Cake Love and Vegetable Ardor.

I've been holding out on you. There has been cake and I haven't shared. This post will remedy that selfishness, however, so get your pencils out and print up my holiday baking pantry check-list. You're going to want to shop for ingredients after this post.

The three cakes I'm about to elaborate on have something in common besides, well, flour, sugar and all those cake-y ingredients. Can you guess?

They all originated at the vegetables stand of my local market. Yep, without intending to do so, and just by following my own cravings over the last few weeks, I've baked cakes with carrots, pumpkin and beets.

That's a good thing, right?

Now, onto the recipes, for they are keepers.


Here we have a - hang onto your hats - Pumpkin Guinness Gingerbread Bundt Cake.
Who is the one person to come up with this craziness? Yea, the one-and-only Julie Van Rosendaal. She posted this last Saturday on Babble's Family Kitchen blog and unbeknown to her, made my to-do list a little bit longer for that day.

I was throwing a harvest dinner party the next day, and what is a girl to do when faced with a recipe such as this? Add it to the menu, send the hubby out for stout (didn't have to ask twice), and rummage around for a bundt pan. It obviously had to be made.

The flavors in this cake kind of blow your mind; you must check out the list of ingredients. I started chuckling to myself as I read through them (golden rule of baking: read the recipe through first) and by the time I finished was laughing my head off: Pumpkin. Guinness. Molasses. Brown Sugar. Fresh Ginger. Ground Ginger. Vanilla. Cocoa. Cinnamon....all that was missing was some espresso powder!

Needless to say, Julie sure knows how to throw a party in a bundt pan, plus it made the place smell mad.

Head here to get the recipe.



Not to be outdone by the bundt, may I present the regal, three-layer Browned Butter Carrot Cake.

I've had this one bookmarked from Elizabeth's blog, Guilty Kitchen for ages, just waiting for the perfect occasion. When my brother-in-law, who is also my little sister's boy-friend (don't worry, it's all legal) hinted that carrot cake would be a good direction to go for his birthday cake, I knew I had my recipe.

Its was actually both of their birthdays, my sister, and Danny's brother. Again, yes, all legal, good stuff. They're dating AND share the same birthday. If you think about it, it's actually easier for me: one cake. See what I mean?

I don't have a close-up of the interior of the cake, because, well, I've pretty much given up on playing hostess and event photographer. It's just no fun. Especially by the time dessert rolls around. I'm usually ready to throw the kids in bed, demand a double-shot latte from the barista (Danny), pull up a chair and serve cake.

That said, Liz's ultra-moist, super-classy carrot cake leaves little to be desired. Unless you like your carrot cake full of stuff such as pineapple, raisins, coconut, nuts or other extra. I don't. It was perfect.

Head here to get the recipe.


These little Chocolate Beet Cupcakes are hot off the press over at Simple Bites. They're my attempt at a Halloween confection, but are more like a pretty fall dessert.

Beet Cupcakes! I'm super proud of these healthier sweet treats and my boys loved them. There's no white sugar and very little fat, but the cupcakes are sweet and moist thanks to nearly a cup of fresh beet puree. The secret is definitely in the sauce.

Head here to get the recipe.

I just realized these three cakes have something else in common. Cream Cheese Frosting.

Oh well. Deal with it.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Two major life events are rapidly approaching and there's nothing I can do to change their course. So, I've been baking instead.

This first, and most imminent, event is my 32nd birthday (tomorrow) and I'm trying to drum up some excitement over it. Sure, I'm looking forward to a girl's night out to see Eat, Pray, Love followed by stuffing ourselves with pizza margherita's, but the birthday -that number- not so fun!

The second event takes place a week from Monday when Noah will start kindergarten. There's a whole lot of emotions welling up over that big day that I won't even get into!

In an attempt to compose my mixed sentiments over these two events, I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Baking and cooking is clearly therapeutic for me, and 'recipe testing' can sometimes be code for 'working through some stuff'.


One of the many projects on my plate this week was to perfect my zucchini bread recipe. Several pounds of zucchini and eight various loaves later, I narrowed my favorite down to two, one of them featured here today and the other, or 'The Best Zucchini Bread Ever', will be has been posted Monday on Simple Bites.

