Weeknight Baking: Recipes to Fit Your Schedule

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INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS WEEKNIGHT BAKING?

Weeknight Baking is a cookbook with recipes for baked goods, desserts, and sweets that do at least one of these things:

   Come together quickly…

Most recipes in this book have an Active Time—the time in which you are actively following recipe instructions like prepping and chopping ingredients, mixing batters and doughs, or decorating cakes and cookies—no longer than 30 minutes, and usually much less than that.

   … Or come together quickly over a few nights.

That being said, there are desserts like cakes and pies that you really just can’t make in 30 minutes! For more time-intensive recipes, I’ve split up the steps over the course of a few days so you’re only actively working for 30 minutes or less each day. You’ll still end up with a dessert that’s as delicious as one that required you to spend all day in the kitchen baking.

    Use ingredients you have in a well-stocked baker’s pantry…

Most of the recipes in this book—with the exception of a handful that take advantage of fresh seasonal ingredients, or those meant for specific dietary restrictions—use ingredients every baker should already have in the pantry or fridge. I’ll teach you which ingredients are worth always having on hand so you’ll always be ready for spontaneous weeknight baking projects.

   … Or can be easily substituted with other similar ingredients.

But I also know we’ve all found ourselves in a pinch, either running low on ingredients or forgetting to put an item on our shopping list. I’ll show you which ingredients you can substitute for others to avoid a last-minute rush to the grocery store.

   Store well for baking, decorating, assembling, or serving in the future…

Many of the recipes in this book will produce doughs, batters, frostings, and even whole cakes and pies that keep well in the refrigerator or freezer. You can have a fresh-baked treat in your hand in 15 minutes or less, all thanks to the batch of cookie dough in your freezer or the bowl of muffin batter in your fridge.

   … Or are made with parts that do.

Breaking up a recipe into different parts that all store well helps you manage your time in the kitchen. You can decide when to start and finish every baking project.

My hope is that when you flip through this book, you’ll find these time-saving qualities in classic, accessible recipes to match your cravings—like chocolate chip cookies, fudge brownies, and banana bread. Because it’s usually the simple stuff I crave most on a weeknight, and I suspect that’s the case for you, too.

Along the way, you’ll also find lots of advice on baking methods and techniques to help you become a more efficient baker. But these tips wouldn’t exist without the years I spent balancing my traditional nine-to-five job with my popular baking blog, Hummingbird High—so let’s rewind.

MY DOUBLE LIFE

Several years ago, on a cold and blustery November evening, I had an idea that would change my life forever. It was Sunday night and I had just moved to Denver, Colorado, where I had accepted a new job as a financial analyst at a prestigious consulting firm. I was supposed to be pulling together some reports that my boss wanted the following morning. But instead of working through the necessary spreadsheets, I was dreaming about cupcakes.

I first started baking cupcakes during my sophomore year in college as a way to procrastinate from schoolwork. In the kitchen, with the smells of browning butter and caramelizing sugar wafting from the oven door, it was easy to forget about homework and other looming deadlines. I’d invite my friends and classmates to enjoy the baked goods. We would sit around the table, with a cupcake in one hand and a can of cheap beer in the other, gossiping and venting about minor dramas. It was then that I realized that baking made me happy: it was a way for me to bring all my friends together quickly (since none of them ever turned down a fresh cupcake), and it allowed us all to escape, however briefly, from the stresses of our lives.

A few years after I graduated, I found myself in the kitchen again. At that point, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life; only that, at the end of the work day, I wanted to bake. I didn’t like my job that much—my workplace was the kind of high-stress, super-competitive environment that inspires books like Liar’s Poker and movies like The Wolf of Wall Street. Although baking helped me unwind, I felt lost and lonely. I wished I could have an honest conversation with the friends I’d left behind to ask them for advice on how and when to change career paths. I remembered us all back in our tiny dorm kitchen, passing a bottle of cheap wine around and snacking on cupcakes I had made earlier that day, offering moral support and good vibes.

It was this memory that inspired me to start my baking blog, Hummingbird High. I began with a project that gave my blog its name: chronicling my adventures baking all the recipes in The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, my favorite cookbook at the time, and adapting those recipes to work in Denver’s unforgiving high-altitude environment. Soon, I graduated to writing recipes of my own. Recipe ideas would hit me while I was running financial reports; I would furtively scribble them down in quick emails to myself. Later, I would spend my evenings developing and testing those ideas, photographing the results for my friends and family to see on Hummingbird High. Even after long hours at the office, I still had the energy to stay up late in the kitchen.

