Look at those cakes...so beautiful!
To see more shots of the new location, check out the original post on DesignSponge
12.17.2008
It's all about the cake.
Sure I'm happy that the new Baked is opening up in Charleston. But what makes me ever happier? This shot of the interior:
Look at those cakes...so beautiful!
To see more shots of the new location, check out the original post on DesignSponge
Look at those cakes...so beautiful!
To see more shots of the new location, check out the original post on DesignSponge
12.11.2008
I am so behind with posting that I have no idea where to begin...
Somehow, I just plain forgot to take any pictures of last week's Cake Thursday cake. Though it did look like any old chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting, it was not—it contained a secret ingredient.
This was the invite I sent out:
I watched as everyone ate and tried to guess. After everything from beets and sweet potatoes to cyanide (?!) were called out, I paused, as the small crowd circled around me, and said...
"Sauerkraut."
A simultaneous gasp was emitted, followed by puzzled looks and laughter. You could absolutely not taste the sauerkraut, though it did add a little texture to the cake. And a very good cake it was: richly chocolaty, moist, and dense. Though the recipe I used came from Maida Heater's wonderful book, Cakes (now out-of-print, though available used online), a basic Google search reveals plenty of others to choose from should you be interested.
______________________________________________
My co-worker, Amy, recently celebrated a birthday. In honor of the occasion, I baked a Hummingbird Cake, one of her favorites. As a pretty spur-of-the-moment decorator, I used a color printout of a hummingbird taped to a coffee stirrer to personalize it for her.
_______________________________________________
Last, but not least, I finally made it to the Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar.
The pastry chef, Christina Tosi (whom I recognized from reading this New York magazine interview), kindly let me take an action shot of her at work:
After fawning over her for a moment, (I'm a sucker for pastry chefs—they're like movie stars to me.) I bought a cereal milk and a slice of the Pistachio Cake. The milk was consumed on the spot. It tasted, well, exactly like its name. As a fan of such tastes, I loved it.
The cake was packed up in a box...
for the subway ride home with me. I finally dug into it later that evening.
It was quite good, moist and bright, though I will admit to it tasting a little like Fruity Pebbles...
Maybe cereal milk is her secret ingredient?
This was the invite I sent out:
I watched as everyone ate and tried to guess. After everything from beets and sweet potatoes to cyanide (?!) were called out, I paused, as the small crowd circled around me, and said...
"Sauerkraut."
A simultaneous gasp was emitted, followed by puzzled looks and laughter. You could absolutely not taste the sauerkraut, though it did add a little texture to the cake. And a very good cake it was: richly chocolaty, moist, and dense. Though the recipe I used came from Maida Heater's wonderful book, Cakes (now out-of-print, though available used online), a basic Google search reveals plenty of others to choose from should you be interested.
______________________________________________
My co-worker, Amy, recently celebrated a birthday. In honor of the occasion, I baked a Hummingbird Cake, one of her favorites. As a pretty spur-of-the-moment decorator, I used a color printout of a hummingbird taped to a coffee stirrer to personalize it for her.
_______________________________________________
Last, but not least, I finally made it to the Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar.
The pastry chef, Christina Tosi (whom I recognized from reading this New York magazine interview), kindly let me take an action shot of her at work:
After fawning over her for a moment, (I'm a sucker for pastry chefs—they're like movie stars to me.) I bought a cereal milk and a slice of the Pistachio Cake. The milk was consumed on the spot. It tasted, well, exactly like its name. As a fan of such tastes, I loved it.
The cake was packed up in a box...
for the subway ride home with me. I finally dug into it later that evening.
It was quite good, moist and bright, though I will admit to it tasting a little like Fruity Pebbles...
Maybe cereal milk is her secret ingredient?
12.02.2008
Cake Thursday: November 20th
THE INVITATION:
click to enlarge
*THE CAKE:
(Hint: Work-appropriate images of whips are hard to find on the web.)
*Whipped Cream Layer Cake with Caramel Whipped Cream Frosting
click to enlarge
*THE CAKE:
(Hint: Work-appropriate images of whips are hard to find on the web.)
*Whipped Cream Layer Cake with Caramel Whipped Cream Frosting
11.20.2008
Making Up for 22 Missed Birthdays
I recently had the pleasure of re-connecting with my childhood best friend, Kate. We lived across the street from each other until we were ten and my family moved away.
