Erin Jeanne McDowell

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This may not be the dish you think of when you see the words “apple dumplings,” but this delicious dessert couldn’t be simpler to make, or more comforting to eat. It starts with a basic dumpling batter. Just stir together the ingredients, then cook them in liquid on the stovetop until they become fluffy all the way through. Poaching the dumplings in a combination of apple cider, brown sugar and cinnamon means they take on a jammy exterior and absorb some of sweetness in the process. As the dumplings cook, they release some starch into the liquid, which thickens the poaching liquid into a sauce. It’s topped with a lightly whipped vanilla cream, which has a consistency similar to melted ice cream and coats each and every bite.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

The cinnamon biscuit topping in this classic cobbler is easy to make, and easily adjustable. Reduce the buttermilk by 2 tablespoons for a crumblier, more streusel-like topping, or add 2 tablespoons to make it softer and cakelike. The cobbler can be made ahead and rewarmed: Tent it with foil and warm it in a 325-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Many apple pies call for simply tossing cut apples with sugar, adding a thickening agent and some spices, and plopping it all into a crust. But precooking the apples has multiple advantages: First, it draws out some of their juices, to ensure consistency. (No undercooked apples or runny filling here!) And, second, it prevents the filling from sinking away from the crust as it cools, leaving a pocket of air between filling and crust. Use this all-purpose filling in a traditional pie, tiny hand-held pies, or in a cobbler. It can be made several days ahead, leaving just assembling and baking.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This recipe yields the classic flavor of baked cider doughnuts. For the most traditional result, a doughnut pan is recommended, but you can also bake these off in a muffin pan.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This no-churn ice cream doesn’t require any cooking or special equipment. All you have to do is mash up some bananas and whip some heavy cream. The whipped cream mimics the air that’s incorporated into traditional ice cream when it’s churning in an ice cream machine. For the strongest flavor, use really, really ripe bananas; mushy, bruised ones with black peels will work well. Large crumbles of vanilla wafers stirred into the ice cream and sprinkled on top add crunch.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This easy skillet bread gets lightly crusty on the outside, but stays soft and fluffy inside. The dough is shaped into a log, then blue cheese is pressed into the dough before it’s rolled into a spiral. The finished loaf smells amazing, and looks like it took way more effort than it did. Serve alongside soups or stews, or all on its own as a tasty snack.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

These naturally purple pops are made with a combination of simmered blueberries puréed into an easy no-churn ice cream base. You can substitute yogurt or crème fraîche for the sour cream; either will give the popsicles a subtle tang. You can use fresh or frozen berries. (Frozen berries can be thawed and used as directed in the method below. Or use them straight from the freezer, but add 2 to 4 minutes to the cook time.) The number of pops this recipe makes depends on the size and shape of the molds used. The base can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours if you need to freeze in batches; just give the mixture a stir before using.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Everything you love about a sweet, juicy blueberry muffin exists in this sliceable, streusel-topped loaf. Baking it at a higher temperature for the first 20 to 25 minutes helps achieve a crisp topping, while finishing it at a lower temperature helps ensure a moist center. This recipe calls for fresh blueberries, but frozen work, too. If you use frozen, don’t thaw them first, and keep in mind that they may release additional liquid during baking, which will add more color to the loaf. One final tip: Tossing the fresh or frozen berries in a little flour before stirring them into the batter helps keep them suspended so that each and every slice is evenly studded with blueberries.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This recipe makes the perfect breakfast, brunch or sweet treat for a lazy weekend. Any 10-inch ovenproof pan or baking dish will work here, but for the puffiest and crispest pancake, use a cast-iron pan. Don’t skimp on the amount of butter you melt in the pan in the first step; it prevents the pancake from sticking, and helps brown and crisp the Dutch baby while it bakes. The easy, no-fail caramel sauce infuses the apples with brown sugar and vanilla, while also serving as a syrup to drizzle over each slice. For maximum ooh and aahs, spoon the apples, caramel and all, into the center of the Dutch baby and serve it in the skillet. To keep the pancake crisp longer, serve the apples and caramel separately and allow guests to top their own.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This easy stovetop pudding is smooth, rich and tangy, just like your favorite cheesecake — but it’s far faster (under an hour), far easier (no fussy water baths) and far less intimidating (the topping won’t crack). It’s considered a boiled custard, meaning the ingredients are heated slowly until the mixture forms large bubbles in the pot. Whisking the cornstarch and sugar together before adding them to the custard is a crucial step that helps the sugar granules break up the starch, which prevents lumps. This silky pudding is delicious served alone, enjoyed with just a spoon, but you can also gussy it up with fresh berries and crumbled graham crackers for a more cheesecake-like experience.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This easy bread recipe uses beer and baking powder to leaven instead of yeast, producing a loaf with a lightly crisp crust and a beautifully soft interior. A strongly flavored cheese, like sharp Cheddar or Gruyère, complements the flavors of the beer. The brown sugar isn’t absolutely necessary, but it extends the bread’s shelf life, keeping the interior soft even after it’s been sliced. This bread is especially lovely served warm, but is also delicious at room temperature.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This savory monkey bread begins with a yeasted dough made with mashed potatoes, which helps make it the extra light and fluffy. Each round of dough is coated in garlic butter, cheese (Parmesan and white cheddar), and a generous dose of coarse black pepper. Think of it as cacio e pepe monkey bread. It’s best served warm. The dough rises overnight in the refrigerator, which makes this recipe especially great when you’re looking to plan ahead.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This special occasion dessert takes a little time to put together, but it's much easier to make than it looks. It starts with a simple press-in chocolate cookie crust that doesn’t require a rolling pin or chilling. The crust is filled with dark chocolate ganache and a layer of milk chocolate truffles. The truffles can be finished simply with cocoa powder, or coated in finely chopped nuts, powdered sugar or a colorful, tart powder made by crushing freeze-dried fruit. (Or you can skip the truffle recipe entirely and instead use store-bought truffles.) This is the moment to splurge on high-quality chocolate, as you’ll taste it in the final result. Don’t be tempted to use chocolate chips, as the added stabilizers make it difficult to achieve a shiny, creamy ganache. For picture-perfect slices, dip your knife in warm water before each cut and wipe it dry after.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This recipe uses four bananas, which is more than is typical for a single loaf. The natural sugars from the ripe, brown bananas keep the bread incredibly moist for up to one week, even sliced. The high moisture of the batter can make it tricky to determine doneness, so take care not to underbake the the loaf. It should have a dry, shiny, cracked surface, and a tester inserted into the thickest portion should come out with a few moist crumbs attached. Serve this banana bread for breakfast or brunch, or even as a simple dessert, topped with a scoop of coffee ice cream.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This cake version of a peanut butter cup boasts moist devil’s food cake wrapped around a soft, peanut buttery cake core. The peanut butter cake batter will stay nicely centered if you enlist the help of a resealable plastic bag or pastry bag to pipe it into a ring in the middle of the batter, but you don’t need to be so exacting. If that feels too fancy, spooning it in will yield equally delicious results. The cake is nicely sweet on its own, but take it over the top by adding peanut butter and chocolate glazes. Keep the glazes thin so that they’re fluid enough not only to evenly coat the surface and run own the sides of the cake, but also so they combine and marble together to make Instagram-worthy swirls.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This simple cake is studded with large pieces of fruit, so that each slice has its own piece of tender baked apple. Press the apples gently into the batter and be aware that the pound cake-style batter will rise around them. The cake is sweet enough that it needs no frosting, and is finished simply with a dusting of cinnamon-scented confectioners’ sugar that dissolves onto the surface of the apples, leaving only its sweetness behind. Cut the cake into 12 large squares and serve with ice cream, or cut the squares in half for a sweet snack.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This stunning bread is made from 16 small cinnamon rolls that are arranged in a loaf pan, creating a swirled pattern that’s surprisingly easy to achieve. The bread is delicious served slightly warm, but if you want to see precise spirals in your slice, let it cool completely before slicing. The icing is meant to be quite thick; if you apply it while the loaf is still warm, it will remain soft and gooey. If you apply it once the bread is fully cooled, it will harden to a thick, glossy frosting. Both are equally delicious, and which one you choose may depend entirely on how patient you can be once the aroma permeates your kitchen.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

