Last week I returned home to find that my son's girlfriend was baking some cakes for her sister's birthday. The teeny-tiny stove in her apartment certainly couldn't handle the task. She told me that she was baking two cakes, a cherry chip cake and a chocolate fudge cake.
She told me that she was concerned though, because it seemed like there was an awful lot of batter for the pans. Hmmm, I said I'd take a look. We marched into the kitchen, opened the oven door and this is what we saw:
OOOPS......... Two cakes - two cake pans. I told her the equation should be two cake - four cake pans. We both busted out laughing and determined that these mega-cakes would never properly set up. I told her that she should run to the store for another cake mix and I would dispose of the cake masses in the oven.
About this time the Farmer's Son enters the room, takes a look at the development in the oven and says, "Hey Gigi, seriously, you should have my mom teach you how to bake!"
I knew he was kidding but I wanted to make sure that she knew.
"Oh yeah. That's a great idea. Have YOUR MOM teach her how to bake. Have you looked up on the kitchen counter lately?"
All eyes riveted on the counter where the Pie-from-Hell had taken up residence.
Yes, it's been here for a couple days and only the brave attempt a bite.
What is it? It's Suzanne McMinn's Shoo-Fly Pie. Unfortunately it called for molasses and I made the strange choice of choosing the black strap molasses I picked up in St. Croix. Black strap is very, very dark with a strong, distinctive flavor. I love it, but it's too much for Shoo Fly.
Actually it looks like some kind of science experiment, or nuclear waste material. If you notice the crust around the edges is totally gone......EATEN. My family would never leave a perfectly good crust uneaten!!
How about you? Are you known for being a terrific cook but willing to admit feet of clay at times? This Shoo-Fly was my downfall, but allowed me to show a young woman that very few things turn out perfect.
19 comments:
I would've offered to clean up the cake - but not the bottom of the stove! I despise that job. And yes, I only know how much I despise it because of similar mishaps!
I'm a pretty good cook and baker and I love doing it but not without some goof-ups. I really like trying out new recipes. Some turn out really great and others end up out at the edge of the cornfield as compost!
btw -- Have a great vacation!
Umm... what about Sawdust Pie? Who makes the sawdust pie?
Yes YOU should teach her to bake! My mother in law is the one who has taught me the most about cooking. She learned from her MIL!! LOL! This was a cute post and she sounds like a great gal!!
Cute post, Suzanne. I have to admit, I've left the eggs or other ingredients out of my famous chocolate chips cookies a time or two. Distractions! :)
I love to cook and bake and am a excellent cook if I do say so myself, but I cannot for the life of me make a decent pie crust. Don't know why and I always assume it will come out fine, but it rarely does. So, there is my Achilles Heel.
Janet
You have taught her the key ingredient to baking...room for failure.
I have found myself in the "what happened" hall of shame more than once.
I seem to reacall a ham gravy one Easter...
Yes, I've had my fair share of cooking disasters ! Especially since moving to the US and this area. I've had to learn to cook at altitude and my familar recipes from 'back home' have sometimes tasted a bit odd, while I've experimented with substitutions regarding the ingredients.
That's great that you were ready to show that you could fail as well. :-) That's a good cooking lesson in itself!
LOL.... yes, I've had my fair share of mistakes. The ones where I would substitute ingredients for what wasn't available, were some real winners. I had to learn how to do that by trial and error. Oh and it took me forever to learn how to cook steaks.
I'm ashamed to admit, I would have eaten anything in this post. Just because it's ugly doesn't mean it doesn't taste good. That is unless it's named curd LOL
hugs,
rue
we just had some Blueberry Disaster Muffins that came out....well....disasterous. I so need to Spell Check that word.
Your son's gf sounds like a keeper! Have fun with the cooking lessons!
That really looks like my mess every time I try my hand at baking. I tried or am still trying to self teach myself haahha.
Well, at least she attempted to bake, right? you are very kind to show her how to cook.
And, Yes I've had my share of mistakes & mishaps in the kitchen. That's what we learn from, right? ;)
What a good lesson for the young woman to learn -- you're a very kind teacher. How sweet of her to bake that cake, too.
What I love about this pie is that the crust is eaten. That would SO happen in my house!
I'm well-known for cooking. But once we decided to attend a church potluck at the last minute, so I had not planned anything. I looked at the ingreidents on hand and made a pasta dish. It was a white sauce one, and it called for onions. I only had red ones. The sauteed red ones in the whitish sauce turned the whole thing an ugly grey. NO ONE ATE IT. It was good (I bravely tasted a bite), but we took almost every bit of it back home. Definitely a humbling experience!
That's awesome. My husband once tried to cook me dinner... Once in 12 years... He made what he thought was an easy recipe. Homemade chicken nuggets. They were more like home made hockey pucks.
We ordered in.
LOL...oh yes, I feel your pain :)
I am known as a good cook, but every once in a while I am off my game. And rather than running for cover, I usually just smile a sheepish grin and tell people to eat at their own risk!
Yep, like the time I put the turkey in a plastic bowl in the oven to get it off the counter while I worked on the stuffing and a little later turned on the oven to pre heat it for the turkey forgetting he was already in there. The smell of melting plastic lingered for a week, but the story has lingered much longer...
It looks like I have invaded your baking kitchen. Something I do very poorly. Cook, yes, bake, NO!
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