Jennifer Steinhauer on Birthday Cakes

"While there is an argument to be made for the aesthetic pleasures of a bakery cake — all those gorgeous piped roses and fondant images of Hello Kitty so perfect that they are probably copyright infringement — there is really nothing better than a homemade cake. Even if the layers are lopsided, the frosting a bit gritty or thickly plastered to camouflage baking sins, homemade cakes are generally moister, denser and dreamier than their bakery brethren." — Jennifer Steinhauer, NY Times Magazine 3/19/06