bridge and pumpkin cake

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Once a month I meet with eight women for about two hours to play bridge. While I am certainly not young, I am the "baby" of this group of ladies. Most of them are bridge players from the 1950's telling marvelous stories of their college days when a game of bridge would always be set up allowing them to play bridge hands between classes or when a bit of free time came their way. As young mothers they would have bridge parties, and even through the working years of some of them they would spare at least one evening a month to get together and play bridge with their clubs.

 For me part of the fun of belonging to this group is hosting bridge club at my house. We always begin with a dessert, cold beverage and coffee. After eating the pretty table settings are cleared, then every one is given a tally card, two playing decks of cards are placed on each table and a score keeper is delegated for each table. Each table plays five hands, then the glasses are refilled and little dishes of nuts and candy are set on the edge of the card tables along with a distribution of pretty napkins as everyone finds their new table or chair for the next round.

I love this older women fellowship, and the brain work playing bridge stimulates is certainly worthwhile. I am learning from the best.
Yesterday I hosted the bridge club at my house. The day had turned autumnal so I could think of no better dessert to serve than this pumpkin cake with cream cheese filling. This cake requires no other side such as ice cream because the cream cheese is all that is needed to make this cake delicious on its own.