Birthday Cake or Pie?

[Pomai]

Everyone knows the tradition for birthdays is a cake.

IMO, cakes are boring, and sometimes just HORRIBLE. I don't care what it's filled with. The bottom line is they're usually simply sweetened bread (and often dry), and covered with sugar and shortening-based frosting so thick you need a bulldozer to scrape it down to a reasonably consumable level. All that frosting and fondant gives me the {{{{{{willies!}}}}}}

On the other hand you could have a moist and fruity pie, dripping with a glaze or some kind of cool custard, and encased by a nutty, buttery, crispy crust. So simple, yet it touches all the senses of flavor, temperature and texture. Now THAT's what I'm talkin' 'bout! If you ever come to my birthday (or other celebration), you're gettin' PIE, not cake!...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/348182691_65494ffd97_o.jpg
Pies from Sunny Side Bakery in Wahiawa

Sure, there ARE some great cakes out there, but even the greatest cake cannot TOUCH just a moderate pie, let alone a great one. Just no comparison, IMO.

How many of you have said to yourself, "I'd much rather have pie than this cake" on your or someone else's birthday or other celebration? Then you go on skipping the cake (no thanks), and just eat the ice cream?

So goes this bias-based start for a poll!

[nikki]

Yeah, I know what you mean... wow, great pics!

But, my fave is chocolate mousse cake. Chocolate cake layers with chocolate mousse filling... oh, it's heaven! The best I've had are Stillwell's Bakery and Mana Foods (Maui). My coworkers get that for me every year.

[tutusue]

As long as it's infused with dark chocolate I wouldn't care if it was an omelette!

BTW...I make a mean chocolate omelette filled with mint flavored cream cheese and fresh strawberries...AKA Breakfast Brownie!

[Surfingfarmboy]

I just celebrated a B-Day this month with an "Endless Summer" Pie from Johnson's Farmstand of Swansea, MA, that some fellow plowboys gave to me as a gift. An Endless Summer Pie from Johnson's is a fresh apricot, peach, and sour cherry pie. Incredibly good.

Pie over cake any day or occasion. Wish I could visit Anna Miller's for a slice of cherry...of course, only for the pie. I really don't think about the waitresses in their too-short Alpine-style get-ups when I'm there. Really! ;)

[woodman]

Oh yes, Pie!

Cake is mothing more than a big fat piece of bread.

If I want bread, I'll eat a sandwich.

Give me Pie for my b-day!

[cynsaligia]

a good cake is, generally, exceedingly harder to create than a good pie, and a good cake can go not-so-good quicker than a good pie can go not-so-good (unless it's a meringue).

i'd rather have a good cake than a good pie, but yes, bad cake is far, far, far--did i mention far? cause it's pretty darned far!-- more ubiquitous than bad pie.

lately, a lot of people i know have been buying costco cakes. costco does a wonderful rotisserie chicken, and maybe some fairly good pies, but cake? it's okay cake.

a good cake is hard to find. i'd daresay that most people have never had a good cake. this is proven, in my opinion, by statements in this thread comparing bread to cake. yes, bread is a precursor to cake, but the differences between the two are rather like the differences between bicycle and motorcycle. to say cake is merely a fat peace of bread is about as simplistic as it is to say "a motorcycle is just a noisy bicycle.".

a good cake takes a lot of skill and control over many different variables to be created. a good pie? not so much. even i, spaz-o-baking that i am, can make a a fairly decent pie any day of the week (similarly, i can bake a decent fudge brownie from scratch, but asking me to bake sugar cookies is like asking me to commit a crime--i just won't do it).

[Pomai]

Wish I could visit Anna Miller's for a slice of cherry...of course, only for the pie. I really don't think about the waitresses in their too-short Alpine-style get-ups when I'm there. Really! ;)Oh no, we believe you. The cherry pie, not the waitress. Maybe both? :D Happy belated birthday Randy!

Tutusue, I haven't had one of those "Breakfast Brownies" before, but it sounds interesting. Chocolate in an egg omelette is just way out there.

