My Favorite Cake Recipes

As part of the new direction for my blog, I did want to curate some of my favorite recipes that may have gotten buried in almost 6 years' worth of blog posts. When I do a search, sometimes the older posts don't appear in the search so I'm going to surface the ones I think are well worth surfacing.

To start with, here are some of my favorite cake recipes through the years. Click on the titles to go to the recipes and the original blog posts for them.

My oldest favorite is this carrot cake from Jim Fobel's Old-Fashioned Baking Book. I discovered it early in my baking career and it's withstood the test of time to the point that I don't try a lot of different recipes for carrot cakes because I like this one so much.

Carrot Cake

Almost just as long-standing a recipe is my favorite for coconut cake. I've made this for people who don't even like coconut and, surprisingly, they love this cake. I don't make it often because it falls into the category of "I'd eat more than I should". Hence why I don't have a slice of the inside. It can be a three or four layer cake; that's up to you.

Coconut Cake

 

A more recent favorite is this red velvet bundt cake which bills itself as a copycat to Nothing Bundt Cake's red velvet. I think it's better. 

Red Velvet Bundt Cake

Out of all the sheet cakes and Texas cakes I've made, this is hands-down my favorite vanilla sheet cake. You can make it with chocolate or vanilla frosting but either way, the cake is amazingly simple and delicious.

Texas Vanilla Cake

And of course, a list of favorites wouldn't be complete without a chocolate cake. I offer you two versions, one fancy and one simple, both delicious.

Chocolate Turtle Cake

Diane's Double Chocolate Sheet Cake

New Direction

If you've followed my blog for awhile and if you've paid attention to the dates when I've baked something and blogged it, you've probably noticed that I've cut back on baking significantly this summer. I actually haven't done any serious baking for over a month now and have only dabbled in a recipe here and there since early July. In the past 6 years since I started my blog, that's a pretty long stretch for me.

That's a conscious decision and one I've been considering for awhile. I still love to bake and I still want to bake. There's no one big factor that made me decide to suspend or cut back on baking but a bunch of smaller things converging to the same decision point. It's summer and it's often too hot to turn my oven on. I'm training for a half marathon and would run faster and easier if I actually did (finally) drop the last 10 pounds; something that's hard to do when I'm mainlining fat and sugar every baking weekend. It's always busy at work so it's getting more and more difficult to find both baking and blogging time. And after almost 6 years of blogging, I'm losing inspiration on new things to bake and feel like I've been in a rut on my blog for awhile.

So all those things combined led me to decide to take my blog in a new direction for a bit. At first I thought I would just shut my blog down and let it taper off. I was really torn about that because I've spent so much time and energy over the past 6 years to build it up to what it is now and it feels like a shame to let that drop. And since I'm such a foodie, I still like writing about new restaurants and bakeries I try, both to give coverage to local places I believe in supporting and because I've gotten into such an ingrained habit to take pictures of my food and I don't know what else to do with those pictures. Ha, I know, I'm weird that way.

Therefore, I decided to still keep my blog up but focus more on local food places. If you don't live in the Bay Area, that might not be interesting to you unless you plan to visit here someday. But I hope it'll still have wider appeal than that by reminding people to try out different places in their local areas. I'm a big believer in supporting local small businesses and that's where I try to spend most of my dollars. So I'm going to write more about them and hope others support them too.

And you never know when I will bake something new and blog about it. I'll also try to curate some of my more popular recipes once in awhile so you all have easy access to the top recipes for chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, brownies, cupcakes, cakes and so on, especially for holidays and other peak baking times.

Restaurant Review: Max's

Max's Opera Cafe - dinner on July 23, 2015

There was a time when I was somewhat of a regular at Max’s Opera Café. I had different friends who I’d go there with and Max’s had several locations so regardless of where I lived, worked or went to school, there was at least one Max’s conveniently nearby. The main point of going to Max’s was for dessert – at one time they made a killer seven layer bar, an apple pie and a chocolate layer cake. Plus Max’s believed in generous portions. Generous, I tell you.

Then I fell out of the habit of going to Max’s. I’m trying to remember why. One of my friends moved out of the area. Another got busy with her kids. The Max’s closest to me closed its doors. But truly, I think it’s because there was a period where that Max’s closest to me stopped making good desserts. Death knell to my culinary leanings right there.

