Cake

Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

November 4, 2015 by Charles Leave a Comment

Oh birthdays!

As a kid, birthdays are amazing spectacles, full of friends, cake, presents, noise-makers, silly hats, and confetti. Fire trucks, magicians, and even costumed superheroes may make an appearance. All in the spirit of celebration.

And then, at least for some, birthdays lose their luster. They cease to be either fun or exciting, but simply mark the inevitable drum beat of time and aging.

I am not there and hope never to be — hiding from my birthday, pretending it has not yet come or gone. Bring on the birthdays! And bring on the cake and presents! …

Blondie Layer Cake with White Chocolate Icing

December 9, 2011 by Charles 16 Comments

Caitlin celebrated her birthday last week. And in preparation of the big day, I scanned my collection of recipes and cookbooks, searching for the perfect layer cake. Last year I made her the pumpkin crepe cake. The year before that, the butternut squash layer cake.

This year, I decided, it was time to stray from the harvest theme. I was looking through my cookbooks, feeling uninspired, when I resolved to make my own cake. No recipe. No guide. I would just with it….

Pumpkin Crepe Cake

December 5, 2010 by Charles 9 Comments

Caitlin arrived in Cincinnati last Saturday, partly for work, and partly to celebrate her 27th birthday (that Monday).

After picking her up at the airport, we headed to dinner. After dinner, we returned to my apartment, where – as is her custom – Caitlin examined the contents of my refrigerator. After sampling the almond butter and my homemade tzatziki sauce, she concentrated her sights on the large, domed item, carefully wrapped in foil.

It was, obviously, her cake. But what kind of cake, she wondered. Alas, I could not answer the question; it was not yet her birthday.

After a small amount of pleading (it was, after all, her birthday weekend), I agreed to give her a series of hints.

It had pumpkin, I told her, knowing …

Butternut Squash Layer Cake

April 20, 2010 by Charles 6 Comments

It’s easy to get side-tracked in this modern world. Text messages, phone calls, and e-mails demand our constant attention. Or, as it may be, distract our attention from the tasks at hand. Answering e-mails, flowing with the speed and strength of an angry river, evokes a triage center, with each incoming e-mail mentally sorted by its degree of urgency. Phone calls and text messages are no better, and the dangers associated with driving and phoning are well-documented.

Video games and the Internet are different species of the same beast. Punching controller buttons will always be more entertaining than punching the clock. And when the project at hand is growing tiresome, the browser icon is always a quick click away. There is always a headline to read or a score to check. There is always something out there, in need of your attention.

I’m not sure how it happened, but somehow this post got neglected. I should, of course, distinguish between…