Triple Layer Parsnip & Cranberry Cake

This cake was exactly what 2020 needed.

I won't lie, it has been a tough year and we were going into Thanksgiving 
with a holiday which would look like no other Turkey Day before. 

With less folks and less fanfare, I didn't really need to create a 
celebration of a cake like this one - albeit it was this week's selection
 for the cooking group "Cook the book Fridays". 
While it may appear tone deaf with the chaos around us to focus on a cake, 
participating in the online blogging group, getting a sweet comment from 
delightful Dorie herself, keeping the routine of blogging and posting 
when all of the rest of routines seem upended, and of course thinking of 
my mother as I search for an offset spatula and find that I now have 
hers....makes this much more to me than simply baking a cake.

And for that I am very, very THANKFUL.


Another treat from this recipe is the add on for the sugared cranberries.
 Seriously, these were a revelation in my house. Simple syrup and then sugar 
added to these tart berries turned them into a delicious and complex sweet treat.

In addition to my plans to incorporate this cake into future Thanksgiving 
meals, I will be buying extra cranberries to ensure I can have this
 treat added to cheese boards throughout autumn and winter. 
Fabulous.

This post follows my progress cooking each recipe 
from Dorie Greenspan's "Everyday Dorie" along with those participating 
in the online group www.CookTheBookFridays.Wordpress.com 
We do not publish recipes as policy but instead encourage folks 
to buy the book and join in the fun.

Comments

  1. Amen to everything in this post. Sending you love. Bake on among the chaos. XO

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  2. You are summing up the sentiment of 2020 so well, including the part about Ro, whom I miss whenever I participate in the group bake. Yes, I'm surprised how a simple syrup is turning the cranberries into some pops of sweetness that'd go well on a holiday or cheese spread. Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

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  3. your mum's spatula did a fabulous job helping you decorate-- your cake is beautiful! it was nice to bake something special, even if it was just a thanksgiving for two for us this year. xoxo

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  4. Your cake turned out beautiful. I am glad that you were able to have some fond thoughts while baking . My mother is 'with me' in the kitchen always. Happy Thanksgiving.

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  5. Oh I just loved your post Tricia! It has been such a strange year, and now a strange holiday season...and yes, this cake did seem extravagant but maybe what we needed for a time like this. It screamed celebration and made us happy. Yours looks beautiful ..and I am thankful for your sweet memories of your mom. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  6. I loved your blog post and the sentiment that went with it. Well said, my friend. Holidays and birthdays will always be extra tough but those first ones are hard, very hard. I did bake the "gigantic" version of this beautiful and delicious cake but gave it to The Gant front desk personnel for their Thanksgiving. dinner. (They had to work on the holiday.) What I did do is bake 18 little mini bundt cakes. I didn't even think of slicing them in two and filling them with sauce per Mardi's idea, I just made the sauce to pour over the top. (I was thinking only in thirds.) I had cute little boxes and containers for the cake/sauce and delivered them to all my friends in the Valley I knew were alone. It was a good project for the holiday. I was alone, for the first time ever, and this made me feel good , useful and got me through the day. I tried carrots instead of parsnips for these little babies. They were pretty tasty but next time I will cut the bundts in half and fill with the cranberry mixture. Day by day, Tricia. Just take these holidays, day by day. Sending love. Stay safe.

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