MIL and I took my DDs to Chuck E. Cheese yesterday. It was very crowded. There were lots of birthdays in the back area and rows of tables full of nondescript grocery store cakes. I was on my way to take my 3 year old to the bathroom when I smelled...REAL BUTTER buttercream! It smelled so good in comparison to the others. So I started to look for the evidence to see if I was correct. In the vicinity of the aroma, across from a row of tables where people were eating some really good looking white cake, I saw it. A box from a bakery with the name stamped on it, not a grocery store box. I smiled to myself while everyone looked at me strangely as I passed by. (After all, I was eyeing their bakery box a little more than the average person as I walked by. It was closed and I couldn't see what was left of the cake...darn!) So for the rest of the day I was craving cake...and still today I am craving cake! If I could reach through my computer... My DD's birthday party is not until next Sunday...can I hold out til then or will I eat it all as I am trying to make the cake?

So what is your funny Cake Story?

My grandmother was not much of a baker, but she was a fabulous cook. She would take on any country's cuisine, and make it her own.

Her theory on baking or roasting was that if she could smell it in the living room, it was done. That included coffee, which she made in a stove-top percolator.

Years later I realized that this theory works. No matter where I have lived, once I could smell the food/cake in the living room, I knew it was done. Works better than a toothpick.

Theresa

Oh, my, I dissect my food, too! I'm always observing ingredients, presentation, etc. I drive my family crazy, because when we go out, I ask to smell their orders, and then I tell them what seasonings are in it. I've already sent a meat loaf platter back because they put oregano in it.

Theresa