Happy Birthday, Husband!

Husband's birthday is next week and at my insistence, we are having a little birthday cook-out with some of our nearest and dearest. I think Husband is a tad bit grumpy about turning 32 (he didn't even want a party!) but I happen to love birthdays, so I put my foot down (and by that, I mean pitched a little fit) and voila! A cook-out it is.

For the occasion, I decided to attempt making one of Husband's favorite desserts--German Chocolate Cake. My morning went something like this:

Step 1. Googled every recipe for German Chocolate Cake ever published.
Step 2. Became enamored with Annie's Eats GCC post. Vowed to make my cake look half as good as hers (she is adorable, by the way. If ya'll don't already read her blog, you need to).
Step 3. Played around on at least 20 different blogs that I love but have not read in awhile.
Step 4. Scolded myself for not keeping my blog up-to-date.
Step 5. Made a resolution to keep my blog up-to-date.
Step 6. Got distracted by the beautiful weather and made plans to lay out at the pool with some friends.
Step 7. Went to the store to buy ingredients where I got further distracted by Betty Crocker's boxed cake and coconut/pecan icing.
Step 8. Convinced myself that Husband would never know the difference.

Successful, huh. In my defense, I planned to make homemade chocolate ganache to pour over the cake. I know that traditional German Chocolate Cake is iced with coconut/pecan gooey yummy-ness, but I had a brilliant idea for a cake topper that needed a smoother (and darker) surface. Husband's wedding cake was poker-themed, with white chocolate playing cards sitting on top and chocolate "suits" scattered around the outside of the cake. I thought they were adorable, so I wrapped them up and stuck them in the fridge to save for another use. A year and a half later, I had my opportunity!! Also, Husband would no longer have to threaten to throw them out.

Now I would like to say that my cake turned out exactly like Annie's masterpiece, and that our friends oohed and aahhed and marveled at my ingenuity. But that would be a lie. It didn't even survive the 12-minute car ride. I'm not entirely sure what happened, all I know is that at one point I heard Husband say "Oh crap", and when I got out of the car to go take the cake from him, the entire thing collapsed in my hands. Needless to say, I cried. Hard. For 20 minutes.

Lucky for me, I am married to a man who is unfailingly encouraging and supportive. Or maybe he just can't stand to see a woman cry...who knows. Either way, he calmed me down and we entered the party---me with black mascara under my eyes and Husband holding what was left of his birthday cake. At the end of the meal, I did what any refined hostess would have done--I stuck the cake in the middle of the table, handed out forks and said, "Dig in."