Fast forward to a few months ago when, overcome with nostalgia, I decided to do a good old google search. Though it took a bit of calculated digging, I found someone who seemed to fit the bill.
So I wrote.
Not only was it her, but it turns out she's been in NY the entire time I have. Crazy.
Since then, we've gotten together a few times and found that we still get along brilliantly. This past weekend Kate and her husband, Aaron, held a joint birthday party (they share the same birthday—even crazier) at a wacky downtown Bulgarian Disco. Though that's normally not the type of place I drag a cake to, having over two decades of missed birthdays to make up for, there was no way I couldn't.
Aaron and Kate blowing out the candles on a Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Silk Frosting (both recipes from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread).
Kate, count me in for the next 22 (at least)!
Fast forward to a few months ago when, overcome with nostalgia, I decided to do a good old google search. Though it took a bit of calculated digging, I found someone who seemed to fit the bill.
So I wrote.
Not only was it her, but it turns out she's been in NY the entire time I have. Crazy.
Since then, we've gotten together a few times and found that we still get along brilliantly. This past weekend Kate and her husband, Aaron, held a joint birthday party (they share the same birthday—even crazier) at a wacky downtown Bulgarian Disco. Though that's normally not the type of place I drag a cake to, having over two decades of missed birthdays to make up for, there was no way I couldn't.
Aaron and Kate blowing out the candles on a Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Silk Frosting (both recipes from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread).
Kate, count me in for the next 22 (at least)!
11.14.2008
11.13.2008
Cake Thursday: November 6th
PS: I cheated and used the updated recipe for this cake in Greg Patents wonderful book, Baking in America
11.06.2008
What a week.
Between Halloween and the election, I've been going cake-crazy. Tonight I'll be baking my fourth cake since Oct. 30th...
when I baked and decorated the above as my entry to our company Halloween party's"Deadly and Delicious Dessert Contest."
An homage to the classic Hitchcock film, The Birds, it was a red velvet cake (from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread) with Swiss Meringue Buttercream tinted what I called "Technicolor® Pink."
Though it failed to nab a prize from corporate (maybe the bird cutout pecking at the cake highlighted by extra red food coloring was too much for them?), I did manage to snag the coveted, much-better-than-any-other-prize...
a Peoples Choice Award! (Thank you must be given to my wonderful co-workers for their unending support, good looks, and smarts. Love to Evan and our cat. This is for you, Mom!)
But onto the more exciting event of the past nine days...
The election and the outcome that has given me a feeling of excitement and possibility for the future of this country that I have not felt, well, since Clinton—and I was too young and broke to be excited about much more than a 20 cent raise. Seriously.
We had some friends over that night to watch the results come in. Along with snacks and bottles of bubbly waiting patiently in the fridge to come out and accompany cheering or crying, there was a cake.
An Election Cake, to be specific.
This tasty, yeast-risen cake is estimated to date back to Hartford, Connecticut in the early 1700's where, though specifics vary, it was eaten on election days. There are numerous recipes out there, but the one I ended up going with is from a November 2006 Washington Post piece.
The resulting cake was tender with an anticipated bready texture and a taste similar to a cinnamon roll or, according to one friend, a cinnamon raisin bagel.
It goes very well with Prosecco and loud, happy cheering.
when I baked and decorated the above as my entry to our company Halloween party's"Deadly and Delicious Dessert Contest."
An homage to the classic Hitchcock film, The Birds, it was a red velvet cake (from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread) with Swiss Meringue Buttercream tinted what I called "Technicolor® Pink."
Though it failed to nab a prize from corporate (maybe the bird cutout pecking at the cake highlighted by extra red food coloring was too much for them?), I did manage to snag the coveted, much-better-than-any-other-prize...
a Peoples Choice Award! (Thank you must be given to my wonderful co-workers for their unending support, good looks, and smarts. Love to Evan and our cat. This is for you, Mom!)
But onto the more exciting event of the past nine days...
The election and the outcome that has given me a feeling of excitement and possibility for the future of this country that I have not felt, well, since Clinton—and I was too young and broke to be excited about much more than a 20 cent raise. Seriously.
We had some friends over that night to watch the results come in. Along with snacks and bottles of bubbly waiting patiently in the fridge to come out and accompany cheering or crying, there was a cake.
An Election Cake, to be specific.
