Cake Fails and Other Baking Disasters

Hello again, it's #ramblebamblegirl and I'm back sharing some kitchen mishaps that might just make you smile, or at the very least make you feel good about your baking prowess.

Every now again, something comes over me and I feel the need to get my Betty Crocker on; not by buying the mix but by actually making something from scratch. As it turns out, Betty was a fictional character created in 1921 which should have been my first clue that I was hitching my ride to the wrong star.

Anyway, recently, I decided to make a homemade chocolate cake for my son's 30th birthday. I started with Google which led me to someone who reviewed the top recipes in the universe (okay, maybe the top 4) and decided that Ina Garten's recipe was the one that really takes the cake. #sorrynotsorry Turns out the ingredients weren't that scary; I recognized and could pronounce all of them and had most on hand.

I let my mixer Rosalita know what the plan was. (She was a gift from the kids one Mother's Day. We decided due to her beautiful rojo (red) color and vibrant nature that we wanted a beautiful name to match. The Bobster remembered a Bruce Springsteen song and she has been our cherished Rosalita ever since.) Perhaps you don't name your appliances. In my world, I name everything, including my car (Josephine) because I want to have a good relationship with anything that could potentially injure me.

Rosalita and I started off great. I actually followed the directions and separated the wet ingredients from the dry ingredients instead of lumping them altogether kind of like I do with my laundry #notasorter. I sifted, changed attachments, waited for the cake to cool and all the other Ina instructions. And, when all was said and done, I ended up with SCARY cake instead of chocolate cake.

This was the goal:

This is what happened:

My first thought was to throw the cake in a snow bank. I remembered the time that I accidentally put a tray of cookies in the oven with a pot holder stuck on the bottom, which of course caught fire and in my "oh-my-star-spacious-skies" moment, for some reason I ran to the front door and threw the whole shebang out onto the front lawn. (We found remnants of the pot holder that spring when the snow melted) I remember it felt very freeing and safe to just toss everything.

This cake was heavy though and I was afraid that I might kill any small creatures that were nearby or that they might choke on it so instead of throwing it, I put it in the fridge. While I wasn't going to serve it at Sunday dinner the next day, at the very least I wanted my son to know I made the effort and to remind him that I have other talents.

We did indeed have a lovely birthday celebration sans homemade chocolate cake. (Thank you Danny Wegman for the win.) I went to bed that night knowing that the most important details went right: sharing a meal and spending time together. And, somewhere in the middle of the night (I never look at the clock), it occured to me that I forgot the baking powder! WHAT DOES BAKING POWDER EVEN DO? Apparently it matters. Of course, I googled it the next day:

Alas, I had made the chocolate brick! In some recipes, you can substitute or leave out an ingredient but as far as homemade cakes go, baking powder is not one of them. And, because I'm such a word nerd and God girl, as well as a #ramblebamblegirl, I got to thinking that I don't ever want to forget the baking powder in my life either-- I want moments that are light and fluffy and just plain fun and I don't want to take a single one for granted. Light and fluffy is so important in a world that can be so heavy.

The truth is that these moments don't always spontaneously happen. Sometimes you have to make them happen and plan an adventure. #ramblebamble Decide what your baking powder is (a walk, a bath, a good book, a fireside chat, a wine tour, dinner, doing nothing, etc.) and mix it in as an essential ingredient in your life that's just as important as all the rest.

If you have gleaned anything from my experiences, perhaps it's that you're a better baker than you thought. At the very least, I hope you've been reminded never to forget the baking powder! It matters.