Wow. It is 3:24 am and I am still exhilerated. What an evening! Pumpkin, spices, songs and magic and a beautiful cake to show for it. Where do I begin?
I know where. Epicurious.com. That's where I found this recipe for "Stunning Spiced Pumpkin Cake" which Lisa and I decided to bake together tonight in honor of Halloween. (We decided not to do the chocolate leaves on top. Thank God. Or it would be 5:24 am and my eyes would be bleeding). Ricky came over and joined us too.
Let me tell you about our hijinks:
- We accidentally used an entire CAN of pumpkin instead of a cup of pumpkin and had to throw away the entire first batch of batter. A travesty!
- While the cakes were cooling, we went costume shopping. I bought bunny ears. I came home and tried them on and Lolita (the cat) had a NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. Seriously. She began hissing and growling this horrible low grumble like something from a Stephen King novel. I think she scared me more than I scared her.
Anyway, back to the cake. The frosting is wild---butter, molasses, brown sugar, orange peel:
Add two packets of cream cheese and it looks like this:
I have to give Lisa a TON of credit for being a good judge of cake-doneness. After the recipe-suggested 25 minutes I thought the cakes were done. She didn't. She was right. They were still wet inside. We let them cook 5 minutes longer and they came out PERFECT:
Then there was the cooling. That's when we went costume shopping. Ricky ate a calzone.
We came back and frosted the cake.
Lisa applied her expert touch:
The finished product:
Beautiful, no?
But I'm not done with you people yet!
Lisa, Ricky and I have made for you a MUSIC VIDEO that defies all your wildest expectations and dreams. It fuses music, cooking, pumpkin and humor for one of the greatest cinematic experiences of your internet life. (I only hope you like show tunes.) There's costumes, singing, egg-cracking and more MUCH more. You must must must watch this movie. I beg of you. It's my Halloween gift to you. Happy Halloween! And enjoy...
12 Comments
Wow -- sign you guys up! The whole project looked like great fun. My favorite part was fishing the eggshell out, your finger has a future as an action figure.
We demanding readers want to see pictures of the Halloween costumes! And Lolita hissing!
Posted by Vicky | October 29, 2004 8:07 AM
Oh, how I've missed your film and tunes, AG! And you've adapted it to my favorite musical score...you've brought a tear to this readers' eye.
Posted by A Big Fan of the AG | October 29, 2004 11:03 AM
Mmm. Cake.
You should consider picking up a set of those Magic Strip thingies. Rose Levy Beranbaum recommens 'em. You wrap them around the outside of the pans and they stop the cakes from making that dome shape in the middle.
I don't know how they work. I guess magic, or they wouldn't call them magic strips.
Posted by brian w | October 29, 2004 11:39 AM
Amazing. The ridiculous mixed with the delicious. Bravo!
Posted by Marisa | October 29, 2004 11:58 AM
That looks so delicious, I want to make it!
Posted by veronica | October 29, 2004 2:58 PM
BRAVO! The cake looks delish, and the AG once again shows his lyrical brilliance. How about a "Food Films: the DVD" collection? The holidays are right around the corner...
Posted by emily | October 29, 2004 6:39 PM
Hey Brian W and AG— I have the Magic Strips. They do work, but you can also wet down paper towels and wrap them around the cake pan's circumference to achieve pretty much the same thing.
Frosting that includes cream cheese AND molasses? I can't wait to try it meself!
Posted by Jerilyn Pool | October 31, 2004 10:08 AM
hey, random fellow food fanatic here...
just wanted to say that you have a wonderful selection of yummy food on your site! One suggestion: can you pleeaase make the pictures bigger, they'll be oh the more satisfying=)
Posted by Wendy | October 31, 2004 4:59 PM
Another terrific video!
Posted by elise | November 1, 2004 9:42 AM
That "music video" quite nearly killed me. I love you people. Can I come over?
Posted by Molly | November 5, 2004 7:07 PM
Hallo. I cannot say how very inspirational your film was for my mother, my sister, and I. Our lives have been so utterly changed, so touched. Tears came to our eyes. I swear, I heard the oven sob.
You guys are AWESOME!
Posted by rika | November 8, 2004 10:09 AM
Carrot frosting
Posted by Anonymous | November 26, 2008 12:29 PM