mere trifle

 

 

Even when you bake for a living, you'll still stuff up the occasional batch of cakes.

Unfortunately when I stuff up a batch of cakes it's not usually, you know, one tray of twelve cup cakes.

 

 

This is a blueberry teacake. I make lots of them. I know where I went wrong this time: maths. Bloody maths. When I was carefully explaining to my mother at seventeen that if I got 51% in my HSC maths that was 1% wasted effort because I was never using maths again in my life, I failed to see that I actually wasn't going to end up a medieval historian, but a baker. Who calculates, uses percentages and multiplies every day. 

Anyway, the arts degree that came with the medieval history encouraged imagination and so beyond the trays of failed cake there was... trifle!

 

 

The cake tasted fine, it just didn't rise at all. Or inversely, sank to buggery in the middle. 

But in the pantry there were peaches. Preserved in January in syrup. And we make a bit of custard around here, so I found some jars and made it look vaguely deliberate.

 

 

Cake + fruit in syrup + custard = trifle. That's excellent maths. 

 

 

I hope your day was sweet too. 

(Two days posting in a row!! Might even be able to make this a habit!)

xxx

P.S. Claire has posted a lovely wrap-up and some truly gorgeous photos of the 'From Scratch' workshop she came to recently!

Comments

[Darren (Green Change)]

I'm jealous! Megan had a bunch of offcuts from a birthday cake on the weekend, and I came home all ready to make a trifle with them. Then discovered the kids had already scoffed it all. And now you're taunting me with images of trifle!

[wanderingsue]

Sweet so far, thanks, love. Henry was sitting beside me, saw your failed cakes, and was desperate for them. Good thing we made banana cupcakes this morning- he trotted off to get one, came back with three, and was persuadable that he'd kindly brought one for Lauren and me to share, but no further. :) Lovely days.

[wanderingsue]

Good job we only made a 2-egg batch. 2 hours ago.
Of the 12 little cupcakes, there are 2 left.
Should have put in more banana.
And broccoli.

[Betty Knott]

As well as Maths you must have missed some English lessons....Please Fiona
do use the correct words... Your dear little children will copy your slang.
Your recent email on bees was slack too in the words used.

Sent by Standard Upkeeper

[innerpickle]

I really don't know how to respond to that, Betty. Please feel free not to read my posts if the language annoys you.

[Merryl Chantrell]

Oooh! Trifle! Yummy! As my Mum always says "no such thing as a failure in the kitchen just lack of imagination'. If I have a cake fail I cover it with custard and call it a pudding :-)