I recently tried a slice of Okinawan Sweet Potato and Haupia Pie from Uncle's at Pier 38 (next to Nico's)...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1046/1459982472_c19cee3933_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1459982472&size=o)
Okinawan Sweet Potato and Haupia Pie from Uncles @ Pier 38, $2.50/"slice"

Ono! Moist, with a buttery crispy crust, and the sweet potato and haupia layers complimented each other perfectly. Not too sweet... Jussss right (in the words of Rap). Ani's Bakery in Halawa also has a version of this, which I think is better, but this one is not far behind.

[scrivener]

I once had a very, very expensive piece of cake (it was during high school, and I can't remember what the occasion was, but I was hot for the honoree) and it was better than any pie or even ice cream I'd ever had. At least, my memory of it is.

But yes. While I think I'd rather have that cake over just about anything, it's THAT cake. Every other cake falls far, far short of even a decent pie. Give me a good Dutch apple, or a simple custard, or a nice spicy pumpkin pie any day. When I get married (ha!), I'm going to beg my wife to let us get a wedding pie instead of a wedding cake.

I make a pretty wicked Okinawan sweet potato pie.

[woodman]

I've had it with these cake supporters!

A good pie usually tastes as good as it looks, but cake usually tastes like exactly what it is, overglorified and oversized BREAD.

I suspect the cake lobby is behind all of these "pro-cake" posts, probably supported by big money from the cake & bread industry.

You'll have to do better than that. I can see you people coming a mile away.

Stop supporting the bread industry.

Boycott cake. EAT PIE INSTEAD!

[tutusue]

[...]Tutusue, I haven't had one of those "Breakfast Brownies" before, but it sounds interesting. Chocolate in an egg omelette is just way out there.
Think of it as a dense chocolate souffle!
I recently tried a slice of Okinawan Sweet Potato and Haupia Pie from Uncle's at Pier 38 (next to Nico's)...
Now, that's something I'd loooooove to try!!!

[nikki]

lately, a lot of people i know have been buying costco cakes. costco does a wonderful rotisserie chicken, and maybe some fairly good pies, but cake? it's okay cake.

Yeah, the taste and texture of Costco cakes are like institutional stuff... not worth eating, IMO.

[Erika Engle]

Sorry woodman, I'm not a member of any vast cake-wing conspiracy, but for birthdays, I'm a cake girl.

Chocolate dobash (always moist) and Chantilly cake are my favorites, though guava chiffon held the top spot in my heart for a few years.

That said, I do loves me some pie: Ted's Chocolate Haupia pie; the double-crusted banana pie at Flamingo*; pecan pie with whipped cream or ice cream; apple pie, similarly dressed (I never acquired the taste for apple pie served with a slab of cheddar cheese, though I know some folks can't enjoy their apple pie without it); peach pie; pumpkin pie; peanut butter pie (OMG!!! I tried and tweaked, with some mini chocolate chips, this recipe that Paula Deen got from a friend. Super rich. Find it on the Food Network Web site using the term Salter's Peanut Butter Pie.)

*The recipe -- or at least a similar one, is in "What Hawaii Likes to Eat," the new Muriel Miura/Betty Shimabukuro cookbook the Star-Bulletin is selling for $20 through Oct. 1. A portion of the proceeds goes to a nonprofit. I forget which one.

Oh -- and here's my monkey-wrench contribution to this thread:

CHEESECAKE :eek: :D

[Pomai]

Oh -- and here's my monkey-wrench contribution to this thread:

CHEESECAKE :eek: :DOooohhhhh... you had to go there.

Well, I hereby declare that Cheesecakes are NOT cakes! They're pies!

And I LOVE Cheesecake. Especially blueberry.

Once again, repeat after me:

CHEESEPIE

CHEESEPIE

CHEESEPIE

:p

[Erika Engle]

Oooohhhhh... you had to go there.

Well, I hereby declare that Cheesecakes are NOT cakes! They're pies! :p

Repeating after you, cheesepie, cheesepie, cheesepie ... :D

Should they rename the restaurant chain CheesePIE Factory? :rolleyes:

Somebody once brought in a pumpkin cheesecake, er, cheesepie to K59 around the holidays ... oh MAN that was scrumptious!

