Ever find a recipe and you just have to make it? Some time ago I found a book by Japanese patisserie Hidemi Sugino, mentioned on the awesome blog of Keiko at Nordljus. I quickly ordered his book, aptly named The Dessert Book, which is in English. It has simple and yet wonderful desserts, but I wanted more, so I bought his other book, Le gout authentique retrouvé, which is in Japanese.

Luckily the ingredients and weights are also in French (which I read), with a well organized numbered succession of photo’s that show each step to making the dessert. The rest is a guessing game. I worked in pastry for a few years, and though it was tough,  the experience taught me how important it was to ensconce myself in all facets of culinary arts. Today I finally had a chance and reason to once again delve into making a cake. It’s my birthday tomorrow and rather then wait, I figured I would make a cake for myself. No one else offered and it was an excuse to enjoy myself.

I picked up the book, within the limited window of opportunity, set my eyes on what looked to be the easiest cake to make. In between baking, I decided to put together a first class dinner for myself. All to say, it’s not entirely the cake it should be. Unable to find fresh raspberries, I used cherries instead. It turned out alright. You can always hide flaws under chocolate, but you know it tasted really good and was really light. As that Austrian (Marie Antoinette) royale once said, “Let em eat cake!” And so we did.