What The Heck Is A Snacking Cake?

Snacking is often an impromptu act of tending to a spontaneous craving, but what do you do when the between-meals morsel on your mind is a homemade piece of cake? Thankfully, that's where "snacking cakes" come in.

As a sweet treat, snacking cakes are characterized by their laissez-faire baking approach and permission to experiment with new and unique flavor combinations of your heart's desire. They're usually single-layered, frosted or not, and cut into smaller, individual portions. You can keep them around the kitchen for whenever you or someone else wants to nosh on a confectionery delight. You might also serve them at the end of a dinner party or take them for a potluck. In addition to being a fun treat, snacking cakes can be satisfying to the soul.

Snack cakes aren't anything new. Hostess and Little Debbie cakes might be as nostalgic as cakes your mom made and left on the counter for the week. That said, "snacking cakes" are different from their commercial cousins. They're typically homemade yet rustic, so they use regular pantry items, one bowl to mix things in, and baking pans you likely have at home.

What makes snacking cakes easy (and a fantastic choice to just have around) is that they're essentially a blank canvas that's flexible to your creativity and cravings without sacrificing convenience. The baked good can offer self-expression in the form of a no-fuss, simple yet divine cake slice. The best part is the lack of stress when baking your creation: A snacking cake doesn't require the meticulous precision or decoration you might apply to a dessert for a special occasion. As an everyday treat, you can really approach a snacking cake as such.

If you don't have a rectangle or round baking pan, you could even make yours in a sheet or loaf pan — literally anything works. Bundt? Just fine. An eight-by-eight square pan? Go for it. Moreover, if you want frosting, there are no rules regarding whether it's homemade or store-bought — though do keep in mind that store-bought frosting can be improved with just butter. Depending on the recipe or your preference, you even might want a simple sugar-dusted topping instead. If you truly want something convenient, low-effort, and satisfying, the batter itself could be boxed.

Just because making snacking cakes is simple doesn't mean the flavor profiles need to be too. Baking them is a great time to experiment with your sweet treat's flavors. Regarding inspiration, think about what you're craving at the moment or what you might want later in the week — or get sustainable and incorporate locally grown, seasonable fruit and veg into your cakes. Think something along the lines of a pumpkin upside-down cake with caramelized pears in autumn – or wine-soaked plums atop a simple French yogurt cake in summer.

Also, consider how you can balance the sweetness of your dessert by incorporating other flavors. Sweet-spot-hitting snaking cakes can be complex in nuance — if you want them to be — while still being the product of an easy-going baking approach.

Feel free to include different levels of richness whether it be the vibrant tartness of citrus fruit, the warmth of cinnamon, or the slight bitterness of a dusting of cocoa powder. Pulling flavor inspiration from other baked goods recipes could be another fun approach. How does a triple chocolate snacking cake with a layer of buttered, salted caramel sound? Or maybe a sugar-dusted apple cider version? You can even follow Duff Goldman's easy advice for elevating boxed cake mix to make something unique but so, so easy. The possibilities are endless.