My favorite type -- aside from that pumpkin one -- would be a marbled type; marbled chocolate, mocha, etc. Fruit-topped types would come in below those on my preference list and raspberry would be totally excluded.

Monkey wrench yes, and sorry -- sorta.

Cheesepie cheesepie cheesepie ...

[Karen]

I'm a cake person, but we only have them in-house a few times a year.

There is Boston Creme Pie and when done well & the chocolate is truly like homemade fudge, OH YES! I am then, for a little while "a Pie person." :p

Cake...carrot cake with true spices and made from scratch is gourmet at its best. There's a million versions? of chocolate cake and many of them, when made from scratch are also gourmet.

Man, I gotta stop thinking like this and at least "visit" the eliptical, LOL. :eek:

[nikki]

Hey, who voted "neither one"? :p

[Random]

Meh. I just want one big honkin' slab of dark chocolate ... candy, that is. ;)

One friend of mine wants a birthday bibingka (kankanan). Another wants rice cake.

I'm not much of a [fruit- or veggie-based] pie man. I couldn't eat a slice of pumpkin pie in one sitting.

[Honoruru]

I'll take pies over cake any day. My favorites: lemon meringue, apple (with ice cream), and Anna Miller's fabulous strawberry pies. But I wouldn't turn down a good cake, especially if it's chocolate.

Cakes are prettier than pies, but I often feel they're more for show than taste. (Have you ever had a great piece of wedding cake?)

[glossyp]

I have to agree with ericncyn that most of the "cake is like bread" faction must only have had bad cake. Nonetheless, I would rather eat a slice of divine lemon merinque or triple berry pie any day. And don't even get me started on the sweet extravaganza that is pecan pie. We love pie; more pie, please!

[Pomai]

Cakes are prettier than pies, but I often feel they're more for show than taste. (Have you ever had a great piece of wedding cake?)Nope. Pass. And I've never been married, but when I do, like Scriv' suggested, if my wife-to-be approves, it's gonna' be PIE! A sloppy, wet, juicy, purple Blueberry pie that she can shove in my face and get all over my white Tuxedo. lol!

You ever watch the show "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network? Everything they make is basically a plain cake recipe (yes, yellow-colored sweetened "bread"), covered in colored Fondant. I think even Duff Goldman himself said he doesn't like the taste of Fondant. **Shivers**

I mean sure, a cake that looks like the first airplane I ever piloted would be cool, but would I enjoy eating it? Probably not. Just the "destruction" part would be fun (the first cut). :rolleyes:

[Honoruru]

My father was a baker. I used to watch him practice his decorating skills, using his old-fashioned piping equipment, creating flower petals, elegant scripts, and simple illustrations. For a baker, decorating a cake is almost as important (maybe more so) than the taste of the cake itself. This is why it's the number one medium for birthdays (you can write messages on the product); or weddings (the visual centerpiece of the celebration).

A pie, on the other hand, is a homemaker's masterpiece. It's meant to be eaten.

I admire a well-decorated cake. A lot of the new Japanese style (or Korean) bakeries create these beautiful cakes, so beautiful I feel guilty cutting into it. When I taste it, it's good ... but not so good that I don't have regret about destroying it. I think: I should have left it as is and enjoyed the sight of it. It is the ultimate eye candy.

Pies, on the other hand, always invite you to eat them ... by whatever means.

[cynsaligia]

I've had it with these cake supporters!

A good pie usually tastes as good as it looks, but cake usually tastes like exactly what it is, overglorified and oversized BREAD.

I suspect the cake lobby is behind all of these "pro-cake" posts, probably supported by big money from the cake & bread industry.

You'll have to do better than that. I can see you people coming a mile away.

Stop supporting the bread industry.

Boycott cake. EAT PIE INSTEAD!

dooooooood!

lay off the pie...or whatever it is you're ingesting or inhaling or injecting.

whatever's in your blood has apparently made you irrational, agitated and hallucinating about cake conspirators in the same way you are hallucinating about mobs of copper-thiefing, drug-selling/drug-buying, invasive species carrying oahuans overrunning the "neighbor" islands like locusts and turning them into honolulu (nevermind the fact that there are already parts of certain neighbor islands that have certain similarities to places like...oh, irvine, california).

those of you oahuans who want to try a gorgeously luscious cake, i suggest you try the valrhona chocolate cake from mariposa. it's absolutely heavenly accompanied by a glass of sherry or port, and it's definitely not a bread.