In most classic coffee cakes, cinnamon plays a starring role, but this recipe puts coffee flavor front and center thanks to the addition of brewed coffee and espresso powder (or instant espresso). Espresso powder adds strong flavor, and it’s fine enough to dissolve completely so you don’t get any crunchy bits. A ribbon of cream cheese runs through the center of the cake, complementing the coffee flavor like a splash of cream in a cup of coffee.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This eye-catching tart nods to a classic fruit-topped cheesecake, but is far easier to put together and starts with a cocoa-and-oat streusel press-in crust, instead of traditional graham crackers. Fruit preserves are folded into the tangy no-bake filling to create swirls. You can serve the tart immediately, or keep it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Using a pan with a removable base allows you to unmold the tart and serve it on a platter, but you could also use a glass or ceramic pan and serve the dish directly from the pan. Serve alone, or top with fresh berries.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

In this recipe, the secret to achieving crispy, not soggy, mushrooms is roasting them twice: first, alone on a sheet pan until they’re just tender and their moisture reduced, then again on top of a soft and fluffy focaccia dough, where they will brown and crisp. For a vegan version, skip the Parmesan and use flaky salt or nutritional yeast instead.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Many monkey bread recipes are made with a yeast-risen dough, but the most classic methods use biscuit dough, as this one does. A quick fold of the dough ensures it’s light and fluffy inside. When you grease the pan, you may worry that two tablespoons of butter seems excessive, but the generous amount prevents the monkey bread from sticking to the pan and combines with the cinnamon sugar to create an effortless caramel sauce as it bakes. If you’re looking for an even simpler approach, you could replace the homemade dough with about two pounds of store-bought refrigerated biscuit dough.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Layered with whipped cream, raspberry purée, saltines and fresh fruit, this easy icebox cake balances bright, fresh flavors with tangy cream cheese. The saltines add a nice saltiness, but you can substitute graham crackers or even chocolate wafers if you prefer things on the sweeter side. The addition of cream cheese makes the icebox filling thicker and more stable. And, while the cream firms up, the saltines absorb its moisture, becoming tender and making the cake easy to cut into impressively striped slices.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

These biscuits are golden and crisp outside, light and fluffy inside, and wonderfully cheesy inside and out. They come together in minutes, and triple basting them in butter (before baking, halfway through baking and once more when they come out of the oven) really takes them over the top. You may be tempted to skip the 3 tablespoons of sugar in this otherwise savory biscuit, but don’t: It’s the secret to the biscuit’s tender interior. Inspired by Red Lobster’s buttery biscuits, these are drop-style, which means you just scoop up the batter and gently plop it onto baking sheets. Try to handle the dough gently to avoid compressing it, which can result in a less-than-fluffy biscuit.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

