Test #1: Vegan Double Chocolate Cake

Vegan baking is tricky. High-altitude baking just might be trickier.

Tonight was my first foray into the art of vegan baking, and although it wasn't a total failure, it was somewhat disappointing. I seemed to have done well with the vegan part but I forgot to compensate for the increased altitude. More flour, more liquid, less leavening. Got it. Tomorrow will be better. I hope to not have a sink hole in the middle of my cake tomorrow.

The vegan frosting I made tonight to go with the cake leaves something to be desired, I must admit. I might have to come up with something else. Maybe I'll try to figure out how to adapt my existing recipes.

In my 9th grade keyboarding classroom, my teacher had a bunch of those cheesy inspirational posters all over the place. I can't help but to think of one now. It said:

Everything is difficult before it becomes easy.

It's as true now with high-altitude vegan baking as it was then when I was learning how to type 60 words per minute. So, as my mother would say, press on, Jessica. Looks like I'm going to have chocolate cake for dinner again tomorrow night. :o)

Vegan Baking and Puss Milk

I tried to be a vegan once. No joke. All the vegans I know are super slim and I wanted to adopt the lifestyle just long enough to shed some weight. Yeah, it was pure vanity. Sue me. I bought all sorts of random crap at the grocery store that day including whole wheat gnocchi, which I'm not even sure is vegan, but it seemed legit. I had high hopes and did a pretty good job of making dinner that night, until I realized that I completely screwed it up. I added butter. Oh yes I did! That’s about the time I decided that being vegan just wasn’t going to work for me.

Fast forward two months. I was hanging around with some co-workers talking about…who even knows? I’m pretty sure I blocked most of it out. Puss milk. That is burned into my brain whether I want it to be or not. That, and juicers from the UK that don’t work in the US. Seriously, that’s all I can remember. Anyway, from my coworkers’ enthusiasm, I began thinking about this whole vegan thing again, but not as a lifestyle choice as much as a business decision. What if I included vegan cakes in my repertoire? I thought I was pretty smart.

I began to research vegan baking today, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I must be crazy. Do you have any idea how big of a role animal products play in baking? I’m not ready to give up, but I am a little concerned where I’m going to find supplies. There’s a local health food market in town. Maybe they can be of help. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Floppy von Flopperson

I baked a cake on Saturday. As far as the composition of the cake goes, it was probably my best since moving here. The texture was good, it was moist, and I was able to let it perfectly level. Mmmm...chocolate. I also tried a new icing recipe which I was pretty excited about. I didn't have almond extract, so I added peppermint oil. Chocolate and peppermint taste great together, don't you think? I discovered that during my days at The U when my roommate and I sat on the back porch drinking hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps with marshmallows on top. Those were the days.

On top of the peppermint icing with the chocolate cake below, I rolled out peppermint marshmallow fondant. Now, I know that may seem like overkill, but it was perfect. It tasted really good. The problem, however, is that the cake was ugly. U-G-L-Y. I shoved in the refrigerator with the hope of prettying it up a little on Sunday, but that thing was beyond help. It could quite possibly be my biggest flop.

I've learned how to laugh at myself and move on. That's a good thing because I'm sure this won't be my last screw-up. I didn't have a clear picture in my mind of what the cake should look like as a finished product, so I had no idea where I was going. Improvisation works well for some in comedy, but maybe not so much in cake decorating. Oh well; live and learn.

Poker Table Cake

I was invited to play poker last weekend with some girlfriends from work and a bunch of guys. I wasn't as excited about playing as I was about having a room full of people to eat my cake. Don't get me wrong, like my blog title says, I Like Cake. It's just not something I want to have hanging around my house.



The guys didn't seem to mind that I turned their poker game into a cake party. They were thrilled to have such a massive cake to dive into. I was thrilled it went over so well.



When I think of poker, I think of Vegas. When I think of Vegas I think of animal print and glitter. I can't say why exactly, having never been there, but it's just my perception. I was lucky to be able to display my cake on a board so...you know...fitting.

I played around with the edible glitter as well. It was a fun, festive touch. All the decorations were made from fondant icing.

I would write more, but I have another cake to do this afternoon. Time's a wastin'!

Good Morning, Vietnam

I'm excited, yet puzzled by this blog's audience. Vietnam? China? United Arab Emirates? Very cool, but I'm curious to know how you found me. And to my UK reader, tell your friends. People with funny accents are kinda cool. ;o)

Who Moved My Cheese?

Being a bona fide member of the Dave Ramsey financial cult, it was my duty to read his list of recommended books. "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson, M.D. is among them. If you're not familiar with the book, it's a story about two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two "little people," Hem and Haw.

