Podcast Summary: All Of It – “Dorie Greenspan Talks Cakes”

Date: October 17, 2025
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Dorie Greenspan (James Beard Award-winning cookbook author)
Episode Focus: Exploring the world of “anytime cakes,” simple baking, and the culture of cakes through Dorie Greenspan’s new book, Dorie’s Anytime Cakes.

Episode Overview

In this episode, Alison Stewart sits down with beloved baker and author Dorie Greenspan to talk about her latest cookbook, Dorie’s Anytime Cakes. The conversation covers how cakes can be integral to daily life—not just reserved for special occasions—and the ways simple, approachable recipes can empower anyone to bake. Listeners call and text in with their favorite cakes and baking questions, and Dorie shares delightful stories, practical baking advice, and encouragement for bakers of all skill levels.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Philosophy of “Anytime Cakes”

• Snacking Cakes Defined
  • Dorie notes that “snacking cakes” isn’t a term she grew up with, but many of her simple, daily cakes fit this description.
  • “Those are the simple cakes … a crumb cake, a loaf cake, a little brownie kind of cake that you just cut and nibble, cut and nibble.” – Dorie (02:22)
• Everyday Baking Memories
  • Growing up, Dorie often had cakes on the counter, mostly from bakeries as her mother didn’t bake, with family favorites like marble, lemon, and honey cakes. (02:45-03:11)
• Wiggle Cakes: Room for Creativity
  • The book encourages flexibility: “There are cakes that really lend themselves to variation or additions… there's wiggle room in there to play around.” – Dorie (03:20)

Baking Fundamentals and Accessible Tips

• Measuring is Everything
  • Dorie is a big proponent of using a scale for accuracy and ease.
    • “If you're weighing your ingredients, it sounds so professional... But really it's just easy and accurate.” – Dorie (04:15-05:07)
• The Fundamental Four Ingredients
  • Butter, flour, sugar, and eggs form the core of most cakes. (05:17)
  • Tips for flour alternatives: Spelt, cup-for-cup gluten-free blends, but all recipes in the book are tested with all-purpose flour. (05:30-06:08)
• Sugar's Role
  • “Sugar provides moisture, it provides flavor, sweetness, and it also will make a cake tender.” – Dorie (06:21)
• Oven Thermometers: A Must
  • Dorie recommends always using an oven thermometer for consistent results: “You need to make your oven your best friend.” (07:12)

Listener Questions & Community Favorites

• Chocolate + Carrot Cake?
  • Listener Natalie prompts Dorie: “Wouldn't a carrot cake with a chocolate glaze be lovely?” (08:14)
  • Dorie admits she’s never tried it but feels inspired to do so.
  • A later listener text explains Brazilian carrot cake is just that—a carrot cake with chocolate glaze. (11:25)
• Cakes for the Season: Fall Harvest Cake
  • Dorie discusses her olive oil-based fall cake filled with fruit, nuts, and yogurt.
  • “You can go through the seasons with this cake… It’s so welcoming to variation.” – Dorie (08:44-09:58)
• Fruitcake, Reimagined
  • Dorie reassures: “There are no little green squares in any of my cakes.” (11:00)
• Biscotti and Baking Categories
  • Listener Judy inquires about biscotti; Dorie laughs about playing with categories—sometimes calling brownies cakes or cakes cookies—but draws the line at biscotti as not a snacking cake. (12:25-12:46)

Unique Recipes & Cultural Inspirations

• Morning, Noon, and Night Thanksgiving Cake
  • Inspired by Thanksgiving ingredients: sweet potatoes, cranberries, pecans, and topped with marshmallows.
    • “It won't replace pecan pie for Thanksgiving, but it would go really well with it…and you’d have that all day long.” – Dorie (13:40)
• Moist Apple Cakes
  • Listener Edith asks about apple cakes; Dorie describes Sasha’s grated apple cake from Russia, which uses grated apples and cream of wheat for a unique, moist crumb. (14:23-15:23)
• Pistachio Cakes “Having a Moment”
  • Discussion about pistachio pudding cakes and Dorie’s own pistachio cake inspired by a trip to Pont Aven, France, with raspberry jam and white chocolate glaze.
    • “It's an elegant cake that's easily made… pistachio is everywhere now.” (16:15-17:19)
• Salty (Savory) Cakes
  • Dorie shares her love for savory cakes: “I love a salty cake as a surprise… you can play with bacon, ham, all vegetables, an unusual spice.” (17:31)

Baking for a Cause

• Second Chance Foods
  • Call-in from Martha, a nonprofit leader who makes Dorie’s “pumpkin stuffed with everything good” from recovered food for hunger relief.
    • “You just made me so happy. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” – Dorie (18:21-18:41)

Encouragement for Novice Bakers

• Best Cakes for Beginners
  • Dorie recommends the yogurt cake for first-timers: “This is definitely a first-timer's cake. Make it once … and then the next time you make it, you can add what you like.” (19:19-20:31)
• Easiest and Hardest Recipes?
  • Dorie stresses the book is designed for accessibility: “I think this was my easy book ... these are really simple cakes, not hard.” (20:40-21:04)
• Celebrating Simplicity and Joy
  • “Oh, I want them to have a good time. Yes.” – Dorie (21:23)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I'm like an evangelist for home baking. And so I didn't want fussy ingredients here and there. … I wanted people to be able to feel like, oh, I want to bake a cake and be able to do it.” – Dorie (06:21)
• “You, Alison, you can make anything hard if you want to.” – Dorie (21:01, about overcomplicating simple recipes)
• “French people don’t bake the way we do… But the yogurt cake is one that just about everyone knows how to make.” – Dorie (19:19-19:45)
• “There are no little green squares in any of my cakes” – Dorie, distancing her recipes from traditional fruitcake (11:16)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:17 – Snacking cakes: what they are and why they matter
• 03:20 – “Wiggle” cakes: encouraging flexibility in baking
• 04:15 – Importance of using a scale and weighing ingredients
• 05:17 – The “fundamental four” ingredients for baking
• 07:12 – The necessity of oven thermometers
• 08:06 – Chocolate-glazed carrot cake: listener suggestion and Dorie’s reaction
• 08:44 – Seasonal harvest cake and fruit substitutions
• 11:25 – Brazilian carrot cake revelation
• 13:01 – Inspiration and evolution of the Thanksgiving “morning, noon, and night” cake
• 14:23 – Sasha’s grated apple cake for moist apple lovers
• 16:02 – Dorie’s pistachio cake and the story behind it
• 17:31 – Salty/savory cakes and their flexibility
• 18:09 – Martha from Second Chance Foods: baking for hunger relief
• 19:14 – Best cake for beginners: yogurt cake
• 20:40 – “The easy book”: No complicated cakes in Dorie’s new collection

Closing Thoughts

This episode is both inviting and warm, echoing Dorie’s philosophy that cakes should be approachable and fun for everyone. Practical tips, cultural anecdotes, and audience participation highlight how cakes are woven into everyday life—all delivered in Dorie’s reassuring, joyful tone. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a complete novice, Dorie’s wisdom makes it feel possible (and exciting) to have “cake on the counter” anytime.