But I was going out with another group of friends and I suggested Max’s at a different location for (my) old times’ sake.  They had changed the menu quite a bit from what I remember since yes, it’s been that long since I’ve been there. But this location has been there for awhile and seemed the most consistent in terms of its food. They also kept true to the “opera” part of their name and, just like in the old days, they had a singer singing live music to the accompaniment of the piano. I thought she sounded pretty good too.

Basket of warm fresh bread rolls

One of the perks of going to Max’s is the basket of warm bread rolls they serve and each basket has a selection of different flavors and types of rolls. Don’t come if you’re low-carbing or you’re going to miss out on one of Max’s strengths. 

Beet Salad

Roast Chicken

The menu has a decent selection of standard, typical American fare. I went with fish and chips and upgraded to sweet potato fries as did a couple of my dining companions. One person ordered the chicken and mashed potatoes and got more than she bargained for, literally. Max’s does not believe in skimping on its portions. It’s got a standard price point with prices ranging from $15-$20. Not cheap but not super expensive either. I can’t say the food was exceptionally terrific. To be honest, I can’t remember it long after I had the meal so it wasn’t a standout, at least my fish and chips weren’t. It’s a good place to go if you’re meeting others as the menu is varied enough to provide good options for different palates but I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to go there for anything in particular.

Club Sandwich

Beer Batter Fish n Chips with Sweet Potato Fries

The brownie sundae we had for dessert was good but it’s hard to go wrong with chocolate fudginess topped with vanilla ice cream. I would have to use the word “standard” again. It wasn’t bad but I’m not sure I really remember it after I ate it.

Brownie Sundae

Display case of desserts

Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate Cookies

Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate Cookies - made dough August 10, 2015, recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Remember the last white chocolate chip cookie recipe I posted was a little too sweet for me with the toffee and white chocolate chips? I decided to try a different version with macadamia nuts to cut the sweetness.

Macadamia nuts are that rare exception where I like nuts in cookies as long as they're macadamia nuts in a white chocolate and/or coconut cookie. Something about macadamia nuts pairs very well with both and makes me forgive their presence in a cookie. I can all too easily overeat macadamia nuts by themselves which is why I rarely have them except in cookies. They're expensive and we didn't have them often when I was growing up so they were in the rare-treat category, typically when someone was traveling or visiting from Hawaii and brought us a jar of Mauna Loa macadamia nuts or a box of chocolate-covered macadamias.

I had my usual reticence in using a cookie recipe with shortening in it but it had the saving grace of butter as well so I went with it. I know why the recipe authors did it this way; butter gives the flavor and the shortening prevents spreading. The dough was easy to work with even though it was warm when I made this so I had to work quickly to portion it into dough balls, porcupine it with white chocolate chips on the outside and freeze them.

I learned the porcupine trick awhile back for any cookie that has chips in it. You mix almost all of the chips into the batter but reserve a generous handful or two and stick the remaining chips on the outside of the cookie. When it bakes, you have a cookie visually bursting with chocolate chips.

This was a pretty standard white chocolate macadamia cookie (but remember I have high standards). It met my criteria in that it stayed thick enough to nicely incorporate the chunky macadamia nuts and the shortening, despite my prejudices, did its job in also adding a little crispness to the cookie as well as keeping its shape. The flavor of the brown sugar really makes the cookie to provide a good backdrop for the white chocolate. My only angst came from the browning of the white chocolate due to the heat and baking time. It didn't affect the flavor, just the appearance. There's no getting around it that I can figure out even if you try underbaking. You want to bake these long enough for the edges to brown and the middles to get chewy, not mushy. I actually advocate letting these cool completely instead of eating lukewarm or 10 minutes out of the oven. At freshly baked room temperature, they have a better texture. I took the pics at fully cooled an hour after they came out of the oven and really liked both the taste and texture.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, toasted, rough chop

1. Cream butter and shortening together until blended. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until creamy. Add baking soda, salt, eggs and vanilla and beat until just combined.
2. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until just blended.
3. Add white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts, reserving a handful of each.
4. Portion dough into golf-ball-size dough balls and press reserved chocolate chips and macadamia nuts on the outside of each. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours until firm.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls, about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake 9-11 minutes or until edges are golden brown and middles no longer look raw or shiny. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling completely.

Bakery Review: Noe Valley Bakery

Noe Valley Bakery - July 20, 2015

This isn't really a bakery review since I've never personally been to Noe Valley Bakery in San Francisco so I can't comment on the bakery itself.

But my team at work brought in this red velvet cake from that bakery for my birthday last month and it was so good I thought it was worth a shout out on my blog.

