Tomorrow is Ironflower’s birthday. When asked what she wanted her special treat to be, she asked if she could make and decorate a cake with Daddy. We thought that was a great idea. Knowing that Hubby was going out of town Friday afternoon (yes, that does suck on so many levels), cake time was set for Friday morning.
But actually, Hubby had to leave town Thursday afternoon. (Which we did not realize until it was too late for him to take the train to Newark Airport and I had to drive home from there and it was HELL. HELL. But I’m going to stop bitching about it. . .now.) So today I baked the cake with Ironflower.
I took both children to the grocery store so that Ironflower could choose her flavors and decorations. That was a challenge in itself, since I had to run across the parking lot to snag one of the car carts (the only ones Lovebug deigns to ride in without screaming. Much.). Then we spent ten minutes in the baking aisle because I couldn’t find the damn sprinkles. They were in a bin, not on the shelves - like I was supposed to know that?
Anyway, we made it home. Ironflower and I began baking. But after buying all the ingredients listed at the top of the box (what? Like I’d risk my daughter’s birthday by trying something from scratch?), I soon discovered that we’d missed something. Far down in the directions, it mentioned that I needed to grease the pan (was I supposed to know that? I bake cookies. That’s it. I don’t grease things.). We do not have shortening or lard or even cooking spray. I called Hubby, hoping that he would not tell me that I had to go back to the store. On his directions, we coated the pan with vegetable oil.
Everything else went according to plan. I didn’t even burn the cake while simultaneously making (microwaving) dinner. Though the edges look a little crunchy. But I blame the vegetable oil for that.
However, I discovered another problem when decorating time came. I lost the frosting (and if you think I would have the ingredients or the know-how to make frosting, you must be new here. Welcome. But don’t assume I have anything that normal housewives have. Because I don’t.). It was not on the counter. Nor in a cabinet. I checked the garbage. I checked the car. I checked the garage. The frosting had disappeared.
Ironflower took it well. Especially after I promised her another trip to the grocery store tomorrow morning to pick out new frosting. Won’t THAT be fun?
7 responses so far ↓
Merry Jelinek // December 1, 2007 at 5:48 am
Oy… first, you can grease the pan with butter or margerine, next time someone tells you vegetable oil just say no - easy tip, if you get the tubs of margarine, just take a papertowel, swipe it over the butter and rub it all over the pan, making sure to get the corners the heaviest… if you have stick butter even better, you can just unwrap it and use the wrapper to grease the pan, no muss, no fuss…
I know, now I tell ya…
If you have powdered sugar, one stick of butter, and vanilla extract you can make butter cream frosting from scratch in about five minutes… seriously, it’s not hard and it has way less crap than what you’re buying in that tub.
Let the butter soften in a mixing bowl. Then beat it for about a minute with your mixer, add powdered sugar a little at a time until you get the hang of how much you need and about a teaspoon of vanilla extract. beat until it’s the consistency of frosting… if it’s too thick or dry you can add a dallop of milk, if it’s not thick enough add more powdered sugar…
if you think I’m a butt-inski just tell me to shut up
Tell Ironflower happy birthday!
WordVixen // December 1, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Bwahahah! I can’t tell you how many times an item has disappeared between being swiped at the register and actually making it into the bag. And if you count the times that I forgot something… oh, lets not go there.
And to add to Merry’s icing- don’t forget that you can add drops of flavoring… like peppermint, or rose/orange blossom water.
Jerseygirl89 // December 2, 2007 at 2:08 am
Merry - I think you’re awesome - I need all the help I can get. I’m cutting and pasting your directions into a domestic file, even. Thank you.
Wordvixen - Check out my update. I’m scary.
And how much flavoring? How many drops? Remember, I am completely ignorant.
Merry Jelinek // December 2, 2007 at 4:10 am
Hi Jersey,
I don’t know if wordvixen has actual measurements, but I go by taste - that’s the fun way to do it!!! add a little bit, whip it well, then stick your finger in and taste… if you like more add more…
You can also use lemon extract (I recommend only a bit of this as it’s really strong) or, my favorite with spice cake, use the butter cream recipe and add maple syrup… yummy.
Leslie // December 2, 2007 at 11:22 pm
I’m pretty much a “by the directions” kind of girl. If there’s a recipe, I can follow, but don’t ask me to veer from the written path. I’d probably blow something up trying it “my way.”
Jerseygirl89 // December 3, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Merry - You know I’m totally serious about cutting and pasting your comments into my domestic file, right? Thank you.
Leslie - I’ve seen pictures of the stuff you make though - you’re stuff looks awesome. And you can actually follow the directions, which puts you ahead of me.
Merry Jelinek // December 5, 2007 at 4:03 am
Hey Jersey,
Cut and Paste away.
Leslie, I have to use the directions for baking, I can’t veer even a little bit or I wind up with dry cake or cookies or whatever… I only play with spices and that’s mostly because the recipes handed down from my aunt (who taught me to cook) and grandma had no directions - they eyeballed everything! By the way, I’ve stopped by your mommy’s place a few times and it’s great - I haven’t gotten to commenting yet but I’m sure I will soon.
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