Gluten-Free Blood Orange and Almond Skillet Cake

My dad’s birthday is today and it’s a big one. I won’t share the exact number but, it’s one of those special ones with a zero at the end. He lives in Florida and I live in NY so I can’t be with him today but, I made this cake in his honor. My parents are amazing! They left a comfortable life behind in Egypt to explore the opportunities America had to offer back in January, 1970. They definitely faced struggles as immigrants. My mom and dad both had graduate degrees and my dad was a pharmacist in Egypt. However, their education and work experiences were not recognized when they arrived. My dad took a job as a technician in a hospital and completed an American master’s degree. He eventually worked his way up to being a supervisor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine pharmacy department and President of the pharmacy society in our area. My mom earned 3 master’s degrees and worked as a high school foreign language teacher. They both have always set a very strong example for hard work and dedication. My parents are also extremely loving and have been the biggest supporters of my sister and me in every stage of our lives. I have so many incredible and silly memories of our time growing up and the many family trips we took. When we were young they used to drive us everywhere up and down the east coast. We went camping a lot. We even set up tents in our backyard in the summers for sleepover parties with our friends. It was so much fun! As we got a little older, we started to travel even further. We would take long summer vacations to Hawaii, Europe and the Caribbean. I often had my nose in a book and my parents couldn’t believe I wasn’t enjoying the scenery. I was still young and didn’t always fully appreciate the value of those experiences in the moment. As we got to the ages where we were more interested in spending time with our friends than our parents, they imposed a “family night” on us every Friday. My sister and I were not always pleased, as you can imagine. However, in the end, it’s all of these trips and together time that I look back on so fondly now. After retiring from a very long and wonderful career as a pharmacist, my dad began to cook recreationally and even began taking art classes. His artwork is beautiful. It is very inspirational to watch him continue to reinvent himself in every phase of his life. I am so incredibly proud to be his daughter! Here is a birthday cake for my dad. The first cake I ever made him when I was about 10 years old had shells in it. Those were the only whites I saw on the egg! Don’t think it stopped my dad from eating every bite of the cake and declaring all along how delicious it was! It’s that kind of encouragement which allowed me to continue to try and eventually come up with yummy recipes like this one. Happy Birthday Dad! I love you!