There will be cake

 Aside from occasionally asking my mom to drive the 9 blocks to my house to pick me up and bring me back to her house, I tend to prefer not to ask too many favors. This policy is impractical when applying to medical school. I have asked for letters of evaluation. I have asked for input on secondary essays. I have asked for friends to remind me of what I was doing in college (I'm getting older, OK?). I have even had to ask multiple former employers and co-workers for permission to include their name and contact information on my application in case one or more of the twenty one medical schools to which I have applied doubts the veracity of my "Work/Activities" section and decides to seek confirmation. One such former co-worker, while willing to act as a reference if called upon, suggested that it might be befitting for us to reunite after the years that have passed since we were colleagues. This seemed only fair. We picked a place to convene, and I embarked on preparing a thank you cake. 

Summer Fruit Thank You Cake

adapted from Bon Apetit magazine

Upside down part

- 1 large peach or 2 small peaches, sliced into 1/2 inch thick segments

- 1 medium sized pluot or plum, sliced into 1/2 inch thick segments

- 1 cup sugar (recipe called for brown, but I ran out and (successfully) used a combination of white and brown)

- 1 tbsp honey

- 6 tbsp butter

Cake part

- 6 tbsp butter

- 1 cup sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1 tsp vanilla

- splash almond extract (more or less, but probably not exceeding 1/2 tsp)

- 1/2 cup milk

- 1 1/2 cups AP flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- pinch o' salt

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Grease an 8 or 9 inch diameter cake pan. 

In a medium saucepan, mix the butter, sugar and honey from the upside down part. Warm over medium heat until melted together into a smooth mixture. Pour melty delight into the bottom of the cake pan. Arrange fruit on top in a nice pattern, or however you like. Set aside.

Combine the flour, bp, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl (or 2 cup measure, if you're concerned about wasting water washing dishes/lazy like me). Cream together butter and sugar (I recommend a stand mixer, but by hand is fine) until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. Mix in the extracts. 

Pour in the dry mixture alternating with the milk in three sections combining the ingredients after each addition. The final addition should be the last bit of milk. Give one final stir to make sure the batter is all combined, then pour over the fruit pieces in the cake pan. Bake in oven for 45-60 min. 

When you remove the cake, let it sit in the pan for 20 minutes (original recipe said 30, but who has that kind of patience). Place the serving dish over the top of the cake pan and invert the pan onto the platter. Before lifting off the pan, leave it upside down on the platter for 5 minutes. SERIOUSLY, DO THIS. Last but not least, gently lift the cake pan off the cake and voila. 

Twenty seven?!?

Justin's birthday was last week. I didn't have time to make his cake until yesterday (which he graciously only complained about minimally). He had requested a German chocolate cake. When he told his grandmother I would be making one for him she sent over all the ingredients and the recipe she uses. "How sweet!" I reacted initially. "No pressure," the sarcastic lobe of my brain retorted. It was true: not only was this cake to be presented days after the actual birth date, it also had to live up to the cakes that had come before it, made by a baking queen. That said, I am not one to be daunted by the construction of a fancy-sounding three layer cake. Here is what followed:

Justin's Chocolate Cake
adapted from Grandmother's recipe

Cake
- 4 oz German sweet chocolate
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs, separated
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk

Frosting
- 12 oz (1 can) evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks butter
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 2/3 cups coconut flakes (sweetened)
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped or smashed with bottom of a pan (recipe called for pecans...)

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease 3 9inch pans (or, if you are like me and only have two, feel free to improvise using a pie pan or something comparable in time. Layer cakes are never totally even).

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Set aside.

Mix the flour, b.s. and salt together. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, preferably in a stand mixer. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Beat in the vanilla, then slowly beat in the chocolate. Once this mixture is just combined, start pouring in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk (I couldn't remember if you are supposed to end with the wet or the dry component and the cake turned out just fine so I'm thinking the order is not so important). Last but not least, fold in the beaten egg whites. Divide the batter between the three pans and bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.

Once the cakes are out, start on the frosting (cake needs to cool. Distraction by other projects during this time is key). Put the milk, sugar, butter, yolks and vanilla in a large saucepan. Heat over medium flame until thickened and golden brown in color (this took about 15 minutes. Special thanks to Justin for reminding me to be careful not to scramble the eggs during the heating). Remove from the heat. Stir in the coconut and walnuts.

By now, cakes should be transferred to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely, also allowing the frosting to cool. When the cakes are ready, begin assembling. Put bottom layer on a cake plate and dollop on a hefty spoonful of frosting. Spread gently, then top with second layer. Repeat. When the third layer is in place, very carefully coat the rest of the cake with the frosting (note: if the frosting or cake is too warm, this will be very challenging. The good news is the components of German chocolate cake are so sickeningly good that no matter how weird or deformed it looks, all will sing praises from around the world. On Instagram at least). 

Immediately call as many friends as you can and get at least half the cake out of your house, or factor in pants shopping for the following day. Either works.