These little pies are filled to the brim with juicy caramel apple filling, fried, then tossed in cinnamon sugar. You may need to adjust the temperature as you fry them: If the oil is too hot, they’ll look golden on the outside, but the dough may not fully cook through. If the oil is too cool, they may be greasy. If you don’t have a thermometer, use a piece of scrap dough to test the oil for frying; it should rise to the top immediately.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This shortbread is like a huge, sliceable Girl Scout cookie. (You’re welcome!) An easy shortbread is topped with a layer of peanut butter frosting, blanketed with a thick chocolate glaze, then chilled until set. Brown sugar helps keep the shortbread soft, and coconut oil does the same for the chocolate coating, so the whole thing is easy to cut with a knife and eat with a fork. Be sure to use bar chocolate, not chips — which don’t melt as evenly — so your chocolate glaze ends up shiny and smooth.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Festive enough for a holiday party or a summer cookout, this bright and creamy mango tart has a crisp gingersnap crust and is topped with candied ginger, pistachios and toasted coconut. The no-bake crust, which is made from store bought gingersnaps, butter and light brown sugar, comes together in the food processor with the press of a button. For the filling, fresh or frozen mango is cooked with ginger and turmeric to deepen its flavor and brighten the color of the finished dessert.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Almond flour is the only special ingredient needed to make these cookies, and it can be found in the baking aisle or the health food section of the grocery store. It provides the protein and structure of a classic wheat flour, while keeping the cookie perfectly chewy in the center. If you want a stronger almond flavor, toast the almond flour in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until golden and fragrant, and cool before using. This recipe was adapted from the Times’s famous chocolate chip cookie recipe, but unlike that recipe, this dough does not require 36 hours of refrigeration before baking. Chopped chocolate or feves make for a gooier cookie, but classic chocolate chips work here, too. This recipe makes huge, bakery-style cookies, but if you want smaller cookies, use ¼-cup mounds of dough and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or a 2-tablespoon scoops and bake for for 10 to 12 minutes.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

The earthy flavors of stout beer pair perfectly with three kinds of chocolate in these dense, fudgy brownies. You can use bittersweet or semisweet, bars or chips, depending on what you have on hand, but this recipe is at its best using bar chocolate because of its meltability. A sprinkling of milk chocolate chips before baking is a sweet counterpoint to the rich, complex brownies. Do not overbake them: When the brownies are done, they will appear just set in the center and on the verge of underbaked. They’ll set further as they cool. Chilling the brownies makes them easier to cut, but allow them to come to room temperature before serving for the best flavor.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This classic poundcake has a boozy twist that’s perfect for parties, St. Patrick’s Day and beyond. Irish cream liqueur — a rich blend of Irish whiskey, cream, sugar, vanilla and other flavorings — is added to both the batter and the glaze, which yields doubly flavorful results. The alcohol in the cake burns off during baking, but if you’d like to mute the hint of alcohol in the glaze, simply bring the Irish cream to a simmer and let it cool before whisking it with the confectioners’ sugar. Serve the cake alone, with a scoop of coffee ice cream or a hot cup of coffee (spiked with Irish cream, perhaps). The cake keeps well at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for up to 4 days.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This lovely cake was inspired by the colors and flavors of pink lemonade. Don’t be tempted to skip the first step of this recipe, which asks you to rub lemon zest into granulated sugar: The sugar granules help release the essential oils in the zest, making for a brighter lemon flavor and fragrance. (If you’re really short on time, you can skip using your hands and just mix with the paddle attachment inside the mixer bowl on low speed for 1 minute.) Slather this sunny cake with swoopy, easy-to-make raspberry whipped cream then serve as is, or dressed up with lemon zest or sprinkles.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This braiding technique looks fancy, but it couldn’t be easier to achieve. The lemon-raspberry-mascarpone filling is pudding-like, which makes it important to weave the dough as tightly as possible to prevent too much leakage (though a little is to be expected). Let the pastry cool completely before glazing and serving. This allows the glaze and the filling to set properly; impatient slicers will be met with a sloppy filling rather than a creamy one.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

If you’re looking for the sturdiest of gingerbread houses, this recipe will get you there. (Here's a printable cut-out template.) A high quantity of shortening is the secret to a strong house that will last for weeks (or more). If you like to nibble on your gingerbread house, use unsalted butter in place of shortening for a tastier and more cookie-like flavor. Whichever you choose, be sure to bake the cookies until they’re very crisp; doing so will reduce the moisture in the dough, which is important for the house’s stability. This recipe will produce more dough than you need for one large house or three small houses. Re-roll the scraps and make an extra small house, or create decorative elements like a door, window ledges, shutters, a chimney, or gingerbread people to snack on while you decorate.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

