How self-centered of me, right? Well, what can I say--when you hit the age I just hit (like I'm going to publish THAT on the internet), birthdays are not as exciting as they used to be. There's just not as much (if anything, hah) to look forward to. So it was really nice to take the day off, sleep in, read everyone's Facebook and SMS birthday greetings (thanks everyone!!), have lunch with some friends (thanks guys! you're awesome!), and shop leisurely. And then I came home and it was still early so I decided to make myself a little bit of birthday cake...because darn it, even though I've been eating way too much lately, a birthday is not a birthday without some cake!!
I wanted something light, specifically, something that reminded me of those birthday cakes we used to get in Taiwan, all cream and fruit and sponge. I remember really loving the cream and having to peel the jellied glaze off the fruit; actually, now I'm not sure if that was real cream, or some kind of shortening based whipped topping. Anyway, I made a half recipe of Dorie Greenspan's French yogurt cake, which is kind of a compromise between a sponge cake and a pound cake in texture; I baked it in an 8" cake pan so that I ended up with a cake about 3/4" high. I just want to point out how lovely and flat it came out--this is a first! Usually my cakes rise and then crack in the center. Of course, I did manage to make a giant hole in it while testing it for doneness, but that's okay.
Assembly is really easy--I cut two 3" rounds of cake and sandwiched them together with softly whipped cream and a chopped fruit salad (I suppose you could call it a fruit salsa) of mango, strawberries, and kiwi. It is mango season in Chinatown and we have been gorging ourselves on them. I think I am actually hitting a point where I'm starting to get tired of them...at least, plain. Shhh, don't tell anyone--I know that's blasphemous.
It was just what I wanted. Light, creamy, tart, fruity and easy! Now I'm going to ignore the mess in my kitchen for a while and enjoy this.
(Recipe for the yogurt cake has been reproduced many times online, so go bake one yourself!)
7 comments:
that looks delicious! Happy Birthday!
H birthday to you...your cake is fresh & gorgeous! I guess will have to look for the yogurt cake recipe online!
Thanks Kat! I'm eating leftovers now...not as pretty, but still yummy :)
Hi Deeba, thanks! It goes together super easily too, no beating or anything, just whisking. You can find the recipe in lots of places, but if you are having trouble, email me and I'll send you a copy :)
Mmm, that looks delicious! Happy belated birthday!
Thanks gaga! :D
I like this kind of birthday treat.
You share the same birthday as my husband - and it's the day before mine!
I agree that after 21 the birthdays are no longer as enjoyable. When there's nothing to look forward to chronologically it kind of takes the fun out of it. It's not like when you turn 32 you can no longer gain weight from french fries or you automatically get out of speeding tickets.
Lame.
Happy belated birthday!
Happy belated birthday to you too, Sweet Bird (and your husband)! I was hoping that I would start developing patience and maybe learn to not trip over everything in my path as I got older, but it seems to be going in the opposite direction ;)
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