[woodman]

Sorry woodman, I'm not a member of any vast cake-wing conspiracy,


An obvious lie; why else would you post this:



... here's my monkey-wrench contribution to this thread:

CHEESECAKE

I just want to know how much the bread industry is paying you to post comments that defend cake.

[tikiyaki]

When I was a kid, My mom made me the classic Duncan Hines/Betty Crocker cake for my birthday every year. Chocolate Cake with Vanilla frosting.

I still drool when I think about it.

In later years, I grew to love white cake with white frosting...add the shredded coconut on top...even better.

Then there is RED VELVET (http://www.cnn.com/FOOD/word.of.mouth/sylvia/cake.jpg) cake, which is a newer favorite for me...especially when it has cream cheese frosting on it.

I'll take that ANY day of the week and LOVE it. Birthday cakes made in supermarkets with "buttercream frosting" are so sub-par to the ones mom used to make....I'll still eat them, but they just don't compare.

I like Pie too...but for birthday I want C A K E.

CAKE rules.

I want have my cake and eat it too, then I want a second and third piece of cake, which I want to also eat.

Can you tell I love CAKE ? :D :D :D

[tikiyaki]

Actually...

You ALL would ditch cake AND pie if you had a great Cannoli (http://famousfatdave.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/cannoli.jpg)

Due to your island location, these are probably as rare as Poi is in New York, but, I have to tell you...No Pie or cake can compare to a great cannoli.
Cannolis are the Rolls Royce of desserts.:D

Fairly easy to make too. All you need to find is the cannoli shells and make the filling.

3 cups Ricotta cheese (use the full fat kind)
1 1/4 cups Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Finely chopped candied
Citron (optional)
1/4 cup Semi=sweet chocolate pieces

I make these at Christmas time...and gain like 5 lbs because of it.

I've also had cake made with cannoli filling. Someone read my mind when they came up with that.

[cynsaligia]

tikiyaki, those of us on oahu can get cannoli at antonio's pizza (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Mar/19/en/en12a.html), run by a couple guys named Joe Tramontano and Anthony Romano. the article, written in 2004, says the cannolis are $2.99 but now they're $3.50 (i was just there for a bday party last weekend).

[Pomai]

Can you tell I love CAKE?I gotta' admit, those Drake's Cakes you sent me were really ono! But those are more like coffee cakes. Not Birthday cake, cake. lol

Per Merriam-Webster (http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cake) dictionary, the definition of:

Cake:1 a: a breadlike food made from a dough or batter that is usually fried or baked in small flat shapes and is often unleavened b: a sweet baked food made from a dough or thick batter usually containing flour and sugar and often shortening, eggs, and a raising agent (as baking powder)

Aha, see! It's a "breadlike" food. :p

Pie:1: a meat dish baked with biscuit or pastry crust — compare potpie 2: a dessert consisting of a filling (as of fruit or custard) in a pastry shell or topped with pastry or both

There's where the rules of this debate get blurred.

Can a pie really be compared to a cake? Well cakes and pies ARE usually showcased in the same place at the bakery, so choosing between the two is only natural.

Hmmm.... let's see... Chocolate Cake or Banana Cream Pie? You know my choice!

[cynsaligia]

Aha, see! It's a "breadlike" food. :p



sure, and grape juice is like a 1997 duckhorn merlot.



Hmmm.... let's see... Chocolate Cake or Banana Cream Pie? You know my choice!

great! that leaves more pieces of morton's molten godiva chocolate cake for ME to eat! thanks for your gallant sacrifice, pomai! :cool:

[scrivener]

tikiyaki, those of us on oahu can get cannoli at antonio's pizza...
I've been told you can get shells from R. Field, too, but I haven't confirmed this. I'm very interested in experimenting, if the shells are priced nicely.

[cynsaligia]

Actually...

