Friday 18 March 2011

Chocolate Fashion

Okay...so I wanted Fridays to be about fashion and my journey through, around, under and over it.
But...since no one reads this BLOG anyway I figured I could mix it up.

Today I decided to make THIS. I really wanted to try it out before I made it for baby A's 1st birthday party and thought since we were having 10 people over for dinner tomorrow night...why not do a trial run?

I have NEVER made a cake from scratch (gasp) and always use the box mixes.

I was scared.

I was intimidated.

I was determined.

I assembled all the ingredients...I am doubling the recipe you can find in the above link.


{dry ingredients}

{wet ingredients}

I then did my least favourite job...greasing and flouring the pans. All of them. 


I used coco instead of flour. 
I made a mess. A big one. 
You should have seen my hands.

Then I pulled out every bakers dream...


My husband came with all the Kitchen Aid goodies when we married {I know...I know} and I use this particular one about 3x per week. Mr.Man is the chef of the house and I am the cook. Thats how we roll.

I then sifted all the dry ingredients together in one bowl.


Look at all those chunks. Now my batter will be smooth. 


My mountain of salt, powders, flour, sugar, and coco was complete. It was a big mountain and not so big of a bowl.  I decided to stuff it all in the mixer anyway. Hmm...should have doubled this recipe 1 batch  at a time not all at once. Mr. Man would have known that. 


I mixed the vanilla. Yum. I just love vanilla. Good pure REAL vanilla. We get ours at COOMBS MARKET cause we don't get to go to Mexico to often {okay...NEVER}. Plus Little E loves to look at the goats on the roof. I like to look at the food and the clothes, the knick knacks and of course the ice cream. 

Next we add the oil, buttermilk, the coffee and eggs. I like free range brown eggs. The yolks are REALLY orange and they are soooo yummy. What colour are your yolks? Yellow? Try the orange ones...you'll never go back I promise. 


Add it all together in the mixer. Pray that it doesn't overflow and make a mess. Whirl it around and around. 


And around. Then panic and throw a cloth over the mixer to prevent spillage. Mix some more.


Putter and put away dishes...get a drink. Then panic cause you cant see the batter...lift the tea towel ever so gently then...


Um.... Should have done 2 batches? 
Mr. Man would have. 
He's the chef though and I am the cook. 


Next curse loudly {not too loud to wake sleeping baby} and get the dish cloth.  Pour into huge measuring cup and tell your kid that nothing is wrong...there is lots of chocolate to lick off the counter.


Or in Little E's case...finger paint then eat. 


Fill cake pans and realize that you should have tripled the recipe. Breathe and then count to 10. Improvise and go with it. You can do this. 

Put cakes in oven and clean mess.  


Look at floor that you just washed and cry. Then be thank-full that you put on an apron. 




Clean counters, mixer, floors, dishes, fingers, nails, and face as they are all covered in chocolate. 
Pace the floor like an expectant father in the 50's and wait for the timer to go off. 

Check facebook. 

Check the Weather forecast, check on kids. 

Pace. 

Put up the Easter wreath.

Turn on the oven light. 

Wish you could see through the dirty door. 

Peek in by opening the oven ever so slightly. Jump when the timer goes off. 

Pray. 


Perfect. 

Jump up and down!!! 

Away from the cakes.

On the carpet...so they don't fall. 

Admire your masterpieces in all their glory. Smell them...oh ya. Resist tasting them until they cool. 




Realize that this was the easy part. The fun and messy part. 

Next comes the decorating. 

The patient, steady hand, careful, technique part. Look at your cakes again. And again. Smell them again. 

You did this. 

I did this.  

I can now say goodbye to Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines and hello to scratch baking. It was fun. It really really was. Next time I would make the cakes in 2 batches to ease the messy. I like messy, but this was messy. 


I'll let you know how they taste. 

E










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