The Key to the Merry-Go-Round is the Merry

I know what you’re thinking: At which gourmet bakery did you purchase that stunning piece of pastry perfection? Well, more on that in a moment, first a trip down memory lane…

Growing up, we had this restaurant called the Lincoln Dell. It was a Jewish deli/family diner/lounge. They had the best Matzo ball soup (and scary paintings of clowns hanging in the dining area). But they also made cakes. They had fake cakes on display behind the deli counter, which I longingly admired on every visit.

I coveted one in particular: the carousel cake. It was really just a standard round cake, sure, but on top was an entire plastic merry-go-round! In my preschool mind, it was heaven. Oh, how I wanted that cake. Finally, when I was maybe 5, my mom let me get it for my birthday. I’m sure it tasted…like cake. Although I’m pretty sure my mom had those plastic animals rolling around in the kitchen drawers for years to follow…maybe she thought she’d fine another use for them.

So yesterday – in a fit of boredom-inspired genius – I handed the boys two kid-friendly cookbooks and told them to each pick out a recipe. Aidan picked a simple “rainbow float” that consisted of sherbet, fruit punch and Sprite. Easy enough. But imagine my delight when Owen chose the Merry-Go-Round Cake!

This morning, after gathering our ingredients (he chose lemon cake with lemon frosting), we donned our aprons and set out to make dreams come true. The boys worked very hard decorating those animal crackers with icing. (A step I would recommend skipping - apparently this cookbook came before frosted animal crackers were available at the store.) And as you can see, I worked very hard on that canopy. Whew! Considering all we had to work from was a sketch, I think we did an excellent job.

But please, hold your cake orders. I don’t think I’ll be repeating this feat of cake genius anytime soon. I’m still trying to get the frosting out of my hair.