This rustic cake sings with flavors of a great and fruity (yet affordable) olive oil and fresh orange. It's no surprise to us it's the most saved Genius recipe from Food 52. It's also a recipe that can and IS often adapted from the original, which was developed at Maialino Restaurant in New York City. They serve it at breakfast in muffin form, and they've been known to turn it into a birthday cake, layered with mascarpone buttercream (OMG, sounds good.) We read through lots of bakers' reviews and decided to deviate a little from the original recipe to lighten it up a bit. Below is our version.

You'll notice that there are chopped, fresh cranberries dotting the top in our photos. We had intended to have them throughout the cake, but discovered in both cake and muffin versions they floated to the top of the bakes! It looks pretty on the cake, but was ridiculous on the muffins. We don't recommend that you try adding any fruit to our version of this cake. 

We do recommend that you alter the flavors if you like. We skipped the alcohol and used all fresh orange juice (from a jug) and the zest of two oranges. Yum. This would be equally delicious as a lemon or even a lime cake. If you try it, let us know how it comes out!

We served this cake naked, but a sauce of macerated cherries, strawberries or sweetened blueberries would be decadent addition. The original recipe called for a roasted strawberry sauce that also sounded delish. A lovely vanilla ice cream might also we good. I should stop.

This is a great cake to bake the day before. We think the flavor is better after it sits overnight. The cake or muffins will keep at room temperature for several days. We didn't try to freeze them, but they would likely freeze well for several weeks or a month.

NOTES: This is a hefty cake. If you're not serving a crowd, you may want to divide this recipe in half. We made a 6-inch cake and about 16 small muffins from a full batch. The 6-inch cake will easily serve 6-8 people, depending on whether they wants seconds, of course!

Not a big gingerbread fan? You should try this one! This tender, aromatic old-fashioned gingerbread cake is mild enough for children and people who don't love spicy. You'll love the lovely molasses flavor base and warm hints of ginger, cinnamon and a touch of clove. Feel free to play with the flavors and add your favorites if you like.

Designed as a 9x9 cake, we made this in a special gingerperson tin this year. You can make as a standard cake, as muffins, or in fun shapes as we did. This recipe, very slightly adapted from one by Once Upon a Chef, serves 16. The cake keeps for 4 or 5 days on the counter. Serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, whipped cream or ice cream for a fancier dessert. 

We made this cake in the stand mixer with SideSwipe (naturally!), but it can made with a hand mixer or even by hand. We liked the mixer because it allowed us to get a smoother mix.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-in square pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour. (Alternatively, grease the pan with butter and lightly coat with flour.)
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.
3. In your stand mixer fitted with SideSwipe or a large bowl:  beat or whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, molasses, and boiling water. When the mixture is lukewarm, whisk in the egg. (Do not put egg in the hot mixture, as it will cook)
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined and there are no more lumps.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until the edges look dark and the middle feels firm to the touch. Set the pan on a rack to cool slightly, then cut into 16 squares and serve. This cake is best served warm out of the oven or reheated. 

ALTERNATE SHAPES: You can also make this recipe as muffins. Lower baking time to around 18 minutes. We made our gingerbread people cakes in a shallow shaped tin (about 1 inch deep). We filled the cavities about 2/3 full then baked for 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from a shaped tin. And take your time - it can be a little tricky getting them out!

Who says holiday baking is all about cookies? We had a hankering for some chocolate cupcakes, so searched for a new recipe to try. We typically go for a devil's food cake because it is more moist than most from-scratch chocolate cakes. But we are always on the lookout for a cake with real chocolatey flavor. And we found it!!

This recipe, very slightly adapted from Stefani at Cupcake Project, really does yield The Best Chocolate Cupcakes we've ever eaten. We topped it with their Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and found that combo to be a chocoholic's dream.

These cupcakes are tender, moist and densely chocolate. They're even moist and tender several days later, not dry and ashy as chocolate cupcakes can sometimes be. Not that these little beauties will be around that long. 

This makes 16 standard size cupcakes. 
NutritionCalories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 180IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
​#cupcakeproject

Pears are often overlooked in the fall, in favor of their more flashy cousins, the apples. But they are a delicious fruit for eating and a lovely addition to baked goods, as well.

This Italian Ricotta Pear Cake, adapted from a recipe by Rosemary Malloy of An Italian in My Kitchen, is a tender, not-too-sweet cake that's perfect with tea or coffee for a snack, dessert or even with breakfast or brunch. It's the perfect fall cake to celebrate the subtle flavor of pears at the peak.

We made this cake several times with ricotta, which we often have on hand. The original recipe calls for mascarpone, which is sometimes more difficult to find, but would be just as delicious. 

​The cake will keep for several days on the counter, if it lasts that long! We haven't tried freezing it, but it should be able to be frozen for up to a month if well wrapped and sealed.