When Life Gives You Stupid Cake...

I've never claimed to be a good cake maker. Oh, I make the cake taste really good, but I'm not very good at making it look good. It's that dang frosting. And layers? No dice.

But I figured I could make a decent one for Josh's birthday. Since we're having a party with friends on Friday, I though I would just make a small one for our little family party tonight. Smaller would be easier, right? I mixed the batter, greased and floured the little pans, stuck them in the oven, and had visions of cute little rectangle layer cakes, yellow with chocolate frosting. They would look like little chocolate '1's! Instead, this is what came out of the oven.

Dang.

I'm not quite sure what happened. I know I greased and floured the pans well. (They were mini-loaf pans.) And I waited 10 minutes before trying to take the cakes out. That's long enough, right? I ran a butter knife around the sides, but it was the bottom that gave me problems. So I don't know. What to do?

Dang it!

But then I had an epiphany. Who said you absolutely had to have a cake on your first birthday? (Or any birthday, for that matter. In fact, I much prefer some gourmet ice cream and really good cookies.) So I decided Josh would have a birthday Trifle. Mmm...

I scrounged around my pantry and freezer and came up with a package of sugar free chocolate pudding, around two cups of Cool Whip, and some frozen blackberry/cherry syrup. I also had the chocolate frosting I was going to use for the cake. (I know, totally lazy. In fact, I rarely buy frosting, but it was on sale and I figured no would really care but me.)

I started with a dollop of melted frosting at the bottom of my parfait cups. (I got them as a wedding present and use them about twice a year...)

Then I made the pudding with just one cup of milk. I mixed it really well and then folded in the Cool Whip.

I crumbled the cake on top of the dollop of frosting. Then I spread a good layer of the pudding mixture over the cake. On top of that I drizzled some of the syrup and some more of the melted frosting.

I repeated the layers and viola!


Here's a view of the finished product from the side. I love the layers.

Now they're sitting in the fridge, waiting for tonight. I figure we'll put a candle in one, let Josh 'blow' it out, scoop some onto his tray, and let him go to town. It should be deliciously messy, which is the perfect description of my little boy.

So my new motto for the day is: when life gives you stupid cake, make trifle! (Which sounds like a weird British country song...)