Sunday, May 4, 2008

Tiger Cake

I went back and forth, back and forth and finally decided that I would share this little bit of personal info. Today is my birthday. No big hoopla or party. Just dinner, cake, and friends.

I was also going back and forth, about what type of cake I wanted. I could not decide between yellow and chocolate, almost annoyingly indecisive. Go ahead ask Katie, every time we exchanged e-mails I changed the flavor of the cake.

I went through my binder of "must try recipes" and came across “Tiger Cake”. A yellow and chocolate swirled cake! It was like an “a-ha moment”. Immediately all the stress of finding the perfect birthday cake dissipated.

The “Tiger Cake” is from Alice Medrich’s book Bittersweet. Putting the cake together was very easy! Seriously ...easy peasy. It did call for two odd ingredients 1) one cup of olive oil, 2) ½ teaspoon of white pepper. Oh man, was it hard not to change the recipe! In the end, I am so glad that I followed the recipe according to Medrich. The pepper adds just a bit of warmth but since I glazed the cake with a milk chocolate ganache, I doubt anyone will suspect the presence of pepper in the cake.

I am planning to serve the cake with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, a fanned strawberry, and an iced cappuccino. Hopefully everyone will enjoy the cake and maybe even manage to take home a slice.

It can’t wait to share cake with friends and loved ones. Even though I’ll be surrounded by loved ones, one person will still be missing …Katie. That is where the candied flowers come in. The flowers on top of the cake were a gift from her and I had been saving them for a special occasion. Even though she could not be here in person, (she lives on the other side of the pond) I know her “spirit” was here. Katie, than you for the friendship, flowers, and birthday gifts.

RECIPE: TIGER CAKE

41 comments:

Katie said...

Gigi, have a wonderful birthday.
The cake looks fabulous. I love the swirl you have acheived in the cake, just perfect.
Never had a cake with pepper in it before, so one I will have to try.

Enjoy your special day
*<:-) smiley with a party hat on.

Silvia - Magnolia Wedding Planner said...

Wow when I saw pepper I thought of having red wrongly!! Fantastic I must try and it looks really delicious .
Great job dear!
Wish you a good sunday
Silvia

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIGI!!!!! How exciting!!! And what a positively GORGEOUS cake to make, in honor of your special day :0) Enjoy!!

Deborah said...

Happy, happy birthday!! I hope it is a great one, being surrounded by family and friends is the best way to celebrate, in my opinion.

And the cake looks so perfect and delicious!!

marae said...

YAY for a birthday...and a yummy chocolate yellow bday cake, I also have a soft spot for yellow cake. It looks wonderful.

Carole said...

Happy birthday! Your cake looks absolutely delicious but I have to admit that I don't think you should be making your own cake :-)

Kristen said...

Happy Birthday! :)

That cakes looks fabulous!

glamah16 said...

Happy Birthday and many more. Thats a fine looking cake.

Jerry said...

Hope you have a great birthday! And the cake can't be anything but spectacular!

Rachel said...

Belated b'day wishes...gorgeous cake...pepper and olive oil sounds interesting when in a cake...makes me want to try it

eatme_delicious said...

Happy birthday!! :) And what a delicious looking birthday cake.

grace said...

happy belated birthday! one of my favorite things about my birthday is that i get to make (and inhale) my own cake. while they always taste good, they're never as picturesque as yours! i hope you had a smashing day! :)

LyB said...

What a beautiful cake, the flowers add just the right touch of playfulness! I hope you enjoyed your cake, and your day, with your friends!

Stef said...

Happy birthday!! Hope you have a great year!!

My birthday was the first. I was happy to eat a dessert made by someone else. However, sometimes making your own cake that you know you will love can't be beat!

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Kristin said...

happy birthday!

remember - no slivers today! have a big, big piece!

Honeyed Hashette said...

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
This cake is so pretty!
I love the nilly/choco combo!
Mmmmm!
Have a wonderful birthday dinner!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

What a perfect birthday cake! I hope your birthday was as fabulous as the cake.

Anonymous said...

Hope you enjoyed your birthday, Gigi! :)

And what a delightful cake to be shared with your loved ones on your birthday :)

Sheltie Girl said...

Marble cake is the cake of choice for birthdays at our house. I'm glad you enjoyed the one by Alice so much. Happy Birthday!

Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go

Sarah said...

Oh my this looks amazing! I hope you had an amazing birthday. My mom makes her own cake every year (I'm rarely there for it) & I always wish someone else would make her a damn cake for a change! It wasn't until recently that I started getting excited about making my own bday cake. :) This one looks special!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

Well Happy Late Birthday Gigi! Your cake turned out lovely! I love Alice's book too...she has such a wealth of knowledge!

Chibog in Chief said...

happy happy birthday to you!! may you have more wonderful and sweet years ahead of you!! btw, this tiger cake is soooooo pretty!!! i will definitely do this for my baby's birthday!!

Half Baked said...

Happy belated Birthday! Your cake looks fantastic.

Hallie Fae said...

That looks amazing. I would be more than happy if that was my birthday cake. Yumm

Maria♥ said...

Gigi Happy Birthday!!

Your cake looks absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!

Maria
x

Anonymous said...

Is that beautiful or what! Wow!

Happy belated birthday, by the way. :)

Brilynn said...

Happy Birthday!
I just made this cake a little while ago and used orange as the flavouring in the white cake.

Henny A. said...

happy belated birthday!
your b-day cake looks amazing!!

Unknown said...

the candied flowers are so beautifully delicate. what a pretty cake. happy birthday!~

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday to you! This cake is beautiful! (I've never actually commented on your blog before, but I read it all the time, so I thought I'd come out of hiding!) Love the blog (and the cake!)!!!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

happy birthday gigi! that cake looks fantastic--the tiger sripes are really cool!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that turned out really well. The marbling of the layers is so cool.

test it comm said...

That cake looks amazing! I hope you had a great birthday!

RecipeGirl said...

This is my first visit to your blog (thanks for visiting mine so I could discover you!)

Looks like you bake up some delicious stuff around here! Love the tiger cake. Hope your bday was happy.

I'll be visiting more often!

Cakespy said...

Holy yum!!! I love the look of this cake, and by the sound of the recipe, I think I'd like the taste too!!

Rosie said...

Happy belated birthday Gigi!! The cake looks GORGEOUS!!

Rosie x

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Olive oil and pepper?? I'd love to taste that!

Kana said...

Happy Birthday Gigi!
I love this cake and have made it a few times in the past year. It is always a hit.

Mari said...

This is a very belated birthday wish, but I mean it all the same! Your cake sure looked lovely!

Anonymous said...

I am learning how to cook (decent meals :-) ) and of course desserts too. thanks Busby SEO challenge

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