I Need a Simple Yet Impressive Cake Recipe

Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Jesse Szewcyk, Prop Styling Alexandra Massillon

ON THIS WEEK’S episode of Dinner SOS, test kitchen director and host Chris Morocco hands the feed back over to senior test kitchen editors Shilpa Uskokovic and Jesse Szewczyk to introduce us to the next BA Bake Club recipe: Jesse’s simple yet impressive Chocolate–Olive Oil Cake topped with a perfectly swooshy olive oil ganache.

This easy, indulgent chocolate cake uses pantry staples and requires just one bowl and no mixer. How is this cake going to level up the Bake Club as bakers you ask? For starters, it will teach you the merits of using oil in cakes. Oil keeps cakes very plush and moist no matter the temperature, and also ages beautifully. Using olive oil instead of the typical canola or veggie is a two-toned element here, adding a welcomed flavor while reinforcing that wonderful texture. The second part of the level-up comes from the frosting. It is like a slightly-tweaked ganache, instead of a more standard buttercream frosting, bolstered with olive oil to drive home the flavor. Shilpa and Jesse discuss the importance of chilling the chocolate in the fridge (instead of just at room temperature) to really crystalize the frosting.

Since the cake is so simple, Jesse and Shilpa discuss the importance of the ingredients, focusing on the best types of olive oil and cocoa powder to use. For olive oil, Jesse suggests a standard extra virgin variety for flavor, but not necessarily the priciest one, reserving the fancy oil for drizzling on top. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is preferred not only for its superior taste but because it is processed with an alkaline solution to alter its pH—changing the way it reacts with leavening agents. They also explain the role of instant espresso powder in enhancing the chocolate flavor. Shilpa also asks Jesse about the importance of water in the recipe and why it isn’t bolded in the recipe. To answer this, Jesse brings in senior recipe copy editor Liesel Davies to address, as well as talk about what she does to manage BA's style guide—and how Bake Club members helped create a crucial change.

Jesse and Shilpa also answer Bake Club member questions, like how to adjust the recipe if you’re dairy-free and if you can make the ganache without a microwave. (Spoiler: You can!)

Listen now to hear Shilpa and Jesse go through all things chocolate olive oil cake, and see how the Bake Club fared on its second bake challenge, including photos below!

Jesse Szewczyk: I am Jesse Szewczyk.

Shilpa Uskokovic: And I'm Shilpa Uskokovic.

JS: We are both senior test kitchen editors at Bon Appetit.

SU: And this is BA Bake Club.

JS: So, as you know, Bake Club is Bon Appetit's book club but it's for baking.

SU: We are creating a community of confident, curious bakers who find just as much joy in the process of baking as the final results.

JS: So, if you've been following along or if you maybe listened to last month's episode all about my caramel apple monkey bread, you already know that, every month, we'll be publishing a recipe on bonappetit.com that's meant to level you up as a baker.

SU: And for December, we all baked Jesse's chocolate olive oil cake, a very easy but very indulgent cake. So, Jesse, do you want to walk us through the basics?

JS: Yeah. So, this is very easy, it's a one bowl no mixer needed chocolate cake but there's a ton of lessons here and it's made with mostly pantry stables. So, there are two main parts, the cake itself and then a ganache frosting and both of these elements have olive oil in them. To make the cake, you will first combine your dry ingredients which is just sugar, flour, Dutch processed cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. And then you'll whisk in your wet ingredients which are eggs, buttermilk, olive oil, vanilla and water then you'll bake it and let it cool. So, that part's super easy.

So, then comes the frosting. So, you're going to microwave a chopped unsweetened chocolate like the baking variety, olive oil, vanilla, salt and water in short bursts until the chocolate is melted just so it doesn't burn. Then you're going to whisk in powdered sugar until everything is looking dissolved and glossy and emulsified. And then to get the right texture, you're going to chill it in the fridge for roughly 20 minutes and stirring it every five minutes or so just so it cools evenly. So, you'll frost the cake with your now swooshy smooth frosting and then top it with flaky sea salt like sprinkles and a drizzle more of olive oil if you're feeling festive.

