My best friend’s husband just celebrated a benchmark birthday last weekend. We normally don’t really do anything for the guy’s birthdays; my friend and I are only eleven days apart so we usually go get a pedi together, but because it was a benchmark (and a big one at that!) I wanted to surprise him with a visit and a home made cake.
My friend’s daughter conspired with me (using Facebook messaging) to find a time where JT and I could pop in. They live about an hour from our place in Toronto so I really wanted to make sure they would be home if we dropped in. He apparently loves lemon cake so that is what I made.
The recipe for the cake came from Baking with Julia, a Dorie Greenspan cookbook, but in my searching around the web, I realized that the recipes are never reprinted on the internet, so to respect this tradition, I am not reprinting it either. It’s a loaf cake with a good lemon taste, but I wanted really lemony so I added a 1/2 cup lemon juice, mixed with 3 tbsp sugar when it finished baking as a glaze. My friend Liz (That Skinny Chick Can Bake) made the cake last month. It’s not a typical recipe for this type of cake, but it does come together quite easily and produces a lovely lemony dense cake. I baked it in a square pan and then cut two smaller squares so that it can be layered. I wrapped it in the Marshmallow Frosting from Martha Stewart that I made for the cupcakes at Easter.
Deliciously lemony with a creamy marshmallow frosting
I bought the plate so I could just leave it at my friend’s place
Happy Birthday Mike. May you have many more!
How thoughtful of you Eva. This cake is really beautiful…I saw it featured on your facebook page, so now I know the story.Hope you guys are having a great weekend at the cottage — the weather is just spectacular. Finally managed to get in some gardening and take care of some chores around the house. It just feels amazing to have a break!
It was such fun to see you for dinner last week, Barb. The cake was a success and both Kim and Mike were quite touched by our surprise visit. It was really cool that their daughter conspired/collaborated with us.
Your friends must have been both surprised and delighted with such a thoughtful gift.
Thanks Karen, they were indeed!
That is one gorgeous looking cake, Eva, and that fluffy marshmallow icing is so beautifully sculptural. The cake and the plate together are a work of art! I know your friend must have been so pleased!
Thank you Betsy, although the icing has a lot of sugar, it’s not sucky sweet which was surprising. I’m sure it will make a repeat performance in our house.
Oooh, you took this cake up another level! The marshmallow frosting looks fabulous…I’m certain Michael loved it!
PS…thanks for the mention
Hi Liz, thank you for your kind words, I’m very flattered. It was very well received.
Eva, it looks extraordinary! Like a professional birthday cake. And so mysterious… I would love to be able to cut it and see what it hides inside. Marshmallow frosting sounds very intriguing.
Thanks Sissi, inside was a light coloured cake with a heavy texture, quite lemony. I layered two slabs together with a small amount of frosting. It was rather moist.
Oooh, what a great looking cake and tribute to Mike’s birthday! Thanks for sharing. Also, I’m having a ChicWrap giveaway today that you should enter!
Thank you kindly Georgia, I’ll check out your give away.
You sound like such good friends! What a lovely gesture Eva
Thanks Lirraine, Kim is my best friend from University; there is a great story with that, perhaps I’ll share it on an upcoming post.
I don’t bake cakes very often. Certainly not ones that require me to make a frosting … so the marshmallow one you used here is very impressive.
I’ve been run ragged at work for the last 3 weeks so I’m saving my cooking for the end of the school year when I will definitely TRY to make a cake with a real frosting and finally use the new piping bags I bought a couple of months ago.
Hi Maria, I thought your absence was due to something like that; but them again you must be pleased that you’ve had the work, particularly coming into the off summer months.
The frosting is definitely a good one, JT said it was his flavourite. And it’s pretty easy to make (and reasonably inexpensive).
OK, in the reading too fast category, I misread that to say you and your husband get pedis. Then I had to look up pedi. Well, the cake looks wonderful.
Thanks Greg, coincidentally, JT and I will be getting pedi’s soon too!!!
Glad you made a square cake. Usually see round or rectangular cakes but not much a square one, yours look gorgeous and unique. Is that real carambola slices that you colored green or did you make it out of sugar?
Thank you kindly Norma, I just wanted a smallish cake because Mike is the only One in his house who eats cake!
The slices are star fruit, pretty aren’t they?
I wish I were Mike so I could get a slice =D
Thanks Squishy Monster.
I need a friend like you that makes cakes!
It looks beautiful
Thank you kindly, so nice of you to say.
Yum! What a delicious looking cake! Lemon cakes (really, anything that’s more tart than sweet) are among my favourite desserts!
Mine too, thank you Amber.