Last year at this time, well, I was significantly larger as you can see. Our daughter was due to arrive around May 14th, mere days before my 30th birthday. While I was eager for our new addition to come out, I was also determined to celebrate my 30th birthday sans the new baby. Little did I know that our lady would hang on for another two weeks! But that’s another story.
As I milled around at home waiting for the contractions to start, I figured that I might as well bake myself a birthday cake. And so I did.
If you have never tasted anything from Momofuku Milk Bar, or haven’t seen Christina Tosi’s genius cookbook well then it is definitely time. Her desserts are so unique, many of them with a salty-sweet element that is precisely my cup of tea. So for my 30th birthday I decided I wanted to make
her version of classic birthday cake
. It is one of the best cake recipes I have ever made or eaten, which I cannot even attribute to my heightened pregnancy taste buds.
This year I made it again for my husband’s birthday and expanded on the decoration with my own twist:
The Nosher celebrates the traditions and recipes that have brought Jews together for centuries. Donate today to keep The Nosher's stories and recipes accessible to all.
As this year’s birthday rolled around, a rather uneventful-feeling #31, I decided that making my own birthday cake should be an annual event. And once again, I did.
My birthday also coincided with Shavuot this year, so it was the perfect chance to combine my love of a daiy-centric holiday with a decadent birthday cake.
Those of you who read The Nosher regularly must know by now that my absolute favorite go-to dessert is this Hershey’s Chocolate Cake recipe, which I usually make pareve my substituting the milk for coconut or almond milk and bake in a bundt pan. But with Shavuot, there was no substitution needed – how nice! However, I wanted this cake to have a mocha flavor, so I substituted the 1 cup of water for 1 cup of strongly brewed coffee.
To compliment the mocha cake flavor, I made this kahlua cream cheese frosting from Lovin From the Oven, and what a hit! I love love love kahlua, and this rich frosting paired perfectly with my mocha cake.
Topped with some oreo crumbs and crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans and voila: my mocha chocolate kahlua cake! Happy Birthday to me, the ultimate nosher! We all deserve a little cake for our birthdays, so I say, let us eat cake!
pareve
Pronounced: PAHRV or pah-REV, Origin: Hebrew, an adjective to describe a food or dish that is neither meat nor dairy. (Kosher laws prohibit serving meat and dairy together.)
Help us keep Jewish knowledge accessible to millions of people around the world.
Your donation to My Jewish Learning fuels endless journeys of Jewish discovery. With your help, My Jewish Learning can continue to provide nonstop opportunities for learning, connection and growth.
Shavuot
Pronounced: shah-voo-OTE (oo as in boot), also shah-VOO-us, Origin: Hebrew, the holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, falls in the Hebrew month Sivan, which usually coincides with May or June.
Help us keep Jewish knowledge accessible to millions of people around the world.
Your donation to My Jewish Learning fuels endless journeys of Jewish discovery. With your help, My Jewish Learning can continue to provide nonstop opportunities for learning, connection and growth.
