November 26th is National Cake Day

If you're looking for something to do today then forget the candles... it's National Cake Day!

This isn't a birthday cake, dang it!

But let's get right into celebrating National Cake Day!

Why is this a holiday?

Well, think about it... how many celebrations do you have where a cake is baked, as part of that celebration? I mean, almost everyone gets a birthday cake and what wedding doesn't have a cake? But those celebrations are all about other people, not the cake! You poke holes in it for candles and figurines, you write all over it with icing and then you massacre it... yeah, I've seen what babies do to cakes! Well, today is a day just for the cakes. We appreciate your sweetness and, if you don't mind, we're going to need to eat you.

But even though I'm sure most of you know what a cake is, I'm going to open your eyes a little farther. Sure, it's pretty much like a sweeter and less dense bread that is often covered in a frosting, but there are many types of cakes out there. There are sponge cakes, butter cakes and yeast cakes, but a cheesecake really isn't a cake. And let's not forget the lovely creations called cupcakes, cake balls and cake pops.

But did you know that there is a special type of flour made just for cakes? It has a higher starch-to-gluten ratio because it's made from really fine, low-protein wheat. And if you're making a cake from scratch, you want to use this kind of flour, otherwise your cake might be too dense. You don't have any? Well then, replace a little bit of the flour with cornstarch or deduct two tablespoons of flour, per cup used. Or you just go with it, because some cakes are supposed to be dense!

And now you're not so dense, when it comes to flour!

So, how can you celebrate today?

Oh come on, you know how! When dealing with food holidays, the first option is always to head to a restaurant, order a nice meal and be sure to get the celebratory food in the process. In this case, you'll end up with a nice cake for dessert. And for you sly buggers out there, you can go ahead and try to pull one over on the restaurant and embarrass someone you're eating with by telling the waiter that it's their birthday. And if you get caught being a little sneaky sneakster, then you can just say that it's the cake's special day and enjoy the confused look on their face.

But, some of you are going to want to make your own dang cakes... because you're awesome! So get to searching for recipes or make your own, but either way you're going to need some ingredients. And you know, you can be that awesome person that brought cake into work today just because... just because you want to celebrate National Cake Day, of course!

But think of all the interesting combinations of cake you can come up with today. How do you think a cake with lemon lime soda and lemon and lime zest in it would taste? What about a layer cake with peanut butter frosting between one layer and jelly between another layer? The possibilities are really endless, when it comes to cake!

Have a great day and enjoy your cake... yes, that means you can eat it too!