You ALL would ditch cake AND pie if you had a great Cannoli (http://famousfatdave.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/cannoli.jpg)

Due to your island location, these are probably as rare as Poi is in New York, but, I have to tell you...No Pie or cake can compare to a great cannoli.
Cannolis are the Rolls Royce of desserts.:D

Fairly easy to make too. All you need to find is the cannoli shells and make the filling.

3 cups Ricotta cheese (use the full fat kind)
1 1/4 cups Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Finely chopped candied
Citron (optional)
1/4 cup Semi=sweet chocolate pieces

I make these at Christmas time...and gain like 5 lbs because of it.

I've also had cake made with cannoli filling. Someone read my mind when they came up with that.

I've been told you can get shells from R. Field, too, but I haven't confirmed this. I'm very interested in experimenting, if the shells are priced nicely.

very cool, tikiyaki & scriv! it just so happens i have a coworker who tried the cannoli at antonio's and wanted to get a recipe and find the shells.

[cynsaligia]

at eric's urging, i'm more pictures of some truly good cakes (he is also of the mind that anyone who thinks cake is glorified bread is not well-educated... gastronomically). pomai, i suggest you try these whenever you get the chance, because you've clearly never had what i would call a good cake. and expanding your food knowledge is always a joyful thing.

note: all these pics were from reid's onokinegrindz blog.

raspberry chocolate pyramid from jj's.

chocolate cake from grand cafe.

warm lilikoi pudding cake from mariposa.

i've heard that roy's does a really great molten chocolate cake (http://www.roysrestaurant.com/roysclassics.asp). i intend to try it and see how it compares to the one at 12th avenue grill (which i like) or the one at morton's (which i love).

for a less gourmand cake experience that is still relatively good, try dobash or chantilly at liliha bakery. or you can go to mary catherine's (http://www.cheapplacestoeatinoahuhawaii.com/foodblog/2007/09/14/mary-catherines-bakery-cakes/). i've had her cakes at several weddings, and i remember them being pretty good.

oh, and for the record? the question specifically asks, "birthday cake or pie?" i'm the one with the "you're thinking too hard about this" vote. if it's your birthday, you get to choose whether to have cake, pie, cannoli, froyo, a bar of xocolatl dagoba organic chocolate (http://www.dagobachocolate.com/shop/product.php?productid=4&cat=8&page=1), a variety of kankanen (http://asiarecipe.com/phidesserts.html), or even zenzai (http://mochi.blogs.com/happylife/2005/01/zenzai.html).

[Leo Lakio]

I recently tried a slice of Okinawan Sweet Potato and Haupia Pie from Uncle's at Pier 38 (next to Nico's)...
I make a pretty wicked Okinawan sweet potato pie.
Now, that's something I'd loooooove to try!!!
Miulang provided us with a fine recipe for this, so the AF has made it a couple of times. The non-Hawai`i folks just kinda looked at it with concern...which left more for the Hawai`i folks to devour.
repeat after me:
CHEESEPIE
CHEESEPIE
CHEESEPIE
:pThat would get my vote as well.

[Surfingfarmboy]

I have to add to my previous post to this thread, that besides the fruit pies which I enjoy so much at Anna Miller's, the all-time greatest slice of fruit pie I ever had was a memorable slice of gooseberry pie from the locally famous (in the Chicagoland area) Phil Smidt's Restaurant in Hammond, Indiana. I'm not sure if many of you know much about gooseberries, but in Hawai'i, the poha fruit comes pretty darn close to it. But to go on, Phil Smidt's gooseberry pie is the perfect contrast of sweet and tang, with just the right amount of spice. I may have to go back to Phil Smidt's someday, just for the pie. (I'm not a consumer of their other menu item which people come for miles around to eat: Phil Smidt's fried frog legs)

www.philsmidts.com

Bakers Square, a national restaurant chain that features dozens of different pies for dessert, similar to Anna Miller's (but alas, no cutie waitresses), once/may still have a boysenberry pie that was some ono.

Again, pie over cake any day, any occasion!

[scrivener]

Bakers Square, a national restaurant chain that features dozens of different pies for dessert, similar to Anna Miller's (but alas, no cutie waitresses)...
Well, then. Forget it.

