Rilakkuma Cake For I Am A Food Blog!

Look at that dreamy fluffy adorable face! It’s so hard not to just snuggle the daylights out of this Rilakkuma cake face. I made this lil guy as a secret surprise for my blog bestie Steph! Three years ago now, I received an email from her saying “hi” and seeing if I wanted to meet up for coffee, since we both live in Vancouver. I love that – blogger blind date! I am a legitimate huge fan of I Am A Food Blog – her and Mike make the most delicious recipes and I love their crisp, stylized photography and overall sense of design. Plus, their Friday Finds are also always some of my favourite reads of the week!

Dark chocolate cake, coffee buttercream and almond toffee crunch – I got the toffee recipe from Erin of Erin Bakes! She has a sweet new book out, and it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure style cake recipe book jammed with cakes, frostings and textural fillings, plus easy decorating ideas and Erin’s comedic writing style. The toffee recipe is dangerously legitimate. Buttery, sweet and salty, and I added toasted salted almonds, making it crazily addictive. The toffee set up like a charm, and I snacked HARD on the leftovers while watching Broad City on Saturday night… oops. Looking forward to making more from Erin’s book!

Oh buddy!!! So sorry for the lobotomy! Steph and I had a fun afternoon power walking in the sun, eating Japanese rice bowls at a cute little cafe and then, cutting into little brownie bear Rilakkuma cake.

I’ve really been enjoying just slowly working on cakes these days. It feels simple and pure, with good intentions. I’ve needed that lately, as I’ve been feeling so crotchety and lite-cynical about the blogging machine. Getting flour-dusted and meditatively piping cakes feels like the right move at the moment. Happy birthday Steph! So glad I finally got to make you a cake, hehe! xo Lyndsay