Some people took up watercolors, others knitting. My 2020 hobby was making flower cakes. I sold them to friends and loose acquaintances on Instagram to make a little extra cash. A furlough led to a layoff, and in between applying for jobs, I busied my time learning how to shoot and edit TikTok videos, took dance classes on my laptop and made a lot of cake.
Ever the spend-thrift, most my decor came from the backyard - organic, never-sprayed florals, fruit tree blossoms and herbs. When the “business” started picking up, I drove to the now-shuttered Sugar Spun baking supply store in Berkeley for Fat Daddio cake pans, rolls of piping bags, cardboard cake circles and pastry boxes. Looking back, I definitely did not charge my customers enough.
A few of my favorite cakes:
I put down my spatula for a couple years, making a couple of cakes over the years for my brother and sister-in-law’s rehearsal dinner and my sister’s birthday in Syracuse. It wasn’t until attending last fall’s Cake Picnic that I considered making them again.
My offering for you today is a Meyer Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. This cake is excellent on its own - no frosting needed - perhaps a lemon glaze or a dusting of powdered sugar and a dollop of whipped cream. I have made it with both all-purpose flour and gluten free 1:1 all-purpose flour to great success. It’s a fairly standard olive oil cake, with sour cream to keep it from drying out. Meyer lemons are in season now and have a sweeter, gentler tang, almost like the cross between a tangerine and a lemon. They grow like mad around Oakland, and it’s not uncommon to see boxes of them on the sidewalk for neighbors to grab. You can find them at grocery stores around the U.S. around this time of year, including Trader Joe’s. If you can’t be bothered, you can also use regular lemons or half lemon/half mandarin zest and juice.
For the 30 minutes I spend decorating a cake, I am in a flow state. If you’re looking for a bit of flow right about now, may I suggest taking up cake?
A note on florals: I’ve included guidelines for working with flowers and botanicals below.
The Recipe
Plus a guide to decorating floral cakes
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