Category Archives: Cake

Gâteau de Bourgogne

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A round cake topped with powdered sugar and almond slices, with a slice cut out, displayed on a green cake stand.
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Today’s Musings:

Our imaginary food cruise has brought us to Burgundy, a region that I imagine smells faintly of earthy wine-soaked oak barrels, mustard seeds, and the rocky soil that holds secrets of centuries-old vineyards. Here, I envision desserts made for the home kitchen, a kitchen hewn from stone and held up with old beams, not for the glittering displays of pâtisseries seen throughout Paris. This cake is a quiet champion of that imagining.

Toasted ground almonds, rich and fragrant, form a dense, velvety crumb that practically whispers of the region’s love affair with nuts, used in both sweet and savory cooking. Once baked, the cake is pricked with a skewer and drenched  with a red Burgundy wine syrup, brightened here with a whisper of Kirsch (a nod to my Alsatian heritage). The French call this soaking technique imbiber, saturating every bite with flavor.

In Burgundy, desserts are often soaked in wine or spirits, a subtle nod to the vineyards that dominate the hills and the kitchens that have long relied on them, turning a simple cake into a quiet celebration of terroir.

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Today’s Recipe:

You’ll notice this recipe produces a thick batter—that’s the signature of a European butter cakes. Unlike American cakes, which are tall, light, and fluffy (and a bit bland IMHO), traditional European cakes are fine-crumbed, dense, and sliceable. Relying solely on butter and eggs for moisture creates a velvety crumb rather than a fluffy sponge.

Gâteau de Bourgogne


Ingredients

    CAKE:
  • 1 cup ground almonds
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Powdered sugar (for dusting)
  • 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
    • WINE SYRUP:
  • ½ cup red Burgundy wine (Pinot Noir preferred)
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 teaspoons Kirsch (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast ground almonds in a dry pan until golden and fragrant. Cool completely. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
  2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in lemon zest and vanilla extract.
  3. In a separate bowl combine toasted almonds, flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined.
  4. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake 40–45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. While cake cools, combine wine, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan. Heat gently until sugar dissolves; simmer until thickened to about ⅓ cup. Remove from heat and stir in Kirsch. Discard cinnamon stick. Let cool slightly.
  6. Prick warm (not hot) cake with a skewer. Pour warm (not hot) syrup over slowly and evenly. Wrap cake in plastic wrap and let it soak overnight in fridge.
  7. Bring cake to room temperature before serving. You may notice the center has sunk a bit. This is completely normal. Dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Cut in thin slices and serve with coffee or tea.

Two-Bit News:

Last weekend, I was back at it, peddling Gluten For Punishment, this time at Laguna Beach Litfest 2026. I’m pleased to say that one of my customers picked it for their next book club. Local book clubs get the added perk of having me on hand to answer questions, if they want, and a dessert from the book. I loved this particular event, being around other writers —they understand the nuances of writing publishing a book. I received dozens of comments on the Title and Cover art. One customer commented that my writing “has great, lively energy.”

Later this month, I’ll be sitting down as a guest for my first podcast of 2026. Once it’s produced and posted, I’ll share all the details. Another guest spot on a different podcast is scheduled for late February. Hopefully the podcasts will have great, lively energy as well.

My next confirmed in-person BIG events are in March (Tucson Book Festival) and April (Los Angeles Festival of Books), but I’ll be posting smaller event on the Two-Bit Events page as they’re confirmed.

If you enjoy my writing and baking, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Gluten For Punishment, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org. You won’t be disappointed.

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My Favorite Vanilla Cake Recipe

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A slice of Vanilla Cake with chocolate frosting

Years ago, I discovered the ultimate chocolate cake recipe and never looked back.  This simple combination of ingredients produces an exceptionally dark and moist sponge that has become my go-to whenever a chocolate cake is needed – black forest, German chocolate, even an ultra-rich red velvet.  Full confession – this sponge is not one of my recipes.  I found it on the internet and would give credit if I could find the original recipe/author. My contribution is the addition of coffee/espresso which gives chocolate a richer flavor.

For over a decade, I’ve been searching for the vanilla equivalent to this chocolate version – a tried-and-true vanilla cake that is rich, moist, and flavorful.  I’ve tested a handful of recipes, always disappointed with the result, until now.  Since bakers and tasters have different ideas about what makes a “perfect” vanilla cake, I’ve found it difficult to find a recipe that matches my own aesthetic. Many people look to boxed cake mixes as the “classic” vanilla cake, but I usually find them too light and delicate, often dry and lackluster, with an artificial vanilla taste. Consequently, I’ve called this cake “My Favorite” versus “Ultimate” or “Best” since my cake holy grail may be miles away from your ideal.

This sponge is a combination of a few recipes and calls for a mixture of browned butter and room-temperature butter for a rich flavor as well as oil which adds a tender texture. I also used vanilla bean paste because I like to see the little specs of vanilla beans, but real vanilla extract works as well.  No imitation vanilla, please. This recipe results in a buttery and moist sponge – luxurious, but not quite as heavy as pound cake.  If you are looking for a fluffy, light, butter-free cake, this recipe is not for you. 

For testing, I paired the sponge with a classic chocolate buttercream frosting, but found the chocolate overwhelmed the delicate vanilla bean and browned butter flavor. This sponge would be best paired with a vanilla Chantilly cream or Seven-minute frosting and layered with fresh fruit to ensure the flavor of the cake shines through. 

MY FAVORITE VANILLA CAKE RECIPE

  • Servings: One 9” cake
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This recipe results in a rich, buttery, and moist sponge – luxurious, but not quite as heavy as pound cake.


Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
  • 1 ⅔ cups whole or 2% milk
  • 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
  • 3 ⅓ cups sifted cake flour
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 ⅓ cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or real vanilla extract)
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions

  1. Place ½ cup (1 stick) butter in a small saucepan. Melt butter over medium-low heat. Swirl butter frequently. Continue swirling until melted butter turns light brown in color and smells nutty. Remove from heat and let cool. In a liquid measuring cup, combine milk with white vinegar and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease bottoms of three 8″ x 2″ round cake pans and line with parchment. Grease and flour parchment and sides of pans. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together cooled browned butter, room temperature butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until light, fluffy, and no longer grainy, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla bean paste.
  4. Beat in eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl a few times to ensure ingredients are fully combined. Beat in flour in 3 additions, alternating with milk in two additions (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour).
  5. Divide batter evenly between the baking pans and smooth the tops. Bake cakes for approximately 25-30 minutes, swapping position of cake pans halfway through. The cakes are done when internal temperature in the center of the cake registers 190ºF or a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs attached. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pans turn out onto cooling racks, remove parchment, cool completely, and frost.