I know I’ve disappeared for the last month – January seems to have gotten away from me, but I was quite pleased with myself for having been able to post at least one handmade/home-baked item per month last year, and had no intention of letting my streak disappear!
My mom celebrated a birthday recently, and those of you who follow me regularly know my Birthday Rule. Obviously there was going to be a homemade cake of some kind; it just took me a while to decide which kind. I had contemplated tiramisu (vanilla cake, coffee, Kahlua, chocolate shavings) in all its adult glory, but finally decided I needed something chocolate-based. No matter how fancy I get, she always seems to like my plain chocolate cake/cupcakes best of all. I got the idea to make a chocolate buttercream frosting laced with raspberry syrup (the latte kind, not the pancake kind), with fresh raspberries for garnish.
But the true stroke of genius, in my obviously completely unbiased opinion, was to place some raspberries on top of the bottom layer once it had been frosted. It reminded me of some of the fruit tortes from store bakeries, and adds a really nice bit of flavour and texture where one might not expect it.
I also had the perfect birthday card in mind: a Margaret Sherry illustration from The World of Cross Stitching a few months back. It features a sweet little mouse presenting his hedgehog friend with a birthday cake.
When I showed it to one of the other party guest, he commented, “Aw, look at the cute little muskrat!” I’m not sure he was joking.
Also, update on my grammar hoop: I finally got to give it to its intended recipient this week, and he loves it. He’s displayed it proudly at work, only to have one of his coworkers ask him: “Do you really do it silently?” Maybe not always…
The Witty Child 
Ooo yummy!
Thank you! 🙂