SOMEONE!

SOMEONE: He sat across the room in his quiet presence, just watching the activity moving around him. A man of few words, yet, not afraid to express what he is feeling in a few well chosen words. He was surrounded by amazing, beautiful women, but at the moment, he only had eyes for me! I could feel the unmistakable tingles on the back of my neck as I knew he watched every move I made, with admiring interest. A little smile played on my lips as I realized it had been a while since I had felt the desire & anticipation of what we were soon to share together .........

WHEW!! I had myself going for a second, there! How about you? I might have to finish another version of that story in my own private journals ... LOL!! Now that I have your attention .... A few, well chosen words can do so much for the imagination & the soul. Admit it! You conjured a whole different scenario, but inside, the feelings were basically the same....  pulse quickened, shortness of breath, excitement, anticipation .... Yeah.... that was fun, huh?

I guess I don't put much thought into how a dessert affects a situation ... frankly speaking about MY desserts. The last few family gatherings we've had, I didn't take the time to bake for the occassions, but bought something. I always get comments like, "what did you make?" "did you bake the cake?" When I say no ... there's always an "aww ..." followed by a spreading of "...she didn't bake" "it's not hers ..." I usually feel guilty then brush it off as them just being nice. But this time, as I was preparing a cake for my sister's birthday, I noticed my Uncle, sitting with the other women in my family, watching me. He has always been (one of) my biggest fans and I Love that he tells me when something is not right,  (though, that's not often :) ) I don't hear that often enough. Noone is that good .... I know .... who wants to hear it's not their best? Well, I do! A little constructive criticism goes a long way. Anyway, every once in a while, I'd glance at him and I just LOVED the look on his face. I giggled  a little as I imagined him licking his chops... waiting to get at that cake! LOL! The best part was he wasn't even paying attention to all the chatting going on around him because he was too busy asking me questions about what I was doing! 

As I said ... Inspiration comes in many forms and that innocent look of interest on my Uncles face said to me, "Hey! I like what you do!" I knew he wasn't just being nice. He was genuinely excited that he was going to have some of MY cake. *my heart skips a beat* It didn't seem to matter that, in my mind, this was the simplest cake I could think of with the time I had to work with. After dinner, he's usually the first one to say, "Cut The Cake!" Maybe it's the whole social situation he enjoys, maybe it's the dessert he enjoys ... I don't know ... but I appreciate that he always compliments my efforts with a smile. Never under underestimate the power of watching someone enjoy something you've made!

Lemon Berry Cake

2 boxes of white cake mix

1-4 oz. box of lemon jello

6 eggs (room temp.)

3/4 cup of oil

2 cups of hot water (not boiling)

1-8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese (room temp.)

1/4 cup powdered sugar 

2 bags of frozen berries (thawed)

1/4 cup sugar

1-16 oz. tub of whipped cream

sprinkles (optional)

This is a lot of cake mix. I used a 14 x 11 glass cake pan. A 13 x 9 will do, also, but this cake is served from the pan and it left a little room for the berries on top without overflowing. Removing the cake from the pan will work, too. If this is too much cake, you can half everything, except the cream cheese, sugars & whipped cream. Don't forget to spray with Pam or grease with shortening.

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix berries with sugar. Set aside. Whisk cake mix and jello in mixer. Add eggs, oil and hot water. Mix for 1 minute to incorporate, then scrape down the sides. Mix for 5 minutes. Ya... I said 5 minutes! The hot water needs to break down the jello granules. Believe me ... it doesn't make a tough cake!  Pour evenly into pan and bake for 45 minutes. Remember not to poke your cake! They don't like this. Test by pressing with your finger. If it bounces back, it's done. While the cake is baking, Cream the cream cheese & Powdered sugar. set aside. When the cake is cool, poke holes around the whole cake with a knife and a slight twist. Ok! I was wrong! This cake likes to be poked. With a large spoon, spoon berry juice over the cake and into the wholes. Not too much... you don't want it soggy. Spread the cream cheese over the top of the cake. Top, generously, with berries. Then, top it all off with whipped cream. Pulling up with the spoon to make little peaks. Don't forget the sprinkles!  

So, now I'm challenging you to use your Imagination! I've been on a deleting kick lately & I may have deleted the photos before I downloaded them .... because I can't find them anywhere! Hey! ... I said noone's that good .... didn't I??

Happy Baking ............ & don't forget your Apron!