The Tale of the Hubristic Baker

For Ian's birthday celebration on Saturday, he asked that I bake him a birthday cake.  I was happy to oblige, especially since he baked my birthday cake earlier this year.  He asked for a Black Forest cake, which I eagerly agreed to.

I found a recipe that I liked and gathered my ingredients.  On Saturday, I got started.  The cake recipe looked pretty straight forward, so I figured that I wouldn't have any trouble with it.  Well, my first problem was that I skipped a step, deeming it unnecessary: line the cake pans with wax paper.  Even though I had never used this recipe before, I decided that by greasing and flouring my already non-stick pans that everything would be fine.  You can probably guess what happened next: I couldn't remove the cake from the pans.  I decided to cut my losses and I ran to the store for a chocolate cake mix.  I actually followed the direction to line the pans with wax paper and, what do you know?, they came right out.

Next I made the cherry compote, but I didn't give it enough time to cool.  I've made fruit compote before, but usually it's meant to be used while still a bit warm.  Unfortunately, when combining warm compote with fresh whipped cream, it all becomes kind of a mess.  I pilled everything together the best that I could, loaded it in my cake carrier, and drove south to the Larsens.

I apologized profusely for messing up my present to Ian, but he was just happy that I was able to deliver, even if I was aided by Duncan Hines.  And even though the cake was far from pretty, it did taste pretty good - Ian went back for a second piece, which is the best compliment that a chef can receive (Clara said that she didn't like the fruit, but had no problem with the cake and whipped cream).

Even though I have done plenty of baking over the years and I have succeeded in many of my attempts, I am still learning and I should not ignore steps in recipes, especially when I've never made that treat before.