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"Let them eat cake." A familiar phrase. Alas, poor Marie-Antoinette went to the guillotine during the French Revolution for her indifference to the needs of the population, but historians refute that the infamous remark was said by the indulgent queen. It was likely that Louis XIV's wife, Marie-Térèse, not the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, murmured the words many years before Marie Antoinette arrived in France for her marriage to Louis XVI. The phrase, "Let them eat cake," has been misinterpreted and misattributed over the years. Nonetheless, the quote was used as a rallying cry to end the French monarchy and to herald the creation of a new regime.

But, lest we cloud the role of cakes in history, we really need to focus on the more pleasant celebrations associated with cakes.

The intertwining of cakes and celebrations actually goes back to early times. The Greeks and then the Romans used sweets as offerings to to gods, for special occasions and for birthdays of emperors, all evident in archeological discoveries and in literature.

Initially, cakes were the privilege of the wealthy. The Germans are credited with honoring the infant Jesus with Christmas cakes in the Middle Ages and, by the 19th century, the British formalized the use of cakes to celebrate birthdays. Since then, cakes have been associated with a parade of celebrations – birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, to name only a few. The cake is the finale to many an event, most notably at the end of a wedding celebration. When the cake is cut and served, it often signals the departure of the wedding couple. Likewise, cake is the finale to many a birthday or special party. It is the time of blowing out the candles and the expression of good wishes. Incidentally, as we know, it was the French, with their great cuisine during the monarchy, who advanced culinary excellence. Tiered layers are their contribution to the wedding cake.

Dallas is fortunate to have so many outstanding pastry and cake makers. We cannot list all our favorites. Several bakeries for outstanding celebration cakes are several listed in our Source section on Sweets. Almost all our favorite bakeries make fabulous wedding cakes. One wedding cake standout is Frosted Art Studio and Bakery, whose pastry maker, Bronwein Weber, is a frequent Food Network guest and the winner of many awards. Jackie Spratt, Dallas Affairs Cake Company and Le Gateau Cakery are also enthusiastically praised for their wedding cakes – and not to the exclusion of their creative cakes for all occasions. Notable among our favorites for fanciful cakes are Tart and Chocolate Desserts by Zach Townsend.

Another specialty baker is Dunia Borga of La Duni Latin Cafe who has used the familiarity of her culture to bake the outstanding cuatro leches cake, for which she is well known. And, brides are frequent customers for her beautiful and tasty cakes.

We love the fabulous celebration cakes found at Celebrity Desserts, Central Market and EatZi's Market & Bakery, not only for outstanding quality but for ease of purchase. While each of these destinations happily takes special orders for cakes, their in-store offerings are always available to make an event or evening into an impromptu celebration. The convenience of stopping by to pick up a cake, such as EatZi's luscious chocolate oblivion cake, fits our hectic lifestyles. We love the availability of the smaller version "baby cakes," when the occasion calls for more intimate gatherings. Incidentally, have you noticed that the chocolate oblivion comes in a trendy "shooter" size.

Thinking of a smaller size, cupcakes have enjoyed a several year mania. Now, we can have our cake – and eat it in an individual size. We have Sprinkles and Dimples, both solely dedicated to cupcakes. Many of the afore-mentioned pastry shops have outstanding cupcakes, plus several others, such as Society Desserts and Tart, each of whom have legions of fans who claim their cupcakes are the best. We have mentioned that the TLC Channel has launched the series DC Cupcakes, featuring the sister partners of Georgetown Cupcakes as part to its season lineup.

We have hoped that the French Macaron, the meringue-based and disk-shaped confections in creative flavors and colors, would overtake the cupcake as the sweet snack. Instead, it appears that the cupcake may be infiltrating France. Even the august Paris tea house Ladurée, highly esteemed for its macarons, has started serving cupcakes. Other French patisseries, such as Pierre Hermé and Fauchon, are also well known for their macarons, but we are not yet up to date on their acceptance of the cupcake.

The French macaron is becoming more widely available in Dallas than it once was. Cordon Bleu-trained Samantha Rush has fabulous macarons as well as other wonderful cakes and pastries. Her Oak Cliff shop, Rush Patisserie, is a visual and gustatory delight. Please plan to invite a few friends for tea to honor a dear friend as an excuse, if one needs one, to serve the delectable macarons and some of Samantha’s petit fours. You will not mind the short ride to Oak Cliff if you have a few tasty treats to eat on the way home with your precious cargo.

For the home baker, we love the classic cookbooks of Maida Heater and Rose Levy Beranbaum, the author of The Cake Bible, which should be in everyone cookbook collection, and the more recent Rose's Heavenly Cakes. James Beard award winner Nick Malgieri has several cookbooks on baking, all worth buying. His Perfect Cakes is a treasure, as are the fabulous books by Pierre Hermé, mentioned above, who is considered the king of French pastry. Any of the mentioned books will certainly be the nucleolus of an important dessert cookbook collection. But, let’s not forget Martha Stewart, whose books on baking should also be part of everyone’s basic collection. Our excellent recommendations are included in our Source section on Classes and Cookbooks.

How wonderful for us -- celebrations will always be with us – for the new baby, the 4th of July and the retirement party. Think of the many celebrations that the image of a cake conveys and the memories of the events when they were served.

Enjoy! And find an occasion – or create one – to serve a cake.

Indulge us!
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