Birthday wishes to Jesse and Mollys Wedding Cake

Today my baby boy turns fourteen. Fourteen! I can hardly believe it. By October when Evan turns thirteen, I will be the mother of two teenagers. I still can’t wrap my head around it.

Gone are the two little boys who would walk hand and hand with me in the supermarket. Who would always make sure the other had a lollipop waiting when they came home from the bank with Mama. Lost are the days when they both sat on the floor, huddled in blankets watching and singing along to Blue’s Clues. I miss the sunny afternoons spent at the beach watching them make the perfect sandcastle together.

I miss reading Jess bedtime stories, and rocking him to sleep. I miss singing Beatles songs in bed with him. I miss his toothless grin and his endless energy (teenagers sleep…a lot). I miss the little overalls and tiny shoes, the look on this face when he first discovered Toy Story and watched it over and over. “Again Mama, again”. I even miss the Woody doll he carried with him everywhere for what seemed liked forever. I still have that doll. Although I am the purging queen, I just couldn’t let go of that little plastic guy.

I no longer get to cut up his cinnamon toast into triangles or rectangles. I miss filling his snack cup with Pepperidge Farm goldfish. I miss cutting up his food. I miss wiping his hands and face after dinner, watching him play in the bathtub. All those little things, that were just part of the routine, I miss the most.

I miss carrying him on my hip, his favorite spot to be.

I even miss hearing him call me Mama.

Now it’s usually a long whiney “Moooooooooooooooooom” from across the room.

I know that in the blink of an eye, they will both be off to college (I hope!) or finding their own path in life, and the house will be quiet and I will miss all the teenage stuff that is happening now, so I’m going to try and savor every little moment of the teenage years, no matter how loud and hectic they get. Wish me luck.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of him....typical Jess, frog in hand, not a care in the world.

Here he is last month in one of my favorite too....Jess by the light of the fire.



We are officially celebrating Jesse’s birthday on the 20th, but a birthday just isn’t a birthday without a cake, and even though this recipe was originally a wedding cake by the super talented Molly, I turned it into a birthday cake for Jesse. Besides, I had been dying for an excuse to make cake.

It was easy to make, looked terrific, smelled terrific, and it really tasted great, but in all honesty, this cake was just a bit too rich and sweet for me. I know, I know...me the lover of all things chocolate, but even I have my limits. This was more fudge like than cake like. We each had a little sliver and were totally full. This could easily feed 25 people if thinly sliced.



Molly’s Wedding Cake
recipe from Molly/Orangette
7 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Scharffen Berger)
1 ¾ sticks (7 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 and butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper and butter the top of the paper too.

Put the chocolate in a medium microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time, stirring often, just until smooth. (Alternatively you can melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over, but not touching, barley simmering water). When the mixture is smooth, add the sugar, stirring well to incorporate. Set the batter aside to cool for 5 minutes. Then add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition. Add the flour and stir to mix well. The batter should be dark and silky.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top is slightly crackled, the edges are puffed and the center of the cake looks set. Molly sets the time for 20 minutes and then checks every 2 minutes after that. So that’s what I did. At 20 minutes, the center of the cake is usually still quite jiggly; you’ll know it’s done when the center only jiggles slightly, if at all.

Remove the cake from the oven to a cooling rack, and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully turn it out of the pan and then flip it onto a serving plate, so that the crackly side faces up. Since the cake is fairly delicate, this can be tricky, but Molly found this was the easiest:

Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan and place a large flat plate (not the serving plate) on top of the foil, facing down (a small sheet pan would work well). Hold the cake pan and the plate firmly together and quickly, carefully flip them. The pan should now be on top of the plate with the foil between them. Remove the pan, revealing the cake, which is now upside down. Remove the parchment paper. Place the serving plate gently atop the cake. Wedging your index finger between the plates to keep it from squishing the cake, flip them so that the cake is now right side up. Remove the foil.

Cool completely before serving, preferably with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Can be stored sealed in plastic for up to 3 days, or 5 day if refrigerated.