https://www.thecakehistorian.com/library-resources daily 0.75 2018-11-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1527199517515-O27MOPRX15RXSV26HFLG/Floral+Bkrnd.jpg Library & Resources https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk daily 0.75 2020-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1527195066077-S6HIGNSXLPI2NCYJ0IFC/DT64.jpg Notebook https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2020/5/8/self-portrait-in-cake-no-12-parenting-during-covid-19 monthly 0.5 2020-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588942611146-3N2ICHZXKSL5CLI2HQP2/Self-Portriat+12_1_The+Cake+Historian.jpeg Notebook - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 12: Parenting During Covid-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588942659164-0P4TLWHJPFYB6O411VNU/Self+Portriat+12_3_The+Cake+Historian.jpg Notebook - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 12: Parenting During Covid-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588942685205-86DZ7M9HJ3HGRSDC413J/Self-Portriat+12_2_The+Cake+Historian.jpeg Notebook - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 12: Parenting During Covid-19 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2020/5/7/how-to-eat-strawberry-shortcake monthly 0.5 2020-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588905912350-LM2YMF55JK6UII16RIHE/1EC09EA6-5A03-44B7-94F3-8A85B828CB27.jpeg Notebook - How to Eat Strawberry Shortcake https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2020/1/23/q4pi32k15iakt26uktwi3ue7njin17 monthly 0.5 2020-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1579803550962-H9ISLS4TPFI2ILDJOIDI/A3462CEF-5C6E-4C19-9CAE-C24176459999.jpeg Notebook - There is always more to the story https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/11/9/a-cake-for-troubled-times-1 monthly 0.5 2018-11-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541795296524-GDAUMYSEP8PRLGNGG2UU/CakeforTroubledTimes.jpg Notebook - A Cake for Troubled Times https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/10/2/that-fine-line-between-poison-and-pleasure monthly 0.5 2018-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1538501466564-TBQN0OHDMPT58Y3DAJKP/01mag-eat-image2-superJumbo.jpg Notebook - That Fine Line Between Poison and Pleasure Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Pamela Duncan Silver. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1538502563200-F0B35FFJE5NOTSPICXVX/noyauxextract_CH.jpg Notebook - That Fine Line Between Poison and Pleasure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1538503501043-1GWRLMTUQHYLL19S4AWE/lady_CH.jpg Notebook - That Fine Line Between Poison and Pleasure And what is in that cake Miss. Jones?? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1538502030291-ZJEZ9QBIIN5PFU7GNNMI/SGN2205.jpg Notebook - That Fine Line Between Poison and Pleasure Take that, Bonne Mamam (I still love you though)! Photo from here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1538502202458-469XZ61JYQ11B3YU8ZV5/Screen+Shot+2018-10-02+at+10.43.08+AM.png Notebook - That Fine Line Between Poison and Pleasure Designed by Ophelia’s Art https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/9/22/episode-five-notebook-laura-shapiro monthly 0.5 2018-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537680363345-IY7DPS22LWHQL7TZUXFQ/quick+as+a+wink+icing.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537678796786-FQFRB9EGQNNAZZZR6273/18585255866_c463e84fff_b.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537678946664-FGI3B9OE29BNJ0SPHR7T/Duncan+Hines+54.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537713026617-TBO04QHTEVQDRCCKWOFL/CoE+image.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537712555060-Z4PM3W9DES69L43HUM97/60a7f5a16ca74eb9b3c8e4ec99cec81e.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537683574379-64751IAMZRBZX1XFS03W/cake+2.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537769440727-1E2IBL0YIYJW7CVHLT33/PancakeCake1.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro I like a clean edge for a more cake-like look so I use either a 9” cake ring to cut-out each individual pancake or trim away the thin bits with scissors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537678779612-WK72MBRK1QQMEWWSOOYK/1967.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537682642874-TJ8NZAU1T3UXL3E4I6XK/PCC2.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro Clouds of Mascarpone whipped up with a splash of heavy cream and lemon zest and juice to-taste. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537678714807-YODIDDHN1L9NRWFRONC1/0e870888a61b9c268799fc245ceea17c.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537678758959-2S7416K33X6MSBXY1KR7/470e0163bc448781541f58cd82c81f30.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537678332052-3CKW39WWUJ7BMWV6DMAD/women+collage.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1537769490300-9VRIR8LZASXCH6YJ7RZK/PCC1.jpg Notebook - THE CAke historian podcast: Laura Shapiro Topped with bacon! https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/8/14/an-elegy-for-van-gogh monthly 0.5 2018-08-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1534290237659-6VIGMDJOX8WZGVVKCILP/IMG_4710.jpg Notebook - An Elegy for Van Gogh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1534290339852-RO1L3H0ZR7X72J0TPG83/IMG_4731.jpg Notebook - An Elegy for Van Gogh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1534290617023-VZTE7C6XUB4MU4H74G18/INSPIRATION.jpg Notebook - An Elegy for Van Gogh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1534290361319-KP91Y8G4I7W5GTF4A7J7/IMG_4728.jpg Notebook - An Elegy for Van Gogh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1534289051321-0USLPZP31YG1JP8GXW0S/vangogh.jpg Notebook - An Elegy for Van Gogh https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1534289510709-U6W1X8MTXC746ZDND7CT/IMG_4725.JPG Notebook - An Elegy for Van Gogh https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/8/10/episode-four-notebook-shomari-wills-and-mary-ellen-pleasant monthly 0.5 2024-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1533920651574-S2OFGZ0R3PXH4HJKYW1I/CH_PineappleUSD_3.JPG Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shomari Wills and Mary Ellen Pleasant https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1533920625005-OHCS2VIYT62R838R654B/CH_PineappleUSD_1.JPG Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shomari Wills and Mary Ellen Pleasant https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1533921837138-5CW5FAK4KPAI60HQ176S/mansion_http-%3A%3Awww.sfcityguides.org.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shomari Wills and Mary Ellen Pleasant Photo of Octavia House courtesy SF City Guides https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1533921905927-05TZNHAQN3MT302ANUE3/MEP+Recipe+book_Angel.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shomari Wills and Mary Ellen Pleasant https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1533921905463-MQYZ1IGTVUHB1WK4LN13/MEP+Recipe+book_cup+cakes.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shomari Wills and Mary Ellen Pleasant https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1533921916916-FHQFK8G0AZVHGAJBC4NV/MEP+Recipe+book_ginger+cake.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shomari Wills and Mary Ellen Pleasant https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1533921917269-9SDFZX3G4L1U0JMQSMDT/MEP+Recipe+book_list.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shomari Wills and Mary Ellen Pleasant https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1533921922830-BEZHOLAXJYQWNUMIBRGE/MEP+Recipe+book_molasses.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shomari Wills and Mary Ellen Pleasant https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/7/21/episode-three-notebook-shelley-miller monthly 0.5 2018-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1532363543446-Q66L4YB7XFCSVEOFC68I/Ep3_Cake_4.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shelley Miller https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1532363558715-16M52GLD0N2IC6XK15EC/Ep3_Cake_5.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shelley Miller https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1532363526999-SOAYBKFTLKACFOP8H6CY/Ep3_Cake_3.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shelley Miller https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1532362460114-UNEHXDQOQKEND9WS7S74/shelleymiller_shelleymillerstudio.com.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shelley Miller Photo: shelleymillerstudio.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1532363002999-95GAPU8Z79B1X931FAZB/Ep3_Cake_1.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Shelley Miller https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/7/6/notebook-episode-2-of-the-cake-historian-podcast monthly 0.5 2018-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1530899292172-N1CUQM4GIO636UTWOJ56/silvercakec.alicegao.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Jessie Sheehan Silver Cake with Pink Frosting from The Vintage Baker. Photograph by Alice Gao. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1530896291295-ZW3YYRMAG8ZTHK4TQXMS/jessiesheehan.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Jessie Sheehan Photo via jessiesheehanbakes.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1530899246969-OCQPGJKCLIKKW8W6XEFK/booklets.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Jessie Sheehan A few booklets from my collection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1530899099677-DIWL4E68NMV2O4BRTCB4/cartoon.jpg Notebook - The Cake Historian Podcast: Jessie Sheehan Cartoon mentioned at the beginning of the episode. https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/6/22/episode-one-of-the-cake-historian-podcast-is-now-available monthly 0.5 2018-06-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1529687918455-ALDAZGJ08Y4JA3T02AA2/IMG_3762.jpg Notebook - This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. —O. Wilde https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1529692064613-WMZK169AP3R9K87UT144/studio+shot.jpg Notebook - This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. —O. Wilde https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1529687998783-89G6WX0OPIKQEZIVLL49/IMG_3780.jpg Notebook - This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. —O. Wilde https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1529690722065-SSWNXMB4XYM1MWW61HJU/Landwhale+memoir+Jes+Baker+the+Militant+Baker.png Notebook - This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. —O. Wilde https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1529687978629-NZJGOOOSS0KHJSKUZQMY/IMG_3776.jpg Notebook - This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. —O. Wilde https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1529691040299-2S0ULOLK3LJPUOIU40Q7/IMG_3626.JPG Notebook - This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. —O. Wilde https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1529688057746-7YWU9EE7KIXQ9LLR3P5S/IMG_3636.JPG Notebook - This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. —O. Wilde https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/2018/6/1/new-site-and-a-podcast monthly 0.5 2018-06-01 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/category/Curious monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/category/Cakes monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/category/Podcast monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/noyaux monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/thecakehistorian monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/amygdalin monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/sunflowers monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/black+fortunes monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/vangogh monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/maryellenpleasant monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/vintagebaker monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/noyauxextract monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/saminnosrat monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/jessiesheehan monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/thecakehistorianpodcast monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/shomari+wills monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/bakingpamphlets monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-walk/tag/apricots monthly 0.5 https://www.thecakehistorian.com/about daily 0.75 2025-05-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606250240221-TW0QGKXRHKIGV6L9QXGE/BA.jpg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1579480990418-12R3IHFNT87KBM5NMPPH/IMG_3515+2.jpeg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1527195892244-V2E0EAIIF0LQUK25W6E8/hello+cake.jpg About https://www.thecakehistorian.com/cake-gallery daily 1.0 2022-12-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1615236175598-XIQUPB8QPH7QM7ODIPOG/FullSizeRender+%281%29.jpeg Cake Gallery - One for Sorrow (Two for Joy) Applesauce Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, for Sadi . . . My dear friend was dying. I typed this while eating my toast, drinking coffee. My dear friend was dying and I simply didn’t know how to process this. I’ve dealt with death many times before but this particular circumstance was new to me. Part of my heart in a special way for over half of my life, I came up with the idea for the cake while he was still in hospital, not yet in hospice care. The first thing that came to mind was the old “One for sorrow, two for joy…” superstition about magpie’s. One for the sorrow, for the loss, the second for the joy, for hope, for the time that we had together, and for who he is as a person. Surrounding the bird on top of the cake is a ring of thyme, a potent herb used in healing but also symbolic of affection, bravery, and courage. Sprinkled about are a few pale rose petals emblematic of friendship. The cake itself is apple and cinnamon, two ingredients packed with love. Cinnamon sparks protection and healing as well. He lived far away so I could not take him the cake, I had to send all of my love and care through the air and via an occasional FaceTime call (hell yes modern technology). Bea ate a slice for breakfast one morning and I like to think that, with each eaten, somehow we sent him a message. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1584654064263-W66Z6GP7ETUPC2EZ1OMY/D4C4229C-9824-417A-A9D8-978919DD6DB0.jpeg Cake Gallery - Birthday Cake for Courtney Two layers of Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Look absolutely cribbed from @amandaefaber—what I now call #fabering—since I seem to do it so much. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1579741556901-U9UBL5TJKCMK9P9BVFWJ/86BB606A-06BF-4E22-803A-2A7DB2533F54.jpeg Cake Gallery - First Cake of 2020: Wolf Moon Noyaux Cake I don’t know. I baked this White Cake faintly flavored with Noyaux Extract, that enticing potion made from the pits of apricots which must be toasted to render the amygdalin inert so that it does not convert to cyanide in the body. I had this notion of a blank canvas, new beginnings (f**ing New Year’s traditions), but the first full moon in 2020, the January moon, is the Wolf Moon. Oh, and there’s a penumbral eclipse. And I’m also kind of angry today. So, yeah, I don’t know. First cake of 2020. Let’s see where this year cakes us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541796013391-DRYE1KSU149IAD3XCC7M/CakeforTroubledTimes.jpg Cake Gallery - A Cake for Troubled Times I went to my books of magic and correspondence and meaning and symbol. Sometimes I need to look further than my cookbook shelf to bake what I need. This recipe has Chocolate for healing and positive energy. Maple sugar for the latter too; black pepper and clove for dispelling negativity; cinnamon for focus; coffee for clarity; walnut for wishes; yogurt to ease depression; baking powder for extra magic. The flower stenciled out on top is a snow drop which, in the Victorian Language of Flowers, symbolizes hope. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1564431256500-RJMMF3RPR89UQ7XW1G76/6ED28228-D4AD-48E9-8F6F-06ED186BE62E.jpg Cake Gallery - Tea and Cake with Demons Chocolate Cake with Ermine Frosting, it’s Inspired by the book of the same name, Tea and Cake with Demons: A Buddhist Guide to Feeling Worthy. When I set out to decorate I imagined something simple but that’s not quite what happened. Enter my nearly 7-year-old daughter who, after digging through my decorating bin and art directing from color onward, is really responsible for this gem. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606248861088-XG7GDOJHRVLNSU96QZG4/73CD86FE-DE38-445F-8520-11929705DEAD-6553CE7B-30C5-4DFE-B01A-3247C2B9793B.jpeg Cake Gallery - Sturgeon Moon Cake The full moon for August is generally referred to as the Sturgeon Moon. But sturgeon + cake = ?. Thankfully, it is also nicknamed the Blueberry Moon as well as the Moon When All Things Ripen. Given these springboards, the final result is inspired by all three (even the Sturgeon!). The cake itself is two layers of White Almond Cake (almond harvesting season runs August through October) frosted in Peach (do I really need to explain this one?) Buttercream. On top of the lot is an abundance (!) of summer bounty: flowers, strawberries and blueberries, fresh tomatoes straight from our garden, an egg gifted from a neighbor’s chicken, a ring of dripping honey to thank the bees, and, in honor of the sturgeon, tiny caviar-like black sprinkles. FYI, freshly-squeezed tomato “water” is delicious on peach buttercream. Composition, etc, inspired by @sharon.core and @ksjaar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588942130141-CO9VZMFKZ9DEUYMIL6L8/Snack+Cake+Cake_The+Cake+Historian.jpeg Cake Gallery - Snack Cake Cake I really love this cake. Like Top 5 love. Inspired by the cream-filled snack cakes of my childhood, particularly the Zinger, the cake and the frosting both are rich, deeply chocolaty, and not-too-sweet and the creamy, dreamy filling is adapted from the Homemade “Cool Whip” in the BraveTart book. The full recipe is available to my Sugar + Patreons! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606248688009-1Z26PN5HBVZQSNDRKIY2/D48532E7-823E-48F0-AF13-E557B39CC4FD-F64E4B0E-9D0D-423B-AF2B-F86613DBD4B3.jpeg Cake Gallery - Stag Moon Cake July’s Full Moon, known as The Stag Moon and The Thunder Moon, rose just after midnight on the 5th. At first I was befuddled how to represent a Stag in cake form—same for a thunderstorm—so I made a list of what first came to mind for both: Strong Loud Powerful and landed on a magical and symbolical-heavy creation. The cake is Chocolate flavored with almond and lots of coffee. The filling is Pomegranate Swiss Meringue Buttercream and the lot is frosted with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Chocolate: positive energy energy energy Pomegranate: growth, like that of antlers and a sky from white to that weird grey which signals a particular kind of storm) Almond: passion (both the buck and thunderstorms) Coffee: thunderstorm energy and bolting through forests The colors of the frosting are white, sky blue, light grey, and darker grey for the dawn to reality of a divine thunderstorm. As for the twig, herb, and flower “antlers,” I looked to Zeus. In Greek Mythology, The Oak Tree is a symbol of the God of Thunder. My family and I took a walk around the neighborhood until my husband spotted a good-sized Oak (he knows these thing; I do not). There we gathered twigs. At home, I laid them out with some cuttings from our lavender and rosemary plants—both good for protection—and spent forever trying to craft reasonably horn-looking cake toppers. The resulting cake played on tart and sweet (2 t of Pomegranate Molasses flavored the filling for a 6” cake just right to my taste and gave it a buck-like shade of brown), with faint almond and lingering coffee on the tongue. It’s got a “Midsommer” look, in its way, just like last month’s Full Moon Cake, but I suppose that’s just summer. The growth, the heat, the color. “And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/cf7923e3-2ba9-4084-b83c-864f913829ff/Mint+Cookie+Cake+%28IG+POST%29.jpeg Cake Gallery - Thicc Mint Cookie Cake A glorious later of chocolate cake topped with peppermint cream and enrobed in bittersweet chocolate ganache. From The Cake Book by Rebecca Firth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1579818336376-KYUXBPZ9JJMFVPHO3GTR/A3462CEF-5C6E-4C19-9CAE-C24176459999.jpeg Cake Gallery - Flourless Chocolate Prune Cake with Rosemary Salted Whipped Cream, or A Cake for Love (Chocolate and Vanilla), Longevity (Prune; Plum) Memory (Rosemary), Purification (Salt), and Healing (Orange snuck into the cake). Read more & recipe HERE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1579740872494-NDZDLOAW0ABKDGYA5R6B/0507C6A3-2BA5-447D-96A2-5DCF45C07EC4.jpeg Cake Gallery - Homesick for NYC: Ample Hills I’ve been missing NYC in a visceral, achy way lately (okay, since we left, but...). To help I’m trying my usual cake therapy, in this case embarking on a new project baking cake versions of some of my favorite, most beloved, most missed treats from the big . First up is a Whipped Cream Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream and “Crack Cookies” inspired by the Salted Crack’d Caramel ice cream at Ample Hills. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1615235874507-3FVRJONMJRBMC6FOV462/FullSizeRender.jpeg Cake Gallery - Cold Moon Cake Vanilla Cake with fridge-cold Whipped Cream and chilly Lemon Curd comprise December’s full moon cake for the Cold Moon. This particular name comes from the Mohawk tribe for the time when bone-chilling weather descends. As well, the Oglala tribe calls this the Moon of the Popping Trees, and Cree refer to it as the Frost Exploding Trees Moon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1564430752396-4X7IJ348UZTXKKBHII5G/5B89B647-B8C8-42F0-B0AD-CB7B0E1F7B2A.jpg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 4: I am Easily Lost Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1584653990133-6H3GWC9TNZ0Y3N7RK770/CBE93F71-E99E-47AA-A7F0-4971CF045C54.jpeg Cake Gallery - For My Valentines Two-Layer Chocolate Cake with Ballet Pink Vanilla Buttercream. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1564431136196-RIF0H0FP8G86AHOXPVPB/TinType-584328923.987885.jpeg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in (not) Cake no. 8: I Am (temporarily) Out of Ideas https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541698352879-R5P3R9U325DZASX91272/anishkappor_thecakehistorian.jpg Cake Gallery - Black Hole Black Cocoa Mayonnaise Cake with (Activated) Charcoal Buttercream. Inspired by Black Holes, @anish.kapoor, and some pretty heavy mental business that I don’t even begin to know how to talk about (though know I am okay). Both Black Holes and Activated Charcoal absorb absorb absorb. The mayonnaise is the opposite, all slippery fat and moisture. So I guess this cake is what I can not yet put into words, these opposing forces working within me, my faith that gravity is stronger on my end, and the comfort I take in absolute blackness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1584653825025-75FZBE9T7L82E924SPCE/snowmooncake_thecakehistorian.jpg Cake Gallery - Snow Moon Cake This White Cake with Lemon Curd and Vanilla Buttercream is in honor of February’s full moon. Known variously as the Cold Moon, Hunger Moon, Rowan Moon, Ice Moon, and Quickening Moon, the name Snow Moon is pulled from The Farmer’s Almanac: “The Full Moon Names we use...come from Native American tribes, Colonial Americans, or other traditional North American names passed down through generations.” Cake-wise, I brought in some cold by using a white cake recipe which calls for ice water while the lemon in the curd is bracing and bright and has uses in moon magic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/cbe8d15b-8fc4-4042-8a1e-d7fe35f8eed7/Magical+Coconut+Cake+%28IG+POST%29.jpeg Cake Gallery - Coconut Cake A simple, magical Coconut Cake for confidence, clear thinking, and protection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1587651007336-FNNANTZP3E515HS95YRO/F005F40C-9A68-4C0A-878E-DB51DAD521B7.jpeg Cake Gallery - Quarantine Cake Along with the honor of being interviewed by Patricia Escárcega for the Los Angeles Times I was asked to create a Quarantine Cake to run with the Column One story How to Revelive Stress During a Pandemic? #quarantinebaking . Oh, and running a recipe with a Column One story has never happened in the paper’s history until my humble contribution ! No pressure. Nope. Anyway... my cake riffs on one known variously as Depression Cake, Crazy Cake, and Wacky Cake. The recipes, and their histories, differ save for all resulting in a baked good that is easy and economical to make. Requiring no eggs, milk, or butter, the batter comes together—by hand—in less than ten minutes and is out of the oven in less than 30. The finished cake is deeply-hued and bittersweet due to a higher than usual amount of cocoa, an ingredient of love and happiness—something every single one of us could use more of. There’s also a teaspoon of cinnamon for healing and a cup of brewed coffee for that extra jolt of energy, both literal and figurative, we need to get through this. Chocolate not your thing? There’s a vanilla variation at the end of the recipe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/6fa74d2d-7cc1-4c11-a9da-fea5b963e80f/Black+Cocoa+Cake+%28IG+POST%29.jpeg Cake Gallery - Black Cocoa Five-Spice Cake https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1579741377470-0IQXOIXBJSWLFOMKHW8D/E488F526-96E3-41CE-B873-5BE8426653EC.jpeg Cake Gallery - Deb Perelman’s Smetench Küchen Perfection. Recipe from Smitten Kitchen Every Day https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1552068920250-JV1HBBZKIRS3182SMH0L/butterflycake.jpg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no.3: This is My Brain on Anxiety This is a Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Boiled Milk Frosting. The design of the cake is meant to express how I feel when anxiety takes hold. I often describe it as though my thoughts are like butterflies which have escaped and my net is lost. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/8bba70d5-cf10-4426-a666-18d6d50edcc5/Plum+Cake.jpeg Cake Gallery - Plum Cake https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541698408325-610GR41QO86Q01KNDK0R/IMG_3892.JPG Cake Gallery - The Lottery Lottery Cake created on June 27th, the day the events in the short story by Shirley Jackson take place. I baked up two layers of dark chocolate beet cake which I filled with red raspberry jam and frosted in the blue of a “clear and sunny” day, surrounded with “flowers...blossoming profusely” and set upon “grass ... richly green.” And then I stoned it. The “blood” stained slip of paper sealing its fate lay at the bottom right. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588942755815-MHOSW7XKFHR6JF3C6ENC/Self-Portriat+12_1_The+Cake+Historian.jpeg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 12: Parenting During Covid Read about this crazy mess of love and see an upclose car crash shot (!) here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1615237306230-LRXO92JR3CBB9L3BUSUK/FullSizeRender.jpeg Cake Gallery - Chocolate Cake with Toasted Meringue https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1564534445848-4QWDZ85F38A0VDBH8SBZ/0D99DCA5-14F1-4768-BF73-CDC48B26AE8A.jpg Cake Gallery - Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Pickled Fruit and Whipped Cream I’ve been experimenting with Fruit Shrubs this summer as a way to cut back on wine. In the past, I’ve discarded the fruit without much thought but this time I nibbled a bit and, blown away by the lovely, sharp-sweetness, knew immediately that I wanted to try it on a cake. Pound Cake clicked, but a typical butter-only version didn’t seem right. I ended up going with Joy the Baker’s sublime Cream Cheese Pound Cake which I think pairs perfectly. That said, I’ll admit the pickled fruit makes it a weird one, definitely not for every palate, but HERE’s the recipe should you care to try it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1579741005898-LDFTKWN90O7J92XFDC4G/CF37E167-324A-4035-870F-587E598F12A7.jpeg Cake Gallery - Homesick for NYC: Apple Cider Doughnuts The first time I visited the Penguin Random House offices was to see the cover mock-ups for The Baker’s Appendix. After the meeting with my lovely editor @ashley_rosy and the brilliant @msquinn1002, I treated myself to a hot Apple Cider Doughnut from the @carpedonutnyc truck parked on Broadway. It’s hard to describe how I felt, watching the frenzy of people and cars and bicycles, but I can recall thinking “I did it! I really fucking did it!” before burning my tongue on that they-say-fresh-they-mean-fresh doughnut. Cake recipe from Martha Stewart available here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541698501631-XLDISLT1D69TST72P4L5/vangogh.jpg Cake Gallery - An Elegy for Van Gogh Read more about this cake HERE. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1615236535193-N1359H5S7Y7Y0YO0XEZM/FullSizeRender.jpeg Cake Gallery - Broken Heart Cake One of the last things my friend said to me was that the hospital had “shitty banana bread.” I promptly baked and shipped him a loaf which I believe he got to try before passing away in hospice the evening before Valentine’s. When I smelled more ripe bananas in the kitchen I immediately thought of him, of that banana bread, of how, as a chef, he was always saying to “put butter on it.” This is my broken heart in a cake, black cocoa banana with American buttercream piled high. I miss you, dear friend. I’ll make sure to always put plenty of butter on it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1543513888141-1ANLG0I2JJIRG34IA91U/IMG_7380.jpeg Cake Gallery - Bergamot & Thyme Olive Oil Cake Infused with intention of inviting success (bergamot) and courage (thyme) into my life using the magical correspondences of each ingredient. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/493a2f58-8d5e-40fd-8c7b-19f6ed14216c/Yellow+Cake+with+Golden+Buttercream.jpeg Cake Gallery - Yellow Cake with Golden Buttercream https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1568748834059-76ODJ9YN4119IVIS080P/8E2DAA32-C7DB-4427-8568-643603BADDDF.jpg Cake Gallery - Olive Oil Cake with Browned Butter Buttercream Recipe HERE. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1564431017351-6HAOM60GCZY345CON730/image-asset.jpeg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 7: I am Fing Jealous of Your Success (but I still love you) Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Black Pepper Jam and Basil Buttercream. Correspondence-wise, Black Pepper represents jealousy while the strawberry and basil represent wealth and prosperity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606248793028-BACLB16IN8AKMJ10SF11/2537E431-E8C7-4D6F-82BE-38D8D92D0895-B24EBBFB-AEF4-4AEF-B8D8-4DA195DA9C4C.jpeg Cake Gallery - “I Want to Punch Covid in the Face” Cake Inspired by my daughter’s repeated sentiment, I decided it best to let her do just that. We frosted and decorated a two-layer Chocolate Cake with Buttercream to look like the illustrator-rendition of that Covid f*@ker. FYI, Mom got her punches in too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/5d5580eb-18c6-4907-a80b-b92298ab94d6/Chocolate+with+Chocolate.jpeg Cake Gallery - Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606248989079-CM1VS21M2ROWJNZIVM0N/Screen+Shot+2020-11-24+at+12.15.57+PM.png Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 13: Momma Has Cracked I’ve been home too much, gone all hare-brained, batty, squirrelly, bananas. Bit of a fruit loop. Sponge cake layers made from the ashes of articles about mothers, COVID, and mental illness filled and frosted with Banana Whipped Cream. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1584653228655-OE97WURCE0I0DQA7ER02/39DA60A3-D242-4892-B62C-8B6A375B8B86.jpeg Cake Gallery - Uplifting Lemon Cake I used an absurd amount of in the cake and buttercream because: happiness. The raspberries were a last minute add for some symbolic strength. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541699157239-FZC4OYE2NKI2IZULGVVM/IMG_0894.jpg Cake Gallery - Anxiety Sick of my own bulls$@t, I decided to bake all of my anxiety and fears and frustration into a really terrible cake. And then destroy it. It’s got soggy cereal, a rotten tomato, hot sauce, a cold egg and flour, and too much baking soda, black pepper, and sugar. Topped it off with cheesecloth embroidered with the word ANXIETY, then soaked with terrible-smelling bitters. The intention was to set it all on fire, but the didn’t catch, so I just smashed the hell out of it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1587649979842-MKKSV46DU4G3RDHVEP9Q/B4734214-3D83-423D-9158-1B23906D9E14.jpeg Cake Gallery - Pink Moon Cake Lemon Yogurt Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream for the full moon in April. In the Christian Church it is the Paschal Full Moon, or the moon that determines the date of Easter. Its other nickname is the Pink Moon after Phlox Subulata, a flowering plant native to Eastern North American which blooms in early spring. The cake design is inspired by the brightly colored flowers of the plant. As for flavor, it is the Lovely Lemon Yogurt Cake from “Simple Cake” by @odettewilliams topped with more lemony-ness in the buttercream. Lemon is bright and uplifting and correlated to moon magic. Yogurt is seen as helpful for healing depression in both the magical and scientific worlds. I’m thinking we can all use A LOT of brightness these days. And yogurt. And cake. “Where there is cake, there is hope. And there is always cake.” Dean Koontz https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1564430841390-QXVSYTDLUJTKX9730MMQ/F825F6E8-665C-4214-9754-BF6A469AA869.jpg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 5: Keep It Together Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Sprinkles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588943005026-M43R6MFGTV72UCSHZ8H7/Scoob+Cake_TheCakeHistorian.jpeg Cake Gallery - Scooby-Doo Banishment Cake So the kid had been watching Scooby Doo for five weeks. Seriously, nothing but Scooby Doo. Every version of the television show (Scrappy Doo ), every movie, every damn LEGO movie!! I realized last week that it’s a comfort thing for her and I’m not about to take that away but, I mean, something’s got to give. So when she said “Let’s bake a Scooby cake together!!,” then proceeded to art direct and leave the kitchen I was cool with it. We ended up with this colorful cake, Vanilla/Vanilla in flavor and just as colorful inside. She gobbled a slice and, the next morning, I swear to the goddess of cake, she turned on Peabody and Sherman. I was stunned. Magic! ✨Banishment! ...For about an hour . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606249131118-2NLCGEEPJJ6YLML5096Q/9CD53C99-F483-4351-AB9A-7582B6EDD455-8D2441F9-E19D-4AEB-9537-6B0B97C4F34E.jpeg Cake Gallery - Hunter’s Moon Cake Chocolate Cake with American Buttercream and Blood-Red Ganache Drips. This year it was on Halloween and was the second full moon in October. The Hunter’ Moon marks time time when food is being hoarded by all creatures big and small in preparation for the coming cold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1585839568707-NM0MVNA4ZT46080BLD03/RaspBranBkfstCake_TheCH.jpeg Cake Gallery - Homesick—and Heartsick—for NYC: Raspberry Bran Breakfast Cake, easily veganized Inspired by the Vegan Raspberry Bran Muffin that I used to (often) eat for lunch from the sadly no-longer @birdbathgreenbakery @citybakerydaily. I needed to bake something NY as that city and its people are constantly on my mind. I want to hound my friends there but am settling for Instagram and FB stalking along with occasional texts. The idea for this cake popped into my head as my mind wanted to bake but my body wanted something, eh, healthier? I don’t know. I’ve got to take care of both right now, however—and with whatever—I can. WE have to. So this healthyish cake goes out to NYC, its people, and ALL of you. Take care of yourselves ❤️. RECIPE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1564430902171-LOZ14F9VWIRJ6DE51R83/image-asset.jpeg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 6: Too Many Self-Help Books A Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream slowly being pressed to death under the weight of all this overwhelming, frankly somewhat unhelpful, advice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541700605414-2A4UBU1DV1RRHQNRP44C/Fates+and+Furies.jpg Cake Gallery - Fates and Furies A Ylang-Ylang-scented layer and an orange layer filled with Creme Patisserie. Frosted with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and topped with spun sugar. Created to interpret Lauren Groff’s novel and served at her book launch party. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541698912016-MZ9MIAW4727LCGKVPBD2/IMG_6247.jpg Cake Gallery - This is My Brain on a Good Day Two layers of Black Cocoa Cake filled and frosted with Raspberry American Buttercream and decorated to match how I was feeling that particular day, a bit dark, a bit bright, a bit shiny, a bit creatively chaotic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1584654238209-GF2PIC75877TYMBFRO3P/A9163552-0B4A-49A1-A29D-5A675CF0B616.jpeg Cake Gallery - Worm Moon Cake Carrot Cake with Garden Pea Cream. The full moon in March is known as the Worm Moon for as the ground thaws, those squirmy creatures wiggle their way towards the sun. Once exposed, they feed returning Robin’s and other birds. Alternately it’s known as the Sap Moon as it heralds the tapping of Maple Trees. The cake is the @sweetlaurelbakery Dark Horse Carrot Cake from their eponymous book. Packed with magic from almond flour (prosperity) and walnuts and carrots (fertility), the recipe uses maple syrup as the sole sugary sweetener. The Garden Pea Cream (exactly as it sounds: peas and cream) comes from “Sticky Fingers Green Thumb” by @stickyfingersbakery. It’s basically spring on a plate. Only without the worms . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541699968758-GLAB5HJ5145IDZRBY5BS/Jane+Eyre.jpg Cake Gallery - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Two layers of Bergamot Vanilla Cake filled and frosted with Swiss Meringue Buttercream the grey of British skies. I removed the center of the cake, crushed it up, then pressed it back in, a nod to “hidden madness.” On top are a few reeds reminiscent of the landscape in the book and a house burnt sugar to represent the burning of Thornfield Hall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1615235779420-R3DI54VIPSARU2A6G8S2/71236880-1DB0-426C-B903-CF7DD3FCAFA0.jpeg Cake Gallery - Beaver Moon Cake The full moon of November is known as the Beaver Moon. According to the FARMER’S ALMANAC, it is named as such as this is the “time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges.” As well, “During the time of the fur trade in North America, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts.” This moon is also known as the Digging Moon and Frost Moon among others. Two layers of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting the deep brown of a beavers pelt topped sanding sugar “frost,” design insipired by @saltadenabakery. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588943356632-5KHCZJ48XTC7PGJYC6A7/Flower+Moon+Cake_The+Cake+HIstorian.jpeg Cake Gallery - Flower Moon Cake The full moon of May is known variously as the Flower Moon, Milk Moon, as well as Mother’s Moon. My cake is rather straightforward. It’s a Hot Milk Sponge Cake (via Alice Medrich) with flowers piped with the Swiss Meringue Buttercream in The Baker’s Appendix. The kiddo helped me decorate (I called it Art Class), having chosen the frosting colors as well as piping some of the flowers and “all of the leaves, Mom!” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1588943628411-7J6KTVFET4PUMSNQJV5D/How+to+Eat+Strawberry+Shortcake_The+Cake+Historian.jpeg Cake Gallery - How to Eat Strawberry Shortcake 1. Crave Strawberry Shortcake. 2. Decide that’s what’s for lunch. Think of options. Think of rolling pins and biscuit cutters. 3. Feel lazy. Continued… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1568745182978-361R5OE2D53HN03BT9RF/E407C650-DBA4-41FE-BFD3-5451B3D67CDA.jpg Cake Gallery - Snow & Rose Cake Inspired by the book of the same name by Emily Winfield Martin. Cake key: Nods to the main characters come from the faintly vanilla layers—one white and one red —and the red buttercream roses and white nonpareils. The frosting is a Honey Buttercream tinted violet in reference to two cakes mentioned in the book. The meringue mushrooms are a nod to another character, Ivo. It’s a lovely book, beautifully illustrated, calming on the brain-palate, and rather fun to cake. PS: my first-ever buttercream roses and meringue mushrooms! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1570470127808-OUA59RVL4PLLP3S0LGNA/8577B6A9-E908-4D90-B062-2529E1926F7C.jpg Cake Gallery - A Cake for Healing This Applesauce Spice Cake with Browned Butter Buttercream was baked with healing in mind and donated for a Depressed Cake Shop pop-up. Cake, in general, is a symbol of happiness. Both the apples and the cinnamon baked into the cake correspond to healing in magical thinking. The grey frosting (a @depressedcakeshop standard) represents depression, the coral and green the flower of the healing aloe plant. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1570470401841-UQTEA9BCKQVVW31LHKS9/49F58580-1B5E-44F2-8D4A-26BD6FDC9E4B.jpeg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no 10, Perimenopause Coffee Walnut Cake with Lemon Curd and Lemon Buttercream. Lemon Curd: Mood swings, both tart and sweet. Coffee: Wake me up before you go, go. Lemon & Coffee: I guess the combo is some sort of weight loss thing? And god knows us perimenopausal ladies need to keep that important info in our back pocket! Ground Walnuts: Represents fertility and clarity in magical thinking. The ground part is important here. Irregular Ruffles: Irregular everything. Broken Clock: Kind of obvious. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1568745099466-ALWAGEYOMF0DFC4BK18I/8DEFA6AE-7FBC-4591-B362-2A02FB95FEC3.jpg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 9: Food As Medicine Capsules filled with Chocolate Cake or Funfetti Buttercream. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1543617177297-KO28FM17Y6PBAKR3O6CF/Presence+One.jpg Cake Gallery - “Presence” A vanilla-vanilla cake version of Presence by artist Shirazeh Houshiary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606249085801-DZAOPTK06W31FBG4595I/7EE22441-652A-4A6E-900A-3CBD2D1023BA-C5FE3631-E388-4934-8339-64A0A7B32C3B.jpeg Cake Gallery - Harvest Moon Cake Whole Wheat Applesauce Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, topped with one of the Baked Apples from a few posts back. This special moon rises at sunset for several nights in a row, bright light allowing for later harvesting. Belonging to neither September or October, its home on the calendar ever year it is based upon the autumnal equinox: whichever month it rises in following that date is when you will find it. This year the equinox was September 22. Excitingly, this is the first of two full moons in October, the other falling on All Hallow’s Eve! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606248303274-X1M6WSAAFVKELURIXLQ6/9649914E-0BFC-4CF3-A1EC-BF741F4BB81C.jpeg Cake Gallery - Portrait of Dad Marbled Chocolate and Vanilla Beer Cake Frosted in Dots of Sweetened Whipped Cream and Topped with Chopped Roasted Peanuts. Marbled Chocolate and Vanilla Cake: Piano keys. For his intense love of playing and listening to the music ever since I was a girl. Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude. Bottle of Coors Light: This went into the cake batter. He used to be a heavy drinker, especially of beer. I chose Coors Light as I grew up in Colorado and he still lives there. He loved that f@#king beer. If painting a portrait of my childhood I would use dabs here and there of the yellow that colored the old cans. Chopped Roasted Peanuts: He doesn’t drive anymore, but when he did he always kept a container of roasted peanuts in the car wedged somewhere in the midsection between the driver and front passenger seats. This is a tastier addition than the beef jerky that was always in the glove box. Sweetened Whipped Cream: A nod to Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie, the state pie of Indiana where he grew up. If you look you will see that some of the cream dots have “disappeared.” He has Alzheimer’s. This references how he is progressively disappearing from himself. Or we are from him, from his memory. Both, really. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1542311979860-YO12Y8RM8LN6L6SF8H2U/berit+1.jpg Cake Gallery - “Balance” A vanilla-vanilla cake version of Balance by artist Berit Mogensen Lopez https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1584654138690-TAJKE3UWKHMEEYJJMNKG/94E6BF37-5E12-47E5-8C8D-3E99CA32A7EF.jpeg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake no. 11: 44th Birthday The cake itself is chocolate, an ingredient that is basically magic everything, and there is a pinch of cinnamon for extra spark. As for the recipe, it is one known variously as Crazy, Wacky, or Depression, depending on your source. The same, frankly, can be said for me . The frosting and filling is whipped cream. There’s no deep meaning for this, I just really like whipped cream, though I did tint the filling purple in honor of Bea, my heart . As for its application, the cake is only half frosted (hello middle age!) with some ups and downs and a few clumsy spills. The streak of black celebrates my good darkness, the ruffles along the base honoring how the uniformity I have found in areas of life help keep me stable. The whole lot is supported by a solid (beautiful @aheirloom) foundation and flurried with rose petals because I am incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so much love. Oh, and the Statue of Liberty? I just cannot let go of New York City, of my identity as a New Yorker. But that’s a whole different cake . https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541700271438-LC06J5E0WRIHDYV81Q43/It+Was+a+Piece+of+Cake+by+Jessica+Reed.jpg Cake Gallery - It Was a Piece of Cake A mixed-media piece of hand-embroidery on a linen napkin and two layers of White Cake with White Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The rest is up to viewer interpretation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606249036851-E3URK3PNQML9PQWGX0C6/C80D2414-CD76-4CC2-A849-A28141F49000-A8B77361-3E49-4931-BA7C-2E16B0D0DF25.jpeg Cake Gallery - Corn Moon Cake Four layers of Corn Cake with Sweet Corn Whipped Cream and Caramel Corn for today’s full moon. Usually we think of September’s moon as the Harvest Moon, the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox. But, every three years, a moon in October falls closer. That’s when we get the Corn Moon. (In October we’ll see two full moons including one on Halloween!). Other names for September’s full moon: The Lakota Sioux refer to this as Moon When the Plums Are Scarlet, some call it the Barley Moon, and the Omaha named it the Moon When Deer Paw the Earth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541699564324-G8YXME4FKR7YG90H72HP/Into+the+Water+Key.png Cake Gallery https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541699347261-0Q265JHHMPWCX09HYE1G/IntotheWater.jpg Cake Gallery - Into the Water A Book as Cake created for Paula Hawkins in celebration of the release of her second novel, Into the Water. See image below for the key. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541698834372-8LI8XQKCM06OKAWTQ5CH/image-asset.jpeg Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake n. 2 In the seventh (eighth?) grade, a teacher made us memorize the helping verbs, something I have never forgotten. To this day, when I feel a panic attack coming on, I recite them over and over in my mind. For #worldmentalhealthday2018, I decided to bake up an homage to that string of word pearls I carry with me wherever I go. The cake is actually a boxed yellow mix with Hershey’s Cocoa back-of-the-can frosting as that’s what I considered great cake to be at 12 (and still kinda do). My royal icing wasn’t quite the right consistency so it’s a bit tough to read. That I wrote is as it plays out in my mind doesn’t help either: am is was were would be been may can must might could would should have has had will do did done. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1606248544908-1WIIFW0T08GG2PF88V36/Solstice_Midsommar_Cake1.jpeg Cake Gallery - Summer Solstice Cake Lemon Cake with Lemon Verbena and Thyme bakes into the top. Split and filled with Whipped Cream and Strawberries. For this cake, I chose to celebrate summer, light, flavor, and growth with a nod towards the strawberries and cream common in most Swedish Midsommar Cakes. I left out reference to the cultist murder from the film some of use might be thinking of.* ;) • Lemon is a glowing fruit good for imbuing happiness, protection, and love. • Some use Lemon Verbena to ward off negativity and "can be used for creative endeavours and for festivals that celebrate the gifts of Mother Earth." • Thyme suffuses healing and beauty. • Yogurt is now being studied as an aid for depression, something that those coming from the darkness to the light may be needing help with. • Strawberries are a fruit of love and fertility More information and the recipe available via my Patreon page! *Midsommar if you don’t know what I’m referencing. Oh, and the beautiful watercolor border is by @edythpress! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541698710713-O0PUDUGM85C9IKE5ICQ1/IMG_4651.JPG Cake Gallery - Self-Portrait in Cake n. 1 Goth-dark chocolate cake flavored with too much coffee (you know better) and frosted in Bavarian Cream, the filling of choice for every birthday party cake of my childhood. On top is an opinionated, bittersweet ganache hastily applied without forethought, a partially-dried red rose for complicated love, and some dried calendula flowers for bright and optimistic thoughts. Yet the end result is incomplete due to the missing half-slice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541972655208-VRZ6EISTC0GZBSH74CAE/DT64.jpg Cake Gallery https://www.thecakehistorian.com/podcast daily 0.75 2020-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1527866062930-B0WFGKM9LUTB5XOFVQ8J/CakeHistorianImage.jpg PODCAST https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1527795918597-DS48QZV6Z2PP1KABTUFP/podcast+banner.jpg PODCAST https://www.thecakehistorian.com/yellow-wallpaper-press daily 0.75 2018-11-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1542130847125-JII1MYI3ZLIXBOFLEZ9P/image-asset.jpeg Yellow Wallpaper Press - JUST PIE by Erin Jeanne McDowell & Mark Weinberg Created just in time for the holidays, this ebook features eight exclusive recipes by Erin Jeanne McDowell complimented by the stunning photographic work of Mark Weinberg. Available HERE. erinjeannemcdowell.com @emcdowell markweinbergphoto.com @markweinberynyc https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541453157556-3QALPM0G1WL1J9ZQJ5V3/yellow+wallpaper.jpg Yellow Wallpaper Press - THE YELLOW WALLPAPER by Charlotte Perkins Gillman The first chapbook from YWP—and the press namesake—was designed as a stand-alone print copy of one of my favorite short stories. As brilliant, bold, and prescient as it was when first was published in 1892, The Yellow Wallpaper remains not only as an stellar example of early American Feminist literature, but as a prime example of the short story as well. This edition features the unabridged story along with a brief biography and the full article "Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper" penned by Gilman and published in her magazine The Forerunner in October 1913. Available from many online retailers including: Powells Elliott Bay Book Company The Tattered Cover The Strand Bookstore Amazon Barnes and Noble https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541697569069-WSL05KR07HR818DH36F8/watercolor.jpg Yellow Wallpaper Press https://www.thecakehistorian.com/recipes daily 0.75 2020-04-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541705017945-8S4POLM5I76EQV82G3Q9/pumpkin+spice+cake.png Just the Damn Recipe - Pumpkin Spice Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache Prep a 9” round cake pan and pre-heat your oven to 350° Ingredients: Dry 125 g all-purpose flour 1 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1/2 t cinnamon 1/4 t each ground nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger Wet 120 g walnut oil 1 large egg 110 g brown sugar 25 g granulated sugar 1/2 of a 15 oz can of pure pumpkin puree 1 t vanilla extract Instructions: In a medium-sized bowl sift together all of the Dry ingredients. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the Wet ingredients. Fold the dry into the wet. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake 23-25 minutes until the cake starts pulling away from the sides of the pan, the center spring back lightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes back with just a few clinging crumbs. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to a rack to cool completely. Frost the top liberally with whipped ganache made from your desired chocolate. Top with pumpkin seeds mussed up in olive oil, cinnamon, and sugar and toasted. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1584981011183-WIG1ATP0IOHYS6H2BA5J/800AFFF6-E3ED-4C94-9C61-7F055BFEAFC0.jpeg Just the Damn Recipe - Discard Sourdough Ricotta Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe adapted from the Sourdough Key Lime Ricotta Cookies in Artisan Sourdough Made Simple Preheat oven to 350° Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper Makes aprox. two dozen small cookies In a small bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 c (188g) all-purpose flour, 2 t baking powder, and 1/4 t fine sea salt. In another small bowl, mix together 1/4 c (60 g) sourdough starter, 1/4 c (63 g) ricotta, and 1 t vanilla extract. In a medium-sized bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream on medium-high speed 1/2 stick (4 T; 56g) unsalted butter (room temperature) with 1/2 c (100g) sugar for two minutes, then add in 1 lg egg (room temp) and cream for an additional minute. Reduce speed to medium low and mix in the starter-ricotta-vanilla until thoroughly incorporated, then turn to low and mix in the dry ingredients. Fold in 1/2 c (112 g) mini chocolate chips. Using a #60 (T) scoop, put one dozen per sheet about two inches apart. Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt. Bake 15-18 minutes, rotating the pans at the 8 minute mark. It’s a bit tough to tell when they are done as the top stay pale as milk. I recommend carefully checking the bottoms. They will be a nice golden brown when done. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1546885424603-7BYCZ9TKEVWR56N1I1AM/IMG_8168.jpg Just the Damn Recipe - Beat the Blues Chocolate Loaf Cake (chocolate = happiness; cinnamon = healing; yogurt = anti-depression) Prep: Preheat oven to 350° Line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with a parchment paper sling Dry: 1 1/4 c (150 g) whole wheat pastry flour 3/4 c (64 g) dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 1 t cinnamon 1/2 t kosher salt Wet: 1 c (210 g) brown sugar 2 large eggs 1/2 c (120 g) whole milk yogurt 1/4 c (56 g) neutral oil 1 t vanilla extract 1. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. 3. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet just until you no longer see streaks of dry. 4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. 5. Bake 35-38 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. 6. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool. The texture and flavor improved the following day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1585837501609-0CWMFNW4HASZUJSX3XGI/RaspBranBkfstCake_TheCH.jpeg Just the Damn Recipe - Raspberry Bran Breakfast Cake, easily vegan Bake this cake the night before you want to eat it as it’s better with a little time to rest. Preheat oven to 350° Line a 9” square pan with a parchment sling In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 c (195 g) whole wheat flour, 1 /2 c (60 g) wheat bran, 1 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, and 1/2 t fine sea or table salt. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 c (105 g) light brown sugar, 2 large eggs* (at room temperature), 1 c (240 g) whole milk** (room temperature), 1/2 c (112 g) neutral oil, and 1 t vanilla extract. Gently toss 1 c (125 g) fresh or frozen (not-thawed) raspberries in the dry ingredients, fully coating. Fold the raspberry/dry ingredients into the wet until incorporated then pour the batter into the pan. Bake 22–24 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the sides start pulling away from the pan. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely. *Replace with 2 flax “eggs” (5 T ground flax seeds mixed with 6 T (95 g) water) **Replace with alternative milk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1543505253865-GACVGK87KU02J77AYWOZ/IMG_7380.jpeg Just the Damn Recipe - Bergamot & Thyme Olive Oil Cake (A Cake for Courage (Thyme) and Success (Bergamot) Prep: Preheat oven to 350° 1 T unsalted butter, soft 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, 3” to 4” long Dry: 1 c (125 g) all-purpose flour 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/4 t fine sea salt Wet: 1/2 c (100 g) sugar 1 large egg 1/2 c (120 g) whole milk yogurt 1/4 c (56 g) olive oil 4 drops of Bergamot Essential Oil (I use Aura Cacia Pure) 1. Liberally butter a 6” round springform pan. Remove the Thyme leaves from their stalks and sprinkle all over the bottom the pan. 2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. 3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, yogurt, olive oil, and essential oil. 4. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet. 5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan keeping in mind the leaves. Smooth the top with a small offset spatula or back of a spoon. 6. Bake 18–22 minutes until the top springs back lightly when pressed and the sides pull away from the pan. 7. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool, thyme side up. 8. Decorate as you wish. I used tape to cover lengths of the cake and then dusted liberally with confectioners sugar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541795843583-XKRIJH9Z8MT4IKKL3FD7/CakeforTroubledTimes.jpg Just the Damn Recipe - A Cake for Troubled Times Dry: 1 1/4 c (156 g) all-purpose flour 3/4 c (64 g) dutch process cocoa power (I used 40 g Valrhona and 24 g black cocoa) 1 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper 1/4 t ground cloves 1 t cinnamon Wet: 3/4 c (150 g) maple sugar 1/4 c (50 g) granulated sugar 2 large eggs 112 g walnut oil 240 g whole milk yogurt 2 t coffee extract 1. Prepare a 9” round cake pan and preheat your oven to 350° 2. In a medium bowl, sift (please do sift) together the dry ingredients. 3. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. 4. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet until thoroughly incorporated. 5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 28 to 32 minutes until the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, the top springs back lightly when pressed in the middle, and, if you need extra reassurance, a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove to a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners sugar as desired, stencil or not. I hope your troubled times end soon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1568746709125-DCMRJ5NAQKDMHRVVR963/8E2DAA32-C7DB-4427-8568-643603BADDDF.jpg Just the Damn Recipe - Olive Oil Cake with Browned Butter Buttercream For the cake Prep: Preheat oven to 350° Grease an 8” round cake pan and line with parchment paper Dry: 1 1/2 c (188 g) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t kosher salt Wet: 3 large eggs, at room temperature 3/4 c (150 g) sugar 1/2 c (112 g) olive oil (use your favorite but make sure it’s one that taste nice on its own!) 1/2 c (120 g) whole milk 1 t vanilla extract 1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs with the sugar on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. 3. With the mixer running, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. 4. Mix in the milk and the vanilla extract. 5. On low speed, add in the dry ingredients stopping when you still see streaks of dry. Finish mixing by hand. 6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30–34 minutes until the top springs back lightly when pressed and the sides pull away from the pan. 7. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. 8. If the cake has a domed top, trip off to make a level layer, then frost with the Browned Butter Buttercream. For the buttercream 2 sticks (1 c; 227 g) salted butter, at room temperature 1/4 c (60 g) heavy cream, at room temperature 1 t vanilla extract 1/8 t fine sea salt 1 1/4 c (150 g) confectioners sugar, well-sifted 1. To make the browned butter, melt one stick of the salted butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. As soon as the stick is entirely melted, start watching the pot closely. You will begin to see brown specs on the bottom of the pan. Gently stir with a heat-proof spatula and keep watching. The foaming will subside and the butter will begin to darken in color. As soon as it turns a medium gold shade immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir again. Pour the browned butter in a small heat-proof container and let cool for 10 minutes before moving to the refrigerator to cool completely. This will take anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour. You will know it is ready when the butter is an even color. Note that you still want the butter soft, just not liquid. 2. Once the browned butter is ready, spoon into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the other stick of butter and beat on medium speed for two minutes. Beat in the vanilla, salt, and heavy cream. Add the confectioners sugar and beat, beginning on low speed, increasing to medium as the sugar is incorporated into the butter mixture, for 7 minutes. Turn down to low speed and beat for 30 seconds to burst big air bubbles. Taste and add more salt as desired. The frosted cake will last, kept at room temperature and in an air-tight container, for three days. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1564532836656-0ECXZWZKJPPTE162DUBV/image-asset.jpeg Just the Damn Recipe - Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Pickled Fruit and Whipped Cream For the cake. Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson Prep: Preheat oven to 325° Line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with a parchment paper sling Ingredients: 2 c (250 g) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t kosher salt 1 (8 oz; tk g) package cream cheese, at room temperature (VERY IMPORTANT that it is soft-textured) 1 1/2 sticks (tk g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 1/2 c (300 g) granulated sugar 2 t vanilla extract 4 large eggs, at room temperature 1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for two minutes then add in the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about another three minutes. 3. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute between eggs, then beat in the vanilla. 4. On slow speed, mix in the dry ingredients stopping when you still see streaks of flour. Finish mixing by hand. 5. Spoon into the prepared loaf pan. This makes a lot of batter which will fill the pan nearly to the top. I’ve had success baking as-is but as a precaution I’d make sure there is a good inch (at least) left between the top of the batter and the pan. I can attest that what is left is addictively spoonable. 6. Bake for 30 minutes then rotate the pan and bake and additional 30–35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. If the top is getting too dark too quickly more the cake to an upper rack. 7. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then sling out onto a rack to cool. For the pickled fruit, I follow THIS recipe in this instance using a 1 lb mix of cherries and plums plus the zest of one lemon and a 1” piece of ginger, roughly chopped and half Apple Cider, half Cane Vinegar. I kept the strained fruit for use on this cake but it’s also amazing served with soft cheeses and crusty bread (so good). Store any leftovers in a clean jar with some of the shrub liquid. Keeps for two weeks in the refrigerator. For serving, top with whipped cream (I didn’t add any sweetener but might add a touch the second time around). A little pickled fruit goes a long way so start with a tentative spoonful or two and adjust to your liking. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1584650564909-GDV4B1ZGLOLISRAESSDX/7778CED6-9C9E-4439-A54A-8B374BA765BB.jpeg Just the Damn Recipe - Chaos Cookies Preheat oven to 325° Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper Makes aprox. 15 large cookies In a medium-sized bowl whisk together 2 1/4 c (281 g) all-purpose flour, 1/2 t kosher salt, and 1 t baking soda. In a large bowl and using a hand or stand mixer at medium speed, cream together 2 sticks unsalted butter (room temp) with 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar and 1/2 c (100 g) granulated sugar until well-mixed and creamy, about two minutes. Beat in 1 large egg (room temp) and 2 t vanilla extract Let Chaos Reign and fold in up to 6 oz (170 g) tasty stuff. I used: roasted peanuts (chopped), butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and kettle cooked potato chips (satisfying to crush). Pretzels, white chocolate chips, granola, raisins, other nuts…Really anything that doesn’t add moisture (so no PB) goes. I mean, at Milk Bar their Compost Cookie has coffee grounds. Using a #20 (aprox. 3 T), scoop out six cookies per sheet. You will have enough dough for maybe 3 more cookies to bake after the first batch. Bake for 20-22 minutes until they are a nice golden brown overall with a deeper caramel color around the edges. If one or two have tried to hook up, gently nudge them apart with a spoon or butterknife while still warm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1542998843847-A7M4QNERJOXMO8W2WJ4P/IMG_7247.jpeg Just the Damn Recipe - Honey Bombs Adapted from COPENHAGEN FOOD Wet: 1/2 cup (150 g) honey 3/4 c (150 g) brown sugar 2/3 c (150 g) unsalted butter Dry: 2 1/4 c (300 g) all-purpose flour 2 t baking soda 4 t cinnamon 3 t ground cloves 3 large eggs 7 ounces (200 g) mixed peel or dried fruits )optional); such as apricots, cherries, currants; chopped if necessary 1. Line two muffin tins with paper liners—I needed 16—and preheat oven to 350° 2. In a saucepan melt together the honey, brown sugar, and butter. Once all cohesive, pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool to blood warm. 3. Sift together the dry ingredients while the butter mix cools. 4. Once blood warm, whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the dry ingredients until thoroughly incorporated. Fold in the mixed fruits. 5. Bake 18-22 minutes until the top springs back when gently pressed. 6. Remove to a rack to let cool for a few minutes. 7. Best served warm and smeared with salty butter. For extra credit, serve with hot coffee or black tea and cardamon milk (1/2 tsp per cup of milk). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1579818504459-0FIQMPUCT6WZDPOSBL1R/56901FC9-7356-4B09-8521-47C4838E4FB2.jpeg Just the Damn Recipe - Flourless Chocolate Prune Cake with Rosemary Salted Whipped Cream, or A Cake for Love (Chocolate and Vanilla), Longevity (Prune; Plum) Memory (Rosemary), Purification (Salt), and Healing (Orange snuck into the cake). Note: this recipe was written a bit off kilter because sometimes I just can’t stick to the script so please feel free to email me if you need clarification, hello@thecakehistorian.com. For the Rosemary Salted Whipped Cream: 1/2 c (120 g) heavy cream pinch of sea salt 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary In a small saucepan warm the cream and salt over medium heat until bubbles appear at the edge and a bit of steam begins to drift up. Remove from the heat and slip the rosemary springs into the cream, swishing a bit to fully dress the sprigs in white. Let sit for 30 min then remove the rosemary sprigs and refrigerate the cream to cold cold cold while you make the cake. For the Flourless Chocolate Prune Cake (recipe adapted from David Lebovitz): 3 ounces (85 g) pitted prunes 3 T (45 g) orange juice 1 T vanilla extract 2 T granulated sugar, divided into 1/2 T and 1 1/2 T 6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet chocolate in chips or chopped up 6 T (84 g) unsalted butter 3 large eggs, separated 1) Butter and flour (or cocoa) a 6” springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 325° 2) Prepare the prunes: combine the first three ingredients plus the 1/2 T of sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then turn down to medium-low and let simmer until the liquid has absorbed into the prunes. This took about 5 min for me. Remove from the heat and use a spoon or fork to mush up the mixture, breaking about the prunes even more. You’re not trying to create a puree here just smaller bits of the perfumed prunes to mix about in the batter. Set aside. 3) Melt the chocolate and butter together in a medium-sized heat-proof bowl* set over a pot of simmering water. Remove the lot from the heat, then the bowl from the pot and into it stir the prunes. Let cool for 8 minutes. *(you’ll be mixing all of the cake batter in this bowl so keep that in mind when selecting size) 4) Whisk the egg yolks to combine then fold into the chocolate prune mixture. 5) Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt, slowly adding the remaining 1 1/2 T of sugar until stiff peaks. Fold into the batter, gentle gentle, until no streaks of white remain. 6) Keep up the gentle gentle as you spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. 7) Bake for 40-45 min until the toothpick test comes back clean and the cake starts to pull away from the sides. 8) Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes then remove the ring and let the cake cool completely. Just before serving the cake whip up the cold cream then pile atop the cake. I did not add any sweetener to my cream but feel free to add powdered sugar to your liking. Alternately, top the cake with powdered sugar before the cream or serve each slice of cake with a dollop of the whipped cream on top and offer up powdered sugar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1585834615795-VAG7151A9HDB5XHXZ3OX/CoconutSheetCake_TheCakeHistorian.jpeg Just the Damn Recipe - Coconut Sheet Cake Preheat oven to 350° Prep and line a 9” x 13” pan with a parchment sling Melt 1 c (224 g) coconut oil and let cool. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 3 c (300 g) cake flour (or 375 g all-purpose), 2 t baking powder, and 1/2 t fine sea or table salt. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk 3 large eggs (room temperature) for one minute, then whisk in 1 1/2 c (300 g) sugar, 1 c (240) full-fat coconut milk (stir up the contents of the can well to fully incorporate the cream back into the water), the melted coconut oil, 1 t vanilla extract, and 2 t coconut extract. Whisk well for 1-2 minutes. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the wet. When most, but not all, is incorporated, switch to a rubber spatula and fold the remaining dry bits in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 26–28 minutes until the sides of the cake start to pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan to a rack and let cool 15 minutes, then remove the cake and let cool completely. Lightly toast 1 c (100 g) unsweetened (my preference but go with sweetened if that’s your thing) shredded coconut. Let cool. Once the cake is cool, whip 1 c (240 g) cold heavy cream until thickened then add in 1 t vanilla extract and 2 T confectioners sugar (or to your taste). Continue to beat until medium to stiff peaks have formed. Spread the whipped cream on top of the cake then sprinkle with the toasted coconut. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aff1e9dec4eb7345e9b64bc/1541705953988-ANXHY8HWEGGLNU996MAR/image-asset.png Just the Damn Recipe - The absolute best lemon dessert ever. EVER. Lemon-Soufflé Pudding Cake https://www.thecakehistorian.com/base-recipes daily 0.75 2019-07-29