Happy Birthday

to my spouse! The making of the cake was mine, the decorating my daughter's. Let me tell you, whatever it lacked in elegance (and I'm not conceding it lacked anything in that department) it more than made up for in sheer deliciousness. It's been a while since I made an actual cake, with cake flour, full sugar, and all the rest. Now I remember why: it's just as well human history has no record of how much I actually ate.

The credit for the cake really goes to Rose Levy Berenbaum, however, whose Cake Bible supplied the recipes for cake (All-American Chocolate Butter Cake) and frosting (Milk Chocolate Buttercream, which I made with dark instead of milk chocolate). The thing about her recipes is that they make it almost too easy to make perfect cake. If you just do exactly what she says you end up with ludicrously good results, every time. Where is the drama? Where the dread? For that I guess you need to go tackle pastry.

For dinner beforehand we had field peas with onions, bacon, corn, and parsley, over brown rice. Also sliced tomatoes.

Raised Waffles

The first fruit of my starter! I made Marion Cunningham's Raised Waffles, from Rose Levy Berenbaum's Cake Bible, using some of my starter instead of yeast. (I also replaced about half of the all-purpose flour with rye flour). These waffles are extraordinary; their surface is as delicate and crisp as the best tempura you've ever had, the interiors moist and light as a feather. They have a mild sour flavor, though might not have if I'd used any sugar. I thought they were just about perfect with a little maple syrup. Tomorrow I'll make my first starter-leavened bread; I am encouraged.