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I cannot believe it is nearly November and soon all the major holidays are coming up. It is the time when guests are keep coming over, and the question is what dessert to serve for the more casual gatherings? At this time I am thinking of a simple cake for snacking, which would channel the season.
Fruits, nuts, and spices are the signature of fall holiday baking, most especially in fruitcake but in all kinds of other cakes as well. Meanwhile, sour cherries are a cherished favorite of mine since childhood, not to be confused with their sweet but bland cousins, and I have a a few packs in the freezer.
Coffee cake is one of the most guest-friendly cakes you can serve. It is easy to make, it is light, it keeps well (not in my place; it disappears in a New York minute), and it tastes delightful. So I had the outline of my dessert.
I felt I still needed a twist to make the cake stand out. I was thinking to add a streusel top, a coarse crumb mixture of butter, sugar, flour, spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and usually ground nuts. But this is a “standard” addition on coffee cakes so it will not make the cake distinct.
Suddenly, I remembered that I had chocolate tart dough in the freezer, ready to be filled. I thought, why not try breaking it to small bits and pieces and use these pieces as topping on the coffee cake. It is similar to cookie dough, so it should look and taste as chocolate cookie crumbs. What is wrong with that? Moreover, it should add an interesting texture to the cake as well. And yes, it makes the cake a perfect fit into the chocolate marathon month on the blog that I just started with the chocolate mousse. So, I rolled up my sleeves and went to work.
I’ve been looking for an opportunity to give back to all my loyal readers.
A few days back, we reviewed the Gluten-Free Made Simple cookbook, written by the women of the Dahlstrom family. Since then I became friends with Marcia Dahlstrom, co-author of the book, exchanged ideas and I even baked a blondie from the book. You will not believe it but the entire process took me less than 40 minutes, including the 25 minutes baking time. Compared to some of the other baking processes I am used to work with, this was amazingly easy.
This book definitely stands out from other similar books with the wealth of information it provides to its readers. I am so impressed with the book’s organization, content, recipes and other useful data that I though this book is a nice way to express my thanks to you, my readers, followers and fans by announcing this giveaway.
Chocolates and Figs is giving away 4 signed copies of this cookbook. 
To take part all you need is to:
1. Become a Fan of our Facebook Page.
2. Leave a comment here.
3. Follow us on twitter.
4. Like us on Facebook.
You can gain extra entries by:
5. Subscribing to this blog.
6. Tweeting about this.
7. Mentioning the giveaway on FB.
8. Like any of the listed authors.
9. Follow any of the authors on twitter.
For each regular and extra entry, please be sure to come back and leave a comment here to make us aware of your participation.
The contest starts immediately and closes on Friday, October 7 at midnight, EST, after which time the lucky winners will be selected randomly by lottery for each book. The winners will be announced the following day and we will feature them on the blog and on social network as the winners of our awesome giveaway.
Thanks for participating and Good Luck! See interview with Gluten Free Made Simple co-author Elizabeth Dahlstrom Burnley below.
