Anyway, attempt two saw me rushing slightly, and screwing up the amounts of baking powder to baking soda. Opps. I tried to fix it, but I don't think that worked perfectly. Add to that that, for once, I followed the recipe and baked the cakes at 300˚F, which left them dented in the centre!! Like, the sides of the cake where higher than the middle!! That's never happened to me before! Totally not hot enough in my oven, obviously! Cause they didn't fall, they never rose! When I tried to take one of the cakes out of the pan it broke in half! That's when I got a good look at the centre and realised it wasn't baked fully or properly. So in the garbage they went!
I was out of sugar, low on milk, low on flour, so I made a run to the local Metro, and then tried again. I was setting everything up when Chris came home. I had the coffee steeping, the flour/dry ingredients mixed and waiting, and was chopping the chocolate.
I swear to all the gods I love, that I am always very, very careful when chopping chocolate! I've chopped more pounds than I can count, and I know just how easy it is for the knife to slip. Only... I was upset, tired, and just plain feeling low. I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention because I sliced through the tip of my thumb but good. *Sigh*
Here's the bandaged thumb, I'll save you all the gory detalis!
It hurt, I won't kid you. But the heartbreaking part was that I'd fucked up yet again. I felt like I couldn't do anything right. I'd messed up the cakes twice now - cakes that I've baked perfectly many times before! It was frustrating, and depressing that when it counted I couldn't manage to get it right. And now I was adding my blood, and tears along with my sweat to the cakes. o.0 NOT literally, they were just spilled in the making! Just in case any of my guests find this. lol. I want to be very clear, the knife was washed before being used again and I didn't get any blood on any of the food. For a clutz I have fast responses, and put pressure on it before it even managed to bleed. I also wore a latex glove over my bandaged hand to make sure there was no way anything would transfer.
I'm really, really, really glad Chris was home. When he realised my yelp meant I'd actually hurt myself - usually my yelp can mean anything from I've dropped a spoon, to I've burnt myself - he came over and hugged me while I cried and hyperventilated. He was patient, and kind, and just let me cry. He didn't pressure me, but let me work through it myself before I spoke again. Then, like the trooper he is, he washed the knife, and finished chopping the chocolate for me, and helped me finish making the cakes. This is made even all the more impressive by the fact that he'd just come off of a hellish week of being on call, where he was literally on calls almost the entire week; the man did not sleep!
So yeah... Third time's a charm! The chocolate cakes came out perfectly this time! And I'm going to modify the recipe so it says 350˚F is what works in my oven!! I also managed to get the coconut cakes done too. They came out just amazing. Yay. So cakes are baked and frozen. Next week I'll need to ice them, and find a way to keep them in the freezer... right now it's quite full (time to eat what's in there!) Chris is going to have to help me with the chopping again, because, honestly, I'm not sure I'm ever going to chop chocolate again.
Cakes all wrapped up and in the freezer! Yay!
Time for a food processor!!!!!!! If anyone has any recommendations for or against any brands/models I'd love to read them!
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