It all started with a gallon of sour milk. Immediately my mom's frugality skipped into my mind "oh we can't waste this, lets use it to bake.". Now the concept was simple, find a recipe that uses the most milk for the best product. Ideally the result is homemade goodness, fluffy and sublime.
I spent a good amount of time looking for recipes on Allrecipes.com for things containing 'sourmilk'. Most of the recipes contained things I didn't have, like 5 banana's, or 3 cups shredded zucchini and ginger-root. So I decided on a chocolate cake recipe. The reviewers gave wonderful comments, things like 'tastes just like my grandma used to make, and when she died I couldn't find the recipe, but this is it!'. I was apprehensive about the 1/3 cup of shortening (or lard, which no college student has...), and the simple vague directions, but went through with it anyways. The first problem I encountered was how to 'blend' shortening, egg, milk and sugar. The shortening just separated into clumps, even so, I was determined. After laboring through mixing and following directions, I succeeded in making the batter, I poured it into my greased and floured cake pan, and proceeded to put it in the oven. Half an hour later I checked it for 'doneness'. Our apartment lacked toothpicks, so I went with my mom's other rule, that if you tap it lightly and it springs back, then it's perfect--so I did, and I swear it sprung back, happier then two Easter bunnies in a field of plastic grass. I continued to let the cake cool. After I did some homework I came back to the cake (probably gloating.) only to find a poolball-sized crater in the middle. The inside had totally not cooked for some reason. I was distraught. After consulting my roommate, and screaming a little, I put the cake back in the oven. Did it work? no, I only succeeded in drying out the outside of the cake. And to top it of, when I took the cake out of its pan, the middle came out. So being resourceful, and not one to through away baked goods, I cut a circle out of the middle of the cake and declared it a bunt. I made frosting from guessing, which turned out fantastic actually. In the end, the cake was dry, but homemade, and I used a cup of our sour milk, that's what really counts.
5 comments:
I hate it when you really want to bake something but everything that the recipe calls for is way weird...or at least weird enough that a college student wouldn't have thought to buy already. I'm sure you'll get really good at baking after a couple of tries. And at least now you have a recipe that will allow you to use up all that mild gone bad!
I totally thought it was a bunt cake!!!! But that is an Awesome story :) P.s. If you are ever out of toothpicks again, you can use a knife to test it. You just stick the knife straight down in the middle and like a toothpick, if it comes out clean, it's done!
I am not a cake person, but I am going to give you props with the whole undertaking.
I have had far too many experiences with investing far too much time into a baking project, and having it go sour (no pun intended). I know how it feels.
Wow thats amazing! I love it! I think it looks beautiful...and I didn't know you could actually cook stuff and eat it if it had sour milk in it. Man you really do learn something every day!
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