A Birthday Staple

My birthday is this week, but we won't be talking about which year I'll be celebrating.

Instead, let's talk about my favorite birthday staple...cake!

I've been making my own birthday cake since I was in middle school. (I realize that sounds maybe a bit depressing, but when you have always loved baking you don't mind at allI will happily let someone else cook my birthday dinner, but I'll take care of the dessert.)

Because I’m the one who plans the kids’ birthday cakes every year I think there’s a subtle pleasure in doing the same for myself. My kids will never pick marbled chocolate cheesecake, but I might. Maybe I’m in the mood for carrot cake with cream cheese, just like I was when I was pregnant one year on my birthday. No one will complain that I overdid it on the sprinkles. I can put as many (or as few) on as I want. And I’ll have buttercream frosting whether my pickiest cake critic likes it or not.

And, yes, these are all complaints I’ve heard from my kids at various ages.

It's my birthday dessert, and I'll decide what I'm baking, thank you-very-much.

Some years it's cheesecake.

Some years it's strawberry shortcake.

But most years it's Turtle Cake, which is my favorite kind of cake, actually. And yes, I'm sharing the recipe. Keep reading.

I tore this Turtle Cake recipe out of a magazine long ago, intrigued at the idea of turning my favorite kind of sundae into a cake. I was shocked at how delicious it was and it's been my go-to birthday cake for years.

Turtle Cake is pretty simple to make (if you are short on time just used prepared caramel topping, no one will think less of you). It pairs beautifully with an espresso and a dollop of vanilla ice cream. It isn't too fussy, and you have my permission to lick the bowl before you wash it (especially if it's your birthday).

Turtle Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 1 egg
• 2/3 c vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup hot brewed coffee

For the Topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Salted Caramel Sauce (see below for recipe), you can also use prepared (store bought)
• 1 cup toasted pecans, crushed (toast pecans on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for 8 minutes)

For the Salted Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature and cut up
• 1/2 cup heavy cream at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

For the Cake

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine egg, oil and buttermilk in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat egg mixture into dry ingredients; continue beating until well blended. Slowly stir in the hot coffee.
3. Place mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Cool on a wire rack.
4. While the cake cools, prepare the Salted Caramel Sauce (see recipe below)

For the Topping

1. Mix sugar and milk in a heavy saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Add butter and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Place chocolate chips in a bowl; pour hot mixture on top. Stir until smooth.
2. Spread warm chocolate topping over cooled cake. Drizzle caramel topping over frosting; sprinkle with crushed pecans.

For the Salted Caramel Sauce

1. Heat granulated sugar in a medium heavy-duty saucepan (avoid using non-stick) over medium heat, stirring constantly with a high heat resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir. Be careful not to burn it.
2. Once sugar is completely melted, immediately stir in the butter until melted and combined. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove from heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again. (If you’re nervous for splatter, wear kitchen gloves. Keep whisking until it comes back together, even if it takes 3-4 minutes. It will eventually– just keep whisking. Return to heat when it’s combined again.)
3. After the butter has melted and combined with the caramelized sugar, cook for 1 minute without stirring.
4. Very slowly stir in 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Since the heavy cream is colder than the hot caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble when added. After all the heavy cream has been added, stop stirring and allow to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the salt. Allow to cool to slightly above room temperature before using. Caramel thickens as it cools, but you don't want it too hot so it melts the chocolate topping.

Grab an easy to print version of the recipe here.

A Summer Staple

Every year (usually after a new report comes out detailing the dangers of conventional sunscreen) people ask me what sunscreen I use and why. Here’s my answer: My kids and I go to the beach just about every week—twice a week in the summer. We all use Young Living’s Mineral Sunscreen Lotion SPF50. I like it because it’s a mineral based sunscreen that works extremely well at protecting against UVA and UVB rays, is water resistant, reef safe, doesn’t contain skin or eye irritants. And because it’s mineral based it does not have questionable ingredients that stay in your bloodstream for weeks like most commercial sunscreens do.

Instead, Young Living’s Mineral Sunscreen lotion contains zinc oxide (which makes it mineral based) along with other nourishing ingredients and essential oils to support skin health.

My kids like it because it doesn’t smell funky (this has been a complaint in the past), and it rubs in fully without leaving their faces white (or gray as some other natural sunscreens have). They also appreciate that the application time is quite fast so that they can be off to boogie board with their friends.

The beach-going Bassetts give it five stars and highly recommend it!

Here's a full list of our favorite Young Living beach essentials

Snippet from my week

We still have two weeks of school left, but we have already settled into our summer routine of beach days on Friday. It’s hard to say who is more excited for more summer routines like this: me or the kids.

Thanks for reading! What kind of dessert do you have on your birthday? I would love to hear about it! Just hit reply if you'd like to respond. (When you hit reply, your message goes directly to my email. It’s a private conversation between just us.) I read all your messages and try to respond, but not always in a timely manner. Sorry! And if you enjoyed this email, you’d be doing me a favor by forwarding it to someone else who might like it.