Cake, I love you. Saints, I love you. Mardi Gras, I love you. So many love letters to write, so little time. Discovered the most wonderful new cookbook, an unabashed testament to the power of cake. Jill O’Connor wrote Cake I Love You which has just cake after cake after cake, and tons of insider […]
Category: Cake
Thanksgiving Cake, Pumpkin Butter, Sipp Soda and Pistachio Bites
How is this the first time I’ve ever tasted pumpkin butter? The pride of making and canning your own preserves is a delight I discovered in medical school in what was the year of the tomato with a sudden winter that made me want to bottle the summertime like a jam and savor it through […]
Rosmarino e Lamponi Torta — Rosemary Raspberry Cake
There is little else I would rather do on a luxurious day off than bake a cake to match the occasion. I find no better source for decadent but savory cakes than in my Italian Baker cookbook. They are challenging, but worth the effort. Not too sweet and full of good fats. This cake has […]
Genoise Cake for a Special Birthday
Late summer citrus cravings were answered by this lovely meringue from the Italian Baker. KP took another lap around the sun and we celebrate this with a cake that took 16 eggs to perfect. This cake suffered from structural integrity flaws due to my impatience with regard to levelling and also because the filling was […]
Blueberry Cornmeal Cake Jazz Mornings with CC’s Coffee
We keep on Groovin—last night was Earth Wind and Fire on the mainstage with Sweet Crude and Lake Street Dive my second favorites. Enjoying Jazz Fest with Dad on his 65th birthday, Tower of Power, Stevie Wonder—the spice of life to be sure. We are having lots of coffee these AMs and I am grateful […]
Have Your Sour Cream Vanilla and Blueberry Cake and Eat it for Easter
Hot off the press, Have Your Cake and Eat It: Nutritious, Delicious Recipes for Healthier Everyday Baking by Mich Turner, is a beautiful new baking book from Sterling Epicure that features the work of the celebrity baker who has fashioned delectable desserts for Downton Abbey and Buckingham Palace! I was so inspired, page after page of […]
Anniversary Champagne Cake
My parents celebrated 41 years of marriage on Monday, and on that bright day in 1976, they served champagne cake to their guests in Portland, OR, my mother’s favorite. Mom recently came to New Orleans for a visit, and in addition to entertaining the chickens, restructuring my patio and filling raised beds made chicken-proof by […]
Guinness anti-Gravity Cake for St. Patrick’s Day
Let’s have a moment to consider fondant. This was my first time experimenting with the substance, prompted by the fabulous and inspiring cookbook Gravity Cakes by Jakki Friedman and Francesca Librae (who, consequently, I imagine would be just the sort of kindred spirits I like to befriend, based purely on their silly taste and body […]
Pumpkin Cupcakes for my Pumpkin
We celebrate Izzy’s 8th birthday this year with cupcakes, a kibble cupcake for the bully, and pumpkin marshmallow cupcakes for us. She has settled into our lives like an heirloom, a treasure, a thing that we have been lucky to get, ancient and precious, decorating the living room with various stations of repose. She loves […]
Torta Caprese for My Birthday Cake
What a fabulous birthday. Surprise after surprise after surprise! Bright flowers from KP. A dozen eggs (thank you magnificent seven!) Presents and cards and several evenings out this week with friends and loved ones. And the Italian Baker, by Melissa Forti. Literally the most beautiful baking book I’ve yet seen. Full of mouth-watering photography featuring […]