Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Birthday Cake!

When I was growing up, my grandmother made the birthday cakes. Sometimes she would start planning the cake a month in advance, throwing out suggestions. Cherry Vanilla with Pink Frosting? Red Velvet? No, for me it was always Chocolate with Vanilla Frosting.

As a Mom, I’ve always made birthday cakes for my kids. Even when I ordered a fancy store bought cake (like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake I surprised my oldest son with one year), I made another one at home – just for the family. When food allergies hit us, cake from the bakery was no longer an option, so I created my own recipes.

I no longer expect anyone to make a cake for me. To be honest, I prefer to make my own because I know exactly what I want – chocolate with vanilla frosting.

Besides, it’s my birthday and I’ll bake if I want to ☺



The recipe for this Triple Play Chocolate Cake can be found in Learning to Bake Allergen-Free. I plan to serve it with a cranberry sauce. The sauce is one that I was inspired to create after taking a class on sauces at the Culinary Institute of America.

Cranberry Dessert Sauce


1 cup cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp lime juice













Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat, about 10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Stir occasionally to break the cranberries open. Strain the sauce through a mesh strainer, pressing the juice through the strainer. Discard the pulp. Serve warm or cold underneath (or on top of) the cake.

I don’t like to use food coloring (too many additives and dyes) in my baking, which means that my frostings are almost always white. But, I decided to try to add some color by adding a couple drops of my cranberry sauce to the frosting. It gave the frosting a delightful pink color (and a bit of a cranberry taste) that I could make the rosettes out of.


I can’t wait to eat the cake later!

What's your favorite birthday cake?

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