Southern Lady Celebrating Cakes 2012

One of my favorite memories from childhood is the celebration of my birthday. Mom and Dad always made that day the most wonderful one of the year. It meant that I would have a “store-bought” birthday cake. Mom made scrumptious cakes, but when we moved to Birmingham, she discovered Pizitz Bake shops, where the birthday cakes were very special. The snow white layers were iced with buttercream frosting. In between them was Pizitz’s signature cherry pecan filling. When the white box was opened, inside was a perfectly decorated cake with my name in script icing. Decades ago, Pizitz department stores closed, and birthday cakes as I knew them were gone. In 1998, a brand-new bakery opened in Birmingham: Edgar’s Old Style Bakery. I was ecstatic. Would it be as magical as…

“I’ll bake a cake.” So often these words are spoken as a celebration draws near. The occasion always calls for cake whether a homey holiday, a milestone event, a grand affair, or simply a moment when we need a little slice of comfort. I remember vividly the cakes my mother made as I was growing up. The warm, buttery aroma would curl out of the oven and waft through the whole house. And then there was the frosting—mounds of butter creamed together with sugar, a combnation that eventually provided the inspiration for the buttercream frosting we make at Edgar’s Old Style Bakery. As a child, I never understood why the cake had to cool before it could be frosted—that was a lesson that would be learned later. What I did know then…

SOME OF MY HAPPIEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES are of time spent on my family’s farm. Although a day at the farm almost always meant hard work—whether it was tending to the bountiful vegetable garden or taking care of our stable of horses—it also meant a chance to enjoy the charms that only wide-open country spaces can offer For a summertime party, held before the heat of the day has descended, I wanted to give other children a chance to see, touch, and taste the joys of life on the farm. My neighbors, the Gilberts—who have built their home in the midst of 80 magnificent acres of fresh meadows and wooded forest—provided the perfect setting for such a celebration on a dewy summer morning. The Gilberts’ twelve grandchildren proved an especially receptive audience for…

I CAN’T SAY ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND is my unquestioned favorite book from childhood, but the colorful jumble of characters and occasions in the Lewis Carroll classic certainly made an impression. My favorite character in the book by far is the March Hare, who leads Alice down the rabbit hole and who later joins her for tea with the Mad Hatter and the dormouse. The memorable images of that long-ago story inspired me to create a tea party for my grown-up girlfriends. The topsy-turvy cake I created, reminiscent of the Mad Hatter’s unique top hat, is made even more colorful by the swirls, whirls, and free-form designs found also in the teawares. How do you order from a bakery? See page 100. whimsical I replicated the hearts from the teapot by piping on…

ANIMAL PRINTS ARE VERY POPULAR, and safari cakes are in demand for kids. I loved the idea of making the animals on the cake somewhat abstract by using a crosshatch to draw them. (Crosshatch is a technique that uses lines like a grid to fill in the animals.) The King of the Jungle takes his place on top of this wonderful cake. His purple cape represents royalty and contrasts nicely with the yellow color of his body. I chose khaki for the background color for the top tier. All the other icing colors work well with these three colors. The bottom layer is zebra striped, formed by cutting the fondant icing into random black stripes over white. Add tiger stripes, leopard spots, or giraffe spots to other layers if desired. Any…

NOT ALL GREAT WEDDING CAKES ARE WHITE! Two brides who wanted something special for their garden weddings chose these two chocolate cakes. The cake on the left was designed to resemble stacked flower pots. Loose chocolate-cake crumbs were saved and then sprinkled on top of each layer to resemble garden soil. The flowers are gum paste and are painted in realistic floral colors. Use your imagination, and plan your cake to reflect the style of your wedding. This flower-pot cake would be perfect for a garden tea as well. basket weave Chocolate basket weave piped with chocolate buttercream icing on the base layer and paired with juniper green butter cream on the top tier is a creative combination for this garden wedding cake. Each flower is attached to foodsafe wire for easy…