Ipso Fatto Instant Photo: Alexander Turns Six!

I love to bake for celebrations, and each year I look forward to supplying a birthday cake for my young friend Alexander. Alexander just turned six and requested a carrot cake this year. Alexander also got a carrot cake last year, so I wanted to switch it up a bit with a different recipe. I decided on Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Classic Carrot Cake with Dreamy Creamy White Chocolate Frosting" from Perfect Cakes. I have made this cake once before and thought it didn't produce enough frosting, so I doubled the frosting recipe this time around. Because Alexander's birthday party was quite large this year (40+ people), I also made a Caramel Apple Cake (from Baked Explorations) and a Raspberry Bavarian (based on recipes from James Peterson's Baking).

The birthday party was at a bowling alley, where the lights were dimmed for glow-in-the-dark bowling. Between the terrible lighting, the multiple cakes, the rush to serve all of the guests, and the general frenetic party atmosphere, I wasn't able to get good cake photos -- so I can only offer the poorly-lit above photo of the carrot cake. I didn't get a chance to taste it, but Alexander expressed his enthusiastic approval, so I'll call it a success!

Previous Posts:

• "Alexander Turns Five!: Riva's Carrot Cake," September 29, 2011.
• "Alexander Turns Old Enough to Make a Baked Goods Request," September 19, 2010.
• "Alexander Turns Three!," September 15, 2009.
• "Alexander's Birthday Party," September 21, 2008.