and now, a long entry about cakes

I love to bake. I especially love baking for other people. I've never been too much of a cook - I mean I can definitely cook, but I looove to bake. I love the process and I love to see other people enjoying the fruits of that process. I'm usually pretty good at it too, and I'm so proud when others enjoy something I have baked for them. I just love to bake.

I was excited tonight since I planned to make two cakes for the joint birthday party, happening tomorrow night in Toronto, of two (fairly newish) friends. These people are just all around great people and so much fun to be around, so I wanted to make sure each of them had a birthday cake tomorrow night - even if the party is at the top floor of a bar.

I decided on my family's all-time favourite 'jiffy chocolate cake' recipe since it's always a crowd-pleaser, and a carrot cake since we have a whole whack load of carrots for some reason. I bought two cake tin sets so that I could make each a two layered cake. Super excited!

I made the chocolate cake first since I figured that would be the easy one, and because Tudor was still at the store picking up some ingredients for the carrot cake. I followed the recipe the same way I have for years, except that for the past while I've been substituting spelt flour for white flour. I've never experienced any real problems with this substitution - if anything, it's improved the baking. This time, however, something went terribly, terribly, wrong.

I got to watch, in horror, as the middles of my precious chocolate cakes sunk like stones in their last few minutes in the oven. This has never happened to me so didn't even really believe it at first. I took them out of the oven, placed them on the racks, pushed a toothpick through the centre of each to ensure they were done and walked away hoping that it was all just my imagination. Nope. They just kept getting worse and I've come to realize that they're just so beyond salvaging. I even dropped a chunk of one on the floor after it came apart and slipped through my hands while I tried to take it out of the pan. *Flop*.

I thought that the carrot cake would save me. I took time to lovingly grate the carrots and measure out the spices to substitute pumpkin pie mix and the dog and I got nice and sprayed with batter from the electric mixer but I thought yes, the carrot cake will save me!

I followed the recipe carefully, except for the spelt substitution, and oh so nervously placed them staggered in the oven. I watched through the oven door as they rose to a beautiful golden perfection and smiled - yes, the carrot cake is going to save me!

I timed their baking perfectly, according to the recipe, and inserted a toothpick in the centre of each and each one came out dry and clean. I proudly took each baked cake out of the oven and waited the required 10 minutes before taking them out of their pans to cool on the racks. I walked away knowing that those carrot cakes, those perfectly golden brown carrot cakes will save me! It will be a happy dual birthday for my friends and they will all enjoy my carrot cake! Rejoice for carrot cake!

After 10 minutes I hopped into the kitchen and joyfully took each carrot cake out of their pan and onto their cooling rack:

*Plop*

*Plop*

The raw dough centre of each cake seeped through my fingertips and I watched as the perfectly baked edges of my golden carrot cakes were all that made it to the eager cooling rack.


I immediately burst into tears.

Fuck it, these people are getting cupcakes.