All that is mine is my mother and father's line

[sovay]

Photo-post. For my mother's birthday, we took her to Singin' in the Rain (1952) at the Somerville Theatre and then dinner at Za in Arlington, where my brother and his wife met us with their three-month-old. We went back to Lexington afterward for cake. I took pictures.



My mother's favorite color is orange. She loves autumn and nasturtiums and tiger lilies and birds of paradise. This year she asked for an orange cake, so my father made her one. Two layers of orange sponge with orange curd for filling and a buttercream frosting flavored with orange zest and oil, decorated on top with slices of Valencia orange and mint leaves for variety. It was served with plain whipped cream on the side.



derspatchel helped light it.



My mother really liked it.



So did everyone else.

I am off to read Ben Aaronovitch's Broken Homes (2013) and sleep.

Comments

[gaudior]

I love the picture of her lit by candle-light! And the cake is lovely.

[sovay]

I love the picture of her lit by candle-light! And the cake is lovely.

Thank you! I really, really like the picture of her, too.

[gwynnega]

What a beautiful cake!

[sovay]

What a beautiful cake!

My father came late to baking; for most of my life, he handled the savory side of things and my mother the cookies, cakes, and pastries. About five years ago he started to get interested in breads and soufflés, from which he has been slowly branching out. I think this is his most complicated dessert to date and it came out really, really well.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Awww. Your mother's face is just aglow with the essence of orange: Hestia at peace. And truly, what a gorgeous cake!

Happy Birthday to her!

Nine

[sovay]

Your mother's face is just aglow with the essence of orange: Hestia at peace. And truly, what a gorgeous cake!

I like the picture, and I like what it remembers.

Happy Birthday to her!

I'll pass it on!

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Lovely photo of your mother with cake: proof of a job well done.

I am waiting impatiently for Broken Homes to come out in paperback.

[sovay]

Lovely photo of your mother with cake: proof of a job well done.

Thank you. She indicated it was a good birthday.

I am waiting impatiently for Broken Homes to come out in paperback.

It's out in paperback here! That seems backwards.

[beowabbit]

Yay!

[sovay]

Yay!

I thought so.

[tithenai.livejournal.com]

That is a stunningly beautiful cake, and your mother's face in that penultimate photo just warms my heart. To see a woman contemplating how immensely loved she is -- just so lovely. Thank you for sharing these photos.

(My mother always made a fluffy orange cake for our birthdays, growing up, but it was never so intensely orange-y as this! Do you think you will repeat or post a recipe?)

[sovay]

To see a woman contemplating how immensely loved she is -- just so lovely. Thank you for sharing these photos.

You're welcome.

*hugs*

(My mother always made a fluffy orange cake for our birthdays, growing up, but it was never so intensely orange-y as this! Do you think you will repeat or post a recipe?)

My father invented it, so I'll ask him! Fair warning: there may not be a recipe. Both of my parents are intuitive cooks, and while my mother learned to care about measurements early on (her grandmother saying things like "a knuckle of butter" drove her up the wall) and writes down especially successful improvisations, my father not infrequently describes something he's just made in terms of it being exactly like something else, only different. I got this explanation about the orange curd, for example—it was just like lemon curd, only not lemon.

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

This cake is amazing. Your mother looks radiant - happy birthday to her!

[sovay]

This cake is amazing. Your mother looks radiant - happy birthday to her!

I really love it as a picture of her, actually.

I will tell her your good wishes!

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Yay! That is a magnificent cake, and also - I surmise from available evidence - a magnificent mother.

Is she/are you familiar with the St Clement's Cake? It's soaked in a syrup of both oranges and lemons (hence the name), and is really quite splendidly good.

[sovay]

That is a magnificent cake, and also - I surmise from available evidence - a magnificent mother.

I like her very much.

Is she/are you familiar with the St Clement's Cake? It's soaked in a syrup of both oranges and lemons (hence the name), and is really quite splendidly good.

I wasn't! It sounds great. Do you have a preferred recipe?

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I do! It might take a little ferreting out, because I have no idea where I found it. Either my US agent or my then-editor begged it from me and made a US-friendly version with cups and things, but that was long ago...

Meantime, try this: I'd use almond flour rather than semolina, but it looks more or less authentic.

[sovay]

Meantime, try this: I'd use almond flour rather than semolina, but it looks more or less authentic.

Cool! That looks straightforward and delicious. Thank you. (And I shall wait for yours, as well.)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

She loves autumn and nasturtiums and tiger lilies and birds of paradise.

What a beautiful list. And what a perfect cake! I love the decorative slices. And your mentioning orange curd makes me think sure, why not? Maybe I'll try making lime curd.

(Also, I read Broken Homes as Broken Holmes just now)

[sovay]

And your mentioning orange curd makes me think sure, why not? Maybe I'll try making lime curd.

You should! You could make key lime pie that isn't artificial green.

(Also, I read Broken Homes as Broken Holmes just now)

That would be a great title for an anthology of reinterpretations.