By now you know that I love to bake. I may not be the best cook around. I know I have issues with attention to detail, I stick to things that I like to eat and for the most part I usually go with pretty basic things.
I don't claim to be good, but I am passably okay. At least, I was. Until recently. The majority of my cooking attempts recently have been a little less than okay. They've been disasters... I think I have lost my cooking mojo and I want it back.
Having to finish things in fits and starts as I am pulled away to play my role as the milk machine.
Creamed butter and sugar
Whipped egg whites
My helpful assistant
I don't claim to be good, but I am passably okay. At least, I was. Until recently. The majority of my cooking attempts recently have been a little less than okay. They've been disasters... I think I have lost my cooking mojo and I want it back.
I blame child birth.
Sleepless nights leading to a brain that's not firing.
Having to finish things in fits and starts as I am pulled away to play my role as the milk machine.
Or maybe it's a brain that focusing on other things.
Whatever... it sucks.
Here's a bit of a run down of the last couple of weeks.
Afternoon tea at our place with friends wanting to meet our new addition. I attempt a lovely Upside Down Cinnamon Cake. Even though all went well in the preparation phase (despite taking me twice as long as normal) my man noticed the problem when there was a strong smell of burning cake wafting through the house.
No, I hadn't forgotten about it. Nor was the oven set too high. In fact, the oven wasn't set at all. I was actually grilling the cake. I had set the oven selection to grill not oven.
Sigh.
Where to then?
Then, obviously because I am rockin' the kitchen at the moment. I decide to try another notoriously difficult item. A classic sponge. We had my sisters family coming for a Sunday morning tea and I figured a beautiful sponge with jam and cream would be a great treat.
In theory.
While sitting in the obsetricians office a while back, I did something that I had never done before. Ripped a page out of a doctor's surgery magazine that had a recipe and baking tips for the sponge. Let me tell you, those tips did not save that cake.
Not that you would call it a cake.
It did not rise.
At all.
It went in the bin, directly to the bin. It did not pass go, and it did not collect $200.
It was 8.00 pm Saturday night and I still had nothing for our guests. So I did what any sane person surving on 2 1/2 hours sleep would do. I tried a recipe for a chocolate cake that I had never tried before.
Yep. I am REAL smart.
Now, I won't exaggerate and say that the chocolate cake was a disaster. It was certainly edible and I did serve it (it was family after all). It was saved by lashings of chocolate buttercream.
With enough chocolate buttercream I could probably eat dirt.
With enough chocolate buttercream I could probably eat dirt.
Then comes the most recent event. My parents 35th anniversary dinner. I was going to make a second attempt at the Upside Down Apple and Cinnamon cake. For this one, I actually took photo's...
Creamed butter and sugar
Whipped egg whites
Caramelised apples
My helpful assistant
Now, this is the end result...
It did that is. Until the centre of it dropped completely. It was raw in the middle. Yet another disaster.
It looks pretty good doesn't it?
It did that is. Until the centre of it dropped completely. It was raw in the middle. Yet another disaster.
Sigh. Again.
Who would have thought that I would have so much bad luck? Maybe if I cross my fingers and hold my tongue just so, (and maybe get a bit more sleep) my mojo will make it back...
Please.
The end.
Upside-down cake with apple and cinnamon
From Sydney Food, Bill Granger
Topping
100g unsalted butter
4 large apples, peeled and cut into 1cm slices
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Cake
100g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs separated
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pouring cream to serve.
Topping
Place the butter in a non-stick fry pan over medium heat and melt. Toss apples with lemon juice and zest in a bowl and add to butter. Cook apples gently for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar and vanilla and cook for 5 minutes longer.
Remove apples from the pan with a slotted spoon and arrange in the bottom of a greased and lined 23cm spring-form tin.
Cake
Preheat oven to 180c. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla. Gently fold in the sifted flower, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
In a small, clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold through the cake mixture with a large metal spoon. Spoon evenly over apples and caramel and smooth with a spatula.
Bake cake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and leave in the tin for 5 minutes.
Serve warm with cream.
