A Birthday Without A Cake...

On the Reading List at the moment is 'Talking with My Mouth Full:  Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories,' by NPR Food Commentator Bonny Wolf.  I didn't know who she was when I checked it out from the library,  but I'm enjoying the book immensely.  Bonny writes in a very easy-going way.  The book is full of anecdotes from her life and is filled with lots of great recipes.  More importantly, they are recipes she's culled from friends and family over the years, so they're unfussy and fall into the 'tried and true' category.  I ordered a copy of the book, so I'll have the recipes close at hand whenever I need them.

What caught my attention the other day was an essay entitled, "Let Them Eat Cake," where she talked about the birthday cakes her friends have made for the their children, year after year, from the times they were little to the not-so-little age of their early adult years.  She writes about the fancy cake she had on her fifth birthday, the cake her mom made that had a doll coming out from the top and the cake looked like a tiered skirt of frilly ruffles.  I remember having one like that myself, probably from my fourth or fifth birthday, and somewhere there's a photo of me in the kitchen, standing next to the table, and looking happily at that cake.

Over the past couple of years, I've taken it into my own hands to have a cake on my birthday.    In 2010, I made lavender cupcakes with a lilac-tinted lemon buttercream, each topped with a single blueberry.  Yes, they look like breasts.  Don't ask me what I was thinking, but I wanted embellishment.  Any kind of psychological insight aside, they were delicious.  Last year, I opted for cupcakes again, this time strawberry with a pink-tinted vanilla buttercream.  They were frilly and girly and I ate too many of them.  May Day arrived this year and I ended up with not one, but two birthday cakes.  My co-workers surprised me with a cake at work.  Red Velvet with melted chocolate artfully strewn across the expanse of bakery buttercream.  Thick white ruffles of icing lining the perimeter.  Remember the bakery cakes from when you were little, the cakes with huge buttercream rosettes?  I was the one gathering more than just those that came with my piece.  That was me again on Monday (since I was off yesterday), with loads of buttercream heaped on my plate.  The sugar rush and crash that day was palpable.

Despite the surprise birthday cake, I still had plans for my own-baked version.  With a load of lemons from a co-workers tree, I made lemon curd.  And because I have a thing for lavender in baked goods, I once again opted for a lavender cake.  So 2012 became the year of the Lavender Cake with Lemon Curd Filling.  A single layer, sliced in two with a thick layer of curd, and lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar.  For the past couple of days, I've had the privilege of having cake multiple times in one day.  (If this doesn't get me back to the gym, I don't know what will!)  The lavender cake is perfect with coffee in the morning and the red velvet makes a great mid-afternoon forkful treat.

As Bonny Wolf so truthfully writes at the end of the essay, 'A birthday without a cake is like a wedding without a bride.'  Wise words...so remember, friends don't let friends have a birthday go by without cake.

Lavender Cake with Lemon Curd Filling
Makes one 8-inch layer cake
(Adapted from a recipe on Everything Lavender.com)

For cake:

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon culinary lavender
4 tablespoons half and half


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cake pan with parchment or grease and flour the pan.  In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined.  Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before tranferring to wire rack. Let cake cool completely before slicing.  

Spread lemon curd in a thick layer on bottom portion of cake.  Carefully place top layer back on and dust with confectioners' sugar.  


For lemon curd:
Makes about 1 1/2-2 cups
(From FineCooking.com--the easiest recipe I've come across for lemon curd)

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well.  Add egg yolks.  Add lemon juice and mix well.  It will look curdled because of the lemon juice, but it's okay.  Heat mixture over low heat in a saucepan until it looks smooth.  Increase heat to medium, cook until mixture thickens, stirring constantly (about 15 minutes).  Do not let mixture boil.  Mixture should easily coat a wooden spoon and leave a clean path when you run your finger through it.  

Remove from heat and mix in lemon zest.  Transfer curd to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic on top of curd so a skin doesn't form.  Chill in refrigerator.  Curd will thicken.  You can make this the day before.  Covered tightly, it will last for about a week.  

From the co-workers

Lavender Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

Birthday 2010:  Lavender Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

Birthday 2011:  Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Fifteen Layers High

There's this little website called Pinterest that I am mildly obsessed with, meaning I don't have to visit the site every day, but more times than not, I will.  Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board.  It's a genius idea because I'm always bookmarking sites, whether they be recipes, blogs, photos, articles, or what have you.  In the past I've lost a huge amount of those bookmarks when I've upgraded browsers.  Now in one spot, off my hard drive, all my books marks can be saved!  Categorised!  It also satifies the voyeur in me because you share your boards with other people and can look at their boards!  It can be a huge source of inspiration.  If you're curious want to check out Pinterest or my boards, find me here.

To prove how inspiration struck, I found a pin for a crêpe cake.  That's right, a cake made with crêpes.  I love crêpes.  They're easy, they can be made sweet or savoury, and you can fill them pretty much with whatever you like.  I've had a great book on crêpes that I've referred to a number of times over the years.  Called (what else?!) 'Crêpes:  Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Home Cook,' it gives so many options you'll have loads of ideas for weeks.  The recipe for basic crêpes is so easy, along with all the variations they include.  But back to the cake.  Layer upon layer of buttery batter goodness.  This is not something to eat if you're trying to lose a couple of pounds this week.  If you're ready to indulge, I highly suggest it.  You don't need a crêpe pan or griddle (though it would be easier).  I use my 10-inch skillet, and while it does take a little maneuvering to slip the spatula under the edge to flip them, you'll find a rhythm that works for you with practice.

Make this if you're having friends over for dinner.  It's so pretty when you slice it.  I layered the crêpes with a mixed berry purée.  Next time (because there will be a next time), I'm going the chocolate or nutella route.

Sweet Crêpes
(Adapted from the 'Dessert Crêpes' recipe from 'Crêpes' by Lou Seibert Pappas) 
makes 14-16 10-inch crêpes


2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Faretti biscotti liqueur (brandy, amaretto, bourbon, etc) [optional]
2 tablespoons butter, melted (plus more for coating the pan)


In a small bowl, sift the flour and sugar, set aside.  In a larger bowl, whisk the eggs, then add milk, water, vanilla extract, liqueur, and melted butter.  When all the liquid ingredients are combined, gradually add the flour and mix until incorporated.  Refrigerate the batter for at least an hour before use.  If the batter separates when chilling, mix again before making crêpes.


Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, and coat the pan with a thin layer of butter.  Pour slightly less than 1/4 cup of batter into the hot skillet.  Thin is key here!  Cook until the edges start to curl and brown, about a minute.  Flip and cook other side until lightly browned.  Lay on plate to cool.  Layer wax paper or parchment between crêpes.


Mixed Berry Purée


1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup sugar


In a blender, combine berries and sugar and purée.  Add water by the tablespoon if needed.  Adjust sugar to taste.  Blend until smooth.


To build cake:


Lay crêpe on plate and spread a thin layer of berry purée on top.  Repeat until all the crêpes have been used.  Sift confectioners sugar on top.