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:
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.
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
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIGI!!!!! How exciting!!! And what a positively GORGEOUS cake to make, in honor of your special day :0) Enjoy!!
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!!
YAY for a birthday...and a yummy chocolate yellow bday cake, I also have a soft spot for yellow cake. It looks wonderful.
Happy birthday! Your cake looks absolutely delicious but I have to admit that I don't think you should be making your own cake :-)
Happy Birthday! :)
That cakes looks fabulous!
Happy Birthday and many more. Thats a fine looking cake.
Hope you have a great birthday! And the cake can't be anything but spectacular!
Belated b'day wishes...gorgeous cake...pepper and olive oil sounds interesting when in a cake...makes me want to try it
Happy birthday!! :) And what a delicious looking birthday cake.
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! :)
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!
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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happy birthday!
remember - no slivers today! have a big, big piece!
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!
What a perfect birthday cake! I hope your birthday was as fabulous as the cake.
Hope you enjoyed your birthday, Gigi! :)
And what a delightful cake to be shared with your loved ones on your birthday :)
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
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!
Well Happy Late Birthday Gigi! Your cake turned out lovely! I love Alice's book too...she has such a wealth of knowledge!
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!!
Happy belated Birthday! Your cake looks fantastic.
That looks amazing. I would be more than happy if that was my birthday cake. Yumm
Gigi Happy Birthday!!
Your cake looks absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!
Maria
x
Is that beautiful or what! Wow!
Happy belated birthday, by the way. :)
Happy Birthday!
I just made this cake a little while ago and used orange as the flavouring in the white cake.
happy belated birthday!
your b-day cake looks amazing!!
the candied flowers are so beautifully delicate. what a pretty cake. happy birthday!~
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!)!!!
happy birthday gigi! that cake looks fantastic--the tiger sripes are really cool!
Wow, that turned out really well. The marbling of the layers is so cool.
That cake looks amazing! I hope you had a great birthday!
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!
Holy yum!!! I love the look of this cake, and by the sound of the recipe, I think I'd like the taste too!!
Happy belated birthday Gigi!! The cake looks GORGEOUS!!
Rosie x
Olive oil and pepper?? I'd love to taste that!
Happy Birthday Gigi!
I love this cake and have made it a few times in the past year. It is always a hit.
This is a very belated birthday wish, but I mean it all the same! Your cake sure looked lovely!
I am learning how to cook (decent meals :-) ) and of course desserts too. thanks Busby SEO challenge
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