This tasty, yeast-risen cake is estimated to date back to Hartford, Connecticut in the early 1700's where, though specifics vary, it was eaten on election days. There are numerous recipes out there, but the one I ended up going with is from a November 2006 Washington Post piece.
The resulting cake was tender with an anticipated bready texture and a taste similar to a cinnamon roll or, according to one friend, a cinnamon raisin bagel.
It goes very well with Prosecco and loud, happy cheering.
10.28.2008
Cake Thursday: October23rd
THE INVITATION:
Adjective
Function:
noun
Date:
14th century
A word belonging to one of the major form classes in any of numerous languages and typically serving as a modifier of a noun to denote a quality of the thing named, to indicate its quantity or extent, or to specify a thing as distinct from something else.
Example sentence usage:
Today's Cake Thursday cake is a creamy, tangy, intense yet plain-as-day cheesecake on top of a gooey, sticky ginger base.
____________________
Taste the adjectives today at 4 PM, the Pit.
THE CAKE:
CLOSE-UP:
Recipe from dependable Dorrie, Baking from My Home to Yours
Adjective
Function:
noun
Date:
14th century
A word belonging to one of the major form classes in any of numerous languages and typically serving as a modifier of a noun to denote a quality of the thing named, to indicate its quantity or extent, or to specify a thing as distinct from something else.
Example sentence usage:
Today's Cake Thursday cake is a creamy, tangy, intense yet plain-as-day cheesecake on top of a gooey, sticky ginger base.
____________________
Taste the adjectives today at 4 PM, the Pit.
THE CAKE:
CLOSE-UP:
Recipe from dependable Dorrie, Baking from My Home to Yours
10.23.2008
Q: What's highly addictive, snowy white, and mind-numbing?
A: The Coconut Cake I made to celebrate my lovely boss Lynn's birthday.
What, were you thinking of something else?
10.21.2008
Halloween
...is the one and only holiday that my company holds a party for. A little weird, right? Even weirder is the fact that it's a really crazy party during the work day with costumes, decorations, and kegs of beer.
This year they are having a "Deadly and Delicious Dessert Contest" which I, for one, am far more excited about than anything else.
Anyway, I mention all this because I saw a cake up on marthastewart.com:
I wish I had the time to do such a thing as, it is, without a doubt, an ass-kicking cake.
This year they are having a "Deadly and Delicious Dessert Contest" which I, for one, am far more excited about than anything else.
Anyway, I mention all this because I saw a cake up on marthastewart.com:
I wish I had the time to do such a thing as, it is, without a doubt, an ass-kicking cake.
10.16.2008
10.08.2008
Fresh Apple Cake
made from the lovely Cortlands my co-worker Ali brought me from her apple picking trip last weekend.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
10.07.2008
There's a chill in the air,
the smell of dying leaves, and every-day-earlier dusk.
Oh, how I love this time of year. Cooler weather, scarves, and sweaters. Eating soup makes sense again and, blissfully, I no longer need be afraid to turn on the oven for fear of making the apartment even hotter— and myself even crankier (let's just say I'm not a summer person).
Baking season has begun, and I dove in with a vengeance. Along with baking almost daily a non-cake thing (Focaccia, bread, muffins, pizza crust), I've been experimenting with a few simple cakes these past few weeks...
First up:
Vanilla-Rum Pound Cake with Lemon Zest for Kicks
Oh, how I love this time of year. Cooler weather, scarves, and sweaters. Eating soup makes sense again and, blissfully, I no longer need be afraid to turn on the oven for fear of making the apartment even hotter— and myself even crankier (let's just say I'm not a summer person).
Baking season has begun, and I dove in with a vengeance. Along with baking almost daily a non-cake thing (Focaccia, bread, muffins, pizza crust), I've been experimenting with a few simple cakes these past few weeks...
First up:
Vanilla-Rum Pound Cake with Lemon Zest for Kicks
9.30.2008
Cake Thursday: September 25th
I had every intention of posting this on Tuesday (when I started it)...and every day since then. I kept thinking I'd wait until I was near the book from which the recipe came in order to add it to the post, but I seem to be out more than home these days.
So, two things:
1) I'm just gonna go for it and post the damn thing already. If you'd like the recipe and don't have the book, feel free to drop me a note and I'll shoot it off to you.
2) Though I love alliteration, I'm doing away with the whole "Tuesday on Cake Thursday" thing, and will just post about the previous week's Cake Thursday as soon as time allows during the week following.
