A Heartfelt Birthday Present
I am a sucker for birthdays. I see them as a celebration of the years past and the years to come. I also look at birthdays as an annual way to connect and say hello or I love you. I may be old fashioned and out of the tech revolution, but I think email birthday greetings are cheap. For my friends and family, I try to send a birthday card in the mail and give the birthday boy or girl a phone call. (This doesn’t mean my birthday greetings are perfectly timed -- ask my brother about his 40th birthday present that is now two years and one month overdue…)
I also feel strongly about birthday cakes: I think they should be homemade. Sure, the store-bought cakes are beautiful and convenient, but making an effort for someone’s birthday is one of the finest gifts available. Now I enjoy baking, but I wouldn’t say I am the most detail oriented or artistic person in the world. I don’t own a pastry bag and I can’t pipe flowers around the crown of a cake. My cakes often turn out lopsided, with a frosting coat that could be termed lumpy rather than satiny. You will never see my cakes on a cover of a magazine.
But what homemade items are ever perfect? It is their imperfection that makes them so valuable, so appreciated. Think of a hand-knit sweater, or a gift made by a child at school.
Charlie is a vanilla cake kind of kid. Tom always requests cheesecake. Jack and Jem are my chocolate boys, and they ask for homemade chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on their birthdays each year. This Double Fudge Chocolate Cake Recipe, with its accompanying Frosting Recipe, was given to me by Margo McKim. Margo, who sadly passed away two years ago, was a friend from Quebec known for the love and effort she put into everything she cooked. This is one of the best chocolate cakes you will ever make – rich and delicious, yet uncomplicated. Accompany it with home made vanilla ice cream -- I'll post a great recipe in a future blog.
p.s. Happy Birthday Mom and Tom!
My friend Suzanne at her birthday dinner on March 5, 2009.
I also feel strongly about birthday cakes: I think they should be homemade. Sure, the store-bought cakes are beautiful and convenient, but making an effort for someone’s birthday is one of the finest gifts available. Now I enjoy baking, but I wouldn’t say I am the most detail oriented or artistic person in the world. I don’t own a pastry bag and I can’t pipe flowers around the crown of a cake. My cakes often turn out lopsided, with a frosting coat that could be termed lumpy rather than satiny. You will never see my cakes on a cover of a magazine.
But what homemade items are ever perfect? It is their imperfection that makes them so valuable, so appreciated. Think of a hand-knit sweater, or a gift made by a child at school.
Charlie is a vanilla cake kind of kid. Tom always requests cheesecake. Jack and Jem are my chocolate boys, and they ask for homemade chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on their birthdays each year. This Double Fudge Chocolate Cake Recipe, with its accompanying Frosting Recipe, was given to me by Margo McKim. Margo, who sadly passed away two years ago, was a friend from Quebec known for the love and effort she put into everything she cooked. This is one of the best chocolate cakes you will ever make – rich and delicious, yet uncomplicated. Accompany it with home made vanilla ice cream -- I'll post a great recipe in a future blog.
p.s. Happy Birthday Mom and Tom!
My friend Suzanne at her birthday dinner on March 5, 2009.
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© 2009 Created by Corbin
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