Even if you don't bake, I know you might want to bake this weekend
so bake these things* (*some things require no baking)
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I find that even if you’re not that into baking or making desserts, long weekends where there’s an audience for your efforts might inspire you (dance like no one’s watching, but bake as if there's a group of people who will shower you with praise if you present a dessert at the end of the night).
Below are two simple classics (if I do say so myself) and then, for paid subscribers, some more ideas/recipes to get you excited about all that extra time you have to think about dessert.
Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake. Starting around May 1 until the end of September, I see dozens of these cakes every week, and we (the cake and I) are flattered. The recipe is good! Sometimes when you’re unsure about whether or not a recipe is “worth it,” it’s nice to go with something you know…is.
As you may have noticed, I don’t deep-fry. I will not heat up a large pot of oil and drop in the batter and fry, hoping I have not undercooked the insides or overly fried the outsides, then have to deal with the hot oil—even typing that feels exhausting. But the taste. The taste of a cake donut haunts me. Its vaguely vanilla flavor, deeply golden exterior, crumbly-yet-compact interior is hard to get without a fryer. Yet somehow this cake comes extremely close.
For anyone wanting to use different fruit, I say: do it. blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches or plums would all be nice. I still think strawberries are the best choice, though.
Blueberry Cornmeal Tart. Perhaps tied for recipes I see made most during the summer. For those who don’t bake and for those that do, for those who like their desserts on the less-sweet side, the crunchy side, the unfussy side, this dessert is for you. I can’t stress enough how infallible it is, virtually unable to mess up. This recipe is also a prime candidate for baking in “whatever you have around.” Tart pan, pie plate, square baking dish; It is also easily doubled to make in a 9x13 for more of a “bar” and less of a “tart.” Here’s the video for it.
To anyone wanting to use different fruit, I say: you can mix in some things, but this tart really relies on the pectin content (aka the ability to set) of the blueberries, so if wanting to experiment with another berry, just make sure the mixture is still primarily blueberries (think 75% blueberries 25% black or raspberries, something like that).
Plus, below you’ll find three perfect make-ahead desserts and one very good make-and-eat-right-now dessert.
Recipes for Very Frozen, Very Iced Coffee (seasonally agnostic, espresso-martini adjacent, good party trick), Ice Cream in Melon (just like it sounds, trust me), Salted Lemon Cream Pie (like key lime but with lemon with a slightly creamier texture and fluffier topping), and, one of my favorite things to eat when it’s hot out, Summer Pudding with Summer Fruit (pudding in the English sense, which is to say it’s not a custard, but a no-bake dessert made with layers of jammy fruit, whipped cream/yogurt and layers of brioche or white bread. Kind of like a fruity tiramisu, if you can imagine) available to all paid subscribers as a little thank you.
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