The 22nd of November is the birthday of my friend and fellow cat enthusiast. Last year I missed the actual date, so it doesn’t count. Since then I found that she likes chocolate cupcakes with white frosting, so I made a big one with two layers and found some decadent Belgian chocolate nonpareils to act … More When A Birthday Cake Is A Big Cupcake, and Lights Get Wavy
My friend and the neighborhood’s reigning matriarch had a birthday today. She didn’t want a big party this year, but next year, one of those zeroes, definitely a party because her son will be here from abroad come Hell or high water. (Ha! Literally.) We agreed to a small sit-down dinner instead of balancing plates … More German Chocolate Cake for Sylvia’s Birthday. She turns oopsie into comic gold.
A funny thing happened. Unbeknownst to me, two days ago Mark went to one of the neighbors and asked for a favor, if she would send out a block-wide email for him as his phone was then missing. As a member of the block, I got a copy and read it late last night when … More Toasted Coconut Party Cake et plus
A friend for whom I make birthday goody said that she’d like ice cream this year, raspberry* or peach. I’ve had it in my mind to make something like this, so I did. The photos actually tell the story of a peachy Melba ice cream. First day of fall, but there was summer left in … More Raspberry & Peach Ice Cream Duo
I like to make my own infused sugars for baked goods, but a kind lady gifted me with a bag of commercially produced lavender sugar and that meant find a use or two for it. It just so happened that my cousin — who sent me the bottles of Royal Velvet culinary lavender which led … More Happy Birthday, Cousin. Here’s the AliceMarie Lavender Trio
What is it? Guesses will be accepted excepting those who know. All will be revealed tomorrow in the update. Tonight, WordPress imposes a deadline. It’s my favorite non-chocolate cake of my youth, almost precisely as I yearly asked for it. The only change is knowledge, as in I learned something new about making it this … More It’s A Mystery. My Birthday Cake.
A friend whose birthday was last week asked, when I offered to make it, that I choose which chocolate cake to bake. Her husband told me long ago that she is very fond of dark chocolate, so I decided to make a 3-layer devil’s food cake using strong coffee as the liquid, and to double … More Triple Chocolate Mocha Cake, aka Chocolate Coffee Cake
Chocolate layer cake, chocolate cream cheese frosting with rum flavoring and sprinkles are featured in today’s birthday-by-proxy for my daughter in London. My daughter has taken several pages out of my book, the most recent of which are going to London for an advanced degree and deciding to shave a number of years off her … More Happy ____th Birthday, M, by Proxy
My daughter was off to London this week for an MBA program and will, again this year, miss her birthday at home. Nevermind, I covered both events with one cake, making use of more neighborhood rhubarb and the occasion of the annual Block Watch Party to share a moist, unexpected, non-chocolate cake* on a hot … More WordPress forces early Birthday Wish
July 6th is my mother’s 88th birthday. Goodies that she loves were sent Priority Mail on the 5th for arrival on her day. They included brownies with dates, huge pieces of walnuts and fudge frosting plus a butter cookie, a dozen mini peanut-butter cookies and an old family favorite called Hawaiian Dream Bars. The latter … More Goodie Box for Mother’s Birthday
Ms Chef in Seattle 