Did it right.

Usually I drop off the cake at my parents' apartment and let my dad take it with him to the book group, which works out well enough for everyone involved. That's still the usual arrangement, but now it's not the only way of doing things: I brought the cake this time. This month's meeting was only a few blocks away and the invitation was extended to me as well, not just my dad and the cake. So I went. Partly to get out of the apartment for a while, partly to dress up nicely and talk to new people, partly to get the praise of the cake in person. All of which happened, all of which was great.

I ended up making two cakes. The first I baked in the morning and was a light, soft sponge cake, where the egg whites were whipped stiff and the extracts added carefully, but because it said not to grease the pan, I got worried. The second I baked in the afternoon - a backup in case the first wouldn't work - was a vastly different, moist and rich spiced date and nut cake. I'd been told dinner would be an Italian vegetable soup, and I knew both of those would offer a pleasantly contrasting texture.

I didn't need to have worried, but it was fun to have made the second. The first one didn't come out easily, but after being served, and after the hostess' suggestion of topping it with brandy-preserved cherries was enacted, everything was fine. I ended up divvying up the second one as a sort of party favor for people to take home.

The meal was very much divided up on gender lines, with the all-male book group in the dining room and the two women in the kitchen. It wasn't a problem for anyone, though, since she liked that her husband's friends came over and for once she had some company while they did their thing. And both groups talked about books they'd read recently over Italian vegetable soup and light sponge cake, so it wasn't like anyone missed out on anything.

When I served the cake, I told them that I'd made a slight modification; when I came to collect the plates, I said I'd replaced a quarter cup of white sugar with maple sugar. It gave it a slight hint of warmth to the sweetness. People were floored and delighted, because they'd never had maple as a subtle flavor before. It was a night of many new things happening for everyone.