Both recipes are actually fantastic; however, I know I have a bevy of chocolate lovers over here, so that may have influenced my decision to feature a chocolate zucchini bread here.


This dark and deadly loaf is "...too good to be healthy" as one of my 'tasters' remarked. But with the inclusion of whole-wheat flour and plenty of zucchini, it's a lot better for you than a slice of cake.

This, in fact, will probably be my birthday cake, it's that great. Double chocolate? It's allll good.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Adapted from Joy of Baking

• 1/2 c. cake flour
• 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. canola oil
• 1 cup organic turbinado sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c. shredded, raw zucchini
• 3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease, or spray with nonstick vegetable spray, a 9x5x3″ loaf pan. Set aside.

Grate the zucchini using a medium sized grater. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well blended – about 2 minutes. Fold in the grated zucchini. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55-65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely.

Yields one large loaf.

Yogurt Sheet Cake with Berries

Don't be surprised if I keep bringing back recipes from foods we enjoyed during our family reunion.

Make no mistake, good food abounded during that time, and while I wasn't about to take time away from family to blog everything as we consumed it, I will rewind and share some favorites over the next few weeks...


Like this yogurt sheet cake (which I had made before, loved, and never got around to sharing...oops!) and birthday cake for my brother's little guy, Jesse. The little sweetie turned two while they were here and it was my absolute treat to be able to bake his cake.

A sheet cake was perfect for this event; I didn't want to spend the whole afternoon in the kitchen, yet still wanted something that felt festive.

This recipe comes together quickly, and the frosting is poured over the top and left to run down the sides in the true unhurried fashion of lazy summer cooking.

For the simple decoration, I cut a 'J' stencil out of cardboard, lay it on the cake and generously doused it with sprinkles.

The kids approved.


Pair this cake with any berry you like, whatever is gorgeous and ripe at the market or in your backyard. It was strawberry season in June and we were bringing home a flat of 6 pints from the market every day.

The ripest ones got whizzed into a coulis along with some vanilla sugar and the rest were sliced up and served alongside the cake.


I love this cake, not just for its simplicity, but for its tender crumb, too. No doubt the cake's moistness is a result of the two cups of yogurt, and the cake flour certainly contributes to its tenderness.

Thanks to Gourmet magazine for this recipe. Can we just take a moment for my favorite magazine, please? This cake was featured in the August 2009 issue (to date, my favorite issue).

Try it!

Yogurt Sheet Cake
with sliced strawberries & strawberry coulis

Makes 1 9x13 sheet cake. Serves 12.

Ingredients

for cake:

• 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, warmed in shell in warm water 10 minutes
• 2 cups well-stirred plain whole-milk yogurt (not Greek-style) at room temperature 30 minutes

for frosting:

• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method for Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9x13 cake pan, then line bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper and butter parchment. Dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, at medium speed. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing until just combined. Spread batter evenly in pan and rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake until cake pulls away from sides of pan and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge. Invert onto a rack and discard parchment. Cool completely, about 1 hour.


Method for Frosting:

Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, cream, and vanilla until smooth.

Put cake on a platter and spread icing on top in a thick layer, letting it run down sides. Let icing set at least 15 minutes.

Serve with plenty of fresh berries and a strawberry coulis.

Do ahead: Cake can be made and iced 1 day in advance. Cover and keep cool.

* * *

Don't Miss...Julie's profile of yours truly on The Family Kitchen, the family food blog of our friends over at Babble:
Master Your Muffins with Aimee Wimbush-Bourque of Simple Bites.

It's an honor to be featured!

WW: Cake Wreck or Cake Love?

Happy Birthday Danny!!

** Noah and Mateo are wearing 'Luna' and 'Chameleon' tee's from Barley and Birch's Spring 2010 collection.

Happy Birthday to You (recipe: Very-Vanilla Buttercream)

June is a month of birthday's around here. This week there was one every day in my extended family & friends. Whew!

Today, however, is a very important birthday for a super cool mom, Nicole. She's turning thirty, folks, and for those of you who have been there, it ain't easy saying good bye to the twenties.

