Disappointment is a Failed Recipe

Seven weeks ago, I started a new "diet" where I have switched over to whole wheat and cut out sugar, including sugar in other things. I have been feeling a lot better, and have seen some nice weight loss results. It's all been rather exciting. :)

However, I am a baker at heart. I genuinely love the craft. In fact, I think I enjoy the baking process more than the actual eating of baked goods. I love that it has specific rules, but if you know enough about baking science, you can adapt those rules to create and improve new recipes. Thanks to the internet and Food Network, this has been made possible. It's truly a stress release for me. It's my happy place. Being in the kitchen, some music playing, measuring ingredients, and coming out with a product that makes everyone in the house go, "Mmmm...that smell's amazing."

So honestly, the thought that I cannot eat anything sweet isn't a huge disappointment to me when it comes to baking. However, it does make it a little more difficult to find a reason to bake. My parents aren't eating sweets very much right now either, neither are my friends, and it's very difficult to mail anything except for cookies or brownies to Corey or Steven.

Nevertheless, I had a desire, no, a need, to bake a cake today. Every once in a while I get this need. It's strange. It comes over me in a giant wave, and I can't rest until I've made it. But cakes are extremely irritating, because who just makes a cake for no reason? It needs to be for a party, right? After, wracking my brain for an excuse, I decided I would just make one, feed it to my parents, and pawn the rest off on their Bible study tomorrow.

I decided on yellow cake with chocolate frosting. That's one of my favorites. However, I have never found a yellow cake recipe that I love. Upon purusing the internet, I found a recipe that had met rave reviews from everyone who had tried it. One woman said it was so good that her husband's coworker had asked how much the baker would charge to buy the recipe! Wow. I was convinced. I printed it out, and went to work.

I was hesistant, because the directions didn't follow the methods I was used to seeing. But the woman who wrote the recipe swore up and down, that she thought her lack of using the "creaming method" was the key to her cake's success. I decided to take her word on it. Now I'm wishing I hadn't.

When I removed the three layers from the oven, they were dense and thin. "Odd," I thought, "But maybe they're supposed to be like that."

After letting them cool, I assembled them with some homemade Chocolate Buttercream. Actually, the frosting came out beautifully. It might be my new go to chocolate frosting. :)

I assembled the cake, and it looked nice. Short, but nice. :)

I cut my parents a slice, and I could feel the denseness as the knife went through. Oh no...

My parents said it tasted good, but it felt like poundcake, and kind of tough. I took a very miniscule bite, and was saddened. All my hard work and the result was tasty, but strangely spongy and dense.

For a recipe that was so wildly raved about, I wonder what went wrong. It's almost like the cake didn't rise. My only thought is that my baking powder was bad. Weird stuff. I was all excited to blog about a triumphant cake, and give credit to the website where I found it, but as it is, I think I'll skip that. I wouldn't want a terrible review of what was clearly supposed to be a wonderful cake. Maybe our oven's on the fritz...

So my quest remains, and my deep need to bake a cake has been quenched until next time. For now, I will search and search until I have found another recipe I can try. Until then, our house shall be cake-less. But that's not so bad for me. I guess I'll just eat my sugar-free ice cream. ;)

--Hannah