CakeBook Monday: 1954 PILLSBURY BAKE-OFF BOOKLET

Today's pick for CakeBook Monday is really all about one recipe: Blueberry Boy Bait.

Honestly, I've never even made another recipe from the booklet as it's all been about BBB ever since that first bite of this delicate, lemon-blueberry-cinnamon-sugar beauty. 

Rennie Powell, a young woman in Chicago, submitted the recipe to the 1954 Pillsbury Bake-off, taking home 2nd place in the Junior division. She said whenever she baked this particular cake, the boys would come running, hence the Boy Bait part. I was so taken with this notion, I once tried to bring it to life:   

Both Smitten Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated have written about Rennie's creation, but I always love going straight to the source. Bonus: the recipe for Thrifty Giblet Pie!

The truth behind LET THEM EAT CAKE

Contrary to popular belief . . . 

An old embroidery piece of mine featuring a cake by Kate Sullivan.

I learned of this a few years ago upon reading Antonia Fraser's captivating biography, Marie Antoinette: The Journey. In it, she briefly espouses on the popular myth, explaining that the phrase was actually uttered 100 years before Marie had even been born by Marie-Thérèse, the wife of Louis XIV. Fraser continues, "It was a callous and ignorant statement and she, Marie Antoinette, was neither.

Another important note: The phrase was printed in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions, the final volume of which was completed by 1769 when Marie Antoinette was just 14; it would be another year before she even arrived at Versailles to marry the Dauphin.

Finally, as for Let them eat brioche versus Let them eat cake? My best guess is that it's just how the English language has adopted the phrase. I'd be curious to know what they say in France; is it still Qu'ils mangent de la brioche, or has it altered to Qu'ils mangent de la gateaux? Anyone know?

CakeBook Monday: ICEBOX CAKES by Jessie Sheehan and Jean Sagendorph

Today for CakeBook Monday, I have my lovely friend Jessie Sheehan's brilliant book, Icebox Cakes. I'm a year-round lover of the Ice Box Cake, but they are especially welcome in the summertime, when the ice box is preferable to the oven by a million-to-one. I brought the S'mores cake to a party a few weeks ago, and it drew rave reviews, and I've brought the Banana-Rum with me to the office today. If my spoon licks last night are reliable, then this is going to be a damn fine afternoon treat. 

CakeBook Monday: FEAST-DAY CAKES FROM MANY LANDS

Happy CakeBook Monday! Today's selection is Feast-Day Cakes From Many Lands. Published in 1960, it features dozens of cake (and cookie) recipes from all over the world and includes history and folklore as well. Loosely arranged by holiday, the book has the recognizable—Hot Cross Buns and King Cake—and some more usual fare such as Singin' Hinnies (like a scone) and Pope Ladies (a type of bun). Available used.

CakeBook Monday: THE STORY OF CAKE by Norah Smaridge

The Story of Cake by Norah Smaridge is today's pick for CakeBook Monday. Published in 1978, and aimed at young readers, it's a short book of interesting tidbits, a few recipes, and some out-of-date facts. The real gem is the author. Born in Liverpool, Smaridge came to the U.S. as a child with her sea captain father and became a prolific author of books for young adults including the straightforwardly titled You Know Better Than That. All that said, The Story of Cake is not a must-have unless you're an obsessive like me or have a thing for late-70s illustrations.