[Pomai]

at eric's urging, i'm more pictures of some truly good cakes (he is also of the mind that anyone who thinks cake is glorified bread is not well-educated... gastronomically). pomai, i suggest you try these whenever you get the chance, because you've clearly never had what i would call a good cake.Ouch! Hey, be nice!

I'm referring to the typical birthday cake, like the kind you can custom-order at Costco. How often have you had a birthday cake that was Molten Godiva?

Even a basic $5 Apple or Pumpkin pie from Foodland has all the moisture and texture qualities that even the best cakes wish to have. That's my argument, and I'm sticking to it!

oh, and for the record? the question specifically asks, "birthday cake or pie?" i'm the one with the "you're thinking too hard about this" vote. if it's your birthday, you get to choose whether to have cake, pie, cannoli, froyo, a bar of xocolatl dagoba organic chocolate (http://www.dagobachocolate.com/shop/product.php?productid=4&cat=8&page=1), a variety of kankanen (http://asiarecipe.com/phidesserts.html), or even zenzai (http://mochi.blogs.com/happylife/2005/01/zenzai.html).Hey, I wouldn't talk. Look who's making so much effort in justifying CAKE!

Actually, to be fair, the pie has to have the proper physical attributes of a cake in order to be decorated like a cake. Cakes and pies are usually round an d cut into wedges for serving, but the top of a cake is sturdier, like for placing candles. With that, I'd go with the Okinawan Sweet Potato and Haupia Pie, as the Haupia top layer is firm enough for candles. Just gotta' make the whipped cream top layer thinner. A lemon meringue would never work as there's way too much whipped cream on top. Neither would a banana cream pie. A custard or pumpkin pie could work. I don't know about apple, as the crust wouldn't hold up the candles, unless you secured it with frosting.

Now I really am thinking too much about this. lol

Here's a molten chocolate cake (my ice cream had melted in the photo) I enjoyed at Washington Place by Chef Alan Wong...

http://www.96seven44.com/images/nalani75_chocolatecake.jpg

And yes, this was a birthday cake! Just prepared individually instead of of one big cake. How was it? AWESOME! See, I like cake too.. if it reminds me of pie! lol As advertised, it's filled with molten chocolate.

Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle...

http://www.96seven44.com/images/roys_waikiki_chocolatesoufflete.jpg

http://www.96seven44.com/images/roys_waikiki_chocolatesoufflete2.jpg

Almost identical to Alan Wong's in texture and flavor. Awesome of course.

[cynsaligia]

pomai--

okay, now that you've clarified, i'll lay off on the cake myself. i'm sorry for giving you an owie. :D it was this statement that i vehemently disagreed with:

Sure, there ARE some great cakes out there, but even the greatest cake cannot TOUCH just a moderate pie, let alone a great one. Just no comparison, IMO.

keep in mind i said this:

a good cake is, generally, exceedingly harder to create than a good pie, and a good cake can go not-so-good quicker than a good pie can go not-so-good (unless it's a meringue).

i'd rather have a good cake than a good pie, but yes, bad cake is far, far, far--did i mention far? cause it's pretty darned far!-- more ubiquitous than bad pie.


how many times have i had molten chocolate cake, or something similar, as my bday cake? almost as many times as i've had "regular" bday cake :D ... now that i'm of a certain age. :(

[Surfingfarmboy]

Well, then. Forget it.

It's not that the waitresses aren't cute, Mitchell; Bakers Square does have it's fair share of cuties. It's just the fact that their outfits aren't nearly as...as...what's the word I'm looking for...stylish..yeah, that's it...stylish..as the ones seen on the waitresses at Anna Miller's. ;)

[Leo Lakio]

Yes, but do they serve bagels? ;)

[oceanpacific]

I'm a PIE guy! Favorites, in no particular order, are:

CUSTARD (milky and eggy, not the bland corn starchy kind);
CHERRY;
STRAWBERRY (Anna Miller's);
HAUPIA CHOCOLATE (Ted's);
APPLE (cinnamon/nutmeg-laced);
APRICOT (Bakery Kapiolani).

Even one of my favorite cakes is called BOSTON CREME PIE! :D