Yellow With Chocolate Frosting

My brother, Dad and I decided my Mom's 60th birthday was reason to celebrate. She's hard to surprise (and I'm really bad at keeping exciting news from people and nobody knows me better than my Mom so this one was going to be tough) but we figured we were up to the task.

The party was to be held at my house...50 invites went out....booze was bought...a tent was rented.....iPod loaded with oldies but goodies.....food ordered (you didn't actually think I was going to cook, did you?)....flowers bought....house cleaned....anticipation building.

On the day of her birthday (conveniently, a Saturday), people as far as NJ, Florida, Cape Cod, New York and California descended upon my home. My mother had no clue what awaited her. The ruse we used to get her to come over was that she and my Dad were to pick me up so we could go out to dinner. While en route, I called to inform them that I was running a few minutes late so if they didn't mind coming in, I would appreciate it. Rounding the corner, my Mom noted to my Dad how bustling the neighborhood was. As they pulled into the driveway, she commented further how nice it was that I let my neighbors bark in the rather large turnaround in my driveway (in truth, many older homes in my street don't have driveways at all and street parking can be tough so I do let people park in my driveway). To this day, I believe that my Mom had no clue what awaited her inside my house.

As she pushed open the door, she was greeted by a chorus of surprises and happy birthdays! She look overwhelmed, thrilled, excited, and on the verge of tears. As she saw more and more of her family and friends who traveled from near and far to celebrate with her, she became emotional and excited. As she sipped her Tanqueray and tonics (with a large hunk of lime, of course) she loosened up- laughter, eating and dancing abounded.

And then it was time for the cake.....

We position my Mom behind a large sheet cake which reads, Happy 60th Birthday to the best Mom, Wifey, Friend, Auntie, Sister we could ask for. My brother is holding a small video camera and can see my Mom is getting choked up so to lighten the moment, he tells her to express her love for the cake...in French. (My brother is fluent in french thanks to a language aptitude and studying a year abroad...I know, life is tough. Over several years, he would teach my Mom french alternatives for words you know, especially to express her "frustration" with people so him telling her to say she loves her cake in french wasn't too out of the ordinary.) My Mom agrees and asks him how to say it. he tells her the french word for cake is (coq - pronounced, COCK).

With a giant smile on her face, camcorder rolling, 50 people looking on, my Mom leans down over the sheet cake and declares, "I love coq". Rumbles of, "what did she say?" filters through the crowd and my brother tells my Mom she needs to say it louder as not everyone can hear. "I LOVE COQ" she hollers into the crowd.

My Mom looks perplexed as people start to laugh. Having taken several years of French in high school and college, I whisper into her ear, "the french word for cake is, gateau. You just told everyone that you love cock as in well, COCK." Always a good sport, she blew out her candles and proclaimed it, "time to eat gateau!"

Ps. for a good coq...errr, I mean yellow cake recipe, click the title. I'm home if you make it and want to share.