Red Letter Random Recipe Day ... and Another Beautiful Cake

I'd fleetingly thought of trying to make fewer cakes in the new year, but then I saw this cake  ... and I knew that I might as well resolve to shoot myself in the foot or eat fewer potato chips. It and the alternatives just won't happen. Instead, I started rifling through the spice cupboard to track down the mace and other spices that go into this fluffy concoction.

God! I even love the name of this cake! Faulknerian Family Spice Cake with Caramel Icing. How's that for a mouthful?

Dom, of Belleau Kitchen, has challenged us to grab our latest cook book addition and open up to a random recipe. Well, I did that as soon as I saw his post and was pleasantly surprised to find this cake recipe. This is perfect, as SB's birthday is this weekend and we have cleaned out all the leftovers and stale treats that were hanging around after New Years. It's time for a new sweet something! To boot, today is my Dad's birthday, so celebrating from afar with a cake for dessert will make this day festive for us! Happy Birthday, Dad! Sorry you can't be here to have a party, but we will do our best to celebrate and knosh our way through this cake ... in your honor!

Isn't it amazing that one can take eggs and butter and do such decadent things with them?

I am so thankful for all the infinite ways that one can cream, mix, stir, whip, fold in, turn out, and bake cakes. It's a luscious world out there!

Today's lusciousness got whipped up in my awesome Christmas gift ... this is where I squeal in delight. You see, my family all chipped in to get me a stand mixer that I have been lusting after for the past year and a half. I truly did squeal when I opened up the box on Christmas ... sooo undignified, but the inner child just burst to the surface in that one moment of recognition and delight. Thanks, kids! Using this for the first time was like riding in a red Corvette or tooting the horn on the town fire engine or busting down the road in a big old red pick-up! Seriously!

So this cake ... this cake! It's light and fluffy and the spiciness is so subtle and smooth. The caramel icing is a sweet hit atop that complements the cake perfectly, however, I did not use all the icing that the recipe made. If I had, I think we'd have had toothaches or pancreatic attacks. It is such a 'keeper' recipe, though! In SB's words, "Tastes like a spicy cake!" In fact, this cake won the Food 52 contest for 'best technique your mother taught you' post on their website. That made it an addition to the latest Food 52 cookbook ... another Christmas gift from Sprout Sara ... hence today's random recipe !

Now, it's time for tea and a piece of cake!