October 29th is a day made special by two special people. Two of the dearest women I know (true, I know a lot in this category) were born on this day. To help them celebrate last fall, I made a cake for each of them. Through the process I learned I love making cakes for those dear to me. I also learned that cake making will likely never be my vocation. Lets put it this way. If I were to be paid by the hour, it wouldn't take many cakes to make me a wealthy woman.

#1: Mom's Orange Marmalade Cake
Mitford book fans will recognize this as Esther's famous cake.

Three layers of moist cake soaked with an orange syrup and topped with orange marmalade.

Frosted and ready to eat. (Birthday girl on the right.)

#2: Tessa's Triple-Layer Raspberry Cake

Cream cheese frosting over three layers of white cake with home-made (and home-grown) raspberry filling.