Pictures of Cake

I've turned off the oven . . .

2011-11-14T14:08:00.001-05:00

Image source

at Pictures of Cake.
Please visit my new blog, Domestology

Maybe one of the best things ever.

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Where design and baking meet...
Adobe Photoshop Cook

Happy Anniversary My Dear

2011-09-26T09:47:00.000-04:00

One year ago today I was lucky enough to get hitched to an amazing man. Happy anniversary Evan!

And many thanks to the wonderful Betsy of Nine Cakes for this beautiful Golden Almond Cake with Poire William Buttercream.

Dear Jaime,

2011-09-01T09:52:00.002-04:00

Summertime,

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and the living is not always easy. I have been everywhere but by the oven,
The culmination of personal tragedies and more than a few disappointments, not to mention an earthquake and a hurricane all in one week (thankfully mild in my part of the world), have left me, well, sleepy in brain, body, and heart. Thankfully, I am slowly waking up. Cooler weather is coming as is my favorite time of year: Fall and Winter. I'm looking forward to resuming my love with the oven.

I miss my mixer, Stella. I miss unsalted butter, sugar, and flour. I miss cake.

I do not miss dishes.

Here's a few things that I have been doing to pass the time (with pictures!):

Visiting the Pacific Northwest to attend a wedding and see open spaces:

and embroidering on vintage book covers, just for kicks:

I can smell the cake, just around the corner.

Cake Thursday on Monday: July 11

2011-07-11T16:05:00.000-04:00

Ice Box Cake!

The invite:

The cake:

Dear Lissette,

2011-06-30T11:28:00.001-04:00

Recipe: Vanilla Caramel Cake from Cake Thursday on Monday, June 6

PALE VANILLA LAYER CAKE (recipe adapted from Dorrie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake in Baking from My Home to Yours)

Oven: 350 degrees
Butter/Flour/Parchment two 9" cake pans

In a medium bowl, sift together 2 1/4 cups cake flour, 1 tbsp baking power, and 1/2 tsp salt.
In a liquid measuring cup (at least 2 cup capacity), whisk together 1 1/4 c whole milk and 4 large egg whites.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream 1 stick of softened unsalted butter with 1 1/2 cups sugar until very light and fluffy. Beat in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract until well-incorporated. Adjusting the mixer to low speed, beat in 1/2 of the milk/egg mix followed by 1/2 of the dry mix. Once incorporated, add the rest of the milk/egg mixture, followed with the remaining dry ingredients. Beat the batter on medium speed for two minutes to ensure that everything well mixed.
Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top springs back slightly when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the layers cool in the pans for ten minutes or so before removing to racks to cool completely.

VANILLA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM (adapted from recipe adapted from Dorrie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake in Baking from My Home to Yours)

Measure 1 cup sugar and 4 large egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together and set over a sauce pan of simmering water. Continue to whisk the sugar and egg whites until the mixture is shiny and hot (I test for this like a parent does a baby bottle—with a drop on my wrist). Remove from the heat and attach the bowl to the mixer which is fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the bowl is cool to the touch, five minutes or so.
Switch to the paddle attachment and, at medium speed, add 3 sticks of softened unsalted butter a few tablespoons at a time. Once all of the butter is in, mix in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, then let the whole lot beat on medium-high speed until it's fluffy and smooth (should take somewhere between 6 to 10 minutes).

CARAMEL SAUCE (adapted from Gesine Bullock-Prado's Sugar Baby)
Note: For my cake, I halved her original recipe, and have given the version I made below.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan gently stir together 3/4 cups sugar, 1/8 cup water, 1/2 tsp. lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp. salt with a wooden spoon. Set the pan over medium heat and let the concoction cook undisturbed until the color changes to a medium dark copper color. Watch closely as this happens in the blink of an eye.
Remove the pan from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup room-temperature heavy cream to the cooked sugar. It will bubble like crazy, so be careful and patient. Stir in 1 tbsp of softened unsalted butter and return the pan to the stove. Clip on a candy thermometer and heat to a soft boil until the caramel sauce reaches 240 degrees. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

To assemble, spread a generous portion of the cooled caramel sauce atop the bottom layer of the cake. Follow this with a generous layer of buttercream. Top with the second cake layer and do a thin crumb coat of buttercream over the entire cake. Put in the fridge and let cool for 15 or 20 minutes. Remove and frost with the remaining buttercream. Pour the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cake, spreading lightly with a small off-set spatula to help it spill over the sides.

