Last week I wanted to make a little something for my neighbors. There was no special reason, really, I just wanted to make them a little something. There is a delightful older woman who lives across the street who I always see working in her yard and sometimes doing things that make me stop and watch her. I am always afraid she is going to fall or get hurt. Just that day I saw her playing badmitton with her granddaughter. I was impressed.

Our other neighbors are always out and about and very pleasant to talk to. Their 2 daughters just recently graduated high school and from time to time we strike up a conversation at the mailbox, etc.

SO, they were the inspiration for my ‘dessert near-disaster’ . I had tons of strawberries that we had just gotten from a local produce market and I had buttermilk I needed to use up. I didn’t want to make 2 full sized cakes so it hit me: make a pan of mini cakes!

So that’s what I did. I used my tried and true Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
recipe to make 16 little mini Bundt cakes.  The problem was I put my strawberries in first (instead of last) so when I flipped them after they had cooled the strawberries had fallen out of the cake!  I had to quickly pop them back in.  I let them sit for a few hours and eventually them set.  But, for a minute I thought that I had ruined perfectly good cake!

But make no mistake: For a minute there is was a strawberry scented gloppy mess!  I contemplated quickly throwing it all in a bowl and making a trifle.  Noah had already informed 1 neighbor that “Mommy couldn’t come out to talk…because she was making cakes for you all”.  Well, that sealed the deal for me.  This is a lesson that no matter how many times I have made something I still need to pay attention!

My kids delivered them and they were a hit.  Sometimes it just makes your day to share a gift from the kitchen with neighbors and friends.  Even if if was a near disaster ????

Before the ‘flip’ !

While they were cooling…..

Not pretty, at all, but sooo good!