tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21380962626999111502010-03-13T13:29:41.738-08:00sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-29297793068636649122010-03-13T13:29:00.001-08:002010-03-13T13:29:41.786-08:00

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sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-22010075441235746432009-11-15T17:21:00.000-08:002009-11-15T17:43:41.299-08:00

AbstractFigure 1BackgroundIt’s been an embarrassingly long time. For a while knitting design was consuming all of my creative energies. Then I got a job. While it is my dream job, it has been consuming all of my time, or at least it feels that way.I’m doing database development for public health researchers. Each year the programmers put on a poster session for the rest of the staff. Since this

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-90113540894621208192009-05-16T07:53:00.000-07:002009-05-16T08:10:18.203-07:00

I didn't manage to think of a good birthday cake commission for Matt this year, so we made a cake designed by someone else, but that I've wanted to make for years. (I guess I'm developing a sort of chocolate mound theme for my birthday cakes.)During all those years of anticipation I referred to the cake as a bombe. In researching this post, I learned that a bombe is actually a frozen dessert (or

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-44526297699426666322009-03-18T09:34:00.000-07:002009-03-18T09:34:14.722-07:00

My brother recently celebrated a multiple-of-ten birthday, and my sister-in-law organized a surprise party for him. I don't know what made me look at airfares, but when I found they were ridiculously cheap, I decided to fly home to be part of the surprise.Of course I felt honor-bound to create a cake. (As usual, skip to the end for specs and recipes.) But what design? Sister-in-law suggested:

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-74581441266826386142009-03-12T19:59:00.001-07:002009-03-12T20:07:43.606-07:00

I recently ran across the blog Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit, which has a fabulous collection of recipes. Sadly, the blog is no longer active, but it will still take me a while to work my way through all of the attractive combos.I've tried the horchata cupcakes and the mooncake cupcakes so far. The cherry chocolate cupcakes with fennel cream cheese frosting may not be far behind. And if you made

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-33386521839898539832009-01-20T14:26:00.000-08:002009-01-20T15:04:15.685-08:00

This is Matt's traditional birthday cake. I will never, ever get to make him any other kind of cake for his birthday. Fortunately, the Dear Abby Cake is both delicious and beautiful.The recipe was originally published in Dear Abby's advice column. I have added a lot of my own annotations.CakeGrease and flour the bottoms (not the sides) of two 9" round cake pans OR two 8" round cake pans and two

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-24462295332883899772008-12-31T17:56:00.000-08:002009-01-01T13:16:11.328-08:00

In preparing for our biennial cookie making party, I continued my attempts to make green frosting without food coloring (cf. Article 5). I came up with a variety of interesting shades, but only one passed the Article 2 test of actually tasting good.The base frosting for all of these experiments was Quick Icing from the 1997 Joy of Cooking. Had I been planning better, I would have used vanilla

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-75810939404895305022008-12-25T14:22:00.001-08:002008-12-25T14:25:45.833-08:00

Now quit looking at the smart TV and get back to your celebrations!

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-38750247677009211792008-12-13T08:51:00.000-08:002009-01-01T13:22:15.155-08:00

Every other year in December we throw a cram-the-house-full, pull-out-all-the-stops cookie making party. Going over the top is one of our fun things, but rest assured that it is also possible to hold a most excellent party in a much more low-key fashion. (Apparently it is also possible to go even further over the top - why on earth would you make fudge to send home with people after a cookie

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-69676056919287006332008-11-18T14:27:00.000-08:002009-01-01T13:09:09.810-08:00

We made this dragon cake for a young friend's first birthday. It was one of our more difficult collaborations. Matt wanted a flying, twisted, fire-breathing serpent. I wanted something that I felt confident we could achieve in cake. We produced a vast number of sketches, and very nearly ended up making the cake into a representation of . . . a nicely frosted 13x9 rectangle.We finally settled on a

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-87220338797559275352008-11-05T10:00:00.000-08:002008-12-29T09:47:30.152-08:00

Given our enthusiasm for cake in a bag, and our recent foray into making teacup cakes, it should come as no surprise that we glommed on to the idea of cake in a mug as soon as we heard of it.  Warm chocolate cake for two in under fifteen minutes?  What's not to love?Unfortunately, the original recipe is not very good.  It places a high priority on convenience, so it uses a full egg, which is far

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-55508318398166195102008-10-23T17:57:00.001-07:002009-01-01T13:09:59.687-08:00

We made this cake for a British friend's fortieth birthday party -- a tea party, of course. I came up with the "four tea" idea pretty quickly. I figured I'd just cut a flat cake into an appropriate shape and "draw" four tea cups on it. I sketched something up, thought of some decorating ideas and was quite pleased with myself. Matt the architect objected, saying it was cheating to make a flat

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-5184722004649592342008-10-09T15:22:00.000-07:002009-01-01T13:25:01.757-08:00

Traveling has been interfering with posting. Lots of backpacking, so I thought I'd share this recipe for backpacking cake. (For the person who reached this blog earlier on a search for "backpacking cake" - come back! We've got your answer now.)Baking while camping presents unique challenges. If you are car- or canoe-camping, and you have room in your luggage, you can bake directly in a Dutch oven

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-39557131031722377752008-07-16T21:13:00.000-07:002008-07-16T21:24:22.198-07:00

