Judy Makes a Cake

I do not do that often. And, when I do, I use whatever cake mix is on sale. I'm creative enough that I add stuff to make the mixes 'mine', but still. I make cakes only rarely.

But, I got the idea last night to invite my mom and dad over for dinner. THGGM is picking my dad up after work to bring him for the monthly blood work he always has to have done. My dad is six feet tall and I cannot get him from his door to a car in a way he would be comfortable doing hobbling as he must on this broken leg. THGGM can.

So, since they will already be out, and since my dad made it into the house okay on Sunday, they are coming here for 80th birthday dinner. I'm not the daughter who cooks. Nope. That is not me. This also means that my pantry is not well stocked. But really, how could I not have a cake mix?

Not only that, I ran out of milk. Thankfully, 'substitution' is my middle name.

To make a cake from scratch I had to pry open a really sticky page in my nearly 30 year old Betty Crocker Cookbook that I got for a wedding present from someone who cared. This cake had 'butter' in the title, so I am sure we will all like it.

I had to hunt for my round cake pans with the removable bottoms. Having THGGM rework the kitchen WAS nice, but I cannot find anything. Well, now I can, because I have been EVERYWHERE. I found them. I washed them. I sprayed them. I filled them.

I haven't read a recipe in awhile. Such teeny tiny print! Someone must have come into my house since I last used this cookbook and removed the very legible print of the past and exchanged it for a font so small I had to actually lay my nose on the recipe to see it.

I probably should have turned off my handmixer BEFORE doing that, but I didn't. My hair will be fine, I'm sure.

There was an instruction that totally mystified me. "Beat on high for 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally." Occasionally. Occasionally, we flip our mattress. Once, maybe twice a year. I want to know EXACTLY how many times in a five minute period I am required to scrape the bowl! I did it twice. Like mattress flipping.

If this cake turns out (it's been in 30 minutes and still is doughy in the center) I will frost it with my mother's Cocoa Butter Frosting. I was going to put vanilla pudding between the layers, but unless I can use soy formula or white chocolate macadamia nut coffee creamer to make the pudding, I'm out of luck.

Stay tuned for pictures!