“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” — Carl Sagan

We got busy with the fondant over the weekend. And the fondant smoother and the lazy susan that lets you turn the cake as you ice it with the special spatula so it looks perfect, like on “Cake Boss.”

What a pain in the ass. And what fun. Annabelle’s fast approaching that age where she just can’t be bothered with much of anything. But here, on the cusp of her 10th birthday, we spent a joyful night spreading and sculpting and decorating a heck of a cake. 

A cake, I might add, made from a box mix, iced with boxed frosting. (And, if you’re really into these things, you must know it was covered in canned fondant, not homemade.)

Last year on her birthday, Annabelle told me in no uncertain terms I was to make her cake from scratch. I stressed but managed to produce a pretty good chocolate sour cream number, thanks to Heather. This year she said it was okay if I took the short cut; I did make a special trip to Trader Joe’s for the better mix, this was no Betty Crocker affair. (OK, come to think of it, the frosting was BC.)

Driving home from an extra trip to the grocery store for something or other, wondering if maybe I should turn around and go back for the long list of “from scratch” ingredients, I caught the tail end of one of my favorite NPR shows, “The Splendid Table,” just in time to hear the quote above. I’d never heard it before. But it will become my mantra, I assure you.

Thank you, Carl Sagan. I’m off to stock up on cake mix.