Celebrations and victories, big and small

They say when life gives you lemons make lemonade or grab sugar, vodka, and a shot glass. Either way, you have to take on life as it comes. Sometimes life calls for celebrations and celebrations to me NEED cake. I love a big Southern layer cake, the kind where you declare in your most genteel Southern accent that you could not bear to have another piece, but you do anyway. Living in New York City, I had no shortage of fantastic bakeries/cakeries (Amy's Bread, Cake Man Raven, BCakeNY) to indulge in my favorite dessert. In Basel, "American"-style cake shops are rare, and since I brought my KitchenAid mixer with me, why should I leave it to someone else?

Our wedding cake was on point!

Red Velvet Cake-Cakeman Raven

The origins of red velvet cake are somewhat disputed, with some saying it began at the Waldorf Astoria and other placing its beginnings a bit further South. And while this amazing layer cake has been a Southern staple, one man's version stole my heart in a little shop on Fulton Street in Brooklyn,
when it was still affordable to live there (Selena and Sung, remember when?)

The cake--This make a lot of cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder (I use 3 teaspoons for a deeper red color and more cocoa flavor)

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil, + oil for the pans

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce or the entire bottle of McCormicks. I use gel coloring that I get from NY Cake store)

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer (I've actually mixed this cake by hand at times), mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

The frosting--Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting, easy to make and easy to screw up. It has become somewhat problematic for me in Europe as the Philadelphia/frischkäse  have more moisture that the US counterparts. That combined with the lack cornstarch in the powdered sugar can lead to a nearly pourable consistency. Fear not faithful reader, I have made some adjustments:

1. Strain my cream cheese in muslin/cheesecloth to remove excess moisture
2. Keep it cold while the butter is at room temp
3. Add vanilla bean paste instead of liquid extract
4. Add 1 tbl of cornstarch per 1cup of powdered sugar

1 pound cream cheese, softened

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy (scrape down the bowl occasionally). Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using. May be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days. This makes a lot of frosting.

Red velvet made in Basel for my
birthday twin and I

This cake is very special to me. When I make and share it with friends, it evokes so many memories. I remember going all the way to Ft Greene from WaHI (going local on the A) in the rain just to eat my feelings  after a failed experiment; or sharing a slice with friends after a large meal where I just "de-clared" that I could not eat anything else. And one of my favorite memories was carting this cake and a human-sized suitcase to Middletown, NJ to throw a baby shower for my dearest Olguita, one of many baby showers that I've thrown (can you say side hustle? Nikhil wishes I would). 

You see, celebrations and celebration cakes are meant to be shared. Smitten Kitchen has a little subsection for celebration cakes, including a household favorite, chocolate/peanut butter. Seriously, this cake is made to share. Since moving, I have often not felt like myself. By cooking and sharing with new friends here, sharing my stories, experiences, and novice tips with you, and sharing our new home with my husband (finally), I am starting to feel more like myself. And after a year or so, I celebrate this little-big victory with all the gusto that I can put forth. And today, I bake a cake and reminiscence of times past and look towards the future.

Chocolate Peanut Butter for a very special young lady

P.S: I celebrated a small victory a couple of weeks ago. Last September, my favorite new maxi dress got caught in a poorly design escalator here in Basel. Perhaps, I will share my state-of-mind fully in another blogpost, but let's just say I was not happy to have been cut out of it. Well, fast forward to 2 weeks ago, in the same store and say escalator, a man and his backpack got caught in front of me with me nearly being pushed down to the bottom. I wasn't and I lived to stay another day in Switzerland, because if I had fallen that would have been IT. So disaster averted, we celebrated and carried on.

Sometimes you celebrate with chicken and brownies!
Treat yo self!!!