Monday, September 3, 2012

IS IT UPSIDE DOWN CAKE OR SHORT CAKE?

It's a tradition at our house for an angel food cake to be the bearer of birthday candles.  So when Beavis' birthday neared I put angel food cake mix on the grocery list. Nothing special or complicated, just a box with two packages, add water, bake, cool, frost and serve.  I've done it dozens of times.  Today I went to the cupboard for that box of cake mix and none was there.  I must have planned it so hard I thought I did it, but didn't.  So we made a trip to the grocery and brought home a couple of angel food mixes.  When we got home there was the first cake mix right where I put it.  Now we had three.

I mixed up the cake and baked it. When I pulled it from the oven it looked okay.  The next step for this nothing-but-air-and-sugar cake is to turn it upside down to cool so it won't collapse.

Like this.  It cools for a couple of hours then the cake
is removed and decorated.   So I turned the cake
upside down on a bottle and went off to do stuff.


When I came back the whole cake had fallen out of the pan
and landed in a sticky, smooshed heap on the kitchen counter.
FAIL!

Seen here after turning it over and setting it on a plate. Not a pretty sight.

Plan B.  Get out the extra cake mix.  Bake it up quick.  Cook it extra long.  
Turn it upside down and let it cool.  Remove from pan.

Much better.

Beavis was glad there was a plan B.  
We didn't use number candles.  We wanted to really rub it in about the huge 
amount of birthdays he has racked up.  Heh heh.

DH made a point of using the barbecue grill torch to light things up.

Beavis took it all in stride and left nothing but smoke.
Happy Birthday and thank heavens for 
back-up plans.

10 comments:

Joanne Noragon said...

That crummy cake! Yea for back up's, and happy birthday, B.

Linda Sue said...

I really really like the fail cake! It has imagination...It could be...anything! Glad you bailed yourself out- tradition is tradition and disappointment is that, too...you are a good birthday maker. LOVE!

Sarah said...

I am pleased that plan B was there!
Happy birthday to Beavis!
That is called 'ground sight blindness' when you look for something you know is there and it isn't-then it is! I found out about this condition years ago-it is a specific learning disability would you believe it. As I write it doesn't sound true but I am sure it is. It has been my excuse for losing things for years!

Buttons Thoughts said...

Wow that is a lot of candles:). I agree with Linda Sue I like the fail cake but I am a dreamer as you know. B

Alica said...

Don't throw out that fail cake...I'll eat it! :) I wish. I used to scrape out the pan when my Mom would bake those cakes. She had a pan exactly like yours.

Glad you could celebrate a happy birthday, no matter about how many candles!

Buttons Thoughts said...

Hey Leenie if you email me your address I will send you some of those photos. I do not share everything you know :)B

Anonymous said...

Yum! All that cake...all those candles...all that SMOKE!!

Maude Lynn said...

Happy Birthday, Beavis!

My cake mix hides from me, too.

laurak/ForestWalkArt :) said...

ha! poor cake. i always kind of root for the underdog!! GO failed cake!! (it could have easily been mine! i mean...a cake i baked would end up a fail too!)

happy birthday to Beavis!! is there a brother butt-head too?!)

it's a good thing you had that xtra cake mix on hand...

Carla said...

Hhhmmm, wonder what happened with the first cake. Good thing you had a backup!
Happy Birthday to your Bevis!!