In that period of uncertainty, Hummingbird High brought me joy. At first, it was a way to distract myself from the misery of my day job, and it was an easy way to keep in touch with the faraway friends I missed so much. But as my baking adventures and projects grew more ambitious, strangers from different states and even different countries began to follow along. Readers would give me advice on troubleshooting notoriously finicky baked goods, and leave comments and photos to show me they’d tried my recipes at home. It was heartwarming and inspirational. I worked harder than ever to improve my recipes, along with my photography and writing skills.

Working on Hummingbird High in those early days taught me I had skills beyond the quantitative and analytical ones I used in my finance job. It gave me the confidence to seek out a new opportunity that would allow for even more creativity. After six months, I decided to quit my day job and start a new career from scratch. I moved back to my college town of Portland, Oregon, for an internship at an up-and-coming tech start-up. Although I was much happier and eventually worked my way up from a lowly intern role to become a systems manager, I still found myself in the kitchen every spare moment I had. It turns out that I didn’t need homework or a boring job to bake; I loved it enough on its own. Not only did it continue to bring me joy, but it now brought many others joy, too: my old friends and new coworkers who reaped the benefits of my experiments, and the readers of Hummingbird High who baked my recipes. It felt like I was bringing everybody back together in my tiny dorm kitchen to share cupcakes once more.

WHY I WEEKNIGHT BAKE

These days, when I talk about my blog, the first question people often ask is: But how do you have time to bake so much? Because for several years, I did what many thought was impossible—I ran my baking blog while maintaining a full-time job, first in finance as an analyst, and then in tech as an engineer.

The truth was, I didn’t have the time. My jobs in both finance and tech required me to be at the office at least forty hours a week, if not more. There were weekends, sure, but that was competing with the limited time I had to spend with friends and family. And on top of that, there was my commute to the office, trips to the gym, errands, chores, and so on. All these commitments and obligations left me with at most an hour every evening to bake for Hummingbird High.

So I found myself managing my time as best as I could. I began by reading the recipes I wanted to tackle, trying to figure out where I could split up the steps within the recipe. I specialized in this sort of time management in my day job—often, I was given months-long engineering projects that I would break down into two-week chunks for my team to work through. I applied those same skills in the kitchen: my goal was to break down a recipe into parts that I could tackle in the limited amount of time I had. A cake recipe that would ordinarily take two consecutive hours to make would be spread out over a few days—30 minutes on the first day to bake the cakes, 10 minutes on the second day to make the frosting, another 30 minutes on the final day to put it all together and decorate it.

At first, this didn’t always work. Sometimes, a cake I’d baked on the first night would deflate and grow stale by the second night. To troubleshoot these issues, I read culinary textbooks about the chemical reactions behind the different steps of baking, figuring out how to combine different techniques to create shortcuts. Through research and trial and error, I started to figure out what really worked. I also spent far too much money on a variety of different kitchen tools in an attempt to discover which ones actually helped save time in the kitchen. Over the years, slowly but surely, I built myself a set of reliable recipes, a battery of time-saving techniques, and a collection of useful kitchen equipment.

The funny thing is, on Hummingbird High, with the exception of a cheery baker’s note now and again, I never candidly discussed what it was like to bake all the time while balancing a nine-to-five. My recipes were presented with beautiful pictures, but often without mention of my time constraints and struggles. That can happen on the internet and social media, where we choose to present only the best parts of ourselves; I felt both implicit and explicit pressure to maintain an illusion of paradise in my kitchen. Blogs are where everything is perfect, where everybody has all the time in the world to spend as they wish. But I know that’s not true—and that’s why I wrote this book! We’re all doing the best we can with what we have. And I’m going to help you bake any night of the week that works for you.

THE WEEKNIGHT BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

The most important part of becoming a Weeknight Baker is setting yourself up for success, and that starts with making sure you have all the ingredients you need. I’ve definitely been guilty of getting a third of the way through a recipe only to realize I’m missing a necessary ingredient. It’s the worst.

There’s only one solution: keep a well-stocked pantry. These are the staples I always have on hand to ensure that I’ll be ready for any spontaneous weeknight baking projects. The best part? Many are shelf-stable and will keep for extended periods of time if stored properly. With these ingredients in your pantry and fridge, you’ll be able to make 90 percent of the recipes in this book without an extra trip to the grocery store.

