it’s the eve of anton’s birthday and he’s finishing up a late-night shift at the hospital. i just received the following text:
“the cake is even better today. not sharing with anyone!”
allow me to explain my husband’s possessive protection over “the cake”. the first year we were married, he turned 27 years old and we celebrated his birthday with a trip to the biltmore house in asheville. upon returning, i scoured cookbooks, recipe forums, and websites for the best chocolate cake recipe. oh, the choices! do you go duncan hines and call it a day? do you grate your own bittersweet chocolate? do you take a nod to the french and use only eggs and butter and eat it half raw? do you go for the gusto and break out the bundt pan?
i finally decided upon barefoot contessa’s basic chocolate cake recipe (secret ingredient: 1 cup of freshly-brewed coffee) with chocolate frosting.
and here’s the birthday boy, trying out his 27th birthday cake:
here’s the 2010 version of “the cake” to celebrate his 29th:
and here’s the 2011 version of “the cake” for the big 3-0:
and may i present to you, “the cake” version 2012:
you know it’s good when he gives you the “there’d better be more where that came from” look:
interested in “the cake”?
check it out here on food network!
happy birthday, anton! 
i’ve yet to have a piece of “the cake” – how is this possible?!