when she was a girl, and still growing, ravenous, whenever there had been a cake – a sponge cake, dusted with sugar, which mrs. hill had conjured up out of eggs and flour and creamy butter — sarah would never even herself look at it, because she knew that it was not for her… so sarah would stare instead at the carpet underneath her feet, or the rippled yellow curtains in the parlour, and would do her best not to breathe, not to inhale the scent of vanilla or lemon or almonds; even to glance at the cake was an impossible agony.
and for months, she realized, james had hardly looked at her at all.
~Longbourn by Jo Baker
this book
just read it
i will freely admit
to feeling anger towards
elizabeth
even jane
and mr. darcy
the book is written from
the perspective of the servants
in Pride & Prejudice
and our hero & heroine
are not painted in the most
forgiving light
anyway
just read it
you’re welcome
chocolate kissed white cake (dairy free)
inspiration attire
adapted from garlic girl
*note: one of my hires is expecting a wee lass. we’re having a shower for her today and this was one of my contributions to the fete. i’m not for superlatives but i will say that this was one of the easier white cakes i’ve dealt with, the last one being nuria’s wedding cake which was a chiffon cake. that was a more involved cake and i need something quick to fall back on. this just might be that cake that i turn to.
5 large egg whites, room temp
1 cup soy milk cream, room temp, i used organic valley
345 grams cake flour, sifted
350 grams sugar
1 TBL + 1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks soy margarine cut in cubes, room temp, i used earth balance
preheat oven 350F
prep two 8″ round pans, grease/flour/whatever
in a glass measuring cup mix the egg whites with 1/4 cup of the soy creamer. set aside
in mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. add in the butter and remaining soy creamer and mix until moistened. in increments of 3 add in the egg/soy creamer mixture to the batter, scraping down the sides continuously. beat on medium until batter is fully incorporated
divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
bake for 25-35 minutes. i checked on them at 30 minutes and kept them in there for another 5 minutes. the cakes do rise to the very brim of the pan (my pans are 8×2″). allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, the cakes will pull from the sides just slightly. invert onto wire racks and cool completely. cover with plastic wrap, can be left out at room temp for 2 days, in fridge for 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.
vegan cream cheese frosting
12 oz tofutti cream cheese, room temp
1 stick of vegan margarine, i used earth balance
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
optional: coloring gel. i used a dab of wilton’s pink
in a standard mixer, beat the cream cheese and margarine until fluffy and incorporated. gradually add the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides often. use your best judgement on consistency. you can add more or less powdered sugar depending on how warm your house is, or how comfortable you are with thicker frosting.
chocolate glaze
6oz of good chocolate, at least 70% cacao
half stick of margarine
place ingredients in a heat safe bowl over a pot of simmering water. be sure that not a drop of water gets into the bowl. it’ll make the chocolate seize and that shit’s just ugly. mix well. mixture will be shiny and smooth.
to assemble
i made this a 4 layer cake, so dw halved the two layers for me into equal 1″ layers. stack the layers accordingly, with frosting between. crumb coat, leave in fridge for 30 minutes. do final coat of frosting as smooth as you can. finally, pour the chocolate glaze over top, do this slowly, and smooth out the top so that it spills artfully over the sides. believe me when i tell you that it’s not as easy as it sounds, just be patient.
BAM!
another of my cakes: minty snow cake
morestomach 
This looks beautiful
thank you!
Wow!
thank you!
So, so pretty! And the glaze? Well, it’s just perfect…
you’re perfect!
What a majestic cake, almost too pretty to eat, also love the cake stand!
thanks cheri. i found it at an antique store in Frederick, MD. it had a mini as well and i regret not getting the smaller version…
GORGEOUS cake, Lan! Just gorgeous. What a perfect cake for the occasion.
thanks Cynthia!
amazing, delicious, creamy, savoury and apetising cake, i don’t know if i could eat all 😀
tanaseaurica, thank you. it is on the sweet side, a slice would suffice! 🙂
NO WAY. As soon as I saw this top photo (one of your very prettiest, I know I keep saying that, but geez!) I was reminded of Sweetapolita’s cake! I MADE THAT CAKE and it sucked so badly. My buttercream turned weird and the ganache was a clumpy joke. I made it while we were on vacation at the coast for a friend’s birthday — I want to blame it on not being in my own kitchen, but every component in theory is really simple, I just blew it. YOU ROCKED THIS! It is absolutely gorgeous, your friend/coworker is certainly lucky! And dairy-free and all. I hope someday my skills are this awesome.
sophie, you are so so SWEET. thank you. this is my 2nd time doing this particular design and thankfully this time around it turned out wel enough to photograph.
Came for the cake, but ooh, a new book recommendation! As soon as I’m done getting all heart-racy over The Night Circus.
oh, i loved The Night Circus so much. it was an absolute pleasure to read. i hope you like Longbourn!
No words, just gorge!
Brill quote too. I am already smitten with this book.
thanks valerie! if you read this book, let me know how you like it!
Yes! I love your poetic writing. I’m putting Longbourne on my list–keep it up and I’m finally going to be the well-read English major I wish I was in college! This cake is so beautiful–can you 1) come over and talk literature with me and 2) teach me how to frost cakes?!
erika, thank you so much for your kind words. don’t hold off of Longbourn, it is a great read! i’d love to come over and chat about books and cakes and whatever, but i can assure you, if i can frost a cake, so can you. i watched a lot of a youtube videos!
Haha okay, thanks for the vote of confidence 🙂 But that’s actually a great tip–I’m going to watch a few videos before I frost my next cake!!
Gorgeous as always, Lan. And thank you for the book recommendation, too!
amy, you are sweet, thank you!
How pretty is that chocolate kiss! And that quote – oh I think you just settled my next read :).
Wow!!!! This is wonderful 🙂