SU: I can attest to how popular this was in the test kitchen when Jesse made it. And Jesse, how is this cake going to level up our bake club members as bakers?

JS: Yeah. I guess there's two lessons here and the first one is using oil in a cake. Oil just does something completely different in a cake than butter. I'm a huge fan of it and I feel like you are too.

SU: Yes.

JS: So, oil keeps cakes very plush and springy and moist, A, no matter the temperature because it's a liquid at room temperature so, if you pop this cake in the fridge, it's going to withstand that but also it just ages beautifully. So, day two, the oil does this magic thing where it continues to tenderize the crumb and just stay nice and moist. And if you think about a boxed cake mix, how they're suspiciously moist always, it's because it's oil.

SU: That's true.

JS: Yeah.

SU: Yeah, they always have oil in them.

JS: The drawback to an oil-based cake is, oh, butter is flavor and I'm missing that dairy flavor in my cake which, sure, I understand. So, it's how can you make this two-toned, both texture and flavor, and that's olive oil. So, I was like, "What does olive oil taste good with? It tastes great with chocolate." You see people on the internet drizzling it on chocolate ice cream and whatever. So, in this case, I wanted to pair of chocolate with olive oil so the oil was doing double duty in this cake, it is a huge flavor element but also just reinforcing that wonderful texture.

SU: Mm-hmm. So, the first takeaway from this is oil versus butter and then why we prefer oil.

JS: Yes.

SU: And then what is the second one?

JS: The second one is the frosting. And so, this cake is not like a buttercream, it's not butter mixed with powdered sugar or whatever. This is a slightly tweaked ganache.

SU: Yes, I was going to say it's ...

JS: It's not quite ganache but-

SU: It's like a hybrid, I think. Should we take a minute to talk about what is a ganache?

JS: Sure. A ganache is a combination of a type of chocolate and like a liquid.

SU: Yeah. Usually heavy cream and sometimes it could be water.

JS: Milk, yeah, water.

SU: Coffee.

JS: And in different proportions to one another to give you different textures.

SU: Mm-hmm.

JS: A higher proportion of chocolate will give you a firmer ganache. Say ...

SU: You're making truffles.

JS: Yes, exactly.

SU: Yeah.

JS: And then on the low, low end, you can make a glaze or even a sauce, frankly.

SU: Yeah.

JS: So, I was taking that idea and I start with chocolate and oil because I wanted to carry through that olive oil flavor, reinforce it. So, you melt the unsweetened chocolate with the olive oil and water in a microwave, 20-second bursts until it's all melted and it's going to look bad.

SU: In what way? Is it going to be broken? I want to make sure of this clearly. There's chocolate in the bowl, there's olive oil and there's water, you microwave, you stirred it, it's a hot mess.

JS: Yeah, basically.

SU: Okay, got it.

JS: Yeah, it's a hot mess at this point and also, if you taste it, it's going to taste like just bitter, bitter-

SU: Bitter.

JS: ... chocolate with olive oil.

SU: Mm-hmm, okay.

JS: Then you're going to go in with powdered sugar and two cups and whisk this together and it just beautifully emulsifies into what appears to be like a chocolate sauce, super glossy, almost like hot fudge. And this powdered sugar also is going to sweeten it because there's no sweetness at this point. So, at this point, the ganache is done.

SU: And it's no longer a hot mess, it looks beautiful.

JS: It is no longer a hot mess.

SU: Yeah.

JS: However, it doesn't look like frosting, it looks like, I don't know, hot fudge.

SU: Oh, yeah, yeah, it does look like fudge.

JS: So, you got to put it in the fridge and stir it every five minutes with a spatula. And within 15, 20 minutes, it will become a swooshable, beautiful frosting.

SU: Few things that came up when you said that.

JS: Yes.

SU: Okay, it's December and we're in New York.

JS: Yes.

SU: It's pretty cold outside.

JS: Yes.

SU: Why could I not have just kept that ganache outside?

JS: Yeah. So, this is a leading question because we styled this photo ourselves on set and I was trying to get ahead so I left the ganache on the counter overnight and I was like, "Chocolate's chocolate, it will harden eventually." And I came in the next day and it never did.

