This weekend I turned 25. It was a little weird for me because I always thought by this time I would have my life figured out. I would have a career, a boyfriend, maybe even a house or a kid. Ok, maybe not a kid – but you get the idea. When I thought of someone who was 25, I thought of someone who had their life together. But when I looked at myself this weekend, I realized I am not even close to that. As of now, I have no idea where I am going in life or how I am going to get there. Things are confusing, and messy, and unclear, and I can barely pay my taxes without the help of my parents. It’s sad…but true. Thankfully, I think a lot of people my age are in the same boat – we are all just trying to figure out what we want to do with their lives. It’s not an easy task.
Of course, there are always a few overachievers that can make a person feel pretty bad about this. Taylor Swift is 25 and was recently named Woman of the Year. The girl also has 7 Grammy Awards, 5 albums that have sold well over a million copies, and an amazing ability to rock a crop top. If I could rock a crop top half as well as she can, I would be satisfied with my life. Jennifer Lawrence also turns 25 this year and has already secured the position of highest grossing female heroine of ALL time (and she still has one movie to go). She also has a little thing called an Oscar, and is so charming that she can flip off an entire press room and still be loved for it. So yeah, when I compare myself to those people, my life seems pretty pathetic.
But, in the end, I am never going to be Taylor Swift of Jennifer Lawrence. I am just me -and I think that is ok. I may not have everything completely figured out, but I have the rest of my life to do that. So for now, I am just going to live in the moment and make the best choices I can for me and my life. And then maybe I will get someone to teach me how to do my taxes. Or maybe not. There is always next year.
Now back to the important stuff…this Birthday Cake Crumble. It is crack. Literally. I can’t keep it in the house because I will eat the entire thing in one sitting. Once you start, it is impossible to stop. But if you can restrain yourself long enough, it goes great on top of cakes, or inside of cakes, or you can do a little bit of both like Momofuku Milk Bar does. But whatever you decide to do with it, just know it is going to be really really good.
BIRTHDAY CAKE CRUMBLE
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 cup cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine sugars, flour, baking powder salt and sprinkles on low speed.
- Stream in canola oil and vanilla and turn the mixer to medium/high speed.
- Let the mixer run until the mixture turns into small clusters (about 2 minutes)
- Spread the mixture evenly on prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- Let the mixture cool for 8 - 10 minutes and then, using a fork, break the baked crumble into smaller pieces.
