When ARE you supposed to use baking soda versus powder, anyway?
So, among the other five zillion things I’m trying to get done before the wedding, one major thing (well, major to ME) I’ve been working on is setting up and scheduling some awesome guest posts for you guys to read while I’m on my honeymoon.
Unfortunately, it’s left me with little time or inspiration to write any real posts of my own before the wedding. So tonight, in a pathetic attempt to make up for it, I’d like to share a highlight from one of the showers that were thrown for me:
Don't be fooled by the pretty-looking batter...
So, this was the bridal shower that my lovely bridesmaid Megan hosted, along with my MILTB (Mother-in-law-to-be) Pauli. If I were a good little blogger, I would have written in detail about it weeks ago. But I suck at life have a “discipline” problem (or something) and never did write about it. And being as it’s almost 11 and I have to pack for the weekend and be up and chipper for work tomorrow, I can’t really do it tonight, either. But like I said, here’s a highlight. Please reference the above photo.
One of the “games” Megan devised for me to play was to make a cake with no recipe (and no measuring devices or list of ingredients or even the FIRST CLUE what goes into a homemade cake. Um, hi? Betty Crocker is my life). She put out a ton of different ingredients, including, but not limited to:
Potato starch
Black pepper
Baking soda
Baking powder (hi, I’m confused)
Cocoa powder
Some weird chile spice/flavoring/gross-this-does-not-belong-in-cake
Flour
Sugar
Eggs
Milk
…and some other totally non-cake ingredients to try to throw me off
I was also provided with a large mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, and a whisk for stirring.
And let’s just say that my “cake” was not so much a cake as it was a slab of dense CLAY that, after like 45 minutes of baking, wouldn’t solidify in the center. And let’s also just say that I almost felt like a major failure at All Things Domestic and Wife-Like, until I convinced myself that had I had a recipe, I could’ve made a kick-butt cake. I’m pretty good at following recipes. And there’s really no real-life scenario in which I would ever be forced to make anything edible without at least a LITTLE direction…right?
Oh, except of course, my bridal shower.
P.S. Yes, some of us (myself included) tasted the “cake.” And “some of us” (mostly just me) definitely FROSTED it and fooled Joe into trying a piece, too. And none of us died of grossed-outed-ness. So there.
heheheheehe
You were so cute and it was SO much fun!! You’re such a trooper!!
I think, although I’m not sure, that baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). Baking powder is available as single-acting baking powder and as double-acting baking powder. Single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. Double-acting powders react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven.
This marriage thing is a snap…you’ll see.
…the rest of the gas is released after consumption, I guess…consult Joe about that…
That is a great bridal shower game! I’m saving it up for the next one I throw!
Wish I could have been there. Sounds like fun.
That is a great idea for a game. As I sit here and think aobut it, I’m not sure how well I would do either. I mean, I can bake from scratch but not usually until I have memorized the recipe. At least you were a good sport about it, tried it and you didn’t die from it. Triple bonus! Enjoy the weekend =)
you make me smile, dear girl. sounds like quite the experience. i almost wish that i had been there to experience that and taste it.
so the one question i am DYING to know is…….. how did it TASTE? was it nasty?
I can cook a dinner… but I cannot BAKE to save my life. Something to do with that whole “measuring correctly” thing, I think…
This would be an automatic FAIL for me. Thank god I live in this century and not one of those crazy ones where women are supposed to cook and clean.
I’ve always wanted to make a cake from scratch! Alas, as you said, I too have the Betty Crocker default (maybe a defense mechanism, who knows). Why does it seem like in this day and age, with all things Food Network-ish haunting us all, does it seem like the dear old “cake-from-scratch” has been forgotten?
I think Foodies (like me) should aim to “bring cake back.” (I’m predicting a trend.)
Well, good luck with the wedding plans and enjoy your cake! (Oh, and my wedding cake? Yeah. They sent the WRONG flavor. It was supposed to be grand marnier, and I got CHOCOLATE and VANILLA. Nice, right?)