you can either do two pound cakes or one round. i did the round.
a little history on my baking. sunday night dinner is and was tradition for lawrence clan with bob and nancy. my mom finally let me make dessert after weeks of asking, i was fresh from college, 22 years old. she gave me an 'easy' recipe and let me go. i really felt the pressure, so worked hard not to screw it up. what did i do? i forgot the damn sugar and it tasted like nothing, absolute nothing. from then on it was like:"how do you forget the sugar"
"libba sucks"
"libba can't cook"
"libba has small hands"
"don't forget the sugar libba"
"even dan would remember the sugar"
tough crowd.
i have gotten a lot better over the years. some have even gone as far to say "these are the best cookies ever" - Eddie Dominion, camping trip 2010. BUT up until last sunday, when i made something good, it was thought of as a one hit wonder and the "don't forget the sugar" jokes still came up. well my friends, i think this cake put me on a different level.
my mom is awesome. who doesn't have high expectations for dessert? she is a tough critic when it comes to baking. mean, you ask? no. rude? sometimes. there are no other words to describe her other than Hard Core. without her em, dan and i wouldn't have a drive to be the best at everything we do and a competitive nature that might scare the weak. she teaches us the art of humility only the way a mother could. the "good jobs" are few and far between. when it happens, man, nothing is better. on sunday - after twice asking me if i was sure this didn't come from a box... she said, "wow libba, this is really good, i want the recipe".
a lone tear rolled down my face.