Let Them Eat Cake

I am a notorious cake hater. I think it is because there are so many bad cakes out there. It might also be because of memories of birthday parties as a child when the prerequisite piece of cake was cut and paired with a scoop of ice cream that invariably melted and had cake crumbs swimming in it by the time it was placed in front of you. I've broken into dry heaves just writing about this. So if I haven't grossed you out by now, I will say that I do enjoy making a good cake occasionally. My daughter found a recipe for this one a few days back and I thought it looked good enough to make an exception.


I also made a loaf of rye bread. Just thought I would throw that in since it happened to be cooling on the same rack next to the cake.


This is the first time I made it in my Sassafras stone cooker. It came out a bit lopsided but was delicious. I've had this bread baker for 20 years and this is the first time I used it. Go figure. I almost sold it in the last garage sale. That is actually when I unearthed it from the bowels of my basement! It will not take me 20 years to use it again!!! It works like a clay pizza oven. The bread had an extremely crisp crust and the inside was moist and chewy. Perfect rye bread.

The thing that attracted me to baking this cake was that it called for a boiled icing. This is a marshmallow type icing. My mother used to make boiled icings when I was little. These were popular because butter was expensive and boiled icings do not call for butter. I always place pieces of waxed paper just under the edge of my cakes before frosting them to keep the cake plate clean.




This icing is fun to play with.


Yummy.


The cake is moist and rich with vanilla flavoring.


I tasted one bite to determine whether it is worth making again in the future. It is!!!


Comments

Becky said…
Your cake reminded me of a SPice cake with Maple flavored boiled frosting that my Grandma used to make. OH IT WAS SO GOOD! I may have to search out that recipe again.My husband is NOT a cake eater though so I will need to find some people to help me eat it - his mother made wedding cakes and cake squares for YEARS and they had to eat up the left over's that the brides would send back home with her after weddings.
I´ve never seen a Sassafras stone cooker before, but I guess the bread will turn out much like it does in my fire heated stove. They moisture has nowhere to go since there is no ventilation in my stove, so it stays in the bread and so it must be in this thing too I guess.

That cake looks yummi, but we almost never have icing on cakes over here. It´s usually plain whipped cream and fruit or marzipan on top of the cakes. So I have no idea how Your cake would taste to be honest.

Have a great day now!
Christer.
You may not be a big fan of cakes, but you sure know how to make one! :)
Anonymous said…
Oh Jaz that is my dh fav kind of icing ! his gramma would make it for him as a child .I made it only once a bit to hard for me back in my early 20's as a new cook ☺
did your mum put money wrapped in waxed paper in your cake ?
this was a tradition in the town where I grew up as a child . each child would get a coin in their piece of cake .I'm thinking to do this for our ds when he turns 10yrs .
I love cake but it absolutely must be mosit not dry . I don't even like cheese cake unless it is the uncooked type otherwise I find them to dry .
oh I so wish I had cake today , cool rainy stay in bed & eat cake day ☺
The cake does look yummy! I am more of a cookie girl but a good cake is worth a bite! Love the look of that bread baker. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect baker for your no knead bread!!
Tractor Mom said…
Do you have the boiled icing recipe? I'd like to try this! It looks awesome!

ihtractormom@gmail.com

Come be when you can...

www.frugaltractormom.blogspot.com
o dear, o dear , o dear....look at that...yum yum...i LOVE boiled icing..just love it...that cake looks so wonderful.

today is my brother charlie's 41st bday...carrot cake..kind of dreaded... but he loves it.

this morning we are calling Teddy Farmer John. Farmer John has a new bacon out that is applewood smoked...so i tried it...uh oh. does somebody LOVE his bacon.

hate to say it but it is cool here again. i made pancakes and bacon for breakfast with cantalope...teddy prefers watermelon :-)
Guillaume said…
That's the way I like a cake: full of creamy icing and absolutely decadent, yet simple.
Anonymous said…
sorry i haven't been around for awhile, but i'm back and you have another great recipe for me to try. it looks to yummy!
brokenteepee said…
did you know if you add butter to your boiled icing you will get an Italian buttercream that will put you off of any other icing for life?

It's so good I sometimes forget to ice the cake.....
Anonymous said…
I am not a huge sweet eater but your cake made me salivate. I love baking but don't usually eat what I bake.

Blessings,

Ana
pastrywitch said…
Pricilla is right; Italian buttercream is sublime. So is French buttercream, but it's very unstable (made with egg yolks). Italian buttercream can sit at room temperature for a week or so, and lasts 6 months in the freezer. But boiled icing is great too.
Sara said…
Goodness that looks good. I love the whimsy of the icing.
Love boiled marshmallow icing! It's not used often enough today.
Cindi Myers said…
Mmmmmmmmmmm ya had me at the word "cake"!

Oh and rye bread it one of my favorites! I love the crisp crust.

I'm hungry again!
It looks simply lovely, I was actually thinking that you could even bring those little icing tufts up a little thicker and higher to give the illusion of little ghosties on top of the cake dancing for the upcoming Halloween season...
Mystica said…
I love sweet stuff though I shouldnt eat any. This looks so very good.
Mother Moon said…
both of your creations as usual look so yummy... love the crock for baking...
not much of a cake eater either... yet a homemade tres leche cake is to die for
William Bezek said…
Cake Good...Marshmallow Icing Bad! Yuck!
William Bezek said…
I loathe Moon Pies too especially with RC cola.