Happy Birthday

Big pretty snow flakes

I know....I'm almost a month behind in posting.  All I can say is " I've been busy".  Chuck's birthday ( January 22) came and went.  We didn't do anything special but stay home and watch the snow come down. That was special to us.   It seemed like there was going to be a lot but in fact we only got about a 1/2 inch.
   As I grew up my Auntie Barbara would always make me a GIANT Angel Food Cake for my birthdays since  I was always in Ramsey in the summer.  We would go out to her friend's farm and get two dozen fresh eggs for my cake.  It would take 18 egg whites.  I have no idea what she did with all the yolks.  I wish I knew.  Some times the cake would be so high that it would be lop sided and she would put a half a piece of bread under the one side to prop it up, before she iced it with the 7 minute frosting.  I have pictures of me holding all my cakes through out the years.  When it came time to go to Ramsey to clean out her house, I was the lucky one to get the angel food cake pan.  Not the recipe though. All the years since, I have just used a box mix to make my angel food cakes.  Not near as pretty but the thought of Auntie making my cakes was there.
   While I was visiting Debbie in TN last month, she made an angel food cake from scratch but using only 12 egg whites.  The same taste was there from Auntie's cakes but it just wasn't as big.  Debbie copied the recipe for me and when I got home, I sat down and figured out the recipe if I used the 18 egg whites.  On Chuck's birthday, I decided to make my first from scratch angel food cake, like Auntie's.  Let me tell you!  Now I appreciate all the time and effort that Auntie took to make all my cakes.  Plus, the time to make the 7 minute frosting, which I didn't put on Chuck's cake.  My cake turned out good for my first one.  It wasn't quite as tall as Auntie's but taller than Debbie's.  I will take the time to make all my angel food cakes ( with 18 egg whites) from scratch from now on and the whole time, I will be thinking of my dear, sweet Auntie Barbara! ( yes I was named after her)