I've always been a baker and always from scratch. I made my first Jiffy cake when I was 7 and by 9 was making cakes from scratch. I love the whole process, from measuring, mixing, creating and savoring the aroma from the oven. Then there is the look on someones face when they take a bite of a "real" cake. Many years ago, when my godson, James, was about 4, he and his mother Kathleen dropped in to visit. James looked at em and asked if I had a cake. When I responded no, he asked if I was going to make one. His poor mother was appalled! James and I just headed off to the kitchen to bake a cake. This was an emergency. Within 45 minutes it was out of the oven and 15 minutes later it was cool enough to ice. He was happy.
For about a decade I did wedding cakes for friends and word of mouth connections. I drove them to Santa Rosa, The Cliff House, Santa Cruz, etc. Everything was made form scratch. Butter, flour, eggs. The fillings were from fresh fruit or custards made from eggs and half and half. Icings were always real buttercream.
Real buttercream. One day I called a bakery famous for its whipped cream icing. The young lady on the phone happily assured me the cake would be left out for 24 hours without refrigeration. WHAT KIND OF WHIPPED CREAM COULD BE LEFT OUT FOR 24 HOURS WITHOUT REFRIGERATION??!! What kind of chemicals was it made of? EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW! I've always been a baking purist.
And now, I have no desire to bake cakes or cupcakes. I can't even imagine the taste of the buttercream. If a sugar plum is almost too sweet, how can I handle confectioner's sugar? I owe someone at work 2 dozen cupcakes and will deliver them after this pledge is over. And I will have to walk away from them. Wow.
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