Life by Jen

Food is my love language – no doubt. And what says love more than cake? My favourite gift to my family is cake. But, some gifts are better than others.

There are six people in my immediate family, plus parents, in laws, cousins, aunts, uncles, and more. That means a lot of birthdays and subsequently, a lot of birthday cakes. And, I love to bake. Pair that with a birthday and baking a birthday cake is one of my favourite ways to say I love you.

For my husband and each of my kids, I ask them what kind of cake they want and deliver my best effort. The little guys, predictably, like store-bought ice-cream cake. I can’t blame them, they are delicious. Occasionally, they will want a homemade cake, and I’ll go over the top, trying to make it awesome. The rest of the family puts in their order and I get to work. Baking cakes is so therapeutic, so long as I don’t do too much quality control along the way.

My husband’s favourite is always a resounding “Black Forest.” My daughter is usually chocolate raspberry, matcha, or floral (those are fun), and my oldest son has had a number of cake requests. I have been honing my black forest cake skills over the years, from perfectly decadent and beautiful to low-calorie, high protein. I am sure I will be making this cake for decades to come, so I hope to continue to improve my presentation.

I have created shaped cakes, number cakes, tall cakes, cupcakes, and more. I have made matcha lavender cakes, kitkat cakes, Harry Potter cakes, and more. Some of my favourite cakes are the ones that I’ve improvised at the last minutes. I made a caramel apple cake, a pineapple cake (with the pineapple top as the cake topper), a Reese’s cake with four or five kinds of Reese’s on top. These aren’t saleable, insta-perfect cakes, but they are made with love. They taste pretty darn good and it’s become my favourite part of birthdays.

Over the years I have made some progress in my design skills, but I have so much to learn. Each cake gets a little better, and gives me the chance to create a special memory. I would love to learn to use complex piping techniques. My favourite techniques usually come from googling “easiest birthday cake” and “easy cake decorating.” I don’t have any special talents or skills, but I am persistent.

I will start documenting the cakes I create on this blog. I will even challenge myself to keep learning new skills and try new techniques. I will definitely try to share some of the easy birthday cake recipes, easy cake decorating tips, and foolproof cake baking methods I have found.

Keep watching me try to level up my birthday cake game.