And it was all yellow.

“Sunflower” was always my favorite Crayola crayon in the box.

I love color. One glance into my rainbow house or pattern-filled closet will tell you that. But my favorite color is yellow. Any golden flower. The bright sunshine. A pair of yellow shoes. It just makes me happy!

And yesterday unexpectedly turned into a day full of YELLOW.

It all started when I prepared for July’s FOODIE CHALLENGE. My good friend Tracy at momoftwosalums and I started cooking together last month, despite the distance between our Park City and New York kitchens. (Isn’t the blogosphere cool like that?) We wanted to try new recipes that were challenging in some way. I tackled my first grilled fish, and it was delish! Read about it here. We had so much fun that we decided to do a foodie challenge every month. For July, Tracy suggested dessert. Um- yes, please. She is so smart.

I found a fun looking summertime cake in my trusty Sunset magazine. The Buttery Lemon Raspberry Cake sounded and looked incredible (and I had berries to use in the fridge). Among the usual suspects, the ingredients list also called for yogurt (which I haven’t baked with) and lemon curd.

Hmmm.

The word “curd” has always made me cringe. What IS it, exactly? I did a Cliff’s Notes-style study break (hey, weren’t those books yellow?) and learned that a curd, popular in England, is a dessert spread/topping made with fruit, egg yolks, sugar, and zest. It sounded similar to my key lime pie filling, which is not scary at all! It took two stores, but I found some.

The jar of yellow sweetness procured, I poured myself a glass of lemonade and got to work on my new recipe. The cake batter started to come together, despite some spills along the way.

It was time for the newcomer in my kitchen. A peek in the jar showed a golden jelly consistency, and a dip with my finger proved that yes, it tasted kind of like a lemon version of my pie. Which means yummy. Those tricky Brits.

Into the bowl it went, along with the plain yogurt. The batter was extremely creamy but thick. I kept thinking, this cake is going to be dense… and then I realized I had forgotten to add the milk. It loosened up a bit more.

Time for the best part…

Don’t judge me! You all do it.

The recipe called for 4 pints of raspberries. I didn’t have enough, but I did have blueberries and strawberries that I didn’t want to waste. Tri-berry cake it is! Half of the batter went into the buttered pan, and then I sprinkled half of the fruit in.

The rest of the batter, rest of the fruit- except one little nugget.

That one went straight into my mouth.

It baked for an hour, filling the kitchen with that intoxicating baking-cake aroma (tinged with a little bit of lemon). When it came out, I patted myself on the back- it looked exactly like the photo in the magazine! Don’t you think?

Sigh. Too bad I realized I had forgotten the baking soda AND baking powder about 35 minutes into baking time. No, I am not a rookie baker. Yes, I realize those are two very vital ingredients. Oh, well- just one of those days in the kitchen. Maybe it would still taste good…

Moving on! Dinner started with this.

Continued with this.

And ended with a beautiful yellow tomato toastette on my plate and a smile on my face.

The day’s color theme was highlighted with the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) of the Tour de France. Can we stop right here and talk about the adorable Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen? Their lovely, poetic commentating in British accents makes the Tour such a pleasure to watch. Their voices have truly become the sound of summer for me. I love Le Tour!

As the night’s end grew near, it was time for the moment of truth. Surprisingly, the cake hadn’t fallen into a flat, dense brick. It still looked like the photo. Do I look nervous?

A tentative bite of my fruit-filled yellow lemony cake was sweet, tart, and delicious. The consistency wasn’t light and fluffy, that’s true. It was more like a pudding cake, a tad denser and moister than the norm. But maybe the addition of the lemon curd and yogurt was supposed to have that effect! I won’t know until I make it again.

I’ll tell you what- I finished my piece. And so did John (accompanied by MMMMMMMs). The flavors are awesome and I actually like the consistency the way it is! I wonder how my friend Tracy did with her dessert…

Lemonade, ripe tomatoes, a slice of fruity cake, and the Yellow Jersey.

Sounds like summer to me.