Serve the cake at room temperature. It's a good one.

Cake Thursday on Monday: June 20

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Vegan Chocolate Cake with Fluffy Vegan Strawberry-Rhubarb Frosting.

The invite:

The Cake;

Dreamy Cake Video

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Check out this lovely video by the husband/wife team, Tiger in a Jar

"There is something beautiful about the baking process. The way flour feels in your hands or the sound of eggs cracking on the edge of a bowl. Baking is a gathering of interesting materials, a mixed medium art piece of sorts, that ends in a cake instead of a canvas."

Spotted on TheKitchn

The Art of Cake: Jessica Reed (Me !)

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Posted yesterday at Six Word Story Everyday

The Art of Cake: Corine Viney

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"Corine Viney exhibits her cake shop made out of cake at the Edinburgh College of Art degree show."

(Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

As seen on Jezebel
Also here

Cake Thursday on Monday: June 6

2011-06-07T09:35:00.001-04:00

The invite:

The cake:

Caramel sauce and Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream in between two layers of classic Vanilla Cake, frosted in more Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and drenched with remaining Caramel sauce. Amazing.

Picture of Cake(s)

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A sweet slice of walnut loaf cake and three honey-rich Madelines from Mille-Feuille in Greenwich Village.

The Art of Cake: Joël Penkman

2011-05-31T10:21:00.000-04:00

Black Forest gateau

Spotted on Design*Sponge

Spotted at the newsstand

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How do you mend a broken heart?

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With cake?

What if the cake is the broken heart?

Devil's Food Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream made to mourn the departure of a dear friend and co-worker to a new job.

Fascinating

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Duck Egg Sponge Cake with Cream & Strawberries over at The Kitchn

Cake Thursday on Monday: April 25

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The invite:

The cake:

Recipe

Food In Mind

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At The Center for Book Arts in NYC

I've had this dream before

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From the contributors page of the April 2011 issue of Vogue magazine.

Cake Thursday on Monday: March 28

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The Invite:

The Cake:

The Art of Cake: Samantha Hahn

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Alice Revisits Wonderland by illustrator Samantha Hahn.
Found via the always enlightening blog, Oh Joy!

On the sweetness of simple art and cakes.

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I have been a fan of Nikole Herriott's work for ages. Her cakes! Her blog! Her shop! That said (exclaimed?), when I saw her most recent post, On the Sweetness of Simple and Chocolate Cake, my adoration was cemented (frosted? royal icing-ed?).

There is just . . . something about these photographs. They make me think of Baroque paintings and Caravaggio, Vermeer, and Rembrandt, still lives and rainy afternoons and salons.

The connection between art and cake is something I ponder a lot, on this blog as well as in my own creative work, and it's so lovely to see how she has explored this. Of course, I have no idea if her mind was on Baroque art or old, dead, male painters when she styled these shots. Nor do I know if she was thinking of art at all.

In the text that accompanies these photographs, Nikole writes that she likes "the idea of mixing by hand, of cocoa powder and flour and of sugar and fat. . . . pudding pans and cake tins . . . pink buttercream . . . [and] pewter plates."

There is such a fine line between the everyday and what we call art. So fine, that I usually don't see it at all.

Photographs by John Cullen

All images courtesy of Nikole Herriott. Thank you!

Birthday Cake Truffles

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From Momofuku Milk Bar

Portrait of Cake (rejected): Tunnel of Fudge

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Birthday Cakes

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This past weekend I celebrated my birthday with a small gathering of friends and plenty of cake and champagne . . .

A few had brought confections they had prepared, and by 9 pm we had three cakes (Ice Box, Vegan Chocolate with a Roasted Coconut and Almond topping, and the Baked Alaska I prepared) and a dozen lovely cupcakes gracing the dining room table. I went at each with the gusto and excitement of a twelve-year-old, and woke up the next morning 35 and suffering from the first cake hangover of my life.Painful at the time, but I would not have had it any other way.
Birthday Baked Alaska, Before Baked

Birthday Baked Alaska, Baked

Interior:

Chocolate Cake: I used the devil's food cake recipe in Baking From My Home to Yours.
Graham Cracker Ice Cream: I made the ice cream by using this standard vanilla recipe, sans vanilla, and adding in 1 cup of fine fine fine graham cracker crumbs before it went to rest in the fridge over night.
Marshmallow-y Meringue: The recipe that I went with is from the Baked Alaska in Desserts By the Yard.