SU: It never did.

JS: And I learned that you do need the cold of the fridge to shock it and recrystallize that chocolate. And it did, it came back together once I put in the fridge but you really do need that colder temperature that's much colder than room temperature for it to react the way we need it to.

SU: Yeah. It's very similar to when you temper chocolate in a way and how-

JS: Yeah, yeah.

SU: Chocolate is made up of certain molecules and fats and, when you melt it, all of those things dissolve. And then, Jesse, you used the word of crystallizing and then those molecules, when they chill, they come together in a certain way. And what Jesse means by this is, when you do give it that extreme cold of a fridge, a fridge is usually set to 40 degrees and room temperature, as we discussed last time, is somewhere around 70. So, that extra 30 degrees gives it a head start and the chocolate starts setting up in a way that you need it to to be stable for you to use it as a frosting. And then why do you keep stirring it throughout? We've established that it needs to be chilled so why can't I just put this frosting in the fridge for 20 minutes without stirring it?

JS: Well, to go back to lame culinary school lingo, because agitation promotes crystallization.

SU: It's not lame.

JS: So, that's what the professors say but, yeah. So, when you stir chocolate, it's bothering it in a sense that it is speeding up that process to promote the crystallization but then also it's just that the outside of your bowl is going to get a ring of set and then the middle will still be liquid. So, it's just making sure that the consistency is even.

SU: More even, yeah.

JS: Yeah.

SU: Yeah, that makes sense. I love this frosting and I hope ... And I feel like maybe you won't get offended but it does ... The texture to me reminds me of canned frosting, like the little Betty Crocker cans of frosting.

JS: No, that's great. There's a lot of-

SU: I used to love that as a kid.

JS: A lot of people behind that to make the texture perfect so I'm flattered.

SU: Exactly. No, I think it's great. I think the beauty of this frosting in particular is that you get the intensity of a ganache with the lightness of a buttercream and I love that about it.

Okay, Jesse, because this cake is so simple, I feel like the type of ingredients that we're using matter a lot. So, I want to talk about a few of the main ingredients that we call out here, the cocoa powder specifically and also the olive oil. Let's do the olive oil first.

JS: Sure.

SU: What kind of olive oil should people be using in this recipe?

JS: Sure. So, out of these two olive oil, I feel like you have a little more flexibility. What the olive oil tastes like ultimately is going to be what your cake tastes like. So, I guess broad statement, I would pick an extra virgin olive oil period. Extra virgin just has a bit more flavour, I don't know, pepperiness, grassiness, those kinds of notes. So, if you're in that realm, you're fine. In terms of should people use their fanciest, which is we got several questions like that, frankly, I'm going to say no. Use a nice one but don't use a crazy fancy one, chocolate is strong and abrasive so you will lose some of the nuance.

SU: But hold on a second because I know that we used olive oil in a few places. We use it in the batter, we use it in the frosting and we do suggest, you do suggest that people ...

JS: An optional little finish.

SU: Yeah, drizzle on top.

JS: And so, someone emailed me and they asked, "I have this olive oil from a trip that's crazy fancy, should I use it?" And I did say no, however, try drizzling it on a slice and they sent back a photo of it drizzled on a slice and they said it was great and they could get the flavors. So, that would be my recommendation.

SU: Yeah.

JS: Yeah.

SU: That makes sense.

JS: If you got a crazy expensive one, save it for serving.

SU: Yeah.

JS: Yeah.

SU: Save it for that moment when you're going to taste it on your palate first so that it hits you immediately and you get the benefit of it. Let's talk about cocoa powder. I know we both feel very strongly about this, what kind of cocoa powder do you call for in this recipe and why?

JS: So, the recipe calls for Dutch processed cocoa powder. And the why, broad statement is because I feel like it tastes better.

SU: Okay, let's unpack that a little bit.

JS: Yes.

SU: Maybe let's talk about what is-

JS: Sure.

SU: ... Dutch processed cocoa powder because perhaps some of us don't know that there are two kinds of cocoa powder in the market.

