Last Cake, Next Cake

I'm hosting this week's Last Cake, Next Week while Marie are off in France - eating beaucoup croissants and macarons.

I love baking the same thing with everyone. It's fun to see if the cakes turns out differently, who make cupcakes (this is important!), and whether everyone has the same consensus on taste. Free Choice week is also equally exciting. It's like a mystery game to see who will bake what, and how many people bake the same thing. Yes I know I'm a dork. There! I said it!!!

This week, most of the HCBers chose differently. Here are the round-ups:

Faithy, made not only one, but two Southern Manhattan Coconut Cake, one with fresh coconut juice and the other with canned juice. She's not a big fan of coconut but figured that the attendants of church gathering at her place could help finish it up. Faithy stacked the cakes together to save fridge space and adorned with freshly grated coconut. The cake was a hit, with some people noticing the layer with fresh coconut juice less sweet and some didn't noticed. If you haven't seen her cake, check it out. It looks so pretty with fresh coconut.

Both Lois and Lola made the Spice Cake with Peanut Buttercream. Lois brought it TGI Fridays, her "Cheers" in Poland. "The staff and other regular patrons all sampled a small slice, and it was a hit.  Remi asked if the cookbook I was using was available in Poland.  (I wasn't able to find evidence of Rose's books in Polish, but they're ready for you, Rose!)" Lola, who said that Lois inspired her to make this cake, calls it "light and lovely" with a frosting that is "yummy and easy" and "not to sweet."

NancyB, who will finish baking the same time as Marie (yay to you!), made the Red Fruit Shortcake. She used strawberries and raspberries on her cake as she couldn't find currants. Though the "berries did not produce much juice despite a nice long maceration period" and "genoise is never going to be my favorite cake," Nancy said "the cake is a light vehicle to hold the pile of berries, and the tang of the crème fraîche is a good counterpoint to the sweet." Nancy also posted the Deep Chocolate Rosebuds, a catch up post as she made this cake back in December 2009.

Both Jane and Vicki did some awesome quick thinking to save their cakes.

Jane made the Apple Caramel Charlotte.  Jane thought she messed up the bavarian cream ("it turned into jello") by letting the custard too hot. Jane "put it in the blender and pressed smoothie and it did the trick. I don't know if it totally messed up the consistency but in the end it was nice, just like it was supposed to be!" Though this is a cake she's "been looking forward to making for quite a while" but unfortunately the flavor didn't wow her.

Vicki made the No Bake Whipped Cream Cheesecake, to which she added "Fool" at the end, because she "a Fool out of Rose's No Bake Whipped Cream Cheesecake." The cake is supposed to be refrigerated for 4 hours, but she took it out after 2 and it started disintegrating. So she served it in an ice cream cup with some raspberry sauce.

Raymond made the Red Velvet Cake, despite his hesitation of using food coloring. "At any rate, I have to admit it isn’t half bad, although the nauseous red color still puts me right off."

Katya made the "most adorable cake in the book": Miette Tomboy. This is the 2nd time she made it, though last time it was unfrosted. She also had great success with the mousseline this time, "possibly the best and fluffiest mousseline I've ever made."

Jennifer made the Ginger Cheesecake. She began her post by declaring that "ginger is something I have grown to appreciate." She detested it growing up until she learned - during her study of acupuncture - that it "promotes healthy digestion, warms the digestion, stimulates the immune, and even kills parasites." She liked the "soft and creamy" ginger cheesecake, though warning that "you have to be at least okay with ginger to enjoy it."

Next week we have another Free Choice. I will be making Zach's La Bomba (I will be away the weekend it's on the schedule) but will do a catch up post.

The week after that, we have the White Velvet Butter Cupcakes. For those of you who have made the White Velvet Cake, it's the same thing, except this is in cupcake form. The frosting is different, as this one calls for the Golden Neoclassic Buttercream. If you have access to golden syrup, the buttercream is lovely with it.

Just when you thought this Last Cake, Next Cake posting from Jenn is finally coming to an end, I have a public service announcement to make. I thought since I'm doing the summary this week, I'd take the opportunity to post the first two cakes for the HCB continuation. I'm planning to start week after the May 16th finale with Marie. The format will be the same, 3 weeks of scheduled baking and 1 week of free choice. First up on the list is Barcelona Brownie Bars on the 23rd, followed by the Chocolate Raspberry Trifle on May 30th.  The cakes on the schedule would be the 21 cakes I have left, ending with Bernachon Pale d'Or Gateau on Nov 21st. I thought since this is the cake on the cover of the book, it would be the perfect one to end with. I know a lot of you will not be done by the time Marie is, so I'm hoping you'll join me! It'll be fun!