The Robin Hood of Pastry

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The Art of Cake: Amy Cutler

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Cake Toss, 2004

Portrait of Cake: Cake Man Raven Red Velvet

2011-02-16T09:24:00.005-05:00

In continuing the red trend this week on Pictures of Cake, I thought I'd post a "portrait" that I recently shot of a slice of the infamous (and electric red!) Red Velvet cake from Cake Man Raven in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn. I'm not the biggest Red Velvet fan, but I have to say that the accolades are well deserved in this case . . . his cake is wonderful!

Picture of Cake: Lex's Birthday Cake

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This past weekend I baked a devil's food cake for a friend whose birthday happens to fall on Feb. 13. Inspired by the proximity to Valentine's Day, her love of red and white, and Wayne Thiebaud (always), I made her a cake inspired by this . . .

Detail from the Wayne Thiebaud painting, Cakes, 1963

Dear Gesine, I heart your cakes.

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See more (including tutorials for each wondrous cake) here.
All images from the blog Confections of a (Closet) Master Baker

Cake Thursday on Monday: Brooklyn Blackout Cake

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The invite:

The cake:

Picture of Cake: Coffee Cake with Brooklyn Brewery Chocolate Stout

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Blue Bottle Coffee.
One slice (in this case, one petite cake): $3.50

The Art of Cake: "Let Them Make Cake"

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The February 2011 issue of Art News, on stands now, features an article about cake as an artistic subject. Read the full article here.
A similar article by the same writer can be found here at the Art: 21 blog.

Lovely mini cakes

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at Cake Monkey Bakery in Los Angeles.

Knowledge courtesy taryncoxthewife.com

Cake Thursday on Monday: January 24

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I didn't get a chance to photograph the cake, but here's the invitation...

Click on to enlarge

The original recipe called for a boxed frosting mix that Pillsbury discontinued. Besieged by customer requests for a substitute recipe, Pillsbury developed this one.

The Art of Cake: Rachel Bee Porter

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From her wonderful project, The Joy of Cooking. See more at rachelbeeporter.com.

Though I think the idea has been done to death . . .

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. . . this is a suggestion that I can agree with wholeheartedly.

Pretty as a Picture

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The March 1950 issue of McCall's magazine was the first major women's magazine to feature a photograph of food on the cover. This is the tattered copy I snagged when I learned that the food in question was a cake . . .

Collecting Cake: Booklets

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Loved this...

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Cake Thursday on Monday: Tomato Soup Cake

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The invite:

The cake:

Collecting Cake: Birthday Photos

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Impressive and Different

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Maggie Austin Cake

Thanksgiving Turkey Cake

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At Chow.com

L.C.C.

2010-11-19T11:38:00.006-05:00

This is the little black dress of chocolate cakes.

A go-to, dependable recipe that I know will always emerge looking great and tasting splendid. Suitable for any occasion, it can be dressed up or down and would be just as perfect for a Sunday dinner as for a wedding.

Plus, it’s terrifically easy to make.

The recipe is one of Ina Garten’s that I came across on the Food & Wine website a few years ago. Having made it countless times since, my printout long ago marked with smudges of batter and cocoa powder, I've learned a few things from past failings and triumphs:

• This is a wet batter that produces a rich but delicate cake. Definitely use a parchment liner and liberally grease the pans with butter or Baker's Joy.

• Make sure to let the cake cool in the pan for the noted 30 minutes before removing to rack to cool completely.

• If the raw egg in the frosting recipe makes you nervous, it works just fine without it (though the density of the frosting is looser, softer).

• The coffee in both the cake and the frosting add a lovely depth, but if you don't have any on hand (or don't care to make any), both turn out fantastic without it. Just make sure to replace the 1 cup of hot coffee in the cake recipe with 1 cup of hot water.

Have any of you made this cake before? Any other tips, comments, or suggestions to offer?

