Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The weekend, briefly

My mom turned 60 this weekend and we normally celebrate her birthday in a big way. Time didn't permit this year, so we forewent the party and made her eat cake for breakfast instead.

the cake, 6 layers
{the cake, 6 layers}

Decade celebrations require more layers (one layer per decade) and I was a bit nervous about this one. Six layers is a lot of cake. Structural integrity becomes an issue. I made three batches of cake and four batches of fudge (recipes here) and enlisted D to be my spotter as I assembled. Total kitchen time was about 6 hours, I think, if you include the break I took while the cakes were cooling. I stuck bamboo skewers through the entire thing and let it set up overnight. We only cut through two layers at a time, because we literally don't have plates large enough to hold a six layer slice. I should have taken a picture with a ruler next to it for scale.

serving
{serving (photo by d)}

Also, drove through Lee*s for pre-baking sustenance (drive through banh mi is definitely one of the reasons I love SoCal),

banh mi
{banh mi}

tried Deb's new rib recipe (killer, but we want to do a bit of tweaking with the sauce),

ribs, remains
{ribs, remains}

went fabric shopping with mom (her stash, not mine),

fabrics
{fabrics}

Circe slept in and almost missed the birthday breakfast,

circe, morning
{circe, morning}

we tried a new taco place and didn't totally love it (but we are really picky, taco wise).

taco miendo
{tacomiendo}

28 comments:

  1. that cake is stunning! i'm so impressed.

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  2. Wow, now that's a cake! Six hours is a commitment, but baking a cake like that is so much fun. that banh mi doesn't look half bad, either...

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  3. That cake looks unbelievable! That's a lot of chocolate - yum.

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  4. Aw, how is Circe doing? We recently had our dog checked out b.c we found a lump on his back but thankfully it was just fatty tissue. I love watching my dogs laze around, it makes me want to climb in bed too.

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  5. That cake looks so WOW. I am really considering making it this weekend. My grandmother has recently passed along some of her favourite cake recipes (including the most amazing carrot/pineapple cake with buttermilk syrup) and I'm discovering that I'm sometimes ok with baking that requires more than an hour's effort...

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  6. That cake is perfect! And the amazing, high quality 'fast food' in SoCal is amazing. So many options.

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  7. What an incredible cake!
    I want to try something like that. Your photos are so impressive!
    I like the simple, clean feel of your whole blog, it's beautiful! Can't wait to check around and see what other gems you have here :)

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  8. I am thoroughly impressed by that cake- lucky mama!

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  9. Ha that cake is awesome! My best friend once made me a vegan chocolate cake the shape of a pint of Guinness (upright) - so it was top heavy... talk about structural integrity!! It worked though and was tasty!

    Happy birthday to your Mum. Hugs for Circe!

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  10. That is one seriously gorgeous cake. Bravo.

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  11. i love your tradition of different layers for new decades and i swear if you try the burrito at tacomiendo you'll change your mind :)

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  12. now we see where your organizational skills come from. that fabric stash is impressive.

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  13. That cake is an amazing creation.
    Everything looks so yummy!

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  14. That cake is epic, and I'm jealous of your mom's fabric stash.

    Tacomiendo is quite a clever, punny name for a taco place. Pity it wasn't tastier.

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  15. I think I am going to attempt to make this cake for my mom's anniversary this year. I think she would love it. Only 2 layers though, because there is no way I could handle more than that.

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  16. wow! that cake is quite impressive. looks delicious.

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  17. What an awesome and sweet thing to make for your mom!

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  18. @ stephanie - if you are going to tackle the cake, email me! i have tips. i'll add them to the cake post eventually, but i haven't yet.

    @ Kristy - D actually insisted that we try tacomiendo specifically because of the name. he loves puns like crazy.

    @ Em - we wanted to love tacomiendo so badly, but the tacos were totally flavorless (both the meat and the homemade tortillas, which i was super excited about). maybe sunday is not a good day for them? we might have to give it another try.

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  19. whoa - six layers. that is a commitment.

    i'm picky about my tacos too. sorry yours were not good.

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  20. wow that cake! i made a 3 layer cake once and it was really wonky, that's always a risk with layer cakes but yours looks perfectly perpendicular!

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  21. very impressive cake!!!
    happy birthday week to your mom :)

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  22. That cake is awesome! I had a four layer cake for my last birthday. It was pink, white, chocolate, white and had pink lemonade icing. It was amazing!

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  23. I simply love that idea! I'm gonna use that in my family.

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  24. Wow, that's an amazing cake! I'm inspired! I'm going to attempt a bday cake sometime soon and I'm feeling a bit nervous. Sounds like you had a great weekend!

    TheOwlsCloset.blogspot.com

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  25. holy crap, drive-through banh mi! where have you been my whole life?

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