Won't you join me in wishing her a happy birthday?

Happy 30th, Nicole!

Now, Nicole, take a deep breath and repeat after me: everything is going to be OK.

It looks like the thirties are going to be kind to you, as far as I can tell. I mean, you've got that great hair, a super cute and decidedly edible baby, and a pretty rad husband.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, he sent me this letter:

"Aimee,

My name is Jonathon and I am writing to let you know that my wife, Nicole, is a big fan of Under the High Chair. She has made several of your recipes, all of which were delicious, and she loves reading about your family.

We recently had our first child, Eric, who is now a bouncy 6-month old baby boy. During the pregnancy and after Eric was born, we were so busy that we got away from cooking (something we both love). Your blog has encouraged Nicole to get back in the kitchen and become passionate about cooking again. Thank you.

Anyway, I have a request, and please feel free to decline. Nicole (my wife) is having her 30th Birthday this Friday, June 11th. I know that she is feeling a little down about the age thing (however, to me she has never been more beautiful than she is now holding our boy).

Would it be possible for you to email her a short happy birthday email? I know it would tickle her to death and would be an unexpected surprise. You could even include some sage wisdom about cooking and/or motherhood.

I apologize if this is a strange request. We don't put a lot of stock in Hollywood, but right now you (and your recipes) are a celebrity in our household.
I will attach a photo of Nicole and Eric to this email. I am proud of both of them.

Thanks,

Jonathon"

Thanks for your email, Jonathon. It pretty much made my night!

As for sage wisdom about motherhood, well let just hope people pipe up in the comments section, because I've still got a lot to learn.

Nicole, I hope your birthday was stellar and really, the thirties rock!

Oh right, I almost forgot. The cake!

It's all components that you've seen before... Yellow Butter Cake, layered with buttercream and homemade Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam, and iced with a classic Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It's finished with rolled fondant, and by now you're probably thinking you've seen this cake before. Yes, you have, right here.

I kicked everything up with about four vanilla beans, however. Here is my new favorite, very-vanilla frosting:

Swiss Meringue Vanilla-Bean Buttercream
-slightly adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
• 1 vanilla bean, split plus 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine the egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.

Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Continue beating until the mixture if fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. (If frosting appears to have separated after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again.)

With the tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla pod and add to icing. Beat on low speed to eliminate any air bubbles. Stir until smooth.

Frosting is now ready to use or it may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days. Before using, bring to room temperature.

Also, a big "Happy Birthday" to all my friends & family who celebrated a birthday this week: Josh, Laura, Peter, Rachel, Daria and Melanie!

WW: Now You Know What I Did Last Weekend

Poppy-Seed Lemon Layer Cake

This wedding shower cake also answers to the name "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue"as it was in honour of my friend April, who is getting married in a few weeks.

Thanks to a series of house visits and random strangers tromping through my (spotless) kitchen, I found myself starting this cake at 8PM on a Saturday without much of a plan. As soon as the last potential buyer stepped out of the house, I whipped out the ingredients and was creaming butter and sugar with the speed of a Top Chef contestant during a quickfire.
The wedding shower brunch was the next morning and I needed a realistic plan that would allow me to get some sleep. So while the poppy-seed lemon cakes baked and cooled, I made the lemon curd and the buttercream, and debated over using rolled fondant for the finish. Around 10PM the cakes were frosted and ready to be decorated--the only trouble was, I was losing steam fast. Normally I'm pretty hard core, but as I looked over at the kit for making sugar paste flowers (bought especially for this cake), all desire to start handcrafting flower petals vanished.



At that exact moment,as fate would have it, I opened a cupboard and a tin fell out onto my workspace. Inside were three perfectly crafted white sugar roses, carefully preserved from my mother-in-law's wedding cake (not made by me) and long forgotten about. I took the discovery as a sign that I should borrow them for April's cake--wait...Borrow...wasn't that something to do with weddings? And poppy seeds are old, right? Lemons can be new...I just needed something blue.

I ended up dying a chunk of rolled fondant a soft blue and rolling it into little 'beads'. I dusted them in sanding sugar and voila, my cake was decorated in about 10 minutes with an appropriate wedding shower theme.



