Whether you’ve been reading this column for years, or are relatively new to the food pages, you probably have already gathered that of all the culinary disciplines explored over the years, baking is the one for which I feel the most passion. So, it’s no wonder, that I’ve been making a habit of sharing recipes for cakes, pies, brownies, cookies and other baked desserts with a great deal of regularity, including several stunning recipes from the founders of Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Baked Bakery, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, by way of their “Baked” cookbooks. We enjoyed “new takes on old favorites,” with Peanut Butter Crispy Bars coming from “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking,” (the first Baked cookbook), followed by Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake with Caramel Rum Frosting, which appeared in “Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented,” in addition to Triple Rum Black Pepper Cake and Pumpkin Almond Cake with Almond Butter Frosting, courtesy “Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients.” And, from the most recent Baked cookbook, “Baked Occasions: Desserts for Leisure Activities, Holidays, and Informal Celebrations,” published in October 2014, comes Ultimate Birthday Cake – the “crowning jewel of a recipe” which distinguishes the book’s cover. Lewis and Poliafito write, “This is a very happy cake. This is the kind of cake that turns gray skies blue.” All I can say is, “Yes.” This is a very happy cake. Moreover, it will turn gray skies blue – and most every other color sprinkled in the rainbow, too.
Sue Ade is a syndicated food writer with broad experience and interest in the culinary arts. She has worked and resided in the Lowcountry of South Carolina since 1985 and may be reached at kitchenade@yahoo.com.