JS: There are. So, Dutch processed cocoa powder, its counterpart is natural cocoa powder. Natural cocoa powder is cocoa powder that it's left as is which means that it is naturally acidic versus Dutch processed cocoa powder is that same exact cocoa powder but it goes through an extra step of processing using a alkaline solution so then its pH level changes.

SU: What was once a naturally acidic ingredient, natural cocoa powder, was now alkalized to become neutral and it doesn't react the same way in a recipe anymore, it's not acidic.

JS: Exactly. So, if you have chemical leaveners going on, it's not going to react with them at all. Versus, if you're using natural cocoa powder, it's going to mingle with baking soda or baking powder and go, shhh, and produce bubbles.

SU: Is there a difference in the taste between natural and Dutch processed cocoa powder?

JS: Yes. And I can attest to this because my partner just tried it for the first time last week and he was like, "Whoa, this is really good." There is a difference. I think that chocolate has a lot of off flavors naturally. Off flavors, it's aggressive, it's very acidic, it's very bitter, it's-

SU: It's a fermented product, yeah.

JS: It's a fermented product, it's intense. And this Dutching process really softens and tones it down and strips it of those really harsh flavors and you're left with a very pleasantly bitter, deep, dark chocolate flavor is how I think of it. Dutch processed, it tastes more like chocolate, it's softer. I love Dutch processed cocoa.

SU: I agree.

JS: And it makes a huge difference.

SU: It does. Are there any brands that we like in particular?

JS: As a test kitchen, I think every one of us gravitate towards Guittard, it's called Coco Rouge, because it has a slight red tint to it. It's really, really, really lovely. If you can find it, it's worth the little bit of splurge, for sure. I think maybe the most common variety you can find is it's not even labeled, obviously, it's labeled Hershey's Special Dark and it's right next to the regular natural Hershey's and that is actually Dutch. So, you can use that in any recipe that calls for Dutch processed cocoa powder.

SU: Mm-hmm. Finally, for a little extra credit that we snuck into the head note for this recipe, it's instant espresso powder. Jesse, do you want to talk about why instant espresso powder is a good idea in chocolate cake specifically?

JS: Sure. Basically, instant espresso powder mimics those bitter, sweet, chocolatey, rich, caramelized notes that chocolate does. So, oftentimes, bakers will add a bit to chocolate desserts, not necessarily for a coffee flavor, but just to heighten those nice notes that we want to capture out of chocolate, yeah.

SU: Yeah. They're related, they're both beans of plants-

JS: Yeah, they're both dark roasted.

SU: ... they're both roasted, they're both fermented so it makes sense why they pair so well together. And do we want to talk about the fact that the instant espresso powder is a different beast from instant coffee powder?

JS: It is, yes. The granules are much finer in espresso powder, I find. And also it's just you can get that deep chocolate flavor with less. It's a much more intense punch of bitter, earthy flavor versus coffee.

SU: It's like the difference between drinking espresso versus drinking drip coffee.

JS: Yes.

SU: The espresso powder in espresso is very concentrated and the instant coffee, a drip coffee, it's a lot more diluted and weaker.

JS: Yeah.

SU: And I think another thing some people tried was, if you don't have instant espresso powder, you could use a shot or two of espresso to replace some of the water. Just brew the espresso into a measuring cup and then add enough water to come up to three-quarters of the cup.

JS: That definitely works just don't replace all the water with espresso.

SU: So, that's a cake that'll keep a lot of people up perhaps.

JS: The quad shot cake, yeah. We are going to take a quick break.

SU: When we're back, we'll answer some questions from Bake Club members.

JS: Welcome back to BA Bake Club.

SU: Jesse, I was so happy to see all of the pictures and questions that came through from our Bake Clubbers this month.

JS: Yeah. I think the recipe came out the 1st of December and I remember we got our first picture of someone baking it that day.

SU: Yeah, yeah, I remember that. And because a lot of you had been baking, that means we did get a lot of questions about substitutions and tweaks so I want to make sure we tackle them here. The first question I want to talk about came in via the comments in the Epicurious app from Brownow. They write I'm dairy free, what can I use instead of buttermilk?

