Love Cake on Friday

Love Cake

Thursday night, my daughter and I stayed up till the "wee hours of the morning", doing our jigsaw puzzle!  She went to bed a little after 4:00 a.m. and I, well, by the time I cleaned the litter box and said my nightly devotions, etc., it was close to 5:00 a.m., when I got to bed!  Then, I couldn't fall asleep until almost 6:00 a.m.!  I woke up once, around 9:00 a.m., but, went back to sleep and slept till 11:00 a.m.  Then, after a cup of tea, I went back to doing the jigsaw puzzle until my daughter woke up!

In the afternoon, we went to the post office so daughter could mail her package to her friend.  I took the opportunity to post my gas bill payment and buy a book of stamps. 

After we got home, we decided to make the love cake.  This is a flour-less, semolina and cashew based cake with lots of eggs, pumpkin preserves, and spices.  This is a cake that is usually made at the holidays, along with the rich fruit cake that is also known as Christmas cake (but, made for weddings, as well).  My daughter, however, doesn't like fruit cake, so we only make the love cake, which, she does love!  I really don't know why it is called love cake.  According to one story, young women were supposed to make a love cake when a suitor called on her, in order to prove that they were accomplished cooks, but, I don't know how true that is.  My own theory is, you had to love someone very much in order to make this cake which requires so many expensive ingredients and the love and care that goes into making it, especially in the days when everything had to be cut and stirred by hand!  I have written about making love cake here and here.  We didn't make any in 2019, but, we were determined to make one this year!

Daughter did most of the cutting and chopping using the blender so things got done fairly quickly.  I roasted the semolina and mixed in the butter while she mixed the eggs and sugar.  Then, we added the semolina to the beaten egg mixture, the cashews and all the spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom) and flavorings (rose essence, almond essence, vanilla, and orange blossom water), the pumpkin preserves and some ginger preserves.  We poured the batter into a 9x13 inch metal baking pan and a 9x9 inch glass baking pan that I had lined with parchment paper and brushed the tops of the batter with beaten egg whites to achieve a glossy finish.  My recipe calls for a "moderate" oven and says to bake until the top is nicely browned.  My daughter always complains about my old recipes as they don't give any specific oven temperatures or times!  But, love cake should be baked at a lower temperature for a longer time; it is a very moist cake.  I baked the cakes at 250F for 1 hour for the smaller cake and 2 hours for the bigger cake.  I test with a bamboo skewer to see if they are done.

In the evening, M came to tend to the garden and my daughter went out to dinner with A's daughters (they made plans on New Year's Eve), but she came back by 7:15 p.m. and we went to my cousin R's birthday party.  Cousin P and her daughte; the party was held at aunt T's place.  It was mostly family and a lot of fun.  We didn't leave until after 2:00 a.m. and my cousin sent me home with a whole tray of food!

Today, I am grateful for:
- Making the love cake with my daughter
- Cousin P and her daughter giving us a ride to the party and back
- Family gatherings
- Good food and conversation
- Friend M working on the garden for me

Today's joyful activities include making the love cake and attending the party in the evening.

Tomorrow, my daughter is planning a day out with some of her friends - more escape rooms, lunch, and maybe a musical.  I am planning to stay home and maybe do some organizing and decluttering.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?