Buttercream Blonde: Close Call In The Kitchen

Close Call In The Kitchen

Thursday, March 22^nd, 2012

I received a request for a two tiered birthday cake for a party this Sunday, so last night I filled four cakes pans and popped them into the oven. 20 minutes later the oven was filled with smoke and the heating coil was on fire. Gasp! I thought, this cannot be happening; I still have four more layers to bake! Luckily the cakes were done so I pulled them out and assessed the damage. The coil was snapped in half and a flame was traveling down the length of it. That can’t be good. I turned off the oven and tried to think of who would be home the next day and would let me temporarily take over their kitchen so I can finish baking.

This morning I discovered the oven still on, even though the knob was turned to off, (strange) but thankfully nothing was smoking. I figured I better try to get the rest of this cake baked before the oven either completely shuts down or blows up. So I filled the remaining four pans and crossed my fingers. Success! Replacement parts are in route as I speak, but until then it looks like dinners will have to be cooked in the microwave. Oh well; could’ve been much worse! I’m just happy that my kitchen is still intact.

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My story -

I’m Jennifer and I have a fascination with everything food related. Cooking is my passion, and the kitchen is where I am truly happy. However, baking was never my first love. Baking is an exact science; where measuring cups and teaspoons are used, and timers are set. Where’s the fun in that? I love improvising; cooking a meal without an exact plan in place and tasting as I go. Although I may read a recipe for inspiration I prefer not to follow one. I would much rather wing it and see what happens.

In 2006 I fell in love with the look of fondant covered cakes;
discovered through a reality television show based on a bakery in Baltimore. Two years later when I found some extra time on my hands I jumped online to learn how I could replicate those amazing creations. I found a site which taught me how to make marshmallow fondant and I couldn’t wait to try it. My first effort was a success, for first try standards; an 8 inch round chocolate cake (using a boxed mix), covered in fondant that I tinted purple and decorated with vertical stripes.

Although my first attempt was somewhat successful, the cakes that followed were not. I was cursed with cracked, sagging fondant and lopsided tiers. Perhaps pay back for not making my cake from scratch? (Silly as it sounds, the thought crossed my mind). Delivering the finished cake was a whole other level of stress. There was always a pothole or a bump in the street that would cause some sort of damage. The last straw was when a birthday cake that I made slid off the front seat and hit the dashboard as I slammed on the brakes. I watched it fly through the air, in what seemed to be slow motion, and I was powerless to stop it. That’s when I said to myself “maybe this isn’t for me”.

I gave up for a while then recently decided to give it another shot. Using the knowledge I gained from trial and error, I made a few more cakes for friends and thought, although they weren’t perfect, they weren’t bad. More importantly I had fun making them! I used real ingredients rather than boxed cake mix. I realized that I didn’t have to follow a recipe exactly; I could tweak it to make it my own. This is when I really fell in love with cake. So, the desire to start my blog was born! I wanted to chronicle my adventures in the kitchen and connect with others who love to bake “outside ofthe box” as much as I do. Enjoy!