, by the way, are the best rugelach I’ve ever tried). This past weekend though, in searching for a new “thing” to bake, I picked up my brand new, hardly used copy of Baking Chez Moi, and became aware of this incredible resource that I had been neglecting for all these months.  There were so many recipes that I wanted to try, and she even has an entire chapter dedicated to simple cakes! It’s easy to say that this was the chapter that inspired me the most, and while I had a hard time selecting my first cake to bake, in the end, the choice was pretty clear. “Plain and Simple Almond Cake.” Can’t argue with a title like that, now can you?

As much as “plain and simple” grabbed me, my real reason for choosing it over her TK cake with salted dark chocolate chunks is that it’s a flourless cake.  Made only with almond flour, eggs, sugar, and vanilla this cake is not only completely gluten-free, but it’s also dairy-free. My mom has been completely gluten-free for about 6 months now, and the changes in her health and well-being have been remarkable. She’s less tired, has very minimal stomach discomfort, and fewer headaches. She’s eliminated almost all dairy from her diet as well, save for when it’s baked into a gluten-free treat, and while she hasn’t completely given up on dairy, limiting it to the extent she has has also had a positive effect on her health.  She’ll sometimes experience some slight discomfort, but not enough to keep her away from her favorite gluten-free cornbread, for instance.  When I realized that his cake was free of gluten and dairy, I just had to make it. I really hate leaving my mom out of the loop when it comes to the treats I bake at home, so I try to bake gluten-free versions as much as possible.  Getting used to working with new flours, blends, and techniques has been a ton of fun (and work!), but sometimes I just want to be able to prepare a GF treat to share with everyone in my family that’s made with regular old ingredients that I have on hand. Something that feels a little more familiar, and that’s why this simple cake seemed so attractive (aside from the fact that my mom and I both happen to love almonds!).

Vanilla Bean Cake with Whipped Dulce de Leche Frosting

Well, today's post sure couldn't be more different than my last post! On Tuesday, I shared a recipe for an amazingly simple and flavorful Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt. It's a classic flavor combination (who doesn't love lemon and poppy seed, am I right?), and quick to whip up. It's an effortless Bundt cake that packs a ton of bright and assertive flavor in every single bite.  It's my kind of cake!  Today's cake on the other hand, is pretty much everything that Meyer lemon cake is not.  It requires a little more thought and planning, the flavors aren't as bold, and takes a bit more time to prepare than a simple Bundt cake.  Despite all that, this cake is just as amazing. Fluffy vanilla bean cakes layered with sweet dulce de leche, and then carefully covered in a dreamy whipped dulce de leche frosting. There's nothing seasonal about it, but it sure was tasty.

I normally don't make layer cakes because I really don't like frosting that much and since they take longer to make than Bundt or loaf cakes, they're usually low on my priority list.  Every now and then though, inspiration strikes and I get an idea that I just need to make, or I get an urge to just make one for no real reason. This past weekend, the latter situation took place.  During an editorial meeting at work, we had been bouncing around ideas and someone very quickly mentioned "layer cake."  Just hearing those words made me realize that I needed to make one.  I didn't know what flavor, or what I wanted it to look like...I only knew for sure that I would be baking up something fancy. 

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt

I'd always been intrigued by Meyer lemons. I'd never actually had the chance of baking with them, let alone buying them until a few weeks ago, mostly because every year I'd completely forget about them until it was too late.  I wouldn't remember that it was Meyer lemon season until the very end of the season, and at that point, I always had to tell myself that next year would be different. Next year I'd try harder.  Next year, I'd actually remember.  It only took about three years of that for "next year" to actually happen. 

Meyer lemons are something of a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. They're rounder and more yellow than typical supermarket lemons, and are less acidic.  They're super juicy and have a thin, wonderfully fragrant skin.  They're really something special, and it's too bad they have such a short growing season!  When I went shopping for winter citrus a few weekends ago (see, when "next year" finally happened, I made sure to really follow through and stock up on all kinds of citrus!), I bought tons of Meyer lemons, without any sort of clue as to what to do with them.  The possibilities were endless but nothing seemed right.  I wanted my first experience with Meyer lemons to result in something truly delectable, and settling on something that was anything less than that was not an option.  

