Posted in just being me :)

    Haha, I wrote this a couple days ago and thought I'd post it here. It's a true story. :p 

                                                  Carrot Cake Woes      

    It was Moriah’s fifteenth birthday, and I decided to make a cake in honor of the occasion.

    I’ve never really considered myself a good cook—and that’s not looking at it pessimistically; it’s just looking at reality, Lol. It’s not that I CAN’T cook, it’s just that I don’t really like it, so I usually hurry while I’m doing it and the results are just that—hurried. You know, where people eat your food and they’re like, ‘oh, it tastes…original.’

     Anywho, the cake was one of those packaged boxes where you add water, eggs, and oil, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I put the eggs and water in and then I found out something terrible.

 We didn’t have vegetable oil.

 Memory flashback—ALWAYS CHECK FOR INGREDIENTS BEFORE YOU START BAKING!

   Well, olive oil is pretty much the same thing right? It had better be, because that’s what I used. Then, I had a bright idea—why not make it a layered cake? Carrot layered cakes are much cooler and awesome and professional looking. I liked that idea. I really liked that idea. So I greased the cake pans—only a little though, because we were almost out of cooking spray. Probably should have checked for that first, too.   

 Memory flashback—ALWAYS CHECK FOR INREDIENTS—

   Okay, I know. Anyways, I put the cake in the oven—on 350 degrees  just like the box said to do. I do read directions, you know.  _{I just don’t always follow them}.   Then I left them to bake and…actually, I did just that. I left them. Totally. I forgot all about those cakes…until the house started to smell like carrot cake.

  It smelled really good and I couldn’t wait to see my creation. I ran in there and grabbed a fork and put in right in the middle of the cake. The whole thing made this poof sound and just kinda collapsed. Okay, maybe a little more than kinda. But the funny thing was, even though the middle of the cake was still mushy, the outsides were turning black. I figured it could still bake a little—and maybe rise again—so I left the kitchen.

   Then the electricity went out.

    This can be a problem, especially if you have cakes baking in your electric oven. I hoped it would come back on. I prayed it would come back on. But it didn’t, so I took the cakes out of the oven. I figured if I left them in the oven, they’d just dry out, so I put them on a baking sheet. It was hard getting them out of the pans. I probably should have used more cooking spray.  When I finally loosened the sides, I dumped them onto the counter and they fell apart. Not too badly—just the bottoms. But no one would see that side.

     The box said to let them cool before frosting them, so I waited an hour. Then I started making the frosting. According to the box, we should be using Betty Crocker but I was sure Rebekah frosting would taste just as good. I found a recipe for cream cheese frosting and I started making it.  The recipe said you were supposed to soften your cream cheese. That’s probably a good idea, but the  electricity was still out, so I did the next best thing. I  mashed it with a fork. It didn’t exactly soften it, but it sure did smash it into one very disgusting looking lump. But looks aren’t everything you know. I added the butter and started beating it up. When it was ‘light’ (though it really was just as clumpy as ever) you were supposed to add your sugar.

 We didn’t have enough sugar.

Memory flashback—ALWAYS CHECK—

  *sigh* I know. But hey, it’s probably more healthy without all that sugar anyways. And it was enough sugar to frost…the top of one layer.

 I had run out of frosting.

    So I made some more, only this time I really didn’t have enough sugar and the frosting didn’t soften. I even tried putting it on the stove, hoping it would get the hint. It didn’t. So I just frosted the cake with my poor excuse for a frosting. It might not have been so bad if the stupid cake had cooled all the way like it was supposed to. The warm dough started clinging to the frosting. It looked pretty bad.

       So I decided to put the cake in the fridge and hope it looked better with candles on it. One problem—we still didn’t have electricity. Carrot cake is supposed to be eaten cold and the cake was still fairly warm. Oh well. I put it in there and hoped for the best. Most of my cooking dramas end that way—with me hoping. For the best. LOL.  

    Anyways, the cake actually tasted okay, even though the frosting was a little sour. I guess the moral of the story is (besides checking for your ingredients):

    Make sure the electricity isn’t going off.

 Okay, if you can’t do that, at least buy your frosting from Wal-Mart.