Autumn, I've got you under my skin.

     For years, I have stressed about making the perfect birthday cakes. It is a gift and a curse when people know you enjoy baking; they expect things. They might not even know they expect things, but inside their mischievous noggins, a little voice is whispering, "don't worry, she'll make the cake...". Then, for weeks I'll consider hundreds, okay, thousands of recipes that could potentially be perfect for the birthday gal or guy. The reason birthday cakes stress me out so much is the weight of failure that comes in tow with an imperfect cake. Nothing says, "happy birthday" like a cake that has turned into a small replica of Mt. Doom. An imperfect cake meant an imperfect birthday in my book. That all changed this year when my sister slaved in the kitchen for what seemed like hours to make me a birthday cake. The result looked like a swamp log, but I was so pleased! She had put so much love and sweat (literally?) into that cake. That's when it dawned on me: it's not the cake itself, but the action that is a gift. With that in mind, I've been making less complicated cakes for birthdays, meaning less room for mistake and more nommin.

Spiced Applesauce Birthday Cake

Cream dat butter. Once you've creamed the sugar and the butter together, add the rest of the wet ingredients. This will look like curdled milk. Go with it.

Next, sift all the dry ingredients together so there aren't any questionable lumps. I added ginger, mace, and nutmeg to my mix, a teaspoon each. Why? It's fall and I'm an American. 

Combine the two mixtures just until the batter forms. Add the chopped apples (that I included) at this point. When the cake escapes from the fiery pits of the oven, it should look something like this.

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For the icing, I just folded some mascarpone into whipped cream. Wait until the cake is cooled before you attempt to ice it. Being impatient with this step shatters dreams.

Wow! How many other grandpas do you know who are twenty? You go, Vinny. My old a cappella group was kind enough to provide a birthday jingle at this point. Check these she-foxes out: http://auralfixation.weebly.com/index.html

As you can see, my family and I are gifted in slicing cake.

I don't even like apple cakes and I was diggin this one like an old soul record. 

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There you have it, a humble cake for a humble guy. May all of your birthday cakes of the future be filled with joy and gumption. 

This was my birthday cake. The commitment! 

Recipe

(Adapted from "Betty Crocker's Cookbook")

350 F 55-65 min

2 1/2 c flour

2 c sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 c water

1 1/2 c applesauce

1/2 c shortening (I used butter)

2 eggs

3 medium apples, small dice