It's A Girl!

I am not a perfectionist, I'm really not, I'm not...well, at least not for most things, as proven by our rather lax approach to house-keeping, my genuine willingness to wear an unironed shirt, my inability to keep receipts, and the mess that covers my desk most of the time. But once I get an idea in my head, be it a paint color or a theatrical production or a cake design...then I want/need reality to match that image in my brain, which itself is perfection, because who imagines an imperfect idea?

Yes, I know, I know, it might be suggested that I should maybe consider thinking about next time cutting myself a little slack and assume/acknowledge that the picture in my head is what is it - a fantasy, a Platonic ideal, a place to start - and avoid the whole moaning-and-frustration-induced-death-scene that results from the inconvenient insertion of reality into my world. But I know that isn't likely to happen...because sometimes/occasionally it almost gets there...it's true, there have been times when the living/breathing/tactile version almost/nearly matches the imagined/what-if version. But (and this is the jab in the ribs), you know what, regardless of how closely the end-product matches the mental picture, no matter how smoothly the process goes from brain to world, I still pretty much go through the same routine: smooth start/no problems...crisis...moaning/anger...Nik says nice things...frustration and a quick/sharp comment...followed by mutual silence...followed by "it works out in the end".

And The Baby Shower Cake was, I must admit, not God's gift to the world of cakedom, but rather an example of "thank God it worked out in the end." Meaning...it tasted good, it was cute, it didn't collapse, I wasn't embarrassed...but it also means that the fondant ripped, the sides were bumpy, the ribbons were bent, and I had to change some of the decorations to hide the imperfections. Obviously, the fondant in my brain was not torn and bumpy - it was smooth and perfect, like it will be on the next cake.

Oh, and in case anyone is keeping track, I did attend the baby shower, I stayed for the duration (because I had to cut the cake), and I did enjoy it...little tiny hats, little tiny socks, little tiny onesies, little tiny butt wipes (and a butt wipe warmer - I want one of those!)...what's not to enjoy? Nik and I don't have kids - we have dogs who we call our kids. And our dogs are funny, and quirky, and pushy. And I know others might disagree, but our dogs/kids are an example of reality informing/creating my image of what perfect is...in my mind our dogs are perfect! And I have a feeling that if we did have kids (of the human variety), I would think that they were perfect too.

Congratulations, Kristen and Eric!

The bottom (10-inch) tier of the cake was a Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Lemon Bar Filling. The top (7-inch) tier was an Orange White Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Buttercream Filling/Frosting. I had intended to have a little (4-inch) tier on the top...but that was part of perfection that reality revised. The whole thing was covered with rolled fondant

and a garden of foam-flowers on spiral floral wire sprang out of the top and sides of the cake.

Poppy Seed Cake

Milk.............................1 1/3 cup

Vanilla Bean....................1

Vanilla Extract.................1 1/2 tsp

Poppy Seeds...................1 cup

Cake Flour......................3 1/3 cup

Baking Powder.................3 1/2 tsp

Salt..............................1 tsp

Butter............................12 oz

Sugar.............................2 1/2 cups, divided

Egg Whites......................8, room temp

Cream of Tarter................1/4 tsp

1. In a small saucepan, scald the milk. Remove from the heat, add the poppy seeds. Slit the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the milk, then add the pods. Let mixture cool to room temp.

2. Preheat the oven to 325. Spray 10-inch x 2-inch cake pan with cooking spray, line the bottom with parchment, and flour the pan.

3. Sift the flour, the baking powder, and the salt into a bowl.

4. In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the sugar and beat until very light and creamy, about 4 minutes.

5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture (3 additions), alternating with the milk/poppy seed mixture (2 additions).

6. In a clean bowl, with the whip attachment, whip the egg whites until frothy, add a pinch of salt and the cream of tarter. When soft peaks form, gradually add the remaining 1/2 sugar and continue to beat until meringue is stiff and shiny.

7. Fold 1/4 of the meringue into the cake batter to lighten. Fold in the remaining batter.

8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 60-70 minutes.