Easy Chocolate Skillet Cake

It's only the second week of January, my third blog post of the year, and I'm already posting about chocolate cake.  I guess I got bored of the healthy eating already?  I mean, I haven't really. I just got bored of a life without cake and chocolate.  Seriously, I think a week is about all I can handle without indulging in some of my favorite sweets.  I try not to think of this as a bad thing.  

After my first week in the new year, I had a craving for cake.  Just cake.  Any cake would have probably made me happy, but you know me, I'm a simple kind of girl who will take a slice of plain cake over just about anything. Really. Any flavor, with any kind of mix-ins, baked, in a loaf pan or a round pan or a square pan, as long as it's a slice of plain, moist cake with a dusting of powdered sugar, I'm good to go. I wasn't really shocked at all when I found myself thinking of cake...and more cake...and more cake. I needed it!

Carrot-Cider Loaf Cake

My obsession with simple, everyday style cakes has been very well documented on this blog already, so I'll spare everyone the lengthy discussion.  I'll shorten it at least.  I LOVE simple cakes.  Loaf cakes, easy Bundt cakes, yogurt cakes, even plain layer cake scraps. Those are without a doubt my most favorite baked good to snack on. They're just simple and comforting, and there's nothing much better than getting to nibble on an everyday cake all day long.  Wait, you mean you have the self control to serve yourself a slice and be done?  

Anywho.  If you have more self control than me, that's pretty great, because I tend not to have any when it comes to everyday cakes.  Carrot cakes too.  I've been obsessed with finding good carrot cake recipes for as long as I can remember.  I find that most carrot cakes tend to be on the oily side, and it's just a very off-putting taste and texture. Whenever I find a carrot cake that doesn't happen to have an oily texture, I make sure to write the recipe down and keep it in a safe place, because it's really one of my favorite flavors.

Creepy Cobweb Chocolate Cake

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, right behind Christmas and Thanksgiving, which are both tied for first right now.  I love spooky and creepy things, and getting dressed up as a little kid was always just about the coolest thing ever.  I was always a fan of dressing up, and that's something that hasn't changed.  My mom would always make me an elaborate homemade costume, and I always thought my costume was the best there was. Combined with my epic costumes, the fact that I also lived in a neighborhood where people were super generous when it came to giving out trick or treat goodie bags meant that Halloween was always a really special time of year.  I'm not dressing up this year, mostly because I just didn't have time to pull together a costume that met my standards, but I'm not without Halloween plans.  I'll be watching scary movies in the dark and eating my weight in mini chocolate bars, which is just as good a plan as any.  

I got into one of my layer-cake-making moods a couple of weeks ago, and rather than just bake a layer cake and get it out of my system, I decided to save it for Halloween. In theory, this meant that I would have had a long time to plan out my cake and decide how I wanted to decorate it, "in theory" being the key words there.  I did spend a lot of time looking for inspiration, but I just couldn't settle on anything.  I knew that I wanted to make a chocolate cake, because I don't think there's anything better than a perfectly moist chocolate cake, and also because the last two layer cakes I had made were of the buttermilk vanilla type (see here and here). Super dark, intense, almost black chocolate layer cakes were going to make it into my final halloween cake in one way or another. The decoration required a bit more thinking, and in the end, I ended up over-thinking it (because that always happens).

Blueberry Cornbread Buckle

Here's another short post for this week for those of you who are still hanging on to the last days of summer- Blueberry Cornbread Buckle!  A buckle, in case you don't know, is a single layer cake that is topped with fruit and a streusel crumb topping.  The fruits sink into the cake as the cake bakes, and the streusel gives the cake a buckled appearance when it comes out of the oven.  This buckle uses my favorite summer flavor combination of corn and blueberry to make a delicious rustic dessert.

