Cake

With the bloated proportions (in miniature) of a Thanksgiving Day parade float, a fast-food calorie count and a puzzle-box construction that defies the most rudimentary of table manners, the fried hard crab is a celebration of culinary excess and old Chesapeake Bay ingenuity. Once a widespread specialty, it still can be found at a smattering of local crab houses, including Tall Oaks in Pasadena, L.P. Steamers in South Baltimore, Gunning's in Hanover and Magothy Seafood Crab Deck and Tiki Bar in Arnold.

Steve Frazer from Reisterstown was looking for the recipe for the chocolate chip cake that used to be sold at Miller's Delicatessen in Northwest Baltimore in the 1970s. He remembers that it was a very dense cake and most likely made with sour cream with an abundance of tiny chocolate chips and a sugary crunchy topping. I received an email from Leslie Miller-Scherr of Baltimore in response to Frazer's query. She said that her family was the original owner of Miller's deli and that she remembers the cake well.

Alice Rohart from Baltimore was looking for a recipe for a cake her mom used to make when she was growing up that she called a Gypsy round layer cake. She said her mom baked a lot and she fondly remembers this cake as being a lovely combination of spice and chocolate with chopped nuts, topped with a delicious buttercream frosting. She wanted help finding the recipe so she could make it and bring back old memories. I located a recipe for a Gypsy round cake in the American Profile magazine Hometown Cookbook that likely is the one Rohart was searching for. In this cookbook, American Profile magazine celebrates hometown life in America by inviting readers to send in their favorite recipes for publication.

Rose Dodds from Bel Air was searching for a recipe for a cake similar to one that she enjoyed at a party. She said the texture was similar to poundcake and the almond flavor reminded her of Italian amaretti cookies. Patricia Waxman from Chapel Hill, N.C., sent in a recipe she had seen in Southern Living magazine for an amaretto-almond poundcake that she thought might be similar to the one Dodds was looking for. She thinks it is the best poundcake she has ever made: "It's moist and delicious, and it's almost impossible to stop at just one slice.

Mmmmm, cake. A monkey nibbles on a moon cake made of fruit at a zoo in Shenzhen, Guangdong province of China. Moon cake is traditional food for Chinese people during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which fell on September 12 this year.

Nancy Hawkins from Oliver Springs, Tenn., was looking for the recipe for a cake that a woman she worked with brought into her office for a birthday celebration. It was chocolate cake that was just dumped out of the pan and had "oodles and oodles of scrumptious melted chocolate inside." Hawkins said the woman who made the cake called it an "Aussie dump cake," but she would never share her recipe. While I did not receive any responses from readers about this cake, I knew that a "dump cake" was not that uncommon.

The guest of honor flitted through the chic new restaurant in a black suit and pumps, surrounded by colleagues, well-wishers and staff members angling for a moment with the boss. Those moments come to an end at noon today, when Mayor Sheila Dixon becomes simply Sheila Dixon. Forced to resign as part of a plea deal to settle a criminal case, Dixon's last full day as mayor began at a meeting of the city's spending board and wound down at a happy hour party at Milan, the new Little Italy hot spot.

If you forgot to plan a party to celebrate Bach's 328th birthday, no worries. You are welcome to join the one thoughtfully organized by Douglas Buchanan, director of music ministries at Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Baltimore. This "Bach-analia," the first of what is envisioned as an annual event, will start at 7:30 tonight.  The program features a performance of Cantata No. 106 with the Camerata of Old St. Paul's and the Goldberg Variations, played on the piano by Buchanan.

The article on how to slice calories from sweets was informative from the baker's point of view, but from a health point of view it was quite disappointing ("Slicing calories from cake," Nov. 10). For this article not to include the health implications of artificial sweeteners does a big disservice to those who might consume them. I realize that this article was placed in the "Taste" section and not the "Health" section, but information like this should be more sensitive to health implications that may exist, as we should not be just concerned about caloric intake.

Should children in Iran not have sprinkles on their birthday cakes because the leaders of their country are considered sponsors of terrorism? Should McCormick & Co., the spice giant, stop selling seasonings and salad toppings in Iran because the country's leaders are suspected of pursuing an illegal nuclear weapons program? Last month, the Hunt Valley-based company decided the answer to both those questions was yes. McCormick no longer sells its products in the land of Ahmadinejad.

