As of today I am a quarter-century old. Honestly, that freaks me out a little bit. I'm starting to feel the weight of my impending mortality these days. Quarter-life crisis, anyone? Life just seems short. So many places to visit, so many things to eat, so many recipes to try ... people to meet, loved ones to spend time with, TV shows to get engrossed in, books to read, magazines piling up on my nightstand, cookbooks not getting enough love on my bookshelf, blog posts to write, jokes to laugh about, runs and bike rides to go on ... you get the picture. I will continue to do my best to fill my days with as much as possible, in what will hopefully end up being a life that I am proud of at age 87.

But let's move onto lighter topics - Today I am highlighting a cake that, should you end up with time on your hands to make a cake, this would be the one to make. For me, this is a very close second (or tied as #1) to the pistachio cake that began this blog. The pictures are from a year ago when I made it to take into work for my birthday. My blog was currently in its background formative stages, and I was hopeful that it would be up and running in the near future so I could feature this recipe. The blog didn't end up launching until a few months later, so I kept it on the back burner for a moment such as this. It was the first recipe we photographed, so we were working out the kinks. I think we have fallen into a more comfortable groove recently.

However, the first time I made this cake was for my last day at my previous job. That also happened to be the day of my first date with Robert. I had been hoping to save a slice to bring to him on the date, obviously wanting to wow him with my baking prowess. However, I worked in a newspaper office, and word about this cake spread like wildfire. First it was mainly my department of design and advertising that was enjoying it, and then editorial started coming over, and then circulation ... you know how this goes. By the middle of the afternoon, there were mere crumbs left in my cake carrier. Robert missed out until I made it again last year. Thankfully he's not as obsessed with cake as I am, so he did not hold it against me on our first date. That first encounter obviously went well, seeing as Robert and I are tying the knot in just under two months.

As of this morning I am headed to one of my homes away from home, Ocean City, NJ, with my family. We have spent a week there for the majority of the summers of my life. I plan to spend the day completing my favorite beach activities: sitting in the sun while devouring a good book (this year I'm starting with Delancey by Molly Wizenberg, which I cannot wait to begin), going for a run on the beach in the afternoon, and enjoying a happy hour cocktail on our deck overlooking the ocean - probably a mojito made by my Uncle Bill or a margarita made by myself, perhaps the roasted strawberry one from London Bakes (or both!). In the evening we will celebrate my birthday, my dad's birthday (his was yesterday - Happy Birthday Dad!), and Father's Day. There will be cake, one of my favorite meals, presents, and an appropriate amount of inappropriate conversation, as per the usual for my family. It will be wonderful. It breaks my heart that I will not be spending the full week there with them this year, but the reason for that is my 10-day French honeymoon at the end of August, so I shouldn't really be complaining.

In honor of my birthday, I'm hosting a giveaway of one of my illustration prints! [UPDATE: This giveaway has closed.] The winner can choose one from my Etsy shop and I will mail it to him/her. You have three possible ways to enter: Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to celebrate your birthday, follow me on twitter, and tweet about the giveaway. Just use the rafflecopter below to get in all of your entries. The giveaway will be open until 11:59 pm on Sunday, June 29, 2014, and then a random winner will be chosen. Good luck!

You can find the recipe for this cake - Chocolate Coffee Cake with Mocha Mascarpone Frosting - over on Bon Appetit. Make it for someone. They will probably fall in love with you.

Prints of my illustrations (and other products with my work on them) are available in my Society6 shop.
Photos by Robert Cornelius.