Chloe turned 4 years old yesterday! It's so fun when kids can actually anticipate and understand their birthdays. She wanted to go to a park and eat pizza, so that's what we did!
This morning the first thing Chloe asked me in a sleepy voice was, "Mommy, is it still my birthday?"
How sad her special day is over so quickly, I thought.
"No, but you're still 4!" was my reply, trying to put a positive spin on it.
"A Chocolate Cake That's Got it All" is the name of a recipe I tried. You probably think it was for Chloe's birthday, but you would be wrong. Or maybe you guessed that already based on the number of candles. She did get chocolate cake on her birthday... (and Woody and Jessie dolls)
But the chocolate cake I'm referring to is one I made for Kayla's and Sydney's birthdays (which are one day apart) back in October, and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. Kayla is 13! Sydney is 1! Can you believe it?
Chloe's cake was made from a box. It required far less dishes, and she got to help mix it and frost it. After having a made-from-scratch cake, I really noticed the chemical-taste of Chloe's cake. I think I was the only one in my family who cared or noticed, though!
Maybe that's not entirely true. Kayla, at least, said she liked the cake I made for her birthday better.
So just what attributes does chocolate cake have that's "got it all"? According to the creator, Pam Anderson, who is one of my favorite cookbook authors, it "would have all the ease and convenience of the boxed variety, plus the rich, intensely pure chocolate flavor of one made from scratch. The frosting would be soft, supple, and as low in fat as the canned stuff but with real, intense chocolate flavor" I will also add that it was denser, more moist, and absolutely delicious!
The downside was that it was much more labor intensive than is implied in the description, especially the mountain of dishes I ended up doing. The frosting definitely lived up to expectations, but it had a dirty little secret...
Don't tell my kids, but the frosting had raw eggs in it.
This is coming from a mom who won't let her kids eat cookie dough because of the potential food poisoning risk! (Plus I don't want all the cookie dough to disappear before I have a chance to bake it.) I was too cheap and time-pressed to go buy a carton of pasteurized eggs, which is an alternative in the recipe. The eggs I had on hand were all-natural free-range ones from Sprouts, which sounded safer to me, so that's what I used.
Just where do you find this fantastic recipe? It's in "CookSmart: Perfect Recipes for Everyday" by Pam Anderson.
Here are some more birthday pictures just for fun!
Our door got decorated for Kayla's birthday by a Young Women's leader from our church. What a cool surprise!
Kayla got to play her original composition and another song at the mall as part of a Music Marathon. She is getting really good at the piano.
Sydney loved the Arizona Museum for Youth, which we visited the day before her birthday.
The three older girls all helped decorate Kayla's cake. Sprinkles are about the extent of our decorating techniques.
Did you know sparklers are no longer illegal in Arizona? And you can buy them at Albertson's? Awesome!
5 comments:
Raw eggs always freak me out too but that looks awesome!
BTW, didn't know that about sparklers! YAY!
You rock :-)
Agreed, raw unpasteurized eggs are not good. However, I have been using shelled pasteurized eggs for a few years now. Which you can eat raw. It seems that you have had some experience with them, which is great. I know that with all these recent egg recalls and food safety bills, it seems that pasteurized eggs are the current solution. I believe that it is the way to keep you and your family safe, especially during the holidays. So I would highly recommend them to anyone, especialy if you are using egg-based recipe.
I'm not too cheap to buy the pasteurized eggs, but I just can't find them. Chickens are chickens and no matter where they live they can still pass bacteria through their eggs. And the free range ones walk, peck, scratch and dust bathe in their own poop. Not guarantee of safety there.
I had no idea sparklers were illegal anywhere!
That cake you made for Kayla and Cyds birthday looked delicious! I'm sure you're not alone about being the only one to taste the chemicals in the boxed cake though... Mom probably would've noticed too! Ahh, Mother like Daughter!
I am terrible, since I have been putting a raw egg into my banana shakes for years and years. I should know better really!
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