Let them eat cake.

Ever since before I can remember, my mom has always made me a birthday cake. Even the year I had my fourth birthday at McDonald's (the ball pit provided endless hours of fun) where my party included a sheet cake depicting the entire cast of Ronald McDonald and Friends for my party guests, my mom baked a separate cake for the "home party" with the family. I've had quite the variety over the years: Disney characters meticulously piped on in bright colors; decadent buttercream roses festooned around a cake border; chocolate mousse when I developed more "grown-up" taste....

And so, perhaps not on The Day every year, we would "observe" my birthday in the week or two I was able to go home between the end of a summer internship and going back to school. Last year was my first year not having summer vacation at home, and my mom arranged a special trip to my new apartment in D.C. Between seeing Smithsonians, she took advantage of my empty kitchen while I was at work and baked me a surprise birthday cake.

Besides having retained a serious sweet tooth for authentic buttercream (yes, I would surgical-strike for myself a fat rose from the center of a dining hall sheet cake if nobody was watching in college), for me (now by habit), cake on birthdays is pretty mandatory if I can swing it. I'm also a bit of a snob when it comes to making cake and frosting from scratch (though boxed cake is pretty darn good -- I will give you that). Don't get me wrong -- I welcome cakes of all origins when on the receiving end, but when I make birthday cakes for people, I'm a purist. I try to be the birthday cake fairy when I can, in keeping with what my mom taught me. My technique is a little rough (piping skills still leave something to be desired), but I'm getting better with practice.

Here's a quick round-up of late spring/early summer cakes in 2011:

When I was home in May (the brief stopover in Texas before going to Vegas with my sisters), we baked Dad a rich chocolate cake with bittersweet mousse and a whipped chocolate crème fraîche frosting:

And for my boyfriend's birthday this year, I departed from our traditional chocolate cake with buttercream and opted for a lighter summer lemon cake with homemade raspberry curd:

(It looks dry, as all white cakes do, but it's soaked in lemon-sugar syrup, so I assure you it wasn't.)

~

My favorite cake recipe of all time, scrawled on a tiny piece of paper, sandwiched in one of my mom's recipe files (if it were ever lost, it would be a true tragedy). This cake is flawless -- and so simple (which is why I don't even bother with a boxed mix anymore)!

Suzy McMullen's Chocolate Cake

2 c flour

2 c sugar

1 T baking soda

½ c cocoa powder

2 eggs

1 c oil

1 c buttermilk

1 c strong hot coffee

Sift dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, and then mix together. Pour into greased and floured 9"x13" or two 9"x9" pans (may need just a little less time in 2 pans.) Bake at 350ºF (reduce to 325ºF if pan is dark), 30-35 min., when knife comes out clean.