Today is my birthday. Today I turned 54. By the time you read this I will be enjoying a slice of my Almond Joy birthday cake. I have been thinking about my birthday cake for weeks. That’s nothing really. Once I thought for three years about my birthday cake. Not the actual flavor, but, the style of cake. I knew without a doubt I wanted a Peanuts themed cake for my 50th birthday. I have loved Snoopy and the Peanuts gang since I was a little girl. I remember when I was a Snoopy-loving kid, 50 seemed so old to me. I actually had a Peanuts birthday cake when I was younger. Oh, how I loved that cake. Turning 50 sounded like the perfect age to have another Peanuts birthday cake. I actually knew when I was 47 what type of dessert I would have the the next three birthdays. I may be The Rerouted Skytress, but, certain things I will not yield too when I have my mind made up. Plus, when your family has forgotten your birthday before, having a plan is actually a survival technique.
Yes, my family has forgotten my birthday a couple of times. Well, they sort of forgot. Let me explain. Once we celebrated my birthday a couple days in advance. The actual day of my birthday I was flying. I waited for my family and friends to call me that day. No one called. It was a very odd feeling. Each year after that,…before Facebook started sending out birthday reminders,….it was my test to see if anybody remembered my birthday. One year my family pretty much forgot. They finally remembered late in the evening. Not surprisingly, I didn’t get a cake that year. Another year my mom went to buy a birthday cake. The line at the bakery was too long so she left. Everyone knows the best part of a birthday is the delicious dessert. Well, at least it is for me. So, I eventually took my birthday cake matters into my own hands and my three-year birthday dessert plan was created. The first year instead of cake, I decided I would have a birthday peach cobbler. Peach cobbler is one of my favorite desserts. Since there isn’t a rule you have to have cake on your birthday….peach cobbler it was! The next year I decided I would have an ice cream cake. Ice cream cakes are such happy cakes and boy are they yummy! The third year was the piece de resistance. It was the big 5-O Snoopy and the Peanuts gang birthday cake. Good grief!! That cake was my all-time favorite.
I must say, I am delighted that my birthday is not on Thanksgiving this year. My sister Maureen and my best friend Tara get to celebrate their birthdays this Thanksgiving. Let me tell you from experience. Trying to eat birthday cake after eating a huge Thanksgiving meal is hard. A couple years ago when my birthday was on Thanksgiving I had an epiphany. I decided to make a pumpkin-cake birthday cake. If ever a two-fer dessert was needed,….it’s definitely needed on a Thanksgiving birthday. I also thought it would be hilarious to put birthday candles in the food as everyone sat down to eat our Thanksgiving meal. In my haste to be funny, I didn’t take into consideration that I was putting wax candles into hot food. Yep, the candles started to melt in the food. Wisdom doesn’t always come with age!
Anyone who knew my Dad, knew he loved a great party. Especially a birthday party. He even had a knack for throwing the occasional surprise birthday party. My Dad always remembered everyone’s birthday. He was incredible about calling or sending a birthday card to family and friends. More than anything though, he loved picking out a special dessert for everyone’s special day. My Dad taught me well. My Dad relished a cake baked with a fruit filling. He also adored a delightful chocolate mousse cake baked by a French bakery by our house. My friend Ivan calls it the Ho Ho cake. It tastes like a Hostess Ho Ho cake on steroids. It’s Devine. We still celebrate my Dad’s birthday with a special cake. I know he is especially thrilled in Heaven when we get his chocolate mousse cake. Not surprisingly, I still celebrate Ron’s birthday with a cake, too. Ron celebrated his birthdays with Carvel ice cream cakes. I never heard of a Carvel cake before I met Ron. Nor, had I ever eaten one. I assumed all ice cream cakes were pretty much the same. Until I learned otherwise. I got Ron a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake for his birthday. When he took a bite he exclaimed, “There’s cake in here!” I never knew an ice cream cake not to have cake in it. I learned after that birthday that Carvel cakes don’t have cake in them. When Ron talked about the chocolate crunchy bits inside the Carvel cakes, I thought it was one of the layers between the cake and ice cream. Boy was I wrong. We laughed about the ice cream cake with cake in it for a long time. Ron enjoyed the Baskin Robbins cake. But, I could tell Carvel cakes were always going to be his favorite. Thus, I bought a Carvel cake to celebrate Ron’s birthday after he died. This year my family celebrated Ron’s birthday with a Baskin Robbins cake. I laughed as I remembered Ron eating his Baskin Robbins cake proclaiming “There’s cake in here!” Next year I will get a Carvel cake again. I know Ron will be delighted in Heaven as we eat his favorite part of the cake….the crunchy chocolate bits.
Ron and I also had a discussion one night about paper blow horns. You know, the ones you blow into and the paper uncurls and makes a noise. Then once you stop blowing, the paper curls back up. We had no Earthly idea what they were called. But, that night I told Ron I was going to get them for my birthday party. The next day I went to the party store. I called Ron and told him the horns are officially called “Blowouts”. We laughed at the simplicity of the name. Of course, I bought several packages. I also bought birthday party hats. My family is abnormally obsessed with birthday party hats. My family doesn’t wear one hat. They like to wear several at one time. The more obnoxious the better. My family is very weird, but, endearing. They truly are the life of birthday parties. If laughter keeps one young, my family will forever be kids at heart.
I am a firm believer Almond Joy cake helps keep a person young, too. It should be noted Ron and I had a thing for Almond Joy candy bars. One day I was on Pinterest and I decided to see if there were any Almond Joy recipes. Pinterest never fails me. There were hundreds. I found a recipe for Almond Joy cupcakes. When I read Almond Joy candy bars are inserted in the cake part, it was an Eureka moment for me. I made the cupcakes. They were delectable. When I made the executive decision to use the recipe to make a two-layered cake, I wasn’t disappointed. The cake is absolutely heavenly. I don’t make the Almond Joy cake very often, though. I don’t want to grow tired of this scrumptious cake. However, 2020 definitely called for the Almond Joy birthday cake. It’s not only a birthday cake. This year it’s a COVID-19 birthday survival cake.
I find it amusing that some years I have difficulty remembering how old I am. This year I’ll remember 54 by thinking of Studio 54. Next year I will remember 55 by singing, “I can’t drive 55”. Hopefully, it will be a smart plan and I will execute it marvelously. Amazingly, I don’t have the same difficulty remembering what I had for my birthday dessert for the past several years. I guess age really is just a number. It’s not very important. A birthday dessert on the other hand is extremely important. At least it is for me. I’m sure as I savor my slice of Almond Joy birthday cake, I will be planning my next birthday delectable. Don’t be surprised if I settle on a three-year plan again. After all, my last three-year birthday cake survival plan was entirely delicious.