A Newsy Letter about no-bake cheesecake, chocolate carrot loaf cake, apple snacking cake and more . .

Hello peeps and welcome to another newsy letter. I’ve been working away on my 4th book, developing the recipes and testing them and I don’t believe I’ve shared much of this book with you, and I think it’s high time I do so. Essentially I am writing a book not unlike Snackable Bakes, in that it is an easy-peasy baking book in which every recipe can be assembled in 20 minutes or less, requires no special equipment and calls for ingredients that are already in your pantry, But – wait for it – all the recipes are SAVORY. Yes: you heard it here first. I’m writing a book filled with simple recipes that call for things like cheese and pepper and bacon and, well, more cheese – and also tomatoes might make an appearance and maybe some garlic, as well as puff pastry and even some – you guessed it – cheese.

I am very excited to share this book with you (in about a year and a half – October of 2024 to be exact) though it is quite challenging developing the recipes, I won’t lie. In short, I am 100% out of my comfort zone when I am making savory things – be they baked or not! I mean I can cook dinner, no worries there, even for a big ole group of peeps – but developing my own recipes? Figuring out what spices and herbs go with what cheese and what meat and what veggie and then packing it all up in a muffin or a bread to a hand pie or a pie-pie, well that’s a little scary – but FUN! So long story short – I’ve been busy playing around in salty-cheesy-veggie-meaty baking land on the off chance you were wondering what it is I do all day . . .

And now for some RECIPES!!

First things first, how about a no-bake almond cheesecake with an easy cherry kirsch compote? If you’ve never made a no-bake cheesecake, you are in for such a treat, as they could not be easier to assemble and provide the most wonderful bang for the buck. Cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice are mixed together in a stand mixer with some almond extract and the resulting thick and cream filling cannot be beat. There are some almonds in the graham cracker crust that add a wonderfully nutty, salty vibe and the compote comes together quickly on the stovetop and is gorgeous to look at and marries beautifully with the almond infused cake. Moreover, if almond is not your jam, leave it out! And if Oreos are (and gosh, I hope you love Oreos) then sub those for the graham crackers and almonds and wowza: have you ever got a different but equally yummy no-bake cake on your hands.

But if you are not feeling cheesecake and would prefer something chocolatey, what about an easy-peasy chocolate carrot loaf cake? Yes you heard that right: there are finely ground carrots in this cake which adds the most amazing texture and moisture to the cake, without adding a lick of flavor. I mean maybe there is a tiny bit of carrot flavor? Or something vegetal in the background? But really this is a chocolate cake with a secret and I’m willing to keep it if you are.

And just in case you are not feeling cheesecake or chocolate, how about an oldie but goodie: an easy apple snaking cake? One-bowl, utterly scrumptious and takes no time to assemble, this is a cake you’ll want on rotation and one you can make with whatever fruit floats your boat . . . The batter comes together in no time, in a bowl with a whisk and a spatula. The apples are peeled and roughly cut into chunks and folded into said batter and voila! You’re done. Sprinkle some sugar in the raw (or Turbinado sugar) on top for sparkle and crunch and you are good to go.

Well, that’s all the recipe content I have for you this week, but I did want to deal with a little housekeeping, as it were: I am still over on your favorite podcast platform chatting all things baking with all the best bakers around – so I hope you’ll consider giving some of the episodes a listen.

Also, as I mentioned two weeks ago, I am hosting a baking retreat in July in Birmingham with my pal Brian Hart Hoffman and the team from Bake from Scratch Magazine (a magazine in which I contribute a column: Fast Fix with Jessie Sheehan)!! Brian and I will be baking up (along with you (fingers crossed)) ALL the yummy summer treats and I’d love for you to join. More info is here.

Alrighty, that’s it for another newsy-letter. Hope you enjoyed and looking forward to being back in touch in two weeks.