The Newest Cake Fad

Wow....so it's true huh?

Even a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut huh?

Let me back up.

In my Twin Cities area, we have 2 newspapers.

#1 is the StarTribune which is located out of Minneapolis. This paper wins journalistic awards every year and is thought to be one of the last prestigious newpapers in America.

I believe they are just one of 4 papers that still carry a "book" section.

Their "Taste" section also wins prizes every year, and instead of just grabbing recipes off the A.P. wire, they actually have a team that consists of an editor, restaurant critic, event writers and a baking department that releases "How To" videos, in an attempt to give their readership confidence when placing masterpieces in the oven.

#2 is the Pioneer Press. You know it's not my style to be negative....but this is the Saint Paul based paper. When Klecko moved into the (651), for the first couple of years he wanted to support the hometown rag, but after a short spell...this became hard to do.

First off, Klecko has no love loss for the woman who heads up their "Food" section, I could tell you story after story about my dealings with her, but maybe I'll save that for a future post.

However, times might be tough for the Capitol City publication. during the last 3 months, they have been dropping off free newspapers at my doorstep Thursday through Sunday.

I am not aware of this marketing strategy, I'm guessing that they are trying to seduce me with their product.

Truth be told, I still buy the "Strib" even on the days I get the St Paul freebie.

However, yesterday I took a section from the Pioneer's Sunday edition to line the Chihuahua litter box located in my pantry and noticed that there was an artical about cakes in their "Local" section.

The artical was wonderful, informitive and then I had to chuckle thinking..."Sure,probably because it wasn't written by one of their food writers."

The story was about "Reveal Parties", and I don't know.....maybe you guys have heard about these, but in a way...I am so embaressed that I havent, because its my job to know my industry, and this is news to me.

Basically this is how it works.

You are a pregnant woman, you go in for your ultra sound.

When the medical staff determines your kids sex, you hand them an envelope, the staff writes the kids gender down on a peice of paper, inserts it into an enevlope, and that envelope is brought to the village baker who in turn will bake a cake that has a gender neutral frosting.

So now you have a big party, invite a million people, and then mom pushes a knife through the cake, when the first wedge is removed...you guessed it, its either going to be pink or blue.

The artical said that the Dorothy Ann bakery in Woodbury Minnesota has been making these cakes since 2010, and word of mouth has turned this novelty into a certified tradition.

Anyways, I am happy to say that for the first time I can recall, the Pioneer Press beat both Klecko and the Strib to the punch on a topical baking story....well done guys.