Perhaps Constant Readers will remember the story of Mouse the Daughter and her apple slicer.

I had a cheap old cruddy apple slicer which Mouse loved to use to prepare her own apple snacks the way she wanted them.

A few years back, I had a speaking engagement in a small Wyoming town and my thank-you gift was a snazzy, rubber-coated, non-rustable, easy to hold apple slicer and corer for Mouse.

When I packed the junk drawer before the move, I found that apple corer/slicer, which looked new despite a lot of good use by Mouse.

I'd make piles of things for Mouse to take with her from the house, and often I'd find most of what I'd piled left for me to dispose of.

But not that apple corer/slicer. That's something she wanted, and now she has it.

It's funny what we treasure. Often, it's not the impressive, large, expensive gifts, but the smaller, personal things that mean the most.

And so it was with the friend's birthday, which has recently passed.

I've been on a seven-year hunt for the perfect spice cake with caramel frosting, and he says I've finally found it.

During the move, he wondered - aloud and often - why in the world I needed matching bookcases in the dining room that look more like furniture than the particle board jobs I used to have.

And he puzzled - aloud and often - why in the world I needed as many cookbooks as I have.

But the answer is all in the search - finding the perfect spice cake and caramel frosting for the person who deserves a perfect cake and frosting on his birthday.

I found the cake recipe in a fundraising cookbook from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody. And I was thrilled to see it was a contribution from Mrs. Bart Rea of Casper.

I used exactly the measurements it calls for, including a whole teaspoon of cloves, and I did bake it in a tube pan.

Finding a homemade caramel frosting recipe was a bit more of a challenge, but I finally settled on one from the "Best of Country Cakes" cookbook. It is the best caramel frosting I've ever had, even better than the stuff from Detroit I was raised on.

Not eating the entire panful while I was frosting the cake was a temptation I welcomed.

So the cake and frosting were a success, and the birthday was suitably celebrated.

And once again, those bookcases full of cookbooks helped me work the magic.

Applesauce Cake

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 to 1 teaspoon cloves, to taste

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 cups applesauce

1 cup each raisins and nuts, optional

2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, spices and salt. Dissolve soda in a little warm water and beat into applesauce. Dredge raisins and nuts in flour. Combine and bake in tube pan at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. Serves 12.

(Recipe from Mrs. Bart Rea, Casper, in "The Great Entertainer, the official cookbook of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center," 1992 and 2002)

Caramel Frosting

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup half-and-half cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Combine brown sugar, cream and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat; cook and stir until smooth. Stir in butter and vanilla. Remove from heat, cool slightly. Stir in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

(Recipe courtesy of "Best of Country Cakes," Reiman Publications, 2003)

Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@trib.com