…i hate to bake.

I’ve never been one to bake. The thought of having a certain number of ingredients needing to be combined in a certain way and in certain measurements is stressful for me. The phrase “just eyeball it” was made for me, as I love looking at food as much as I love eating it.

Ok, I just blatantly lied to you. Sorry. I love eating way more than looking at food. What kind of person wouldn’t?

But I do enjoy improvising based on how something looks and feels as I mix it or drag my spatula through it.

This is why I hate baking. I’m sure that there are thousands of bakers who could prove me wrong, saying that there are many opportunities to customize recipes, but I am under the impression that baking is like an angry dictator.

You want to add an extra splash of milk because you like the sound it makes? Well, have fun with a saggy dense cupcake then!

You think it would be ok to skip an ingredient because you don’t want to go to the store? Enjoy your hot mush that doesn’t even resemble food.

Which is why when Brian volunteered us to make a cake for an anniversary celebration for his parents, I cringed.

*I apologize to those who I saw in the last week and told this to already

I calmed myself down by thinking two things:

1. Cake mixes are usually on sale, easy to make, and taste delicious

2. Jamie is finally home and ready to save the day, should it need saving

Later that evening, as Brian excitedly talked about the cake, he revealed to me that he wanted to make a three tier wedding cake.

Yep, that’s the face I made too.

Then he told me that he wanted to make the cake from scratch.

I thought he was joking. He wasn’t.

I finally talked him into using a mix because when you factor in cost, chance for horrible results, and time, the mix really did make sense for what we were trying to do. (Again, bakers, I apologize)

Bright and early, Saturday morning, Brian came to the house to grocery shop and begin our quest for the perfect cake.

*excellent note: as I was writing this, Giada (as in Giada at Home) just told me that if you are making simple cakes or cupcakes, cake mix is the way to go.

As Brian and I quickly discovered, you can learn a lot about your boyfriend/girlfriend in baking situations. For example, I began opening mixes and preheating the oven as soon as we got home, expecting to just start and see what happens. Brian wanted to take a few minutes, make a plan, and ensure that we knew it would work.

Ok, I know that Brian’s approach is better for baking.

We decided, after much debate, and a few questions for Jamie, that we could reasonably make two tiers with two marble layers to each tier. We made a vanilla butter cream icing (from scratch, thank you very much) and put cream, strawberries, and kiwi, between each layer. Then, a few chocolate shavings on top and a little bride and groom!

We felt incredibly proud of ourselves.

And it tasted delicious!

I will still avoid baking like the plague, but I do know that we can do it and even enjoy it….and our relationship will survive!

Our chocolate marble cake

The bride and groom enjoying the cake

Advertisement