This past Christmas, as we were gathered in Grandmother Ginny’s kitchen indulging in holiday goodies, cookies, egg nog, etc., Jill said that she sure could go for a slice of pound cake. I had planned on baking said cake and bringing it that weekend but just flat ran out of time. So there was no pound cake to be had. I could see a little bit of holiday joy dim in Jill’s eyes. If you’re wondering, the algebraic equation for confectionery delights to spatial location it looks something like this, Elizabethton = Pound Cake. Anyway, I tucked this little nugget of conversation away and decided that I would make sure that Jill would have pound cake for her birthday.
This year, Jill’s birthday happens to fall during Levi’s spring break and Norma has planned a trip to Washington D.C. to explore our nation’s capitol. Since her birthday is the day before they are scheduled to fly out, I decided my best bet would be to deliver the cake to her over the weekend so they would have time to enjoy it. I called Jill Friday afternoon and asked if we could swing by the Farm Sunday morning. I explained that we would be in Hendersonville dropping off Candy’s Christmas gift and wanted to say “hi” since we would be in the neighborhood. She said absolutely, come on. Ha, ha, ha! My little ruse worked. She had no idea my true intent was to deliver her birthday gift.
So Saturday morning arrived, I pulled out my trusty copy of “Table Talk, Taylor Family Cookbook” and found Grandmother Ginny’s recipe for Old Fashioned Pound Cake and began baking. The house smelled amazing as it baked. It sure was difficult not to slice into it as it sat on the stove cooling, gently mocking me.
Needless to say, Jill was super surprised to receive the pound cake along with the tall, covered cake stand. Jill is such a marvelous and creative baker, I know she will put it to good use for years to come. And fortunately for me, she decided to share her cake and served up slices for all of us to enjoy.
Happy Birthday Jill!!!
