Slow birthdays

First baby girl is 16. Happy day. How to make a special day? Make a homemade cake. Yes, all those 100-pound gorgeous airbrushed fondant-topped creations have their place in this world, I'm sure, but a homemade cake is remembered with fondness.

For the loving hands that prepared it.

For the desire to have just scarfed it all.

This year's cake was Italian style. Italian birthday cakes are traditionally dry cakes filled with pastry cream, sprinkled with sweetened vermouth, and topped with whipped cream and fruit. We did most of that. Didn't think her friends' parents would appreciate kids coming home with liquor on their breath...

It was the olympiad, so we did the rings. Five cakes. Five fruits. Sprinkled with five juices and filled in with whipped cream. Wow we did scarf it.

Now a side of Jello punch. Almost as good as lime sherbet punch and better for kids. Not health-wise, but for drinkability.

Need:
2x large boxes strawberry Jello 
Three 46 oz cans pineapple juice
24 oz lemon juice
1 oz almond extract
6 cups sugar
6 large plastic containers w lids
6-8 2lt bottles sprite

In a LARGE stock pot heat 13 cups water. Dissolve jello in it.
In another pot heat 6 cups water with the sugar till dissolved.
Mix the two, and add all the juices and extract. Cool completely.
****Because of the huge quantity I usually mix the jello and sugar in the big pot, then measure a third back into the small pot (6 cups or so). Then I add one can pineapple and one cup lemon juice to that, and two cans and two cups to large pot. Then 10 ml extract to small and 20 ml extract to large.

When cool, pour in containers and freeze. 
To use, thaw a container for an hour or more, put in punchbowl, break up with meat fork, and pour 1.5 bottles sprite over. I take one container out every 30 min so I always have some ready. It goes fast!!  It'll serve 50-75 people in small cups.