Old Cakes and Cake Carriers

I'm awfully attached to my Gramdmother's old fashioned aluminum cake carrier. It evokes memories of church homecomings and dinner on the grounds. Of family gatherings and funerals. Of Christmas and birthdays. I'm not sure how I ended up with it, but I'm glad I did.

 

We spent today cooking two old-fashioned cake recipes -- for years, my favorite cake has been a "little" layer cake -- one of the ones that has 7 or 14 skinny little layers and icing with a texture almost crunchy where the sugar is only just dissoved.  This is not a cake my mother made when I was growing up.  Neither is it one my grandmother made -- which probably adds to its exotic appeal whenever it was encountered at potlucks, or church, or the cake walk at the Fall Carnival.

Tonight, a 7 layer cake with crunchy, chocolaty icing is tucked away into the old aluminum carrier in my kitchen.  The site of it, nestled there next to the caramel cake, brings joy to my heart and feels like a comforting hand reaching across the years, to pat my shoulders and say, "my, what a beautiful cake!"