Catalan Salt Pinch Cake

Everytime I looked at the title of this cake I couldn't help but feel it would be salty and it never appealed to me. A salty cake.........no thanks. Of course there is no salt in this cake at all. The word salt refers to the city Salt. I would never have made this cake had I not signed up for Marie's bake-through.

I read a few of the other bakers' reviews and wasn't too keen to make it. However, I went ahead with it. Kind of like doing a home assignment that you really don't like doing. I just went through with it. I admit I didn't put my heart and soul into it. It wasn't a difficult cake to make. One positive thing was that I didn't really have to go through the mis-en-place stage. There's plenty of time to do it as you go along because of the lengthy whipping time. I didn't even prepare the pan before I started. I even had time to make a quick snack for my daughter.

What I did different: I made a 6" cake and I didn't use the lemon zest. I used 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1/4 tsp of almond extract.

I put the cake in the oven and kept my fingers crossed hoping it would by some miracle turn out better than what I was expecting. It baked in 35 minutes. When I took it out I realized that the recipe called for a springform pan and I had baked it in a regular cake pan. Obviously I couldn't release the sides of the pan. What to do????? I just unmolded it like a regular cake and inverted it. See, I told you I didn't put my heart and soul into baking this one. I then took some pictures even though it didn't look great. Then the moment of truth. I tasted it and it wasn't bad. It was light and very moist. I think the almond extract made it more flavourful. It was not easy to cut it so we used forks to break off pieces of it.

Verdict: I don't think I'll make this again. Not only because of the cake itself but because of how I felt. I felt like an evil step-mother. This cake didn't get the love and attention I usually give my other cakes :(

Pumpkin Cake sans Silk Meringue Burnt Orange Buttercream

I was looking forward to making this cake simply because I had never made the Silk Meringue buttercream. This was the perfect opportunity to make it. Besides, my kids were invited to a Halloween party. Guess who had to bring the cake? All my plans went awry when my three year old daughter decided to make contact with a cold virus. Now, if you have kids you know what it's like with a sick kid in the house. Everything comes to a screeching halt. No matter how old they are, they need /want very high doses of "Mommy". Mommy medicine is the only cure. This meant I had no time to make the buttercream :( Mousseline it was. I had a batch in the freezer, coloured it orange and used it.


The cake was not difficult to make. I didn't have any walnut oil so I used all safflower oil.

The cake tasted amazing. The spices were just the right amount and not too over-powering. The next time I make it, I will definitely use the walnut oil because I am curious to know what it should really taste like.

I used fondant to make the leaves, stem and tendrils. The little pumpkins are candies.

Apple Upside-Down Cake

This week's recipe for the bake-through was the Apple Upside-Down Cake. I made the full recipe but divided it to make two 6" cakes. I gave one cake to my brother and sister-in-law.



I am not a fan of apple cake but my husband is and he literally ate half the cake. I did taste it. How could I possibly make a cake and not taste it? It was really good. The crumb was tender and melt-in-your-mouth.


The cake was pretty easy and straight forward except for the apple-peeling part. I am NOT fond of peeling apples. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get as much caramel as the picture in the book. The next time I make it maybe I should make a little extra caramel.

I also baked the Barcelona Brownies. Why? So that I would have dessert and also because I am a cerified chocoholic. These little gems were just perfect for me. I didn't do the ganache plugs though. I have baked this many, many times with the ganache plugs but in a 9" tart pan. This time I used my mini muffin pan instead.

Excited, Happy, Elated, Delirious, Overjoyed......

Ok, I'm running out of adjectives to describe my state of mind right now. Why am I in this state you ask?????? I got my autographed copy of Rose's Heavenly Cakes. When the door bell rang and I saw the UPS truck outside my house I couldn't contain myself. I ran down the stairs like the house was on fire and almost tripped. I was grinning from ear to ear. I'm sure the delivery guy must have thought I was nuts. But who cares????? Not me. I got my very own autographed copy. Did I already say that? When Marie said "autopgraphed copy" I assumed Rose would just autopgraph all the books but guess what she personalized them. Oh I am so happy. Thank you Rose, Marie and Wiley.

Hungarian Jancsi Torta

My very first cake from the bake-through. It was simple to put together - just 5 ingredients. It doesn't get any simpler than this. It does have a few steps that you have to get done, like toasting the nuts, grinding them etc. But all in all, it's very easy to make. Thank you Marie for picking this to be the first cake.

My pan was only 2 1/2" high so I wrapped the inside with parchment paper as suggested by Rose. It baked up nice and high but on cooling it sunk a little in the middle. Normally I would have panicked and obssessed over what on earth I did wrong. Not with Rose's recipes, because she tells you exactly what to expect. So there are no surprises.......only good ones. I served it with raspberry puree as I didn't have any sour cherry preserves on hand.

I only had one problem with this cake. I COULD NOT STOP eating it. I could have eaten the whole cake. I have no willpower. Don't pass judgement on me. Make this cake and you'll see what I'm talking about. The texture was light and airy. It was like eating little bits of a cloud.

My husband and kids loved it too. They had more than one piece each and that says a lot.They are my biggest fans and also my biggest critics. We shared this cake with one of our neighbours who is allergic to wheat and so this was the perfect cake. Everyone commented on the contrast in textures.

I'm looking forward to the next one :)

I am doing Cartwheels!!!

I am so excited! Well, that's an understatement. I signed up on Marie's blog for the Heavenly Cakes Bake-Through. I have been an ardent fan of Rose Levy Beranbaum for quite some time now and when her new book, Rose's Heavenly Cakes was released, I HAD to have it. I could not put the book down (and I still suffer from separation anxiety when I have to part from it). It's one of the most amazing books I have ever owned. And what better way to enjoy this book and appreciate Rose's hard work than to participate in this bake-through. Here's the icing on the cake though (no pun intended)..............I get my very own autographed copy. Now, if that is not a reason to do cartwheels, I don't know what is.