Now that official business is out of the way...
Rum-Scented Marble Bundt Cake.
Look at that swoosh!
The recipe is from the new Nick Malgieri book, The Modern Baker (which I've posted about a few times already), and made a superb cake—moist and subtle and comforting. Everyone seemed to love it. Some even said it was their favorite I've baked for CT so far, which just confirms my belief that, though a stunning and complex cake is always impressive, it's the simple, old-fashioned ones that always render people mute with drowsy happiness.
So, two things:
1) I'm just gonna go for it and post the damn thing already. If you'd like the recipe and don't have the book, feel free to drop me a note and I'll shoot it off to you.
2) Though I love alliteration, I'm doing away with the whole "Tuesday on Cake Thursday" thing, and will just post about the previous week's Cake Thursday as soon as time allows during the week following.
Now that official business is out of the way...
Rum-Scented Marble Bundt Cake.
Look at that swoosh!
The recipe is from the new Nick Malgieri book, The Modern Baker (which I've posted about a few times already), and made a superb cake—moist and subtle and comforting. Everyone seemed to love it. Some even said it was their favorite I've baked for CT so far, which just confirms my belief that, though a stunning and complex cake is always impressive, it's the simple, old-fashioned ones that always render people mute with drowsy happiness.
9.29.2008
9.26.2008
Addictions.
I have many. These include (but are certainly not limited to) cake, baking things other than cake, cooking, design, cardigan sweaters, coffee, and books. I really love books. Especially books that are about any of my other addictions (or at least the first few on the list).
To illustrate, this is my calendar at work:
I get so excited for new books that I tape postage stamp-sized covers on the date of release for specific titles. And October is no exception as its chock-full of baking books—but not just any baking books. I am so excited about these, I'm considering pre-ordering them.
Baked
Ok, Baked is already out and on its way to me as I type this. That said, it's from my favorite bakery in Brooklyn and happens to sell the cake that started it all.
For more Baked goodness, check out this recent interview and cookie demo on Design Sponge
The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread
I've posted about her Black and White cake before and have lamented the fact that I just could not figure out how to make a chocolate cake that tasted quite like hers. Imagine my excitement when I saw that the cake of my dreams is shown on the cover! With the recipe finally in my hands, my cocoa costs should go down considerably.
Last but not least is...
BakeWise
This is Shirley O. Corriher's follow-up to her splendid CookWise. She reminds me of a ridiculously smart, down-to-earth aunt and I would love to spend a day in a kitchen with her. I suppose the book will just have to do. For now (hey, you never know).
To illustrate, this is my calendar at work:
I get so excited for new books that I tape postage stamp-sized covers on the date of release for specific titles. And October is no exception as its chock-full of baking books—but not just any baking books. I am so excited about these, I'm considering pre-ordering them.
Baked
Ok, Baked is already out and on its way to me as I type this. That said, it's from my favorite bakery in Brooklyn and happens to sell the cake that started it all.
For more Baked goodness, check out this recent interview and cookie demo on Design Sponge
The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread
I've posted about her Black and White cake before and have lamented the fact that I just could not figure out how to make a chocolate cake that tasted quite like hers. Imagine my excitement when I saw that the cake of my dreams is shown on the cover! With the recipe finally in my hands, my cocoa costs should go down considerably.
Last but not least is...
BakeWise
This is Shirley O. Corriher's follow-up to her splendid CookWise. She reminds me of a ridiculously smart, down-to-earth aunt and I would love to spend a day in a kitchen with her. I suppose the book will just have to do. For now (hey, you never know).
9.22.2008
Additions to the Cake Creation/Consumption Record Log
9/13: Baked Cocoa Madeleines; served with tiny scoops of chocolate ice cream.
They were so-so. The ice cream was delicious. Am still searching for the perfect Madeleine recipe. Any suggestions?
9/20: Visited Penny Licks in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a slice of their Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Mousse Layer Cake I'd read about on Serious Eats: New York.
This is the lovely photo that accompanied their post:
And this is the photo I shot:
Note frosting relocation due to jarring travels as well as an interesting layer arrangement.
Too eager to take a taste, I ate it right out of box.
Q. Was it worth the bad photograph?
A. Absolutely. It was wonderful.
UPDATE: I realized that just saying "it was wonderful" about the cake above simply would not do. It was a sublime piece of cake—vegan or not. I spent the next few days avoiding the bakery, thereby avoiding buying up a whole cake to slowly devour.
