By April Lisante

It has been a somber, uncertain month, but there are still some bright spots to be found.

Has your neighborhood witnessed a birthday drive-by, where a caravan of cars pulls through honking, flashing poster boards and throwing confetti for a teary-eyed recipient standing inside their doorway? It is so touching that everyone is trying their best to continue to celebrate birthdays for children, the elderly and everyone in between, despite the quarantine.

It got me thinking: what about the cakes? What about all those cakes that will never be made this season for birthdays, weddings and graduations? Bredenbeck’s Bakery & Ice Cream Parlor, one of the Hill’s favorite cake spots, has been closed for weeks, but it quietly celebrated a birthday of its own this past week. For 37 years, it has been on the Avenue, bringing joy to countless birthday parties with its cakes.

But suffice it to say that in its long and storied history, Bredenbeck’s has seen everything from sugar rations to a Great Depression, but never anything like this past month.

Chestnut Hill’s Bredenbeck’s opened April 14, 1983. A self-taught pastry chef who learned the craft from her father and grandfather, Rohde took a chance way back then, hoping to create an institution on The Hill. Karen Rohde’s father and grandfather inherited the business from the original Bavarian owner back in 1954. The original Bredenbeck’s began in 1889 in Northern Liberties.

“In 1954, the owner basically handed my father and grandfather the business, the name and all the recipes and said ‘Here you go’,” she said. “He had no children he just handed it over.”

As a result, Rohde literally grew up learning to bake, and lived upstairs from the bakery in Northeast Philadelphia most of her young life. When she decided to open in Chestnut Hill in 1983, there weren’t any bakeries yet on the street and she quickly became known for her cakes and icings, and especially her pound cake, which she now transforms into wedding and birthday cakes. Rohde, her husband, two sons and daughter all work the business. Aside from the pound cake, the cupcakes and strawberry shortcakes bring loyals from miles around.

“I had a dream it would succeed,” Rohde said. “I was so excited. When I look back, I knew I would have to work very hard to make a go of it, but this business, and the trip I’ve been on, has been better than I’ve ever imagined.”

Even now, as the bakery remains shuttered due to COVID-19, and more than 300 brides have had to reschedule their wedding cake orders, Rohde is trying to see the silver lining. (The cancellations only account for April and May, and don’t even yet include the other weddings and the multitude of graduations that may not happen in June.)

“This is a whole new adventure for us, just like everyone else,” Rohde said. “It is a very surreal time.”

To remain positive in the face of these setbacks, Rohde has been reformulating her menus, keeping in touch with her 44-person staff, and getting the word out about her upcoming plans on Twitter. She meets on Zoom every weekday from 11 to noon with other local female business owners on the Hill to chat about what’s going on. Launching an online tutorial video for home bakers is one of the ideas born from the quarantine.

“It is nice that we are all in the same boat and it’s nice to hear positive stories it helps all of us,” Rohde said. “I think a lot of us women have owned the businesses a long time and we are used to the brick and mortar but now there is a sense that we have to learn to put ourselves out there in an altogether new way.”

Which brings us to the sweetest part of the column this week.

I asked Rohde to share her favorite cake and icing recipes with readers, so after all the honking subsides and you finish sweeping up the homemade confetti, everyone can have a little Bredenbeck’s at home.

To see the Bredenbeck’s menu or watch the video tutorial, go to www.bredenbecks.com.

Bredenbeck’s Yellow Layer Cake

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature¼ cup oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay parchment paper on the bottom of two 8-9-inch round cake pans. Make sure to cut the paper so it fits well at the bottom of pan. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix cream, sugar, butter until smooth. Add oil and mix. Add eggs and yolks one at a time, beating after each egg. Add vanilla and mix. Stir together baking powder, salt and flour in another bowl. Alternate adding in some of the flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon, then some buttermilk, ending with the flour mixture. Divide batter evenly in pans. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs, but not with batter. Allow cake to cool a few minutes them flip out of pans. Remember to chill before icing cake.

Rich Chocolate Frosting

• ½ cup melted butter
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir together the butter and cocoa powder. Use electric mixer to beat powdered sugar, milk and vanilla several minutes until light and fluffy.

Karen Rohde’s Top Ten Tips for decorating a birthday cake:

1. Chill the cake to make decorating easier and prevent crumbs throughout icing.
2. Trim cake level. Can use scissors to trim cake.
3. Put a dab of icing on the plate or cake board to keep cake held in place.
4. Have icing room temperature.
5. Can fill cake between layers with a small amount of buttercream, jelly, fruit or Nutella.
6. Press down on top tier so cake is straight.
7. Use a large spoon to drop buttercream on top tier and work the spatula gently around top tier.
8. You don’t have to ice sides. Just wrap with plastic wrap until ready to serve or use a small amount of icing to make it look rustic.
9. Use what you have to decorate like sprinkles, candy or nuts.
10. Use ZipLoc bag filled with icing to decorate. Cut off lower corner and squeeze bag to make a border or write on cake.