The four live in a maze and feast on cheese daily. One day, they report to their Cheese Station to find the cheese gone. The mice, Sniff and Scurry had anticipated the change and were ready to adapt quickly. Sniff put his nose to the ground and Scurry scurried to implement the changes Sniff sniffed out. The little people, Hem and Haw wallowed in misery. How could someone move their cheese? It just wasn't fair! After hanging around the old cheese station for quite some time hoping their cheese would miraculously return, Haw decided to go out and find new cheese. Going out into the unknown was far less risky than staying where he was and starving to death.

I knew I what I was reading would be valuable to remember, so I posted the book's key points at my desk at work and on my refrigerator at home.

1) Change Happens

2) Anticipate Change

3) Monitor Change

4) Adapt to Change Quickly

5) CHANGE

6) Enjoy Change!

7) Be Ready to Change Quickly and Enjoy it Again and Again

I can't say I'm one who is afraid of change, but these are things I need to remind myself of frequently. While reading this book, I asked myself which character I am the most like. Am I Sniff who can easily predict changes and new trends? Am I Scurry who is quick to change when necessary? Am I Haw who drags my feet and refuses to change until I run out of options, or am I Hem who refuses to change no matter the cost? I still can't answer that with complete certainty, but I'm almost certain I am a Sniff. I can ususally see change before it comes, but I don't typically do anything about it. I wish I could be more like Scurry while retaining the characteristics of Sniff. Sometimes I need to hurry up and change so my vision can be realized.

I have ideas of how I can currently implement change in my life, with this cake thing being one of those areas to change, and I'm trying. I really am, but reprogramming your brain to naturally respond differently is difficult. I had this discussion yesterday with co-workers. One of them said it takes a full thirty days of doing something differently to be able to do it effortlessly. I guess the question to ask myself is, "How committed am I?" To quote the great poet Steve Miller in his song Jet Airliner, "You know you got to go through Hell before you get to Heaven."

Thirty days. Time to turn over that hour glass.

I Have a Website

So Step #5, "Con Ex-Boyfriend Into Building a Website" is complete. Well, it's on its way to complete, anyway. I purchased the registration of a URL for a couple of years, he set up a basic page, and is letting me use his server for awhile. It's not fancy yet, but go ahead and visit the site and add it to your bookmarks:

JessicaLikesCake.com

I need some traffic before Google will pick it up and add it to their search results, I guess. I still don't know how that all works, but apparently, I'm going to learn. I was doing some reading about fondant icing earlier tonight, and after this post is complete, I'm going to do some reading about web design. My ex said it's easy. If I can manage a blog and competently run Facebook, then I should be able to do a website. I suppose we'll see about that.

I baked a cake yesterday and was pretty unhappy with the its texture and the decor, but was well-received at Poker Night. If they all liked it, then I must have done something right. I wish I could post a picture, but all of the pictures are on my phone, the card adapter is at work, and I have no cell service at my house, so e-mailing it to myself is out-of-the-question. I'll let you see it tomorrow. :o) I have to admit, I was kind of embarrassed by the poker table cake. It was good, but I didn't feel it was great. I just read another cake decorator's blog and it was reassuring because she said that the perfect cake doesn't exist. No matter how great the baker is, there will always be at least one thing wrong with every cake. I just have to accept it, fix the mistakes the best I can, and then move on. I'm learning to laugh at myself, which is good.

I really do need to finish unpacking my condo, but I'm so excited to try some new recipes this week. I didn't know how the higher elevation would affect the cake's texture, exactly, but now I have a better idea of what to do differently. I think I'm going to bake a few and have a taste testing party at work. I can't wait.

Ten Easy Steps to Insanity

I ran into an old friend today who does catering part-time. She and her friend get requests for cakes, but they always pass along the card of a cake decorator they know. "It would be nice to have more than one option," she said. Once I have business cards, I'm supposed to give her some. Crap. I think I just committed myself to something.

Okay, where do I begin?

Step 1: Unpack the cake pans.
Step 2: Squeeze money for supplies into the budget somehow.
Step 3: Bake some more cakes.
Step 4: Take some more pictures.
Step 5: Con my ex-boyfriend into building a website.
Step 6: Order some business cards.
Step 7: Advertise...on the knot.com???
Step 8: Quit my job so I have time to bake?
Step 9: Freak out because I don't have a job.
Step 10: Yeah, I don't know.

Anyone have suggestions? I'm open to hearing what you have to say.

It's Friday night, and I'm going to party like a rock star. First, I'm going to make sure my kitchen is spotless. Second, I'm going to bake a cake. Third, I'm going to lie down on the couch for a minute just to rest, and then fourth, I'm going to wake up in the morning with a sore neck and so some decorating. Sounds like a plan. I'm so excited. It's going to be the best weekend ever.