Happy Birthday Amma!!

 It's my mother's birthday. She is away spending her first birthday with her granddaughter. My mother is the most beautiful person on earth and I am absolutely in love with her. Coincidentally she was the first person who taught me to bake.
   Once, in Lagos, my second grade teacher was organizing a Christmas party. She was allotting who had to get what for the party. The smarter children in my class put their hands up for potato chips and cucumber sandwiches (their mothers would have been so proud about their children picking up reasonable, hassle free party foods). But Sandhya Sethumadhavan loved her mother's cakes. Those days there weren't many nice bakeries in Lagos and Amma usually made our birthday cakes. I loved looking at the pictures Amma had taken of all the cakes she had baked. She made my brother a Batman cake for one of his birthdays. You really can't get cooler than that. So yes, when my teacher asked who would get cake, I immediately bounced up and down. During lunch time, the kids in my class ran up to me, they wanted to know if the stories they heard were true, did my mother actually once make a Batman cake for my brother? I nodded and grinned. They were so excited. I felt like I was the daughter of a celebrity. They all asked what kind of cake I'd get for the party. I thought a bit and said that it would be a snowman cake.  When I got back home, I threw my bag down ran to my Amma and after a long hug I began to explain what happened in school. Amma was not too pleased with my choice of party food. She could not understand why I could not have put my hand up for something a little more realistic. But my Amma being my Amma, had to make her silly daughter happy and so she got busy in the kitchen. After the cakes were baked she popped them over with ease, made the frosting, and propped me up on the kitchen counter. I watched her as she iced my snowman cake. I remember thinking about the surprise on everyone's face when they see the cake the next day! How happy I was! We took a picture of the cake. Sadly I can't seem to find it now. But it was the prettiest snowman cake in the whole world.
    I love my mother. She made everything so much easier to handle. She never let me down, even when I went to her with my silly whims and fancies (and ideas of a snowman cake). I know all of us, my Acha, Etta, Chechi, Nonu and I are super proud to have her in our lives. We love you Amma!
    Baked a cake for her today. Acha and I even sang out loud as we cut the cake. It's a mile high eggless moist chocolate cake with homemade strawberry preserve and whipped cream.

Let me know when you want yours! Open for orders :)