These no-knead rolls couldn’t be easier: Just mix together a few ingredients, and let them rise. The dough rises slowly for a long time, because the dough needs to gain strength as it rises, which contributes to its structure after baking. The rolls that emerge from the oven have a golden crust that’s lightly crisp, and a soft interior that is best served fresh.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

These crowd-pleasing treats start with a dense, chewy brownie that’s topped with a layer of creamy peppermint filling, dark chocolate glaze, and a sprinkle of crushed peppermints. For the cleanest slices, chill the finished brownies thoroughly, then use a warm knife to slice them. Dip the knife blade into hot water and wipe it dry with a kitchen towel between each cut, and you’ll be rewarded with clean layers of chocolate, peppermint and glaze. It’s fine to sub chocolate chips for the chopped chocolate, just make sure they are fully melted before proceeding.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This Technicolor cake is a project, but one you can pull off with a little elbow grease and lots of butter (nine sticks, to be exact). Most rainbow cakes call for coloring the individual layers of cake batter, but here, the frosting is tinted, creating an impressive rainbow inside each slice. The batter uses egg whites for a light, fluffy, just-sweet-enough layer cake, while the leftover egg yolks in the frosting make it smooth and creamy. We’ve included instructions for making the ombré and piped versions of the cake below, but you’ll need to make an extra half-batch of frosting for the piped version. A standard mixer cannot accommodate more than one batch of frosting at a time, so you’ll need to make the half-batch separately, then combine them before coloring and frosting.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

As easy to make as your favorite chocolate chip recipe, these cookies pack the fun and flavor of red velvet cake into a simple, and much faster, cookie. Super sweet and tender with a slightly fudgy center, they contain creamy white chocolate chunks that nod to the snowy frosting on the cake version. For particularly pristine cookies, reserve some of the white chocolate chunks to arrange on top of the cookie, as they tend to get tinted pink when mixed into the batter.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Two things are required to get the best crinkly effect on these cookies: First, use the right ratio of leaveners (baking powder and baking soda). This causes the cookies to rise, then collapse quickly, which creates those visible cracks on the surface. Second, don’t skimp on the confectioners’ sugar! This recipe calls for two generous dustings before heading into the oven. If the cookies aren’t generously coated, they will absorb all the sugar as they bake. Cocoa powder provides the traditional red velvet flavor.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

In this large-scale galette, cherry tomatoes, fresh corn and scallions are wrapped in a flaky Cheddar crust. The extra step of roasting the tomatoes first yields a pie that’s on the just-right side of juicy. Make sure you bake it long enough, and don’t be afraid to let the crust get deeply golden brown and allow the base to cook through. A good way to test for doneness is to gently shake the baking sheet: A crust that’s not fully baked will stay in place on the baking sheet, whereas a well-baked crust will easily slide from one end to the other. Feel free to substitute another kind of grated cheese for the Cheddar; Gruyère, Monterey jack and Parmesan are all delicious options.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

These messy-in-a-good-way blondies capture the essence of s’mores — toasted marshmallows, gooey chocolate, malty graham cracker flavor — in a home oven. The blondie base replaces some of the flour with graham cracker crumbs, and is studded with large chunks of chocolate and marshmallow. Use chopped bar chocolate rather than chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers and don’t fully melt (though substituting chips will still result in a delicious blondie). As the blondies finish baking, they’re topped with a layer of marshmallows and another round of chocolate; messy and delicious, just like the real thing.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

These soft and buttery cookies get dressed up with a thin layer of salted caramel and a dusting of flaky sea salt for good measure. Using store-bought caramels makes the process especially easy and ensures that the coating has some satisfying chew to it. Be sure to err on the side of under-baking the cookies, so they remain soft and tender.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Michelle Lopez, the author of “Weeknight Baking: Recipes to Fit Your Schedule” (Simon & Schuster, 2019), was inspired by the oversize muffins at Levain Bakery when she developed this recipe. The keys to the loftiest muffins? Plenty of batter and a high oven temperature, which ensures that they rise quickly and bake with a beautiful top and a tender interior. For the best results, rest your batter before baking. One very important tip: Spray the muffin pan and its edges generously with nonstick cooking spray. When the muffins come out of the oven, immediately use a small offset spatula to gently release their edges from the pan, then let them cool completely before removing them. You can use frozen blueberries instead of fresh, but be sure to thaw and drain them, then let them come to room temperature before adding them to the batter. Erin Jeanne McDowell

