Pistachio Nut Swirl

       After a year of making cakes for the crew at MAS, I bought a bigger pan so as to accommodate around 20 employees and possible guests in the building. The pan is 18” by 18”. I had learned through experiment that my co-workers enjoyed cakes made from a mix just as much as cakes made from scratch; the mix cakes baked better in the big pan while the homemade cakes took longer to cook through the middle and then the edges overcooked. That made my decision making a little easier – box mixes.

         The recipes were tripled for the cake in the big pan and usually two cans of frosting. That meant three boxes of cake mix and nine to twelve eggs; and I always used whole milk instead of water and sometimes butter instead of oil. Last year I started adding a fourth box of cake mix while only tripling the rest of the ingredients and found the cakes rose higher and were even moister. I do not purport to be a cake decorator, and again, the respondents did not seem to mind – but I did like a variety, so often I mixed Cool Whip with a can of frosting, or just the Cool Whip with a layer of cooked, not instant, pudding underneath. Sometimes we had fruit topping or sprinkles or chocolate chips. And for Mike's birthday, I would make cream cheese frosting from scratch – because life is not fair and sometime I do play favorites.

       There are so many anecdotes I could mention about the cakes over the years.

       I used to stay up late the night before a birthday to make a cake – my daughters soon came to realize that a cake for work was one of my top priorities. One year one of the girls' birthdays was coming up and I was running out of time getting a celebration together. I casually asked, “how about an ice cream cake from Publix?” the daughter just glared at me and then I realized that a homemade cake for my own children should take precedence over the cakes for the lab. The past few years I've gotten up extra early in the morning to make the cakes – and they were still a little warm when served – somehow that was even more special – so another precedence was set.

        Ben and Bill have birthdays one day apart in October, and one year Ben said that he really does not care for cake, even though I had a picture on the wall of him putting a forkful of birthday into his mouth – and so I proposed a Ben and Bill Birthday Barbecue Bash wherein the celebrations were combined and a potluck was served – everyone brought in a dish for lunch and I made a layer cake (instead of the big one) of Bill's favorite and special request cake – German chocolate with coconut pecan frosting. Ben was famous for his deviled eggs – so everyone looked forward to the Ben and Bill Birthday Bash every year. A few years ago, Ben moved on to another job. Bill said he still wanted his potluck bash. So we still have it, and Ben often joins us, bringing a dish of deviled eggs with him.

Birthday 2014

        On my own birthday, a couple of times someone has offered to make a cake from scratch, but usually it is a Kroger or Publix cake – complete with a birthday tablecloth, napkins and plates – often with flowers and sometimes even with ice cream. Co-workers would tell me afterward that they prefer my cakes to the store bought – but I was very happy to have a cake and the appreciation for the cakes I make for them.

        Today I made my last cake for MAS because I will be retiring next week. By request, it was my pistachio nut swirl cake – four boxes of yellow cake mix, twelve eggs, three boxes of instant pistachio pudding mix, milk, oil, and almond extract; then there is the swirl – sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans. No frosting or topping needed – just the swirl.

        A fitting finale – my hope is that someone who experienced the cakes will pass along the gesture I learned from Ms Ada, and in her or his own way, pay it forward.

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