Double digits: Adalyn's groovy 10th birthday cake

Turning ten is a big one. It's the last birthday before everything starts feeling like growing up, and the first one where you get two digits instead of one.

Adalyn's family wanted something that felt like a celebration of exactly that. So we went groovy.

What's on it

The buttercream is blended right on the cake — pink, orange and turquoise swirled together so no two sides look the same. That's done by hand with a spatula, and you don't get to plan it. You just keep working it until it looks right.

Then the fun part: a big smiley face, a peace sign, a scalloped 10, daisies in three colors, and a DOUBLE DIGITS plaque across the front with a little peace sign standing in for the O.

Her name goes on the board in pink, so nobody's in any doubt whose cake it is.

What's inside

Strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream frosting.

Strawberry is one of those flavors kids ask for by name, and it's a good match for a cake this bright — it tastes like it looks.

Happy birthday, Adalyn

Ten years old and officially in double digits. I hope it was a good one.