Day 2 - Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

I found a recipe in the All-American Baking book. My hubby walks by and proclaims "I'm not going to like it. The frosting is too sweet". I tried to explain that most all frosting have loads of sugar.

Nevertheless I found a lower sugared recipe for the frosting on the web. It had just 2 C of sugar with 2 packages of creme cheese and 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 sticks of butter.

Being the improviser I substituted 2 things on this recipe.

1. The pans: I used 2 8" rounds instead of an 8.5" x 11" x 2 baking pan
   
2. It called for Sunflower Oil. I used Canola.
3. I got impatient and iced it without cooling it properly. I wish I had a picture of it. The top layer nearly slid off the bottom layer.

Day 1 - Devils Food 3 layer cake

The title of this blog says it all: MY BAKING SUCKS

I am starting this blog to document and admit my mistakes.

Feel free to help me on the road to redemption.


I'm no gourmet chef.

Nor am I trying to be the new "Cake Boss".

I have recently been homebound temporarily due to a major surgery. I'm starting to feel better and have a little energy for home basics like cooking.

I seem to have no problem putting a meal together for 2-6 people. I'm kind of Rachel Ray - like in that I wag measurements and improvise a lot. I can do a few basic things that fall under the category of baking.

• I can make a delicious quiche (if I buy ready-made dough)
• I can often find a complete dinner out of ingredients I find in the very same refrigerator and pantry that my husband might open first and saying "there is nothing to eat here".
• I can make a banana bread or a boxed coffee cake, lemon bars, brownies

Last year we remodeled our kitchen with a big 36" DCS dual heat range/oven. You can put a commercial sized cookie sheet in there. Three of them if you wanted to.

This year we got married and my Sister in Law baked an amazing themed wedding cake for us. My best friend baked us a beautiful 2 tier coconut grooms cake in my kitchen. When she asked for the mixer, I brought out my hand held $19.95 Hamilton Beech mixer. She said "Are you kidding?". Being the baker she is - it was a bit time consuming, but she managed with my inadequate tools.

So I headed out to Costco for the razzle-dazzle Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. Now, finally I have the tools to be a baker.

"A MIXER DOES NOT A BAKER MAKE"

On the advice of my friend I started with the recipe on the side of the cake flour box for Devils Food 3 layer cake with chocolate icing.

Disaster - I tweaked the recipe and added some "aged" - another term for RANCID Cointreau.

The cake was not bad if you don't count the 2nd layer for having a sink hole and the three layers for having grid marks. The icing made our teeth fall out and then our bodies pass out from the tainted smell of liqueur gone bad.

I have vowed to make a cake a day until I have mastered BASIC CAKE MAKING!