Coke Zero Birthday Cake

Last week was my good friend Andrew’s birthday.  I knew I had to make him a cake, but had some trouble deciding on a recipe.  He likes everything so no recipes were jumping out as the obvious choice.  I started browsing my cake cook books and came across a recipe for Coca Cola cake.  Of course!  Andrew is a Coke Zero fiend and I knew he’d get a kick out of it being in a cake.  This cake is delicious.  It’s really moist, fudgy, and chocolaty without being overly rich.  The cake doesn’t actually have the flavor of Coke, but I think it’s the carbonation from the soda that gives it such a great texture. Read the rest of this entry »

Chocolate Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting (by the way it’s vegan)

If anyone out there is saying eww…vegan cake, please keep reading.  This cake is really, really good.  And this post isn’t even about vegan baking, it’s about bikes.  Aside from baking my other passion is biking.  For two years I was commuting to work nearly every day.  If it was snowing I might take the train, but sometimes not even then.  I love riding my bike.  I’ve had some knee problems lately so I had to take a few months off and now I only ride three days a week, but hopefully with continued physical therapy I’ll be riding more soon.

Being a bike commuter influences what I bake.  I gravitate towards foods that are sturdy, portable, and can be served the next day.  There are a lot of beautiful desserts out there, but if I can’t share a dessert with people then I’m much less likely to make it.  Cookies and bars travel well by bike.  You just put them in a Tupperware and place them at the bottom of your backpack.  If you put your work clothes and lunch on top it will minimize how much the container moves and keep the cookies from breaking.  Cupcakes, however, are not transportable by bike.  The cupcakes will bounce up and down, the frosting will get smeared everywhere, and they might break.  This doesn’t mean that your coworkers won’t devour them, but they will not look pretty.

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