I love red velvet cake. I love a moist red velvet cake even more and that's what this was. It was a 4-layer tower of goodness of moist, rich cake with just the right perfectly cakey texture that marks a good cake. Even better, the cream cheese frosting wasn't too tangy and had just the right amount of sweetness. I also liked the elegant simple presentation of the cake itself.

My coworkers and I enjoyed it thoroughly. From start to finish, I think we ended up at the empty plate below in a matter of minutes. I've now added Noe Valley Bakery to my list of must-visit bakeries in San Francisco; this cake alone is worth a visit.

Sweets Handmade Candies - Truckee, CA

Sweets Handmade Candies - visited July 18, 2015

After the visit to Cake Tahoe, we took a walking tour down the main street of Truckee and came upon Sweets Handmade Candies, a cute little confectionery shop. It reminded me of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory with the space at the front to showcase the fudge making then the rest of the shop was devoted to confections and chocolate.

I love poking around confectionery shops. My eyes get their fill of - haha - eye candy and my nose thanks me for all the mouthwatering smells found in your typical chocolate shop. And, I'm not going to lie, my taste buds sit up and start begging as I try to decide what to get. Never mind the two cupcakes I'd just bought from Cake Tahoe minutes before.

When we walked into Sweets, we were offered free samples of their homemade fudge. Fudge. We all know I like fudge, despite the sweetness. It's fudge. Sweets had a whole tray of small bits of fudge out for sampling for the customers (I think we were pretty much all tourists) milling around in the shop. I nipped up a sample to try. And I'm sorry but I wish I hadn't. I normally try to say positive things in a review and I have a pretty low bar for fudge to clear in order for me to like it. Unfortunately this didn't pass that bar. I don't know why but the flavor just wasn't there. The chocolate wasn't very chocolaty and the texture wasn't the rich smooth creaminess I expect from fudge. And I wasn't the only one who felt this way. We all tried it - my nieces and their boyfriends - and we all had the same reaction which my niece succinctly summed up as "it tastes like brownie mix fudge". Yup. Sorry.

By that token, I felt I had to buy something now so I could find something good about the shop that I liked better because I hate not being able to say something nice about it. It was a cute shop! And the Sweets counter people were very nice and friendly. But I wouldn't go for the fudge, I'm sorry.

Instead, I picked out a Sea Salt Caramel from the display case and I had one of my nieces pick out the truffle she wanted; she chose a cappuccino truffle enrobed in white chocolate.

Fudge making at the front of the shop

Fortunately, the chocolates we selected were way, way better than the fudge. I only caught a shot of the truffle as my nieces started eating it before I could take a picture ("wait!"). But they liked it.

I'm also happy to say the sea salt caramel covered in milk chocolate that I got was superb. The caramel was soft and chewy the way I like it but not too sticky or hard and the sea salt sprinkled on the chocolate was the perfect complement to the sweetness of the caramel. So you may not want to go for the fudge but if you do go to Sweets, try one of the confectionery chocolates instead.

Browned Butter White Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Browned Butter White Chocolate Toffee Cookies - made dough July 11, 2015, recipe adapted from Baker by Nature

These cookies were part of my Tahoe weekend last month with my sister, my nieces and their boyfriends. Whenever I meet up with them, I know to bring banana bread for my sister's SO as well as my niece's boyfriend. I asked my other niece what else she wanted me to bring and her answer is always her favorite: white chocolate chip cookies.

Now I could just take a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and substitute white chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate chips but why pass up a chance to try out another new recipe? Besides which, a true white chocolate chip cookie is actually different from a regular chocolate chip cookie. They lean more towards brown sugar than granulated sugar and the white chocolate pairs well with the caramel/butterscotch flavor of the cookie.

For this experiment, I went with this white chocolate toffee version but I mixed the batch and, before adding the toffee, scooped half of it into toffee-less cookie dough balls, added the toffee to the remaining cookie dough and finished mixing and portioning into what the cookies were originally meant to be. One of the boys is allergic to nuts and the commercially made toffee bits I added to the batter had a high probability of being made in a facility with nuts so I left it out of half the cookies to play it safe.