JS: Okay. What I will say is that I'm sure most people would be like, "Oh, use a non-dairy milk and add vinegar to it." I'm sure a lot of people would say that, that is traditional baking, I don't want to say wisdom, but feedback.

SU: yes. And we both feel very strongly about why that should not be the case but we can [inaudible 00:16:37].

JS: Yeah. So, if there is a non-dairy buttermilk substitution.

SU: I don't know that I've ever seen non-dairy buttermilk but we have seen non-dairy yogurt. So, what if ... Because I feel like that's our recommendation for a buttermilk sub is to do thinned out yogurt.

JS: Yeah, just thin out a little bit of ... Yeah.

SU: So, why can't we just recommend the same thing for a dairy free buttermilk? Start with a dairy, plain, dairy free, unflavored dairy free yogurt and then we can just thin it out to a buttermilk texture.

JS: I think that's great.

SU: Right?

JS: And easy to find.

SU: What if people can eat dairy but they don't want to buy buttermilk for whatever reason?

JS: I would say thin out sour cream or yogurt with a little bit of water or maybe use just a plain kefir as is.

SU: Mm-hmm.

JS: Yeah, because buttermilk is thick. So, when people say, "Oh, just add vinegar to milk," I'm like, "No-"

SU: That's not the same.

JS: ... "that's not quite the same."

SU: It's not the same. And I just want to ... Okay, this is our chance to be nerdy so can we just be nerdy and explain why it's not the same?

JS: Well, texture is different.

SU: Texture is different.

JS: Acid variety is different.

SU: That's the point that nobody is getting. Yes, thank you, the acid is different. When you do the common substitute, that's always suggested of adding vinegar or lemon juice to milk and allowing to sit and getting thick. Sure, it does get thick, it does curdle because it's an acid reacting with dairy but then the type of acid is different.

JS: It's acetic, right?

SU: It's acetic acid.

JS: Which is harsh, harsh, harsh.

SU: Yes.

JS: Yeah.

SU: It's vinegar, that's really what it is.

JS: Yeah, it's vinegar.

SU: So, you're going to have these vinegary harsh notes, whereas, in real buttermilk or in the case of a substitute which is thinned out yogurt or kefir or thinned out sour cream, the acid is lactic acid which is-

JS: Lactic, yeah, which is nice and buttery.

SU: Yeah, exactly.

JS: And gentle.

SU: It's tangy, smooth, rounded. So, you're getting a completely different flavor profile by using lemon juice and milk as a substitute. So, Jesse, to conclude, our recommendation for substituting buttermilk if there isn't a concern is to use ...

JS: Thinned out sour cream, thinned out yogurt or kefir as is. So, I know people are hesitant to buy buttermilk, it lasts a really long time.

SU: Oh, my God.

JS: It lasts a really long time.

SU: Okay. Can I just admit and I feel like I can admit this with some confidence because I know a few other people on staff have the same opinion. I have kept a buttermilk for at least three months past the expiry date and it's been fine.

JS: Yeah, it's already a soured product.

SU: Exactly. It's a fermented product, what's it going to do? Just ferment a little bit more.

JS: Yeah, I agree.

SU:Yeah. So, all of this to say is get the buttermilk, there are thousands of other uses.

JS: I agree.

SU:The simplest one I can think of is buttermilk pancakes, for instance, that's the easiest thing you can do. I know a lot of people love Samin Nostrat's buttermilk-marinated chicken.

JS: Put a ranch packet in it.

SU: Oh, my God, yes.

JS: Yeah, there you go.

SU: Yes, there are lots of uses for buttermilk, don't hesitate. Get it, use it, this cake recipe is worth it.

JS: I agree.

SU: Okay. So, the next substitution is a quick question about equipment. Aaron asks, "I don't have a microwave, has anyone had success making the ganache without one?"

JS: Easy, yeah.

SU: Yeah.

JS: A double boiler.

SU: Yeah.

JS: Yeah. We write it in the recipe in parentheses actually. So, you are just going to get a small pot of simmering water, maybe two inches of simmering water, put a bowl on top, either metal or glass.

