40 GARTH ROAD
SCARSDALE, NY 10583
(914) 722-8300
CO-OWNERS/BAKERS: JAY MUSE AND VICTOR GONZALEZ
Located smack in the center of downtown Scarsdale, Lulu Cake Boutique might be a tiny designer’s atelier or an expensive jewelry shop. Instead, it’s a bijoux bakery for all the world as precious as the rest of the glittering shops that line the moneyed streets just outside its doors.
It seems a given that the two bakers who ultimately created infinitely detailed specialty cakes for Madonna, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jimmy Fallon should choose to set up shop in the swank locale of Scarsdale. But it turns out that nothing could be further from the truth; the ideal siting of Lulu Cake Boutique was just luck, pure and simple.
Says co-owner/baker Jay Muse of Lulu’s debut back in 1999, “I had no clue. I just read the real estate section in the Times every Sunday, just looking for a bakery that was even halfway decent. Often, they were located way out in the Bronx or they were way too expensive. I had no idea that Scarsdale was as rich as it was. When we started, I didn’t even think I’d be doing specialty cakes. I thought we’d do muffins, all kinds of muffins, and that we’d clean up.” He laughs. “I didn’t realize that you can’t make any money selling muffins. And then someone came in and wanted a wedding cake; they offered us five hundred dollars. We thought we’d hit the jackpot!”
That was 1999, a long time ago. Since then, Lulu Cake Boutique has evolved into Westchester’s signature cake designer. Lulu’s trademark style is, simply put, fabulous. Look for Lulu cakes to regularly adorn the best-selling bridal magazines (but, be warned, their prices may have risen).
(YIELDS ONE 9 × 13-INCH CAKE)
¾ cup melted unsalted butter, cooled (or you may substitute oil)
¾ cup applesauce
2 eggs
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups all-purpose flour (preferably unbleached and organic)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or allspice
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups diced tart apples (such as Northern Spy or Rome Beauty)
1 cup shredded tart apples (such as Northern Spy or Rome Beauty)
1 cup toasted walnuts (optional)
1 cup Muscat or sultana raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 × 13-inch cake pan. In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer or whisk (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the melted butter, applesauce, and eggs together until the mixture is creamy. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla and beat well.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, cinnamon or allspice, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be quite thick. Fold in the apples (and nuts and raisins, if used). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and set it in the center of the oven. Bake the cake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the center springs back when lightly touched and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. At this point the cake should be beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool and serve.