The Thick of Summer

Back-pocket recipes, Raspberry Honey Chantilly Cake, and a cookbook giveaway!

Friends, hi!

We’re at the top of August, which is to say we’ve reached the part of summer that asks quite a lot of us in the way of endurance. Ambition? Out the window. Personal growth? Please see me in October. The dog days, indeed.

I did manage to make these little dot cakes (I know I’m late for the viral moment) for our best friend’s daughter’s fifteenth birthday. The Kitchn insisted that proper dot cakes are made with cake mix and (see location of ambition, above), I was happy to oblige. On top of the cakes I printed out little cards of their cat, Goose, and they were a hit with every age. You can’t go wrong with a dot cake! Take note.

Eight months into this year, I feel like I’m reaching into my back pocket looking for whatever I’ve tucked away to get me through the heat, through the day, to the dinner table, into the shower, back to the goshdang breast pump, and… you know when you find a folded and washed $20 bill in your back pocket and it’s just the best feeling? That’s what I’m looking for.

So this month, let’s root around in our pockets a bit. My offering is a one-pot pasta you might want to tuck away for later, an essential cupcake hack, and a cheater croissant made with puff pastry. Little mercies that might help me get a meal on the table before anyone cries (me included).

Here’s what we’ve got, plus an incredible new cookbook interview and giveaway!

I’m obsessed

Fresh on the Blog

I can vouch for the fact that there are a few good reasons to turn on the oven in August and one of them is this Raspberry Honey Chantilly Cake. Think: honey-kissed yellow cake layers with a swoopy mascarpone cream cheese frosting and truly so so many raspberries. If you, like me, have developed an emotional attachment to the Whole Foods Berry Chantilly Cake, this homemade version will make all the sense in the world to you. I already have plans to make the cake, yet again, for my dad’s birthday next month (if I can hold out that long).

Easy August Wins

As promised, these are a few recipes I keep tucked away in my back pocket when I need an easy win on the thickest of days. This One-Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper with Sneaky Veggies is clutch when… I don’t even want to say the words “back to school” because it feels too soon but… may I suggest making a double batch. It’s that good.

There’s also this recipe for Twelve Frosted Cupcakes with one stick of butter that feels like pulling a rabbit out of a hat when you just need to make a moment happen. It’s not like a Leo would ever let you forget their birthday, but if you did… I’m sure there’s a candle in the junk drawer. Aaaand, go!

Maybe it’s because I’ve just used my last package of Trader Joe’s all-butter puff pastry (if you know, you know they only sell it during the holidays), but I’d be remiss not to mention that these Very Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants are perfect for a weekend morning. Really they can be filled with any sort of leftovers + cheese you find in the fridge. Serve with hot coffee and you’re really doing something.

A Chat with Martin Sorge on his new book Great Bakes!

I’m so happy to welcome Martin Sorge to Baked In this week! You might know him as the winner of The Great American Baking Show, where Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith gave him the crown, but his baking story started much earlier and, charmingly, with a childhood attempt at making a “biscuit” that ended with a microwave fire. Relatable? Hopefully not.

His brand new cookbook, Great Bakes: Modern Classic Recipes from the Midwest, is exactly what the title promises: generous, cozy, clever baking with a Midwestern heart. It’s a perfect mix of reassuring and gently nerdy, which I love. I’m so smitten with the book I’m making the Sausage Rolls for September’s Bakehouse Texas popup!

Martin joined us for a little cookbook chat, and we’re giving away a copy of Great Bakes to one lucky reader below!

What was the “aha moment” recipe while writing this book?

Probably my Whole Wheat Toast bread. It’s the least sexy recipe ever—a plain loaf of 100% whole wheat bread. It’s soft and fluffy and makes the ultimate toast, yet has the rich flavor of whole grains. I developed the recipe eons ago and made it almost every week for years. I wrote tweaked and edited the recipe a ton, and when I finally got it right, I wrote it down and thought—I’ll share this recipe with the world someday. It was the first recipe (well, alongside my Flaky Pastry recipe), that I saved for my book. I wanted the recipes in the book to be those recipes that I go to over and over and over again—the modern classics that everyone wants to have in their repertoire. I initially planned to put this bread recipe in a small, self-published zine of 30 or so recipes to give as a gift to family and friends. But then I thought bigger, and it ended up in Great Bakes. Plus—it’s the ultimate bread for toast.