To conclude:The bride loved her cake and everyone lived happily ever after. I don't think I've never seen a cake eaten so fast, right down to the last poppy-seed.

The recipe is definitely a keeper: a soft butter cake, subtly flavored with lemon extract and zest and interspersed with not-too-many poppy seeds. There's a thin layer of lemon curd between the layers and the whole creation is wrapped with a very tasty lemon buttercream and makes for a slice of cake that leaves nothing to be desired.

This recipe is for a 9 inch round layer cake and serves 12 people.

Poppy-seed Lemon Butter Cake

yields two 9-inch round cakes

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
zest of 1 large lemon
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup poppy seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in lemon extract and zest.With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition. Fold in poppy seeds.

3. Divide batter between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.




Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Makes about 4 cups, perfect for this cake.

4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
3/4 cup lemon curd (recipe below)

In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine the egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.
Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. If frosting appears to have separated after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again.

(Aimée's Note: I do this every time. It brings the buttercream from a runny whipped cream consistency, to a thick frosting consistency. I prefer to work with it like this!)

Beat on low speed to eliminate any air bubbles. Stir in lemon curd with a spatula until smooth. Frosting is now ready to use or it may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days. Before using, bring to room temperature.


Lemon Curd

I love this lemon curd recipe. It requires you to make it with the zest of the lemon, but at the end the zest is strained out through a fine sieve. This imparts the maximum lemon flavor, but the curd still has a silky smooth consistency. Mmm.

Makes 1 cup--enough for the buttercream with enough leftover for a thin layer between the cakes..

4 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
1/2 cup sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Prepare an ice bath fitted with a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together yolks, zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove pan from heat.

Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until incorporated. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into prepared medium bowl. Stirring frequently, let stand until cool.

Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to prevent skin from forming; wrap tightly. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Assembly:

Place one poppy seed cake onto a platter or cake stand. Spread about 1/4 cup of lemon curd over it and top with second cake layer. Frost with lemon buttercream and smooth sides. Decorate as desired.


To my fellow Canadians: Have a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend!

Geraldine's Chocolate-Date Cake

I've been going through cake withdrawal. I haven't posted a cake recipe in two months. That means I haven't baked a cake in two months. Since June's Pecan-Streusel Coffee Cake there has been soup, salad, salmon and plenty of beef, but precious few sweets, which is odd for me, wouldn't you say? (Thanks for putting up with all the beef, by the way, we're nowhere near finished.) Summer's fresh fruit and berries have provided sufficient distraction and we've eaten crisps and cobblers galore, but with the cooler weather comes a distinct longing for... CAKE!

Fortunately, before I started spazzing from lack of flour, eggs, sugar and butter baked in pleasing proportions, Beth Lipton's (aka CookiePie) brand spanking new cookbook arrived in the mail for me to review. Titled You Made That Dessert? this sizzling cookbook provided ample reason to rev up my Kitchen Aid.


I'm so thrilled Beth chose me to participate in her online book tour. This cookbook was a pleasure to peruse and a breeze to follow. I love it's tag line: "Create Fabulous Treats, Even If You Can Barely Boil Water". I can attest to the clear directions and straightforward steps; they are going to make baking a whole lot easier for the novice.

Since I already had cake on the brain, I thought it would be easy to choose a recipe from Beth's cookbook; however, her stellar collection of twenty or so cakes left me thumbing back and forth for some time before I settled on a recipe that combined two of my favorite ingredients (chocolate & coffee) with a twist --dates.



There were two things I noted while making this cake--well, three actually.

1. The recipe calls for the dates to be chopped in half. Brilliant, because they are going to be tossed in a blender later and pureed with the coffee. Ever encountered a date or olive pit while using your blender? NOT fun. As it so happens, I removed two pits from the 'pitted' dates as I was chopping them.
2. This really is a one-bowl cake, dry ingredients are sifted right on top of the wet. And speaking of sifting...
3. Listen to step 2 of the recipe:

"Sift the dry ingredients by holding the sieve over the bowl and lightly tapping the side with your fingers. If there are any lumps of dry ingredients left after you've finished sifting, rub the back of a spoon over the lumps to press them through the sieve."

