(Happy Birthday) Cake Thursday: May 28th

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

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:



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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...

Homemade frozen yogurt swirled with homemade strawberry preserves.

More from Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar

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

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

The invitation:



The cake:

Baking for Good

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

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

that I baked for Easter brunch.

Double Chocolate Cake

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