Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2025!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are sixteen years old today!

Sixteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog by turns fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, enriching, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party! This year I am virtually serving Julian Angel's Blueberry Cake with Lemon Curd with a glass of iced rose-matcha from Emily Laurae! Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, "OH, BY THE WAY!"

Christmas Cakes 2024

Candy Cane Christmas Cake from Curly Girl Kitchen

Gold and Green Christmas Tree Cake from Curly Girl Kitchen

Sugared Cranberry Orange Rosemary Cake from Must Love Herbs

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2024!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are fifteen years old today!

Fifteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog by turns fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, enriching, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party! This year I am virtually serving a delicious pistachio cake from Jules at Bonni Bakery.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "OH, BY THE WAY!"

Holiday Treats 2023

Cakesicles from Marrie's Custom Desserts, Perth, Australia

Cakes by Ella's Creamy Creations, Pretoria, South Africa

Gingerbread Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting
by Lindsay and Lauren at Pallas and Parchment

Gingerbread Sheet Cake with Frosted Maple Syrup Cookies
by Jenn Davis of Two Cups Flour

White Christmas Cake with Cranberry Orange Filling and
Whipped White Chocolate Ganache Frosting from
Traci and Caylie Crossland at Baker's Table

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2023!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are fourteen years old today!

Fourteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. This year I am virtually serving a gorgeous cake topped with incredibly realistic buttercream flowers from Atelier Soo in South Korea. Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OBTW!

Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2022!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are thirteen years old today!

Thirteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. This year I am virtually serving a gorgeous cake from Sigita at the fantastic Fern Cakery In Ireland...it's a pistachio sponge with homemade passion fruit curd and white chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. Help yourself to a slice...with or without extra crushed pistachios for topping!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OBTW!

Holiday Cakes 2021

BEAUTY: Porcelain--Jacqueline Tse

Sculptor Jacqueline Tse created her Death By Sugar series in unglazed porcelain without any color because, as she says, "I find color very visually addictive, especially colors on smart phone screens. In the current fast pace digital world where we are constantly bombarded with messages of consumption throughout social media, I wanted to pull away from that distraction so the viewer can be present and focus on the details and form. Hiding behind the enchanting sugar surface are subliminal messages against the over indulgent contemporary society, and how I fell victim to this disease. To bring awareness that our desire for consumption is an escape from ourselves and inner truths. These works are fueled by my personal love-hate relationship with sugar and part memento mori. It is an ode to my obsessive and indulgent nature, childhood nostalgia, love of pastry arts, frustration, and ultimately, acceptance of my addiction to sugar."

https://www.jactse.studio/

Terrazzo Chocolate and Black Sesame Cake

Regular readers may recall that one of my careers is as an interior designer and I am always sourcing flooring material for remodeling projects. A very old style of floor that was popular, fell out of favor, then came back only to fall out of favor again, and now seems to be back for another round is a flooring material called terrazzo.

The form of terrazzo used today derives partly from the 18th century pavimento alla Veneziana (Venetian pavement), and then from the 1920s to the 1940s, it was used in the Art Deco and Steamline Moderne styles of architecture and design. It came back briefly in the 70s, and now it is seeing a resurgence in popularity once again. Terrazzo consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, and stone set into some sort of binder like cement which is ground smooth and polished. The fun part of terrazzo is the possible colors and shapes--using different colored stones and different sized chunks of marble allow for a great variety of presentation.

And Katrina Cho created a clever cake that pays homage to the construction of this traditional flooring. She uses a chocolate cake base, but I suppose you could use any base, really. She uses a buttercream frosting infused with a paste of black sesame to mimic the cement base. And then chips of white chocolate infused with food coloring make the terrazzo pattern.

 

Cake:

150g (1 1/2 cup) granulated sugar
220g (1 3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
100g (1 cup) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
240g (1 cup) full fat coconut milk or buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
100g (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
170g (3/4 cup) boiling water

Black Sesame Buttercream:

3 sticks butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp black sesame paste (store-bought or recipe below)

White Chocolate Terrazzo Chips:

10 oz white chocolate chips
food coloring of choice

Black sesame paste:

1/2 cup toasted black sesame seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp sugar

In a small food processor, combine sesame seeds, canola oil, and sugar. Blend until smooth and somewhat loose. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Make the cake:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13-inch cake pan with parchment paper.

Whisk to combine sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk to combine eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, and vegetable oil in a medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until a few clumps of flour remain. Stir in boiling water and mix until smooth.

Pour the batter into the cake pans and smooth out the surface with an offset spatula. Bake until a tooth pick comes out of the center clean, 25 to 27 minutes. Set the cake over a wire rack and allow to fully cool.

Make the buttercream:

In the bowl of a standmixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine softened butter, powdered sugar, salt, and black sesame paste. Mix on bowl until most of the powdered sugar has incorporated. Increase speed to medium and continue to mix until smooth and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrap down the sides when needed.

Make the terrazzo chips:

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Divide the chocolate into 3 microwave safe bowls. Add desired food coloring to each bowl and mix until you’re happy with the colors.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the chocolate into a thin later with an offset spatula. Allow the chocolate to firm up on the counter or in the fridge.

Once set, cut the chocolate into small and larger shards.

Assemble the cake:

Spread the buttercream over the cake into an even layer.

Arrange the terrazzo chips over the buttercream and gently press down to set.

Cut and serve.

You can find the original recipe here at Cho's site:

https://eatchofood.com/blog/2021/1/30/terrazzo-sheet-cake

And here are some actual terrazzo floors for your inspiration!