First-of-Fall Pear Bundt from Dorie Greenspan

Plus, a Q&A with Dorie and a giveaway of her book, Dorie's Anytime Cakes!

Normally my Saturday newsletter includes exclusive recipes, tips & techniques and videos for my “Extras” paid community. But this week I am giving everyone the opportunity to be a little Extra with Dorie and her beautiful cake! I hope you’ll consider joining my “Extras” subscribers, so you’ll never miss the fun!

Tomorrow I will be sending out a special invitation to all you “Extras,” so be sure to open it as quickly as possible. You won’t want to miss the party! xo

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You may have noticed that we’re entering into the new cookbook season. It is my very favorite time of year. We got things kicked off with Chocolate Mousse and Cookie recipes from David Lebovitz’s newly revised classic, Ready for Dessert*. This week I get to share another one of my baking heroes with you.

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Dorie’s Anytime Cakes

Dorie has written so many of my favorite baking books and just when you might think she’s finally outdone herself, she produces yet another classic. Dorie’s Anytime Cakes* is going to be a trusted companion in your kitchen. It’s all the delicious cakes we love without the fuss and time. She always knows what we want at every turn. People are busy but still crave a soul satisfying cake and that’s exactly what Dorie delivers.

I am so lucky to have spent time with Dorie as a fellow baker and friend. She is as generous and kind as she is talented. She is sharing her First-of-Fall Pear Bundt with all of you and sat down to offer us some of her caking wisdom and inspiration. I always love talking to her and seeing how a true visionary produces her work.

As you may know, Dorie has collaborated with the great Julia Child and French pastry chef Pierre Hermes in the past, now she is collaborating in a new way, with illustrator Nancy Pappas. Their connection is rare and so lovely. The work that came of their sweet relationship is truly unique and makes this new book stand out.

This cozy cake is studded with fall fruit throughout. The batter is sweetened with brown sugar and maple syrup, which creates a rich, decadent, but also homey flavor. Mix the apples (or pears) with cinnamon and you have the absolute perfect cake for the season when the wind kicks up and we need something warm and comforting. The caramel is the perfect blanket for the cake, which Dorie says is optional, but it is toooooo delicious to skip!

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Giveaway!

You need this book in your kitchen! Dorie was kind enough to give away THREE copies of her book! Just leave a comment on the recipe at ZoëBakes.com and you’ll be entered for a chance to win! US addresses only. Leave a comment by Monday, October 27, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. central time to be entered.

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Photo by Katie Donnelly Photography

Q&A: Dorie Greenspan

Q: You always have your finger on the pulse of the baking scene. Seems like there are more and more bakers, but they have less time for big projects. This book satisfies the craving to bake using less time and no fuss. Did you see this trend coming or is this the way you are baking as well?

A: Oh Zoë, I wish I had even a smidgen of a trend-spotting gene, but nope. I’m afraid this is a very selfish book – it’s all about the way I love to bake. I’m a simple, easy, no frills – no fuss, as you said – baker. I love pound cakes and Bundt cakes and plain cakes with big flavors and little cakes with great textures and any cake with crumbs. Glaze is good and frosting is deliciously fine, but I love a nibble cake – a cake you can bake on a whim because it’s easy and you’ve got the ingredients in your kitchen; a cake you can put on your counter and munch on all through the day. Someone told me that she calls these kinds of sweets “cutting cakes” because you cut a little piece each time you walk through the kitchen (only to “even it out,” of course). Naturally, I love that.

Q: Talk to me about your kitchen equipment. I love a kitchen gadget, but not everyone does or has the space for them. This book requires just the basics. If someone is just entering their cake-making journey, what is a must have tool?

A: I’ve been baking – and buying baking gear – for more than 50 years, so I’m betting that if I gathered together all the equipment from my three kitchens, I could probably open a megastore. I’m particularly rich in mixers (stand and hand) and if I ever wanted to bake 50 small tartlets or 100 muffins, mini or standard, on the spur-of-the-moment, I’d have everything at my fingertips. When other girls wanted jewelry, I wanted whisks (and yes, I still have and love the Danish dough whisk you sent me years ago).

