Growl... More Cake

Click on the title above for a cool list of cakes from Wikipedia. I picture the staff behind Wikipedia like the Wizard of Oz, one guy writing everything. Maybe he's kind of a know-it-all who had to have an outlet because he was driving his friends and family crazy with details that they didn't really want to know. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain though, he's a decent writer.

Here's the second cake from the cake class. I was frazzled, since Thursday was a big oncology appointment at City of Hope. Talk about the Wizard behind the curtain... (sigh) I made my frosting too late, it was a little warm, I forgot to mix my colors before class and my tiger eyes were crooked. But despite all that, it was a cool class and this cake has a ton of possibilities, if you don't want to make a tiger face every time. The ears and cheeks are two cupcakes, halved. I love the effect of the orange and yellow blended together and learning how to use a paper bag for the black and dark colors. This is the cake for friends and family who love frosting more than cake. Next week birthday cakes and writing, which I'm very excited about. Our homework is to make the cakes, complete the filing, mix the colors and set the crumb coat-- all before class. We'll see how far I get... with 24 pounds of teething, on the verge of walking, climbing kid on my heels.

A Perfect Lemon Pie

My Aunt Liz made this pie with fresh lemons from my mom's tree. Perfection. See what I have to live up to? It's hard work.

Let Them Eat Cake

In the midst of the weirdness that is my life at the moment, I decided to take a cake decorating class. Actually, I signed up for the class before my mom was diagnosed with cancer and I left my job and blah, blah, blah, wah, wah, wah. I seriously considered punting on the whole thing under the pressure of the 11 month old teething baby on my hip and my mom's daily care, but instead decided to go to as many classes as I can. It's not like I'm taking it for credit. The classes are held at DeCroupet Sisters in Arcadia where you can buy everything from cake molds to premade frosting and all the plastic crappity crap that goes on kid's cakes. The list of stuff to bring was enormous but Julie came to my rescue and outfitted my toolbox with all the supplies I needed. The lengths that my friends will go to to help is amazing to me. The highlights were learning how to level a cake, wield the spatula, use the turntable, seal the center filling and apply the crumb coat. Despite what it sounds like, Crumb coat is not a character cut from a Dickens novel. We covered the cakes with a thin crumb coat of frosting, or "primer" as Julie called it, smoothed on a layer of white frosting as our base, made green flower stems, tiny yellow flowers, orange centers, and green leaves. The design is a little cutesy for me, but I'm going to practice with a yellow cake base and tiny white daisies this week. Why are cake designs so typically lame? Why don't you see cupcakes with Basquiat's crown stenciled in chocolate? Why don't you see delicate orchids? Or the arch of a single lily? Or a ruffled marigold? Maybe that's my calling. Marie Antionette didn't say it, but whoever did might have been on to something. There are worse ways to shrug off grim reality than with mounds of cake and tiny, sugary daisies.

Why I Love Great Food Writing.

"...the shakes are as dense and sweet as a life well lived."

From Jonathan Gold's review of the drive-thru Tops in Pasadena.

Top’s. The drive-thru hamburger is generally a sorry proposition, a junkyard of unhappy Happy Meals, of unstellar Famous Stars, of charnel-house malteds and grisly lumps of gristle, of TV-slick cheesy things and other restaurants so terrifyingly off-brand that you fear for your intestinal fauna. And then there is Top’s, where the bacon-avocado cheeseburgers are grand, goopy things; the onion rings are pleasingly crunchy; and the shakes are as dense and sweet as a life well lived. 1792 E. Walnut St., Pasadena, (626) 584-0244. Lunch and dinner, Sun.– Thurs., 7 a.m.–11 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 7 a.m. –12 a.m. No alcohol. Lot parking. ATM cards and cash only. American. JG ¢

Who Would Make a Hat Out of Meat? Click Here. Say Ew.

Way too much time on their hands.