Lemon verbena chiffon cake

Lemon verbena chiffon cake, recipe from the San Francisco Chronicle. Doesn't it sound lovely? You chop up lemon verbena leaves (my leggy little plant thrives on minimal water, no attention) and steep them in syrup for flavor. Good cake. But cakes that are just "good" don't get baked again. Poor cake!

Here it is again, uglified for children:

 

Children were not fooled. Even with the addition of sour candy worms, both Stella and Owen understood that this was not their kind of birthday cake. Where are the Transformers and ballerina barbies? Where is "Happy Birthday" written in electric blue gel? Where are the buttercream roses?

They will live, I know, but they would have been so much happier with an overdecorated Safeway sheet cake.

Back to Mexican tonight.