But until you’re bitten by the baking bug, have money burning the proverbial hole in your pocket or clear out some space, you can bake the simplest, made-by-hand cakes – my faves – with just a few tools: a large bowl, a whisk, a spatula (I love the slender, subtly spoon-shaped spatulas from Tovolo*) and a good pan. (I invested in all sizes of USA Pans and some gorgeous NordicWare Bundts and I expect that they’ll last long enough to become heirlooms.) If a beginner baker ends up loving the craft – and if money and space allow – I’d spring for a mixer (a hand mixer, like a Breville, or a stand mixer, which can be another lifetime buy) and a scale. Actually, for the cost of some sturdy measuring cups, you could probably get a scale: Get the scale.

Q: After so many iconic books and thousands of recipes, where do you get your inspiration from? Do you find yourself baking differently now for your granddaughters, Gemma and VV? Do you think you are influencing their palates or they are inspiring yours?

A: I find it amazing that no matter how many recipes I’ve developed or how many recipes there are in the world for us to jump into, there’s always more to create, always another way of seeing something, always another variation. I’m so lucky that I live in Paris and that I get to travel. Being someplace new is always an inspiration for me: There are at least 20 cakes in my new book that were inspired by being away from home. I am always inspired by travel, by ingredients and by the random what-if thought: What if I turned Mokonuts’ rye and poppy seed cookie into a cake? What if the traditional Thanksgiving marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole were a loaf cake? And then there are the adorables, Gemma and VV, my granddaughters. I’m always thinking about what they’d love to eat and what they’d love to bake. For all the years that I’ve baked, I could probably count on my fingers the number of times I made cupcakes – I just didn’t love them – but the girls do and they love baking them and sharing them. I’m sure I wouldn’t have made the two cupcake recipes in the book – Devil Dark/Angel Light Cupcakes and Buttermilk Cupcakes for Everything – if it weren’t for the girls. And now I make those cupcakes often … for grown-ups.

First-of-Fall Pear Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce

Q: I baked the First-of-Fall Pear Bundt cake the day your book arrived. It is so warm and cozy with the blanket of caramel sauce. I love a cake that gets better with time. It sat on my counter and my husband and I cut a sliver off EVERY time we walked by, which was often. I feel like that was something you thought about when creating these recipes. Was having a cake that didn’t get stale in a day an important decision when picking the cakes for the book?

A: Zoë! I’m so glad that you made the First-of-Fall Pear Bundt and I love how you and your husband ate the cake. This is exactly how I hoped these cakes would be enjoyed – bit by bit, over and over, anytime, day after day. This makes me so happy. I didn’t explicitly set out to make cakes that were good keepers, but I knew that so many of the cakes I loved were inherently the kinds that would hold up for at least a few days, and usually at room temperature. Also the kinds that would freeze. Whenever I could, I tried to create cakes that would be more than one-day wonders or cakes that would be good plain, but that could take less sturdy add-ons. A good example of this would be The Devil’s Chocolate Cake. It’s a terrific Bundt cake served as-is (or with a dusting of powdered sugar to catch the cake’s curves). It’s dressier with a chocolate glaze (which takes to freezing); fancier when the glaze is topped with puffs of whipped cream; and ready for any party with glaze, cream and a crown of cherries.

First-of-Fall Apple Bundt | Illustration by Nancy Pappas

Q: I loved seeing your interview with Cherry Bombe. The respect and affection you have for Nancy Pappas, who painted the cakes for your book, was so moving. It’s an unusual way to illustrate a cookbook these days and I know it meant the world to you to work with Nancy. Why were you so moved to work with paintings and not the more typical cookbook photographs?

A: When I met Nancy – it was at a Cherry Bombe Jubilee; we think it was 2019 – I loved her, loved her work and thought that if ever I had a project that would be right for illustrations, I’d want to work with her. And as soon as I knew I would be writing a book on simple cakes, I knew it was the project for Nancy’s art. Because the cakes were so straightforward in every way, because most of them were not decorated (read, brown) and because I was in love with their homey, honest good looks, I wanted the book’s artwork to emphasize these qualities. I didn’t want the cakes’ graphic shapes, beautiful textures and subtle colorations to be obscured by props, plates, cups, napkins, forks or even dramatic lighting. I wanted the illustrations to be bold, to have a touch of whimsy and more than a dash of personality, and I wanted, actually needed, them to be informative – we all look to pictures to learn about recipes and to be enticed by them. There wasn’t a crumb of doubt in mind that this project and Nancy were perfect for each other. I love what she did!