The Most Beautiful Birthday Cake Ever

“This is going to be a piece of cake,” I chuckled.

“Mom, leave the dad jokes to Dad, please,” my 22-year-old son grumbled. “It’s bad enough when he says stuff like that.”

I was about to teach Tim how to make a chocolate cake so that he could surprise his boyfriend, Jake, for his birthday. I ruffled his scraggly black hair and said, “Lighten up. This will be fun!” Little did I know what we were in for.

We both washed our hands and I pulled out the flour, baking soda, and other ingredients. I ordered, “Get the cake pans from the lower cupboard on the right and a mixing bowl from the lower left.”

“Mom, I know where the stuff is. I lived here for 18 years.”

“Fine, will you PLEASE get out the cake pans and mixing bowl?”

Tim smirked and asked, “Where’s that bowl again?”

I smacked him playfully with a dishtowel.

Tim asked, “Are you sure this is going to be better than a store-bought cake? This has to be special.”

I joked, “What, are you proposing or something?” I laughed.

Tim ran his hand through his hair. I scowled and pointed to the sink, indicating the need for another handwashing. He complied and said, “Um, yes, Mom, I am proposing.” He let that sink in.

“Oh, Tim!” I hugged him. “I’m happy for you. I do love Jake, you know.” I put my hands on either side of his face and said, “We will make the most beautiful chocolate cake you’ve ever seen - or tasted.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Tim pulled away, “We’ve been together for two years, and this feels right. I knew you’d be supportive. I’m a little more worried about Dad.”

We washed our hands yet again.

“Don’t you worry about your dad. He’ll come around. All right, Tim, let’s make the raspberry filling, so it can cool while the cake is in.”

“Jake loves raspberries. I hope he likes them with chocolate cake.”

I smirked, “If you make it, he’ll love it, or at least pretend to love it.”

“Maaaawwwwmm,” he whined. Sometimes I wonder if he’ll ever grow out of that annoying “Mom whine.”

We put frozen raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. I tell Tim to cut and squeeze the juice from two lemons and taught him the trick of rolling the fruit on the counter to release the juices.

Of course, as soon as he sliced into the lemon, the rapscallious citrus squirted his eye. He cried out hysterically.

“Don’t be such a drama queen,” I teased.

“Maaaawwwwmm!” There it was again.

We mopped up the counter and floor with paper towels. I wadded up my paper towel and chucked it right at him. Bull’s eye! It splatted on his cheek. He wadded his and took aim, but I ducked. We giggled, and I called, “Truce!” He threw one more and hit the back of my neck. We washed our hands yet again.

We regained our focus and managed to finish the filling and set it aside. I told Tim, “Now, open the flour and put three cups in the mixing bowl. When he opened the bag, flour exploded in his face, eliciting another round of hysteria.

We were faced with more cleaning and handwashing.

I spouted out, “Now, 2 cups of sugar, 1/3 cup of cocoa, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt.”

“Slow down, Mom! I can’t keep up.”

I roll my eyes and put the recipe on the counter. “Here, read it yourself.”

“Wow, Mom, you could have showed me that in the first place.”

I kept from rolling my eyes that time. Barely.

After he had the dry ingredients measured into the mixing bowl, he added water. The next in was supposed to be oil, but he was so nervous that he spilled a bunch on the counter.

We cleaned again.

Thankfully, the vanilla and vinegar were added without incident. He didn’t spill much when he mixed the batter either. I showed him how to treat the round cake pan with butter and flour to prevent sticking. Then, I instructed him to do the same to the second pan. He “Eewwed” about the butter, and I was happy he got as much in the pan as he did on his hands. I told him to do the flour over the sink. Good thing, because it required a lot of rinsing with the amount of flour that spilled out.

While the cake baked, we moved on to the chocolate cream cheese frosting. As he was about to add milk, I said, “Wait! How much does it say?” I pointed to the recipe.

“3 cups,” he said, and then he looked again. “Oh, 3 tablespoons. Nice catch, Mom.”

“I’m glad, because that would have been some runny frosting.”

About a minute into stirring, he said, “You stir. My arm is tired.”

“Fine, but you’re in charge of putting the frosting on the cake.”

He clapped his hands like he did when he was a little boy. “Yay! I like the creative elements.” While he danced around, he bumped the bag of coconut sugar and about half of what was left spilled on the floor.

“Tiiiim!” Now I was the one whining. I sighed. “Go get the broom and mop.”

Yet more cleaning.

Before long, the tantalizing aroma of our chocolate cake filled the kitchen. When it was ready, it came out of the pan perfectly.

While the cake cooled, Tim told me some fun stories about Jake, like how they met by literally bumping into one another in the university square.

Finally, Tim set the bottom half on my glass cake platter and added a layer of raspberry filling. He put the other half on top. He was remarkably steady while he added the frosting. He used a store-bought tube of white frosting to write his message. It said, “Happy Birthday” across the top and “Marry Me” across the bottom.

By then, we were both in tears. I was so proud of the man my son had become.

Next, Tim put a ring of fresh raspberries around the middle and placed a tiny crystal bowl with two golden rings inside. We hugged and cried some more. It was stunning.

We must have washed our hands 20 times that day, but it was worth it for that moment with my son.

P.S. Before eating a slice of the most beautiful chocolate birthday cake ever, Jake said, “Yes.”

I’ve always felt sorry for kids with summer birthdays since they miss out on birthday wishes from school friends. With fresh raspberries available almost everywhere during summer, consider making this delicious cake to make for summer parties and gatherings - fresh and special.

Filling:

3 c raspberries

3-4 Tbl maple syrup

3 Tbl chia seeds

Mash berries, mix all ingredients

Refrigerate

Cake:

2 c flour

2 c coconut sugar

2/3 c baking cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/3 c milk of choice

1 c hot water or brewed coffee

1/2 c melted coconut oil or cooking oil of choice

1 Tbl vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350. Prepare two round cake pans with butter, coated with flour.

Mix milk and vinegar. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix well. Pour into treated pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out dry. Let cool.

Frosting:

16 oz package of cream cheese

1/3-1/2 c cocoa

1/3-1/1/2 c maple syrup or honey

Stir all ingredients together, preferably with a mixer. Let cool.

Frost the lower half of the cake. Consider creating a frosting “dam” for the filling. Top with filling. Place other cake half on top. Complete frosting.

Optional:

Add fresh raspberries, shaved chocolate, or decorations as desired.

Serve and enjoy!