Posted by Katie on December 17, 2009 in Theme Thursday 
Ok, so cake isn’t exactly a “theme” but when its Duff Goldman’s birthday, you change your theme!
As you can see, I have a very special place in my heart for Duff. The Ace of Cakes’ chef was asked to judge the official ACS birthday cake contest at his famous Charm City Cakes this summer.
What did he select? For those of you that don’t know, the Culinary Institute of America’s Alexandra Mudry created a delicious red velvet cake. Check out the recipe after the break! Read more »
Posted by Katie on December 11, 2009 in Fun Fact Friday 
We’ve been celebrating birthdays with cake for as long as anyone cares to remember. But in the last few years, the cupcake’s popularity has soared and now it too has become synonymous with birthdays!
Think about it, you can’t walk down the street without passing a cupcake shop these days. So where does the cupcake come from?
All About Cupcakes provides a history of the delicious mini treat!
The cupcake evolved in the United States in the 19th century, and it was revolutionary because of the amount of time it saved in the kitchen. There was a shift from weighing out ingredients when baking to measuring out ingredients. According to the Food Timeline Web, food historians have yet to pinpoint exactly where the name of the cupcake originated. There are two theories: one, the cakes were originally cooked in cups and two, the ingredients used to make the cupcakes were measured out by the cup.
In the beginning, cupcakes were sometimes called “number” cakes, because they were easy to remember by the measurements of ingredients it took to create them: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, and one spoonful of soda. Clearly, cupcakes today have expanded to a wide variety of ingredients, measurements, shapes, and decorations – but this was one of the first recipes for making what we know today as cupcakes.
Cupcakes were convenient because they cooked much quicker than larger cakes. When baking was down in hearth ovens, it would take a long time to bake a cake, and the final product would often be burned. Muffin tins, also called gem pans, were popular around the turn of the 20th century, so people started created cupcakes in tins.
For more information on the cupcake and its new place in culinary pop culture, click here.
Posted by Katie on December 04, 2009 in General If you follow this blog, you know we’re suckers for cute birthday pictures, so when I saw this collection of zoo animals eating birthday cake on the Huffington Post, I couldn’t resist! Check out the slideshow below and post a link to Twitter, Facebook, or email it to your friends with our nifty “Sharing is caring” bar at the bottom of the post.
Posted by Josh on November 13, 2009 in Fun Fact Friday 
Every year I blow out my birthday candles and make a wish, but I never really think about where the tradition comes from. Today I found myself surfing around Yahoo Answers and came across this interesting post:
When we blow out our candles we are following actually a tradition or custom created by the ancient Greeks. In the Greek tradition on the sixth day of every month, the birthday of Goddess of the hunt is celebrated. The ancient Greek in her honour made a honey cake which is topped with burning candles. As they blow out each candle, the people make a wish from Goddess for a present. In the same way as we blow each candle on our birthday it means that we believed that all of our wishes will be granted.
Posted by Josh on November 11, 2009 in General 
I’ll be the first to admit that while I may dream that I’m Picasso from time to time, my real artistic calling is drawing smiley faces and stick figures. So if you’re anything like me, you need some help when you decide to pull out that pencil and paper.
Why not take a moment out of your day to put down that mouse, pick up a pencil, and learn how to draw a birthday cake like the pros. It can come in really handy if you want to draw up a hand-made birthday card for someone special. I came across some great instructions at how-to-draw-cartoons-online.com. Check it out, it’s a lot easier than you’d think.
The beauty of this lesson, is that it’s generic enough such that you can ‘customize’ it in a number of different ways. Add more or less candles. Change the color of the cake/icing combo. Etc.
Let’s get this cake on the go…
First Step – A Guideline for Your Cake
About a centerline, this yummy dessert can be drawn with precision and ease. The ovals that I’ve sketched out, aid in visualizing it as it would be viewed upon from ‘just above’. Kind of as if you were sneeking a peek at it, peering just over the top of a table.
Here’s the design…
Simple enough – and remember – it’s only a guideline. As always, you don’t necessarily need this step. It’s optional and only here to help you out if you do. Really, it’s a nice way of keeping proportions in check so you can focus on detail.
OK – time to draw!
See the rest of the steps by clicking here. In no time you’ll be drawing up cakes that looks good enough to eat!
Posted by Josh on October 23, 2009 in General We write a lot about birthdays here — so we often write about cake (and we seem to have a particular affinity for red velvet cake). This post, however, is about cakes that aren’t made out of cake. Check out the gallery below for some pretty amazing (and creative) creations… just don’t eat any of them!
