Recipes
21 Cakes for Our 20th Birthday
No matter how old you are, you deserve a homemade cake on your birthday—the more decadent and over-the-top, the better. This July, which marked SAVEUR's 20th birthday, our pastry chef friends outdid themselves: From towering layer cakes to deconstructed plated desserts to sculptures made entirely of chocolate, we received a wide range of creative, decadent, and beautifully constructed—not to mention delicious—birthday cakes from pastry chefs, home-bakers, and bloggers including Dominique Ansel, Sherry Yard, Brooks Headley, Izy Hossack, and Sarah Kieffer. Check out all 21 cakes below—one for each year of the magazine, plus one for good luck!
—Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking Chez Moi Chocolate cake layered with chocolate cream, finished with chocolate ganache and shards of salted chocolate
—Dominique Ansel, chef/owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery Charlotte cake built inside a Staub casserole pot, made with a vanilla bavaroise, passion fruit gelée, and homemade ladyfingers, topped with a combination of summer stone fruits (plums, peaches, and apricots)
—Jennifer Yee, pastry chef at Lafayette, New York City 6" carrot cake frosted with buttercream and covered in cherry-pistachio cream puffs
—Sarah Kieffer, blogger at Vanilla Bean Blog, our 2014 BFBA readers' choice winner for Best Baking & Desserts blog Buttermilk cake with cardamom cream filling and rhubarb buttercream
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—Brooks Headley, pastry chef at Del Posto Tricolore gelato terrine (greenmarket cherry, Capezzana olive oil, and Amedei chocolate) with chocolate glaze and puffed pasta
—Richard Capizzi, pastry chef at Lincoln Ristorante Zuccoto:_ amaretto-soaked black and white_ sponge cake with cocoa nib brownie, filled with strawberry crema with mixed berries, vanilla stracciatella, and dark chocolate mousse
—Christina Tosi, chef, owner and founder of Momofuku Milk Bar Rainbow cake crumble, sprinkles, and vanilla birthday frosting studded with birthday truffles (bites of rainbow cake covered with white chocolate and rainbow cake sand) and topped with half of a strawberry lemon layer cake
"From the first issue
Traveled and cooked my way through
Inspired by you!"
—Elisabeth Prueitt, pastry chef at Tartine Bakery Ice cream cake with homemade ladyfingers, vanilla yogurt ice cream, and raspberry sorbet, topped with frosted fruit and berry sauce
—Gale Gand, pastry chef, restaurateur, and author of Gale Gand's Lunch Pavlova topped with hand-picked Wisconsin strawberries, rhubarb compote, and pansies
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—Francois Payard, chef/owner of Payard, FP Patisserie, and Francois Payard Bakery Large macaron cake with raspberry and vanilla ganache and fresh raspberries
—Della Gossett, executive pastry chef at Spago Beverly Hills Three birthday "coupe-tails":
Lemon Layer Love: lemon buttermilk cake, lemon verbena ice cream, lemon granita, and lemon curd topped with housemade Meyer lemon limoncello
Red Velvet: red velvet ice cream and layer cake with frozen cream cheese curls, fresh raspberries, and raspberry-Campari gelée
Grandma's Old Fashioned: old-fashioned chocolate cake with fudge frosting, Tahitian vanilla ice cream, Amarena cherries, and Amaro Averna chocolate pudding
—Marc Aumont, pastry chef at The Modern White chocolate mousse cake with raspberry gelée and citrus dacquoise enclosed in a white chocolate sphere with chocolate accents
—Sunny Lee and Nicole Bujewski, chef instructors at The French Pastry School Twist on a traditional croquembouche: cream puffs topped with a sweet dough cookie, attached to tiers of cake and adorned with pulled sugar flowers and gum paste numbers
—Izy Hossack, blogger at Top With Cinnamon, the 2014 BFBA editors' choice winner for Best Baking & Desserts blog Layers of crisp meringue layered with freshly whipped cream, dark chocolate ganache, and sweet cherries
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—Chika Tillman, chef/owner of Chikalicious Dessert Bar, New York Dark chocolate "black velvet" cake filled with chocolate ganache and covered in fondant, gum paste, and edible gold powder
—Sherry Yard, chef/co-owner of Helms Bakery, Los Angeles 20-layer "wish cake": buttermilk chocolate cake, Tahitian vanilla ice cream, white gold honey and lavender gelato, fraises des bois_ ice cream, rose diamond nectarine sherbet,_ Mara des Bois_ strawberry sorbet, raspberry rose sorbet, red currant sour cream sherbet, pomegranate blackberry sorbet, black cherry ice cream, and Persian mulberry sorbet, topped with toasted Italian meringue and garnished with Santa Monica Farmers Market berries_
—Maggie Austin, chef/owner of Maggie Austin Cake Three stacked chocolate cakes with peach-apricot preserves and milk chocolate fiori di Sicilia_ buttercream, tied with gold-rubbed brocade sugar ribbons and topped with sugar flowers_
—Dana Cree, pastry chef at Blackbird Quenelle of devil's food mousse, aerated birthday cake-flavored ice cream, and sprinkles
—Jacques Torres, master pastry chef, chocolatier, and owner of Jacques Torres Chocolate Dark chocolate sculpture with white chocolate placard
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—Molly Yeh, blogger at My Name is Yeh, finalist for the 2014 BFBA editors' choice winner for Best Baking & Desserts blog Rosemary-vanilla cake with blackberry preserves, mascarpone frosting, and marzipan Dala horses
—Ron Ben-Israel, chef/owner of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes Gluten-free dark chocolate espresso "slice" of cake (36" long by 24" high), filled with alternate layers of peanut butter buttercream and bitter chocolate ganache and covered with fondant
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