Bake or Break

Chocolate Pound Cake with Vanilla Bean Glaze

As much as I adore chocolate, I'm not always the biggest fan of standard chocolate cake fare. I usually find either the flavor or the texture lacking in some way. But, this rich and dense pound cake is one of my favorites. It gets its rich chocolate flavor from a big helping of cocoa powder. As I tend to do, I will now mount my Good Ingredients Soapbox. You definitely want to use the very best cocoa powder you can find for this cake. I personally like Scharffen Berger's unsweetened cocoa powder. I've been using it for years and have always been pleased with it. There are many other great brands out there, so just find the kind you like best.

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Spiced Pear Cake

On Christmas Eve, I was gathering everything we needed to make our big dinner when suddenly I realized that I hadn't planned a dessert. Really?!? I've been in heavy baking mode this month, but I had neglected to think of something special for Christmas. Sure, I had some leftover Deep-Dish Pecan Pie, but such an occasion warrants its own dessert. So, we made a trip to our neighborhood market to peruse the possibilities. Some ingredients procured and my fingers crossed, I whipped up this cake.

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Caramel Bundt Cake

If there's one thing I feel very little confidence in making, it's caramel. Quite a shame, actually, because caramel is pretty awesome. As you can now imagine, I don't make a lot of traditional caramel cakes. I tried this one a few years ago, and I did okay with it. My caramel wasn't perfect, but it was still delicious. I've meant to try that recipe again, but I've talked myself out of it multiple times.

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Sour Cream Pear Cake with Pecan Streusel

While some people call this apple season, I like to think of it as pear season. They are, by far, my favorite fruit to bake with this time of year.

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Chocolate Caramel Pecan Souffle Cake

My birthday was last week, and in keeping with tradition, Quinn baked me a cake. I feel a little bad because the recipe I picked involved a lot of steps including making caramel, which is usually a dicey proposition. I offered him an out, but he decided to dive in and make my initial cake choice.

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Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

I'm a big believer in simple recipes. If I were to guess, I'd say that the majority of you are believers, too. Dessert doesn't have to be complicated to be good. Who's with me? I made this cake with a couple of my favorite ingredients, chocolate and pecans. The cake itself is packed with brown sugar and a touch of cinnamon for a little something extra.

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