Are those not clear directions, or what? Beth has carefully outlined each step with such care, they will reassure even the most timid baker. Bravo!


As I had suspected, this cake was even better after sitting overnight. The flavors really had a chance to meld, yet each one still shone through in its own way. Marvelous cake, and @CookiePie--fantastic cookbook! Congratulations!


Geraldine's Chocolate-Date Cake

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
2 cups pitted dried dates, halved
1-1/4 cups hot strongly brewed coffee
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method: Preheat the oven to 350F. Mist a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Place the pan on a sheet of parchment, trace the pan with a pencil and cut out the parchment circle. Line the bottom of the pan with the parchment round and mist it with cooking spray. Loosely fill a 2-cup liquid measuring cup with the dates and cover with the hot coffee. Let it sit for 5 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a flexible spatula and then beat again until the mixture is uniform. Place a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl with the butter mixture and put the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in the sieve. Sift the dry ingredients by holding the sieve over the bowl and lightly tapping the side with your fingers. If there are any lumps of dry ingredients left after you've finished sifting, rub the back of a spoon over the lumps to press them through the sieve. With a flexible spatula, mix the dry ingredients gently into the butter mixture until nearly combined.

Pour the dates and coffee into a blender or food processor and blend to puree the mixture completely. Add the pureed dates to the batter and mix with the same flexible spatula until all the ingredients are combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top evenly with the chocolate chips. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until the edges begin to pull away from the side of the pan and the cake springs back when you touch it lightly. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle, then gently turn the cake out onto the rack to cool further. Serve at room temperature. Cover leftover cake with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.


Join the You Made That Dessert? Cookbook Food Blog Tour!!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake on Two Peas and Their Pod

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Cappuccino Biscotti on the Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

Lime-Glazed Citrus Tea Cake on Sticky, Gooey, Creamy Chewy

Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Bars on Recipe Girl

Banana Snack Cake with Rich Caramel Frosting on Cookie Baker Lynn

PB&J Bars and Coconut Rice Pudding on Eat Me, Delicious

Pecan-Streusel Coffee Cake

Danny celebrates his birthday on July 1st, which is Canada Day. He has always liked having his birthday on that particular National holiday as there is sure to be a party or an event happening, but I feel that as a result of all the festivities, his birthday tends to take a backseat. Usually there's some sort of brunch, then a mad dash downtown to stake a spot on the sidewalk for the parade. This is generally followed by an ice cream outing and an afternoon poolside with friends and family. If we can muster up any energy after that, we'll catch an open air concert in the evening and some fireworks in Montreal's Old Port. Not much time in there to bake a cake, you'll notice, so this year I was happy the birthday boy requested something simple.



A wonderful recipe from bon appétit, this Pecan-Streusel Coffee Cake was just the kind of simple recipe we needed to quickly put together after a long day. It was so easy, Noah did most of the work, relishing in the thought that he was creating his daddy's birthday cake. Fireworks were going off in the distance as we ate the cake warm from the oven and the candles melted into it, but it was so good, no one minded; definitely worth missing fireworks for.


With a cake like this, the person of honour is bound to feel special, as I know Danny did, no matter how many other things are going on. Greek-style yogurt keeps it very moist, and a decadent vein of brown sugar-pecan streusel running through the center makes it hard to eat just one piece.


Pecan-Streusel Coffee Cake
From Bon Appetit magazine
Serves 9

Ingredients:

Streusel

2/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1/2 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped


Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup whole-milk or reduced-fat (2%) plain Greek-style yogurt*

*A thick yogurt; sold at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Greek markets. If unavailable, spoon regular yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight to drain.


Preparation:

Streusel: Combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add melted butter; toss with fork to blend. Using fingertips, rub mixture together until small clumps form. Mix in pecans. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.


Cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
Butter 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan.

Combine flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar, butter, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Add half of flour mixture; beat just until blended. Add yogurt; beat just until blended. Beat in remaining flour mixture just until blended.

