Free Sitting in Bars with Cake: Lessons and Recipes from One Year of Trying to Bake My Way to a Boyfriend by Audrey Shulman Page A

joke, as rocket scientists were only supposed to be this good-looking when portrayed by actors on cable shows about spies.
    Since I assumed he already had an equally brilliant and beautiful fiancée with whom he shared a small dog, I was beyond surprised when the rocket scientist not only sat down to have some cake, but put his arm around my chair while eating it. I considered this the next most appropriate move to putting his arm around me, which still meant things were moving pretty fast. “This is some legit cake,” he pronounced, in what I can only describe as a husky, all-American genius voice.
    It was like we were instantly best friends. I kept waiting for him to put together that I was far too quirky for his khaki-pants personality, that I knew about as much about science as he knew about decoupaging, that there was precious little overlap between our tribes, and that he could go ahead and go back to his table, but that moment never came. One thing led to another, and the two of us were playing the state capitals game with his friends and my friends until the bar closed at two in the morning.
    We had bonded solely because he liked my baking and I liked to bake. The cake had leveled us to the same playing field, just two people reveling in a shared sugar high, and we were somehow—even if temporarily—a team.

The shortest distance between you and a handsome genius can be computed down to a single serving of cake.



A
    Curry Carrot Cake with Gingery Frosting
    For exceedingly educated engineers, fiery chemists, and/or flirty rocket scientists.
    For the cake:
    ½ cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
    1 cup (200 g) sugar
    3 large eggs
    2 cups (210 g) grated carrots
    2½ cups (310 g) all-purpose flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    ½ teaspoon baking soda
    ½ teaspoon curry powder
    ½ teaspoon salt
    1 cup (240 ml) plain yogurt
    For the frosting:
    2 cups (480 ml) Greek yogurt
    ½ teaspoon ground ginger
    3 tablespoons honey
    2 teaspoons lemon juice
    Carrot shavings, for garnish
    To make the cake : Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter two 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
    Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy, then add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Stir in the carrots.
    In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, curry powder, and salt.
    Working in batches, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with the yogurt; stir until just combined. Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
    Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes, then loosen the sides with a knife and invert onto wire racks to cool completely. Peel off the parchment and transfer one cake layer to a serving platter.
    To make the frosting : Whisk the yogurt, ginger, honey, and lemon juice together. Spread some of the frosting over the bottom cake layer, top with the second cake layer, and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides. Garnish with carrot shavings.

A
    The Girl Who Didn’t Have Cake for Her Birthday
    She was surrounded by at least a dozen friends for her birthday, although there were no balloons, no presents, and there was definitely no cake. I couldn’t help but find the whole situation rather socially unacceptable: who were these thoughtless friends of hers who hadn’t thought to bake her a birthday cake or, at the very least, buy her one from the store? What was the point of even getting together to celebrate?
    Seeing as how my entire cake still happened to be intact, I walked over and offered the birthday girl and her so-called party the whole thing, handing off this conveniently appearing dessert they hadn’t ordered but had possibly meant to bring. About a third of the friends were guys, one of whom even generously bought me a Shirley Temple as