"Can we please bake a cake?"

That was the question of the week from our young Miss C, who will be celebrating her 18th birthday this weekend. We made arrangements to take her out to one of her favorite restaurants to celebrate her birthday, and she asked me if we could bake a cake when we got back to our house, instead of having dessert there at the restaurant.

I told Miss C that it would take a good long while to bake and decorate a cake after we got back here, and I suggested that we stop at La Madeleine after dinner and each of us could pick out a special dessert there to bring back here to have with tea. She seemed fine with that, and she said she would start thinking of what to pick from their bakery shelves. (La Madeleine isn't a bakery like a "real" NY bakery, but it's the closest thing we have here to fresh bakery items. Their cakes, pies and pastries are always good, but if you go to a La Madeleine in Texas or in California, everything will look the same and taste the same.)

When I got off the phone with Miss C, I told my husband that she had asked about the cake, and told him my suggestion about going to the bakery after the restaurant. His take on all of this was totally different than mine..... "Don't you see what C really wanted? She wanted to come over here and spend time with you and bake a cake. Why don't you do it the day before or the day after when there will be extra time?"

I got on the phone and called C right back.... told her that of course we could bake a cake-- but just not on the day after we go to the restaurant. She said baking the cake was much better than picking something out from La Madeleine's, and she was jumping out of her shoes over the phone.

So that's what we did today.... C came over after school and we got to baking that cake for her. We made an angel food cake, which she loves because it's very light. C did it all-- I just gave her the instructions and stood there watching her. She mixed, we talked, she sprayed the counter with the batter and I laughed out loud at the mess. So what? We had a good time mixing, and we had a good time cleaning up.

When the cake was cooled, I gave C my favorite recipe for frosting--- fresh whipped cream mixed with a package of vanilla instant pudding mix and one large can of crushed pineapple. You combine the pudding mix with the pineapple and its juice, then blend that into the freshly whipped cream. The result is a smooth and sweet whipped frosting that's easy to spread. (Sugar-free pudding mix is perfect for this because the pineapple is sweet enough.)

We split the angel food cake into two layers, and C frosted the cake with the whipped cream mixture, and added blueberries and strawberries on each layer. Then she decorated the sides with alternating slices of strawberries and whole blueberries. Miss C was thrilled to pieces with her cake, especially since she did it all herself, just following what I told her to do. The cake is sitting in my fridge... we haven't sliced it yet, and won't till we come back from her birthday dinner. I found special birthday candles for the cake, which I didn't show her yet, and I've got big birthday balloons hiding in my closet for her, along with her gifts.

Eighteen years old. So hard to believe. I am so glad that we baked that cake together.