The cornbread cake can be made with just a bowl and a hand-mixer, and it comes together very quickly. There's nothing unusual about it; it's just a straightforward cake.  The cake batter is poured into a square pan and topped with sugared blueberries, and is followed by a generous sprinkling of a quick streusel topping. About an hour or so in the oven, and dessert is ready!

Lemon Lemon Loaf Cake

Hello, and Happy Labor Day!  It's hard to believe that the summer is officially over, because it feels like it never really even arrived.  We had a mild summer, at least in New York, so it  hasn't quite hit me that the summer is ending and that fall and cooler weather will be coming in just a few short weeks.  It's even stranger to think that because I'm not in New York right now, but am actually in Florida!  My parents are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary (today!) and they wanted to take a family vacation to celebrate.  We'll be in Florida for a week to do the typical Florida vacation at Disney World and Universal Studios, and I am pretty excited.  It's been a long time since I've been at the parks, so I can't wait to see how much they've changed.  When I found out that we'd be in Florida for the first night of Disney's Halloween celebration at Magic Kingdom, I basically turned into a five year old, freaked out, and begged my parents that we absolutely had to go.  Fortunately, my mom is as much of a Disney freak as I am, so it was a pretty easy task.  Since I'll be adventuring across the various magical lands of Disney and Harry Potter (the ten year old in me CAN'T WAIT), I'm going to make this week's posts short and sweet.  There will be lots of pictures and only a few words, but I'll be sure to document my adventures closely on Instagram, so stay tuned to that!

Before I leave my computer though, let's take a second to talk about this Lemon Lemon Loaf Cake.  It's something special, truly.  My sister spied this lemony loaf in my copy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, and has been asking me to make it for the longest time.  Since the summer is almost over and I'm not quite ready to bid farewell to summer flavors, I figured I would make one last bright treat.  This lemon loaf cake was exactly what I needed!

Coconut Sheet Cake

Over the weekend, I had a sudden desire for something fluffy and light and pretty.  I think it may have had something to do with my craving for an intense chocolate ice cream, a craving that I finally managed to satisfy more than I thought possible.  I knew that the answer to my fluffy dilemma could be easily resolved with cake, the only other thing that can even come close to matching my infatuation with ice cream.  

And when I say cake, you should know that I mean cakes of the simple kind, the kind that I can whip up, bake, and be eating as soon as it's cooled down.  I mean, I love assembling and attempting to beautifully frost a giant layer cake as much as the next person, but I'm typically much too impatient for that kind of behavior.  I like immediate rewards when it comes to baking, which is why I love a good, simple cake.  Easy yogurt cakes, bundt cakes, loaf cakes, snack cakes, cakes with just a sprinkling of powdered sugar- those are the cakes I crave.  So this past weekend, I figured it was high time to make another simple, easy cake.  As for flavor, I decided to borrow elements from a not-simple-layer-layer cake that I've been meaning to make for a long time but always end up choosing to make something a little less involved.  

Coconut. 

Upside-Down Nectarine & Corn Skillet Cake

Upside-down cakes are one of the most classic cakes you could possibly make/enjoy.  Everyone knows and loves the classic pineapple upside down cake- it's a celebrated simple cake made better with the addition of sweetened pineapple rings and super red maraschino cherries.  Baked in a round cast iron skillet, it's a cake that needs no introduction, because when it's mentioned, you know exactly what to expect.  But then again, you might be like me and never have actually eaten a piece of upside-down pineapple-marschino cherry-geometric pattern cake.  I know, I'm probably missing out, but for some reason, it's never been a cake that I've felt like I truly needed to experience.  It's a simple cake, sure, and I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I actually kinda like maraschino cherries (in all their unnatural red, fake glory), but I don't know.  Something about this classic cake has just always seemed a little bit...off.

While I've never actually had the classic pineapple upside down cake, I have always loved the look of them.  Not so much the pineapple-maraschino version, specifically, but any other cake or dessert with beautifully arranged fruit appearing after a quick inversion of the baking dish has always captivated me.  It's such a lovely surprise, and a beautifully simple way to present a finished dessert.  Upside-down treats like tarte tatin, and simple fruit tarts with perfectly arranged fruits are some of my favorite things to look at, and I needed to make one before the summer and its bounty of amazing produce ended.  

Buttermilk Vanilla Cake with Nutella Frosting

Here it is.  This is the cake I've been longing for for quite some time now.  I love coming up with unique and complex flavor combinations as much as the next person, but I think that what I love more than anything is enjoying a really, really good version of a classic favorite.  Classics are comforting and tried and true and you can approach them with confidence because you know that they will work.  There's no way they can't!  I'm a true chocaholic, but even I can't resist a slice of vanilla cake with fudge frosting.  The combination is just too perfect.

I'm definitely not a pro yet at decorating layer cakes, and I often feel that my frosting abilities leave something to be desired.  I usually think that the layers of frosting in between each cake layer are too thick or too thin, or that I took the "thin" layer of crumb coat a bit too far, or that my outer layer of frosting isn't thick or smooth enough.  I'm always trying to come up with little tricks here and there to improve every time I make a layer cake, and I think I'm making progress!  Even this cake gave me a little trouble.  I knew that I wanted a simple, fuss-free swirled layer of fudge frosting to completely cover the cake, but I was having a little trouble getting the swirls to look exactly like I imagined them in my head.  In the end though, the swirls came to be, and I was in love with the little cake sitting before me. 

7-Up Pound Cake

I hope everyone had a lovely Father's Day this past weekend!  I think my dad had a pretty good weekend and enjoyed his Father's Day very much.  He spent it doing exactly what he wanted to do: watch every single FIFA World Cup game (all 7!) without interruption and completely undisturbed.  He got his wish!  My dad is a huge (huge) soccer fan, so every four years when the World Cup rolls around, the dynamic in my house completely changes and everything revolves around the World Cup.  Dinner times change (because we have to make sure not to miss any of the action), plans on weekends get formed around the game schedule, and FIFA brackets grace the side of our refrigerator.  I distinctly remember one World Cup when I was really little (I don't know how old I was) and I was looking at the brackets and I had no idea what that piece of paper was for.  It had the schedule for all the matches, and I just couldn't figure out what it was for.  I'm sure my dad tried to explain it to me, but I couldn't really wrap my head around it.  In any case, while I don't follow soccer (or any sport, really...) I nevertheless get really excited when it's World Cup season.  I just love the energy that's associated with it!

Anyway, I think it's safe to say that my dad enjoyed his relaxing soccer-filled weekend. My sister and I joined him to watch a few of the games, and I wish I had been able to watch more of them.  I was too busy baking an epic cake (to be shared next week!) to watch the Colombia-Greece game (shame on me! shows where my priorities are...), and then I'm ashamed to admit that I fell asleep during the second half of the Italy vs. England game (I stayed up later than I'm willing to admit because I was binge watching Orange is the New Black, so again, priorities...).  My dad and my sister rolled their eyes at me when I told him I couldn't watch Colombia's first match because I was busy baking two different cakes, but I don't think either of them minded when I placed a slice of this epic pound cake in front of them.

Crepe Cake with Raspberries and Cream

So it seemed like spring had sprung and all was finally well with Mother Nature.  The weather was getting warmer, the birds were chirping in the morning, and tiny little green buds began to speckle all the trees around my neighborhood.  I was seeing more kids playing around outside, and just the other night, I even heard the ice cream truck driving around playing its catchy little tune (I still get excited about this).  Then, in a completely sudden change of events, it snowed two nights ago.  Snow.  In April.  In spring.  Not ok.

To be fair, the snow that fell was really just a light flurry, but still. It's the principle!  The fact that my mom had to use an ice pick to get that layer of ice off the car windshield in the morning was a bit depressing.  I thought we had moved past this!  Here I am posting a lovely recipe for a delightfully springy Crepe Cake with Raspberries and Cream, and there were sprinklings of snow on the ground just yesterday.  Fortunately, the weather is supposed to improve slightly over the weekend and by then, spring will hopefully be here to stay!  In the meantime though, we can continue to pretend that it's really spring with this crepe cake.