Cupcake Day!

I have an irrational love of cupcakes. I don't know what it is... maybe the fact that they're like adorable little mini cakes. Or the fact that if you eat one cupcake you don't feel like a fatty. And if you eat two... is it really that much more than eating a normal piece of cake? Or perhaps it's all the awesome options for wrappers (see photo--from my mom!). Some people hate on cupcakes, say they're not classy or whatever. I personally find them suitable for all occasions: weddings, birthdays, I-hate-work-so-much-I-cry days, etc. So I was delighted when this week's recipe was for Black and White CUPCAKES! (Also, it gave me another chance to use the AMAZING cupcake pan and carrier my mom got me while she was here, which I think I love almost as much as cupcakes themselves.)


I actually had no idea what to expect from reading the recipe, as it calls for both a black batter and a white batter, and when you assemble the cupcakes for baking as directed, you have a chocolate puddle with a big dollop of cream cheese in the middle. But once the cupcakes bake, they end up being rich chocolate cupcakes with a fantastic chocolate chip cream cheese filling. There's no recipe for frosting, not even a frosting suggestion, and honestly, frosting is not required. I baked them Saturday along with some chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, and the orange and black were perfect for Halloween weekend festivities.


I tried to spread the cupcake/muffin love as much as possible. I took the first round to a meeting Sunday afternoon, and the rest (minus a few to keep for myself, of course) to dinner at Tim and Maureen's that night, where they got rave reviews. The rest were divided up amongst the two of them and Chris as evenly as possible to avoid any fights. I'm still enjoying the ones I kept. In the spirit of the recipe, Dr. Robinson comments, "few things in real life are black and white," and after a long, rough week, I couldn't agree more. But cupcakes, I believe, are white, even the chocolate ones. Taking a moment to enjoy a cupcake is also a chance to take a moment to breathe, relax, and savor the sweet things in life. I think that's what I love most about cupcakes: you can't eat one without smiling. :-)

Tunnel of Fail Cake

Ok, really it’s supposed to be Tunnel of Fudge Cake. But the fact that I am a whole week late on writing about my cake adventure should give you an idea of exactly how well this Cake Day went…

The Tunnel of Fudge Cake requires a Bundt pan, which, naturally, I did not have. Well, technically I have a silicone version, but after a previous silicone muffin disaster and doing some research online, I was way to scared to use it, so I ran out and got a $10.00 real metal nonstick pan from Kroger.

The Bundt pan was created in 1950 by H. David Dalquist. Supposedly, some Jewish women in Minneapolis approached him looking for a better pan to make kugel, a Jewish side dish made of noodles of potatoes (note: I have never tried this, but it is now on my list). Dalquist created the new shape, and women called the pans “bund” pans, for the German term for a gathering of people. Dalquist added the “t” and trademarked it. Incidentally, the pans did not become famous until the introduction of the Tunnel of Fudge Cake by Ella Rita at a Pilsbury Bake-Off in 1966. That makes this week’s recipe both famous and a classic.

Apparently, however, “famous” and “classic” do not correspond to “easy.” First of all, if you’ve ever tried buttering and flouring a Bundt pan, you have experienced true frustration. Trying to get butter in all those little folds is infuriatingly tedious, and how exactly are you supposed to flour that inside spike? Then, I had to cream together 3.5 sticks of butter (!) and 1.75 cups of sugar, which is no small feat with a tiny, cheap pastry cutter and a $10 hand mixer. (Where, oh, where is my KitchenAid?) I’d also like to note that this recipe requires 6 eggs. SIX! Between that and the butter, it might actually be a heart attack on a plate.


Once the buttering and flouring and creaming and mixing were done and the cake was in the oven and my apartment started to fill with the rich smell of chocolate, I calmed down a little. The best moment, though, was removing the cake from the pan. I suddenly loved Bundt pans… you don’t have to do anything and your cake turns out beautiful! Even without frosting. After adding the glaze, I felt pretty satisfied and spent a long time (and several photos) admiring the chocolate gloriousness that was my cake.