Posted by Josh on October 16, 2009 in Fun Fact Friday 
You may remember this from science class (I must admit I forgot a lot of the details), but here’s a good description of why your birthday cake rises when you put it in the oven, from thenakedscientist.com:
When making a cake you use baking powder or bicarbonate of soda, (or use self-raising flour, which already contains baking powder). Bicarbonate of soda contains carbon dioxide, which can be released as a gas by reacting it with acid or by heating. As the carbon dioxide is much bigger as a gas than it was in the bicarbonate of soda, it expands, makes bubbles in the cake mix and so makes the cake rise.
Another way is to beat lots of air into things containing eggs, such as a soufflé. As you cook the beaten eggs the air trapped in the bubbles expands, making the soufflé rise. (The air bubbles contract again as it cools, which is why the soufflé sinks!)
I can’t really imagine a souffle birthday cake, but feel free to prove me wrong in the comments. So now you know why birthday cake rises. Enjoy that cake (in moderation of course), and here’s to more birthdays!
Posted by Josh on October 06, 2009 in Tip Tuesday 
Every parent knows the routine for a kid’s birthday cake, they pick their favorite character or theme, you bake some cake, throw on some frosting, and voila, a dream cake. But what does an adult’s birthday cake look like? Surely you’ve outgrown Dora the Explorer, so maybe it’s time you move on to something more appropriate. Here are a few ideas, courtesy of lifetips.com:
Picture On A Cake – Have a photograph of your choosing reproduced on the adult birthday cake for the party.
Scenery Cake – Have an entire landscape, such as a rock cliff with waterfall, reproduced onto a cake.
Three-dimensional Cake – Does your birthday guest of honor like classic cars? Have a reproduction made into a cake, complete with chrome fenders and retro style seats.
Character cakes – If you’re throwing a party with a character theme, have their image reproduced on a cake. Have one designed three dimensionally, make a cake in the shape of the character, or reproduce a photo on the cake itself.
Architectural Cake – Got a favorite building or getting a new house this birthday? Have a scaled down reproduction made as a cake.
Theme Cake – Want to create a scene from a blockbuster movie like Spiderman or Pirates of the Caribbean? A skilled cake decorator can do the job for you.
Animal Cakes – Have a cake made of a koala in a tree or a bird about to take flight.
While custom cakes like these can be fun, they can also get pretty pricey, so a cake made at home with a simple “Happy Birthday to _____” can also be nice. Oftentimes it’s good to remember that a cake made with love can be the best present of all.
Posted by Birthday Cate on October 05, 2009 in General 
As you may have heard, the American Cancer Society, the official sponsor of birthdays, joined forces with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to reinvent the birthday cake and Chef Duff Goldman from Food Network’s hit show “Ace of Cakes,” helped us choose our winner. You can download the winning red velvet recipe here.
We’re happy to announce that our cake contest will be featured in an upcoming episode of “Ace of Cakes,” scheduled to air on October 8 at 10 p.m. EDT (check your local listings to confirm the time in your area). We’re hosting a special viewing party on Facebook for you and anyone else interested to chat during the show, so be sure to RSVP.
Click here to RSVP for the viewing party on Facebook.
But there’s more! We have a poster signed by Chef Duff himself that we’re giving away to one lucky person. Just share your thoughts on the episode in the comment section (and read the rules after the break) to win. Read more »
Posted by Birthday Cate on October 03, 2009 in General A little over 2 months ago, the American Cancer Society announced the winner of our cake contest with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Chef Duff Goldman of Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes” (our episode airs next Thursday, October 8 actually). We launched the official birthday cake of the American Cancer Society, but that was just the beginning – America chimed in too.
The New York Times published all the recipes (even the finalists), Glamour Magazine, Eurweb, and others chimed in too, and Self Magazine proclaimed “Now you can have your cake and fight cancer, too – how cool is that?”
And then the stories started coming in – just regular people in search of a healthier birthday cake. Here’s a good one: James decided to re-purpose the cake for his anniversary:
We decided to make the cake for our 24th wedding anniversary. I went to Whole Foods and was able to get all the ingredients there, even, to my amazement, the instant espresso powder.
I was unable to get canned beets so we baked them. Mixing the cake takes some time as there are quite a few steps. We did not make multiple layers so omitted the ganache. The icing is easy to make, and I garnished with the raspberries we didn’t use for the ganache.
And now we’re asking you: What did you think? Do you have any tips or suggestions? How did you decorate it? Did the birthday boy/girl like it? Join the discussion in the comments below or post your pictures or video here:
If you’ve baked the cake and mastered the recipe, do you think you have a great idea for making it even better? Enter the “Your Take on Our Cake” contest at Epicurious.com. The grand prize is an amazing birthday in New York City!
So let us know what you thought of our cake right here in the comments, post your pictures or videos, then head on over to Epicurious.com to enter the contest if you’re feeling creative. And don’t forget to watch the “Ace of Cakes” episode on Thursday to catch a glimpse of the American Cancer Society’s official birthday cake!
