Cooking
(photos taken under less-than ideal circumstances)
About a year ago, I bought the cookbook The Whimsical Bakehouse. It looked like fun, and hey, who doesn't want more fun in their lives, even if it's via the kitchen?
I turned to TWB for Matt's birthday cake last year, and we all loved it. Crazy, fun, you know...whimisical. Lots of color. I enjoyed making it.
I realized I hadn't opened that book in close to a year, so I found it on the shelf (not as easy as it sounds; have you seen our cookbook shelves?), and one of the very first cakes was this starry truffle cake. I thought it'd be perfect as a Father's day cake.
The decorations are easy. Candy melts, you know, melted, and piped into abstract-y stars, then 'painted' with luster dust. I liked that part.
The cake though...it was a flourless truffle cake. I am not an inexperienced baker. I know what I'm doing.
And yet.
I followed the directions. I did every single thing I was told to. But when it came time to unmold the cake?
The cake made noises. Gloppy, squishy, noises. Really gross noises.
The cake top? Done. It looked 'set', as it should. Our oven runs hot, which I know, so in fact I baked it longer than required. Just to be safe.
And yet.
At first, the cake wouldn't come out of the pan. It just stayed there. Sharp knives and toothpicks came into play.
I'd properly buttered and floured and parchmented the darn pan.
And yet.
The cake? Oozed.
I mean, it was pudding. Not cake! But pudding. It made noises. That's never good.
I left it sitting there, on the countertop, till Matt came home. He was as '??' as I.
So a bit later, with him watching, I re-made the cake. Repeated every step. Made sure he saw what I was doing, and could testify in court if need be.
And when, again, the cake came out a few minutes later than suggested...noises.
The darn recipe was not for a cake. It was for pudding.
I was out enormous quantities of chocolate, and a bit...um...on-edge by now.
I finally just made my proven double dark chocolate cake, with perfect results.
But I tell you...while I may use the decorating ideas from The Whimsical Bakehouse again, I will NOT be attempting those recipes!
Celebrate Blog Party's Two-Year Anniversary! That's right, this month brings us Blog Party#24, and this time, it's all about you. It's Blogger's Choice! Make any kind of appetizer AND cocktail, and get those entries to me no later than Thursday, 19 July. Let's make this party the best one yet!
Tagged with: Food and Drink + Cakes + Baking + Cookbooks + Chocolate + Recipes
- Dining With The Bloggers - April 20th
So what was that I was saying last week? Oh yeah, "I'm going to be good". Ha! This is one of those weeks. It started with a cookout at my parents, followed the next night by dinner out with my family to celebrate three birthdays, and then I had to...
- So Maybe White Chocolate Doesn't Hate Me, After All
It's not the prettiest picture I've taken, nor is it the most attractive cake I've ever made. But here's the thing: It's made from white chocolate, and it's in one piece, it didn't crumble, it didn't seize. It's a...
- Daring Bakers Challenge:the Day After The Perfect Party Cake
When I realized I had to miss February's challenge, I vowed I'd make whatever was on tap for March. When I discovered it was Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, I thought 'this will be a piece of cake' (ha). I have a copy of the...
- Post-oscar Decadence
Of all the nominations, I've only seen...two?...of the films. Ratatouille and Michael Clayton. Which is probably a higher number than past years. We decided to have a sort of 'decadence' dinner. Nothing too fancy, just foods we really enjoy....
- Birthday Cookie
I'd already made a cake for Alex's birthday party, as well as cupcakes to send to school on the actual day. So, for his much-smaller family birthday dinner, I was kind of out of ideas. One of Alex's classmates share his birthday, and her...
Cooking
Starry, Starry Cake
(photos taken under less-than ideal circumstances)
About a year ago, I bought the cookbook The Whimsical Bakehouse. It looked like fun, and hey, who doesn't want more fun in their lives, even if it's via the kitchen?
I turned to TWB for Matt's birthday cake last year, and we all loved it. Crazy, fun, you know...whimisical. Lots of color. I enjoyed making it.
I realized I hadn't opened that book in close to a year, so I found it on the shelf (not as easy as it sounds; have you seen our cookbook shelves?), and one of the very first cakes was this starry truffle cake. I thought it'd be perfect as a Father's day cake.
The decorations are easy. Candy melts, you know, melted, and piped into abstract-y stars, then 'painted' with luster dust. I liked that part.
The cake though...it was a flourless truffle cake. I am not an inexperienced baker. I know what I'm doing.
And yet.
I followed the directions. I did every single thing I was told to. But when it came time to unmold the cake?
The cake made noises. Gloppy, squishy, noises. Really gross noises.
The cake top? Done. It looked 'set', as it should. Our oven runs hot, which I know, so in fact I baked it longer than required. Just to be safe.
And yet.
At first, the cake wouldn't come out of the pan. It just stayed there. Sharp knives and toothpicks came into play.
I'd properly buttered and floured and parchmented the darn pan.
And yet.
The cake? Oozed.
I mean, it was pudding. Not cake! But pudding. It made noises. That's never good.
I left it sitting there, on the countertop, till Matt came home. He was as '??' as I.
So a bit later, with him watching, I re-made the cake. Repeated every step. Made sure he saw what I was doing, and could testify in court if need be.
And when, again, the cake came out a few minutes later than suggested...noises.
The darn recipe was not for a cake. It was for pudding.
I was out enormous quantities of chocolate, and a bit...um...on-edge by now.
I finally just made my proven double dark chocolate cake, with perfect results.
But I tell you...while I may use the decorating ideas from The Whimsical Bakehouse again, I will NOT be attempting those recipes!
Celebrate Blog Party's Two-Year Anniversary! That's right, this month brings us Blog Party#24, and this time, it's all about you. It's Blogger's Choice! Make any kind of appetizer AND cocktail, and get those entries to me no later than Thursday, 19 July. Let's make this party the best one yet!
Tagged with: Food and Drink + Cakes + Baking + Cookbooks + Chocolate + Recipes
- Dining With The Bloggers - April 20th
So what was that I was saying last week? Oh yeah, "I'm going to be good". Ha! This is one of those weeks. It started with a cookout at my parents, followed the next night by dinner out with my family to celebrate three birthdays, and then I had to...
- So Maybe White Chocolate Doesn't Hate Me, After All
It's not the prettiest picture I've taken, nor is it the most attractive cake I've ever made. But here's the thing: It's made from white chocolate, and it's in one piece, it didn't crumble, it didn't seize. It's a...
- Daring Bakers Challenge:the Day After The Perfect Party Cake
When I realized I had to miss February's challenge, I vowed I'd make whatever was on tap for March. When I discovered it was Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, I thought 'this will be a piece of cake' (ha). I have a copy of the...
- Post-oscar Decadence
Of all the nominations, I've only seen...two?...of the films. Ratatouille and Michael Clayton. Which is probably a higher number than past years. We decided to have a sort of 'decadence' dinner. Nothing too fancy, just foods we really enjoy....
- Birthday Cookie
I'd already made a cake for Alex's birthday party, as well as cupcakes to send to school on the actual day. So, for his much-smaller family birthday dinner, I was kind of out of ideas. One of Alex's classmates share his birthday, and her...