Yesterday was Rebecca’s birthday, and I realized that 3 previous generations – and one baking legend – helped make her birthday cake special.
When Rebecca was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I was sure that baking from that point on was going to be a real pain. But in the past year, Betty Crocker started making Gluten-Free mixes. Fortunately for Rebecca, we had a box of cake mix in our pantry:
Thank you, Betty Crocker!
So, I mixed up the cake batter using my favorite kitchen power tool, my trusty KitchenAid Mixer. Since I probably won’t ever get that sexy sports car I dreamed of as a 16-year-old, I figure a snazzy kitchen appliance will have to do….
It ain't a Corvette, but at least it's red.....
While the cake was baking, I made some chocolate buttercream frosting from scratch (not because I’m a good mom, but because there wasn’t any pre-made stuff in the house….). The recipe called for confectioner’s sugar and cocoa, and the stuff in the pantry has been there rather a while, so I thought it might be a good idea to sift those ingredients before adding them to the mixer.
When Paul’s Grandma Nettie passed away, one of the items that we inherited was the sifter that she used to sift the flour that she made breadsticks with every Friday for lunch when Paul’s dad was a kid. She isn’t with us anymore, but I always smile whenever I use that sifter.
This little sifter has seen a LOT of use through the years!
After the cake was cooled and frosted, we placed it in the cake cover/carrier that my mom used when we were growing up. She and my Dad are in the process of downsizing their household, so I was given this a couple of years ago. We don’t use it very often, but I have very happy memories of birthday cakes being stored in here when I was a kid.
Lots of cakes have been under here!
When it came time to put candles on the cake, I realized that I only had 9 birthday candles in the house (yeah, I’m not the best mom…..). Oh, well – you make do with what you have, right?
Don't look too hard at the candles.....
In the end, it didn’t really matter, because when it came time to sing “Happy Birthday”, Rebecca took one look at the fire on top of the cake and high-tailed it to the back room – she wanted NOTHING to do with blowing out the candles!
Well, she liked the IDEA of Birthday Cake....
So we all followed her to the back room, sang “Happy Birthday”, and Paul blew out the candles for Rebecca.
Maybe I'll make a wish.....
The cake was delicious, and it meant so much more to know that we were able to use items that hold special memories for us to make a special memory for Rebecca.
Koch's Tour 
Nice post, TiFW. Happy Birthday Rebecca!
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Awwww, that’s so sweet!
I love that sifter. Looks just like the one my grandmother still has. Three years ago, my dad brought back a coffee grinder that she had owned for about 50 years. When I asked why she gave it to me, she said she remembered Hubby liked to grind the coffee beans.
What she forgot was that Hubby liked grinding the beans for his parents’ coffee, and that he enjoyed doing it when he was six years old. I may add, Hubby doesn’t drink coffee 😀
Still, it’s a beautiful coffee grinder, and has a lot of history. I only hope she gives me the sifter, too 😉
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What a neat story! I’m sure one of your daughters will love having that grinder in her house in the future – guys don’t think about that kind of stuff….
When we got the sifter, there were still little bits of dried old bread dough imbedded in some of the crevasses between the handle and the body of the sifter (Nettie didn’t have a dishwasher). I was told in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS by all of Paul’s brothers and sisters that those bits were not to be touched.
Now, mind you, NOBODY from Paul’s family comes to visit us (none of them like big cities), and it’s not like they would even remember all these years later that we even HAVE the sifter…..
But those dried bits of dough are still there –
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Cute story Teresa and it is really nice to have some ‘old’ things. It’s what helps make the house a home.
And I spy a few princess dresses, yes? Did Rebecca score some awesome presents? While I enjoyed playing cars with my brother, in the dirt under the swing set, I lurved getting me some dolls for my birthdays.
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Yes – like a fool, I’m signed up to get messages from Disney.com, and they always pull me in…..
Unfortunately, I think that BaileytheDog (aka “Jaws”) chewed up her last intact Barbie doll last week, as Rebecca was “dressing” a stick with her new birthday loot this morning.
SIGH……..
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My goodness – how Rebecca has grown. It has been a few years since we’ve seen her. She’s so beautiful. Give her a hug from me.
Oh-we have a sifter that looks exactly like yours. It was my mom’s and I’m pretty sure she got it from her mom. It really is a treasure. Excellent cake!!
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It has been much too long since we’ve had a chance to visit! I’ll be sure and give Rebecca a hug – you give that grandbaby a hug from us.
I have a feeling Grandma Nettie got that sifter from the “country store” in Hondo, Texas, and there is no telling how old that sucker is. She was 99 when she passed away. I still miss her terribly – she was a feisty thing!
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