Year of Cake: Memories and Reflections, by Ann

CAKE! This year truly was glorious. But first, let me point out that Listle DID NOT want to do Year of Cake. I wish I could find a chat conversation to reflect this, but it must have all been stated over the phone. It went something like this:

Ann: I'm so excited for Year of Cake! Won't it be delightful, dearest sister?
Listle: No, it's going to be lame. Just like you. I hate you.
Ann: That saddens me, but I respect your feelings.
Listle: Your face looks like a Barbie melted in a table lamp.

See? She didn't want to do Year of Cake! So it surprised me that she loved it as much as she did. Especially since, for me, Year of Cake was in some ways not as satisfying as Year of Pie, since I like cake more. Just as Listle found that more people loved cake than pie, my group of friends is pretty pie-obsessed. I also felt that with pie, I was a little more afraid so I purposely spent more time on research and on determining the types of pies I wanted to feature. There was more forethought. With cake, there were a few where I felt like I needed to get one done so I didn't spend much time on research. I was also very disappointed that a couple of my cakes ended up being really similar to each other, like the strawberry country cake and the lagkage. I guess in the end, I don't feel like I learned tons of principles like I did with pie because I was more confident in my cake making abilities. Afterward, I kept finding classic kinds of cake that I wish I'd learned more about. Man, this is kind of a downer. I really liked all the cakes I made! I just wish there'd been more research like I did with pie. As OBE just pointed out, though, I was way busier during the entire year of cake with the Relief Society gig and starting school again and, you know, dating him, so it's understandable that I felt like I devoted less time to research.

Okay, I'll follow Listle's pre-established cake categories:

Proudest moment in the Year of Cake:
Managing to get and keep a boyfriend.

Proudest CAKE moment in the Year of Cake:
Successfully making caramels that didn't scorch for the Peach Cake Tatin and the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake. My other caramel making experiences were so miserable, so it was super satisfying that it finally worked. Is that cake related?

Most fun moment with cake:
Making and decorating and presenting Control's bûche de Noël birthday cake.

Funniest moment with cake:
My lopsided birthday cake.

Tastiest cake:
Oh man, how to choose!? Okay the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake was the best, but I also loved the Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake. There were also other favorites, but those were probably the two that bowled me over the most. Interestingly, they were the first and last cakes of the year.

One really crazy-great moment in the Year of Cake:
Baking with Listle in January!

Cake that delighted and surprised me:
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

Cake of Listle's I wish I could have tasted:
July: nothing. I'm just kidding. Devil's Food White Out Cake

Best cake to share with a friend, any day of the week:
Sour Cream-Blueberry Crumb Cake. People went NUTS for this, but it was so easy!

Other honorable cake mentions: Okay the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake was hands down the best one I made, but other favorites besides the Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake were the White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes (OBE's favorites), the Peach Cake Tatin, and Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake.

Other favorite moments: all the pictures of Listle's kids on the blog - I loved looking at them and return often to look some more! So freaking cute!!!!

Things I wish I'd done during Year of Cake:
Like Listle, I wish I'd done more piping - I just did it during the Halloween Cupcakes, but I had really wanted to do a full on piped layer cake. I realized at the end of the year that I was running out of time, but it never worked out. I also wish I'd learned more about different frostings. I guess in the end I learned more about cakes and not as much about the actual decorating of them. I also never gave a cake in full in a cake box, which is sad! However, I've kept making pies throughout this year, and so I plan to keep making cakes too. CAKE! Now bring on the bread!