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A Piece of Cake
December 2006: Sixth Slice
Newsletter written by Anne Byrn December 28, 2006
A Word from Anne
A Word from Workman
Recipe Swap
Do Tell
Bits & Bytes
Next Issue
A Word from Anne
I greet the last days of the year with reflection, appreciation, and exhaustion. Maybe it's the newspaper food editor in me, but I am instinctively thinking back on the best recipes and meals—savoring braised lamb shanks with friends, tiramisu in Italy, home-smoked salmon, a sweet potato cake, roasted beets and crumbled blue cheese on a green salad, and bread baked in a Le Creuset pan. These are foods I want to carry forward into 2007. And I try each year to be more appreciative, mostly for good health. The exhaustion that comes at year's end is easy to explain. As a working mom I take on more than I can handle. It's hard to say "no" when the projects sound fun or the fund-raising committee begs for my help. And this year has been a busy one, with two books completed, the Christmas bookazine with Oxmoor and a new Workman book to be published most likely in September 2007.
My New Year's resolution? Savor every minute more and stop the multi-tasking, but then, just how long do you think I can last without doing two or three things at once? This evening I made a batch of chocolate toffee, finished up my Christmas cards, listened to Larry King on TV, called my friend Mindy, worked on this newsletter, and wrapped a few presents. I came about this habit honestly. My mother would just say she was "busy," and I remember there was always something in her hands—knitting needles, a skirt to hem, a good book, or the telephone where in the days before voicemail she made a point of answering every call. Will my children remember me being busy, sitting at this computer making another deadline? Probably. But hopefully they'll also recall the homemade holiday gifts I made and the laughter we shared. So maybe I ought to change my resolution to "laugh more in 2007." That is one resolution I will keep.
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A Word from Workman
In this last issue of A Piece of Cake for 2006, we at Workman would like to say thanks to all of you out there signed up for this newsletter, sharing your experiences on the Community Board, and supporting Anne's books year after year. Special thanks go out to our moderators, Mary K, T Martin, and George, who have kept the Community Board a friendly haven for bakers of all levels. It's been an exciting year for all of us, first with the release of the Christmas Cookbook, which we hope you'll enjoy for years to come, plus a new look for Cakemixdoctor.com. We hope you'll keep an eye on Anne's blog in 2007 for a taste of what you can expect from her highly anticipated new book, along with tips, recipes, and more.
Happy baking this holiday season and beyond,
Workman Publishing
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Recipe Swap
Here is a festive and brightly colored cake, perfect for New Year's Eve. It comes from reader Toni Ferro-Arthur who says this recipe always gets "rave reviews." Top it with a simple dusting of confectioners' sugar, a chocolate glaze or a glaze of confectioners' sugar and milk. My children loved the explosion of colors inside.
Spumoni Cake
Makes 12 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 45 to 50 minutes
Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 can (5.5 ounces) chocolate syrup
1 teaspoon butter flavoring and a drop yellow food coloring, if desired
1 teaspoon rum flavoring and a drop green food coloring
1 teaspoon pure almond extract and a drop of pink food coloring
Topping:
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray and dust with flour. Set the pan aside.
2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase the mixer speed to medium and blend 1 1/2 minutes more. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and remove three, 3/4 cup portions to three smaller bowls. Set these aside. Stir the chocolate syrup into the batter left in the mixing bowl. Stir the butter flavoring and yellow food coloring, if desired, into one of the portions. Stir the rum flavoring and green coloring into another, and stir the almond extract and pink coloring into the third.
3. Pour the chocolate batter into the prepared pan. Pour one color at a time over the chocolate batter, being careful not to pour the colored batter too close to the edges of the pan, keeping the colors in the center. Place the pan in the oven.
4. Bake the cake until it springs back when pressed with your finger, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven to a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges and invert the cake onto a rack to completely cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve.
Note: Since the batter has a pale yellow color, you don't need to add the yellow food coloring unless you want a more dramatic appearance.
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Do Tell
Here's a simple request from Debbie Briggs who wants Easy-Bake Oven® ideas using regular-size cake mixes. "I just could not bring myself to pay $5 per mix for one of their mixes," says Debbie, "but I can't figure out how to split the mixes." Any Easy-Bake Oven® bakers out there? Send your tips to anne@cakemixdoctor.com, and I'll pass them along to Debbie and share them in the next newsletter.
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Bits & Bytes
I am developing a line of cake mixes, and I would love to get some feedback from you, the readers of my books and newsletter. I know what I'd love to include in the mix, but what are your suggestions for what would be the perfect cake mix?
- What are your favorite flavors and how would you like the mix to be packaged?
- Would you prefer having a frosting or glaze packaged along with the cake mix or would you rather make your own?
- Many readers have asked for an all-natural cake mix. Does this matter to you?
- Would you be willing to pay more for a healthier cake mix or one that's organic?
Send your thoughts to me at anne@cakemixdoctor.com with Cake Mix Suggestions in the subject line.
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Next Issue: February 2007
Quick Valentine's Day dessert ideas. And a sneak peek at my new book.
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