Cupcakes and Cacao Torte with spinning flames

Birthdays are considered a BIG DEAL at our house. Dewdrop spent hers with her mommy, but we threw her a party when she came back to Kansas and had plenty of celebrating with her here.

You can't have too many birthday parties, can you?

We had three birthdays to enjoy, and threw two parties for them. One out to dinner for Italian food, and the next night, a family dinner at home with a crock pot full of veggie soup.

And cupcakes decorated by grandfairies.

The other two celebrating their birthdays wanted a more grown up cake, so I made a flourless chocolate torte with cacao powder.

That cake was a better size to use for the light up, spinning, and singing candle than the cupcakes were.

But it didn't sing! Dang it! Last one I bought was a lot of fun, this one was a bit of a dud and also scared Dewdrop.

The flames were a little overwhelming, without the Happy Birthday song that is supposed to be a part of the act.

But not too scary. She was pretty happy once it was time to bite into her custom cupcake.

But at a $5.99 price tag for the big, flame throwing, spinning, wonderland of a candle that wouldn't play the song, I think I'll take it back to the store for a refund. Or exchange.

We are tickled pink to have our tiny, Arabella Cinderella back for the holidays. There have been lots of kisses and hugs, big smiles, then more hugs. Dewdrop was missed.

She has been keeping me company out in the studio where we have had a few parades with her as Frosty the Snowgirl. Yep, that girl is a lot of fun.

Here is how I made the torte:

stir 3/4 cup raw cacao powder (more nutritious and stronger than cocoa)
into one stick of melted butter
add 1 cup organic sugar and 4 egg yolks
In a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg whites, when foamy, add in 1/4 cup of sugar and the scraped seeds from one vanilla bean.
Beat the egg whites till almost into peaks, but not as long as you would for meringue, you don't need stiff peaks.
Fold the two mixtures together, gently

Pour into 8" pan and bake for about 45 minutes at 300 (I don't have a springform pan, I use Grandma Nathan's old cake pan, but I think a spring form is called for)