Monday, December 20, 2004

Red Velvet Cake

Thank you for all the birthday greetings blog family! When your birthday is one week before Christmas it is hard on your friends and family. I know this as I have friends with Christmas time birthdays. It is hard to get past the holly-daze to celebrate. btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN !!!

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the season it is hard to carve out a little time to just celebrate a birthday. My family and husband have always been very good at this though. They always pull something together even though life is crazy. For the past three years my family has bought a red velvet cake as my birthday cake.
I like Red Velvet cake, sort of. My cousins Ashley and Maria LOVE red velvet cake. Ashley makes the best and prettiest I have ever eaten. I like HER red velvet cake.

Saturday morning Kolby asked me "Mommy do you really like Red Velvet cake?"
I thought to myself...What do I say? Did they already buy a Red Velvet cake? Do I tell her the truth?
So semi-selfishly I said "I like red velvet cake. "
"But is it your FAVORITE CAKE?" she asked wide eyed
"Uhhhh, welllll it's not exactly my favorite cake."
Gasping in disbelief "It's not your favorite???? Daddy said you loved Red Velvet cake!"
Before I could respond, at the top of her lungs Kolby yelled "DDDDAAAADDDDDDYYYYY! Mom doesn't even like Red Velvet cake." and runs out of the room.
"Kolby I didn't say that....."I said as I attepmted tocatch her before she crushed my husbands sweet attempt to honor me.
Too late.
On the kitchen counter, beside a vase of a dozen long stem pink sweetheart roses, sat a Red Velvet sheet cake with "Happy Birthday Stephanie" piped in red on the cream cheese icing.

There are moments in life that define us. That moment, I hate to say, defined me in a very unflattering way. Once I saw that the cat was out of the bag and the cake was again Red Velvet, I hastily made the wrong decision to stand my ground.
Rob "You don't like Red Velvet Cake?"
Me " Well no, not really."
Rob "I thought you loved Red Velvet cake!!! You make them all the time."
Me "Honey, I have never in my life made a Red Velvet Cake"
Rob "Are you sure? I thought you made one every year!"
Me "That's Ashley who loves them and makes one every year."
Rob, deflated and confused, "How in the world did I get you and Ashley confused?"
Me "I don't know, but I love the fact that you get me a birthday cake every year and the roses are beautiful!!!"
Rob "I couldn't find yellow roses"
Me "Why would you want yellow roses? Pink are my favorite."
Rob " PINK are your favorite? "
OOOOppps!
Me " Yeah"
Rob " So what is your favorite cake? "

Eight years later and Rob and I are still discovering new things about each other every day! Ain't life grand!:)

And to answer that last question... I love carrot cake (especially from McKays in Abilene). I love Swiss chocolate cake with divinity icing. I love butter cream cake or chocolate cake with butter cream icing. AND I love cookie cakes from the mall! How about you?

PS And OH YEAH ...CHEESECAKE!!!!

10 comments:

Chris said...

angel food - anything lemony - cheesecake - anything I don't have to a) bake or b) clean up after someone else bakes!

Happy Birthday!

Beaner said...

I usually don't like cake all that much, but I'll eat anything that's sweet. My favorite cake used to be Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Cakes, but I haven't had one of those in a loooong time. I love anything chocolate, except choc. ice cream (I am wierd!)Anyway, this time of year I love ANYTHING mint, esp. mint shakes - but just wait until St. Patrick's Day & then I HAVE TO have a Shamrock Shake from McD's!!! OK, that was probably more than you wanted to know, but now I'm gonna have to break into the candy cane stash & satisfy my sweet tooth!

Beaner said...

One more thing - I have never had a red velvet cake before. Is that like the armadillo cake in Pretty Woman? What does it taste like? Cherry?

SG said...

Beaner,
Yes it was the Armadillo Cake in Steel Magnolias! I forgot about that!There is no fruit or fruit taste in Red Velvet. It has cocoa and vanilla and buttermilk in it. It doesn't taste really chocolate or vanilla. The red comes from 2 oz of red food coloring. i wonder if i would like it with out the red? Grocery stores here make Red Velvet cakes... but not as good as Ashleys!
E-mail me if you want the recipe.
Steph

Anonymous said...

chocolate cake - chocolate icing! Maybe a birthday cake from Culpepper's in Florence, AL.

Jenni said...

Chocolate Swirl Cake from McKays is about my favorite ever (at least store-bought cakes). I also have a smashing recipe for a Chocolate Chocolate Chip cake with fudge frosting....can it get any better than that?!? :-)

Beaner said...

Stephanie - I am so embarrased! I was a Theatre Major & I can't believe I substituted Pretty Woman for Steel Magnolias - not even in the same league! I guess I was thinking Julia Roberts & got confused. Anyway, I grew up in Chicago - not a lot of red velvet cake up there! It's pretty much a Southern thing, right?

Donna G said...

My mom's chocolate cake with chocolate icing. A close second might be her apple cake. And I am with you Steph, Red velvet is O.K., its pretty, its tasty if you get enough cream cheese in the icing, but really why not just make it chocolate and everyone will love it....

Mae said...

Putting in my 2 cents! I think it's called a bunt/bundt cake ~ my stepmom makes one ~ yellow cake w/ cinnamon swirl and a homemade icing drizzled on top (the icing tends to pool in the middle of the cake where there's a huge whole, that part is technically my favorite) that is just devine!!! You also can't go wrong w/ a yellow cake w/ chocolate icing, rainbow cake w/ rainbow icing, icing in general, or... best of all... a chocolate oatmeal cookie cake that's as big as your head... pure bliss! Excuse me while I send Brandon to Kroger's for cake ingredients.

Susan - said...

Thanks for the birthday wishes Steph! Hope yours was great. My favorite cake is my Mom's chocolate cake with chocolate icing (with chopped pecans in the icing.) Did she make me one? No. Did I let her know I wanted one? You better believe it. But she just made one for my Dad's birthday a couple of weeks ago. Is Red Velvet Cake a Southern thing? I never thought of that.