Jeanine proudly unveiled her second attempt at an Almond and Espresso Torte with Velvet Chocolate Cream. The first one didn’t make it past the inversion stage; in an instant, it transformed into what she later christened “Mish Mash Moo Super Bowl Dessert.”

As she groaned, “Oh no,” Kyle looked over and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“There’s a problem,” she sighed.

But Nico, ever solution-oriented, jumped in with a quick fix—sprinkling chocolate chips and pecans across the wreckage to make it taste as good as it looked messy. A fine treat while we watched the Super Bowl with the boys.

Undeterred, Jeanine woke up early the next morning, baked the cake again (a little longer this time), and carefully inverted it on the tray before soaking it with espresso syrup. Success.

The torte was made for a band leader who’d flown all the way from California to Malden, Massachusetts, on his birthday, just to perform protest songs for the Malden Reads program. Jeanine, with her friend Barbara Blankenship, has been developing an idea called “Baking for Good,” a mini-nonprofit that brings baked treats to other nonprofits—either to celebrate milestones or to help with fundraising. This was their second “Baking for Good” project, and since the band leader loves almond-mocha cakes, they knew exactly what to make.

This post was contributed by Jeanine.