SU: Any kind of heatproof bowl.

JS: Yeah. Throw your ingredients in there and just whisk it and that gentle heat will slowly melt it as needed.

SU: Mm-hmm. There is one other ingredient that we need to talk about for this recipe and it's water. We got a ton of questions and feedback about this. So, in this recipe, water is not listed in the ingredient list and, even though the other ingredients are bolded when they show up in the directions, the water is not. And so, a lot of people completely missed that there was water in both the cake and the frosting but even more people were like, "Why is your recipe like this?"

JS: Yes, and this isn't an excuse but the reason is it's actually part of the style guide at Bon Appetit and Epicurious and we know that can be confusing. So, to explain this rationale and tell us what a style guide even is and, spoiler, what's coming next because of this, I would love to welcome our senior recipe copy editor, Liesel Davies.

Liesel Davies: Thank you, Jesse. I'm actually really excited to talk about this because people don't realize how much time and energy goes into incredibly minute details of our recipes. And they probably don't know that there's people who spend their entire days debating on what is a medium bowl and I spend my day doing that all the time.

SU: I want to say I feel like this might be a good moment to just pause and explain your role in this process because-

JS: Yeah, what is a style guide kind of.

SU: You are the one who makes the recipe so seamless-

JS: Clickable, yeah.

SU: ... and you are the one who makes sure ... We cook the food in the test kitchen but, ultimately, it's you who makes it for the reader to decipher it and able for the reader to recreate what we intend. So, back up a little bit and tell us.

LD: Okay. So, after Jesse and Shilpa have created a recipe and it's been signed off on and they've written it up all beautifully, they will send it to me and I basically do the role of an editor, someone who would edit language but for recipes instead of for text. But I try to think very deeply about how it's being utilized. So, all day while I'm reading recipes, I try to imagine I'm standing at my kitchen, I'm in my fridge grabbing this butter or whatever will, hopefully, help people know what they're starting with, what to have on hand and then how to get to the end point. You spend a lot of time thinking about how you're explaining something in the clearest possible way and you try to, hopefully, create language that helps both a novice and someone who's incredibly experienced in the kitchen that both people can easily follow what's going on there and you don't leave anyone behind.

So, that's always the goal. And water, we consider something that's on hand, that people have access to so it's not included in the ingredient list because you don't need to shop for it.

JS: I honestly think your job is the most fascinating and I feel like you're the most talented person on this team, what you do.

SU: Yes. That's a good point that you said that the ingredient list is for things that people need to shop for and also when people need to set it up. And I think that's what most people found in this recipe that ... The fact that it was missing from the ingredient list when they did need it in the recipe later on. And I think a lot of people wish that it was listed because then they could have measured it out and had it.

LD: That's a great point and it's always great to get that feedback. So, the fun thing about this kind of feedback is you realize, oh, people actually really care about having water bolded and the whole point of doing the things we do is to make it easy to read a recipe. So, it's having, I don't know if you've ever walked through a door where it's push or pull, if it's done right, you don't even think about it. But if it's going contrary to what you might imagine, you're like, "Wait, I thought this was a push door and it's a pull door." And so, I think there's things in our lives that, when they're done right and well, you don't even notice that it's ... It doesn't create any kind of a hiccup or a speed bump.

JS: I think this is so cool. And the whole water thing, it checks out to me, it makes sense it's not something you shop for, everyone has water. But as we know with this particular recipe, there was a ton of feedback and I know you've had conversations with people about this, with Chris and stuff, so I'm curious what's next with the fate of water in our recipes?

LD: Well, I love that you asked that because that's the kind of feedback we want because just knowing that a lot of people missed it and we got enough feedback that it was like, "Yes, let's definitely bold water. It's such a simple, easy change." But until we really received that feedback, we didn't realize that it was so easy to miss. And it's fun to be able to make that type of a change and make, I guess, cooking in the kitchen just that much easier. So, the short answer is, yes, we will be bolding water going forward.

SU: I can't tell you how monumental this moment feels.

