Well, well well. I had it all worked out in my head. the recipe: a blue velvet cake, and I been arranged the edible print in advance. I was doing so well at sticking to the guidelines, and he plans, but life had other plans in store for me!
Firstly, I only have one extra large tin, which I thought was 30m but is actually 28 cm. Thank GOD I had the presence of mind to make the print 26 cm, otherwise it would have been an utter disaster, with no room for piping or décor at the top.
Anyway, the large tin took up an entire batch of batter. But, that being said, I did not realise that it would affect the cake so utterly badly when I opened the oven door when the timer bell rang. I figured I'd need to poke it with a stick and put it back in for a few minutes, but the middle was COMPLETELY raw and still in liquid form. I returned the cake to the oven, managed to burn the sides and the middle flopped completely.
The idea was to bake two enormous layers. By some freaking grace, I managed to have enough ingredients to make a third layer to replace the god-awful attempt at the 1st layer. I was determined to try to use the first layer, cutting off all the burnt bits - which left me with a small, very dry and sad layer of cake. An expensive yet valuable baking experience.
The second layer came out absolutely beautifully. I reduced the temperature to 170 and increased the bake time to 55 minutes.
Considering how well this layer turned out (even though I spent 45 minutes waiting for baking to happen- even though I had forgotten to turn the oven on🤦♀️) it inspired me to bake the third layer in the same fashion.
AAAAAAAnd that's when the baking tin broke!
The buckle that is supposed to hold the sides and base of the tin came right off.
I had already been careful, as I always am, to use spray and cook AND baking paper, but this time I went nuts with it. Then, it was time for the oven... the baking tin held together with "thoughts and prayers."
After the cake had been in the oven for just a few minutes, (Thank heavens) I realized I had forgotten to put oil in! A crucial ingredient!
So...
not wanting to pour the mixture out since I had somehow magically managed to get the broken cake tin to stick together, I just blended the oil diretly into the pan...
Forgetting completely about the baking paper!
Oh my gosh, what a mess!!!
Somehow, by God's grace, I managed to end up with two absolutely perfect layers for Aime's cake!
Part 3 Coming soon :p
