It took me a little while to embrace this cookbook. After trying several of the recipes, I now completely endorse it. Part of my struggle is that, to me, cookies are the perfect afternoon sweet, and Sarah Kieffer opted not to include cookies in this book (if you don’t already have her 100 Cookies cookbook you really should).
The very first recipe I tried in 100 Afternoon Sweets was disappointing. It was the Jam-Filled Donut Cake. The first bite was good, but it got old fast. After a few weeks I picked it back up and tried the very first recipe, My Perfect Afternoon Snacking Cake. The name of the recipe is accurate. You should buy this cookbook for this recipe alone. I have made it several times now and it is a hit every time. I have made it gluten free and I have made it dairy free (but not vegan), still a banger. It is truly a perfect snacking cake because it is moist and flavorful with no frosting needed. It has a beautiful orange aroma and a nice tangy sweetness. It does call for triple sec or orange liqueur, and normally I would have tested it with orange juice, but I’ve had a bottle of triple sec sitting around forever and finally a good way to use it.
Of the recipes I baked, the Bourbon Blondies and the Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake squares were the most popular. I can’t eat nuts, so I can assure you that the coffee cake squares are very good without the almonds. I also quite liked the Coffee Blondies and Lemon Cake Squares. I have several more recipes earmarked, so I’m looking forward to trying them when I get ahold of a physical copy after publication in October. There is one explicitly gluten free recipe in the book, the last recipe, Gluten Free Cake. It looks fine, but the whole no nuts thing means I haven’t tried it because it calls for almond flour.
Cookbook introductions don’t generally get a lot of attention, but I appreciated Sarah Kieffer’s introduction here. I am known to love baking and will offer to bring baked goods at the drop of a hat. I get very frustrated when people tell me they don’t bake because it’s too much science, too exacting. I have a whole spiel about the best way to learn to bake is to bake and understand that there is nothing wrong with failure. Kieffer’s introduction is about baking being fun and “failing towards success.” Everyone fails, even the most experienced and accomplished bakers fail and that’s ok. The three things she wants you to remember – have fun, respect the kitchen gods, don’t be afraid of failure. I am an ADHD chaos gremlin in the kitchen. If I can bake, anyone who wants to bake can too. But, if you just want to eat baked goods that someone else has made, that’s fine also. Someone has to eat all the goodies dancing in my brain.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Chronicle Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
