Nose Cake Anecdote

Stumble It!

What follows is a winding explanation of why I made a spice cake in the shape of a nose. If you're anxious for a recipe for a delicious, fragrant, scrumptious, and unusual spice cake, click on Wisconsinmade.com's recipe for Slimm and Nunne Mustard Spice Cake. If you want to know how to form the cake into the shape of a nose, keep reading.

This nose cake resulted from a perfect storm of disconnected ideas. The strongest idea was this: Give What You Need.

Yes, it's true, the surest way to get what you need is to give it. I thought I got this idea from my friend, Jean. But Jean swears she got it from me. She also swears it works. Once the son of a neighbor badly needed $200 and asked Jean for it. Jean's family was financially strapped at the time. She hesitated, but remembered, "Give what you need", so she said, "here goes," and gave him the money. Two weeks later Jean received an unexpected win-fall of nearly $1000. She's a believer now.

Yesterday, I asked myself, "What could I write in a blog post that a potential reader might actually need?" Of course, the real question is "What might a reader need that I have the means to give?" Clueless, I fell back on the question, "What do I need?" My instant answer? "I need a laugh!" Yes, troubles were weighing me down. Time to pull out the humor from somewhere - ANYWHERE! And I didn't have to look far - just to the end of my nose.

After brief deliberation, I concluded that the nose is the most humorous part of the human body. Noses make people laugh - especially when they're looked at UP-CLOSE. Study people's noses and you'll recognize how many humorous shapes, colors, and sizes noses come in. Being the first part of the body to arrive anywhere, noses are the parts that get caught up in things, - such as in mechanical appliances and flying pies. And this can be very funny. When the Three Stooges pull each other's noses, people laugh.

Yes, I must write a post featuring 'The Nose'. The nose is a critical topic of a reputable food blog. Aroma always precedes taste! Therefore, the nose is the great chef's indispensable aid. And what better way to celebrate 'the nose' than with an aromatic spice cake! In fact, two weeks ago I happened upon a spice cake recipe at work which I filed in the back of my mind to try. Why not try it now!

The plan was cinched when I realized that 'nose' begins with 'n' and 'o'. These letters should have been celebrated two weeks ago in our should-be-once-a-week alphabet party designed to ready my preschooler for kindergarten. So I asked 5-year-old Dave, "Do you know what 'N-O' spell?" He shook his head and said, "No."

"That's right!" I cheered. "'N-O' spells 'NO'!" So tickled that his reply had made a joke, Dave had to tell me the joke over and over again to make sure I got it. Yes, we wrung the humor out of that one. Then I told him that it was time for our 'N' & 'O' party and since 'n-o' are the first letters in 'nose' we would make a 'nose cake'. Seemed logical to him. 5-year-olds are wonderful.

Ever industrious in any artistic project, 8-year-old Lauren set to work drawing a series of noses after which we could model our cake. When the two-dimensional models proved unhelpful, I switched the kids' efforts to play-dough. Yes, our kitchen table became a cornucopia of colorful noses of all sizes and shapes. I began to picture what shape the cake should take.

Then Off To The Store! As I drove to buy the ingredients, I passed my friend jogging on the road. I briefed her on my plan, and confessed I still hadn't figured out how to get the cake nose-shaped. "Oh, go to Party City!" she exclaimed with a wave of her hand. "They have everything! - They carry pans in all sorts of shapes." I heeded her advice, but alas, Party City is currently out of nose-shaped baking pans.

But the kids' play-dough creations inspired me. I knew how to make play-dough. I could whip some up and use it as a form - a nose form, lined with tin foil, in which the spice cake could bake! Eureka! So here's the play-dough recipe and the pictures of my "nose-form".

food coloring optional

Mix ingredients together then cook over a low heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat when it forms into a ball. Cool completely, then knead.

Once I had the form, baking the cake was a snap. I did fill the form a tad too full unfortunately, and the batter over-flowed during baking. But hey, don't all noses run sometimes? I just wiped the effluence away. After the cake cooled, I inverted it on to a plate.

Then I cut two holes for nostrils. My children objected. They said I made the nostrils on the wrong side. Yes, my cake resembled a snout more than a human nose. So, acquiescing, I cut two more nostrils in 'the back'. They were pleased. Next we made a nose gay of flowers and placed it next to the nose cake. We were ready to party!


And in truth, I had used so many brain cells making this silly nose cake that I had none in reserve for fruitless worries. My afternoon had been a grand success! The nose cake certainly made us all laugh. But more seriously, such a nose cake is highly appropriate for a variety of celebratory occasions, such as: