There’s such pleasure in making a birthday cake for someone special.
The rhythm of the baking process,
meditative, soothing, anticipatory.
Flipping through the pages of a beautiful cookbook,
seeking the perfect recipe.
Wandering the market for ingredients you need,
this time fresh eggs, premium cocoa, decadent chocolate.
Buttering and flouring pans that await the luscious batter.
Gathering the mise-en-place, the pleasure of order and readiness.
Then, the spinning beater,
the alchemy that transforms disparate ingredients into deliciousness.
Chocolate fragrance wafting from the oven
and then from cakes cooling on the counter.
Whipping up a fluffy mass of shiny white frosting
that you pile and swirl onto the cake
— stickiness and splatters and artful crumbs —
creating something lovely.
Smiles as you present it,
candles alight.
Celebration.
❊ Happy Birthday, Matthew ❊
The recipe for Devil’s Food White-Out Cake is in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From my home to yours, page 247. This is a beautiful book for your own collection or for gifting.
