February 10th will forever be a birthday of sorts. The birthday of my book. What does one do in celebration? Surely it will be different than birthday parties of yore, with the meal of my choosing, a round of duck-duck-goose, and an angel food birthday cake heaped with clouds of loosely whipped cream. A birthday party seems a bit premature. But a little birthday cake—a cupcake—was just the right thing with which say, I’m thrilled.

There is a settling immediacy to blogging. One writes, posts, and puts it out there, for all of the world to see. But it is different with a book. With a book you write, send it in, and then you wait. Wait for comments from your editor, who shows it to her team of people. You edit, she edits, you read, and reread, write some more, then send it back in. Write, read, repeat. There is a gentle to and fro, a collaborative working that occurs, and then—a book.

Now, I look at my book and when I thumb through the pages, a mess of feelings erupt inside of me. Of course there is pride. Being a reader for over 25 years, I am now so proud to consider my work sitting on someone’s bookshelf. Cooking and Screaming was a long time coming, with so many loved ones playing integral parts in my life—thus my story. But there is also a lot of trepidation, and a lot of anxiety. I have put my story out there for the world to read, and to judge, and I only hope that they enjoy what they find within the pages.

Woo! That was a bit serious! So, now what?

Oh yes, cupcakes! They’re good! And these little cakes were very good. The recipe comes from The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book, a compendium of old-timey recipes, the type that have been passed down through the generations, donated as part of a community cookbook, or won a state fair. I bought a copy at a used book store recently, and while going through it and dog-earing recipes, this one, for Burnt Sugar Cake with Burnt Sugar Buttercream Icing, was a stand-out.

A three-parter, with the recipe for burnt sugar syrup starting the whole thing off, this recipe is originally for a standard layer cake. Easily made into cupcakes (about 14), the cake was not too sweet, the perfect foil for the rich and sweet buttercream. I modernized the recipe a touch by adding fleur de sel crystals as a garnish, creating that salty-sweet combination that I love. And the crunch can’t be beat.

So make the cupcakes, and read the book, preferably together. I think that they made a pretty good combination.

Burnt Sugar Cake
from The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book

Burnt Sugar Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Spread the sugar in an 8- or 10- inch skillet. Cook undisturbed, over medium heat until the sugar begins to liquefy and color. Then begin stirring until desired color is reached, a deep caramel hue. Remove from heat, then carefully stir in the water, watching as sugar may splatter. Return to heat, and continue stirring until any remaining lumps have dissolved and mixture thickens slightly.

Burnt Sugar Cake

2 cups unbleached flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons burnt sugar syrup
¾ cup milk

Preheat oven to 350°. If making a cake, grease and flour two 9-inch pans, lining the bottom with parchment paper. If making cupcake grease and flour cups or line with paper cups.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a large bowl beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, creaming well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add alternately (three parts dry, two parts milk), the remaining ingredients. Spoon batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched in the center.

Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out on wire racks. Remove parchment from cake bottoms and cool completely. Frost when cakes are cooled completely.

Burnt Sugar Buttercream Icing

8 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons burnt sugar syrup
3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
fleur de sel (optional)

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the burnt sugar syrup until smooth. Add alternately blending after each addition (four parts sugar, three parts cream) the remaining ingredients. If necessary, add additional cream to make frosting spreadable.

Sprinkle with fleur de sel, if using.