Spoon half of batter into prepared baking pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle half of streusel evenly over batter. Spoon remaining batter in dollops over streusel, then spread evenly over with offset spatula. Sprinkle remaining streusel evenly over top.

Bake cake until streusel topping is brown and tester inserted into centre of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes.
Cut into squares and serve slightly warm or at room temperature

Irresponsibly Yours with Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Most days I eat responsibly. I set a good example for the babies such as avoiding snacks before a meal, finish all my dinner before dessert, and generally conducting myself in a grown-up manner.

Then there are days where I pull an upside-down rhubarb cake out of the oven, attempt to photograph it while it is still warm, sneak a few bites here and there, and finally wind up eating it entirely-- and just before dinner, too. Strangely, I'm not hungry for spaghetti and meatballs after that. At all.

Fortunately the boys are still young enough that I can get away with such shenanigans, but in a few years, I'm going to have some explaining to do if I attempt to eat only cake for supper.
Maybe we'll skip the meatballs and everyone can have cake. I think I like that idea.

I'd like to see anyone try to resist this dessert.


I probably haven't made this cake in ten years, but a recent discovery of the recipe in an old handwritten cookbook of my mothers brought back some good memories and I knew I had to make it again.

Fortunately I did because it was even better than I remembered. I love, love, the combination of the tart, compote-like rhubarb top with the ever-so-light butter cake base. It's a perfect spring dessert, uncomplicated, and easy enough for everyday enjoyment.

Just you try and save it for dessert.



Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

Makes a 9-inch round cake. Serves 6-8. I also divided the batter and made two smaller 6 inch cakes. This is nice if you want to give one away.

Be sure to read through the recipe and have all the ingredients assembled before you start.

For the Rhubarb bottom:

3 1/2 cups rhubarb, washed, dried and chopped in 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons orange rind
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a round 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper and butter pan thoroughly. Mix together first four ingredients and pour into pan. Dot with butter and place in a preheated oven. Cook only as long as it takes you to put the cake batter below together.


For the Cake:

In the bowl of a mixer combine

1 cup cake flour, sifted
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup soft unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

With the paddle attachment, beat ingredients for two minutes, scraping down sides as necessary.
Then add:
1 egg

Beat for another minute.
Pour batter over rhubarb and return everything to oven.
Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Place a plate or cake platter on top of the pan and re-invert cake onto the platter. Remove tin and peel off parchment. Allow to cool.
Serve with whipped cream.

May Showers & Wedding Cake

Ever feel like you are living under the Big Top and your life is a three ring circus? Uh-huh. Last Saturday was Project Wedding Cake day and we could have charged admission to the circus that was our home in the morning--all we needed was a trapeze artist or two. We had the rest of the show: clowns (the boys of course), monkeys (yep, boys again), elephant (me after all the cake scraps I ate), gravity-defying acts (4 tiers of cake) and so on.

It wasn't lively only because I had a wedding cake to pull together on a standard rowdy Saturday morning, but the fact that we were all attending the wedding too; that added a challenging element. (Wait, who's idea it was to bring the kids anyway?) So of course that meant there were babies to bathe, tiny shirts and pants to iron, and many bags to be packed with activities, sippy cups and the appropriate stuffed animal.
Do NOT ask me how Brangelina do it--I only have two and it's work. Oh right, they have like 6 nannies.

All day I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never did and the four of us plus four cakes made it to the ceremony and reception without incident. Oh, did I mention that it was pouring rain? Like the kind of intense downpour that hits the ground so hard it splashes up under your dress.Yeah, not nice.


I assembled the cake from the bottom up at the reception hall and decorated it with simple purple ribbon and fresh daisies. The bride's colors were purple and yellow and we worked together to incorporated them into the cakes design. She also had picked a cute Precious Moment's cake topper which suited her to a tee, and I think both the bride and groom were happy with the final result.

Later on that evening, as he busily snapped photos of the cake cutting, the wedding photographer asked me how I felt about my creation and the fact that it was about to be destroyed, ie: consumed. I assured him that unlike some wedding cakes, mine focused first on taste and second on appearances, meaning that it's ideal destiny was to be consumed down to the last crumb, not just to sit pretty. I would be ten times more upset if it was only for show and never got eaten and enjoyed!


