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| What You Can't See Is The Carpet Of Spilt Sugar |
I said that I had (typically) cut some corners and expected a disaster. SHOCK HORROR - was NOT a disaster!
Could. Not. Believe. It.
We all know that me and baking aren't a good pairing. Give me an invention test with no bake ingredients and I'm away, pretty confident I could rustle up something lovely. Put a recipe in front of me and I can guarantee you it will go pear-shaped.
With next to no baking experience through choice if I was to make TG a birthday cake there was going to have to be a recipe followed. *Sheet*
So I busted out the trusty Doves Farm self raising flour knowing that there would be something I could pass for a birthday cake as a recipe on the back.
Because I felt like I'd been a bit rubbish with my pressies this year (not for want of trying) I felt like I had to push the boat out seeing as it was his first birthday with me as his wife. He needed a proper homemade cake. Wife cake.
I casually dismissed the Chocolate Chip Fairy Cakes and went straight for the no nonsense Chocolate Cake as follows:
Second ingredient - Chickpea flour - bit of a problem, didn't have any. Thought 'that's alright, on the fairy cakes recipe it says you can use eggs OR chickpea flour and water'. 'I'll use an egg instead'.
Did wonder why it didn't give an alternative on this recipe but hey ho.
With an image of a good wife badge in my head I sieved the flour and cocoa. Previously the sieve had only been used to strain lumpy gravy.
Measured out the sugar but fell short just shy of 100g. TG had used the caster sugar for coffee when we'd previously run out of our regular brown he told me. So I made up the difference with that.
Thought at this stage it might be a problem but carried on regardless.
Oil?
I recall forking butter and sugar together to make the basic fairy cakes recipe my Mum used but oil? I mean, I know it's essentially the same when melted but just seemed odd.
Banana.
I had one in the freezer but decided that defrosting was too time consuming. I omitted Banana (I can hear Minions in my head).
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract didn't seem like enough so I reckon that I doubled that.
Water. Oil and water?! It just seemed so weird but I went with it.
When all mixed together it looked nice and I had a little taste, it WAS nice!
Right, now, what to bake it in? Instruction 4. Divide the mixture between two parchment lined 20cm round cake tins.
OH. I don't own one cake tin, let alone two. I hadn't thought this far ahead.
I found two solutions; 1. Halloween molds. I couldn't. 2. Cupcake paper cases. Not ideal but better than a tombstone mold.
I have no idea what the temperature of my oven was when they went in because it has a mind of it's own, but they worked!
I really don't know how as I totally guessed how long they'd need. 35-40 minutes advised for the intended two layers and 23-25 for the fairy cakes recipe. 15? Popped a cocktail stick in one and it came out clean.
I had to bake another batch as there was so much batter over.
Of course, the two layer cake intended had a filling and an icing. I settled on cutting them in half and filling them but decided against making icing. I'd already made such a mess that I didn't think icing fairy cakes was a great idea. Also, reeeeally didn't want to push my luck.
They'd definitely benefit from being iced but considering the corners I cut these beauties did me proud.
So what I thought was going to be a quick amusing anecdote on Twitter about a disaster actually ended up as this 'how the hell did that work?!' post. It's not as funny but I did produce edible birthday cake(s) for my Mr Mould so I'm happy.
I really don't like baking though.
Know what I do like?
Could. Not. Believe. It.
We all know that me and baking aren't a good pairing. Give me an invention test with no bake ingredients and I'm away, pretty confident I could rustle up something lovely. Put a recipe in front of me and I can guarantee you it will go pear-shaped.
With next to no baking experience through choice if I was to make TG a birthday cake there was going to have to be a recipe followed. *Sheet*
So I busted out the trusty Doves Farm self raising flour knowing that there would be something I could pass for a birthday cake as a recipe on the back.
Because I felt like I'd been a bit rubbish with my pressies this year (not for want of trying) I felt like I had to push the boat out seeing as it was his first birthday with me as his wife. He needed a proper homemade cake. Wife cake.
I casually dismissed the Chocolate Chip Fairy Cakes and went straight for the no nonsense Chocolate Cake as follows:
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| Seemed Doable |
Second ingredient - Chickpea flour - bit of a problem, didn't have any. Thought 'that's alright, on the fairy cakes recipe it says you can use eggs OR chickpea flour and water'. 'I'll use an egg instead'.
Did wonder why it didn't give an alternative on this recipe but hey ho.
With an image of a good wife badge in my head I sieved the flour and cocoa. Previously the sieve had only been used to strain lumpy gravy.
Measured out the sugar but fell short just shy of 100g. TG had used the caster sugar for coffee when we'd previously run out of our regular brown he told me. So I made up the difference with that.
Thought at this stage it might be a problem but carried on regardless.
Oil?
I recall forking butter and sugar together to make the basic fairy cakes recipe my Mum used but oil? I mean, I know it's essentially the same when melted but just seemed odd.
Banana.
I had one in the freezer but decided that defrosting was too time consuming. I omitted Banana (I can hear Minions in my head).
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract didn't seem like enough so I reckon that I doubled that.
Water. Oil and water?! It just seemed so weird but I went with it.
When all mixed together it looked nice and I had a little taste, it WAS nice!
Right, now, what to bake it in? Instruction 4. Divide the mixture between two parchment lined 20cm round cake tins.
OH. I don't own one cake tin, let alone two. I hadn't thought this far ahead.
I found two solutions; 1. Halloween molds. I couldn't. 2. Cupcake paper cases. Not ideal but better than a tombstone mold.
I have no idea what the temperature of my oven was when they went in because it has a mind of it's own, but they worked!
I really don't know how as I totally guessed how long they'd need. 35-40 minutes advised for the intended two layers and 23-25 for the fairy cakes recipe. 15? Popped a cocktail stick in one and it came out clean.
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| Birthday Miracle |
Of course, the two layer cake intended had a filling and an icing. I settled on cutting them in half and filling them but decided against making icing. I'd already made such a mess that I didn't think icing fairy cakes was a great idea. Also, reeeeally didn't want to push my luck.
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| Plate O'cakes |
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| Birthday Bites |
I really don't like baking though.
Know what I do like?
KITTENS!!!
(Went a bit 2005 MySpacey then, I do apologise. No really)
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| Was Not Amused |
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| Ghostbuster |
Next year.
The next kitten thing is "where do we safely put the tree?" Oh the chaos that might bring.
Off to ponder :)
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