Throwback Thursday: Dudley Bakes a Cake

BAAAAAAAAAAAAKED GOOOOOODS!

This baby has kicked my normally endearing-yet-controllable craving for carbs into high gear. I dream of pies. Muffins. Cupcakes. Bread. Sweet delicious croissants! (pauses to wipe drool off keyboard) It's gotten pretty bad.

So I'm attempting to fill the void with literature. Never far behind my baked goods cravings are memories of one of my favorite childhood books, Dudley Bakes a Cake by Judy Taylor.

The story itself has a sort of Winnie-the-Pooh vibe as it follows the endeavors of a dormouse to create a culinary confection that will win the county fair baking competition. The quaint charm of the story is surpassed only by the adorable illustrations by Peter Cross. Details abound of mischievous rabbits, sneaky bees, and all matter of frolicking furry field folk as they take their day at the fair. But my favorite illustrations (in addition to showing Dudley's messy kitchen that reminds me of my own) is seeing the magnificent would-be carrot cake that Dudley bakes, slathered in pink icing that looks like, as he puts it, "pink snow". However, the cake proves to be anything but ordinary, and by the time the competition is over, it's been a very interesting day for everyone!

If you're looking for a book that's sweet as pie, check out Dudley Bakes a Cake from your local library or used bookstore, as the book is no longer in print.

Somehow this image of a gigantic cupcake with its pink icing has come to represent all party-related baked treats to me. It's the first think I think of when I set out to make a cake and there's always a small part of me disappointed when it doesn't look like Dudley's cake (not to mention that it's never three times the size of me!) This cake is just the quintessential cake to me. 

Fair warning: the next few reviews will likely have a food theme. Got a book that makes your mouth water? Post it in the comments!