A Sweet Mess

In the nine birthdays that my husband has celebrated with me at his side, he has not let me make him a birthday cake. And I truly mean “let me.” He asks for (just short of demands) a store-produced birthday cake. I used to get my panties in a wad over this, but have come to the realization that the man just likes white cake and white icing from Kroger. So, I have bought him a cake every year. This year, I don’t have to study. I don’t have school. I am actually home. I have slightly more free time, and I begged him to let me make his birthday cake! He finally said I could, but then said it had to be wedding cake. Well, I don’t like to do anything half-way, so when I heard wedding cake, I spent all my time searching for the perfect recipe. I changed my mind several times, right up to the day I planned to begin baking. I spent more money on all the supplies and ingredients than I have probably spent on the cakes in years past. BUT, I was bound and determined to make him the best cake ever. And to have him ask me next year to make “That Cake” again! Now, I am no Martha, and I don’t know the first thing about making wedding cake, let alone a birthday cake from scratch. But do I let things like that stop me? NO! The cake took two days to complete, cake one night then frosting and decorating the next. Let me just say that I am not the cleanest baker, and did I mention that I don’t ever bake from scratch? Flour was everywhere, then powdered sugar. My poor mixer has never had such a thorough spattering and then cleaning. Here are the pics:

Needless to say, the cake looked pretty. It turned out just how I wanted. The icing was a bit of a struggle because the Wilton colors would not “mix” into the frosting well (any suggestions as to why???) and kept “pooling.” Josh came home from work and immediately wanted a piece. Exhausted and nervous, I waited for the verdict. Good grief, I had spent so much time, effort, and money making this THE cake to top all store-bought cakes. He bit into it and didn’t say anything. Seriously? He continued to eat (good sign, I guess) but only said “It’s good.” Then finished his piece and looked at me. No jumping up and down, no tears of joy for the homemade cake, no “This is soooo good, Janine, thank you!” I was so incredibly disappointed I can’t even put words to it. Well, when I finally tried it, I knew why: the frosting was amazing, the cake was good but it was so so so dry. I even choked a little on it! What a bummer. Ok, I didn’t hit the mark, but I think I will get another try next year, with a different recipe! Thank you to all of my friends and mom who contributed advice on this! Maybe next time I will listen a little better!