It's not officially Christmas until...

...a little bit of domestic violence humor pops up. Thanks Betty Crocker!

Validation!

This is an update to my last post...

I WON 2ND PLACE IN THE BON APPETIT BLOG ENVY BAKE-OFF! Sorry about writing that in all capitals, but I can't say the sentence without hopping around in my apartment, full of excitement and validation that Bon Appetit Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild, pastry chef Francois Payard, and Fox 5 news anchor Dari Alexander thought that my cake was pretty good.

Some people have asked me if I'm upset I didn't win first place, but I can say that I never cared about the competition part of the event. The fact I was even one of the 25 bloggers they invited was enough for me. That invitation alone made me feel pretty cool, but now that I know that I was in the top three desserts is...I'm so sorry that I have to say this...the icing on the cake.

A little bon appetit for you, a big Bon Appetit for me

As mentioned before, food blogging is a hobby for me as in I don't really make any money from it. The gratification that I've finally found an outlet that lets me express myself as well as create physical things (cakes, anyone?)is enough. But it's pretty kick ass when you get a little recognition.

For me, this recognition came in the form of an invitation to an exclusive Bon Appetit blogger party. Only 25 bloggers were invited, so I've been feeling pretty good since I stopped hyperventilating from excitement upon receiving the invite.

I was asked to bring a baked good to the party as part of the contest element of the event. Trained chefs and Editor-in-Chief Barbara Fairchild publicly eating (and possibly publicly ridiculing) said dessert were on the agenda for the evening, and I was determined to make something that wouldn't end up with me crying in the bathroom after the judges barfed on the table. My baked good of choice? A spiced pear cake topped with cream cheese frosting.

Let me be honest. Baking a cake with the intention of feeding it to people that are the creme de la creme of the food world is scary. And when I say scary, I mean the type of scary that keeps you up the entire night before worrying that everyone will think you're a hack and all the judges will come down with food poison from a cake you prepared. However, I charged through the fear and found myself on the fourth floor of the Conde Nast building last night, rubbing elbows with Bon Appetit staffers and fellow food bloggers.

The event was a great success and considering that most of my cake was eaten by the end of the night, I feel pretty good. I walked out of that party with some new friends, a bit of a validation that I'm a pretty good food blogger, and a ton of free schwag (thanks Bon Appetit!)

As a result of the warm fuzzies I'm currently experiencing, I want to share my cake recipe with you in hopes that you'll use it for some sort of seasonal awesomeness.

Also, sorry for the lack of photos. There were a ton of photogs at the event last night, so I'm hoping to find some of the photos online and share them here. Stay tuned!

Spiced Pear Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Bon Appetit’s Fuji Apple Spice Cake Recipe (October 2009)

Ingredients

Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons rum
1 1/2 cups pureed canned Bartlett pears
2 medium Bartlett pears (peeled, halved, cored, cut into cubes)
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans


Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 cups powdered sugar
Coarsely chopped pecans


Preparation

Cake
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Whisk flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, teaspoon salt, ground allspice, nutmeg, and baking soda in medium bowl. Using electric mixer (countertop or hand-held), beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum if desired. Add flour mixture to egg mixture in 3 additions alternately with pureed pears in 2 additions, beating until blended after each addition. Stir in cubed pears and pecans. Divide batter between cake pans evenly.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of each comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer cakes to racks and cool in pans 15 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cakes. Invert cakes onto racks. Place another rack atop 1 cake and invert again so that cake is rounded side up. Repeat with second cake. Cool completely.


Frosting
Using electric mixer (countertop or hand-held), beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla extract and pinch of salt. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until frosting is creamy.

Drop half of frosting (about 1 1/2 cups) by spoonfuls atop cake. Spread frosting evenly to edges of cake. Top with second cake, trimmed side down. Drop remaining frosting by spoonfuls onto top of cake, leaving sides of cake plain. Spread frosting to top edges of cake. Sprinkle with pecans. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour to allow frosting to set slightly.

Check out Cupcakes Take The Cake for my weekly column today!

I just posted my weekly CakeWalk column over at Cupcakes Take the Cake. Head on over and check it out!

This week's topic is the importance of a moist cupcake (Please note that I loathe the word "moist," but sometimes it must be used...).

CakeWalk: The Savory Cupcake Dilemma of 2009 is posted on Cupcakes Take The Cake!

My weekly CakeWalk column has just been posted on Cupcakes Take the Cake. This week's post is entitled "The Savory Cupcake Dilemma of 2009". Check it out!

Also, you can see last week's column ("Will the real buttercream icing please stand up?") here.

A quote to live by...

“Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?” ~ William Shakespeare

In Today's New York Times: Happy Birthday to Me, With a Spanish Lilt

In less than 12 hours, I've read two references to “The Cake Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum, so I'm now considering this a sign from somewhere that I'm supposed to have this book. Consider it done Universe. I know when you're trying to give me a hint.

Secondly, the New York Times has a fantastic piece today about writer Melissa Clark's Spanishy (I just made that word up) birthday cake, which was adapted from the almond sour cream cake in Beranbaum's book. This cake doesn't really seem my speed and I've never really read an article where I thought,"Man, that cake kind of sounds pretentious. I don't we'd get along very well." But to each their own. Check out the full article here.

And along the same lines of the everyday cake, was is your favorite birthday cake? Mine is, easily, coconut cake.

CakeWalk- my new column debuts on Cupcakes Take The Cake!

Yesterday, my debut post on Cupcakes Take the Cake went live. My new weekly column is called CakeWalk and you can read a new installment every Friday. I can't tell you how excited I am to be writing for Cupcakes Take the Cake. Be sure to check out the site!

And if you're interested, you can read my first column here.

Julia Child - you know how to make my day

Even though she's been gone since 2004, Julia Child always finds a new way to pop up in my life and remind me how much I admire her. Today, I stumbled upon the PBS web site for Julia Child, which features full-length episodes of her legendary shows Cooking with Master Chefs, In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs, Baking with Julia, and Cooking in Concert. With over 65 master chefs featured alongside Julia, these online videos are a great reminder of how Julia Child revolutionized the cooking world and is still making an impact on today's kitchen enthusiasts.

Be sure to check out the site and watch all her wonderful episodes on how to make puff pastries, tart shells, chocolate dome cake, deep friend chocolate truffles, genoise cake, chocolate tulles, sweet potato pie, creme fraiche ice cream with almond roasted figs - the list goes on!

Also, after looking at that Time Magazine cover above, I never realized that Julia Child was the Serpent Fish Queen - what's with that scary fish drawing? And with all those boiling pots around her hovering head with a red background, apparently some editors thought she was the second coming of Satan. They probably had bad taste in food. Pft.

Everyday Cake

Molly Wizenberg, the genius behind Orangette, posted a great story on "everyday cake," an idea she thought of after being inspired by Edna Lewis’s Busy-Day Cake.

The concept is simple, really. Basically, all of us need that "go to" cake. The cake we can rely on to be there on those stressful days when hanging out on your fire escape or lazily sitting on your kitchen counter are on the only things you fathom doing. The Everyday Cake is a basic recipe, and although easy to make, reminds you of the good things in life.

Hop on over to Orangette to read her full blog post and Everyday Cake Recipe. And for those of you wondering, my Everyday Cake is Sour Cream Coffee Cake. Talk about a great way to cap off a day that seems to never end...

Also, if you haven't already, but sure to purchase a copy of Molly's book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen.

Dessert Quote of the Day

“A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece” ~ Ludwig Erhard

Starbucks to start selling gluten-free pastry starting in May

Starbucks will start selling Valencia Orange Cake, its first gluten-free pastry, in its US stores from May 5, 2009, according to The Associated Press.

The company claims that the new pastry will be made with seven ingredients which are all 100% gluten-free. More than three million Americans are reportedly suffering from a condition called celiac disease, which is associated with intolerance to gluten, a protein common in rye, wheat, barley and other grains.

Adrienne Knapp, a product manager in the food category at Starbucks, said: "I think one of the things we learned right from the get-go from our gluten-free customers is they can't eat away from home very easily. A cake is actually really hard to find for someone that's a gluten-free consumer."

Sunday is National Tangible Karma Day - spread the love with some baked goods.

I learned this evening that Sunday is National Tangible Karma Day. Honestly, I went seeking a food-related holiday and this is what I came up with instead. However, I think food can easily be put to good use for this particular event. Bake some muffins or cookies, whip up some macaroons or bake a cake - you get the idea, and surprise someone with your abilities by presenting them an unexpected culinary gift. I'm telling you, people love this kind of thing. Once, while leaving an ATM machine, a homeless man asked me for money. I told him I couldn't break a $20 but I could give him a brownie (I was on my way to a party and had a plate full of book club brownies with me at the time - I don't normally carry baked goods around with me on a casual basis). He said he would take the brownie, but I could tell my his tone he was disappointed I wasn't giving him cash, but after one bite, he smiled and said it was the best donation he'd received all night.

Now don't get me started why begging outside of an ATM when people will only have large bills is a mistake...

Is German Chocolate Cake Really German?

FoodProject.com has raised an interesting question: Is German Chocolate Cake really German?

According to the folks over at Food Project, a recipe for German Chocolate cake first appeared in 1957 via a Dallas, Texas, newspaper. Sent in from a Dallas homemaker, the trail to track down the origins of this cake goes dry. However, according to Patricia Riso from Kraft Foods, the recipe called for a brand of chocolate bar called "German's" which has been developed
in 1852, by an Englishman named Sam German, for Baker's Chocolate Company.

Food Project says:

"The cake had an immediate and enthusiastic response, and requests about where to find the German's chocolate bar were so numerous that General Foods (who owned Baker's Chocolate) decided to send pictures of the cake to newspapers all around the country.Everywhere the recipe had the same response and the sales for the chocolate exploded.

Now the cake is a regular item in bakeries across the country, and a mix is on the grocery shelves also.

The cake most likely didn't originate from this Dallas housewife. Buttermilk chocolate cakes have been popular in the south for
over 70 years, and Pecans are plentiful in the area also, to make the nice frosting. German's chocolate is similar to a milk chocolate and sweeter than regular baking chocolate."

So, is the cake an orphan of Deutschland? I guess we'll never know...


Thanks to Foodimentary for the tip.

Slice me up some of that deer please...

I happened to stumble across this picture and had to share - this is a cake. A gigantic deer cake. I can't say I would ever want to eat this as I think it might be confusing for my taste buds (Taste buds: "Wait...this isn't meat? It's cake? Whaaaaaaaaat?"). But you have to give a round of applause for the skill it took to make this.

Some sweets to welcome Spring!

Perhaps it was the warm weather I grew accustomed to while living in Australia for six months last year, but this year's winter in New York seems to have taken it's toll. As a result, I'm craving Spring time - warmer weather, trench coats, and fun new desserts that seem out of place any other time of year!

I always try to have cookies or some sort of sweet on hand when I know people will be swinging by my apartment, so i can't wait to try out this recipe from MarthaStewart.com for Spring Shower Almond Petits Fours.

Not only are they beautiful to look at, my past experience with petit fours has always been a positive one!

Let me know if you try out this recipe - I'd love to post your photos and tips!

Check out the recipe here.

Baking tip from Foodimentary

An angel food cake will slice neatly without crumbling if you freeze it first, then thaw it.

Courtesy of Foodimentary.

Baking tip from Foodimentary

Tastier Cakes: When cake mix calls for water use buttermilk instead. It will make the lightest and best cakes.

Courtesy of Foodimentary.

Recipe of the Day - Coconut Cake

When I was growing up in Oklahoma City, my mother always shopped at Kamp's Grocery, a small locally owned grocery store that had been in Oklahoma City for ages. I loved going to Kamp's for numerous reasons, the main ones being that the butcher/deli person would always sneak us slices of cheddar cheese to snack on and that for some reason, my mom was a lot more open to the idea of purchasing Kool-Aid at Kamp's than she was at other grocery stores.

Another reason I looked forward to our Kamp's trips was the promise of my mom buying one of their coconut cakes. This cake was the type of treat you would think about for days after tasting it. No one could resist its charm, and I'm sure many coconut nay sayers were swayed to the other side by its amazing buttercream icing, adorned with flecks of fresh coconut.

Kamp's eventually closed, and as many things have done, that coconut cake was filed away as a casualty of an even bigger problem - the inability of "mom and pop" shops to keep their doors open as chain grocery stores and Wal-Mart pushed them out of the way. But I never forgot that cake, and neither did my family, especially my mom. Over the years, the Kamp's coconut cake would occasionally come up in conversation, with each of my family members recalling their favorite aspect of this bakery masterpiece. The conversation always ended with ,"God, that cakes was delicious - no one makes it like Kamp's."

Oh, there were cheap imitators that tried to win our affection. A constant parade of second-rate icings, stale coconut topping and crumbly cake passed over our palates, each bite reminding us how good we once had it. The Kamp's coconut cake was now a legend, right up there next to the Knights of the Roundtable and that theory that states if you say "Bloody Mary" three times in front of a bathroom mirror with the lights off, Bloody Mary herself (whomever that is), will appear.

A few years ago, I was perusing the Dean & Deluca catalog online. I was looking for something seasonal to send my mom for her birthday, and a few months earlier I had found some adorable Springtime cookies that I had ordered for both my parents and which they seemed to enjoy. Page after page led me to delicious gift options, but nothing was really jumping out at me as something my mom would appreciate for her birthday. Summer-themed cookies in the shape of bumblebees, flowers, beach balls, as well as beautiful fruit tarts and more paraded in front of me, but alas, nothing said "Mom."

And then I saw it. On the last page of the seasonal gift online section, it beckoned to me as only the most delicious cake in the world can. It was a coconut cake with buttercream icing - just like Kamp's used to make! No more cheap mousse as a substitute for buttercream! No more fruit filling instead of icing in between layers! I had found it! I had found the Kamp's coconut cake reincarnated!

And to prove to you how awesome this cake was, I can honestly say that my family ate the entire cake in less than a day and a half. We aren't a family of fat asses, but we know a good cake when we taste it.

Be sure to enjoy today's Recipe of the Day - it took what felt like a lifetime to rediscover.

"Don't ever leave my side again" Coconut Buttercream Cake

Ingredients:
Cake
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon cake flour
2 1/2 cups cake flour (about 10 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 large eggs
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

Frosting
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
5 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
3 tablespoons toasted flaked sweetened coconut

Equipment:
3 8-inch round cake pans
Wax paper
Measuring bowls
Measuring spoons
Measuring cups
Whisk
Electric mixer
Cooling rack
Saucepan
Wooden spoon
Spatula
Cake stand (to use while icing the cake)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, coat 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Lightly coat wax paper with cooking spray; dust pans with 1 tablespoon flour.

Lightly spoon 2 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Place 2 cups sugar and 6 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes or until well blended. Add egg substitute and eggs to sugar mixture; beat well. Add flour mixture and coconut milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon extract.

Spoon batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap the pans once on countertop to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks; remove from pans. Remove wax paper; discard. Cool cakes on wire racks.

To prepare frosting, combine 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, without stirring, or until a candy thermometer registers 250°. Combine egg whites, cream of tartar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; using clean, dry beaters, beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low; continue beating until egg white mixture cools (about 12 minutes).

Beat 1/4 cup butter until light and fluffy; stir in 1/4 teaspoon extract, if desired. Fold in 1 cup egg white mixture. Fold butter mixture into remaining egg white mixture, stirring until smooth.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Repeat twice with cake layers and 1 cup frosting, ending with cake layer; spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Chill until set.

Baking a cake with olive oil? Once you stop rolling your eyes, read this article

Melissa Clark has an interesting article in the New York Times about baking with olive oil. Even better, her recipe doesn't involve using a food processor or electric mixer, so for those of you who are without such devices, I suggest you check out her article on quick cakes here.

Also, if you'd like to purchase the print version of the "Let Them Eat Cake" graphic at the top of this page, visit Blue Lima's Etsy shop - it only costs $12!