Oh dear… almost a month late, but thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You’re right Caspar - it was the 3rd anniversary of my 39th birthday (wink-wink) - you’re a gem my friend!!!
Three years ago, my then 12 year old daughter decided she would take on the responsibility of baking my cake each year (a brave soul she is!). That year she made a 2-layer German chocolate boxed cake with canned chocolate frosting - it was a complete surprise to me, and I absolutely loved her for it. Never having made a cake before, she had a lot of trouble with the canned frosting. She also commented that she noticed a huge flavor and texture difference between her cake and what she’s become accustomed to me feeding her, so she decided to make scratch cakes from that point on.
The following year she made a wonderful coffee cake from scratch (not a Rose recipe). I posted the recipe on my blog here:
http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-daughters-2nd-cake-for-my-bday.html
This year she conspired with my mother - my mom asked if she had any b-day present suggestions, and immediately my daughter told her how much I’ve been drooling over the Heritage Cake Pan. So my mother got the pan, and my daughter used it to bake Rose’s Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake from RHC. I’ve made this cake many times - it’s a family favorite. My daughter had no trouble with the batter, but she had one little issue (she refuses to let me give her baking lessons, and she won’t let me anywhere near the kitchen when she takes on these projects, so I just stay out of her way and hope for the best). When I started smelling the cake in the oven, I asked if she was sure she started the timer… she said she did. Five minutes passed and I asked again… she repeated her previous answer. My nose was telling me this cake was done, but I decided to let it go another 5 minutes - this time I urged her to check the timer. Yep, she forgot to press the start button. Anyway, I suspect the cake was in the oven for 10-15 extra minutes. Since the cake’s exterior was overdone and crusty, the glaze didn’t seep in very well, but I’m happy to report the interior was still quite moist and tender. And the color contrast of the creamy yellow interior and the dark brown exterior was really quite striking.
I look forward to seeing what she’ll make next year…
