Olivia's 6th Birthday Cake

So... I did this crazy thing again where I baked a birthday cake for someone.

This time, for a sweet six-year-old who likes blue dresses and loves anything strawberry. But then again kids say they like a lot of things, so you never know. But this strawberry obsession seemed legit.

Still, you don't want to take a chance on a birthday, of all days. I shuddered at the thought that a kid might be upset over vanilla vs. chocolate, pink vs. chartreuse green, Ariel vs. Belle, and so on. Given that I didn't know too much about Olivia, I called her mom to ask a few questions.

Actually, a string of the most probing confectionary inquiries no mom of a birthday kid should ever live through.

May I use fresh strawberries? (How soon will the cake be eaten? Where will it be stored?) One-tier or two-tiered? Is it just the two of you who will be eating it? Any buttercream or icing preference? May I place a tiara on top? (I really, really want to.) How about the design- any particular theme or color arrangement?

By the time I got to asking about fondant the mother stopped me short and told me to do whatever I want.

Which is the BEST thing an obsessed, totally dedicated baker can ever hope to hear.

Whipped Cream 101

Whipped cream was one of those things I've seen, read, and talked about over and over but the name hadn't actually registered in my slow-as-heck noggin until a few years ago.

Obviously I was aware whipped cream doesn't originate from aerosol cans. It just was...bought from the store, shaken vigorously, held upside down, and piled on high atop steaming hot cocoa. This was also when I didn't bake much at all, let alone use heavy cream in anything. So I didn't really give it much thought as to what it actually was and how it was made.

Whipped. Cream = Cream...whipped.

Well, of course.

Someone please PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one.

(As an extra side note: Cool Whip (or any other commercial "whipped topping") is not actually whipped cream. It's a type of emulsified "dairy" product that's actually mostly water, hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn syrup...a little of skim milk and cream...and some controversial ingredients. Just so everyone's clear.)

Once I realized how easy it was to make whipped cream at home, I've had a rockin' delightful time. I dipped and dunked whole strawberries. I baked a cake and frosted with it. I want to one day scoop an insane mountain of it on top of a chocolate-caramel icebox pie.

I'm going to show you how to make whipped cream for yourself. It's simple, but extra tips still prove to be helpful if you're a newbie. Not a must, mind you, but if you're interested...and of course you are...because I've written this post super duper detailed...there's some fantastic information on here...and of course you appreciate that and are insatiably curious about what's coming.

Classic Sponge Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream Frosting

I've baked my share of cakes here.

Okay, so not nearly as much as I wish... but I'm getting there.

Most of the featured cakes here are what's called butter cakes. That means these cakes are generally dense, butter-based (had you guessed as such?), and very common, at least here in the States.

And for good reason- they're really good.

Might I suggest a divine, decadent Devil's Food cake? Or how about the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten? Feeling like a Southern belle? This coconut cake is for you. And this golden vanilla cake will never, ever let you down. I promise.

But today I'm talking about a different kind of cake. I'm talking sponge cake today, something that's prepped very much like the French genoise.

(If you've just said "geno-WHAT??" it's totally okay. I'll get to that. Eventually but definitely.)

The sponge cake is light and delicate and airy and absolutely delectable. It gets some of its sweetness and most of its moistness from the sugar syrup that's brushed on its layers. The sponge cake doesn't have to exclude the butter, but it is nonetheless a lower fat cake. The namesake texture of the cake is from the rise and volume it gets from heavily whipped eggs.

Sponge cakes are also versatile and adaptable to so many different flavor combinations. For this cake, though, I stuck with vanilla layers with fresh strawberries and plain whipped cream frosting.

Total deliciousness. 

Harvest Apple Challah

Georgia's been having a crazy weather conundrum lately...which is, by all means to all of us here, annoyingly normal.

So some time ago we've had some March snow + flurries, and this past week we've had a clear but chilly day, a rainy/stormy day, a fairly okay but windy day, then finally, a really hot today.

Naturally my immune system freaked out, and now I have a full-blown cold.

Question: is it okay to bake things for people when you're sick? Is that just terribly gross and unacceptable, even if you wash your hands more times than you can count and when you run ten feet away from the kitchen just to sneeze, then come back?

I promise I had nothing but good intentions.

I baked this challah for a close family friend. She's also been sick and down in that place... where you live a few days in your pink fleece pajamas... and don't give a crap what anyone might say about it. She yelled at me for baking when I was sick. As in, sick and should've taken care of myself instead. NOT sick and shouldn't have dared to make food in my nasty germ-infested state.

Obviously this person is a saint, and obviously this person deserves a good bread.

This isn't our first run-in with the challah.

I've baked it before, in a classic two-braid log form, for someone very dear to me. We both loved this egg bread, and ever since then I've been on the lookout for more challah recipes. When I found this one featuring tons of apples and cinnamon and honey, I knew I had caught on to something good. Really good. Plus, seeing as how I'm trying to incorporate more whole wheat into recipes, I thought it'd be nice to sneak some in here, too, along with some ground flaxseed.

Result: this bread is some serious comfort food. Chicken soup, meet your match.

Sean's 1st Birthday Cake

Someone dear to me called and asked if I could bake a birthday cake. A little boy named Sean was turning 1, and his parents were planning on throwing a dohl party.

Dohl (read: Dole) is a major event for us Koreans. It's a term that refers to a baby's first birthday celebration, and it usually involves a lot of friends and relatives gathering together in a big party setting. Sometimes the parents dress in the traditional hanbok, but the baby almost always wears it. There's a fun little game called the Dohl-jabi, in which the parents try to predict their baby's future by what item he or she grabs. I'm told I grabbed the string, meaning I would live a very long life. Ha-ha. All fun stuff.

Dohl is major. Dohl is important. Dohl is also particularly memorable. In my dohl pictures, I'm decked out in baby hanbok with gold rings on all my ten fingers. All ten, folks. Dohl also features specialty rice cakes and fruits and plenty of food for guests. Add in dohl photo shoots, the imported hanbok from Korea, and etc., the first birthday party can get pretty expensive.

Nowadays the popular trend among Korean parents seems to be more and more elaborate dohl parties. The bigger and fancier the better, is the idea. I'm all for celebrations, but I personally don't see the point of spending a couple grand just to throw a party my child won't remember but through pictures.

Sean's parents felt the same. They were a young married couple, and an even younger parents. They didn't have much. Even I could imagine the stress behind wanting to throw the best dohl party on a limited budget. Especially with 45+ people coming and watching.

That's why I was so honored and thrilled to bake their boy's birthday cake. In my brain, it all worked out perfectly: the parents don't spend extra on a cake, I get to practice cake decorating, the baby gets his cake, and all of you get to read about what went down.

And trust me, a lot went down.