Hot Off The Press

Updates on shipping, shopping, and more

Nov 17, 2022

Cake lovers,

Wow, what a week. We had too much fun convening, dancing, and eating cake with so many members of the Cake Zine community at our Wicked Cake launch party in Brooklyn last Thursday. Thank you to everyone who came through and bought copies! We’ll be sharing film photography from the event very soon, including lots of portraits, so be sure you’re following us on Instagram.

If you purchased a Wicked Cake pre-order, it’s in the mail now! More copies are available online, and we think they’d make pretty great gifts, so buy them in time for the holidays now.

Death by Chocolate shirts are shipping out by the end of this week. The shirts are completely sold out. But…we’re considering a reprint. Let us know if you’d be interested in buying one by filling out this form.

There were four incredible cakes at our party last weekend, but easily the most colorful one was created by Madeline Bach. You may know her as Frosted Hag, maker of maximalist cakes frosted in glorious Technicolor, or as a gallery director and fine artist who leverages her aesthetic sensibilities to make whimsical cakes featured in the likes of the New York Times. Her chocolate pear cake with persimmon curd disappeared too fast for us to get a slice at the party, but if the crowds’ reaction was any indication, it tasted just as vibrant. Read on for her Just a Bite interview!

You’re making dessert. What is it?

I’m opening my freezer in the night…I reach for mint chip ice cream…the brand can be truly anything. I eat half of the pint in bed and wake up next to the other half melted :)

Someone is making you a dessert. What do you ask for?

Probably the above. But if they have any skill, I demand pignolia cookies or tiramisu.

You’ve transformed into a pastry. What are you and how are you consumed?

I’m a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake that’s tempting you in the Dunkin’ Donuts freezer. Specifically I am the special Thanksgiving Turkey shaped cake and I am consumed (after my candles blow out) with plastic forks at a chaotic party. Or, I’m a layer cake on display spinning slowly in a round glass case at your local diner, haunting you.

What fictional dessert scene will you never forget?

I LOVE the Sleeping Beauty cake and didn’t even know about it until I made one that looked like it and a friend showed it to me. It’s divine. At my old job where I wrote on cakes I got an order to pipe “I Love Meth” on a chocolate cake with a flower border. I’m unsure of the context, but it has stuck with me.

What is a baking hack you can’t live without?

I’m not too much of a hacker these days but I did just start using butter wrappers to grease my cake pans and it has truly changed the game….Of course adding vinegar to milk to make buttermilk, and then turning all purpose flour into cake flour with cornstarch if need be. My brain can’t handle logging on to TikTok so a friend sent me a piping bag hack that has been so useful: Using Saran Wrap and wrapping up multiple colors like a burrito and sliding it into the bag. Obsessed.

You developed a cake titled ‘Spirit Summoner’ for our Very Wicked Cake shoot. What inspired the cake? Have you ever had any ouija board experiences?

I was unsure of how best to make this cake WICKED, and then I was like wait, let’s have her sit on a ouija board. I love thinking of new objects to use as fake bases. The idea of a cake (typically representative of celebration, life, joy, whatever) on a ouija board (it’s giving death, or luck, or a nasty ghost, maybe even worse the devil) was just fun to me. I also think the design and layouts of ouija boards are really beautiful. I don’t mess with them though, my grandmother had a huge gorgeous wooden one that she got in Salem, Massachusetts (hellooooo). A few years ago I found it in my parents' attic and brought it to my LES apartment. When my mom found out I had it there she was like oh no girl. And took it away and I have not seen it since nor has she. I love to hear other stories about them.

Tell us about your cake for the Cake Zine launch!

I made a chocolate cake filled with poached pears, persimmon/anise/fennel compote, and pomegranate swiss meringue buttercream. This one was super colorful and I think had more of a circus witch vibe to it or evil clown. I NEED to poach pears more! Shout out to Farm to People for the gorgeous produce.

Follow Madeline on Instagram: @frostedhag

Speaking of Farm to People…we have a sweet discount code for y’all. The subscription-based grocery delivery service providing sustainably-grown produce directly from regional farmers to doorsteps offers customizable boxes, and even a special Thanksgiving collection with everything you need for a fall feast. Use CAKEZINE to get $15 off your first Farm to People order.