For last year's 20th anniversary season at Camden Yards, the Orioles and its concessionaire, Delaware North Companies Sportservice, brought in local favorites Gino's Burgers and Chicken and Stuggy's to the yard along with Dempsey's Brew Pub and Restaurant , a year-round restaurant located in the stadium's warehouse, and the Roof Top Deck in centerfield, an instant fan favorite. And then the Orioles did what they did. This year is more about tweaking, upgrading and responding to requests from fans — including, the Orioles acknowledge, vegetarians who were still making do with french fries and pizza.

If you forgot to plan a party to celebrate Bach's 328th birthday, no worries. You are welcome to join the one thoughtfully organized by Douglas Buchanan, director of music ministries at Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Baltimore. This "Bach-analia," the first of what is envisioned as an annual event, will start at 7:30 tonight.  The program features a performance of Cantata No. 106 with the Camerata of Old St. Paul's and the Goldberg Variations, played on the piano by Buchanan.

Wedding date: Jan. 26, 2012 Her story: Shellie Bronis, 27, grew up in Baltimore. She is a marine biologist for the Department of Natural Resources. Her father, Joseph Bronis Jr., is a retired water taxi captain, and her mother, Paulette Bronis, is a meetings coordinator. His story: Kenneth Spencer III, 31, grew up in Plymouth, Mass. He is an officer for the U.S. Park Police. His father, Kenneth Spencer Jr., is a telecommunications specialist for a veterans hospital in Washington, and his mother, Kimberly Spencer, is a Target cashier.

Marlene Millard from Longview, Wash., said that back in the 1960s she had a recipe for making a delicious sour cream cake that used a boxed white cake mix as the base. She said it was one of those cravings she had during pregnancy that she thought she would never get back, so she threw away the recipe. Now she finds herself craving the cake some 50 years later and would like to be able to recreate the taste. Perhaps back in the '60s doctoring cake mixes was something new. These days, entire books exist with nothing but doctored cake mix recipes.

Patricia O'Neill from Granger, Ind., was seeking a recipe for making rolled sponge cake filled with strawberry-flavored whipped cream. She said she enjoyed this cake at a wedding when she was a child and has tried to reproduce it but has always failed miserably. I located a delicious and relatively easy recipe for a strawberries-and-cream sponge cake roll on noemptychairs.me , a blog about "good food and good times around the kitchen table," written by Kelly Smith from Pittsburgh.

Wedding date: Jan. 19, 2013 Her story: Palma Botterell, 31, grew up in Fairfax, Va. She is a graduate student at the University of Maryland's geochemistry program and a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Her father, John, is a computer engineer and her mother, Stephanie, is a science teacher. His story: Kevin Jarboe, 32, grew up in Washington. He is a scientist for Lockheed Martin. His father, A.J., is a retired computer engineer and his mother, Karyn, is a cosmetics representative.

Let's try this again. The first Silopanna Music Festival will be headlined by Cake, Citizen Cope and G. Love & Special Sauce on Aug. 11 at Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds. Last year's inaugural Silopanna (that's Annapolis backwards) Music Festival was canceled the week of the show due to Hurricane Irene. Here's the full list of tentative set-times and performers: MAIN STAGE 11:45-12:45 p.m.: Joe Pug 1:15-2:15 p.m.: Yuna 2:45-3:45 p.m.: Robert Randolph & the Family Band 4:15-5:45 p.m.: G. Love & Special Sauce 6:45-8:15 p.m.: Citizen Cope9:15-10:45 p.m.: Cake LAWN STAGE 11:15-11:45 a.m.: Stiletto 12:15-12:45 p.m.: Pressing Strings 1:15-1:45 p.m.: Tobias Russell 2:15-3:00 p.m.: Audra Mae 3:30-4:15 p.m.: Pasadena 5:45-6:45 p.m.: Jimmie's Chicken Shack8:15-9:15 p.m.: J. Roddy Walston & The Business PAVILION STAGE 11:00-11:15 a.m.: School of Rock 11:45-12:15 p.m.: Sun Club 12:45-1:15 p.m.: Swampcandy 1:45-2:15 p.m.: jarflys 3:00-3:30 p.m.: Sweet Leda 4:45-5:45 p.m.: TBA7:15-8:15 p.m.: The Grilled Lincolns Tickets ( available here )

Thelma Maisenholder of Fallston was looking for a recipe for a Louisiana Ring Cake like the one her mother used to buy many years ago from Rice's Bakery in Baltimore. Irene Gozdziewski of Baltimore, 84, sent in a copy of the recipe that she clipped some time ago from the newspaper. She, too, remembers buying the cake from the Rice's deliveryman in the '40s and '50s. This is a classic, Southern-style ring cake. It is easy to make and is very moist and delicious with nice hints of orange and almond.