My birthday was about a month ago. It was a special day in my food allergy journey, because I had my first store bought birthday cake since I got diagnosed with food allergies. But why is a birthday cake so significant?
I think that birthday cakes are so significant because they are just one of those constants in our crazy lives. 2020 was a year where we definitely needed those constants to cling to. When everything else in the world is changing, the constants are what gives us a sense of normalcy.
I also think that we have birthday cakes just to celebrate. It’s definitely not everyday that we get a cake in honor of us! Especially not a fancy, beautiful cake. But with food allergies, we usually don’t get that luxury.
On my birthday, I usually have the same exact chocolate cake. It’s a homemade chocolate bundt cake with chocolate frosting. Don’t get me wrong; I am definitely not complaining. I love that cake. But when I compare it to the gorgeous cakes I see on other people’s birthday Instagram posts, I feel left out.
So this year, I finally didn’t have to be left out. We found an online bakery called Caroline’s Cakes that got amazing reviews and was certified nut free by the Food Allergy Initiative. I was ecstatic, to say the least. I finally got to have a normal birthday cake that actually looked pretty.
When we opened it on my birthday, it was beautiful (picture above). It was a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, and the sides of the cake were covered in colorful sprinkles. But when I took my first bite, I realized something; it just wasn’t as good as my homemade cake.
Now I’ve learned that homemade is, surprisingly, usually better. I love my little old chocolate bundt cake better than the fancy cakes. Sometimes, it really is the inside that matters.