BIRTHDAY CAKE

Birthdays were special in the Miklo house.  Betty made the birthday boy or girl a homemade angel food cake with white icing and colorful decorations spelling out a message like, “Happy Birthday Pauline!” on the top of the cake.

The frosting was “seven minute frosting,” which takes some skill to make.  When fresh it is soft and fluffy, but if it is not eaten within a day, the frosting hardens like concrete – it still tastes good. Here is a recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/7-minute-frosting-recipe/index.html

But the cake was the best part.  It was made in a special tube pan: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angel_Food_Cake_Pan.JPG

Here is a recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Angel-Food-Cake-105741

When Betty took the cake out of the oven, she would invert the pan onto a pop bottle to allow it to cool.  There would be a golden crust on the underside of the cake.  Betty would scrape the crust off and allow the little kids to eat it as a preview of the cake.

This is your last chance to wish Pauline a Happy Birthday this year.