Spiders

Let's be frank, most of us don't like spiders, at least not in our house, or in places that suggest they were recently in contact with our skin.  I try diligently to take indoor spiders and reintroduce them to their natural habitats, if they make webs I'll often just leave them where they are.  Hunting spiders, however, are sometimes not so lucky.  Two days ago my dear friend, Erica, was over for dinner when from nowhere a large, black, menacing spider appeared and charged at me.  It then fell into the sink and um...did I mention we have a new garbage disposal?

Out of guilt and sadness, I decided to pay tribute to the spiders to have died at the hands of frightened humans such as myself with a delicious white cake with buttercream icing, flavored with lemon juice and homemade blackberry jam, and kumquat marmalade between the layers.  The cake recipe is from my vintage copy of The Joy of Cooking and the buttercream frosting from Wilton.  I will say that I used only butter, no vegetable shortening, and the consistency was a little soft for my decorating purposes.  I had a great time using my Wilton Basics cake decorating kit!  THANKS MA.

Leave a comment if you'd like the cake recipe!