It's a Celebration

One thing I love about the Dutch is that they love to celebrate with food. When a baby is born you bring in cookies; when it's your birthday you bring in cake. At first I didn't think it was fair that the birthday person was responsible for bringing in cake for everyone else. It is his/her birthday after all, and with my American mentality I felt that they should be on the receiving end only. But after a few months, and many birthdays, I've come to realize that it's quite a good system. No one person is responsible for the many birthdays that occur monthly, as every person has their go round. I've definitely had my fair share of cake since I've arrived, so I was more than happy to bring some in for my big day on Saturday. Cake here is more like a torte which is what everyone's brought in for their birthday. To change things up a bit, I decided to make traditional American cupcakes and some brownies to boot. So, I spent my evening making brownies and red velvet cupcakes from scratch. ...Oh how I miss the convenience of boxed mixes and pre-made frosting.