Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook features simple yet memorable cakes But don't fret if your creations aren't perfect. The joy of sharing the holiday spirit is what counts.
Dorie Greenspan's cookbook features simple yet memorable cakes
Dorie Greenspan is a five-time James Beard award-winning author, New York Times bestselling writer and beloved baking authority. (Nancy Pappas)
I can tell the holiday baking season has begun when I see the glossy and colorful, culinary magazine covers plus new and classic baking cookbooks on display, showcasing masterpieces that might intimidate.
They may leave us thinking: my cakes won’t look like that. Whether it be fruitcake, gingerbread, yule log, red velvet cake with a swirl of cream cheese frosting or a chocolate cake draped in ganache and sprinkled with edible glitter, the covers inspire and remind us of the aroma of something sweet in the oven. And the fun, but chaotic kitchen, holiday baking brings about.
Don’t fret if your cakes aren’t perfect. More importantly, the joy of baking and sharing the holiday spirit is remembered long after the last bite.
Recently off the press is “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes” by Dorie Greenspan (2025, HarperCollins Harvest, $35). This collection of recipes is for simple, yet most-memorable cakes. The award-winning author of 15 cookbooks created thousands of recipes, and like many of us do, she comes back to certain ones. In Dorie’s case, it’s the simplest cakes.
“Some may have a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of icing, but most are straight-from-the-oven cakes that are great as is,” she said. “They’re cakes that you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry.”
The comprehensive headnotes are a delight to read, each telling a personal story about the recipe.
Greenspan’s background is fascinating, and I appreciated that she answered a few questions, and shared the recipes that follow.
For the recipes for Grandmother’s Honey Cake; Simplest, Plainest, Most Old- Fashioned — and Best-Tasting — Marble Cake; and Caramel-Nut Chocolate Upside Down Cake, visit https://stephenfries.com/recipes.
Grandmother’s Honey Cake (Nancy Pappas)
Simplest, Plainest, Most Old- Fashioneda — and Best-Tasting — Marble Cake (Nancy Pappas)
Caramel-Nut Chocolate Upside Down Cake (Nancy Pappas)
Meet Greenspan at Cookbooks and Convos next Sunday for the book launch and cake party at Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 S. Independence Mall East in Philadelphia. Get tickets at https://bit.ly/3Lw5sLm.
What gave you the idea to write “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes”?
I was creating three unfussy holiday cakes for The New York Times and calling them “kitchen cakes” — they were the non-showstoppers, the cakes that would sit on the counter inviting people to have a nibble as they came in and out of the kitchen.
As I was working on these recipes, I was reminded of how much I love simple cakes, how comforting they are and how satisfying they are to make. I hadn’t been planning to write this book, but the pleasure of making those three cakes was so great that I didn’t want to stop.
Of course, those cakes are in the book. They are Baked-in-a-Skillet Gingerbread, Maybe-This, Maybe-That Ham and Cheese Loaf and the Holiday Bundt, which is the cake on the book’s cover.
What’s the most you recipe in this book, the one that feels like your signature in edible form?
Another near-impossible question. I love recipes that have a touch of whimsy. I love the ones that might be a play on a classic or a new way of looking at something we know well. And so, I love recipes like the Chocolate and Almond Tabby-Not-Tiger Cake, a plain cake with a great glaze and a funny backstory; the Moko Cake-O, a cake version of a chocolate-chunk, rye and cranberry cookie; and the Rum-Raisin Visiting Cake, a revisit of a cake I’ve adored for ages. Oh, and the Devil’s Chocolate Cake, another treasured recipe made new. You didn’t think you were going to get a one-and-done answer, did you?
I’m going to a dinner party with a cake from your book. What am I bringing to impress?
I love bringing something that looks simple but is full of flavor or has an unexpected texture. I might bring the Cafune Corn Cake, which is made in a blender and baked in a Bundt pan — I love Bundts because they make every cake look gorgeous. Or the Berry Yogurt Cake, which is so easy that it’s the first cake French children learn to make, but which, with a little glaze and some fruit, goes from kitchen to cake stand in a flash.
What do you want people to take away from “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes?”
Happiness! I want people to enjoy making simple, satisfying, delicious cakes. I want them to look at the cakes they made and be proud of what they did. (I still give my cakes a little love pat when they come out of the oven — I’m always so pleased with them). And I want people to share what they’ve made with their family and friends. The take-away from baking should always be joy.
Cocoa-Swirled Pumpkin Bundt
Make sure that you choose pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which is sweetened and spiced. While there are different versions of pumpkin puree available — many supermarkets have their own brands — if you can, I suggest you buy Libby’s. It is the most consistent, it has a beautiful color and, most important, it’s not watery — it always bakes well.