As part of my recent immersion in all things cakely, I have been devouring a number of cake cookbooks from the library. At the moment, I am particularly enamored of CakeLove: How to Bake Cakes from Scratch. The author, Warren Brown, was a successful lawyer who had an early-life crisis and became a pastry chef. His aesthetic conforms to most of the articles of the cake manifesto. The book lives up

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-76513599237499244632008-06-26T15:36:00.000-07:002008-06-29T21:03:30.592-07:00

In general, when we speak of cut-up cakes for grownups, we do not refer to "adult" cakes, although I did have one minor lapse. I was showing pictures of my cakes to a five-year-old girl recently and, encouraged by her enthusiasm, showed her a picture of the lapse, thinking I might get a really good giggle out of her. She was Not Amused. At her age, I suppose I might not have been either. I

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-56647285198056005192008-06-25T21:40:00.000-07:002008-06-26T15:36:13.210-07:00

Lest readers think I am a slave to the Moosewoodempire, I should say that another favorite cookbook in our house is the very hep 1953 Joy of Cooking-- so up-to-the-minute that it even includes special instructions for making cakes with an electric mixer.A cookbook is not just a compendium of recipes. It is a book with a voice, and I am completely charmed by Irma Rombauer's voice."To give this

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-75213486392437338712008-06-23T21:05:00.000-07:002008-12-30T15:46:52.666-08:00

I had a party on May 18, and wasn't sure which of the designs in the queue would be best for the event. When I found out that May 18 is the anniversary of the 1980 Mount Saint Helens eruption, the choice was obvious. A volcano it would be.I made a chocolate angel food cake from my go-to cookbook of the moment, the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts. I'm not sure I'd ever made an angel food

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-53694041729101410182008-06-19T18:27:00.000-07:002009-01-01T13:09:09.812-08:00

When I was a child, there was still a treat to come after we finished the cake, because Mom served us the leftover icing on graham crackers. That dish is still one of my core comfort foods.In addition to making thrifty use of leftovers, graham crackers are also excellent templates for swatching frosting and toppings. Is spirulina boysenberry frosting really edible? Mix up a tiny batch, spread it

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-58578327137696004832008-06-14T21:09:00.000-07:002009-03-16T15:29:42.720-07:00

This is the first cake Matt designed for me, and it remains one of his best efforts. He is particularly proud of how efficiently the design uses the cake.The penguin is straight out of Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems. This is one of our favorite books. Where else will you find poetry with rhymes like "can't you be" and "anchovies," or "featherweight" and "regurgitate"? Well, maybe here

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-3218397321596736742008-06-11T07:56:00.000-07:002008-06-11T08:39:57.354-07:00

My usual protocol when preparing cake pans is to grease, flour and apply waxed paper to the bottom of the pan. This always seems like belt, suspenders and helium balloon, but it's commonly recommended and cheap insurance at the price. After all, you want a cut-up cake, not a break-up cake.There are many theories on the order of application. It's good to start with grease, anyway, because it helps

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-67755079656355025342008-05-26T16:04:00.000-07:002008-05-26T16:40:29.823-07:00

We covered the back of the crown and the beak first with blue grey frosting and then with poppy seed filling. Theoretically one can buy poppy seed filling in stores (where it comes in cans and goes by "mohn"), but we couldn't find any, so we borrowed a friend's poppy seed grinder (dang that Article 6!) and made our own. One cup of whole poppy seeds made roughly 1/2 cup ground.I used a similar

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-26927083131033029942008-05-19T06:55:00.000-07:002008-05-19T08:10:22.875-07:00

The rest of the grey jay will follow shortly, but I thought it was time to engage in a quick little proof.If one accepts as axiomatic that food exists to be eaten, then it follows from Article 4 that cake exists to be eaten. People often asks us how we can stand to cut up one of our cakes. Because we couldn't stand not to! A cake is one work of art that is not consummated until consumed.Aside

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-92207785575753635362008-05-16T08:33:00.001-07:002009-01-01T13:09:35.165-08:00

Crumb CoatWe like to freeze the cake before cutting and frosting it, to minimize crumbs. If you don't have room in your freezer, it helps to chill the cake in the refrigerator. I then apply a "crumb coat" - a thin layer of frosting to stick the crumbs down, so they won't get mixed up in the top coat of frosting. Until now I had just been using the same frosting I used for the top coat. This time,

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-38309779603540499452008-05-09T21:05:00.000-07:002008-05-11T20:17:25.996-07:00

When I started to write about this project, I didn't realize just how involved the explanations would be. As a result, I've divided the write-up into three posts. Today's post is about the design and the cake. The second post will be about the frosting, and the third post will be about the finishing touches.BackgroundMatt thought of this cake for the birthday of a good friend who has a terrible

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2138096262699911150.post-34356667224323815452008-05-05T11:01:00.000-07:002008-12-29T09:22:32.620-08:00

Over the years, our tastes in cake and cake design have evolved in a more or less consistent fashion, allowing us to deduce the following ex post facto manifesto:Article 1The designs should be at least a bit more adventurous and sophisticated than for the average kids' cake. Olivia the pig - yes. Teddy bears - no. Cute - yes. Cutesy - no. Extra credit given if others can identify an animal by

sharonmattnadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256775363324313666noreply@blogger.com0