cake walk

"You can't judge a recipe's success based on how it turns out during Funeral Week."

These were Emily's words of encouragement to me as I faced this week--a somewhat daunting week which included four major baking assignments, one of which was to make Triple Caramel Cake, pictured above in our first post-Mother attempt.

The first task, cookies for Sarah's softball team, was a no-brainer. I can make chocolate chip cookies in my sleep. That was the first project to get crossed off the list, and one I did at about 11:30 Monday night, hoping that since I had already brushed my teeth, perhaps I wouldn't eat the dough. (I also had the good sense to mark the finished bag of cookies as off-limits to the rest of the family.)

The second was Emily's birthday cake--chocolate with White Mountain frosting. Though I can't yet make this one in my sleep, it's still a no-brainer, as it has been a family favorite for years and I've been making it since I was a young teenager. I made this one Tuesday afternoon and was pleased with the result (the cake, that is--no so much the decorative embellishments). Whew! Another one crossed off the list.

I knew I had to start the final two baking projects on Wednesday night if I was going to have them ready in time for a party I was invited to Thursday night. I am not as familiar with either of these recipes, as my mom had been the one to discover and make them in recent years. I would always frost them for her, but had never actually made the cakes myself. I started missing my mom again.

"If we're lucky, the world will end soon!" said Emily in another attempt to reassure me. In response to my questioning look, she clarified, "So we'll be able to see Grandma again and get cake-making tips." With this bit of encouragement, I pressed on and began caramelizing the sugar for the Triple Caramel Cake, and melting the chocolate for the Giant Ding Dong cake. There was no turning back now. (Yes, Miranda--I unabashedly took some Baker's Joy from my mom's stash.)

I finished baking both cakes and took the Ding Dong layers to my Dad's freezer for safe keeping and freshness protection overnight. After work on Thursday I frosted both cakes and was quite pleased with the results.

After some creative maneuvers to figure out how to transport the cakes safely to the party (which included the use of duct tape and a ceramic flower pot, held in place at Emily's feet) we arrived with everything intact!


It looks like I can bake cakes by myself after all.