Collecting Cake

2010-11-15T16:13:00.003-05:00

I have a pretty big collection of cake-related miscellany. This is the first post (of many) highlighting some of my favorites.

Click on the images to enlarge.

The cover:

The introduction:

Sample interior:

Stunning cakes inspired by great works of art

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From the Fall 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings

The cake:

The inspiration: Josef Albers

Homage to the Square (With Rays)

The cake:

The inspiration: Paul Cézanne

Basket of Apples

The cake:

The inspiration: Damien Hirst

Controlled Substances Key Painting (Spot 4a)

The cake:

The inspiration: Gustav Klimt

Adele Bloch Bauer

The cake:

The inspiration: Jackson Pollock

Autumn Rhythm (number 30)

The cake:

The inspiration: Rachel Ruysch

Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase

The cakes:

The inspiration: Wayne Thiebaud

Cakes

The cake:

The inspiration: Van Gogh

Still Life Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers

The Art of Cake: Laura Letinsky

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To Say It Isn't So (8)

To Say It Isn't So (19)

Untitled #1, The Dog and the Wolf series

To Say It Isn't So (7)

Learn more at:
Women in Photography
Yancey Richardson Gallery
Artnet

Cake Thursday on Monday: Nov.1

2010-11-02T09:48:00.004-04:00

The invite:

And the cake:

Recipe from, yet again, Baked Explorations

Baked Explorations and Whoopie Pies

2010-10-26T11:54:00.007-04:00

As a devoted follower of Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, owners of the Baked bakeries and writers of the indispensable cookbook of the same name, I could not wait to get my hands on their newest project, Baked Explorations.

"A tribute to beloved American desserts," Baked Explorations is a lovely book full of classic treats such as Cornmeal Griddle Cakes and Mississippi Mud Pie, as well as "abandoned desserts" like Boston Cream Pie and Pecan Tassies.

In the few short weeks since I brought it home, I've made their Honey Corn Muffins, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Chocolate Whoopie Pies. All have proved delicious and easy to make with standard pantry staples. The only exception was the Whoopie Pies: I'd run out of canola oil and didn't want to make fresh coffee, so I used blood-orange olive oil and hot water as substitutions.

Chocolate-Blood-Orange-Olive-Oil Whoopie Pies (gently altered from the original)
Makes about 30 small pies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper

For the cookies:

• In a large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup Valrhona cocoa powder and 2 tsp. instant espresso. Add 1 cup hot water (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup hot coffee and 1/2 cup hot water) and whisk to mix. Set aside to cool a little.
• In another bowl, whisk together 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder, and 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda. Set aside.
• To the cocoa/coffee mixture, whisk in 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar and 3/4 cup blood-orange olive oil (original recipe calls for canola oil). I get mine from Stonehouse. Mix well, then add in 1 large egg, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
• Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until incorporated.
• Using a small ice cream scoop or a teaspoon, drop mounds of dough, about 1 inch apart, on the parchment-covered baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes until they just begin to crack on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let cool completely while making the filling

For the filling (I like less filling, so I cut, from the original recipe, the eggs from 5 to 3 and the sugar from 1 1/2 cups to 3/4 cup):

• Set out 2 sticks of refrigerator-cold unsalted butter, cut up into small chunks, to let warm a bit.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the whites of 3 eggs with 3/4 cup sugar. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water and gently whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Remove from the heat, attach to the mixer, and, with the whisk attachment, beat until the bowl is cool to the touch and you have a nice, billowy, white meringue.
• Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low, add in the butter, a few chunks at a time, until all is incorporated. Turn the mixer to medium-high and mix for five minutes. Don't worry if the buttercream starts to fall apart—it will come back together.
• Mix in 1 tsp. of vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp. salt until well incorporated

To assemble:

Using a small offset spatula, or the like, spread a dollop of the buttercream on one cookie, top with another. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Wedding Cakes!

2010-10-21T15:11:00.004-04:00

After months of planning and crafting and hair-pulling, I’m now a fully-licensed married woman and, thankfully, may resume my normal life.

It was a beautiful wedding followed by a wonderful party, and there were seven cakes.

Yep, seven.

The important thing is different for all. For some it’s the dress, for others, it’s the music. For me, it was the cake. This was verified by the fact that, after I got engaged, the first question asked—even before “when’s the big day?”— was “are you going to bake your own wedding cake?”

