We won't talk about how long it's been since I've blogged, or how uninspired I've been as of late....um-kay?
Instead, we'll talk about how totally awesome I was when I saved my daughter's birthday cake from utter disaster. That sounds SO much better to me.
My sweet pea turned seven last week...SEVEN! She asked for a chocolate cake out of her new cookbook for girls that she received for Christmas. I love chocolate cake and it was dripping in ganache....what could go wrong? Um, lots.
First, I discovered that my ancient drop-in stove is tilting something fierce and my cake was lopsided. As in one side of the layers were about 1/2 inch and the other side was about 1 1/2 inches! I can't figure out how to adjust it, because apparently it's too much to ask for it to have simple legs for me to twist up and down to level it.
Second, I messed the ganache up. It was just gross. I think I used the wrong kind of chocolate.
Third, I just didn't even like the chocolate cake part. It didn't taste chocolately enough. At all. And isn't that point of chocolate cake? For it to be so decadent and divine?
So I set out to make another chocolate cake using a time tested recipe. I had my husband pick up a box of pudding, seeing that it was the only item I was missing. He took the kids and didn't pay attention to the fact my sweet pea daughter of mine picked up a giant box of pudding. I don't know where we've been but we had no idea you could even buy a bigger size box of pudding. Silly me thought they were all the same size. We don't buy pudding boxes very often. (Yes, I know it makes my children seem deprived.)
I make the cake and am letting it bake, so pleased with my husband's simple of idea of wedging aluminium foil under the front of the pans to level them out. The timer goes off....and then five more minutes....and then 10 more minutes....3 more minutes...and the cake is still quite gooey. Quite pudding-y. (Work with me, it's a word.) It's delicious on the outer rings, but very much not a stackable cake that will hold purple icing per the birthday girl's request.
Thinking I fast I google "how to save a ruined cake." I'm not kidding I really did, I couldn't think clearly. It was late in the evening, I had to have the cake ready for her birthday lunch, and it was vacation bible school at our church in the morning. I HAD to have a cake that night.
I ran across a picture of cake in canning jars and the lightbulb went off over my head. I grabbed some pretty crystal dishes that never get used in the house, dug out all the delicious outer cake edges, spooned some of the pudding, scooped some purple icing, and topped with star sprinkles and VIOLA!
So stinking happy! I had just enough good cake to make enough single desserts. I went to bed on time one happy mama.
Instead, we'll talk about how totally awesome I was when I saved my daughter's birthday cake from utter disaster. That sounds SO much better to me.
My sweet pea turned seven last week...SEVEN! She asked for a chocolate cake out of her new cookbook for girls that she received for Christmas. I love chocolate cake and it was dripping in ganache....what could go wrong? Um, lots.
First, I discovered that my ancient drop-in stove is tilting something fierce and my cake was lopsided. As in one side of the layers were about 1/2 inch and the other side was about 1 1/2 inches! I can't figure out how to adjust it, because apparently it's too much to ask for it to have simple legs for me to twist up and down to level it.
Second, I messed the ganache up. It was just gross. I think I used the wrong kind of chocolate.
Third, I just didn't even like the chocolate cake part. It didn't taste chocolately enough. At all. And isn't that point of chocolate cake? For it to be so decadent and divine?
So I set out to make another chocolate cake using a time tested recipe. I had my husband pick up a box of pudding, seeing that it was the only item I was missing. He took the kids and didn't pay attention to the fact my sweet pea daughter of mine picked up a giant box of pudding. I don't know where we've been but we had no idea you could even buy a bigger size box of pudding. Silly me thought they were all the same size. We don't buy pudding boxes very often. (Yes, I know it makes my children seem deprived.)
I make the cake and am letting it bake, so pleased with my husband's simple of idea of wedging aluminium foil under the front of the pans to level them out. The timer goes off....and then five more minutes....and then 10 more minutes....3 more minutes...and the cake is still quite gooey. Quite pudding-y. (Work with me, it's a word.) It's delicious on the outer rings, but very much not a stackable cake that will hold purple icing per the birthday girl's request.
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| yum...looks delicious...right? |
I ran across a picture of cake in canning jars and the lightbulb went off over my head. I grabbed some pretty crystal dishes that never get used in the house, dug out all the delicious outer cake edges, spooned some of the pudding, scooped some purple icing, and topped with star sprinkles and VIOLA!