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients:
For the Swirl:
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of fine sea salt
Pinch of group cinnamon
¼ cup (50 grams) finely chopped dark chocolate or mini dark chocolate chips
For the Cake:
3 cups (408 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup (240 ml) neutral oil
1 ½ cups (300 grams) sugar
1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 can (15 ounces; 425 grams) pure pumpkin puree
Directions:
To make the swirl:
Mix the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon and chocolate together in a small bowl and keep at hand.
To make the cake:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees.
Coat the interior of a 12-cup Bundt pan with baker’s spray or butter it, dust with flour and tap out excess.
Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the oil and both sugars together on medium speed for a couple of minutes to blend well — the mixture should look slushy, like wet sand.
Still beating on medium, and scraping the bowl and beater(s) early and often, add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute after each one goes in. The mix will continue to look iffy until that last egg is in and then, as if by magic, it will become satiny.
Reduce the mixer speed and blend in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.
Turn the mixer off, add one-third of the dry ingredients and pulse the mixer on and off to get the blending going and to help prevent the counter from getting showered with flour.
Working on low speed, mix until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Turn off the mixer, scrape and add half of the remaining dry ingredients. Pulse, mix on low, stop and scrape again, then add the last of the dry ingredients, mixing on low until fully blended. Give everything a few last turns with a flexible spatula.
Scrape one-third to one-half of the batter into the pan and smooth it with the spatula.
Spoon the cocoa swirl over the batter — you can try to make an even layer and prevent the swirl from touching the sides of the pan, but it’s almost impossible, so relax.
Add the rest of the batter — it will only half fill the pan, but it will rise considerably in the oven.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake is beautifully puffed, is cracked around the top and pulls away from the sides of the pan when gently tugged. A tester poked into the center of the cake should come out clean — make sure you don’t hit the gooey swirl.
Transfer the pan to a rack and let the cake rest for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Once the cake is cool, you can dust it with confectioners’ sugar, or you can glaze or ice it.
Baked-in-a-Skillet Gingerbread
While I love how this cake looks made in a cast-iron skillet, it will bake nicely in a 9-inch springform pan. Watch the baking time; it will need between 40 and 45 minutes in the oven —start testing at the 40-minute mark.
A word on the crystallized sugar: Like all dried fruit, crystallized ginger can harden, and hard fruit is unpleasant. To soften the ginger if it’s tough, soak it in very hot water for a minute, then drain and pat dry.
A word on the topping: I’m crazy about the crunch you get when you double sugar under Swedish or pearl sugar. It’s a wonderful touch, but an extra one — the cake is fine left plain or dusted with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
Makes about 12 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (288 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (68 grams) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (or freshly grated nutmeg)
2/3 cup (133 grams) sugar
1/3 cup (67 grams) brown sugar
5 tablespoons (2½ ounces; 70 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) neutral oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) unsulfured molasses
3/4 cup (160 ml) apple butter, plain or spiced
1/4 cup (60 ml) full-fat buttermilk (well shaken before measuring), at room temperature
1/3 cup (45 grams) finely chopped crystallized ginger (see above)
About 2 tablespoons sanding or turbinado sugar for topping (optional)
About 3 tablespoons Swedish pearl sugar for topping (optional)
Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees.
Coat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with baker’s or cooking spray. If you don’t have a skillet, use a 9-inch springform pan (see page 41).
Whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt
Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the granulated and brown sugars together with the butter at medium speed for about 3 minutes — you’ll have a pasty mixture.
Pour in the oil and beat for another 2 minutes — the batter will thin out and become creamy. (Don’t wash the measuring cup — use it for the molasses. The oily slick that’s left in the cup will help the molasses slide out easily.)
Scrape the bowl and beater(s) now and again — this is sticky business. Add the egg and beat for a minute.
With the mixer on low, beat in the molasses, followed by the apple butter and another scraping.
Add half the flour mixture and mix until it just disappears into the batter.
Blend in the buttermilk, followed by the remainder of the dry ingredients.
When they’re almost incorporated, mix in the ginger. You’ll have a thick, fragrant batter — take a beat to enjoy the aroma.
Scrape it into the pan, nudging it into the corners and smoothing the top.
Sprinkle over the sanding or turbinado sugar and then top with the pearl sugar, if you’re using these (and I hope you do).
Bake for 43 to 48 minutes (if you’ve used a springform, start checking after 40 minutes), or until the top of the gingerbread is uniformly puffed all the way to the middle, the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan with a gentle tug and, most important, a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Transfer the skillet to a rack and let the cake cool until it’s just warm or has reached room temperature before cutting.
Recipes from “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes” by Dorie Greenspan. Copyright 2025 by Dorie Greenspan. Used with permission by Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins. All rights reserved. Illustrations by Nancy Pappas.
Stephen Fries is professor emeritus and former coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College in New Haven, Conn. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 17 years and is co-founder of and host of “Worth Tasting,” a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, and three-day culinary adventures around the U.S. He is a board member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Email him at [email protected]. For more, go to stephenfries.com.