JS: The Bake Club's going to love it.

SU: To everyone who's listening and to everyone who participated in our Bake Club, thank you, you really moved mountains. Jesse and I have been probably arguing for water in ingredients for ... Jesse, how long have we been here? You've been here for almost two years and I've been here for almost three.

JS: The whole time, yeah.

SU: And what we couldn't accomplish in three years, you guys accomplished in one month so thank you to everyone in Bake Club.

LD: And I just should have listed it from the beginning.

JS: It wasn't you.

SU: It wasn't you.

JS: You've inherited a magazine that's been around a long time.

SU: Exactly. Thank you, Liesel. I'm really glad that we had you on here. Thank you for always being willing to chat in Slack about-

JS: Yes, thank you.

SU: ... do we mean ice water or cold water?

JS: How much does a pit weigh in a date?

SU: I love it.

LD: Well, I do too so thank you for playing along with me. This was such a pleasure and it's been a true delight talking with both of you. Thank you.

SU: Thank you.

JS: Thank you. We are going to take one more break.

SU: When we get back, we're diving deep into the ganache frosting part of this recipe using some of your pictures to guide the discussion.

Welcome back to BA Bake Club. Okay, Jesse, I hear you have some ganache pictures for me.

JS: Yes. So, I went through the group chat and I would say probably the biggest issue people had was the frosting. So, I pulled some pictures. I have three to begin with, it's like the three bears. One's too runny, one is too thick and then one is just right. So, I think these are great examples. We could start with the too runny one.

SU: Okay.

JS: So, this photo comes from Sruthi and she says, "Got a bit of a runny ganache, oops." And sure, yes, but it is beautiful.

SU: It does look very beautiful.

JS: Yes. We're looking at a photo in which it looks like ... To me, the ganache was poured very shortly after making on top of the cake. And to be honest, it's beautiful.

SU: Yeah, I was going to say it actually looks nice. It's coated the cake on all sides, it's running down the sides of the cake, it's pooling on the plate a little bit but it's still very shiny.

JS: It's like a mirror glaze cake almost.

SU: Yeah, that's what it is.

JS: Yeah. So, it's this is the extreme case of what happens when you use it quite loose and, while beautiful, it is just a different product, you won't get those swooshing that's in the photo.

SU: Mm-hmm.

JS: Okay. So, the next one I pulled is the opposite end of the spectrum a bit too thick and this is from Becca. She says, "My ganache set so quickly and was so thick, lost it shine along the way so not as picturesque." And yes, I ran into this while testing a lot and what happens if you let the ganache set for a really long time and also if you agitate a lot, it becomes a very thick frosting that is not shiny, it's a light color. Almost as you mix it, the air gets trapped in it almost.

SU: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's too whipped in a way.

JS: Yeah. And we ate this, I remember, just like this.

SU: Yeah.

JS: Tastes great, it's just not as dramatic, really.

SU: Yeah. When you say that it was left to chill for too long, do you mean it was left in the fridge too long or do you mean that we took it out of the fridge within 20 minutes when it looked swooshable but we didn't get to using it right away on the cake? And if it sat around in a colder room, could this still have happened?

JS: Yes to both.

SU: Okay.

JS: Once it's in the fridge, it's you have to baby it kind of. So, I think this one, this honestly could even be a sense of, if they took this frosting and they had microwaved it for 10 seconds in the bowl and then gently mix it, it would've been perfect.

Shilpa Uskokovic: Yeah.

JS: Yeah.

SU: I think, actually, that could be something very interesting to talk about. This frosting is very ... It's fixable. If it's too runny like Sruthi's photo, you just chill it a little bit more and agitate it. If it's a little too thick like Becca's, you would just flash it in the microwave a little bit and then you can smooth it back out.

JS: Totally. You can't really do it too many times, it's fine.

SU: Yeah.

JS: Yeah.

SU: Okay, that's a very good point.

JS: And then, okay, the last picture is from Zach and all he said was success looks awesome and I agree.

SU: Oh, it does look good.

