Summer birthdays are some of my favorite events and meals to plan. Both of my girls’ and my mother’s birthdays fall in the hot months so it’s been a life-long yearly tradition to plan these festive menus. To honor my mama, Peets, and the best birthday party I ever hosted, a passage from ‘LuLu’s Kitchen’ and the recipe for Birthday/Wedding Cake …
“As her 80th birthday approached, there was no question that the celebration would be held at LuLu’s; we needed plenty of room for her extensive guest list. Mama’s birthday fell in mid-August, so I planned a cold summer buffet. We filled a small sailboat with a flavored-vodka-shot-bar and served margaritas galore and plenty of pink champagne. One of her favorite moments was realizing that for her birthday cake, I had ordered a classic wedding cake from the Little Cake Shop in Spanish Fort. If my mother had any addiction over which she was powerless, it was wedding cake. She was notorious for stashing several pieces in her purse whenever she was invited to a reception!
The whole staff rallied to make this event, while still LuLu’s-casual, fancier than our usual fare. Hundreds of her friends from twenty-somethings to fellow octogenarians partied to the tunes of Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Buffett, her favorites, and enjoyed a magical Southern night under the stars that truly manifested her philosophy of living well and having dessert first! Here’s to you, Mama!”
BATTER
2 sticks butter
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate morsels
Zest of one orange
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root 1/3 cup Grand Marnier
Two eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 cup of self-rising flour
Fresh seasonal fruit, such as sliced peaches or assorted berries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate morsels
8 ounces cream cheese
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream
3 cups powdered sugar
2. In a heavy saucepan, whisk together butter, 2 cups sugar, milk, and white chocolate over medium heat until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and cool completely.
3. Add orange zest, ginger, Grand Marnier, and eggs, one at a time, to butter mixture and beat on low until well combined.
4. Add both flours to butter mixture and continue to beat on low, scraping the sides of the bowl until mixture is a smooth batter.
5. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove pan to cool completely on a rack.
6. While cake is cooling, toss fresh fruit with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and lemon juice. Refrigerate.
7. To prepare frosting, melt white chocolate over low heat, stirring continuously.
8. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and melted chocolate, vanilla, and heavy cream and beat on low until smooth.
9. Gradually add powdered sugar, scraping sides often until mixture reaches frosting consistency.
10. Run a knife along the edges of the cake to loosen and invert onto a serving platter.
11. Spread frosting over cake and serve with chilled fruit.
Makes 10-12 Servings
Enjoy!
