Baking Bad
Cake is for closers
Hello our most precious supporters. Y’all ready for Thanksgiving? Of course you are, you obviously have all your shit together. We know it. This Thanksgiving didn’t sneak attack you like it did us. We had our heads buried in our new book then suddenly every endcap at the grocery store was full of pumpkin puree. Marshmallows and yams as far as the eyes can see. Our chests immediately tightened. We aren’t usually the biggest holiday people. We worked in retail too long to have any joy left in our hearts. Santa Baby ringing out over the store PA every 23 minutes from October to January will break the will of even the biggest tinsel-heads.
BUT Thanksgiving does kick off our favorite unsanctioned holiday tradition: baking season.
There is nothing better than walking into someone’s place knowing the windows are steamy and the air is toasty because they’ve been busy in the kitchen. Warming your place through baking is a classy move. You get a treat and you get warm without having to fuck with the thermostat. A rare win-win.
While the rest of the world is going to be focused on pies right now- Brave New Meal has a killer Pecan Pear Pie if you’re so inclined- let us remember the virtues of cake.
Below is one of our favorites: our Pear Poppy Seed Bundt cake, an exclusive to our supporters here in The Broiler Room.
This is great to make Wednesday night and then snack on all day as you throw together your Thanksgiving meal. You deserve some sweetness and you don’t hafta share this shit with anyone. Hide it in a cabinet and make sure only the kitchen crew gets a slice. Cake is for closers.
PEAR POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE
Makes 1 cake
⅓ cup cane sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup olive oil
1 ¾ cups almond milk
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (or more vanilla if you dont have it)
2 tablespoons poppyseeds
1 pear, chopped into bite-size pieces (about 1 ¼ cup)
3 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ tsp salt
powdered sugar
Warm up your oven to 350 and grease and flour a 10″ Bundt pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, olive oil, almond milk, lemon juice, vanilla, poppyseeds, and chopped pear. Stir to combine. In another bowl whisk together flour, cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet just until combined. Pour batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 45-60 minutes or until you can shove a toothpick in there and the shit comes out clean as a whistle.
Wait 10 minutes for the cake to cool a lil then place a plate underneath it and flip that fucker over. Let it cool completely then dust with powdered sugar and serve.
We hope y’all enjoy every dish you cook up this Thanksgiving and wish you zero awkward convos at the table.
If you’re thinking of doing a little shopping over the holiday weekend, we have a discount just for you. We’re running a lil secret sale on all our merch in our shop. Enter coder “BROILER” and you’ll get 20% of your entire order through Sunday November 28.
Still hungry? Well ya know book stores all over the country will be having plenty of deals so please keep Brave New Meal in mind as you fill up your cart. Makes a great gift for your culinary inclined loved ones and people who just like beautiful pics and swearing.
Thanks for joining us here every week. Your support means so much to us. Anything you want to see in future newsletters? Drop a line in the comments below. We love to serve up exactly what you want to eat.
Until next week, we’ll see you in the kitchen. HAPPY THANKSGIVING Y’ALL!
Michelle and Matt