high-bar baking

Another installment in the Devil’s Food Cake + Cookie Butter Cream Cheese frosting saga, this time in six inch form! And looking like the dumpiest cake alive. Oh well. 

I thought Zoë‘s three layer six inch Devil’s Food Cake was just going to be a half recipe of her two layer eight inch cake. That’s what it looks like at first glance, because the original calls for two eggs and the shrunk one calls for one. But clearly it’s not a straight half, because a lot of the other ratios were just a little off. Mostly the liquids, apparently compensating for the egg situation (bless her for not requiring a fraction of an egg). And then the leavener was… more for the smaller cake? Will not be repeating that direction. These babies sunk. 

Ok, part of the sinking was on me, but I will only accept blame for part. At some point during my long and productive (does baking count?) football Saturday, the oven got turned off. Passive tense really swooping in to save me, huh? Fine! I turned off the oven somehow. 

So I checked these little guys (so cute) and they weren’t close to done. No biggie, I’ll come back in five. After which there had been exactly no progress. In these moments I often choose to ask myself in exasperation, “Ugh, is the oven OFF?” 

…. and then it actually was. This is why we ask. 

Assume nothing is the lesson of the day, I suppose. “Pay attention” probably works just as well. Or, if you’re feeling generous, “It will all turn out ok.” Because it did. Look at that.