Strawberry Clafouti (Pudding Cake)

On June 19, 2025June 19, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

When the name of a recipe tempts you to try it, a delicious result feels like a bonus. That was the case for me and clafouti, as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. The pudding cake, with its uneven edges and layer of fruit that it arranges itself naturally as it rises to the top, isn’t as fancy as ganache-glazed cakes, precisely arranged tarts and neatly rounded scoops of sorbet that you might make for a special occasion (like, say, Twice as Tasty’s 9th anniversary). But boy, does clafouti taste good.

Claflouti (pronounced “claw-foo-tee”) reminds me of other sweet treats that are fun to say. Snickerdoodles have been a favorite since childhood. I’ve written about several others for Taste of Home, including Melomakarona and Apple Pandowdy.
Learn to make Strawberry Clafouti

Loaf-Pan Lemon Cake

On March 13, 2025March 13, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

The recipe this week in my Twice as Tasty column on the Flathead Beacon website was intended for another Beacon publication: the Flathead Valley Family magazine. The latest edition of the magazine—in all its printed-page, glossy glory—hit the valley’s streets about a week ago. It includes an article that I filled with kid-friendly recipes, with the help of some of my favorite kid chefs.

My “Cooking with Kids!” feature offers breakfast, dinner, pickle, and cookie recipes all easily made by kids (with adult help, depending on the head chef’s age and experience). Be sure to pick up a printed copy of Flathead Valley Family or, if you’re not local, check out the full article online.

The Russell, Steck, and Van Ness families had so many great ideas that I knew we wouldn’t fit all of the recipes in the printed space. I tested and perfected this lemon loaf cake recipe anyway, and the Beacon’s media director, Hunter D’Antuono, took mouth-watering pictures of it during our photo shoot. My niece, who was making cheese with me at the age of 4, is an experienced-enough baker in her middle school years to make this cake on her own.
Learn to make Loaf-Pan Lemon Cake

Triple Ginger Cake

On June 20, 2024June 20, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

Cake has been on my mind these last few weeks as I’ve been celebrating milestones. My family calendar includes numerous May birthdays, which are always occasions to bake a cake or pie. This year, we also celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. I baked them the stacked version of Chocolate Pudding Cake filled with homemade strawberry-rhubarb-lilac jam, coated with Chocolate Ganache, and topped with fresh strawberries.

This month, I’m celebrating 8 years of Twice as Tasty, so I’m sharing yet another cake recipe in my latest Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I developed this recipe to use three forms of ginger, mimicking the layers of flavor in my favorite Triple Gingersnaps. But unlike the crisp cookies, I always want my cakes to be moist and soft. This cake achieves that through molasses, eggs, and baking soda dissolved in hot water.
Learn to make Triple Ginger Cake

Chocolate Pudding Cake, Snack or Stacked

On June 29, 2023November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

Seven years! Seven years ago, I started writing the Twice as Tasty blog. What started as a personal project led to workshops and house concerts, a cookbook and a column, and the launchpad for so much of the other food writing I do today. I’m especially appreciative of those of you who have been following my journey from the beginning, and I’m thrilled that so many more of you have joined in over the years.

To celebrate, I share my favorite chocolate cake recipe this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. When I say “my favorite,” really I mean that unless I have a surplus of zucchini, this is the only chocolate cake I make. My mom discovered the original recipe when I was still a teenager. I’ve made a few tweaks but I’ve never needed another technique because this one is that good.
Learn to make Chocolate Pudding Cake, Snack or Stacked