Was I?

And I get just one?

A great Gastronomica article on the history of the wedding cake mentions an old superstition: “The bride who bakes her own cake is asking for trouble.” While I certainly didn’t want trouble, I knew it wouldn’t be my wedding if I didn’t bake something. Yet I also knew that, for me, baking a cake for 150 people while actually being the one getting married would be more than trouble—it would be cause for a breakdown.

As I was sure I’d find many more reasons to fall apart over the coming months, a compromise was made: I would bake “something” and a professional would bake “something.” Those “somethings” turned into seven: four Orange Flower Water Cakes that I baked (ahead of time and froze) and three wonders made by my girl-crush, Betsy of Nine Cakes: an Almond Cake with Pear Buttercream, a Chocolate Cake with Pomegranate Buttercream, and a Pumpkin Walnut Cake with Maple Buttercream...

Photo by Jen Causey

Trouble? Hardly any.
Breakdowns? Two.

Such a brilliant idea...

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Cheese Wedding Cakes!

Discovery courtesy of A Cup of Jo
Image courtesy of The Cheese Shed

Black and White Cake

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Simply amazing...

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Wayne Thiebaud-inspired wedding cake table.

Image from Oh Happy Day

An interesting article

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in today's New York Times about small-scale food businesses and vendor markets.

Read it here

Birthday Cake

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Baked this past weekend: Chocolate with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Proud Baker

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Along with the vintage kitchen tools, old photographs, and random cake-related ephemera that I have collected over the years, I have a small number of badges...

...including this one from the Girl Scouts of Maine.

I can already see myself as an old woman, standing (hopefully) for the millionth time over Stella, my Kitchen Aid, and wearing an old cotton apron onto which I've stitched these suckers amongst the stains and rips. I may not have made it long in the Girl Scouts, but I'll always proudly be a Baker.

Belated pictures from my visit,

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one chilly Sunday last November, to Will Cotton's pop-up bakery at Partners & Spade in Manhattan.

"Why should a woman cook?"

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"So her husband can say 'my wife makes a delicious cake' to some hooker..." —Joan Rivers

Poster image snagged from Facebook

That gem is from this clip of the upcoming documentary, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. Check out Break Thru Films and Facebook for more info!

On blogs and blogging and to-do lists

2010-05-05T12:33:00.004-04:00

Cake Toss by Amy Cutler

I love lists beyond all reason and must write at least three or four different ones a day: grocery, to-do, try to remember, etc... . But sometimes I feel I need a list for my lists! So many things get lost in the shuffle, forgotten as the ink fades away. I wish I had a reason for why this blog landed on one of those disappearing pages, something more exciting than "I don't know what I want to say so I won't say anything at all" or "sometimes this whole internet thing just freaks me out." Having a blog can so quickly start to feel like another one of those things you have to do...the pleasure packs up and runs away on an extended vacation to a place with no phone service or internet connection.

Thankfully, as with all things that are at the core of who a person really is, the passion always comes back—maybe changed a little from all of the sightseeing and good sleep, but better. Stronger and clear-headed.

I've been working on a new website, www.jessicasreed.com, that will serve as a home for all of my cake projects, as well as launching pad for the custom cake baking business I hope to begin. Because of these things, among others, I have decided to give myself the gift of more time by ending Cake Thursday. All cakes and invites will be archived on the new site (as well as living here).

My plan now, while I get the site up and running, is to start gathering up the dust bunnies that have accumulated around PoC these past few months and start posting again, hopefully at least once a week. There are so many interesting and wonderful things I've learned about, tasted and tried over the years that I sincerely hope will interest you all. If there are things you'd like to know about or see on this blog, please let me know (info@jessicasreed.com)!

Thanks for sticking with me and Pictures of Cake...

Jess

Cake Thursday on Monday, March 1

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Invitation

The Cake

Cake Thursday on Monday, February 8th

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Cake Thursday on Monday, January 25th

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Breaking the (Blog) Fast

2010-01-27T16:42:00.005-05:00

After a long, holiday-family-life-endless-head-cold related break, Cake Thursday has returned—
Now on Mondays...

