Back to School...Soon

I was so surprised to hear I had won the Madison Magazine Silver Award for Best Magazine Columnist. I even got a medal! It came totally out of the blue. I hadn't won an award that was such a surprise since I won Queen of the Playground when I was about 6 years old. What a nice thing, for all those people to take time out of their daily lives and vote for me. I was really touched.

If this were the Academy Awards, there'd be a speech, right? The following is what I would have said. (Stick with me; there's a "Back to School" lesson in here.)

The first person I want to thank is Sister Donata, my first grade teacher. She taught me to read.

The second person I want to thank is Mrs. Dearmeyer, my second grade teacher. She taught me how to write.

My husband Chris is next. Through his example, I learned to "write funny" and to take everyday events and turn them into stories with lessons.

The last person I want to thank is my mother. Mom taught me how to cook. Actually, truth be told, she didn't teach me how to cook. My mother was very busy raising and feeding seven kids. When I was a little girl, I asked her if she'd teach me how to cook, and her answer was, "If you can read, you can cook."

Later that day, I climbed up onto the cupboards in our pantry so I could reach inside. I pulled down a bag of chocolate chips, turned it over to the recipe on the back and discovered I could cook! How? I could read.

So, as you send your little ones, and maybe even some of the bigger ones off to school this year, there are teachers to thank. Thank you, teachers, for the contributions you make every day of our learning lives.

I'm going to share with you the recipe I offered as a "Thank you" to everyone who voted for me. It's a Celebration Cake. Maybe during the year you'll have a little one passing from elementary school onto something bigger. Or maybe you'll have a big one celebrating a college graduation. This is the cake. Everyone loves it, old and young. I even use it for weddings. They say it's the moistest cake they've ever eaten. And don't worry; the alcohol cooks out during baking. The creme de cacao gives it a really different taste. If you don't want the Godiva in the frosting, just substitute flavored creamer.

Enjoy the school year! It's coming soon! Cheers! Zola

Celebration Cake with Godiva French Buttercream

1 boxed cake mix (Butter flavor, yellow or white)
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla flavoring
1 3/4-ounce box of instant vanilla pudding
3/4 cup creme de cacao liqueur

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Put all ingredients in a large bowl. Turn your mixer onto Low to blend the ingredients. Then turn it to Medium High (or High if you have a small mixer) and blend it for a full three minutes.

While the cake is being blended, you can prepare your angel food cake pan (funnel pan). Spray the pan with baker's spray to keep the cake from sticking. When the mixing is done, pour the batter into the cake pan. Bake 55 minutes to one hour at 350 degrees. Test for doneness with a clean toothpick. If nothing sticks, the cake is done. Don't be tempted to open the oven before the 55-minute mark or the cake may sink a bit. Even if it does, you'll still be fine. Turn the cake onto your platter after it cools down.

Godiva French Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter softened at room temperature (Use real butter.)
1 bag (2 pounds) confectioners' sugar
1 pasteurized egg (If you can't get pasteurized eggs, you can use egg substitute.)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
4 Tbl Godiva chocolate liqueur (If no alcohol is preferred, use flavored creamer.)

Put this all in a large bowl. With a sturdy mixer, blend the frosting until smooth. The frosting will not be brown because of the chocolate liqueur. It will be a warm off-white color.

This recipe makes enough frosting to fill the hole in the middle of the cake, frost the cake completely and have enough left over to pipe decorative borders at the top and bottom.

If it's really warm (especially if you plan to serve outdoors), store the cake in the refrigerator and take it outside about 30 minutes before you want to serve it. Buttercream can "melt" if it's too hot outside.