JS: It is successful and it looks awesome, he got those swooshes but it's still quite shiny but it's not running down the cake. So, this is a good example of, I guess, where I was taking it. And in the photo, that's where we hadn't-

SU: Wow, Zach, the swoops are very wave-like. Awesome.

JS: I know. Zach's going to take my job but, yeah. So, frankly, I don't know how long it took because everyone's fridge is different, yeah, but this is exactly where it should be.

SU: Mm-hmm.

JS: And then just a little bit of extra credit, there was a member named Kai and they originally were asking, "Oh, could this be pipeable? Is this a cake that I could pipe?" And I remember I said something along the lines of probably, yes but it's going to be quite hard to keep it at that temperature to get it at that temperature and they followed up and they did it.

SU: Oh, wow, yeah.

JS: And they have two little beautiful piped little pieces of frost-

SU: Dollops-

JS: Yeah, they look great.

SU: ... on their spatula, yeah. Kai has piped using a star tip, I would say, two little dollops on a spatula and the detail, the ridges of the shell are really beautiful. They're standing out and they really seem to have held their shape so I guess you could pipe this frosting.

JS: Yeah. The frosting could be anything you want it to be, frankly. It's just playing with it.

SU: Wow. I just love when people send pictures and this one really took off. A lot of people baked the caramel apple monkey bread but I think something about the promised ease of this recipe and then the way it looked, the shiny frosting, the swoops, the-

JS: The circular nature.

SU: The classy, romantic, circular nature of it.

JS: Thank you, thank you.

SU: The swooshes, the salt on top, the glistening olive oil, everything, it was a perfect storm for people to really bake this. And we had a lot of feedback on this, a lot of pictures and we just want to say thank you to everyone that baked. It's really a joy to see your comments and pictures-

JS: It is.

SU: ... in our Close Friends channel on Instagram.

JS: It became a swoosh off and I love it.

SU: It really did and a couple of people were speaking about how we now use the word swoosh-

JS: Swooshable, yeah.

SU: ... everywhere.

JS: I love it.

SU:That's it for this month's edition of BA Bake Club.

JS: Shilpa, do you want to talk a little bit about next month's Bake Club recipe?

SU: Do I ever? It's a pizza recipe that Jesse and I both developed, it's our first savory Bake Club recipe. We are extremely proud of the pizza recipe.

JS: I think this is the best one so far. I do.

SU: Ooh.

JS: I do.

SU: Those are strong words, Jesse.

JS: Is there any special equipment or ingredients the bakers should stock up on for this?

SU: I think the beauty of this recipe is that we don't call for specialty ingredients or equipment. What is so stunning about this recipe is that we were able to achieve excellent pizza just using your stove top and oven, you don't need a pizza oven or pizza peel or stone or anything like that. I would perhaps say the one thing that you might want to get is a bag of bread flour if you don't have it and also instant yeast, not active dry. So, please, get yourself a bag of bread flour and instant yeast stocked up for this pizza crust.

JS: It really is such a fun recipe.

SU: Well, Bake Clubbers, once you bake through the pizza crust, send us your pictures and questions. There are so many different ways for you to get in touch.

JS: You can join the Instagram Close Friends, comment on the recipe on the Epicurious app or the Bon Appetit website or you can email us at bakeclub@bonappetit.com. Thanks for listening to BA Bake Club, we're your hosts, Jesse Szewczyk.

SU: And Shilpa Uskokovic.

JS: Michele O'Brien is our senior producer.

SU: Jake Lummus is our studio engineer.

JS: This episode was mixed by Amar Lal at Macro Sound.

SU: Our executive producer is Jordan Bell.

JS: Chris Bannon is Conde Nast's head of global audio.

SU: If you liked this show, leave us a rating and review and hit that follow button so you never miss an episode of BA Bake Club or Dinner SOS.

JS: And if you're not already part of the club, head to bonappetit.com/bakeclub to find all the information you need to join.

SU: Next week on Dinner SOS, listener Mara is expecting a baby and she is thinking ahead.

Mara: But I think the dream is to feel well supplied with foods in the freezer that will be easy for us to eat once the tiny human is here and everything is chaos and I'm also going to be really hungry.

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit