Cakes! Cakes! Cakes!

I had never read any MFK Fisher and on my most recent trip to the Boston Public Library I decided it was time. Two Saturday mornings ago I woke up late (for me) and without a plan for the day. After lounging in my bed and red lit room for awhile I moved down to the chaise lounge and began reading The Gastronomical Me, this first major book of Fisher's.

I was taken in by her descriptive language and honest approach to her gastronomical experiences pieced together from an early age. She so clearly illustrates the way that food weaves through our memories, relationships, and experiences. The following passage resigned me to thinking about only one thing for the rest of the day, cakes.


After taking care of a few things and spending time with my roommates, I set to work on a simple vanilla cake with pastry cream and fillings of pureed fruits.

Here is the thing about cakes, they are actually easy and fast to make from scratch. There are so many different kinds to try and different ways to decorate and put them together, without being the daunting endeavor I fear you may think them to be. Start small and embellish!


Two weeks later I used part of another Saturday dedicated to the glorious business of cakes.

I had never made an "Emergency Cake" or "Blackout Cake" before and this one in the most recent Cook's Illustrated magazine. This cake gets the name from the WWII era when eggs and butter were scarce and before those cake mixes took over. Mayonnaise was the cheap and available substitute, it is eggs and oil after all. I topped this one with a quick whipped cream to which I added caramel.

I actually love a nice moist chocolate cake with just a cold glass of milk. I thoroughly enjoyed it with the whipped cream but this cake had the perfect consistency to be effortlessly enjoyed in its purest, unadorned form.



I received a mini pan of 6 bundt forms and then another pan of miniature-mini bundt forms over this past Christmas. On this cakely Saturday I also came across a vanilla cardamom pound cake recipe and knew I had to put the pans to use. Of course, the flavors come through just as beautifully in a regular bundt, loaf or square pan.





Here is a wild cake that GP made for her birthday in February. This one takes a little more time, but the technique is easy and the wow factor is huge, huge, huge.


In summary, if you have a little time one Saturday, try making a cake, enjoy the fruits of your labors and before the memory becomes bilious, bask in the glow of sharing your cake with a
friend.

If you want to know every little thing about making any kind of cake there is no one better to turn to than Rose Levy Beranbaum and The Cake Bible. She also has her own website:

www.realbakingwithrose.com