My eldest daughter just turned seventeen. In many ways, it was a typical birthday at our house. She got to decide what she wanted to do and she opted to NOT have a party and instead spend the weekend doing various things with her friends. She did have a little birthday dinner with her dad and his partner, as well as the paternal grandparents. Every year and every birthday, I give my kids a choice of what they want for a birthday cake—sometimes it is a request for something from the bakery or an ice cream cake, but most often it is for something homemade. I’ve made just about every sort of character cake with brilliantly-colored frosting you might imagine. But this year, my daughter’s birthday cake request was appropriately sophisticated…chocolate cheesecake.
I was a little surprised. Only last year she was still requesting a decorated Smiley-Face cake with lemon frosting. When I asked her what she wanted this year, she told me she thought we’d have to get it at a bakery since she didn’t know if I could make it. Well, of course, I can make a cheesecake, I used to make them all the time before having kids (I knew she could do the math and would realize that my cheesecake baking days were about twenty years ago). I still have the pan. I’ll do it.
I must admit it was incredibly satisfying shopping for all the ingredients for a double chocolate cheesecake. It didn’t really feel like making a birthday cake for one of my kids, though—melting the chocolate and coffee into the heavy whipping cream, and adding all the rich, fabulous ingredients for the decadent dessert seemed very grown-up indeed. I imagine that’s exactly what a seventeenth birthday is supposed to be about. And, for me, I cherished the opportunity to concoct exactly what she wanted since I know my days of making her birthday cakes are definitely numbered.
See Also: Helping Children With the Dual Realities of Birthdays and Fun Cakes for Birthdays and More