Meet the Dinner Party Cake.
Dessert, Sorted.
What’s the saying — necessity is the mother of invention? Make lemons out of lemonade? Get someone else to make dessert? Yes, that. That’s what I want to talk about today.
It all started because Dawn Casale had a problem. The owner of the beloved Cobble Hill bakery, One Girl Cookies and DUMBO’s breezy all day cafe Dawn’s till Dusk, was hosting a dinner party. But that wasn’t the issue. Dawn does dinner parties in her sleep; she had her menu planned and prepped, the table scaped, the mood lit, the playlist planned. The problem was dessert. Sure, her bakery was full of beautiful little cookies, frosted cupcakes and whoopie pies, scones, muffins, tarts and quick breads. But she wanted to serve cake, and the layered birthday cakes and wedding cake tiers her shop specialized in were not really suited to dinner with friends.
“The vision for the Dinner Party Cake line came from my own need,” Dawn admitted. “Sometimes when I host I don’t have time to make dessert, and I look at what I have at the shop and while the cookies are always great, I didn’t feel I had anything beyond that for dinner parties. If I wanted a simple almond torte or an olive oil cake I’d have to bake it at home, and I have a bakery! I didn’t want to have to bake at home!” The solution was The Dinner Party Cake ($50 for a nine inch cake), a new line of last course cakes and tarts that answers the call for what to serve (or bring) for dessert.
There are five cakes in the collection – almond, chocolate, and lemon olive oil, with two options that change with the season like summer’s fresh fruit custard tart, spring’s pavlova, and fall’s apple almond. All cakes can be dressed up with your choice of chocolate ganache, sea salted caramel, curds (passion fruit or raspberry) or whips (vanilla bean or fennel) to add a little gloss and glam.
What I love about these cakes is that they look great, taste even better, and they take the panic out of dessert – you have enough on your plate when you’re hosting dinner. Even Dawn outsources her desserts! You can too.
Her cakes are unfussy and beautiful on a plate and customizable so you can truly make them your own with a whip or a curd or just a dusting of confectioners sugar at home before serving. (Toss the box, everyone will think you made them yourself!) Isn’t this the best hack ever?
And as an added gift — Strong Buzz paid subscribers get 10% off Dinner Party cakes through July 31! Code after the paywall. Order your Dinner Party Cakes at One Girl Cookies here. 48 hour notice is preferred.
