A Tale of Two Cakes

I had no idea making your own birthday cake(s) was so frowned on by some. How else do you get exactly what you want? Especially when you have access to some really wonderful recipes and have an idea for a recipe that very few people would make until they've tried it?

May is my birthday month - I realized a few years ago that I needed more than one day to celebrate. I've gone as far as to celebrate 5 months after the date of my birth because I wasn't in the mood to do what I wanted to do in May). There has been a couple of us who have put on an annual spring potluck party for the past 7 or 8 years. I've secretly celebrated my birthday during most of them. Then I'll go out with my "birthday group" for at least one outing, usually involving dinner.

This year, as it is a celebration of my fortieth year, the annual party became my birthday party (a week after the day, as I was in Seattle celebrating with Ri Ri Glitter). And I made two out of the three cakes. And I think everyone was happy I did (I didn't hear any cries of eeeewwwwww).

The one I knew I would make would use a recipe I found on Group Recipes, a tasty Ginger, Lime, Cream Cheese Frosting (doesn't that just sound good?). I have an issue with layered cakes from an early experience, which some day I might admit, but don't think I've made a layered cake for about 30 years. I sucked it up, as I think layered cakes are much more attractive than sheet, even if they're not decorated. So I cheated and bought a couple of cake mixes (as it was going to be all about the frosting anyway).

The first was a yellow cake. I bought some Thai Candied Ginger from Pike's Market the last time I was there, and chopped 3 slices of that up and added it to the batter. So this had the trifecta of gingers - fresh, candied, and powdered.

The second mix I bought was a dark chocolate one - it was completely an impulse buy and I didn't give much thought to what kind of frosting to use until I got home. I looked around some of the recipe sites I use regularly and saw a lot of the same recipes and nothing I thought would really complement this recipe if it really turned out dark chocolatey. I thought back to a curry ice cream a good friend made a few years ago and remembered how well the spices worked with the creamy, rich sweetness. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that this was going to be a combination that was meant to be. I got excited about it. I told anyone who would listen to me about this plan.

This might be the best recipe I've come up with yet.

Curry Frosting

1 1/2 sticks salted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
2 tsp curry powder (use your favorite)
4-6 Tbsp milk

Combine the butter and sugar. Add vanilla and curry, blend. Start with about 4 of the tablespoons of milk. Add more to get the consistancy you need. I needed quite a bit.

Just for the record...I am either very lucky or have part of this life figured out, because I have some of the coolest, most fascinating and best people I call friends. Actually, I think it's a bit of both.