That said, here's the lowdown on what went into the cake with recipes at the bottom. Hope you weren't expecting a DIY wedding cake tutorial, because frankly I am not the patissiere for the job! This is my sixth wedding cake over the last 10 years, not a very good ratio. I should probably decide soon if I'm serious about this wedding cake calling or not.

Alright, there was both One-Bowl Chocolate Cake and Yellow Butter Cake in the cake layers, with the exception of the second layer, which was double chocolate. After all, chocolate is a more popular flavor and I wanted extra. Cakes were filled with Chocolate Frosting and covered with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Rolled fondant covered the cakes for the final touch.


Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions about making these recipes in large quantities.

Recipes:

Yellow Butter Cake
Chocolate Frosting
Swiss Meringue Buttercream

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

From Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two round 9-inch cake pans or one 9x13 pan; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; mix batter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to ensure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among pans. (If I have any extra batter I like to make a few mini cupcakes.) Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed.
Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
Frost as desired.

Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake and a 'Pat the Bunny' Birthday

I already said my birthday congratulations to Mateo, so let's get straight to the cake, shall we?
Now, as much as I love the typical ABC baby blocks/first birthday cake in its every form, I wanted to do something a little more original for Mateo, and so his tattered and much-loved 'Pat the Bunny' book became the inspiration behind this cake. Here's how it came together...


Flavors:
I loved this cake and was thrilled with how it came out! Friends who follow me on Twitter know how I haggled over the perfect flavor combination for this birthday. Chocolate and Chestnut? Too mature. Carrot and Maple? Too predictable. ( I see soooo many carrot cakes for a baby's first birthday, and most of the time they are the recipe from 'What to Expect...')

I started with the marvelous yellow butter cake from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and her classic Swiss Meringue buttercream. Then I had four egg yolks left over from the buttercream and fresh lemons to use up, so I made a tangy lemon curd and folded it into the buttercream. I sandwiched some fresh raspberries between the middle layer of cake, covered the entire project with Satin Ice rolled fondant and served it with a raspberry coulis.
It was fantastic!

This cake would be a showstopper even without the rolled fondant icing. The spectacular lemon buttercream can certainly stand on its own, so don't sweat it if you are not up for the fondant. It would dazzle simply topped with a few fresh raspberries.


This cake felt like spring; and on a freezing cold March day, that was a good thing. In fact, as I was eating a slice the next morning for breakfast (perfectly acceptable, as long as the little ones don't see) I was remarking on how it would make a lovely wedding cake. Hey, spring IS coming sometime, and with it many opportunities for C-A-K-E: graduations, wedding showers, birthdays...Oh, OH--Mother's Day!
You better make a mental note of that: Aimée's Lemon Raspberry Cake for Mum.


Decorations:
Even though the cake's interior was pure Martha Stewart, the design and decoration was all my idea and execution.

• The bunny was cut out of plain white rolled fondant and the markings added with edible marker. He came out quite cute, I thought!
• I dyed the fondant peach (although it was pinker than I would have liked) and pinned a blue ribbon around the bottom.
• For the pattern on the fondant, I wasn't sure how to add the delicate three petaled flowers, as I certainly was not going to paint them on by hand. So I quickly carved a makeshift stamp out of a potato, dipped it into the food coloring and went nuts all over the cake. It took about five minutes and gave the effect that I wanted. Never underestimate the lowly potato!!
• The invitations used a line from the book: "How Big Is Mateo? Sooo Big!" and I was originally going to pipe this onto the cake; however, I chickened out! I just don't like writing on cakes: I don't like how it looks and I don't like doing it, so I stamped the top, too.
  

Looking to plan a party for your baby?! I've included some ideas at the bottom of the post on how to host your own Pat the Bunny theme party too. Yay!



Recipes:
All adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Yellow Butter Cake
yields two 8-inch round cakes

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition.
3. Divide batter between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
They may look like they are going to overflow the pan, but don't worry they will be fine and you will end up with nice fat layers for your cake. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto the rack; peel off the parchment. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.


Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Makes about 4 cups, perfect for this cake.