Unfortunately, I started to wonder how exactly this cake was going to have a tunnel of fudge inside. At no point did I create said tunnel or add said fudge. So I got back on the internet and did some more research on Bundt and the famous Tunnel of Fudge Cake. Supposedly, the sugar content of the cake prevents the inside from completely solidifying, creating a crisp cake outside but a soft fudge center, with an air pocket above the fudge. Because of this gooey center, the normal toothpick test for doneness can’t be used, and you are dependent on correct temperature and cooking time. Panic set in. Did I beat the butter and sugar until it was fluffy enough? Did I bake it too long? Would I have a tunnel of fudge?


I was trying to save the cake for when my dad arrived, but I didn’t want to serve a cake disaster, so I cut a piece in order to examine the center (and, of course, taste it… both correctness and taste are important when it comes to cake, after all). Sadly, my cake did not have a very prominent fudge center. I was extremely disappointed. It still tasted good though… very rich and very chocolatey. My dad and his wife promptly inhaled the pieces I gave them, and both said it was delicious. My coworkers and friends enjoyed the leftovers as well. So I suppose it wasn’t a complete failure. I’m not sure how many more Bundt cakes I’ll be making, though. Good thing that pan was only $10.

A Quiet Cake Day

I celebrated Cake Day this week with just me. I was needing a little "me time" anyway, and working in the kitchen with the radio up was a nice break from the rest of the world.

This week I was to make a Honey Cake, and I discovered that I'm a little ahead on the time line, because this cake is apparently a tradition for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which was a couple weeks ago. The use of honey at this time is a symbol of the wish for a sweet New Year. Neither Dr. Robinson nor I are Jewish, but I had to laugh when I discovered that we share the same envy of Jewish food (especially latkes!); I guess it's not as weird as everyone thinks.

The cake itself required an extensive list of ingredients, but was simple to make, as all that was required was putting everything at once into a large bowl and mixing. The batter, however, smelled like death, due to the addition of bourbon. Bourbon is the one liquor I just can't handle, and the smell of it gave me an instant hangover, without any of the pre-hangover fun. As it baked, though, the cake filled my apartment with a sweet and spicy smell, and the bourbon was soon forgotten. By the time it came out of the oven, I was trying pretty hard to prevent myself from diving in with a fork before it even had a chance to cool.


The glaze, however, gave me fits. Simple: boil honey, water, orange juice, and orange zest until it thickens, then pour over cake. Well, I boiled and boiled and boiled, for a good 30 minutes, but that glaze never thickened. It did, however, boil over and coat my entire stove top in a sticky sludge, wasting a good half of the glaze mixture. Finally, I gave up and just poured what I had over the cake, topped it with almonds, and called it a Cake Day.

Glaze or no glaze, the cake was delicious and complex in flavor, with noticeable notes of orange, honey, vanilla, and spices. It has the texture of banana bread, with a sticky, crunchy honey and almond topping. I consumed way too much in one sitting and ended up with the sugar shakes. The recipe actually makes 2 loaf pans worth of cake, and since I've been on a baking binge recently, I decided I needed to share or else I'd end up 10 pounds heavier and in a state of constant vibration. I took large pieces to Chris and another friend that afternoon, and froze some for Randy, to see if my Jewish cooking skills are passable, and my sister, who had called that morning while I was baking to discuss the ups and downs of graduate school and was quite intrigued by the sound of the cake. (Additionally, unlike me, she enjoys bourbon, so it's only appropriate that she get to try it.) (Also additionally, she complained that I never mention her in my cake blog, which is entirely untrue, but this is her "shout out.") The other cake will go into work tomorrow, and I will carry it in myself... crutch free!!!

A reflection on stand mixers

Once again, I am delinquent in my cake update. Apologies.

I feel as though this chapter is somewhat of a reprimand. How many times have I lamented not owning a KitchenAid? Dr. Robinson apparently has also always wanted a KitchenAid, but had to settle for a cheaper but sturdy and efficient stand mixer. When this mixer died, she excitedly went to buy a KitchenAid... only to find out it was too big, too excessive, and full of "flaws" her old mixer didn't have. She actually bought one 4 times... only to return each of them. She ended up settling for the new model of her old mixer, which, to be fair, she was also displeased with, so it might not entirely be the fault of the KitchenAid. But still... perhaps I should keep my appliance envy in check. In most cases, my hand mixer and a spoon are sturdy and efficient enough to get the job done. (But I'm pretty sure I still want a KitchenAid one day...)

