Our little bake sale that could that left us with little sleep to live on for three weeks, in fact, made:

$7,136

Exceeding our $5K goal by more than $2,000!

WE DID IT, VANCOUVER!!! You raised all that in 2.5 hours.

In the beginning there were doubts of filling up the space and having enough bakers to provide the goodies. It was down to the wire as they signed up following strict guidelines and tight deadlines.

Everything came together in the end: we had a long line of eager sweet-toothed patrons before we could even open our doors to the public. Our bakers wowed us with a spectacular array of baked goods and treats, our generous sponsors provided their amazing services and even more baked goods and prizes to raise dollars, and our dependable volunteers put on their warmest smiles and practiced utmost patience to instill some sort of order among the 650+ strong band of supporters from the Lower Mainland.

Our initial concern of how to bring in the crowds, turned into crowd control. At the last minute we secured clickers/counters to help adhere to occupancy rules at the Roundhouse Centre. As for the food, we ended up having  to assure everyone that there is enough food by the time they get inside.

Amazing!

I do believe in the good in people. I believe that if you give the community the opportunity to help in a way that is meaningful and exciting to them, it will step up. And Vancouver…leaped! For a city that is sometimes called clique-y, we can all work together for a great common cause. A city inundated with oft petty “complainers” flocked and lined up patiently for almost an hour, in the cold, and under the drizzle of the Pacific Northwest’s spring weather. This is progress.

Vancouver, you slay me with your warmth, generosity, support, kindness, and enthusiasm. The Roundhouse Community Centre was the place to be last Wednesday and it’s all because a lot of you showed up. Imagine that.

Sweet-teeth from all ages. And there's my partner-in-crime, Melody Fury of GourmetFury.com, ready with her paper bag!

Melody and I could not be more proud. We all did it. We worked together and something good happened.

THANK YOU.

And let’s not stop here. What could we do next? :-)

[All photos were taken by Gourmeted-Dad!]

March has whizzed by. April is beginning to blur . It has been a very busy springtime.  As I’ve mentioned earlier, we’re organizing Bake For The Quake, an event where  bakers, collaborative sponsors, and the supportive Vancouver community come together to raise funds for Japan. There’s no question it’s almost like a second job to organize a charity bake sale event and I won’t even pretend for a second that we know what we’re doing, but we are doing the best we can. Just a couple of days ago there was a strong aftershock that rocked Japan at 7.1 magnitude on the Richter scale, with a few fatalities. Now more than ever, they need our help. So we continue to work hard for this cause. If you’re able and so inclined, please consider donating directly to our fundraising page (it will automatically go directly to Doctors Without Borders). We would also appreciate your help in spreading the word — you might have a friend or family here in Vancouver. Every tweet, link, and word passed along helps. Ah, and we have printable posters for download that would be perfect for posting at your local cafe spot, restaurant, community centre, school, or local community board — just ask for permission first before putting up. :)

Before these all happened, I signed up for an Introduction To Pottery course at the local Shadbolt Centre for the Arts — what this really means is that my schedule for the next 2 weeks is f*****d a balancing act of fragile porcelain. The first class was 3 nights ago and wow, was it ever a humbling experience to make what resembles like mere child’s play:

It doesn’t help that I was practically brain dead from exhaustion. It was a good 3 hours of fortitude, with my patience being counted to the minute. My classmates were a funny bunch, so that is definitely a plus.

I’m not even sure why I’m sharing these embarrassing items to you, but I’m hoping that in a few weeks time, just like when I started cooking, baking, and taking photos, it will eventually become better. One just have to stick with it long enough to make progress.

So while my pottery skills leave a lot to be desired or emulated, this Pound Cake recipe by Dorie Greenspan, is true to it’s name: it is perfection. No tweaking necessary.

I couldn’t ask for anything more after a long day if I’m looking for a non-alcoholic happy hour. Pound cake + tea = instant relaxation. Its soft crust and moist buttery cake goes well with jam. Or if it’s that kind of day, even vanilla bean and dark chocolate ice cream.

If you’re looking at your calendar and you have a busy week ahead, my best advice would be to make this on a Saturday and keep it for the week to nibble on. It will last at room temperature for 5 to 7 days and even those tight deadlines and running around like a chicken without a head would melt in an instant as soon as you take a bite of this.

DORIE’S PERFECTION POUND CAKE
Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2006)

A tender buttery cake with a soft crust to banish a stressful day. This delightful cake will keep for up to a week at room temperature and is lovely to eat with jams and even ice cream.  - Joy

Yields: one 9”x5” or 8.5”x4.5” pan

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (or 2 1/4 cups cake flour – creates a more tender crumb)
• 1 teaspoon baking poder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven at 325°F with the rack positioned at the center of the oven. Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan or an 8.5″ x4.5″ loaf pan with butter. Place the pan on an insulated baking sheet or 2 stacked baking sheets.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Continue until mixture is pale and fluffy, about a full 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle, and reduce the speed to medium.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes with each interval. Don’t forget to scrape the sides of the bowl and beater to create a homogenous mixture. Add the vanilla extract.
5. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until flour is in. This can also be done by hand by folding the flour into the batter with a rubber spatula.
6. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth and level the top. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Check if it is browning too rapidly, and tent a foil over it if so. If your pan is 9″x5″, the cake needs to be baked for a total of 70 to 75 minutes. An 8.5″x4.5″ pan of cake would require a total of about 90 minutes.
7. The cake is done when a thin knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Transfer cake pan onto a cooling rack and let it rest for 30 minutes. Carefully run the back of a bread knife between the cake and the sides of the pan to loosen out the cake before inverting out and propping it right side up directly on the cooling rack. Cool to room temperature before wrapping.

Storage: Wrapped in clear plastic wrap, this cake will keep for 5 to 7 days at room temperature or up to 2 months in the freezer.