Monday, April 26, 2010

Decadent Birthday

The cake was an orgy for the eyes. Completely covered by white and dark chocolate drizzles, it screamed "I am a chocolate fantasy come true!" It was a fitting confection for my 50th birthday celebration, made even better by the fact that my sister had made it, at my house, with me in the kitchen with her.

We had worked on plans for celebrating my birthday, plans which were exceedingly difficult to finalize owing to many factors including her traveling across country on a tight time schedule, and me planning to be out of the country on the actual day. But we managed to carve out about 36 hours of sister fun in the middle of the fluctuating currents of our lives spread across the continent.

I knew she was planning to make the cake, and I didn't try to talk her out of it. I did successfully dissuade her, however, from hauling eggs, butter, sugar, flour, and cake pans from Colorado to Iowa. She finally conceded that she would just bring the "special" ingredients. I found out later, those "special" ingredients included about 4 pounds of varying types of chocolate: chocolate to melt into the batter, chocolate chips to fold into the cake, and the previously mentioned chocolates for the icing.

It was a wonder to behold and to taste. Dark and rich and heavy and moist and, did I say, chocolatey? But more than that, it was a gift of love from her to me. It wasn't just the cake itself but also the time we spent together in my kitchen, with me finding the utensils and bowls and basic ingredients, and her magically transforming those basics into the wondrous creation of "Decadent Chocolate Cake" that made the cake a fitting tribute to my special day and our special time.