Tag: vanilla

  • yellow cake with chocolate fudge frosting

    yellow cake with chocolate fudge frosting

    a few years ago, everyone became obsessed with red velvet cake. ben & jerry’s came out with a red velvet ice cream, oreos released red velvet cookies, and pop tarts invented a red velvet toaster pastry. in recent months, the red velvet craze has died down and been replaced by a new flavor: birthday cake. birthday…

  • neopolitan cake

    neopolitan cake

    i like some artificial fruit flavorings – banana laffy taffys, sour apple lollipops, and blue raspberry slushies are all delicious – but i have a strong aversion to anything made to taste like strawberry. that goes for strawberry milk, strawberry jelly beans, and store-bought strawberry ice cream. the quarts of neopolitan ice cream with chocolate, vanilla,…

  • blueberry cake with liquid cheesecake and graham crumble

    blueberry cake with liquid cheesecake and graham crumble

    the cheesecake factory has a massive tome of a menu, filled with a huge number of appetizers, entrées, and desserts. “over 250 dishes,” it reads, “made fresh every day.” WHAT? HOW? OVER 250? WHAT DOES “FRESH” MEAN THEN? you can walk into any of the restaurant’s 185 locations and order filet mignon, or an egg roll, or a mac n…

  • rosemary victorian sponge cake

    rosemary victorian sponge cake

    i don’t mean to brag, but i think it’s safe to say that i was the tooth fairy’s favorite little kid. our relationship went waaaay past the conventional money-for-tooth exchange. she left notes under my pillow every  night, regardless of whether i’d lost a tooth. sometimes the notes were even accompanied by small gifts: a thimble,…

  • pancake cake

    pancake cake

    most children’s books depict pancakes in stacks of ten or more, drenched in maple syrup and topped with fat pats of butter. it’s such an unrealistic image. even ihop’s silver dollar stacks fail to meet the standard; lacking in both diameter and height, they only come in piles five high. this cake is how real pancakes SHOULD…

  • buttercream roses

    buttercream roses

    decorating a cake with fondant requires its own special skill set: the ability to work with speed and precision (it dries out quickly), a good eye for size, hands that aren’t sweaty, money (it’s expensive!)… and so on. comparing fondant cakes and buttercream cakes is like comparing michelangelo’s david with the ceiling of the sistine chapel. each is a form of…

  • tomato can rapper cakes

    tomato can rapper cakes

    hotline bling [drake on cake]: pink lemonade cake, lemon buttercream wild for the night [a$ap rocky road]: brownies, chocolate buttercream, marshmallows, walnuts lose yourself [eminem]: chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream, m&ms trap queen [funfetty wap]: funfetti cake, cream cheese buttercream    

  • super smash cake

    super smash cake

    the first boy i remember having a crush on was marth, one of the characters from super smash bros. then it was link, another character from the game. i definitely had (have) a thing for animated boys with swoopy hair and swords. when it came to actually playing, i always chose pikachu because i thought (he? she?) had…

  • banana blondie trifles with dulce de leche custard

    banana blondie trifles with dulce de leche custard

          my preferred banana ripeness is spotted, brown, and mushy. i like them best when the peel softens to the point of falling off and the fruit tastes almost fermented. people often recommend getting rid of brown bananas by masking them with spices in a quick bread, but i think they deserve to be the star of their…

  • half baked half birthday half cake

    half baked half birthday half cake

    i love half birthdays because they come out of nowhere! it’s like your own private holiday that slaps you in the face when you notice the date. my favorite things to do on my half birthday include putting half-and-half in my coffee, watching harry potter and the half blood prince, and asking everyone obnoxiously if they…