Cake Day was Saturday. Tim, Maureen, Chris, and I had planned another cooking adventure for dinner, so naturally, I had to contribute cake. Due to a full day, I got up early just to make it. I've been particularly surly regarding work lately, and I found it a bit sad that I while dread dragging myself out of bed in the morning to go to work, getting up to make this cake was easy and seemed like the perfect way to start my day. Perhaps I should have gone to culinary school...


This week's recipe was an Irish Buttermilk Bannock, a flat, bready cake related to the scone. There were surprisingly few "wet" ingredients, making the batter very sticky. The recipe suggests topping it with blackberries, but as the cake itself wasn't very sweet and there were no instructions for the topping, I spread a layer of left-over powdered sugar glaze over the top and made a blackberry sauce by cooking together blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, and corn starch. The color of the blackberries was a beautiful against the cream and gold of the cake, and everything blended together quite well. We ate almost the entire thing, so it couldn't have been too bad.


It was a simple recipe (stand mixer free), and was a good finish for our meal. Nothing fancy or extravagant or fancy about this Cake Day. Well, nothing special aside from the fact that there was cake, which, in my opinion, can make any day a little special.

A very special Cake Day

Sorry for the tardiness. Cake Day did happen last week! Life has just been too crazy to write about it.

Last week's Cake Day was extra special because I had an extra special guest: my mom! She came down all the way from Cleveland, OH for the week to clean my apartment, do my laundry, buy groceries, cook some good meals, and just generally take care of me to give me a little break from the frustrations of being on crutches. And she did all this while working from my apartment (note to self: get a job that allows me to work from home). It was excellent. Pretty sure I have the best mom ever!

In honor of her coming, we of course had to celebrate Cake Day. The timing of her visit couldn't have been any more perfect, because this cake was invented with her in mind: almond semolina cake--full of almond flavor, not too sweet, almost like a coffee cake. More on that later, though. First, further proof of the awesomeness of my mom.


For this cake I needed a springform pan, yet another item this unwed baker doesn't own. (I might want to get married just to have a registry...) I was searching online trying to figure out how I could use a regular pan, but mom either had less faith in my MacGyver skills or was just impatient for cake, so she insisted we go to Target to get one. All I wanted was a springform pan. And we came out with a springform pan, a new high-tech cookie sheet, a cake carrier, and this AMAZING cupcake contraption that is both a pan and a carrier. (I need to makes some cupcakes soon because I'm dying to use it!) Excellent. Completely unnecessary, but super generous, and made my day. Soon I'll be almost like a real baker!


The cake itself wasn't too tricky (aside from separating the eggs, which my mom did, because I'm no good at it), but there was some guess work, since there were a few important directions left out of the recipe (a first edition issue, no doubt). But my guessing must have been right, because the cake turned out beautifully! My apartment smelled delicious while it was baking, and the cake was lovely--we actually had a cake photo shoot, partially because the cake was so pretty, and partly to show off my new cake toys. While it cooled, we had champagne to celebrate my paper, cheese, and black olive and onion focaccia bread, and then made a fancy, fabulous dinner of swordfish, asparagus, and fried green tomatoes. Then we helped ourselves to cake, paired with more champagne, which we enjoyed in the lovely weather outside on my porch. Quite a tasty evening.


This cake would be great for breakfast or with brunch. (My mom noted the next morning that it's excellent with coffee, although it was pretty darn good with champagne too.) The brown sugar and almond topping was delicious, and the cake itself had a unique texture, probably due to the semolina flour. Definitely a winner. It's a cake you can take places and be impressive.

It was a perfect Cake Day, and my mom and I enjoyed the cake throughout the rest of her stay. I was really sad to see her leave, but happy I got to spend some time with her and so, so grateful for everything she did for me while she was here.