If your cookbook had a playlist, what three songs would be on it?

“Margaret vs. Pauline” by Neko Case because my sourdough starter is named Pauline, “Spinning Around” by Kylie Minogue because I think of that song when I watch my stand mixer running, and, “Sugar (Live)” by Tori Amos because…sugar (and because Tori Amos).

What’s one ingredient you’re evangelical about?

Tart cherries. I live part time near Traverse City, Michigan, the self-proclaimed Cherry Capital of the World and home to the National Cherry Festival. Farmers here grow all types of cherries, but they grow most of America’s tart ones. These tangy cherries, especially the glowing, fire-engine red Montmorency variety, make the absolute best cherry desserts. Tart cherries are the only option for cherry pie. Sweet cherries are great for eating fresh, or using in my Michigan Forest Cake, but tart cherries pack such a complex sweet-tart flavor that I cannot endorse swapping them with sweet cherries.

If someone cooks just one recipe from your book to understand you as a person, which should it be?

My Flaky Pastry recipe and the Giant Cherry Pop Tart. That recipe is the heart of this book. Super flaky, crumbly pastry, a tangy and punchy cherry filling (employing the aforementioned tart cherries), and a bold pink cherry icing. It’s simple, you can make most of the components ahead of time, and it never ever disappoints.

What’s a mistake you hope readers make at least once?

I hope that readers either under-poof or over-proof their bread at least once. First of all, I want everyone to try making bread. Secondly, bread is something that takes hands-on practice to see and feel when a bread is ready for the oven. Third, even under- or over-proofed bread tastes great!

What kitchen tool deserves more respect, and which one do you think is wildly overrated?

I’m sure most bakers out there would agree with me on this one, but I just can’t let it go. The kitchen scale deserves more respect from American bakers and cooks—it’s the only way to go. Measuring by weight is more accurate, faster, easier and (most importantly) you will wash fewer dishes! I started to bake more and better once I began measuring by weight. Overrated: measuring cups. The only thing I use those things for is to press in a cookie crust or flatten a shortbread into the pan.

If a recipe from my book doesn’t work out for you, the first question I will ask is: Did you measure by weight?

Fill in the blank: People think I’m ___ in the kitchen, but actually I’m ___.

People think I’m only a baker in the kitchen but actually I’m a cook, too. (So many people ask me if I cook in addition to baking. I love to cook! I cooked way before I started baking!)

If you could hand-deliver this cookbook to one person (living or not), who would it be and what would you want them to cook first?

Probably my Grandpa, my mom’s dad. He was a fixture in my childhood (and adulthood), and taught me so much. I would really want him to simply read the book from cover-to-cover. He didn’t bake much, but loved making applesauce, so maybe I’d have him make the Apple Crisp—a perfect place to start.

What’s your most controversial food opinion (The one that gets you yelled at on the internet?)

Cooked strawberries are disgusting. First of all, the texture is like a snot blob. Secondly, strawberries are one of the most aromatically complex fruits and contain around 360 volatile aroma compounds. When cooked, many of these aromas are destroyed. So, science says that uncooked strawberries taste better. I wrote a bit about this here.

When you’re not eating your own recipes, what are you absolutely guilty-pleasure ordering for takeout?

I have zero guilt about ordering out. I’m lucky that I can get any type of food I want in Chicago. Hon Kee BBQ in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood is my number one favorite. Owner Paul Tsang makes incredible food, from succulent roast duck to amazing seafood to simply-prepared vegetable dishes. In fact, I order my Thanksgiving turkey, roasted Hong Kong-style, at Hon Kee.

What do you hope someone feels (like, truly feels) when they cook from your book for the first time?

I want them to feel empowered and positive—maybe even elicit a few giggles. I hope they feel like I’m there to guide them and give them the tools they need to bake some great stuff. I also want my fellow Midwesterners to feel proud and non-Midwesterners to feel jealous of us.

Great Bakes Giveaway!

I’m so happy to be giving away a copy of Martin Sorge’s new cookbook, Great Bakes: Modern Classic Recipes from the Midwest, to one lucky reader! I also feel like I need to make a Giant Cherry Pop Tart this weekend, don’t you?

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below and tell me:

What’s the one bake you want to master before the year is over?

The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will remain open until Sunday August 16th. One winner will be selected and notified via Substack message.

Good luck, friends - and may your pastry be flaky.

More next week!

xo