9,131 days

Hey, um, so, I just finished living the first quarter-century of my life.

I'm officially old, guys.

My birthday falls on Arbor Day (식목일) in Korea, so my dad used to tell me that people were planting trees to celebrate my birthday. It's kind of embarrassing to admit, but I believed it when I was little because I thought I was special.



I really used to be that cute... so what went wrong?

I'm from a huge family, where my dad is the second eldest of seven children, and my mom is the eldest of seven. So for quite a few years I was the only grandchild on my mom's side, and the youngest of three on my dad's. Having a lot of unmarried aunts and uncles meant that I had no shortage of babysitters, and was completely accustomed to being the center of everyone's attention.

That is, until this one came along.



Good thing he was adorable, eh? :)

Almost all my aunts and uncles are married and have kids now, and I have seventeen(!) younger cousins to keep track of, the youngest of whom was born just a few months ago. Plus my oldest cousin, who is like a sister to me, is getting married this summer, so I guess I'll have nieces and nephews soon, too?!

Being the "cousins in America" means there is a lot expected of my brother and me, so it can be kind of stressful to have so many people to visit whenever we go to Korea. But at the same time, it is amazing to feel so welcomed every time we go back. :)



My mom cooked me a delicious Korean birthday breakfast while I was home for spring break, and my dad sent me an awesome package full of Korean food, so I was all set for this birthday already. I just couldn't pass up such a good excuse for baking a cake. :)




Simple Lemon Cake
Adapted from Food Republik.

This lemon cake, originally from Orangette, has a lovely dense and moist crumb, and is not very sweet at all without the glaze. It might be a good candidate for a layer cake, if the recipe were doubled.



Cake.
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest (approx. 1 lemon)
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-in. round pan.

In a large bowl, blend together sour cream, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon extract.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in oil until batter is smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until done, 25-35 min. Cool 15-20 min. before turning out onto a plate.

Glaze.
5 Tbsp. lemon juice (approx. 2 lemons)
5 Tbsp. milk
1/4 c. powdered sugar

Using a fork, whisk together the lemon juice, milk, and powdered sugar. Drizzle over cooled cake.