Good Monday morning.
The unofficial kickoff of summer – Memorial Day – is fast approaching. The three-day weekend provides the first chance to really get out there and enjoy the warmer weather, which is all the more special given how fleeting it is in these parts.
Memorial Day weekend is a time for cookouts and picnics and potlucks, which means that you may soon be called upon to bring a little something to contribute to the festivities. Usually, the host takes care of the entrees and the appetizers, leaving it to the guests to bring things like drinks, sides, and, of course, dessert.
If you’re going to be dining al fresco you want something that stands up to the elements – heat, sun, and maybe even a little rain. Delicate and fussy desserts are out in this case. You could do the cookie or brownie route and it’s likely no one would complain.
But for the same amount of effort (assuming you’re making your dessert offering yourself) you could level up and opt for a cake. You might be tempted to reach for a mix, but I can assure you that even someone as admittedly challenged in the kitchen as I am can make a basic cake – something like a Devil’s Food Cake.
Devil’s Food Cake, the opposite of its (in my opinion far inferior) sponge-like vanilla cousin Angel Food Cake, is reportedly one of the first official versions of chocolate cake. However, it is richer and fluffier than the standard version, thanks to the addition of cocoa powder, extra baking soda, and sometimes coffee – a proven chocolate flavor enchanter in baked goods.
Like many people, I was first introduced to Devil’s Food Cake through the Drake’s snack cake known as a Devil Dog, which, in case you’re not familiar, is two finger-length layers of Devils Food Cake held together with a vanilla cream filling. They are delicious. (As an aside, I did not know until I visited the official Drake’s Cakes website that Devil Dogs are certified kosher by the Orthodox Union).
Devil Dogs were introduced in 1926, and perhaps named after U.S. Marines who were given that moniker (aka Teufelshunden) by German soldiers during WW II. That was about two decades after what is believed to be the first recipe for Devil’s Food Cake appeared in “Mrs. Rorer’s New Cook Book: A Manual of Housekeeping,” which is still in print to this day.
In case you’re easily confused by the variety of chocolate cakes out there, know that the three main staples of the genre – Devil’s Food, Red velvet, and German Chocolate – are actually very different.
- Devil’s Food is very chocolatey and contains the aforementioned baking soda along with hot boiling water as its primary liquid ingredient; it usually boasts a rich chocolate frosting.
- Red velvet uses food coloring to get its distinctive color, contains only a modicum of cocoa powder, and often is topped with a cream cheese frosting.
- German chocolate cake takes things up a notch with the addition of coconut-pecan frosting; it was not, contrary to its misleading name, created in Germany, but rather Texas.
For reasons I cannot discern, today is National Devil’s Food Cake Day. But, honestly, who needs an excuse to make a cake? Every day should be cake day, in my humble opinion.
We’re going to get a break from the rain today, but don’t get too used to it. It will be partly cloudy and on the cooler side, with temperatures only reaching up into the low 60s.
In the headlines…
Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his personal office yesterday, and it has spread to his bones.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” the statement said. “The president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Democrats and Republicans alike offered their prayers to Biden and his family in the wake of his cancer diagnosis announcement.
A 2023 audio recording of Biden speaking haltingly and having memory lapses is the latest in a series of recent disclosures that have reopened a debate over his physical and mental fitness while in office and prompted fresh recriminations among Democrats.
The recording, released by the news outlet Axios on Friday night, documents a four-minute portion of Biden’s interview with Robert K. Hur, a special counsel who investigated his handling of classified information.
The House Budget Committee late last night revived President Trump’s stalled bill to cut taxes and spending, after a handful of fiscally conservative Republicans relented and allowed it to advance even as they continued to press for deeper reductions.
The measure passed by a vote of 17-16, with four hardline Republicans on the Budget Committee voting present: Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Chip Roy of Texas, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
The vote signaled a temporary resolution to a remarkable revolt from a group of hard-liners on the panel, who joined Democrats in opposing the bill in committee, tanking it over concerns that it did not do enough to rein in the nation’s ballooning debt.
Leo XIV celebrated an outdoor Mass formally inaugurating him as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, telling world leaders the assembled hierarchy of his church that the church needed a new unity that recognized its diversity.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine attended Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass and met later with the new pontiff in private, days after Leo expressed a personal desire to help end the war with Russia.
Vice President JD Vance shook hands with Zelensky in their first public encounter since their infamous Oval Office blow-up and later had a “good meeting” at the residence of the US ambassador to Italy.
An agreement was reached yesterday to end New Jersey’s first statewide transit strike in more than 40 years just three days after it started, New Jersey Transit and a union spokesman said.
The union that represents the state’s passenger-train drivers, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said it called off the strike at about 6 p.m., and NJ Transit said its trains would begin running a full schedule again this morning.
The walkout that began Friday was the state’s first transit strike in over 40 years, forcing people who normally rely on New Jersey Transit to take buses, cars, taxis and boats instead or consider staying home.
A Mexican navy sailing ship on a global goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday, snapping its three masts, killing two crew members and leaving some sailors dangling from harnesses high in the air waiting for help.
There were 277 people on board when the ship drifted directly into the underside of the bridge on Saturday night, the authorities said. At least 22 were injured, half of them critically.
The ship experienced a mechanical failure, according to Mayor Eric Adams, causing it to lose power and collide with the bridge.
One of the two fatal victims of the ship crash was a 20-year-old female Mexican Navy cadet – América Yamilet Sánchez – from Veracruz, the state’s governor said. The other was Adal Jair Marcos of Oaxaca.
“To put it mildly, after being fully briefed on last night’s Brooklyn Bridge accident, one thing is very clear: There are many more questions than answers as to how the accident occurred and whether it could have been prevented,” Senator Chuck Schumer said.
A 25-year-old self-described “pro-mortalist” has been identified as the attacker who detonated a car bomb outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs Saturday — killing himself and injuring four other people, according to sources.
The suspect, Guy Edward Bartkus of Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif., was believed to have targeted the clinic. Officials called the bombing an act of terrorism by a man they said had “nihilistic ideations.”
More than 2 million New Yorkers could lose their health coverage under proposed insurance changes advanced by Republicans in Congress, according to new preliminary estimates from policy groups and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
Hochul issued a statement defending New York’s stringent gun safety laws in response to federal challenges.
Hochul delivered a passionate speech calling for the return of Israeli hostages and affirming the state’s enduring solidarity with Israel at the Israel Day parade.
Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca and Hochul announced plans for the governor to visit Seneca Nation Territory tomorrow to apologize for New York state’s role in the Thomas Indian School atrocities.
Hochul is believed to be the first sitting governor to ever visit the Seneca Nation territory. The governor said the moment will “mark a new day in our relations.”
Republicans are looking to pick up a state Senate seat in a special election tomorrow in a southern Brooklyn district that Trump carried last year with 77% of the vote.
Democratic lawmakers in New York are pushing for warning labels on social media platforms that are similar to warning labels on cigarettes or alcohol.
Prisons, plastics and a controversial end-of-life bill are among the issues that are likely to dominate the homestretch of the New York State Legislature’s 2025 session, lawmakers, officials and lobbyists say.
Mayor Adams and Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner James Hendon have unveiled a sweeping set of initiatives to secure housing stability and expand job opportunities for New York City’s 210,000 veterans.
Adams detailed his plan to combat rising antisemitism on college campuses and in public schools across the city during an appearance on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Friday.
The City Council has seen a shocking drop-off in productivity, with its 51 members this year introducing 86% fewer bills than in 2024.
An informal adviser to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has formed a new outside group – Restore Sanity NYC – that appears designed to boost his campaign for mayor of New York City, according to state records.
Cuomo vowed to roll back a controversial pension policy he himself put in place as governor at a Saturday mayoral forum.
Cuomo bailed on a planned visit Friday to a Queens senior center as dozens of raging protesters were expected to confront the ex-gov over his botched handling of the nursing homes during the pandemic.
In ongoing listening sessions with a wide range of Orthodox leaders to whom he holds long-standing ties, Cuomo has sought to mend relationships that deteriorated over his crackdown on religious gatherings at the height of the pandemic.
Cuomo has attacked opponents, including Jewish ones, as antisemitic, while other candidates believe the issue is being used as a weapon to win Jewish voters.
Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani‘s campaign got a donation boost from Israel-bashing campus protesters and other rabble rousers — including antagonists arrested for rioting and other offenses, election records reveal.
Mamdani was caught on resurfaced video leading “BDS” chants in a push to boycott Israel while blasting officials for traveling to the Jewish State on taxpayers’ dime.
Last week, Mamdani drew flack for refusing to sign onto a pair of resolutions recognizing Israel and the Holocaust. He has insisted he didn’t sign the Holocaust resolution because he’s not co-sponsoring any resolutions in this year’s legislative session.
The CEO of a local super PAC spending big money to support City Council candidate Wil López has fallen flat in an unprecedented effort to knock five competing candidates off of the ballot.
Eva Moskowitz, the leader of New York’s largest charter school network, compared teachers’ union activists and lawmakers to segregationists “barricading” children from quality schools.
A 12-foot bronze statue of an anonymous Black woman in Times Square has become a lightning rod in a fraught American debate about race, representation and diversity.
The city’s long neglected potter’s field may get an upgrade that includes a new visitor’s center, restrooms and benches.
Officials showed off New York City government’s growing fleet of climate friendly vehicles at Flushing Meadows Corona Park last week, touting a sign of progress toward local and state climate goals.
A pair of freed Israeli hostages recalled the torture they and others endured in Gaza as they joined the thousands marching at New York City’s Israel Day parade yesterday.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman tore into county Democrats who are suing to try to block his plan for a volunteer force of armed civilian deputies — calling it a politically motivated attack.
Two State Police troopers were stabbed in the head Saturday afternoon in Allegany County after confronting the suspect of a stolen vehicle.
A Lake George camping business and winery sustained heavy damage after a nearby beaver dam broke Friday night and resulted in flooding.
State Route 351, a major connector between Brunswick and Poestenkill, is set to be closed off for three months while crews work on a culvert replacement, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Schenectady County legislators approved a resolution enabling County Manager Rory Fluman to enter into a mutual aid ambulance agreement with Rotterdam Emergency Medical Services, a non profit organization that provides local ambulance service.
East Greenbush schools’ $115 million budget proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year will require a larger-than-normal threshold of votes to pass tomorrow. That’s because the proposed 4.8% tax levy increase hovers above the state-mandated tax cap.
Motions and a trial are still pending in City Court as the city’s former commissioner of public works faces official misconduct charges stemming from allegations that Jason Golub let a city plumber unclog his kitchen sink.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
