March is another many birthdays month in the family, so I was able to try out 3 new cakes from RHC.  People are STILL talking about the Devil’s Food Cake.  When I told the recipient he could freeze it, he said “No way, I’m going to eat it all.”  The Lemon Meringue I turned into a Key Lime Meringue by substituting Key Lime juice and zest wherever lemon was called for—smashingly good.  Yesterday I made the Southern (Manhattan) Coconut cake with Silk Meringue Buttercream.  I told my 88 year old mother that the book said it was better the next day.  She could not wait. ate a huge slice,  and is still raving about how good it is.  I forgot to take photos. duh.  But, every cake I’ve tried from RHC has been amazingly good, surprisingly easy (though complex), and beautiful.  I’m a newbie at scratch cakes, and to have recipes that are logical and consistent have made this very enjoyable.  Can’t tell you how many flops I’ve had trying other people’s recipes…

Congratulations on your cake successes!  That collection includes some very diverse components, you must really be expanding your skills!  I think Rose’s books are great for that. 

The frosting for the coconut cake is my favorite all-time buttercream base, haven’t tried the coconut version yet, but it’s on my to-bake list!  I love the devil’s food, too, did you include the brandied cherries?

Too bad about the pics…

Congratulations on your success!  Keep baking and keep us posted.

Wow, what a string of successful cakes! Roses’ recipes make it so easy that we can all take pride in our cake baking. I look forward to seeing your photos in the future.

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me.  I’m also not quite familiar with the format here, but I’ll catch up. 

To Julie, who asked if I did the cherries on the Devil’s Food Cake—no.  I was not sure if the recipient (a dark-chocolate-for health person) would like them.  What I did was decorate the bottom edge with Valhrona Perles, like a string of fondant pearls, and then tossed some on the top randomly.  That was also a huge hit, a number of people wanted to know what they were and where to get them!  I’ve had so many requests to repeat that cake that I’ll be sure to do the cherries next time.

This is a great place to share successes and information.  Thanks for your support!
Ellen