"birthday cake" news and stories

As the resident cake baker in my circle of friends, I'm always trying to find something new and funky to make. I've been in a groove of no-cook fondant and marzipan figures, but this summer I got a challenge -- chocolate. Not being the biggest fan of chocolate cakes, I mostly stick to the many other flavors. However, my friend, she loves the dark and sinful treat. If she wanted chocolate, she was really going to get chocolate. Since she's also a skier, it would be served in a smooth, snowy package.

Death by Chocolate Cake, straight out of The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Chocolate, with white fondant, a marzipan skier, and some candles for wishing. Check out the gallery, peruse the recipe after the jump, and stay tuned for more information on the fondant and marzipan.

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• Reviewers are surprisingly pleased with the service and selection at chain favorites like Outback Steakhouse, Chili's, and T.G.I. Friday's
• Young, energetic Danish chefs return home after culinary school, and bring with them a unique, fresh perspective
  
• One author marks her trials and triumphs in birthday cake making over the years, including the dreaded Barbie cake (at right)
  
• On the hunt for a Chicken Canzanese recipe, circa 1969
• The taco truck controversy marches on
• A quintessential mint julep recipe, perfect for Derby-goers

Being that I'm known in my circle of friends as something of a food lover and able cook, I often get called upon to bring contributions to communal meals or other food events. Nearly once a month, I get tapped to make a birthday dessert and so I'm always on the hunt for a quick, tasty birthday cake that doesn't come from a box. I have a go-to cake for the chocolate lovers but I've always been stymied by from scratch white cakes. They never come out quite right for me and so the search continued.

Until Saturday morning, that is. I needed to make a cake for my boyfriend's birthday party that night, and he had specifically asked for a white cake with chocolate frosting. Simple enough, right? My theory is that when you're working with such a classic combination, you have to do a really great job of it, or it's a let down. I flipped through at least six cookbooks, looking for a recipe that didn't use a pint of cream or require you to separate half a dozen eggs and beat the whites. What I ended up using was the All-Occasion Yellow Cake recipe from the Gourmet Cookbook. It is billed as being "incredibly simple" and it lived up to that promise. It came together quickly, baked up evenly, came out of the pan easily and tasted wonderful. This one is a keeper (and the recipe is after the jump).

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As some of you who follow these sorts of things may know, Talk Like a Pirate Day is just two weeks (Sept. 19) away (what, you mean to tell me that this isn't a holiday you celebrate in your household?). I wasn't actually planning on posting about it here until I stumbled across the recipe and design instructions for a Pirate Ship Cake and realized that it was a match made in heaven. Now, I haven't made this recipe personally, so I have no idea how hard or easy it is to create at home, but from the picture it seems pretty darn cool.

The Perfect Pantry is a great blog, filled with tips for stocking your pantry or kitchen. As webmaster Lydia herself says, there's no such thing as a perfect pantry, but there are certainly things in there you need. And it's The Perfect Pantry's one-year birthday (well, it was yesterday), and Lydia made a Chocolate Outrageous Pie to celebrate. She found the recipe in a notebook filled with old recipes. Full recipe after the jump.