FLOURS

In the grocery store, you’ll likely find an aisle of more flour varieties than you would have thought existed: all-purpose, bread, cake, pastry, and many more. These varieties are defined by their protein percentages. Flours with a higher protein percentage (such as bread flour) are used for recipes that result in baked goods with hearty crumbs like bread and pizza, whereas flours with a lower protein percentage (like cake flour and pastry flour) are used to make baked goods with light and tender crumbs. The best way to store flour is to pour it from the bag into a container with an airtight seal; this will prevent it from clumping, drying out, and losing its flavor quickly. I like to use a container with a large opening so I can easily scoop out what I need without making a huge mess.

all-purpose flour

All-purpose flour is the baker’s true workhorse. In a pinch, all-purpose flour works in almost every recipe because its protein level falls directly in the middle of cake and bread flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour when developing recipes for this book, but you can use any brand you prefer.

cake flour

Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose; it also tends to be more finely ground, with a silky texture that feels similar to confectioners’ sugar. I used Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached Enriched Super-Fine Cake Flour when developing recipes for this book, but you can use any brand you prefer—some bakers are very loyal to bleached cake flour, which you can read more about on page 22

.

SUGARS

granulated sugar

When people say the word sugar, they’re usually referring to granulated sugar, which is the white sugar we all know and love. I tested the recipes in this book with a range of brands, from the big names like Domino and C&H to the generic brands you can buy at the supermarket. It all came out tasty. The only advice I have is to choose a non-organic, non-raw sugar variety—organic and raw sugars are coarser, leading to longer creaming, mixing, and dissolving times in recipes (for a deep dive on this issue, check out page 24

). Granulated sugar keeps well in its bag, but it’s best to pour it into an airtight container to maintain freshness.

brown sugar

Brown sugar usually comes in two varieties—light and dark. I prefer dark because I love the complex flavor it can add to baked goods, but you can often swap out one for the other with no problem. Just be sure to store brown sugar properly, since it has a tendency to dry out and clump over long periods of time—unlike granulated sugar, it’s important to keep brown sugar in an airtight container. Place one or two marshmallows in the container; the brown sugar will draw moisture out of the marshmallows, keeping the sugar soft and moist.

confectioners’ sugar

Confectioners’ sugar, also known as powdered sugar, icing sugar, or 10x, is granulated sugar that’s processed into a fine powder with a texture similar to flour or cocoa powder. Confectioners’ sugar is often used in recipes like whipped cream and frostings to produce light and silky textures. Even though it’s technically the same stuff as granulated sugar, it’s important to keep both on hand—you can’t substitute one for the other without changing the overall texture, outcome, and even flavor of your baked goods. Although confectioners’ sugar will keep well in its bag, I like to pour it into an airtight container with a big opening. The big opening will help prevent messes when measuring out quantities for recipes.

DAIRY AND OTHER FATS

butter

It’s worth spending the money to get real butter—not margarine, and definitely not butter spread. For a deeper dive on all the different types of butter and what you can and can’t substitute, check out page 15

. My favorite butter is Vermont Creamery Unsalted Cultured Butter; not only do I genuinely believe that it’s the best butter available, it’s also a European-style butter, which means it has a higher butterfat content and results in a richer flavor. For a more readily available option, I usually turn to Land O’Lakes unsalted butter, which is more budget-friendly and still very good.

Although unsalted butter can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 1 month. You can further extend its shelf-life by freezing it for up to 6 months: place each butter stick (still wrapped) in a heavy-duty zip-top bag to prevent the butter from absorbing any odors or flavors in the freezer. To thaw frozen butter, move it to the fridge the night before using it in any recipe.

eggs

All the recipes in this cookbook use large eggs. One large egg is equivalent to about 3 tablespoons (2 tablespoons for the whites, and 1 tablespoon for the yolk) or 1.5 ounces of liquid. I don’t have any recommendations for which brand of eggs to buy, since I trade my friend Greg baked goods for fresh eggs from the chicken coop he keeps in his backyard (I live in Portland, what can I say?). But I do have a tip: there are a handful of recipes in this book that call for only egg yolks or only egg whites. You can save the rest of the egg in an airtight container in the refrigerator to use in another baking recipe or in your everyday cooking. Egg whites generally keep longer than egg yolks because of their high water content, so plan accordingly: yolks will keep for up to 3 days, while whites will keep for up to 1 week.

oils

A handful of cake, cookie, and bar recipes in this book call for oil. In these recipes, I exclusively use canola oil, which has a neutral taste that doesn’t impart any flavor. Any generic brand in the supermarket will do, and you can substitute any other neutral-flavored oil like grapeseed or vegetable (learn more on page 20

). For vegan goods, I switch to more flavorful oils like olive oil and coconut oil, both of which give the baked goods extra earthy and/or tropical flavors. I love Whole Foods’ 365 extra-virgin olive oil and Trader Joe’s organic virgin coconut oil, both of which are well priced and have subtle flavors that don’t overwhelm baked goods. Store oils in their container in a cool, dark cupboard away from the oven or stovetop; exposure to heat and light will cause oils to go rancid faster.

