I’ve been outdone. But I loved it! It’s clear that my daughter has inherited many of my traits, including my perfectionist tendencies. We are both extremely organized, creators of lists extraordinaire, highly energetic and productive, and love coffee. So it should not surprise me that she took my themed birthday cake tradition to another level.

For our granddaughter’s first birthday, Karen decided on a rainbow theme. We arrived at the family party to find streamers, birthday banner, and hats in all colors of the rainbow. I knew she’d spent all week preparing the cake – each night after teaching school she ticked off one more step in completing the cake. And the night before the big birthday, I was informed not to expect any email responses as she would be “offline” decorating the cake.

So it was with great anticipation that I sought my first glimpse of the cake. True to form, it was artfully decorated. A classic layer cake with pristine decorator frosting, it was adorned with a rainbow made up of M&Ms – very colorful and of course, perfect. We were also informed that it was 100% from scratch. Yes, very impressive.

We admired it all evening, through dinner, opening presents, and blowing out the single candle. It seemed a shame to cut into it. Little did we know that was the denouement! The pretty outside was merely window dressing for the rainbow of colors inside. Cutting through the frosting exposed no less than six layers, each a vivid and different color, naturally arrayed in rainbow order.

The ooohs and aaaahs were audible, and there was a tangible aura of awe throughout the room. Karen beamed in response, the kudos well deserved. Her piece de resistance was a smash hit.

Mya, the birthday girl, may not have entirely appreciated the aesthetics, but she did enjoy the sweet flavors. And she wore it well.

I admit to stabs of nostalgia, as my own family members have gravitated away from cake in favor of other favorite desserts on their birthdays. I haven’t made a theme cake in a long time. But if I do, I’ll know where to get help.