4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
3/4 cup lemon curd (recipe below)

In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a saucepan of simmering water, combine the egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.
Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Continue beating until the mixture is fluffy and cooled, about 6 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment.
With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. If frosting appears to have separated after all the butter has been added, beat on medium-high speed until smooth again.
(Aimée's Note: I do this every time. It brings the buttercream from a runny whipped cream consistency, to a thick frosting consistency. I prefer to work with it like this.)
Beat on low speed to eliminate any air bubbles. Stir in lemon curd with a spatula until smooth. Frosting is now ready to use or it may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days. Before using, bring to room temperature.


I love this lemon curd recipe. It requires you to make it with the zest of the lemon, but at the end the zest is strained out through a fine sieve. This imparts the maximum lemon flavor, but the curd still has a silky smooth consistency. Mmm.

Lemon Curd
Makes 1 cup--enough for the buttercream with a bit leftover for you to scarf.

4 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
1/2 cup sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Prepare an ice bath fitted with a medium bowl; set aside. Whisk together yolks, zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring until incorporated. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into prepared medium bowl. Stirring frequently, let stand until cool.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to prevent skin from forming; wrap tightly. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Assembly:
2 8-inch round Yellow Butter Cakes
Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream
1 pkg fresh raspberries
1 1/2 lbs rolled fondant (optional)
icing sugar

Slice cakes lengthwise in two ( I like to have them very cold for this part) so that you have four rounds.. Place the bottom layer on a cake stand and top with about 3/4 cup of lemon buttercream. Top with cake layer. Spread a thin layer of buttercream and top with a layer of fresh raspberries. Smear a generous amount of buttercream across the berries so that it fills any gaps.
Top berries with another round of cake, coat with buttercream and place the final layer of cake on top. Frost all over with remaining buttercream. Chill until very firm.
Dust counter with icing sugar and roll fondant into a circle measuring 14 inches in diameter. Lift gently and place on top of cake. Smooth sides, trimming excess fondant. Dust hands with icing sugar and smooth out air bubbles from top and sides. Decorate as desired.
Chill until ready to serve.


How to Plan a 'Pat the Bunny' Birthday Party:

OK, I can take credit for the cake, but the rest of this was the creative thinking from the super talented Abigail from Piece of Cake. Trust me when I say she has the credentials, and I don't just mean graphic design! A master party planner, she processed my idea for a Pat the Bunny cake faster than my PC can re-boot, and offered these amazing (and affordable) suggestions for the whole Pat the Bunny experience! Abigail is also half the team behind the fabulous creations at paper and cake. You'll never stress over another party again thanks to their adorable downloadable templates. Abigail designed Mateo's darling birthday invitations (pictured above), which I'll be saving for years to come. Thanks Abigail!
Party on!

Color scheme: turquoise, peach and white

Decorations:

• Make cut outs of rabbits, carrots, or little bunny footprints of construction paper and affix to the walls or windows.
  
• Purchase ribbon to swag everywhere.
  
• Make a garland with the baby's name by cutting letters out of peach/turquoise paper and gluing them to the opposite color cardstock and threading on a ribbon across the room/door/window.

Goodie Bags:

• Pat the Bunny puppets
• Bunny ear headbands
• Pat the Bunny book in a clear cello party favor bag filled with some cotton balls and tied with your peach/turquoise ribbon. (My goodie bag is pictured above. I gave the book Peakaboo Bunny.)

Craft: (If the children are old enough)

• Pat the Bunny coloring sheets (print from here) available on a kid's table covered in butcher paper, lots of crayons.
• Cut the bunny shape out of contact paper and affix (double sided tape, staple, glue) to peach or aqua cardstock. Adults will be needed to help the kids peel off the contact paper backing, then the kids can stick on cotton balls and maybe googly eyes too. This could also be done with glue, but it might get messy.

Activity:

• Hide stuffed bunnies around the house, and have the kids go on a bunny hunt.
• Play a touch/feel game. Put ultra textured items in a box or bag, show a picture of the item before having each child find that item (ie. pinecone) without looking.
• Read Pat the Birthday Bunny or Pat the Bunny