Meat Cake

Some people have too much time on their hands (and what fun would the world be if that were not the case).

The Meat Cake that started the discussion.

And some inspired followers.

Ann,

That meat cake is a beautiful damn thing. I oogled it several times today, and have decided that this is what I want for my birthday meal next year. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of traditional old sweet cake, so this dinner cake would be perfect for me...plus, I like the jokey aspect.

Thanks for bringing this marvelous culinary creation to our attention,

Hammond

While my birthday cake this year was not actually made of meat, it did look like meat!

Holy Moly! Standing rib roast of cake. The full story, please.

One of my friends loves baking cakes, especially if it involves more than just decorating a sheet cake. Since we were going to the Horseshoe bar to celebrate my birthday, she decided to go with the smoked meat theme and make a ham cake. Turned out pretty good!

Kind of reminds me of something that used to be a staple of ladies' parties, but which I haven't seen in ages -- the sandwich loaf. A loaf of bread gets sliced lengthwise, and various fillings -- usually ham salad, chicken salad, vegetable salad -- make up the "icing" between the layers of bread, and the whole thing is "iced" with cream cheese. Anyone else remember sandwich loaves?

Cream cheese has the advantage of being easily colored and piped, so one could decorate a sandwich loaf to look exactly like a "real" cake. Which is why, about 20 years ago, when my dad was on Atkins or Stillmans or one of those protein-only diets, I made a meatloaf birthday cake and iced it with cream cheese, just like one of the old-fashioned sandwich loaves, with pink roses and green leaves and all the other frippery one expected on a birthday cake.

So if people try the meat cakes, while the mashed potato icing and catsup glaze look fine, you can make it even more deceptive with cream cheese.

I love it! I've got to try that for hubby sometime.

Hi,

I made a sandwich cake for my Aunt's bridal shower when I was 11 or 12 years old. I remember the local baker checking us out when we ordered green bread.

I was at a birthday party for an 85-year-old woman a few years ago. Her daughter served two sandwich cakes purchased locally at Don's in Lake Forest. It was a real ladies who lunch experience of another era. I think she paid $40 each. Too bad it was before I hauled a camera everywhere I go or before I ever dreamed of photographing my food.

Don's Finest Foods
850 North Western Avenue
Lake Forest, IL 60045
847-234-2700

My mother used to make frosted sandwich loaves all the time, which she served on glass plates that had a molded holder for a cup of tea or punch. We never used green bread though, always just wheat and white. And although my mother always made all our bread, for sandwich cakes she ordered sandwich loaves from the bakery, unsliced so she could slice them horizontally. The fillings always included egg, ham, and chicken salads.

There's a photo here.

Ann,

Your linked photo looks very much like what Don's sandwich loaves look like.

If I made a sandwich loaf today, I would buy the bread from a Japanese bakery. They make those perfectly squared off loaves that would be perfect for this application, though ordered unsliced. I remember we trimmed off a lot of bread to achieve the square look the Japanese have from the get-go.

I have those molded plates with the tea cups ready for such an occasion. Regretfully I have never used them. I'll take a shot tomorrow morning and edit it in.

Now do we have to have our little finger extended when we sip the tea?

Regards,

for those lucky enough to own a copy of Amy Sedaris's I Like You, turn to page 62 for a gorgeous salumi concoction

My dad (buddyroadhouse) is a breakfast food fiend- his birthday's actually tomorrow and today we went over for brunch because my mom got him a professional-grade waffle maker; he said it was the best present he ever got.

Anyway, a couple years ago, told my mom he wanted a cake that looked like a stack of pancakes. My mom is a brilliant baker, and she managed to make a cake with ridges on the side to make it look like there were layers of pancakes, I think she used real maple syrup for icing and had a pat of butter on top. It looked just like a stack of pancakes and tasted pretty close, too.

Cynthia wrote:Kind of reminds me of something that used to be a staple of ladies' parties, but which I haven't seen in ages -- the sandwich loaf. A loaf of bread gets sliced lengthwise, and various fillings -- usually ham salad, chicken salad, vegetable salad -- make up the "icing" between the layers of bread, and the whole thing is "iced" with cream cheese. Anyone else remember sandwich loaves?

Cream cheese has the advantage of being easily colored and piped, so one could decorate a sandwich loaf to look exactly like a "real" cake. Which is why, about 20 years ago, when my dad was on Atkins or Stillmans or one of those protein-only diets, I made a meatloaf birthday cake and iced it with cream cheese, just like one of the old-fashioned sandwich loaves, with pink roses and green leaves and all the other frippery one expected on a birthday cake.

So if people try the meat cakes, while the mashed potato icing and catsup glaze look fine, you can make it even more deceptive with cream cheese.

These are so not my thing! Five years ago, when my friend and I were in college at the time, attended a luncheon held by the Northshore alumnae chapter of our sorority. We were really surprised that the main course was cake. Then we took a bite of this, and were totally repulsed.

Pucca wrote:These are so not my thing! Five years ago, when my friend and I were in college at the time, attended a luncheon held by the Northshore alumnae chapter of our sorority. We were really surprised that the main course was cake. Then we took a bite of this, and were totally repulsed.

Did you know what you were eating before you took your first bite? See, I think there's a conceptual hurdle to get over (obviously), and if you're expecting sweet and get meat you're not going to be happy. If you know it's meat going into it, that would seem to make the first and subsequent bites much better. I'd definitely like to try a slice of this cake; I like meat loaf.

David Hammond wrote:Did you know what you were eating before you took your first bite? See, I think there's a conceptual hurdle to get over (obviously), and if you're expecting sweet and get meat you're not going to be happy. If you know it's meat going into it, that would seem to make the first and subsequent bites much better. I'd definitely like to try a slice of this cake; I like meat loaf.

I like meatloaf too, but this is very different. No, we didn't know what we were eating beforehand, but even after we learned what it was, it didn't help or make it any more appetizing to us. I'm not a huge fan of overly creamy stuff. The salads in the loaf were really mushy. I felt like I was eating cat food with bread and cream cheese.