The invitation:

And the cake:

Cake Thursday: November 12th

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Was a Pumpkin-Walnut-Chocolate-Chip Bundt Cake in celebration of National Bundt Day (11/15)...

Cake Thursday: October 29th

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Lost in the Woods Cake
Three layers of Devil's Food Cake filled and frosted with Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache.

For the invitation, I altered the original poster from the must-see, wonderfully creepy film, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.

And for the decorations, I whipped out my trusty miniatures to create the a "Lost in the Woods" vignette.

The little house is a bittersweet chocolate I hand-molded, then painted a light in the window with powdered food color.

Cake Thursday, Oct. 8th

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(Image source: John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery)

The painting in the invite is Spanish Dancer (Woman) by John Singer Sargent. As for the cake, it was tasty, but I do not have any pictures to show. If you're curious, I got the recipe from the wonderful new book, All Cakes Considered.

Better Late Than Never

2009-10-14T22:50:00.002-04:00

Intergalactic Root Beer Cake

With Crystal "Moons"

Cake Thursday: September 24th

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Pictures of the cake coming tonight or tomorrow!

The King of Pop...

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cake that I made for the opening of my close friend's new gallery show.

The cake: two layers of devil's food cake with a glaze of raspberry preserves and chocolate ganache between them. The whole lot was frosted in more ganache and decorated with a silhouette of MJ hand-painted in gold luster dust as well as a single star of gold sanding sugar.

The show is brilliant*, and will up through October at Figureworks Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Alas, all of the cake is long digested.
Check out his facebook page for more info and pictures.

*and I'm not just saying that since he's a friend of mine. Even Spike Lee payed an appreciative, lengthy visit!

Cake Thursday: September 8th

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(which was actually a Tuesday. For assorted reasons, I had to re-schedule the first Cake Thursday following the August break to a one-time Tuesday slot.)

The invitation:

The Cake (inspired by this):

Travels: Portland, Maine

2009-09-14T12:26:00.002-04:00

Two Fat Cats Bakery

Blueberry Cream Cake and Chocolate Cream Cake

Keeping it Local

2009-09-10T16:22:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday, I was finally able to make it to Rooftop Farms. Given that I live right around the corner (!), it's positively nuts so many summer Sunday's passed me by.

Amongst rows of chili's and tomatoes, I faced The Empire State Building to the west, and, when I turned around, my apartment building literally a stones throw to the east. It was amazing and inspiring (and made me grateful for privacy curtains).

Indoors, just beneath the farm, I picked up loot you see below, chatted with others who were there to volunteer their time, buy from the farm stand, or show off locally made goods using produce pulled from Rooftop Farm soil. Gives new meaning to Greenpoint's nickname, The Garden Spot of the World.

In other Garden Spot food news, this Saturday, the 12th, is the opening of the weekly Greenpoint Food Market. I'll be there from 12-2 selling my baked goods with Sweet Tooth of the Tiger. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello!

Momofuku Milk Bar Now Does Wedding Cakes

2009-08-25T11:10:00.001-04:00

as only they can...

The Art of Cake

2009-08-25T09:58:00.004-04:00

On Design Sponge, Wayne Thiebaud-inspired cakes by the über talented Caitlin Williams:

photo credit: charles villyard

And on The Kitchen:

A beautiful ROYGBIV cake from Whisk Kid.

Cake Plates

2009-08-23T15:02:00.000-04:00

Update from the Home Front

2009-08-18T09:30:00.006-04:00

Contrary to those who hunker down and curse my beloved late-winter, August is the month when I scowl at the temperatures and hibernate, turning my brain to stand-by and seeking out cool air like a thirsty man in the desert. It's the useless month where I expect little more than a sunburn and mealy peaches.

So imagine my surprise when, looking back on the past few weeks, I realized that this particular August has proved to be, well, useful.

I've seen interesting things:

Visited interesting places:

Eaten my share of summer's spoils:

and, best of all, met some wonderful, talented, and inspiring new people including Asya Palatova, Aran Goyoaga, and Karen Mordechai, Casey Solomon and Allison Grove.

All of these factors have contributed to a renewed excitement in the projects that I am currently working on as well as those that are momentarily just blueprints.

Presently, I am making plans (and buying props!) for more arts & crafts cakes, new Cake Thursday adventures, and am working on a major overhaul to this very blog. You can expect to see a new design and new content that expands upon my interest in the history, art, and culture of cake. If all goes well, the new Pictures of Cake should go live in early September...

