Pumpkin Crumb Cake (Gluten-Free!)

Pumpkin Crumb Cake (Gluten-Free!)

This is the best pumpkin crumb cake in the world. And it’s healthy. And gluten-free. I kid you not.

In case you haven’t noticed, I waited to start posting pumpkin recipes until I saw physical evidence of fall around here: leaves on the lawn, cooler morning temps, a certain zing in the air. Unlike many of my fellow bloggers, I don’t start baking with pumpkin until September. Sorry, guys. I hate the end of summer. Hate it.

But man, do I love this cake. I made a version of this a year ago, and it stuck with me. It’s the only pumpkin cake ever that I have not been able to stop eating. It’s that good. And it’s also that good for you. Plus, all of my gluten-free friends who thought that good crumb cake was a thing of the past can rejoice. It’s easy to make a good crumb topping with dietary restrictions! You just have to know how.

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Honey Apple Cake

Honey Apple Cake

For the next two days, I will be digitally incommunicado as I celebrate one of the most important holidays of the year. That’s right, my Jewish friends. It’s Rosh Hashanah!

For those of you scratching your heads right now, that means that the Jewish new year is upon us. It’s traditional to eat apples and honey and other sweet foods to bring on a sweet year. There’s only one problem with that.

Honey cakes are often dry and not worth eating. It’s a serious problem. So here I am, your holiday 411. This cake is definitely worth gobbling!

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Easy Apple Cake With Brown Butter Icing

Easy Apple Cake with Brown Butter Icing

Who’s in the mood for easy?

This morning, I crossed an important item off my life bucket list: stand up paddleboarding, or SUP, as it’s known to the cooler masses. It felt really good to face my terror and prevail. More on that in a moment.

I figure that as long as I continue to face the challenges that scare me, it’s okay to ease up in other parts of life. Baking has always been that place of respite for me, and this apple cake is no exception. It’s quick, simple, and slathered in an unbelievable brown butter icing.

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Snickers Cheesecake Loaf

Snickers Cheesecake Loaf

Who knew that cheesecake could be made in a loaf pan? I never even realized that was an option.

That is, until I read the narrative baking book Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes. If you’re not familiar with her work, she’s an Irish chick lit author. Her books are funny, honest, and have some fantastically complex characters. I’ve been a huge fan for quite a while.

So when she wrote a baking book a few years back, I couldn’t wait to buy it. This cheesecake loaf is an adaptation of one of the recipes in her book. I’ve changed it, but it’s the same idea. Sorry, Marian. I reserve the right to tinker. That’s what baking is all about!

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Almond Half-Pound Cake

Almond Half-Pound Cake

Ever since my childhood days with Sara Lee, pound cakes have held a special place in my heart. They’re rich, velvety, and so wonderful dipped in chocolate.

The problem is, they’re called pound cakes for a reason. As in, the pound of butter that gets thrown in per loaf. Dessert blogger or not, I just can’t get behind that unless it’s a very special occasion. But for a pound cake lover, what to do?

This is my second half-pound cake posting. The first had browned butter in it, and I loved it. This one is bursting with almond flavor. The best part is, you can literally cut the butter in half and not miss it. This I swear to you.

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Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

My birthday is this coming Friday, y’all. Feel free to send gifts. Or chocolate. Heck, I’ll take an e-card. Or nothing. It’s not that big a deal.

Every year, I bake my own birthday fantasy treat. When you’re the resident cake baker, nobody bakes them for you. It falls to me to make the festive sugar. But that’s okay, because I get to let my imagination run wild.

This cake is like a giant Reese’s peanut butter cup. A peanut butter core is sandwiched between my favorite chocolate cake (it’s gluten-free but superior to any chocolate cake I’ve ever baked, and that’s a LOT of cakes) and then frosted with peanut butter frosting. And of course, the whole cake is topped off with more Reese’s peanut butter cups. It’s the best candy in the world, my friends!

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Black Cherry Cola Cake

Black Cherry Cola Cake

This has been on my baking bucket list for a while.

It’s fun to cook with cola. Did you know that cola makes a fantastic marinade for a hunk of beef? And it also makes a great cake ingredient. It just took me a while to get to trying the whole thing out, since we don’t keep soda in our house. More on that in a moment.

Instead of using straight-up cola for this cake, I used black cherry soda. Dr. Brown’s, to be specific. If you’ve never tried Dr. Brown’s black cherry soda, you are definitely missing out. Their cream soda is pretty amazing, too. But that’s neither here nor there. This cake, though? This cake is amazing. And the icing on top ain’t half bad, either!

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Brownie Sacher Torte

Brownie Sacher Torte

Sometimes time can be the best healer.

A year ago, I tried making the famous Sacher torte for my mother’s birthday. It’s a dense chocolate cake with apricot filling that hails from Vienna. I did tons of research and worked much harder than usual to get the cake just right.

Epic fail, everyone. The glaze was clumpy and the cake was just way too dry. It was so not worth all that time and effort. Luckily, time passed and I decided I wanted to try again, but this time I did it on my terms. That means the cake became a brownie and the glaze was a much simpler version of the process that did me in a year ago.

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The Best (Gluten-Free) Chocolate Birthday Cake

The Best (Gluten-Free) Chocolate Birthday Cake

Summer is birthday season in my house. Birthdays pop up one after the other, and with them, a parade of cakes. As the resident cake baker, that makes me pretty busy.

I’m all about easy baking, but there’s no way to cheat a layer cake. Steps have to be followed. Still, making it as easy as possible is ideal, and this chocolate cake is three things: incredible, simple, and gluten-free.

If you’re a doubter, you need to try this. I served this cake at my daughter’s birthday party to a group of people who either openly or covertly believe that gluten-free baking is crap. This cake proved them all wrong.

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Salted Caramel Pecan Pastry Ring

Salted Caramel Pecan Pastry Ring

Breakfast is such a huge motivator in my life. I don’t let myself eat until after my workout. It’s good to have something to work toward!

Does that work for everyone? Nope. My friend is more of an evening exerciser. By that time, I am done and a half. Can barely move, except to lift the fork to my mouth to eat dessert. That’s my workout later in the day!

When you want a good breakfast treat that is homemade but easy, I recommend turning to refrigerated biscuits. Not to make biscuits with, silly. To make something far more fun. This salted caramel pecan pastry ring is delicious and perfect for the morning, not to mention pretty quick to put together. It takes the usual five minutes or so!

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