oh smitten, oh heidi, oh derrick and molly - forgive me for i have sinned. and somehow, in someway i’ve gotten away with it, much to my chagrin..
i feel the need to confess…
it all started when ‘french laundry at home‘ unknowingly lulled me into some kind of false sense of security that i too could recreate a recipe from ‘the french laundry cookbook‘. of course this was no usual keller hundred step monster. this cake was an unassuming yet charming küchen left behind by the restaurants previous owners, the schmidts – and i please ask for their forgiveness as well.
because after reading carol’s post i went and bought some fresh cranberries and a few golden delicious apples and figured i’d ratio off the ingredients and improvise.
but never did i think i could get away with what i did.
i started with 2 beaten eggs, added some softened butter and whisked hard, added some vegetable oil because i ran out of butter, added the end of one bit of brown sugar and some demerara sugar – both had been mixed together in a small glass jelly jar for what reason i no longer can recall, used the dregs of a bottle of vanilla, some baking powder, fresh grated nutmeg and salt. and somewhere in the midst of this non-measuring frenzy, instead of reaching for the flour my eyes landed on cary’s favorite go-to breakfast food. ‘bruce’s sweet potato pancake mix‘. just add water. no preservatives. and ‘AHA‘ heart friendly. yes. that’s right. it’s right there on the package. and i don’t know about you, but a little friendly heart goes a long, long way with me.
above all, the step i am most proud/mortified of was when i had the batter ready to pour into the pan, i realized it was a bit too thick so without as much as a second thought i reached for my cup of earl grey tea and dumped some in. whadaya think of that there little move?
so have i lost you forever, dear reader? is all respect gone for good? because although i might be ever so slightly ashamed, i’m here to tell you that it totally friggin worked.
honestly, nothing at all was measured and it came out quite good. it was a total flukey kinda thang.
never to be duplicated…
11 responses so far ↓
1 Diana // Nov 21, 2007 at 5:18 am
The best meals are once-in-a-lifetime, whatcha-got-layin’-around, impromptu masterpieces. It looks delicious!
2 Summer // Nov 21, 2007 at 8:20 am
You brave and lucky woman… it looks beautiful!!!
3 Lucy // Nov 21, 2007 at 8:36 am
I so would have f-ed that up. I tend to be a bit reckless when it comes to baking, which would be fine if I actually knew what I was doing instead of just thinking I do. Anyways, congrats on improv success!
4 Lesley // Nov 21, 2007 at 8:47 am
Holy cow, that looks and sounds delicious. If only I had your creativity!
5 Dan // Nov 21, 2007 at 10:04 am
I’m guessing you didn’t save any of this either? Ah, well. It’s getting to be that time of year when I actually pull out measuring cups and bake. Maybe I’ll trying winging it too.
6 claudia // Nov 21, 2007 at 10:13 am
dan – do not wing it. repeat. do not wing it. the odds are majorly against you. if i had another cake to bake today – i’d measure.
lesley – you do you do… just unleash it girl!
lucy – it coulda gone either way. i am not a ‘baker’.
summer – thank you. it was kinda good looking in a rustic sorta way.
diana – funny how that can be so very true…
7 lauren // Nov 21, 2007 at 10:39 am
that looks incredible. although i would have been fearful tasting it if i’d watched you bake it. i’m amazed and impressed and i would totally love a slice.
8 FireDog // Nov 22, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Holy Cannoli! Earl Grey! You are berry berry brave!!
I’m glad it came out so well. Whattcha gonna call it?
9 Kristen // Nov 23, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I love it when you just throw something together, take a chance, and it comes out amazing. This looks just that…amazing! Nice work
10 Butta Buns // Nov 26, 2007 at 11:36 am
Damn that kicks arse! It’s a good thing you weren’t drinking any hooch or else that’d be one drunk pie.
11 cook eat FRET - sheer ‘blis’ with sweet potato pancakes // Dec 23, 2007 at 2:22 pm
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