Black Sesame Cake with Sour Cherry Glaze

Black Sesame Cake with Sour Cherry Glaze
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This recipe is part of a larger dinner party menu you can find on my Substack. The category is Bowl of Cherries, and it features five Korean-inspired courses centered around cherries. You can find the recipe booklet and a handy party prep schedule here.

I love how deliciously low-maintenance loaf cakes are. How approachable, snackable, and generally unpretentious they are. Sure, they may not elicit the same ooo’s and ahh’s a layer cake would get. But I’ve never seen a single person decline a slice. And decorating a loaf cake? Well, let’s just say, it’s a lot easier than those fancy lambeth cakes. Today’s Black Sesame Cake with Sour Cherry Glaze may be a humble loaf cake, but it makes an impact when it hits the table. Between the contrast of the dark, airy cake and the hot pink sweet and sour glaze, it brings considerable style to the table. The addition of sour whipped cream dollops and maraschino cherries solidifies its retro charm. And no, you don’t need a turntable or much more than a piping bag and tip to pull this look off. So let’s jump right in!

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Butterscotch Dipped Oatcakes

Butterscotch Dipped Oatcakes with Dark Chocolate and Maldon Salt
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Growing up oatcakes were a celebrated treat, particularly the ones dipped in dark chocolate. I had no idea until I moved out of the province that oatcakes are considered an iconic Nova Scotia delicacy. I also had no idea that they were a riff on Scottish oatcakes, which are essentially the same only not as sweet. Nova Scotia oatcakes are not particularly sweet either, especially when you compare them to cookies. They have more of a salty, sweet vibe, so don’t go into this expecting oatmeal cookies. Oatcakes are more toothsome, less sugary, and far more substantial. I often describe them as breakfast cookies to the uninitiated. But because oatcakes are not quite a cookie, they do benefit from a little zhuzhing. That’s why I made these Butterscotch Dipped Oatcakes – everything delicious about the original dunked in butterscotch icing, drizzled with dark chocolate, and sprinkled with salt. 

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Chocolate Spice Cake with Cranberry Sorbet

Chocolate Spice Cake with Cranberry Sorbet
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One last hit of chocolate to close out 2024. This year has been a tough one but it hasn’t been without its sweet moments – today’s Chocolate Spice Cake with Cranberry Sorbet for instance. But like the year that is nearly done, this dessert doesn’t deliver unadulterated sweetness. The cranberry sorbet is tantalizingly tart, the chocolate cake is deep and dark with a slightly bitter hint of coffee. As in life, there’s a fair amount of complexity to counter the sweetness. So without further ado, let’s whip up this rather delicious metaphor.

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Salted Toffee Cashew Cookies

Salted Toffee Cashed Cookies on a large plate.
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Welcome to peak cookie season! I’m sure you need another cookie recipe like a hole in the head right now. But here I am with a recipe for these Salted Toffee Cashew Cookies. I’m sorry, they were too good not to share. These golden beauties are classic slice-and-bake shortbread cookies packed with butterscotch chips, Skor bits, and cashews. The cookies are then rolled in Maldon salt and raw sugar before being sliced and baked until golden. Loving this recipe requires having a taste for salty-sweet combos. So if that is your idea of a good time, let’s get into it!

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