Easy Cakes I Made This Week

a super fudgy chocolate number and tahini's birthday pup cake

This week, my parent’s were in town visiting and we celebrated Tahini’s 5th birthday so I made a few easy cakes and wanted to share them with you. Both of these cakes are super simple to mix together, can be adapted and frosted however you’d like, and keep well in the fridge for days.

an earlier version of this week’s chocolate cake—Mexican hot chocolate style with cinnamon and cayenne

very easy chocolate snack cakes

I’m pretty much always in the mood for a fudgy chocolate cake so this snack cake comes in clutch on a regular basis. Last week, I had grand plans to make a flourless chocolate cake, but then spent $11 on a dozen eggs and simply could not stomach using four of them in cake this week so we pivoted. I have two really great chocolate cake recipes that I visit often—the one I’m sharing below (which uses only one egg!) and another that is actually egg free! So if you’re feeling pinched by high egg prices but don’t want to give up chocolate cake, I feel you and I have your back.

This time, I made a super simple crème fraîche whipped cream and piled on shaved chocolate. You could easily top this cake with any frosting you love, sub sour cream or mascarpone in place of crème fraîche, or even just dust the whole thing with powdered sugar and call it a day.

this week's chocolate cake + the egg free chocolate cake mentioned above

a great dog (or baby/toddler) birthday cake

Also this week, we celebrated five years of our sweet pup, Tahini. He is my teeny best friend, my first baby, and just the sweetest little fur buddy. I developed a dog-friendly birthday cake recipe for his first birthday and have made some rendition of it every year since. This year, I got a few bruised apples on sale at our little local farm and cooked them down into a quick applesauce which I used in place of the mashed bananas for a cinnamon apple flavor.

I decided to cut them into mini (3”) circles and layer them two rounds high and fill them with peanut butter cream. The leftover cake went in the freezer to be used as treats on a later day.

As I was making the cake this time, I realized that it would also make a great baby or toddler birthday cake if you’re looking for a naturally sweetened recipe. A cake for all of your babies :)

the 3” version I made this week filled with peanut butter cream

recipe #1: chocolate snack cake with crème fraîche whipped cream

makes one 8” cake

Ingredients:

for the cake:

125 g (1 cup) all purpose flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar

106 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

75 g (2.64 oz) dark chocolate, chopped

42 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

226 g (1 cup) strong coffee

for the frosting:

4 oz créme fraîche

2 oz (56 g, 1/4 cup) heavy cream

3-4 tbsp powdered sugar

pinch of salt

shaved chocolate for topping, optional

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 8” cake pan with parchment paper, set aside.

2. Roughly chop chocolate and place in a large bowl, along with the butter. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

4. Combine sugar, brown sugar, and coffee in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, until mixture is boiling and sugars have dissolved. Pour the hot coffee mixture over the chocolate and butter and let set for 5 minutes.

5. Whisk the chocolate coffee mixture until smooth and all of the chocolate and butter has melted. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and whisk again until smooth and no lumps remain.

6. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan and then remove from pan and cool completely.

7. To make the frosting, combine crème fraîche, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl and whip with a whisk or electric mixer until thick and soft peaks form. Spoon the cream over the cake and top with chocolate shavings.

recipe 2: a pup-friendly petit birthday cake

makes one 5” three-layer petit cake or six 3” two-layer mini cakes

for the cake

1 cup (90 g) old fashioned oats

3/4 cup (85 g) white whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup (75 g) coconut oil (melted) or olive oil

1/4 cup (85 g) honey

2 eggs

2 large, ripe bananas or sub 200 g (1 cup) applesauce

1/4 cup (57 g) plain yogurt

for a cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp (42 g) honey

2 tbsp (32 g) tahini

fresh fruit, for decorating

for a peanut butter cream

2 parts creamy peanut butter

1 part heavy cream

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the white whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Gently whisk and then set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mash bananas. Add the oil, honey, eggs, and yogurt and whisk until mixture is smooth and homogenous.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined and no dry spots remain. Transfer batter to the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until cake is golden brown and the sides begin to pull away from the edge of the pan. Cool completely.

5. When the cake has cooled, invert it onto a cutting board and remove the parchment paper. Use a 5” cake ring to cut two circles and two half circles or a 3” ring to cut 12 small circles.

6. To make the cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add the honey and tahini and beat until well-combined. To make the peanut butter cream: Whip peanut butter and heavy cream together until light and smooth.

7. Assemble the cake as desired, smoothing a layer of frosting in between each layer. Top the finished cake with fresh fruit.