Hair of the Dog Cake and Baked Ultimate Birthday Cake - Baked Occasions

Happy New Year! I know that I disappeared for a few months and I do feel bad about that. It was during our family's busy time of year with everyone having a birthday and all the major holiday. When you have three young boys all those times get to be extra special and exciting, but they are a bigger deal to work through. Anyway, now I am back and I have some fun plans for the new year. The first one I plan to talk about today and that is baking my way through the Baked Occasions cookbook through the year.

I received this cookbook for Christmas from my sister-in-law a few years ago and have always thought it would be fun to try making the recipes throughout the year and celebrating all the fun holidays that are showcased in the book. I have not done it, however, until now. This may be my last year full-time at home with the boys and I can't think of a better time to do it than now. Hubby thinks I'm crazy, but he doesn't have the sweet tooth (or teeth) that I do either.

I have started out strong though with two recipes for January 1st, I actually made them yesterday so we would have time to try them and see how they were and I could update you on the correct date. Thankfully there are still leftovers to enjoy and celebrate with today. Since there were two full-size desserts to make for the 1st holiday I decided that instead of picking one or the other that I would make a half size of each dessert and we could decide which was our favorite of the two.

In the past, I have made the Baked Ultimate Birthday Cake twice before. As soon as Bear saw the picture of this cake in the cookbook he HAD to have it for his birthday, two years in a row. He is the king of sprinkles, the more the better, on cakes, on doughnuts, on ice cream, on cookies, or anything else he thinks they might work as a topping. He has helped to decorate the cakes and thinks that is pretty special. This time I was a little disappointed in how the cake turned out. Some recipes are not meant to be adjusted and this must be one of them. The icing still worked out great and tasted creamy and amazing, when the Baked icing works for me it is fantastic! The cake ended up more dense than usual and the sprinkles clumped together in the batter.

I would recommend making this cake because it is a wonderful cake, but I would make the full three-layer masterpiece and take extra time decorating to keep those sprinkles attached. When it works out the cake is light and not overly sweet. It is festive and fun for our children or the children in us. You can find the recipe on Baked Sunday Mornings and what other bakers thought about it here.

Unlike the Baked Ultimate Birthday Cake, I had never made the Hair of the Dog Cake or even heard of it until I had this cookbook. Then I read the recipe and I knew this would include several firsts for me. Cooking with alcohol is not something that is a habit of mine. I had never made a hot milk cake before, which is how this recipe was referred to as in the description. Also to top off the cake it has a broiled icing, which is new to me. Sometimes new things can be intimidating, but reading about these the didn't seem too crazy so I was up to the challenge.

The cake came together easily and baked well. Some other bakers who made this cake on the Baked Sunday Morning blog had issues with the icing running down the side of their pan when it pulled away with parchment paper. I opted to not use parchment and the icing stayed very nicely on the top of my cake. It bubbled and broiled until it was a nice golden brown on top. Unfortunately, it got a little bit burned toward the back where I couldn't see it as well. I served this cake with the whipped cream, but I did not add the alcohol to the cream. The cake was very similar to a coffee cake without the cinnamon. I did not get an overwhelming flavor of alcohol and thought that the flavor even improved today, on the second day. You can find the recipe and what other bakers thought of it on Baked Sunday Mornings here.

I am out of practice so I forgot to time myself when making these recipes.

Timing: Recipe States: not listed, My Actual Timing: I forgot to time myself.
Servings: Recipe States: Hair of the Dog Cake: 9 for half recipe, Ultimate Birthday Cake: 8-10 for half recipe, Servings For My Family: Same as listed
Leftovers: delicious


Family Ratings:
Me: I enjoyed both of these cakes and could have either one depending on my mood.
Hubby: He is not a fan of the Ultimate Birthday Cake, but enjoyed the Hair of the Dog Cake. He thought it was a very nice coffee cake.
Big Man: He liked the Birthday Cake best, and the Hair of the Dog Cake just a little.
Bear: The Bear did not like Hair of the Dog Cake, and still enjoys his "Sprinkle Cake."
Mr. T: The little one just decided to lick the icing and whipped cream off of his cakes. He preferred the "Sprinkle Cake" as well, probably because it had more icing.

Will I repeat: Yes and Yes

What will I change: I will make the full recipe of the Ultimate Birthday Cake.