I learned this lesson the hard way on August 11, when I let my own birthday go by without cake. I know, I know...what was I thinking? I was thinking of not celebrating my birthday this year, that's what. (I was also thinking of permanently going gluten, sugar and dairy free. Hahahahahahahahaha.) But that didn't go over so well.
Three months later I find myself on my mom's birthday in the kitchen making a cake. I am embarrassed to say it's a box mix cake. I've never lowered myself to this point, but I'm broke and didn't have the money to buy tons of frou frou ingredients (heavy cream, German chocolate, buttermilk, DARK RUM. What broke ass can afford a bottle of rum, like for cooking?!?!) to bake the cake I want to be making: David Lebovitz's extremely decadent-sounding German Chocolate Cake. I'm going to make that later in the week, after I get paid. Unfortunately such is life when you major in English and are tethered to Sallie effing Mae and THEN get chronically ill in your twenties. Best laid plans and savings aside, for the time being I am a paycheck to paycheck girl. And tonight, heavy cream is a laughable luxury. (But it won't be Friday night.)
Soooooooo. Box cake. It's really not that bad. I mean the cake is still in the oven, but it poured into the cake pan very well. Very much like homemade cake, in fact. Small miracles.
And there's the taste test factor, wherein I shove an entire spatula into my gaping mouth. Truthfully that is the reason I made a cake. Nothing to do with my mom's birth. (But mom, thank you for being born.)
25 minutes later, cake is now out of oven and smells like a bakery in here.
Now to Google some recipes for icing.... come back for an update later.
**********FOUR HOURS LATER **********
Ok so the icing didn't go off without a hitch...I am the WORST when it comes to icing. If you think I am bad at making cake--and I am... this one totally fell apart despite coating the cake stone with spray oil beforehand-- just wait until you try (or don't try, as the case may be) my icing.
I once made a chocolate cake for someone's birthday party and my cake fell apart so badly that I had to "ice" it back together...a tip from my pastry chef friend. Except when she texted "ice it" I thought she meant like actually take ice cubes out of the freezer and sort of finagle the cake back. Welp, there is a reason I am not a chef. Aaaaaand there is a reason I so related to the Amelia Bedelia books when I was a child. Still do, in fact.
So the icing recipe my mom sent me via Pinterest tonight tasted too sweet for me, and kinda mapley, despite not having a single drop of maple syrup. No idea where that flavor came from. But it DID turn out looking just like the picture. And for me that is a huge win. Because my icing never looks like the picture. The trick this time was to wait for the brown sugar, butter and evaporated milk mixture that I cooked down on the stove to cool completely. And then use the KitchenAid to mix in the vanilla and confectioner's sugar.
I know these sentences are not making much grammatical sense but it's way after midnight and I need to get to bed. This blogging every day until the new year bit is HARD.
Here are some icing pics, and one of the final product! I haven't actually tried the cake with icing yet because I'm trying not to eat after 10:00 pm. I'm also trying not to go to bed after midnight, but will have to try again tomorrow. Either way, thank you, mom, for being born and I love you. I love you so much that I made you cake. I hate making cake. From a box or otherwise. On your birthday. That's love.
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