I’m a cake person now
You will be, too, when you see our new episode of Cooking 101.
Cooking
October 23, 2025

Good morning! Today we have for you:

Samantha Seneviratne’s yellow sheet cake with chocolate sour cream frosting. The New York Times

You could be eating cake right now

Hello, this is Emily, filling in for Mia Leimkuhler. Usually I’m chatting with you about weeknight cooking, but today I get to talk about dessert — my one true culinary love. (Sorry, boneless chicken thighs.)

I used to be a pie person, but about five years ago I switched to Team Cake, which is the ultimate herald of happiness and far breezier to make. No matter how hard your heart is, how unsweet your tooth, I dare you to remain stone-faced when a cake emerges from the kitchen, especially one with lit birthday candles — a kind of joy that actually glows. (I do still love pie, by the way. It’s just so fickle, with too high a chance that your beautiful, fussed-over crust will melt into a Gaudí-esque mess when it enters the oven.)

If you, too, are a cake person, or are an aspiring cake person, then I have news: We’ve got a fresh episode of Cooking 101 for you, devoted to cake and starring the amazing baker Samantha Seneviratne. (She’s also the creator of New York Times Cooking’s best-ever cookie. I said it!)

New York Times Cooking

In this episode, Sam teaches you how to make three recipes: an exquisitely tender yellow sheet cake with chocolate frosting; a festive, rainbow-sprinkle-coated confetti cake; and cute chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. All of this comes with an article full of baking tips, too.

Featured Recipe

Yellow Sheet Cake With Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

View Recipe

Today’s specials

Porchetta beans: If you’ve had the good fortune to try porchetta, the Italian spit-roasted pork intensely flavored with garlic and herbs, then you’ll have a sense of what Ali Slagle is up to here. Her version uses soft shreds of pork shoulder and white beans to capture the magic of the original, but in a pot on your stove. There’s a slow-cooker version, too!

Hot honey baked sweet potatoes: Eric Kim sings the glories of the sweet potato in this recipe, which uses whipped goat cheese (or blue cheese), spicy honey and roasted nuts as toppings. He baked countless pounds of potatoes to arrive at his ideal baking method: “No salt, no oil, no foil.”

Coconut curry with potatoes and greens: I can’t resist sneaking in a weeknight wonder, so here is Hetty Lui McKinnon’s vegetarian coconut curry recipe, to which I’d add chickpeas for a complete meal. (Tofu would be another excellent choice.)

Migas: For Mexican-style migas, a Hall of Fame-worthy scramble, you tuck leftover pieces of fried tortilla into cheesy eggs flecked with jalapeño. Kia Damon’s excellent recipe hits all the right notes.

And before you go

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

You deserve a dirty martini! We both deserve dirty martinis! Make this recipe from Rebekah Peppler and read this new article on the depths to which bartenders will go to make their martinis even dirtier. I’m clinking glasses with you!

For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started.

Article Image

Kerri Brewer for The New York Times

Porchetta Beans

By Ali Slagle

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

13

2 hours 40 minutes

Makes 0 to 6 servings

Article Image

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Hot Honey Baked Sweet Potatoes

By Eric Kim

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

639

1 hour 10 minutes

Makes 8 servings

Article Image

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sue Li.

Coconut Curry With Potatoes and Greens

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

339

40 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Migas

By Kia Damon

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

549

30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Fresh, delicious dinner ideas for busy people, from Emily Weinstein and NYT Cooking.

Sign up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter

Fresh dinner ideas for busy people who want something great to eat, with NYT Cooking recipes sent to you weekly.

Get it in your inbox
Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

Sign up for The Veggie newsletter

Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

Get it in your inbox

If you received this newsletter from someone else, subscribe here.

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

You received this email because you signed up for Cooking from The New York Times.

To stop receiving Cooking, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings.

Subscribe to NYT Cooking

Connect with us on:

facebookxinstagrampinterestwhatsapp

Change Your Email