Stay tuned!

A Recent Embroidery Project

2009-08-08T12:24:00.002-04:00

Arts and Crafts Baking...

2009-07-29T11:02:00.004-04:00

for The Parlour Brooklyn Salon party a few weekends ago...

A Lemon Drop sheet cake decorated with sugar paste curlers, comb, and mirror, as well as a sixties hairstyle cutout mounted (front and back) on foam core. The cake was served with a tart raspberry "cake color" that could be dripped onto a piece with the accompanying hair color brush.

I also brought chocolate ice box cookies, "colored" and "highlighted."

Though I had to leave before the goods were offered up, I'm told both the look and the taste were enjoyed by all.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2009-07-27T16:29:00.002-04:00

If you live in the NYC area...

2009-07-16T17:36:00.004-04:00

Stop by and say hello at The Parlour Brooklyn salon in Greenpoint!

I (Arts and Crafts Baking) will be there (off-and-on) with a special occasion cake.

Blueberry Boy Bait

2009-07-09T22:52:00.003-04:00

Recipe via smittenkitchen.com

This is Just to Say...

2009-07-09T16:41:00.008-04:00

There are words piling up in my head and pictures crowding my desktop, yet lately I don't really know how to put it all together. I want to write more, to post more, yet I find myself being pulled in so many baking directions, many that do not involve cake at all.

When I started the blog, my only intention was to have a place to catalog lovely (and/or interesting) pictures of cake. The happiness that came to me instantaneously upon looking at the images was wonderful and weird, and I relished having the archive.

All of this posting coincided with an interest in baking that grew at a feverish pace until I was turning on my oven three or four times a week—occasionally every day. Cake Thursday was born from this, and it has served me well as both a testing ground for recipes and ideas as well as fulfilling one of my greatest joys: giving things I've made to people I care about.

The purpose of all of this rambling? I just wanted to let any readers out there floating in the ether of the Internet that my posts may be erratic for a time while I figure out where to take all of this. You can expect random, unexplained images, the occasional mumble, maybe a paragraph or two, but I expect to be all over the place for a little while.

Thank you so much for visiting this little piece of the world. I hope that, thus far, it has given you some happiness as well.

More to come in words. For now, I'll leave you with a random selection of recent images, Cake Thursday and otherwise.

CT invite: 6/18

CT invite: 7/2

And the cake:

July 4th 2009 along the East River, Brooklyn

Plum in a Bowl

Recently Crafted Eats

2009-07-01T12:37:00.004-04:00

Apricot Frangipane Tart

Trying out Pasta Making at Home

Miscellany.

2009-06-17T13:22:00.003-04:00

On Friday, June 5th, I was fortunate to be one of two "Bakers in Residence" with Sweet Tooth of the Tiger at the Renegade Craft Fair Pre-Party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Clockwise from left to right: Coconut Layer Cake, Lemon-Glazed Angel Food Cake, Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake, Banana-Walnut Bread (sliced and individually packaged in wax paper baggies tied with kitchen twine), and Indecision Cookies (Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip).

Weekend Raspberry Sorbet before:

Weekend Raspberry Sorbet after (served with fresh mango slices):

June 17th donation to Dessert Corps:

Dimply Plum Cake from Baking from My Home to Yours.

The Anniversary Card

2009-06-11T09:59:00.006-04:00

Given to me by my co-workers in celebration of the 1st anniversary. It was painted and designed by my multi-talented, amazing, and kind boss, Lynn Rogan.

I am one lucky baker.

Tinctures and Potions

2009-06-08T15:14:00.002-04:00

Avocado on a Blue Plate

2009-06-08T15:13:00.001-04:00

Dessert, Saturday Evening

2009-06-08T13:13:00.003-04:00

Fat Witch brownie avalanched in heavy cream and fresh raspberries.

(Happy Birthday) Cake Thursday: May 28th

2009-06-04T12:42:00.005-04:00

It's kind of crazy that a year has now passed since I started Cake Thursday. What was once a small gathering has turned into a large bi-weekly cake-fest, and a wonderful way for me to get better as a baker and incorporate my love of arts, crafts, and design with my love of cake.

