A number of years ago, our daughter, Kelly, gave Claire a recipe for a cake. It turned out to be very popular with just about everyone, and Claire made it often when we had guests for dinner, or sometimes just for us. The name of the cake is \u201cKelly\u2019s Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake.\u201d If you\u2019re interested in trying it, it\u2019s one of the recipes that\u2019s in the St. Agnes Cookbook that Claire put together a number of years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I guess because of the name, I always thought about an experience we had more than 40 years ago. Living in Manila, we had a filipino maid that was an excellent cook. And our cook, Carmen, had a \u201ccousin\u201d that was mostly Chinese (I never fully figured out the relationship) and her cousin didn\u2019t speak English nearly as well as Carmen. But it turns out that the \u201ccousin\u201d was actually even a better cook than Carmen, and she often helped Carmen in the kitchen when we had dinner parties and sometimes she just came over and hung out for a few days at at time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One year on Claire\u2019s birthday, we came home from work and were planning to go out to celebrate her birthday later that night. When we came in there was a very big, elaborately decorated cake sitting on the table and Carmen and her \u201ccousin\u201d were smiling ear to ear. It was very<\/em> impressive. The frosting had all sorts of designs and swirls in it. Claire was absolutely thrilled and heaped praise on both Carmen and her \u201ccousin.\u201d Carmen said that her \u201ccousin\u201d had made it especially for her birthday. Claire asked how did she manage to make some of the really intricate designs in the frosting. The \u201ccousin\u201d said, \u201cI use toothbrush.\u201d I guess Claire\u2019s expression changed a bit on hearing that, and apparently, the \u201ccousin\u201d noticed it and understood her concern. She said, \u201cNo worry, Mum \u2014 I no use your toothbrush \u2014 I use my toothbrush.\u201d A number of years ago, our daughter, Kelly, gave Claire a recipe for a cake. It turned out to be very popular with just about everyone, and Claire made it often when we had guests for dinner, or sometimes just … Continue reading
We could never think of Kelly\u2019s cavity maker cake without remembering that birthday\u2026..
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"