Let Them Eat Cake

Confession: I didn't always like cakes.

I'm fond of cute little desserts. Cream puffs. Eclairs. Little custard cups with glazed fruit. Cream brulee. You know, the miniature poodles of the dessert world. The kind of desserts you can tame in a single sitting. You don't tame a cake; a cake tames you.

But lately, cakes have been growing on me.

Not literally. I do shower. Really.

I have come to the realization that I love cakes.

Reason #1: Carvel ice cream cakes. Even at the depth of my disinterest in cake, I always made an exception for the Carvel ice cream cake. Vanilla on top, chocolate on the bottom, crumbly cookie-ish stuff in the middle. It epitomizes birthday to me. In fact, my husband once promised to always make sure that I had a Carvel ice cream cake for my birthday. He always delivers. One of the many reasons he is awesome.

Reason #2: Book cakes. Here's the photo that was the inspiration for this blog post:


How could I not love cakes where there exist happy-making cakes like this? The librarians at the North Shore Public Library in Shoreham, NY, surprised me with this beauty when I came to do a book event this summer. Fantastic event. And not just because of the cake. I adored the audience too (though I failed to take a picture of them).

Reason #3: Cake wrecks. I discovered the Cake Wrecks blog via someone on twitter. I know, I know, it is inappropriate for me to laugh at others' baking efforts when I have been known to fail to hard-boil an egg. (Don't ask.) But you've really got to check out this site. Here's a sample:



So that's this week's momentous epiphany: I like cake. How about you guys? Any life-altering revelations lately?