Hey, did you know that chocolate mud cake can also serve as a frisbee ??? Well, the ones I make, anyway.
In my vain attempt to establish an amicable friendship with my oven, over the weekend, I took a hand at baking…again.
This time around though, there were a few obstacles that I needed to tackle. The main one being Little K’s egg and nut allergy. A significant challenge when the majority of cakes and all things sweet and yummy include egg.
There is an alternative. It’s an organic product with the original title of “No Egg”. The dietician who assessed Little K’s allergies recommended it.
Off I trot to the health food store, grab some of this stuff and along the way – bearing in mind that I am a humble beginner baker – I bought a wheat-free, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free chocolate mudcake mix.
Where’s the fun in that, right ?
Anyway, the picture on the packet made the cake in question look appetizing enough and I thought, “What the heck, what have I got to lose ?”
*sigh* Hindsight is a delightful thing.
The instructions on the back of the packet were complete with step-by-step pictures.
“A monkey could make this,” I scoffed as I eagerly ripped the box open and opened the chocolatey powder.
Even using the egg substitute was straight-forward: One egg equals to one heaped teaspoon of “No Egg” and mix with two teaspoons of water.
“Pah ! Have I got a triumphant blog post ahead of me…” I foolishly thought.
Finally putting the mixture in the oven, I was chuffed. As the minutes ticked by, I could smell the inviting scent of a baking cake. It created that domestic, warm atmosphere I have so longed for in our home.
Then, towards the final ten minutes, something didn’t smell so great. Running to the oven, the smoke detector started and that’s when I knew the prognosis was not good. Pulling out the tray, this was the outcome:
Adding insult to injury, Hubby gave me a puzzled look and said, “Is it supposed to be that flat ???”
Regardless, he ate some – albeit with a HUGE dallop of cream.
When I posted the photo on FaceBook, I had a surprising reaction from many friends.
A dear old friend is on my side. She thinks it’s the oven.
Another friend said he would happily have a slice…with cream and port, no less.
Later that afternoon, a vegan friend told me that the problem was that “No Egg” never works with cake mixture. The cake will invariably never rise.
So, you see, it wasn’t the Cook…this time.
This baking attempt may have been a flop, but I will not give up.
I have succumbed to the fact that I need to bake a cake from scratch. No more short cuts. No more cake mixtures.
Yikes…
Christine says
Hey, still looks pretty good to me! hehe. Hmm interesting problem with the egg.. I’ve heard of plenty of gluten free or dairy free recipes but not many egg free ones..