Call me a rebel

No sooner had I said I would finish the book, I turned around and made another recipe from it.

Right now no one is asking, "What book." You just know.

The BOOK.

Very quickly becoming a bible for bakers and bloggers.

And right now you'd have to pry it from my dead fingers to take it from me.

Yes, it is that good.

I had plans to make a sheet cake on Sunday morning. A vanilla sheet cake with chocolate icing, both recipes from The Barefoot Contessa. Then I ran into a snag - where do you get a sheet pan that is 12 x 18 x 1 1/2? The 12 x 18 part is easy. It is the extra 1/2 inch I couldn't find, though Ina says she gets here sheet pans at William-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel and Sur La Table. All stores I don't have in Ottawa. (Note - I found one, at a local craft store - 12 x 18 x 2!)

I must have been dreaming of recipes and websites and cookbooks all Saturday night, trying to figure out what I would make for Sunday's party, the family celebration of my son's 8th birthday. It was a restless night, tossing and turning, my mind churning.

Until I gave in.

When I woke up I turned on my laptop, did a few quick searches, nothing serious, then pulled out Dorie and picked a cake.

Not just any cake - the cake. The cover cake, The Devil's Food White-out cake.

I'd never made a marshmallow frosting before - or cut two layers into four. My normal nerves at trying something new, especially when I had 20 some people expected to come that evening, left me and I dove right in, confident that I would not have problems with this cake. The recipe would be clearly written and easy to follow, I was sure.

Two days later, I can't tell you if it was easy to follow or not, most of the baking process is now a blur, but either way, I did not manage to screw it up. Though I didn't notice until afterwards that the front cover cake does not have the crumbs on the top whereas the picture inside the book (page 246 if you have it), does.

And only now, two days later, am I reading the part that says to use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to cut. No wonder they had such beautiful, un-crummy slices!

This cake satisfied children and grown ups alike. My children were swooning, yes, swooning, over the marshmallow frosting. The birthday boy had the honor of licking the whisk attachment clean from the mixer, but both were able to sample the frosting before it went on the cake.

And there is ample frosting to go with the cake. I actually should have put a more generous amount between the layers, but erred on the side of caution. Next time I'll know better.

Mark my words... there WILL be a next time.

So if you are looking for a showstopper type of cake that is both delicious and not overly sweet (despite the mountain of marshmallow involved), it is on page 247.

Oh, and for those who wonder - no this cake does not serve 20+ people. We had a few cancellations but also had left over cupcakes from the previous day's children's birthday party.