the siren call of cake

Easter morning found Little Bear and I on the church playground. We arrived too late to find a seat in the main chapel and were sent to the school's new gym for a service there. The gym was almost filled to capacity which made the lack of air conditioning even more noticeable. I perched on a folding chair and tried to keep the back of my legs from sticking to the plastic seat while Little Bear sat on my lap and pointed out the athletic equipment surrounding us.

"Mom, ball!" she said, pointing at the basketball net. There were six of them hoisted into the air, and she took her time pointing out each one with a loud proclamation. She then amused herself by announcing the characteristics of the little boy behind us (sitting peacefully in his stroller). "Beebee eyes, Mom. Beebee hair. Beebee nose." You get the picture. Thank goodness the couple in front of us was elderly and hard of hearing, because when Little Bear spied the glass doors leading out of the gym and to the playground beyond she shrieked, "MOM, OUTSIDE!"

And so we went.

I'm not a slave to all my child's whims, but in this case I was hot and sweaty and irritated about worshiping in a gym. Even a new one that didn't smell like a million years of accumulated sweat from past wrestling matches. I simply lacked the gumption to rassle a hot bear into submission. (Trying to look my Sunday best while sweating buckets required all my powers. There was little leftover for bear wrangling.)

We weren't alone on the playground. Four other parents and their children were there too, most of them little girls. Little Bear skipped the stationary car (where everyone was playing) to check out the jungle gym and slide. A five-year-old boy was there with his father, a sippy cup and baggy full of cereal in hand. I made a mental note to pack a snack, water, and sunscreen next time in case we were relegated to gym worship again.

Little Bear watched the boy for some time. He scaled a series of metal circles welded together to make a ladder to the top of the playset and then leaped down the stairs on the other side. I heard him say to his father, "Dad, I don't think that little girl can climb like that." Silently I agreed. The circles were different sizes and rose six feet. It was too treacherous, I thought. Little Bear had a different opinion of course.

She climbed that ladder five times. "But her mom's helping her!" the boy said. Technically, I was standing behind her with my hands hovering near her backside in case she slipped. I should have known better. As the bear carefully found her footing she would shoo my hands away and say, "I got, Mom. I got." I could feel my nose beginning to burn from the prolonged sun exposure, and Little Bear's cheeks were turning bright red from exertion. It was time to leave but try telling that to a bear.

“Let’s go find Daddy.”
“No.”
“It’s time to go find Daddy and get in the car and drive home.”
“No.”
“Let’s get Daddy so we can go home and see Muds.” (Mentioning the dog had been my fail-safe.)
“No.”
“Remember the mud we walked through? It’s time to walk through the mud to the car.”
“No.”
“Let’s go get a drink of water.”
“No.”
“You know, we have cake at home.”
(long pause)
“Cake?”
“Yes, Mommy made a cake.”
“Eat cake? Bite?”
“Yes, if we go get Daddy now we can go home and eat cake.”
“Otay.”

Without one growl of protest, she hopped off the slide, put her hot little paw in mine and off we went to collect Daddy. Truth be told, I wanted cake just as much as she did. Now before you begin worrying about the state of my immortal soul, tell me truly, would you be able to say no to this cake? I thought not.

I think this is the best pound cake (and bundt) that I've ever baked in my homemaking career. It turned out perfectly due to a trick I learned about greasing the bundt pan. I brushed on melted butter to give an even application and then floured it. (I also accidentally dropped the bundt pan face down in the sink which knocked out all the excess flour more efficiently than I had managed to do.)

Sour Cream Pound Cake

2 sticks butter at room temperature
3 Cups sugar
3 Cups flour, sifted
¼ tsp baking soda
6 eggs at room temperature
½ pint sour cream
½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease bundt pan well and lightly flour.

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Sift together flour and baking soda. Alternate adding flour mixture and eggs to butter/sugar mixture. (2 eggs, flour, 2 eggs, flour, etc.) Mix well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla last.

Bake middle of oven for 1 ½ hours. Let cool 5 minutes then shake loose and turn out on plate.

And I made good on my promise.

6 Comments

It truly was a hot Easter...but what a welcome change compared to how chilly it’s been! You might as well have been up North, because we all ended up in the new gym as well. It was definitely hot, but bearable (and no gym equipment in sight). LB looks adorable in her dress. I only wish T had fit the dress purchased for her (she was actually wearing a dress the stepmom bought her for her birthday last August!) Anyway, we missed you very much, and would have loved to have some of that gorgeous bundt cake!

Posted by: PartyMom | 04/25/2011 at 11:08 PM