They were so-so. The ice cream was delicious. Am still searching for the perfect Madeleine recipe. Any suggestions?
9/20: Visited Penny Licks in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a slice of their Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Mousse Layer Cake I'd read about on Serious Eats: New York.
This is the lovely photo that accompanied their post:
And this is the photo I shot:
Note frosting relocation due to jarring travels as well as an interesting layer arrangement.
Too eager to take a taste, I ate it right out of box.
Q. Was it worth the bad photograph?
A. Absolutely. It was wonderful.
UPDATE: I realized that just saying "it was wonderful" about the cake above simply would not do. It was a sublime piece of cake—vegan or not. I spent the next few days avoiding the bakery, thereby avoiding buying up a whole cake to slowly devour.
9.16.2008
Tuesday on Cake Thursday: September 12th
This...
is a wonderful book. Buy it now.
The design is outstanding, the instructions and additions clear, and I tabbed half of the recipes the first few days I had it. Oh, and it just happens to contain the formula for one of my absolute favorite cakes: the Brown Sugar Lightening Cake.
It's a simple, easy-to-prepare cake that tastes lovely plain or with a light snow of powdered sugar. But what is so miraculous about this recipe is, as the book title suggests, how you can improvise it.
For this past Cake Thursday, I wanted something with coconut. Initially, I was going to make a different cake, one that I've had on my mind for two years. I bought all of the ingredients, separated the eggs, mixed and baked the cake.
It came out of the oven chewy and scary-sweet and I gave it to the garbage can. Classic.
So there I was Wednesday night, 8 pm, craving coconut and needing to bake something for CT, when I remembered that glorious, simple cake Sally Schneider gave to the world.
And so I improvised and made a Brown Sugar Lightening Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting and Toasted Coconut.
The basic recipe is here.
As I did not have any buttermilk or yogurt on hand, I used whole milk and sour cream. I also substituted almond extract for the bourbon.
After the cake had cooled, I split it in half, smeared a generous amount of whipped cream between the layers, and covered the whole cake in more whipped cream and a delicate crust of toasted (unsweetened cause that's how I like it) coconut.
It was utterly delightful, not terribly sweet and incredibly fragrant. I was a little worried that the almond extract would overwhelm as I did a straight substitution (1 tsp.), mixed it in, and then remembered how potent that extract can be.
Thankfully, no harm done.
The basic recipe is one to memorize, share, and bake. Often.
Yes, it is that good.
P.S. I once tried the recipe with buttermilk and orange flower water and after the first bite swooned like a damsel in need of a fainting couch.
is a wonderful book. Buy it now.
The design is outstanding, the instructions and additions clear, and I tabbed half of the recipes the first few days I had it. Oh, and it just happens to contain the formula for one of my absolute favorite cakes: the Brown Sugar Lightening Cake.
It's a simple, easy-to-prepare cake that tastes lovely plain or with a light snow of powdered sugar. But what is so miraculous about this recipe is, as the book title suggests, how you can improvise it.
For this past Cake Thursday, I wanted something with coconut. Initially, I was going to make a different cake, one that I've had on my mind for two years. I bought all of the ingredients, separated the eggs, mixed and baked the cake.
It came out of the oven chewy and scary-sweet and I gave it to the garbage can. Classic.
So there I was Wednesday night, 8 pm, craving coconut and needing to bake something for CT, when I remembered that glorious, simple cake Sally Schneider gave to the world.
And so I improvised and made a Brown Sugar Lightening Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting and Toasted Coconut.
The basic recipe is here.
As I did not have any buttermilk or yogurt on hand, I used whole milk and sour cream. I also substituted almond extract for the bourbon.
After the cake had cooled, I split it in half, smeared a generous amount of whipped cream between the layers, and covered the whole cake in more whipped cream and a delicate crust of toasted (unsweetened cause that's how I like it) coconut.
It was utterly delightful, not terribly sweet and incredibly fragrant. I was a little worried that the almond extract would overwhelm as I did a straight substitution (1 tsp.), mixed it in, and then remembered how potent that extract can be.
Thankfully, no harm done.
The basic recipe is one to memorize, share, and bake. Often.
Yes, it is that good.
P.S. I once tried the recipe with buttermilk and orange flower water and after the first bite swooned like a damsel in need of a fainting couch.
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