Last Cake, Next Cake

The Catalan pinch cake was not a unanimous hit with the bakers. Raymond gamely gave it a true, although he said that when he read the recipe, his first reaction was, "Yuck. Why would anyone want to make this?" Then he reported that it looked unappealing and tasted unappealing. Vicki, as of this writing, has tried the recipe twice, and is determined to get it right on the third time. Her first she described as a "Catalan pinch meteor crater cake" and her second as "even naughtier." You've got to give her a gold star for perseverance. But Gartblue thought it was a "pleasant, light cake" that you can even eat for breakfast. What's not to like about a breakfast cake?

The FEATURED BAKER this week is Faithy, who not only loved the cake, but also made really adorable little pinch cakelets (pinchlets?) in cupcake pans--each with parchment wings.
She also has a stunning picture of the cakes in the oven (which, I must say, looks admirably clean). I'm pretty sure that I remember reading someplace that these pinch cakes are often sold in Spanish bakeries as individual cakes wrapped in parchment, so either Faithy read that too, or she just thought it up on her own.
Faithy, who lives and bakes in Singapore, is amazing. She started baking only a year ago, after getting a new oven, and she has poured herself heart and soul into her new avocation. She's absolutely fearless, and loves to tweak recipes to suit her taste. (Remember, Faithy is the one who made the pumpkin cake into her 20th anniversary cake covered with white fondant). She had no misadventures while baking this cake except that a mosquito bit her leg while she was standing around for the 20-minute mixing period. By the mention of the word "mosquito" at the end of November, it's pretty obvious that she doesn't live in Minnesota.

Next week is the Pure Pumpkin Cheesecake, and I'll tell you ahead of time that it's excellent! I hope you give it a try.
If you're planning on making the fruitcake, you might want to start thinking about soaking the fruit in rum because the rum-soaking period is supposed to be about a week.
I'm going to be gone this week (Thanksgiving in Las Vegas!), so won't answer any email until next week. We're going to be eating Thanksgiving dinner at Tom Colicchio's Craft restaurant, Las Vegas branch.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Whether or not you make the pumpkin cheesecake, I hope that your Thanksgiving days will be filled with good fellowship and good food--especially good food.