A BAKER I AM NOT
I enjoy cooking–being in the kitchen, putting meals together, discovering new recipes. I'm fascinated by shows like Chopped, where chefs can take an oddball assortment of ingredients and come up with a spectacular meal. I absolutely cannot do that (although I wish I could) and it's on my Bucket List to someday take cooking classes.
So while I can usually cook up a nice dinner, I've discovered that baking is a completely different thing. And that while I'm a competent cook, I'm a lousy baker. Yeah, I can make decent cookies–but only after I normally overcook the first cookie sheetful (is that a word?). And cakes? Fuggetaboutit. My sister is a fabulous baker. Seriously fabulous. She used to bake cakes for restaurants. This gene has completely bypassed me in the family pool. Sis makes an incredible carrot cake with the best cream cheese frosting on the planet. The cake is light and moist, and the frosting has just the right amount of sweetness. She gave me recipe. Now, I must say, my frosting came out good. But the cake? Blech. So I called my sister:
Me—my cake sucks. I followed the directions EXACTLY, yet it was an epic fail. I'm cursed.
Sis—What's wrong with it?
Me—instead of being light and fluffy like yours, it's dense and about a quarter of an inch high. It's like a squashed carrot brick.
Sis—it could be your baking soda and baking powder are old. How long have you had them?
Me—(blinking in confusion) Uh, I don't know.
Sis—more than a year?
Me—Well…yeah. Probably more like 5 years. Maybe ten. Maybe I got them when I first got married.
Sis—I think we've solved the problem.
Now who the heck knew you had to replace baking soda and baking powder every few months? Not me! WHERE are these things written down? Nowhere! It's just not fair. Armed with this new Baking Secret Knowledge, I toddled off to Publix and got new stuff and tried again. I whipped up the carrot cake batter with my fresh baking powder and baking soda and anticipated great results. But instead of a cake, I thought it might be fun to make cupcakes instead. I love cupcakes! Everyone loves cupcakes! It'll be perfect!
Not so much.
That's the day I learned that cupcakes require a MUCH shorter cooking time than a cake. And that if you actually do bake cupcakes too long, they look (and taste) like hockey pucks.
As I said, a baker I am not. But I am determined. I'm going to attempt that carrot cake again and I shall not fail! (Actually, I most likely will, but again–I am determined!).
Are you a good baker–or are you like me (in a word—hopeless)? What is your greatest cooking/baking success? How about your greatest cooking/baking disaster? Have you ever taken a cooking class? Have any great cooking/baking tips to share? (Please do–I need all the help I can get!)
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