Deep breath. I have a confession to make.
I’m a failure.
It’s true! I fail constantly. Daily, if you must know. And I have a darn good time doing it. Because how else is the really great stuff supposed to happen unless I get stomped on and rejected and keep my humility? Stuff like this awesome cake that I worked on in cake decorating class?
Even Pepe the Cat, a family friend, loved it.
But life ain’t always so grand. In fact, I just spent a despairing hour with a piping bag. So I’ve dedicated this post to my baking fails. Believe me, there are many. And my pride is so low that I don’t mind sharing them with you. Here we go, folks. Hang on and enjoy the ride!
Fail #1: Peanut Butter Truffle Photo Shoot
In case you haven’t noticed, I am not very good at photography. I’m a hack. But I love baking and I love taking pictures, so deal with it. I’m gonna keep trying. In the meantime, I might take pictures like this:
Yep, that’s a peanut butter truffle that I made using this recipe, which is one of my favorites from my blog. Look, I took a bite! Not so appetizing, huh? For some reason, the aesthetic gods were not smiling on me that day. I took crappy pic after crappy pic. Even though the recipe rocked and these tasted A-MAY-HAY-HAY-zing, it didn’t much matter if I couldn’t make them look good.
Insert sniffle here. Okay, I’m over it. Moving on…
Fail #2: Sacher Torte
I made this for my mom’s birthday. It’s one of her favorite all-time cakes, and it comes from Vienna, so she doesn’t get it often. I figured I’d surprise her. We started out with things being fairly promising!
Five hours later, total despair. My glaze flopped. Shoulda used that candy thermometer! See? It’s all…not smooth. Bumpy, really. What a shame!
I tried to make up for it with some cute marzipan decorations (that’s an apricot, BTW, not a pumpkin or an orange butt), but nah. Couldn’t fix it. It wasn’t bad. Just wasn’t good.
If you’re curious, the recipe is here on Epicurious. But yeah. My confidence is totally shattered! Feel free to try it, get it exactly right, and then brag to me how much better you are. I’m cool with it!
Failure #3: Pancake Cookies
No, don’t get excited! It was just awful. Chocolate chip cookies that I tried with oat flour. They went flat. Flatter than a pancake. Totally embarrassing. I can’t show you a pic. That’s how mortified I am! Instead, I’ll show you this lovely photo of the side of my daughter’s Frozen birthday cake:
Two tiers of megawatt chocolate with purple. Lots of purple. And some pink. And that thing on top isn’t paper. It’s edible. Hey, what a mom will do…
It’s not the prettiest cake, but she liked it. I’ll show you a prettier cake next time. I’ve been having fun in cake decorating class!
Because we can always learn. And we eventually produce awesome results like this:
See? Pancake cookies, this time with real flour. Presto! They are now chocolate chip cookies. Oh, what a difference!
Okay, kids. Over and out. I’m including a link-up here if you’d like to add your hard work. Go nuts! Or comment and that will link up to your latest recipe.
Happy weekend, pals!
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Summer’s over. I’ve finally accepted it. But I’m not quite ready to let go.
You see, summer comes with wonderful desserts. And ice cream. Have I mentioned ice cream?
This past week, I made a fantastic poke cake. It was so delicious. And the photos were a complete #epicfail. So instead of hanging my head in shame, I’m going to share my favorites with you from this past summer!
So I know I usually bake stuff and show it to you, and I promise I’ll be doing a little bit of that in this post. But I also wanted to share my mini-vacation with you, because it was just so nice.
Once a year, my parents (who are the most awesome parents in the history of the world) give my husband and me a little chance to get away from it all and recharge. You’d be amazed at what a two-night, two-day vacation can do for exhausted parents!
How do you fondue?
If you don’t, then there’s a big hole in your life. You know, that void where you have never experienced the joy of dipping food into melty cheese or chocolate. Be sad if you haven’t been there.
But feel free to change your ways, and now! I’m attaching a warning to this recipe: you will eat it and not be able to stop. Be ready. Come with an empty stomach!
I thought the Sacher Torte was delicious–the cake, the frosting, the marzipan decorations–everything. Super treat!
Wow, that’s so sweet! But you might be a little biased. A teensy bit? Love you!