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Here’s a recipe for when you want towering, fluffy biscuits, but don’t want a large batch. You can use pretty much any ovenproof dish — a baking sheet, a square or round cake pan, or even a skillet — but be sure to butter the pan beforehand. If you like things a little less seasoned, reduce the salt to ½ teaspoon, and if you use salted butter in the dough, reduce the salt to ¼ teaspoon. Fun tip: Bake these beauties in the toaster oven by following the same temperature and timing guidance as you would when baking in a standard oven. Serve them warm.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Traditionally served on St. Nicholas Day in Belgium and the Netherlands, crisp, gingerbread-like speculoos cookies have risen in popularity after airlines began offering them as mid-flight snacks. Cookie butter, a creamy spread, incorporate that cookie’s flavors. This easy pie uses crumbled speculoos (also known as speculaas) in its crust and the cookie butter in its filling, doubling up on the flavor of warm spices like cinnamon and ginger. The whole thing comes together in about 30 minutes. The pie is perfect all on its own, but if you want to dress it up, add some unsweetened whipped cream and a sprinkle of cookie crumbs. Avoid sweetened whipped cream, which would take this pie from sweet to cloying.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

These fluffy rolls look unassuming on the outside, but on the inside, they're generously filled with creamy spinach-artichoke dip. They're inspired by bierock, a bun of Eastern European origin that is traditionally stuffed with ground meat and onions — but this creamy meatless version takes the cake. If you have a little spinach-artichoke dip leftover, snack on it hot or cold with pita chips, or use it to fill a sandwich or an omelet.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Great for picnics or potlucks, these portable cheesecake bars incorporate cooked berries directly into the custard, which means they take on a rosy hue. You can even add a few drops of red food coloring if you want to make up for out-of-season berries, which are less vibrantly colored, or if you just want a livelier result. Feel free to use frozen berries in place of fresh, though you’ll need to thaw them fully before beginning the process.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This delightful recipe, a veganized version of the legendary Times’s chocolate chip cookie, is the result of hours of research and more than 50 batches of cookies. In place of unsalted butter, this recipe calls for vegan butter, which provides plenty of flavor and just the right amount of spread. Instead of eggs, a combination of flaxseed meal and water provide structure and moisture, while granulated sugar and brown sugar — which are processed using animal products — are replaced with cane sugar and coconut sugar. Be sure to check the ingredient list on the chocolate, too: Sometimes even bittersweet bars contain dairy. The resulting cookie looks, bakes and tastes like a classic chocolate chip cookie. This recipe makes huge, bakery-style cookies, but if you want smaller cookies, use ¼-cup mounds of dough and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or 2-tablespoon scoops and bake for for 10 to 12 minutes.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

Shortening replaces butter in this vegan version of traditional pie dough. Because shortening has a higher melting temperature than butter, you can prepare the dough without any sticky disasters. It also bakes into a beautifully tender and not-at-all-soggy crust. When shopping for a shortening, look for one made with coconut oil, palm oil or a combination of the two.

Erin Jeanne McDowell · NYT Cooking

This is the kind of dessert worth dreaming about: a buttery yellow cake topped with a chocolate-sour cream frosting, made doubly rich with cocoa powder and melted chocolate. The batter may seem thin when you spread it in the pan, but, once baked, it rises to perfection. It’s not a towering, lofty cake — it’s not meant to be — but when it’s covered with a generous layer of frosting, it makes for the ideal cake-to-icing ratio. For a perfect cake, make sure designated “room temperature” ingredients truly are; this helps ensure that the batter is fully incorporated so the cake bakes evenly.