It’s that time of year again! That’s right, today marks See Brooke Cook’s 8 year blogaversary! I love my blogaversary for the same reasons I lover New Years Eve and my birthday.. it’s a great time to reflect on where I’ve been, how far I’ve come and what I’m looking forward to next.. in life, professional, and personally. Plus, let’s be real, it’s a good excuse to eat cake.. like this Clementine Cake with Bourbon Glaze (because in the past year whiskey has become my favorite)!

In all seriousness, times of reflection make us all a little emotional (which is why there is cake), but for the best reasons. I’m proud of what my little space on the internet has grown into, and how it has challenged me in so many ways. I’m proud of the woman I’ve become over the last 8 years.. the enormous life changing choices and the mundane everyday decisions that have gotten me where I am. I’m proud of all my failures, in hindsight, while I may not choose them again if I had the chance, I don’t regret them. Whoa, let’s get back to cake.

So have you seen “The Real Life of Walter Mitty”? If not, watch it.. if so, you will know this cake was made famous by it but you still may not know how delicious it is! Something like a year ago my super cute, wonderful boyfriend introduced this to me (the movie, and subsequently “my idea” of making this cake) and I stuck it in a little file in my mind and baked it for his birthday in January. He loved it, I loved it, plus it’s naturally gluten free.. little birds chirped and there were rainbows (kay, maybe not those last two).. and then I didn’t make it again. That happens. So, when I was deciding what fantastic dessert I should make to celebrate a chunk of 8 year of life, I knew this was perfect. It’s simple, delicious, and meaningful to the person I love most in the world.. easy decision.

I’m not going to lie, this cake is time consuming.. however, it’s not technically challenging! There are some versions out there in which you microwave the clementines but I can’t speak to the success of that process. It’s really a start it and forget it thing anyway.. start the clementines, forget about it, then when they are done make the cake! So don’t be discouraged by the instructions, it will all work out! Also worth noting, the texture of this cake is a little different than most. It’s kind of like Tres Leches in the sense that it’s very “wet” for a lack of better words. The batter is VERY thin and you will think something is wrong.. then you will bake it and slice into it.. and you will think something is wrong.. then you will eat it, and you will know something is very, very right. I topped this particular cake with a glaze including my favorite whiskey.. because why not! But you could eat it as is or make it with a whiskeyless glaze if that’s not your thing. Either way, you’ll love it! Or at least I hope you will, so here’s to 8 years, thank you!