If my grandma Sally were alive, she would say, "Good Land! 29? I guess we can't call him Little Denny anymore!"
It's true. My little brother is (egad) 29. When I went to put candles on the cake I rationalized that 6 would do because they fit nicely and 8-2 was 6 and he was (egad) turning 28 after all. It came as a complete shock when it was established that evening that he was, in fact, actually a year older than I had even realised. Man, I guess we're grown up.
When we were little, Denny and I were horrible to one another. So bad that my mom couldn't hold down a babysitter. We cycled through every teenager in the neighborhood, until finally only grandmas could tolerate us. We fought over the front seat, the remote control, the little plastic thingy on the pizza, anything. At various points in our lives there were words vollied, weapons drawn, extended bouts of tense silence, and many a tear.
And yet here we are. We both (somewhat surprisingly) survived and now, as unikely as it once seemed, even like each other. In fact, we're neighbors. We own a duplex together. Crazy, huh?
No one can make me laugh like my brother. It is so cool to have someone in your life that shares all the same reference points as you. One word, or even slight inflection, can bring up a whole history of silly times.
And then there are moments, like at his birthday party last week, when he quotes one of my lines from a play I was in in junior high, when I get this tiny glimpse at a Little Denny that maybe didn't even completely hate me all along.
It's nice to have a brother.
Which is why, on his birthday, he deserves a really good cake.
Here's the recipe:
1 c. flour
1 c. almond meal
2 tsp. baking powder
*Whisk together and set aside.*
1/2 c. marge
1 c. sugar
*Cream.*
2 replaced eggs
2 tsp. almond extract
*Add.*
*Stir in dry ingredients.*
*Bake for 30 minutes at 350 in a greased 9-inch round cake pan.*
This cake is really moist and almondy and dense and delicious on it's own, but I topped it with an apricot pastry cream and glazed it with ganache to turn it into an almond-apricot-chocolate torte. So good.
Notes (9/25/08): I am in the process if rewriting this recipe, but in the meantime, you should know that this cake will rise and fall. You will be left with a big crater in the middle that you will fill with pastry cream. Then you will coat the whole thing with ganache, and it will be delicious.
