Last week we gathered for my daughter-in-law’s birthday celebration.
I’d asked my son what she might like for supper and he said “Mediterranean.”
Also: pasta with Asian influence.
Also: just pasta in general.
I went with Mediterranean, Virginia-style ‘cause I’ve never been anywhere near the Mediterranean so I don’t know of what I speak — or cook: chicken shawarma, Moroccan carrot salad (I could live on this stuff), kale tabbouleh, homemade cottage cheese, olive muffalata (from Costco), leafy greens dressed in lemon and oil from the olives, and herbed flatbreads.
The colors were spectacular — so many herbs! so much green! — and the flavors were dreamy and fresh. Which begs the question: why don’t I cook like this more often?
The dessert was a surprise.
I’d never made a cake for my daughter-in-law, and for weeks I racked my brain about what kind of cake would be fitting. My daughter-in-law has extensive and varied interests (and the energy to match), but no single idea rose to the top.
And then I saw photos of candles, and knew that was it.
That girl is a light — calm, steady, warm, inviting, bright. She lights up our family in so many wonderful ways. So I made her a whole bunch of candles (and then I told everyone to bring her a candle for a gift).
I realized, too late, that the short fat candle looked more like a roll of toilet paper.
The cake itself was carrot, probably because this was over Easter and I had carrot cake on my brain. (Later, it occurred to me that it’d be fun to do a bunch of different kinds of cake, but by then I was running out of time.) I used cutters to make cake rings and then stacked them up, using a new (best EVER) cream cheese frosting to sandwich them together. I cut cake out of the top layer so there’s be a little hole for a tea light.
For the small votive cake candles, I used birthday candles, not tea lights. Just stabbed them into the cake.
The wax drips are made from a white chocolate ganache. I was nervous that the chocolate would seize up (white chocolate has always been tricky for me) but I had zero problems. I dribbled the chocolate over the edges of the cakes, chilled them, and then repeated — over and over again.
My husband cut a board for the candles to sit on, and my younger daughter brought the flowers, and voilà — we had cake candles for the birthday girl.
P.S. The white chocolate and cream cheese combo was spot on.
P.P.S. I made sour cherry and white chocolate scones with orange zest this weekend and drizzled them more of that white chocolate ganache. The combo worked.
New Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Vaughn’s recipe at the NYTimes.
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
300 grams confectioners sugar
1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
Beat the butter until creamy. Add the salt, zest, and sugar, and beat very well. Add the cream cheese, an ounce at a time, beating all the while. (Incrementally adding the cream cheese is key to getting luscious results. Don’t shortcut this step.)
White Chocolate Ganache
2 ounces heavy whipping cream
6 ounces white chocolate chips
Put the chocolate and cream in the top part of a double boiler. Once the chocolate has softened, stir until smooth. Drizzle over cakes, scones, biscotti, etc.
When chilled, the ganache will become firm, but it will never harden.
This same time, years previous: multigrain sourdough, currently, perimenopause: Jo, age 52, strawberry syrup, the coronavirus diaries: week seven, the quotidian (4.29.19), graduated!, besties, back to normal, the quotidian (4.27.15), learning to play, church of the Sunday sofa, Sunday somethings.
