My birthday was almost a month ago. 30 days to celebrate turning 30. Every weekend for the past 4 weeks or so has had a portion of a day dedicated to celebrating with different friends and family, in Cayman and here in Philadelphia. Dinners, balloons and champagne. A gloriously massive chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache, cookies, lemon cake and more.
To cap off the birthday month I made a cake of my own. A cake to celebrate my birthday, a day I share with Joey Lawrence and my dear friend Drea. Drea and I share a great many things: a birthday, a middle name and a love of Terry Gross to name a few. Drea loves fruit in her desserts, I love a layer cake. We both love Mexican dresses – our 2012 birthday cake was born.
Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Mousseline Buttercream and Strawberry Rhubarb Compote.
Strawberry Rhubarb Compote
3/4 pound (about 2 large stalks) of rhubarb, trimmed, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch chunks
1 1/2 pounds strawberries, hulled and quartered
3/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, zest and juice
Put aside 1/2 a pound of strawberries. Combine all remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Cook, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the liquid has reduced and thickened – about 5 minutes. Take off of the heat and let cool. Mix in reserved strawberries.
Spread the sauce between cake layers or serve over ice-cream. Spoon over pancakes or serve along side angel food cake with whipped cream.
I loved this cake. I pick apart every cake that I make – I make a mental list of what I would change the next time I bake. Tweak the design,more buttercream here, less sugar there. Not this cake. This cake was just right. The compote soaked into each of the 6 layers, almost completely marrying with the cake. The mousseline buttercream, my favorite kind, airy and silky, a miracle of meringue and butter.
I love Mexican dresses for the embroidery and the color. When I spy one in a vintage shop, it is very difficult to resist. They make me smile. And this cake picks up on what I love about them. The patterns are at the same time symmetrical and riotous. Full of color and joy and love. Happy Birthday to me!
Heavy Cake 
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