All people have a special period in their life that makes them happier. For me it started one or two years ago, when I was only 11.

My grandfather was going to celebrate his 60th birthday. I was pretty young, but I knew that it was a very important date for my dear relative. As a big fan of cakes, he had asked me a couple of times to bake something special for him. For a little while I had been a bit shy, but for this occasion I asked my mom to suggest a good recipe.

My mother is an excellent cook with numerous books and a lot of experience. She picked two different cakes that my granddad would like the most: a honey cake and a chocolate one. I definitely knew that the last cake was my grandpa's favorite, so it was easy for me to make a choice.

Since we needed to get some ingredients from the supermarket, my mother and I went shopping together to buy the best products. I always enjoy going to the stores with her because she often gives me useful advice. There was no doubt that all these lessons have been tremendous for my future. For example, I would never have guessed to check the expiration date of the eggs, milk, butter, or cocoa powder.

Anyway, at 10:00 am, as soon as I had everything I needed, an incredible magic in my life started. First, I mixed the eggs and condensed milk. Then I added flour and cacao powder, which filled the whole room with the wonderful scent of something sweet. It cheered me up because I like this dessert most of all. After that, I poured some vinegar onto one teaspoon of soda and it fizzed right away. I enjoyed listening to the sound of the bubbles burst. It reminded me of holidays and the sea waves splashing. It all made the cooking process more fun! The whole mixture had to sit for 10 minutes. Finally, I baked two slices of the future cake. Not only the kitchen but the whole flat was filled with the delicious smell of chocolate.

Now it was time to make the cream, which I was looking forward to the most since I could taste it right away. This part of the cake is always easy and fascinating. I combined milk, an egg, and some flour, and cooked the mixture until it got thick. Then I let it cool while I was enjoying the scent of vanilla (which always reminds me of my grandma, who loved this spice most of all) and making other parts of the cake. I whipped sugar, butter, and cocoa powder and then added it to the cream, which I couldn’t help trying. That was actually a good thing to do, because sometimes different producers of fructose make it more or less sweet. As a result, I had to add some more sugar than the recipe suggested.

To make the icing, I boiled milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and butter until it was of the same consistency. From time to time I peeked into the oven and consistently wondered how everything had been changing there (the size and the color of the dough were so different each time). Since the cake slices were high enough, I cut them in half, so I had four pieces onto which I put the cream. I added some sour cherries into each of the layers to make the dessert a bit more surprising. At the end, I poured the glaze over the top and sides of the cake to straighten some edges and make it look prettier.

My first cooking project was finished at about 5:00 pm. I felt a bit tired, but so satisfied that I didn't want to stop. My kitchen needed some cleaning after my art with the cake, so my enthusiasm helped me a lot.

An hour or two later, my family and I went to greet my grandpa on his birthday. A funny fact is that we all live in the same block of flats, so we needed to go only one floor down. All of us were enjoying the incredible smell of the freshly baked cake while we were going down the stairs. My family and I rang the doorbell and my grandmother opened the door very quickly. She looked at my first masterpiece and smiled with sincere pleasure. We rushed into the living room to sing a Happy Birthday song to my grandfather. The hero of the day was extremely happy to enjoy the taste of his favorite cake made by his only granddaughter.

This day became the first day of my successful cooking experiment. Nobody expected that this kind of art in the kitchen could turn into one of my favorite hobbies. Whenever I have free time, I enjoy doing new experiments with food. There are no family holidays without my cooking masterpieces. I am fond of making such surprises. It's so fun to treat my relatives with unexpected dishes.