I designed an invitation that showed the progression of cakes that made up the inaugural year:

On a dorky whim, I printed it out, tabloid size, and give away "limited-edition signed and numbered prints" as a thank you to those who came to celebrate with me.

As for the cake, I thought a birthday classic was appropriate, so I bake a two-layer yellow butter cake,

frosted it with chocolate frosting,

and covered the entire lot with bright blue confectioners sugar icing in free form lines and swirls—topped off with the requisite candle, of course.

I can hardly wait to see (and taste) what comes next...

Cake Thursday: May 14th

2009-05-21T11:48:00.004-04:00

Glorious Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Bittersweet Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache.

A mouthful in many ways.

The invite, photographed the morning of:

The Cake, three ways:

***

***

This proved to be one of the most popular cakes to date. The combination of deep chocolate in the cake, peanut butter, and the bittersweet chocolate that I used in the ganache was brilliant.

Not being a fan of too-sweet frosting, I cut the sugar in the recipe from 5 cups (!) to 2 cups, and had no problems.

Speaking of, the recipe is from the book Sky High, but you can also find it over at Smitten Kitchen.

Made this past weekend...

2009-05-20T09:38:00.001-04:00

Homemade frozen yogurt swirled with homemade strawberry preserves.

More from Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar

2009-05-14T10:15:00.002-04:00

The Delicious Compost Cookie (contains pretzels, potato chips, coffee grounds, chocolate chips, among other things).

Their newest cake, the Arnold Palmer...

Arnold Palmer, the Man...

Image Source

...inspired Arnold Palmer, the drink...

Image Source

...and now we have Arnold Palmer, the cake. (Layers of iced-tea cake, lemon mascarpone cream, iced-tea jelly, lemon cake, and some kind of almond crunchy thing. Not for every palate, but I loved it. FYI, they do not serve it in a glass at Momofuku. I was inspired by the cake's inspiration to photograph it in a glass. For a good slice-view, check out this post on Serious Eats NY.)

Photographs I Have Shot of Food I Have Eaten, 1

2009-05-13T09:27:00.007-04:00

Bavarian Cream Soft Serve from Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar

Poached Egg on a Toasted Bialy 1

Poached Egg on a Toasted Bialy 2

Poached Egg on a Toasted Bialy 3

Cake Thursday: April 30th

2009-05-07T09:14:00.001-04:00

The invitation:

The cake:

Baking for Good

2009-04-30T17:02:00.003-04:00

I recently signed up for something I am very excited about: Dessert Corps.

Dessert Corps is the name for a program in my neighborhood that uses volunteer chefs/bakers to provide a homemade dessert for the soup kitchen. Each volunteer who signs up makes enough to feed 10 hungry neighbors, and the results are served up after dinner on Wednesday's.

Last week I dropped off my first donation, an Apple Upside Down Cake:

If you happen to live in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area of Brooklyn and are interested in Dessert Corps, check out this blog.

If you don't, ask around at your local soup kitchens or shelters...maybe even start up a Dessert Corps of your own!

Cake Thursday: April 16th. The Victoria Sandwich

2009-04-22T09:38:00.003-04:00

The custom of Afternoon Tea began in the mid-19th century with Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford and one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting.

As with many things, what the royal court did, everyone soon did as well, and Afternoon Tea swept Britain with a fervor.

Victoria was very fond of this respite, as well as the simple cake that was served along with other assorted sweets, dainty bread and butter sandwiches, and, of course, pots of steaming-hot tea.

That cake, two layers of basic yellow cake sandwiching a layer of preserve, became known as the Victoria Sandwich.*

Modern interpretations of the cake include an additional layer of vanilla buttercream along with the preserves, but in the case of my cake, I wanted to add another afternoon tea staple to the mix—clotted cream. My Victoria Sandwich: Two layers of yellow cake with homemade Strawberry preserves and clotted cream.

*The cake is also know by the name Victoria Sponge when the layers themselves are traditional sponge cake.

The Classic Lemon Pound Cake

2009-04-15T11:19:00.000-04:00

that I baked for Easter brunch.

Double Chocolate Cake

2009-04-09T16:25:00.002-04:00

baked for my friend's, friend's birthday. Delicious recipe courtesy Ina Garten via Food and Wine.