... and cakes are difficult! Everyone has told me (or those that know... of course, which is about 2-3 people... but it sounds better to say everyone, doesn't it) that while cooking is an art - baking is a Science. I really believe them. B/c it was graduation weekend and apparently everyone else's birthday party - I couldn't have a cake made (for the surprise element) - so I decided to turn to my PC book for a recipe.
It did not disappoint. I found a great Chocolate Butter Cream.. and everything was going fine, following the creaming method (cream the butter and then the other items...) - but once everything was in there - it was still a liquid! Crap.. here we go again. The only thing I can think of this time is my mixer's lowest speed was much higher than the speed that I think it called for... that's where a Kitchen-aid Mixer is needed. However, that's not the option at this point (nor do I really want to - I'm not going to be baking that much!)
So.. I did what every wanna-be pastry chef did - I improvised (disclaimer - last statement written VERY tongue in cheek). I added flour (pastry flour) until it thickened. And it did. However - it also dried out. It was ok... but not as flavorful as I'd like. My neighbor, Randy, suggested using Tapioca next time to add texture... and someone else recommended using regular flour instead.. so maybe, just maybe - I should simplify it instead. (Although, for the record, I did follow the recipe and did not cut it back, as was suggested by friend Rob, the former restaurant chef!)
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