Ivorie Royale

I made the cake! It came out AMAZING, just as I remembered from Extraordinary Desserts! Pictures below...

Berries inside the cake!

Just out of the freezer

Finished cakes w/ white chocolate shavings!

Wedding cake and macaroons ( aka.macarons)

Tonight I baked the cake portion of the Ivorie Royale. I am making the cake for a church fundraiser on Saturday evening. They have a dessert auction, and the last few years that I have been there, I've said to my friends that I should have donated a cake. Well, this year I'm going to donate my favorite cake. I will have pictures of the final project on Saturday. The cake smells amazing, and I can't wait for the finished project!

As for the macaroons, my friend Sara was here tonight keeping me company while I baked.  I was making the macarons, and she asked if I put vanilla or almond extract in them. I explained that I don't use any extract, and after trying to figure out what she meant, I realized that she thought I was talking about the coconut macaroons that are a main stay around Passover. I explained that I was making French macarons, pronouncing it with my snobby French accent! Well, the first batch came out of the oven looking lovely, frilly little feet and all! I told Sara she may have to come over every time I make them from now on.

Ivorie Royale

There is a dessert restaurant in San Diego called Extraordinary Desserts. When I lived in SD, Julie, Greg, and I would go there often. It was the place that we took anyone who would come visit. It was, and still is, one of the best restaurants I've been too. I mean, dessert restaurant. Anyway, there was one particular cake slice I would get, if it was available -- Ivorie Royale. It was amazing! A vanilla soaked pound cake, with a yummy sour cream filling and berries, and white chocolate frosting! So good!! I've been trying to find recipes in order to try and replicate it, but was not successful...

That is, until today! A few weeks ago I was on Amazon looking for a macaron cookbook, and came across, Extraordinary Cakes, written by the owner of ED  in SD!! I was floored and so excited! I was going to have a chance to make this wonderful cake, which by the way, if I'm so blessed to have a wedding, will be my wedding cake! So, I purchased the book, and it arrived to day. It was like Christmas! I am so looking forward to making this cake. I only hope my replication of it comes out as good as I remember!

Baking Therapy

When I was a kid, I did not like cake. Actually, I did not like most sweets...candy, cake, ice cream, etc. Most of my childhood birthday parties included cake, and I was the only one who didn't eat any. Yes, I was the weird kid that didn't like cake, but that all seemed to change as an adult.

I really like cake, but I love baking cake! Mixing the ingredients, the smell of the cake in the oven, frosting and decorating it...it is all a process that in the end, results in a product that most people love to eat. It is satisfying to watch other people eat my cake, which is another reason I enjoy baking.

The therapy comes in here...I spend a lot of time thinking about things I can not control, often worrying about them. I often pray for patience; and to my dismay, patience is not just given to someone, you have to LEARN how to be patient. Tonight I realized that the process of baking is my learning moment. I mix several ingredients together, hoping that in the end they will work together to make the desired finished product. I put it in the oven, and wait...sometimes for a long time. And during that time of waiting, I realize I don't have any control over what may happen during this process. I just have to be patient and wait. If only I can remember this lesson   in my everyday life...maybe if the result was cake every time, it would be easier to remember!