Cake

A five-tiered, 240-pound wedding cake and an identical backup cake were delivered to Buckingham Palace today for the royal wedding bash of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson as the bride's father attacked the media for constantly "harping" about his daughter's weight. Among the early guests arriving for Wednesday's "private" wedding ceremony was Nancy Reagan, who flew in Sunday night accompanied by 20 Secret Service agents.

RE "The SoCal Songbook: 'MacArthur Park'," [June 10]: I was always puzzled by that verse [that began with] "Someone left the cake out in the rain ... " and assumed that it was just silly hippie poetry. Now, after nearly 40 years, I understand what the composer meant and that he wasn't on drugs when he wrote the lyrics. I'm glad that is cleared up, but it spoils the joke. I always liked "MacArthur Park." Maybe it was the melody and the rest of the lyrics: "Spring was never waiting for us, girl/It ran one step ahead/As we followed in the dance.

"The game's afoot," entones Squadron Leader Rex, shoulders back, head high, teeth clenched, upper lip stiff. "The struggle is becoming more arduous. Now is the time to stand shoulder to shoulder. Let us close ranks and show the Boche what we're made of." His flock of Spitfires swoops off the green fields of France and into the blazing sky to engage the Heinkels and Messerschmitts. It all smells of romance and easy victory.

I enjoyed your "California Cook" article about the large orange crop this year ("Sweet Sections of Sun," Jan. 15). Lemon and carrot cake recipes seem to far outnumber those for orange cakes. The orange cake you published sent me hunting in my files because I thought I remembered grinding oranges for a cake. One of my recipes was very much like the old-fashioned cake you published and is from The Times, I'm not sure when. The only other orange cake I recall is a sour cream cake in the Knudsen book "Cooking for Compliments" that was titled "50th anniversary cake."

While I applaud the "healthy" aspects of your Witch's Cake (Low-Fat Cooking, Oct. 26), I must disagree with the minute portioning of a 9-inch square cake into 24 servings. You state that each serving contains only 4 grams of fat, but who would serve a portion of cake measuring 2 1/4x1 1/2? I too am trying to cut my fat intake, but eating one thimble-sized portion is only more of a temptation to eat a few more tiny pieces. --RICHARD HANKUS Hermosa Beach We're not fans of tiny low-fat servings either, but we have to disagree.

"No," one Beverly Hills doyenne said , "I never do stores." But lots of other rich-types do, especially when the lavish Fred Joaillier celebrated its 10th year on Rodeo Drive on Tuesday night. Lots and lots, so many in fact that the store resembled the Paris Metro at rush hour. And it was especially pushy when the word got out that 10--count 'em, 10--precious jewels (valued at $70,000) were the door prizes.

It's the cake that has fueled hundreds of thousands of birthdays, weddings and office parties across Los Angeles. You've probably had it: two layers of soft yellow sponge cake that sandwich a filling of fresh strawberries and fluffy whipped cream, frosted all over with yet more whipped cream, ringed with toasted almonds on the sides and decorated with red, blue or pink roses on top. It might have said, "Thank you for all your hard work," "Congratulations,...

Dear SOS: The double chocolate cake at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Mass., is out of this world. Do you think their chef would share his recipe with your readers? Mrs. H.M.K. Dear Mrs. H.M.K.: Gladly. And with you too.