I love, love, love, love, love when people share their stories with me.  You know how much I love it?  I LOVE IT.  Love it.  Love.

Back in January, I received an email from a wonderful woman named Brenda Jo Gillund.  The message read, in part (and I have her permission to print this; don’t be afraid to email me because you think I’m going to immediately turn around and scatter it to the universe):

“I made something for my husband on our honeymoon. My mom always called it “dump cake”: One Jiffy yellow cake mix, one 12 oz package frozen strawberries with juice, one stick of butter.  Chop it all up together.  This is not pretty.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

My husband told me (just 48 hours into our marriage) that if I didn’t make “Honeymoon Cake” at least once a month for the rest of our lives, he would perish.

I am happy to say, we are still married (32 years), and he is still very much alive, even if I may have missed a few months here and there.“

Obviously, I made this cake.  The first time I decided to be clever (also, lazy, because I was at the fancy grocery store and didn’t want to make a second stop) and bought fancy organic cake mix and fancy organic strawberries and it was dry and crumbly.  The second time I used Jiffy cake mix and strawberries with juice and now my marriage is rock-solid because that business was DEE-LISH.   It was so good that I’m going to make it my potluck dish, which is basically the highest compliment anyone can make of a food because there ain’t no way you’re bringing the B-team to a potluck.

In gratitude for this recipe, I am going to share my own version of Honeymoon Cake – but, in my case, it’s a Birthday Cake.

Kyle and I met in December 2004 and were engaged in April 2005.  When his birthday, May 5, rolled around, you can bet I was going to give MY NEW FIANCE the greatest birthday he’d ever had.  Also, as my family is big big big on birthdays, and this being Kyle’s first birthday we would celebrate together, I wanted his entrée into my birthday universe to be a real raz-a-ma-tazzer…starting with the cake.

“What kind of a birthday cake would you like, my sweet love pinky pie poodle doodle?”  I asked one evening while we were intertwined on the couch, my hand pressed to his face as one would palm a basketball so we could both physically enjoy my engagement ring.

“Oh, anything,” he said, his only concern being our tremendous love.

“You must have a favorite cake,” I said, blowing kisses at him.  “Whatever it is, it’s yours.”

“Well,” he mooned, “I really like my aunt’s chocolate oatmeal cake.”

“Gross,” I said, caressing his cheek.  “But, whatever you want.”

A week later, a handwritten recipe arrived in the mail.  It had taken some doing to get the recipe, as Kyle’s mother was one of six girls and if you know anything about families with lots of aunties, newcomers must earn their love long before they earn their recipes.

I made the cake.  Despite my assumptions that it would be a larger version of an oatmeal raisin cookie, it was delicious.  It was also simple, thank goodness, because my cooking skills in those days were something akin to “I hope she can open a can of Spaghettios or she’s gonna starve.”

“This is the best cake you’ve ever made,” he said, his mouth filled with cake and his heart filled with love.

“You’re right,” I said, not feeling the need to mention that it was the only cake I had ever made.

Kyle requested a chocolate oatmeal cake again the following year, and every year after that for the following 18.  And, every year, he’d tell me that it was the best cake I’d ever made.

This year, when I asked what kind of a cake he wanted, he said,

“Carrot cake.  No, wait, chocolate oatmeal cake.”

“Are you sure?”  I asked.

“Yes,” he said.  “Why mess with success?”

I’ve now baked this cake so many times (and have developed my cooking skills beyond processed canned meats) that I’ve made a few modifications to the recipe.  This year, Kyle said,

“I know I sound like a broken record, but I think this is the best version of this cake you’ve ever made.”

“You’re right,” I said, because it was.

Here’s this year’s recipe:

Put 1 cup of quick oats (NOT regular oatmeal – and the fresher, the better) in a bowl and cover that with 1-3/4 cup of boiling water.  Let that sit for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, mix together 1 cup brown sugar, 1-3/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon baking cocoa, and 1 12-oz package of mini baking chocolate chips.  You can skip the chocolate chips if you want a fluffier cake (the chocolate chips make it denser), but we both like it tasting a little fudgier.  Be sure to use mini chips because I think they melt a little more nicely.

When the oats are done, to the oat bowl add 1/2 cup of white sugar (if you leave out the mini chips, add a full cup), 2 large eggs, and ½ cup of butter, melted.  Once that is all mixed together, add in the dry stuff, pour the whole business into a greased 9×13 pan, and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  I usually top it with whipped chocolate frosting because we eat it as a birthday cake, but you could serve it without like a coffee cake because it has a nice crispy crust to it.  Enjoy, and revel in the fact that your marriage will survive another year thanks to cake.

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The photo above was taken with my birthday boy on Cinco de Kyle.

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This week on North Dakota Today, we talked about a Watford City quilting group spreading good cheer (and warmth!) around the community and a free program in the Fargo area for people seeking a bit more inner peace. (Valley News Live)

Crookston’s Walter Engen made each of his six kids their own violin and, for the first time in 51 years, Larry Engen was able to hear his violin played. (Fargo Forum)

Killdeer’s Danica Mindt and Ian Gloria got a ride to prom courtesy of Dunn County’s finest. (KFYR TV)

Fargo’s Zach Robinson will be the first North Dakotan to be named one of 10 TOP COPS for 2024 by the National Association of Police Organizations. (Fargo Forum)

Rugby will soon have its 15 Minutes of Fame courtesy of the docuseries “My Town.” (Grand Forks Herald)

Grand Forks’ FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics team recently competed in the FIRST world championships in Houston, Texas. (Grand Forks Herald)

 Jamestown’s Gussner Elementary is a now a two-time National Blue Ribbon School. (Valley News Live)

 Speaking of Jamestown, Jamestown High is now home to the state’s first Sports Officiating class. (Fargo Forum)

The University of North Dakota’s Big Event was even bigger than usually, with over 600 students cleaning up the community. (UND Today)

Kyle and his friends, Corey and Kelly, have a podcast called North Dakota After Dark where they talk about youth hockey in North Dakota.  The latest episode is up and is an interview with full-time beauty Shaun Endres.  Check it out. Bonus: you can watch it on YouTube. (North Dakota After Dark)

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