From appearances, this had all the earmarks of what I look for in a good cookie: it stayed thick, was chewy in the middle, had somewhat crisp edges and I loved the texture. However, it was a tad too sweet for me. I think it's partially because I've cut back on sugar a lot (I know, you probably can't tell from what I bake and blog but it's true) and whenever I do eat sugar, it's really sweet. I also think the toffee and white chocolate add more sweetness to the cookie since that's what they're there for. It's still a good cookie though so you could either portion them small, cut back on the toffee and/or white chocolate, add macadamia nuts for a texture and flavor contrast to cut the sweetness or just make as is and decide for yourself.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted until browned
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chocolate toffee bits

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat melt butter, whisking constantly, until it reaches a golden brown color; remove from heat at once. Transfer melted butter to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. 
3. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix just until combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing just until combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips and toffee bits. 
5. Using a large ice cream scoop or a 2 tablespoon measuring spoon form golf-size balls with the dough. Cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight. 
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment and evenly space frozen cookie dough balls. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the pan for even color and baking. 
7. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Bakery Review: Cake Tahoe

Cake Tahoe - July 17 & 18, 2015

I went to Lake Tahoe for my birthday weekend last month. My sister rented a cabin for the weekend as her graduation gift to her kids and a birthday gift to me. We all met up there and I embarked early Friday afternoon, planning to get there around 4:30 or 5 in the afternoon. Google maps said the journey should take about 3 ½ hours and I left early afternoon, factoring in “a little traffic” and estimated I would get there in 4 hours. Ha. I arrived 6 ½ hours later. Ugh.

My niece’s boyfriend was grilling on the deck and since I got there later than I had planned, I was hungry enough to chew off my own arm. Fortunately, burgers were an alternative option so I indulged in one.  Or two. Okay, okay, it was two! Told ya I was hungry. I was pretty full afterward but then my nieces and my sister surprised with me half a dozen birthday cupcakes.

They’d gotten it from a local bakery called Cake Tahoe (Lake Tahoe, Cake Tahoe – get it?) in Truckee, CA. There were 6 different flavors and the 6 of us split 5 and swapped taste forkfuls from each cupcake. OMG. These cupcakes were amazing. I tried the creme brulee, red velvet, carrot, and chocolate cupcakes. The textures were perfectly fluffy and cakey as any great cupcakes should be. I’m not a frosting person but the frosting was a good complement to each cupcake to add some sweetness but also a creamy texture contrast to the fluffy cakes. If you like Sprinkles cupcakes but think they’re too “greasy” (I prefer to think of them of “moist”) then you might like Cake Tahoe’s cupcakes better because they were moist but not greasy and were even fluffier than Sprinkles.

Having enjoyed the cupcakes so much, I wanted to go see Cake Tahoe for myself and take pictures for my blog. At least that’s what I kept telling myself and everyone around me. I even brought my camera when we went the following day (see, it was the truth). It’s a cute little shop, definitely open for tourist business, at the end of the main drag for Truckee. The cupcakes were in a display case at the front of the shop where they rightfully took front and center, singing their siren song for hapless tourists with a sweet tooth. “Come to us,” they croon. “Buy me and the little cupcake next to me.”

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Confetti Cupcakes

I snapped some pics but then the inevitable happened. Since I “was there” anyway, might as well get a couple of cupcakes, right? You knew that was coming. I mean, they were singing and all.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Heath Bar Cupcake

I ended up with the Heath Bar and the Coconut cupcakes. I was full of virtue and didn’t even eat them right there. We wandered around Truckee for a bit, poked around at some of the shops, stopped off at a candy store reminiscent of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (more on that in a future post) then I dropped my nieces and their boyfriends off at the beach and headed back to the cupcakes, I mean, cabin.

Carrot Cupcakes

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Salted Caramel Cupcakes (?)

I’ll spare you the song and dance of how long I did or didn’t resist but yes, I ended up eating both cupcakes over the course of the next 24 hours. The Heath Bar one calls for another “OMG”. Perfect, beautiful, fluffy cake texture, great flavor and the toffee added a great crunch. I even liked the frosting. I mean, hello, that’s huge. The coconut was delicious as well but if I had to be a grown up and pick because really, I shouldn’t be eating more than 1 cupcake, the Heath Bar would win for me. I think it was even better than the cupcakes I had the previous evening. Although that was due as much to not having eaten 2 burgers before eating a bite from each of 5 cupcakes but anyway, awesome cupcake.

Vanilla Cupcake

Coconut Cupcake

So if you’re ever in the Tahoe/Truckee area, stop by Cake Tahoe. They keep somewhat limited hours so you might want to time your visit but trust me, it’d be worth it. I’m already wondering when I’ll be back in the area. To visit my sister, of course. And get another cupcake.

Heath Bar Cupcake

Inside the Heath Bar Cupcake