milk and cream

Make sure to get the full-fat versions of both—low- and nonfat milks will lead to less flavorful baked goods. Any brand you like will work in the recipes in this book. Use cow’s milk unless specifically stated otherwise since alternative milks like coconut and nut milks will work differently in recipes. Store cartons of milk and cream toward the back of the refrigerator. Keeping them in the door compartments will cause them to spoil faster (since that’s the warmest and draftiest part of the refrigerator).

buttermilk

Traditionally, buttermilk is made from the sour liquid left over after cream has been churned into butter. These days, buttermilk is made by dairy processing plants injecting cultured enzymes into low-fat milk. The final product of both methods is more acidic than regular milk, giving baked goods a wonderful, tangy flavor. I’m partial to Darigold’s Bulgarian-Style Buttermilk, but any brand should do the trick. Unlike milk and cream, buttermilk is a naturally low-fat product; the reduced- and low-fat cultured versions will work just fine in the recipes in this book. Similar to milk and cream, store it toward the back of the fridge, where it’s coldest.

I know it can be hard to justify the fridge space for buttermilk, especially since it’s almost exclusively used for baking and is not as shelf-stable as other ingredients in this chapter. But hear me out: For many years, especially when I was living in small apartments with fridges that could fit only a few days’ worth of groceries at a time, I avoided buying buttermilk. Instead, I used a powdered buttermilk substitute, or sometimes even made my own with milk and vinegar (it can be done!). While these substitutions worked, none of my bakes ever tasted as good as they did when I made them with actual buttermilk. With the real stuff, my baked goods were infinitely more flavorful, all without any extra effort beyond having a carton of buttermilk in the fridge. It’s worth it, I promise.

sour cream and crème fraîche

A ton of recipes in this book call for either sour cream or crème fraîche. I suggest picking one and always having it on hand, especially since you can use them interchangeably in any of the recipes in this book (along with yogurt—learn more on page 20

). The main difference between the two ingredients is their acidity level; crème fraîche is the least acidic, and will yield a baked good with a subtle tangy flavor, whereas using sour cream will result in a tarter flavor. As with milk and cream, always opt for the full-fat versions. Although I don’t have any brand loyalty when it comes to sour cream, I always look for Vermont Creamery’s crème fraîche, which I love for both its consistency and flavor. Like all dairy products, store both toward the back of the fridge, where it’s coldest.

LEAVENERS

baking powder and baking soda

Any brand of baking powder or baking soda will work in the recipes for this book. I like to use a double-acting baking powder that is aluminum-free. Aluminum in leaveners has a tendency to turn batters and doughs a bluish green if they’re not baked immediately and can leave a weird metallic taste in the dessert. Store baking powder and baking soda in airtight containers in a cool, dry pantry cupboard. Some people store an open box of baking soda in the fridge to absorb odors, but if you do, I don’t recommend using it for baking (unless you want those bad flavors and smells in your baked goods, too).

cream of tartar

Cream of tartar is an acidic by-product of fermenting grapes into wine; in baking, it’s primarily used for stabilizing meringues and whipped cream. Although not many recipes in this book call for it, it’s worth keeping around, because it lasts forever and when you need it, you really need it. Store cream of tartar in a cool, dry place, and always give it a quick look and a sniff before using it—it should be white in color with no major clumps, and it should smell mildly acidic. If it’s discolored and clumpy, it’s time for a new bottle.

yeast

There are three main types of yeast: fresh, active dry, and instant (also known as RapidRise or quick-rise). Because fresh yeast is extremely perishable, I prefer to stick with either active dry or instant yeast, both of which you can use interchangeably in the recipes in this book (with some caveats—learn more on page 22

). I like to buy both in bottles as opposed to individual packets; a bottle makes it easier to measure out the exact quantity needed for a recipe. Store the bottle in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 1 year.

FLAVORS

vanilla extract, beans, and powder

Vanilla is crucial in almost every baked good. Think of it as dessert MSG: it gives butter and sugar more nuance, and it makes chocolate taste more intense and flavorful. Similar to butter, it’s worth sourcing high-quality vanilla; cheaper vanilla extracts have a sharp alcohol taste. I highly recommend Nielsen-Massey’s vanilla extracts—their extracts are very flavorful. Store vanilla extract in a cool, dark place, away from any heat sources. Light and heat will cause the extract to weaken in flavor.

Occasionally, I’ll