17 Classic Recipes From Baking Legend Cheryl Day
Something I’ve noticed about Cheryl Day’s baking recipes is that her textures are always spot-on. Whether it’s the soft, cottony crumb of her Cold Oven Pound Cake, or the towering, flaky layers of her biscuits, each bite—tender and luscious, or crunching and then giving way—transports me back to my childhood. “I think about what people are craving every day, and make things that are very textural in quality,” she tells me over Zoom. “I like to think of myself as a very intuitive baker.”
Day, who originally hails from Los Angeles, sees common ground between California-style baking and her signature Southern style of seasonal baking. “I like to play around with different spices and botanicals. Things a lot of bakers wouldn’t normally turn to, like coriander.” I mentioned to Day that one of my very first Epi assignments focused on using biochemistry to improve your baking, and that the combination of coriander and blueberry featured heavily in the piece. “See?!” she says, laughing. “That's an intuition I didn’t even know I had.”
Day’s interest in baking began at home, in her mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens. “I learned from an early age that I could spend quality time with her if we did something together that she loved, and that was baking. Same with my grandmother.” Both her mother and grandmother loved baking pies and cakes, passing on a wealth of knowledge that became Day’s foundation. “I lost my mom when I was 22, and I’m just so grateful for all that time we spent together in the kitchen. It’s something special that we shared, and that I’ll always carry with me.”
Day gets inspiration every day from the young bakers and chefs in her community. “One of my missions in life, with Treasury of Southern Baking, is to tell stories of my Black heritage, whether my personal stories, or things from history that people would normally know nothing about,” she says. As an extension of that mission, Day currently uses her platform to spotlight people in her community through a program called Lift Every Voice. “I named it after a Black anthem, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ that I learned from my mom and used to sing as a kid.”
The program shines a spotlight on up-and-coming local chefs in a series of pop-ups at Day’s bakery and studio. “I handle the baking, and they do all the cooking, and we just try to get more eyes on what these young, rising stars are doing,” she explains. “In the world we live in, people of color, we’re never just handed anything. You can’t get a seat at the table, because you don’t even know where the table is.” And so Day helps young chefs carve out their own spaces and encourages them to find their voices.
Day also extends a helping hand to Black-owned restaurants both new and established through Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice (SRRJ), which she cofounded with Lisa Donovan, Sarah O’Brien, and Anne Quatrano in 2020. Initially started as a pandemic relief fund for Black-owned restaurants, SRRJ has grown exponentially over the past three years, with grants to around 150 restaurants. SRRJ, Day says, began as a response to the inequality Black-owned businesses face every day. “Things weren’t handed to me and, dare I say, probably not you either,” she explains, pointing out our shared status as non-white chefs and writers. “My husband is white, so I know firsthand that if he walks into a bank for a loan and I walk into a bank for a loan, we’re getting different results.”
In addition to all of her daily duties with SRRJ and Back in the Day Bakery, and answering emails from overly enthusiastic Epicurious editors, Day has already starting work on another cookbook. “I thought with Southern Treasury, I was done, that I’d told all the stories I wanted to tell, and that was it,” she says. “But I guess I’m not done!”
While we wait (as patiently as we can) for Day’s newest project, we’ll be in the kitchen, returning to old favorites—and learning new baking tricks—from the Cheryl Day books we’ve collected. She’s helped us improve the texture and rise of our pound cakes by starting them in a cold oven. She’s taught us the history of Southern specialties, like Lane Cake. And when we needed ideas for what to do with leftover biscuits, Day was there for us.
Before we parted ways, I asked Day what she wished people would bake more often at home. “I want people to bake their kids’ birthday cakes,” she answered. “I don’t expect people to bake biscuits every day, or pies, or whatever, but once a year, skip the grocery store Spider-Man cake, and take the time to bake your kid’s birthday cake. It’ll be so much more special, and they’ll remember that as adults.” No, reader. I’m not crying. You’re crying. Now stop looking at me and go find your whisk and mixing bowls. We’ve got baking to do.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert2/17Southern Party Mix
There are many ways to use leftover biscuits, but have you considered turning them into croutons and adding them to snack mix? We hadn’t either, until Day shared this recipe from her book, Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking, with us.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova4/17Lane Cake
Also known as Prize Cake, this beloved dessert is layered with a whiskey-flavored custard frosting filled with coconut, pecans, and raisins.
Photo by Squire Fox5/17Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
The crumb topping on this sweet and sour dessert from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook gets its pleasing texture and crunch from a dose of oats and cornmeal. Every bite is like a spoonful of early summer.
Photograph by Christopher Testani, Food styling by Victoria Granof, prop styling by Alex Brannian6/17Sweet Potato Loaf Cake With Dark Chocolate Ganache
Photograph by Christopher Testani. Food styling by Victoria Granof. Prop styling by Alex Brannian.7/17Mini Baked Alaskas
Photograph by Christopher Testani, Food styling by Victoria Granof, prop styling by Alex Brannian8/17Apple-Rose Pie
Photo by Squire Fox9/17Honey Oat Cookies
These chewy cookies, which appear in Day’s book Back in the Day Bakery: Made with Love, get a mellow dose of sweetness from brown sugar and honey. A generous smear of semisweet chocolate balances each bite.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich10/17Cold Oven Pound Cake
The simple trick to getting this cake’s signature rise and delicate crumb is to start baking it in a cold oven so it comes to temperature slowly as the oven heats.
Photograph by Christopher Testani, Food styling by Victoria Granof, prop styling by Alex Brannian11/17Lavender-Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Picture lavender-scented lemonade, but in cookie form, and you’ll get these bright, floral, chewy cookies. Great to bring along to a summer picnic in a flower meadow.
Photograph by Christopher Testani, Food styling by Victoria Granof, prop styling by Alex Brannian12/17Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Day gave this retro dessert a little facelift by swapping out the neon maraschino cherries of our youths with stunning Luxardo cocktail cherries.
Photo by Angie Mosier17/17Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake
A quintessential coffee cake recipe, but with a honey drizzle on the crumb topping. This Cheryl Day recipe is fancy enough for special occasions or Sunday brunch.
