kicking bundt

bcakegac1

Let me start by saying that my style of baking is akin to a slightly crazed monkey.  I think I’ve mentioned plenty of times before that I don’t consider myself a baker.  Whereas in cooking and in life, I’m normally pretty fastidiously organized, when it comes to baking, I don’t know which way is up.  Ingredients are scattered all over the kitchen, clouds of flour are kicked up as I move around, and inexplicably, there is often butter on the microwave door.  And my forehead.

I’m also a big believer in tweaking a recipe to make it my own.  In cooking, this often works beautifully for me.  One time, I threw some ripened mangoes into a salad laden with avocadoes and almonds that I’d toasted in paprika and bam!  Gorgeous lunch.  The same rarely holds true, however, for me on the baking side, mainly because the chemistry involved in baking requires precision.  Adding an extra half-egg or reducing the amount of baking powder only makes your cake wonky and unfortunate-looking, not to mention completely unappetizing.  I can attest to that personally.


Yesterday, I made progress on my baking techniques in two areas.  First, I decided I needed an Italian food scale to be more accurate in my measurements and to deter me from straying too far from a recipe.   The food scale turned out to be my saving grace, since the cake recipe I wanted to use was printed on the packaging for the
pan, which I tucked away somewhere safe and, predictably, promptly
lost.  (Perhaps it is somewhere in the Pacific Ocean between America
and me, lost in the shuffle of our move here.)  After some time on the trusty interwebs, I found another blog that posted the recipe,
but the writer converted all the measurements to the metric system.  Aha!  All was not lost, thanks to my trusty food scale
with dual metric/English units scale.  Those wily Italians.  What will they think of next?

 Bundt

Image taken from Williams-Sonoma

Secondly, the pan, a wedding gift from our friends Tara and Ryan, produced this lovely, architectural shape, not from any machinations of my own doing.  It’s a great pan coated with a non-stick surface that works amazingly well.  Usually, my cakes look pretty and perfect when they’re still in the pan, but when it comes time for me to actually get the cake out of the pan, they fall apart.  I can’t tell you how many times someone has said to me, “At least your cake tastes good.”  I know that the taste is ultimately what’s important, but still, that statement feels like they’re saying to me that I don’t sweat that much, considering the humidity.  Is it really a compliment?

This time, I was determined to make a beautiful cake.  I finally saw Julie and Julia a few weeks ago and was reminded again that Julia Child emphasized fearlessness over perfection in the kitchen.   After the cake cooled, though, I tried to invert the pan onto a plate so that I could free the cake from the mold, but my fingers just couldn’t grip both the plate and the pan and manage to flip the sucker.  I tried a few times, each time fretting over the trauma I was inflicting on the internal structure of the cake.  Finally, the hubby sauntered into the kitchen, subtly flexing his biceps.

“Need a hand with that, little lady?”

Well, with an opening line like that, there was little I could do except step aside and let the man flip my cake.  He confidently slid the plate over the pan and flipped it over so that I could gently wiggle the cake out.  My hero.

This morning, I took the cake over to a friend’s house as a thank-you for teaching me how to use my sewing machine, which I’ve owned for over a year but never removed from its box.  For the first time, I heard someone tell me how pretty my cake looked.  As for the sewing — well, at least my stitches held the two pieces of fabric together.

(Question for today: what are your never-fail tips for baking?)

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Conversations 11 comments

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Michsays:

Adding one 8 oz tub of sour cream to any cake recipe always makes it incredibly moist, without ever screwing up the cake ( despite that baking requires incredibly precise measurements and exact ingredients). And, you can never actually taste the sour cream!! This little trick has earned me many complements, even though I still consider myself a very novice baker! Happy baking 🙂

 
Michsays:

Oh, and always use fresh baking soda. It expires within 30 days after the box is opened and then it screws up your cake. But, u probably already knew that!! 🙂

 
melaniesays:

The bundt looks amazing. I totally agree that you can’t really improv on baking, because you will totally ruin your cake. I’ve had some major mishaps in the kitchen.

 
Elizabeth Feltessays:

I hate that a cake might look beautiful but you can’t tell how it tastes until you slice into it, so when I make a new cake recipe for the first time I will do it as cupcakes – or at least one cupcake – that way I can taste it to make sure it tastes right before serving it up to others. And ALWAYS follow the temperature recommendations for the butter, if it says room temp leave that sucker out for a couple hours!

 
biscuitwheelssays:

Thanks for the great tips, guys! I’m definitely going to try all of them the next time I’m baking, especially adding sour cream.

 
Tarasays:

Dude, I am bummed that I can’t eat the cake you so handily baked in my wedding gift to you.

 
biscuitwheelssays:

Tara: the next time I travel your way, I’ll be sure to bring the pan and bake you one!

 
Echiasays:

Miles just saw the picture of the cake and said yum and tried to eat it.

 
biscuitwheelssays:

Of course, John Tobey! Your chocolate amaretto cake description was actually an inspiration for me to make something similar last week — photos and post to come!

 
John Tobeysays:

I feel your pain regarding cakes that “at least taste good.” In my opinion, cakes and pastries must be perfect. And you know I’m willing to go the extra-mile to make sure that happens!

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About me

I’m Ann, a mom / wife / lawyer / certified culinary enthusiast. I share recipes, travel guides and home life tips while living overseas. Currently based in São Paulo, Brazil.

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