Tom's birthday had to include a warm butter cake delivered from our neighbor, Melody. A few months ago, she heard that one of our favorite desserts, ever, was the warm butter cake at Mastro's. It is unreal. So Melody went there one night, tried it, and was determined to copy it. Over the next few months, she would make us butter cake prototypes. They were all good, but not quite like Mastro's cake with a caramelized crunch on the top and a soft gooey inside. There was no mistaking the original.
Finally, after a couple of months, she perfected it. The first time she brought over the final version, she told me to grab some ice cream out of my freezer to eat it with. When I carried in a big tub of generic vanilla ice cream, she was horrified and would not allow us to pair that with her cake. So, now she brings over the cake with a gallon of "quality" ice cream and fresh fruit to eat it with. Its our family's favorite. I don't even want the recipe, its too dangerous.